on the hunt {for housing}

typically in provo, "on the hunt" refers more to dating than animals, bargain shopping, or the like.  i'm hunting, alright.  for a house, not a husband.

apartment hunting has been consuming my entire existence the last week.  i go back and back to the same byu-approved housing lists, drive around and around and around campus looking for rent signs, and i call managers over and over and over.

i'm getting too familiar with the phrase, "we're all sold out for fall/winter."

wish me luck.

this really is getting rather daunting.


on the plus side, to relieve a little of the housing stress, i took an hour to draw today. . .instead of study for my test tomorrow.
be that as it may, the test will come.  i might fail. . .but i really hope not.
again. wish me luck!

the best pancakes i've ever made

happy saturday!

a few days ago, my roommate ari did an incredible thing.  i had made a mess of dishes when i had the girls over for dinner on wednesday.  a mess, i tell you.  there were a lot of dishes.  but. . .it was late and i was tired, and i decided the dishes could wait until the morning.

when i woke up, every last dish was done!

after almost crying {it honest made my whole week}, i promised her and genni a pancake breakfast this weekend - just because they're such fabulous roommates.

and what better day to have a pancake breakfast than a saturday, right?  yes, today was the day!

i was in the mood for something incredible - not just your average pancake-with-syrup.  and so i present to you. . .

positively the best pancakes i've ever made.

berrylicious weekend pancakes

with red love syrup

(adapted from eat, drink, and be vegan.)

berrylicious pancakes:

• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 large over-ripe banana
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 1/3 cup rice milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 bag (about 3/4 cup) white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries

first, mix together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt).  in a separate bowl, mash the banana super well with a fork.  once it resembles baby food, add the coconut milk, rice milk, and vanilla.  a whisk worked wonderfully here {especially if you don't want to dirty your blender to combine these}.  it will be pretty runny - no worries, it thickens up a lot once you mix the bowls together. . .which you'll do right now.

pour the liquid into the flour mixture, add chocolate chips, and mix really well.  heat the pan to meduim and oil it lightly with coconut oil.  add the mixed berries to the batter right before scooping them onto the pan.  this way, the berries don't break apart as much.  cook just like a regular puffy pancake. :)

now the toppings!

red love syrup:

• 2 cups frozen mixed berries {i used a mix of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries}
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup rice milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

in a saucepan combine the berries, applesauce, maple, and salt over medium heat.  let these cook down for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

once it's steamy and bubbly {and the berries have started to disintegrate}, mix the rice milk and cornstarch together in a cup.  pour mixture into the berry sauce slowly while whisking.  turn up the heat a tiny bit. :)  keep whisking, and once it starts to thicken, turn the heat to low.  it will look a little bit like homemade jam. . .

 

yum.  that's what i have to say.

other toppings:

• sliced banana
• shredded coconut
• cinnamon sprinkles
• cacao nibs

this combination had us all coming back for seconds. . .and thirds.  best saturday breakfast i've had in a long time!  this recipe served the three of us with two leftover pancakes and about a half cup extra syrup.  which, in my opinion, is just about perfect.  my favorite thing in the world is when weekend pancakes turn into weekday quick and easy breakfasts!

enjoy!

updates!

new little addition to the blog! {really, just phase I of redesign phase II - you know my lists.}  the recipe page is going to be updated once a week - new goal here!  my bookshelf will also be updated periodically, as i add books to the list and finish those i'm in the middle of.  {also feel free to suggest books and recipes - i love a challenge!}  aaaand, the me currently section will be updated every. . .so often. :) you know, whenever there's a massive change in my life or the old one is ridiculously out of date. that sort of thing.

below is my second.  cataloging for records sake. . .

enjoy the additions!

currently changes quite a bit.

this is my current: 11. march 2011.

currently, i live in a spacious first floor apartment {too spacious, sometimes, with three people where there could be four}.  from my bedroom window, i have a grand view of the back parking lot.  this window also supplies me with ample amounts of sunlight in mid-afternoon.  perfect for glorious sunny naps, i tell you.  those don't happen nearly often enough.  spacious 103 will be my home until the end of april, at which time i will go adventuring {seattle, here i come!}.

my second-to-last semester at brigham young university sprung me with a massive case of senioritis, but i persevere.  despite the lagging homework drive, i am still madly passionate about research.  each new little piece of information thrills me and {i'll be honest here} makes my heart pound.  chocolate-peanut-butter anything has a similar effect.

this summer i'll discover how i feel about the behind-the-scenes aspect of research as i intern with the flourishing families project.  i'm nervous, to say the least.  but also exhilarated.  i never thought my major {or anything else for that matter} would take me to such a big city. . .for such a crazy reason!  my strategy is the take one day at a time method.  so for now, i'm focusing mostly on finishing my abstract for the article i present at the fulton research conference.  yeah, talk about scary!

lately, i love to run.  okay, really, i always love to run.  but this year, i've discovered a new dimension.  i finished my first race (a 9k in hurricane, utah) just a couple weeks ago.  massive accomplishment.  STILL patting myself on the back for that one.  also, it has me addicted - i can't stop myself from constantly checking my times for improvement and scoping out upcoming races i might be able to sign up for.

after several years of switching back and forth between a vegetarian and a vegan diet {with intermittent dabbling in the world of raw food}, i'm slowly adding meat and animal products back into my diet.  slooooowly.  right now, i eat eggs.  i had a tiny bit of chicken last week, too.  i still go back and forth.  mostly, my food philosophy is to eat three balanced meals a day, stay away from processed foods and sweeteners, and eat as many vegetables as i can take.  of course, my sweet-tooth reminds me that feeling deprived is not part of a balanced diet.  thus, every now and again, i enjoy something sinfully out of my food plan.  and yes, i always enjoy it thoroughly.

a few things that have me excited about life currently: dr. day's the power of sacred living lecture, ohsheglows energy bars headed my way, bombay house splurge tonight {just about the best indian food on the planet}, the prospect of "the most beautiful running trail in the world" just five minutes from my seattle apartment {as dictated by my internship team leader}, curried lentils, nut butter oatmeal - complete with fifteen mix-ins, sunshine finally coming out more often, and i can now hold plank pose for forty-five seconds.  yeah, i'm a yoga addict.

and now i'm off to do homework!

life is a pretty little pattern.

"i am, indeed, a queen, because i know how to rule myself."

- anonymous. 

sacred matters: dr. randy day

being at byu provides all sorts of incredible opportunities around the world and on campus.  tonight, i attended a lecture given by professor randy day - one of my very favorites from my time here.  he's the man in charge {so to speak} of the flourishing families project i'll be interning with this summer.  i've taken four different courses from him as a professor, and each time i've loved the qualities he so easily brings out in me and my peers as students.  from him i learned to really think critically, to develop my own ideas, and to challenge the ideas of others - even if they've existed for centuries.  through his prodding, i developed a confidence in my own ideas {especially when it comes to the social sciences}.  with his high bar of scientific creativity, i've written the paper i'm most proud of - my own small brain-child.  he's the biggest reason i'm even considering graduate studies in a little over a year.

considering, mind you.  that's still a year away.

tonight, i'm exceedingly grateful for his lecture.  i've been feeling. . .a little disappointed with my classes, lately.  last semester, i had to stretch myself more than i ever have, intellectually.  i thrived on the critical thinking process.  i thought about it when i didn't have anything else to think about.  it practically consumed my existence. i found myself {often} eating dinner and thinking about the connection between eating disorders and family processes.  {yes, i realize what a science nerd that makes me.}

this semester, i've just felt slumped.  my classes really haven't ignited that fire that i was so used to last term.  no one has told me they think i can create my own ideas - let alone articulate them well enough to form a researchable topic.  i've missed it.

tonight, that fire was rekindled.  i remembered how deep down i love research and love finding the answers to burning questions i have about families and the way they work.  once again, i feel motivated to learn, to push myself, and to share that information with everyone else so they know, too.  that way we can all grow together.

i might establish i periodic social science discussion on the blog, here. . .
the idea makes me happier than anything tonight!

thank you, dr. day, for helping me to remember tonight why i love research, family, and social science.  i needed a wake-up call!

nut butter fail + thoughts on my new electronic addition

fun plans tonight!  a few girls from high school/home ward are coming over for a collaborative taco night.  it will probably become the new tradition.  we all used to go out to dinner together once a month{ish}, but now ironically, we don't have quite the money we used to.

today, i was really craving nut butter.  but not just any nut butter.  i wanted something decadent, something extra creamy, something chocolate.

even though i was pretty much extremely hungry by the time i walked home from class (really, two-thirty lunch was never my thing), i decided that this nut butter had to happen.  sometimes, you just have to have some chocolate nut butter, right?  well... okay, i do! :)

i dropped my backpack on the ground and promptly gathered all my ingredients.  half almond, half pecan.  that's right, this was going to be deluxe.  sadly, i forgot one small detail.  my food processor valiantly takes on all the frozen bananas i throw at it.  most of time, it chokes through the nuts and dates till i can make them into balls for "cookies".  but i'd never tried to turn nuts to butter in this mini appliance before.

at first, i thought it was going to work!  it whirred {too loudly, as usual}.  after one minute, though, i'd given it all it could take.  so, relunctantly (but i'm sure to the relief of my neighbors), i gave up.

today, decadent chocolate pecan-almond butter = bitter nutty crumble.

it was okay on my chocolate peanut butter oatmeal though.  {but that's another story... can you say addicted??}

so, transitioning from my mini food processor fail to my new computer {still nameless}.

last post was a bit of a rant.  complete incomprehension of electronic devices does that to me, i guess.  really, truly, i am so darn thankful to have a computer again.  the week i went without was just. . .off.  i don't like to admit it, but i felt pretty disconnected.  lately, blogging is the main creative outlet in my life {other than food adventures every so often that do come out okay}.

so.  i'm happy to be back.  happy to have this little computer!

and i'm sure eventually, it will learn to behave itself and {in time} will also earn the privilege of being named.

i'm off to eat some bitter nut crumble!
{and prep the kitchen for the party.}

all of you that can, go eat some nut butter for me, will ya? :)

i'm baaaaack!

that's right.  i'm back up, back online, back to blogging! {not to mention doing homework...something that didn't get quite as finished without the convenience of a computer.}

here's the story {of my unexpected absence}:

one morning, i woke up late.  not unusual; this semester i've been waking up late almost every day i have class.  i hope to end this habit when the weather decides to let the sun shine in the morning.  scrambling for time, i turned on my computer to type up a paper quickly before i ran to class with no make-up on.  *note: this is how you know you have senioritis - when you're writing {not just printing} your papers a half hour before class starts.  yeah.... i digress.

so, i wrote the paper, hit the print button, crammed it in my backpack, shut my beautiful green laptop, and ran to school.  yes, i was over five minutes late.

fast-forward five hours.  i came home from class looking slightly disheveled because of my lack of umbrella in the rain, but i did not have mascara running down my cheeks because i never put it on that morning.  i went to room, opened my beautiful green {did i mention cooperative?} laptop to look up a few blogs, check my facebook. . . waste time.  after wasting a significant amount, i dragged my feet into the kitchen for lunch.  dragged.  you see, i'd been back from st. george for a week and still hadn't managed to get myself to the grocery store to buy produce.  and... a lack of produce = no motivation to cook.

i opened my cupboard.
i opened the fridge.

...and then i heard a strange sound coming from my bedroom.  something was clicking.  something was beeping in a really strange sort of way.

i went to investigate found a dead computer.  beeping, clicking, and a black screen.  i couldn't wake it up.  after a few minutes, it died altogether.  restarting it only aggravated the condition because it kept exclaiming {in capital letters} that it COULD NOT FIND THE INTERNAL DRIVE.  bad sign.

byu's computer repair center tells me the hard drive is fried - no chance of ever seeing those files again.  luckily, i have brothers-in-law in high computer places who assure me i can at least get something off.  i pray i can.  really hard.


but for the time being i have a new little laptop.  one that is not green, is short, and enjoys undoing all the customizations i give it.  that's right, this little brat is a dishonest computer.

i'm determined to tame it?  and give it a name.

once i stop being bitter about my dead baby laptop...the beautiful green one.

this new computer is insisting a few changes as well.  i can't stand the way my blog looks on the screen.  this screen is like....extra extra EXTRA stretch.  vertically, it looks like they were trying to save money, and horizontally, i think the designer thought he was assembling a wide screen television.  so, i think my blog looks really strange only taking up less than half the screen... so.  time to redo that. again.
i'm also going to be using grooveshark.com a heck of a lot more.  me without music is just a bad idea.  and at the moment, this unnamed silver object is musicless.

but.  for now, i need to stop trying to make it listen to my customizing suggestions and find something to eat.  because my neck hurts tremendously from looking down and craning my neck forward to see the minuscule text.  why? why make such a massively long screen and fill it with text {i swear} a font size 6? why?  unless every dell designer in the universe has eye sight like superman.  in which case, they should go back home.

and now... dinner.

predicament

you know, the funny thing about blogs is you have to have a functioning computer....

which at the moment, i don't have.

i can't wait to write about my race!  it was thrilling - and one of the best things i've ever done for myself.

but... until my computer's little brain gets fixed, i'm a frozen duck.  feathers stuck to my sides {as far as the blog goes, at least}.  and by frozen duck, i didn't mean duck meat... i wasn't talking about a dead duck, just a very very cold one.  like the ducks this morning in byu's little pond - frozen, not dead.

anyway. happy blogging.

i hope to return soon....

to my nanny

day fifteen.

task: write to encourage a friend and inspire her beauty.

my darling natalie fish,

     have i ever told you you're one of the most beautiful women i know?  you passions in life inspire me, your accomplishments motivate me, and your spirit of adventure gives me strength to do the scary things in life.  the beauty of your faith has strengthened me and fed mine so many times.  as i've seen your determination toward life and happiness and your continual work work work to achieve it, i've realized even more how great your example is.  your insistence upon happiness is contagious.  and that, itself, is beautiful.

     living without you here is lonely, sometimes.  i was so used to your constant bubbly exuberance for life.  your energy and happiness kept me going so many times, kept me seeing the good and the possibilities.  you live with a vibrancy that gives life {full, beautiful life} to everyone around you.

     thank you for playing the love game with me when i needed it.  thank you for letting me cry when i wanted to and telling me to toughen up when i was ridiculous.  i still play those games in my head - and i hope you do, too! the last year and a half of living so easily together has become a part of me.  thank you for giving me that!

    i love you a bazillion.

love,

{your} fishy.

p.s. it's been much too long since i've been properly dipped and bitten.

the un-outfit post #2

day fourteen.

task: ...outfit post. {a.k.a my excuse to blog about something else}

i never had a valentine's post!  i'm so sad i forgot!  so i'm going to do a valentine's recap + a few other random tidbits...  basically, this is {once again} creative liberty to celebrate my womanhood in ways other than take pictures of my clothes. which, as i've said, i'll get to.  maybe once. :)

valentine's day is my favorite.  okay, maybe not quite favorite, but when it comes to random holidays it gets up there on my charts.  i love love!  and i love to celebrate love.  a couple days before the fourteenth, my parents came through provo on their way to slc.  after breakfast, they surprised me with valentine's gifts!  admittedly, my favorite thing about the holiday is that my wonderful father gives me flowers and my incredible mother makes heart-shaped scones for breakfast!  this year, because i wasn't home i didn't get to enjoy scones by mom, but i did attempt them myself!

the flowers from my dad are still brightening my everyday!  because i wasn't going to be there for scones this year, my mom gave me a chocolate bar - dark orange. . .YUM.  it was definitely a treat.  i've been being super careful with sugar lately so my running will be tip-top shape for the race in a week.  the chocolate was much-needed and much-enjoyed!

speaking of this race, i signed up tonight!  the dogtown 9k and half marathon is going to eat my dust in a week, let me tell you.  actually, i'm a little nervous. . . :-}  this is my first race, and i've worked so hard to get to it, but i'm already feeling the nerves.  hopefully, this is one of those cases where i'm nervous for a week beforehand and then completely calm on the day of the event.

i planned out my training schedule at the beginning of the month and have stuck pretty close to it!  this week i've fallen off the grid a little bit.  i haven't had a car, and i'm a chicken when it comes to running in the cold.  but!  i've been adding in a few other things {besides running}.  annalisa, my roommate from last summer, was just certified as a personal trainer.  she and i went to the gym last night and she showed me a thing or two about weight-lifting.  i'm really new to anything other than running and yoga, so it was exciting!  as to be expected, i've been a little sore all day long, but it feels tremendous to have muscles sore other than the ones i run with.  tomorrow i'm hoping to tackle somewhere between five and six miles.... wish me luck!

so back to valentine's day.  genni and i decided that it was high time for a proper number 103 girls' night, and that valentine's day was just the right time to do it!  we went all out.  pulling our mattresses into the living room, we smooshed them together for a sleep-over.  

we both enjoyed the pile of blankets.  i think we used most of them in the apartment. . . which is quite a few!  and they came in handy during the movie.  i know, i know, valentine's day is the day to watch sappy chick-flicks!  but we just weren't in the mood for anything but my beloved lord of the rings.  i know.  i'm a nerd.  but it really is so darn good.

it may be quiet everyone once in a while with just two of us in the apartment, but when it comes to holidays, genni and i know how to celebrate.  it's been so fun with the two of us the last month!

of course, all sleep-overs have a few necessary ingredients.  we made pizza together, had hot chocolate, edamame, and {of course} chowed down on the valentine's scones i made earlier that morning.  it was a splurge day, that's for sure.  but you have to have a little treat every once in a while, and there's no better time than a holiday!
ps. the pizza and hot chocolate were to die for that night!

me and my food - usually the happiest part of my day.  well, besides running! :)