A revelation

You know what I just realized? I hate cooking.

I don't know who I've been fooling all these years. Week after week, rather than sticking with simple, throw it together, no-cook meals, I've slaved over the stove in search of the perfect balance of nutrition and flavor.
Here's something to know: many vegetarians don't bother to make sure they're getting enough protein, and many who do rely heavily on soy. Soy is very convenient and filling. But I do care about protein, and I don't eat soy outside of the sauce variety, so I've had to be very creative in coming up with dishes that use beans - sometimes nuts, dairy, and eggs, but those are more snacky-type proteins in my world. As a result, recipe searching and meal planning and grocery list making have consumed me. Plus I'm picky in other ways - trying to cut back on sugar, eating mostly whole foods with no funny stuff, lots of veggies, you know. Cooking has just become a huge and unquestionable part of my life.

But today I questioned! I was making tomato soup from scratch, because Trader Joe's tomato soup has sugar and carageenan (WTF why?), and it was like 80 degrees out and I was making a mess and I ended up with a million dishes. Dishes are a huge reason I hate cooking. And I thought: Shit. I don't have time for this.

My mother always said that if she could, she'd hire a cook over a maid. I thought she was nuts. Cooking is fun! I loved trying out new recipes when we had guests over or for special occasions. It probably helped that we had a "whoever cooks doesn't have to do the dishes" rule (totally subjecting my future kids to that). But the thing is, I never HAD to cook. I HAD to clean, but I never came home from school or work, just wanting to watch TV or play with my friends, but instead heading straight to the kitchen to work some more. I definitely get it now.

SO, what does this mean for Ellyn? There are a TON of sandwiches and salads in my future. And honestly, I can't wait. The thought of not waiting for rice to boil and no sloppy pots to clean...makes me want to cry.

February 18, 2012: Life Lesson

That time I ate an entire can of roasted chickpeas because they were so crunchy and addicting, and then felt really sick because no matter how healthy they appear, it's still an entire can of chickpeas...wasn't just a fluke.

February 2, 2012: Life Lesson

Lemon rind has some sort of protective force field on it that makes producing any measurable quantity of lemon zest nearly impossible, with detrimental effects to the flavor of my supposedly-lemon sugar cookies.

Big dreams.

Most young adults, I think, don't get to be too picky about their first apartment. We focus on what we can afford in a location near our job or where employment options seem good. Hopefully the neighborhood isn't too shady and there's a grocery store nearby. From my perception at least, the details don't matter too much.

My apartment was more or less chosen for me. I didn't look at a single place in the city and committed to living here before I even saw it. But we worked with it, and these days it doesn't look too shabby, if I do say so myself. The location is even substantially better than I originally expected. All things considered, I've got a pretty sweet deal worked out.

Still, living independent from my parents in a real adult apartment has taught me many things to be aware of when considering living arrangements in the future that I otherwise may not have considered (run-on sentence? Sorry). A lack of the following items will more or less be deal-breakers when I'm ready to make the next move:
-a very large kitchen sink
-a garbage disposal
-substantial bathroom counter/mirror space (double sinks would be magic)
-storage, storage, storage
-a foyer/mudroom area
-normal sized ceilings so I don't have to pull a ladder out every time I need something on the top shelf

This is sort of a boring list. It's not like "a breakfast nook" or "rooftop access" or "a jacuzzi bathtub". I expect to have plenty of time later on to be picky about those things. For now, I would just die to be able to wash a pot without constantly bumping the faucet.

The Mayan's were lyin', nobody's dyin'.

Thanks for those words of wisdom, Justin Biebs.

I want to write a New Year's post, perhaps to formally acknowledge the season, but I'm not sure what to write. I feel like I had a bunch of good ideas late in December, but I've either forgotten them or realized they weren't so great.

So what am I doing here...

Well, I think I'll just say that I believe this year will be wonderful and exciting. I've already started out with a trip to Miami Beach. Currently I'm on day 3 of a post-holiday cleanse that requires me to eat nothing but fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and plant oils. I probably gorged too much on trail mix yesterday, but technically that's not cheating and I'm proud to have come this far. Other things I look forward to:

• My sister Michelle is having a baby :) another girl according to the sonograms, to be named Abigail. I love babies.
• I will finish grad school! It's an odd thought, being done with school forever, since that's all I've ever done. I'm fairly confident that I'll be able to find a job, but I'm nervous that I won't find one I really love. The biggest plus to all this: income. (Which of course comes with more bills...meh). 
• I'm determined to become a better runner. I've been stuck at 3 miles for over a year, but I'm hoping to do the Soldier Field 10-mile in May. Injuries and laziness beware, I will overcome you.
• I really really really hope to have some time off after graduation to visit my dearest friend Linda in Boston! This year will be a year for traveling.
• Thomas has some big work ideas. Before the holidays he had his first appointment as an official stylist! Let me know if you need one...
• My other sister Anna plans to get her own apartment (fingers crossed...you can do it Anna!)
• My mama will get a part-time job after leaving her career last year. Hopefully one she loves!
• Drew and Maria are getting married! I love weddings about as much as I love babies.

I just have a good feeling about 2012. I love to see things working out for everyone. Keep on the up-and-up, folks.

Decembrrrrrr.

Starting December off on a good note: by skipping my last class of the semester.

Okay maybe not. I feel kinda lame about it. My logic was that I have a paper due Monday and I really need to just take a break before I dive into it for the entirety of today, Saturday, and Sunday. I also haven't run in a week because I've been too busy. So skipping class would give me time to do that. Furthermore, my professor doesn't take attendance and we're not having a real class today.

The downside? 1. I paid for that class. 2. It just feels like a weak finish.

Oh well.

So what's in store for December?

Holiday party! Museum of Science and Industry Christmas trees! My cats in sweaters! Maybe my sister and niece visiting! Actually being able to afford gifts this year! Books!

And one thing I'm quite excited for, I'm taking the Runner's World challenge to run at least one mile every day in December. One mile is nothing, it's just carving out time to do it. I think the only days I'll struggle with will be the days I have my internship (MWF through the 14th). But it's no big. I'll do it.

And now if you don't mind, there's a needy cat on my lap trying to hijack my hands for petting.

Finale

Well, by Wednesday I was too excited about taking a small Thanksgiving break from the semester that the last thing I wanted to see was a computer. Thursday again there were clearly way better things to do. Finishing out this series seems a bit anti-climactic now that it's officially the holiday season, BUT I'll send this off right. I do think it's helped a tad; I'm still quite worrisome but occasionally I've been comforted by thinking about what I have to be grateful for. Here are some overarching ones that I am always thankful for.

Thomas, our apartment, our kittens, and my life in the city
having transferred to UIC
incredibly wonderful parents, the kind who call their vegetarian daughter the night before Thanksgiving and ask "would you like me to bring you a spaghetti squash?"
my grandparents' house
that many of my really great friends wound up in the same city and that those in other places are still just as great of friends