Obi-Wan: “Captain Typho has more than enough men downstairs. No assassin will try that way. Any activity up here?”
Anakin: “Quiet as a tomb. I don’t like just waiting here for something to happen to her.”
Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
Please forgive the crazy delay. I popped in today and noticed that my last post was on July 4th. A month and a half. Geez.
So, you see here’s the thing. I got a job. A full-time job. A really full-time, on my feet all day long on a concrete floor job. A this was supposed to be a part-time, up-to-20 hours a week, filler position job, but after six days spread out over two weeks I was offered the position of store manager on July 8. A full-time, at least 40 hours a week job. Well, holy cow. I said yes, took over on July 9, and it’s been a crazy rollercoaster ever since. Have I mentioned that it’s been way too many years since that kind of non-stop on-the-go activity has been a regular part of my life? I have learned a new level of both exhaustion and sore foot pain.
On the up side, I love this job. Love, love, love it. It’s fun, it’s positive, and it’s close enough to walk or bike to. The women I work with are fun and hardworking (a great combo), the challenges are enough to keep my brain pumping along, and the feedback from my employers and customers regarding the changes I’ve been implementing have been uniformly positive.
Many other things have been happening as well these past couple of weeks.
Padawan Learner turned 16 this summer, is driving around town by himself, started back to school at 5 out of the 8 periods (and is picking up a 6th period geometry class starting on Monday) and has been pleased with his newfound freedom. It’s a little weird, but we’re both enjoying the break from each other 24/7. He’s very 16, and I’m definitely a mom. Clashes have ensued. He’s talked about getting a job and working toward becoming independent sooner rather than later. It could be a good idea, but we’ll see how much effort he puts into meeting that goal. As you know quite well, there’s more to being a grownup than earning an income.
PL went to two different camps this summer, a week long half day parkour camp in Boulder. So PL got to participate in one of his most favorite activities ever AND we got to visit with our nephew who just moved into the area a few months earlier. I think he enjoyed our visit too since he was forced to learn first hand about lots of great restaurants in the area. PL also went to a week long overnight camp (his first experience with that type of program) for trampoline and double mini in Michigan, so Dad Windu and I were able to visit some old friends from different parts of Michigan – including some that we hadn’t been able to see for years.
To round the summer out, our niece married, rather unexpectedly but apparently happily, and we were all able to gather once again as an extended family (minus 3) for a long weekend. But it seems that with joy comes pain, and this weekend was no different – DW’s co-worker was in a motorcycle-car accident on the way home the same day we left for MI and was airlifted to a hospital near us. Thankfully he had on his leathers and a helmet (a rarity in Iowa). Still, he has two broken legs, a broken arm, and bleeding in the brain (now stopped), but he survived the first night (a major event) and is on the mend. He is such a sweetheart and such a fighter. I’ve been able to go sit with him in the mornings while his wife gets their four kids off on two different school busses (two hours apart!) so that he doesn’t have to wake up alone. The good drugs are giving us really fun conversations. It’s so nice seeing his bruises go down day after day, but it’s heartbreaking to see the pain that goes along with all the things that will ultimately make him better – multiple surgeries and their subsequent swelling most of all. Send any extra good thoughts along to JerBear.
So there you have it. Sorry for making you wait for an update.
Anakin Skywalker: “I’ll take four pallies today.”
(to Padme) “You’ll like these…” (looks at change purse)
Anakin Skywalker: ”Whoops, I thought I had more…Make that three, I’m not hungry.” Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Anakin might not have been hungry but I sure have been, for chocolate anyway.
For the past few weeks I have been dairy-free (but you already knew that), sugar-free, and gluten-free. And let me tell you, I have been feeling great. The first few days were horrid as I went through sugar and gluten withdrawal, but since then it’s been smooth sailing. After two weeks I tried a small, wee bit o’gluten and (just as I feared) found out that my body and gluten are no longer friends.
The nice part is that I no longer crave sweets and bread, an almost painful craving in the past, but I did miss the tang of a little chocolate. Thankfully, I saw a recipe for Simple gluten-free brownies in my feed-reader today and decided to try it out. I know Dad Windu has been missing the usual chocolate-based treats lately, so I reved up the stand mixer and went to town. Yes, this recipe does indeed call for sugar (a fair bit actually) but as long as it remains a rarity I think it’ll be fine.
I changed the recipe slightly to accommodate our dairy-free needs and substituted brown rice flour because that was what I had on hand. Still it was declared DELISH by Padawan Learner and “not bad” – high praise – from the stoic Dutchness that is Dad Windu.
In mixer combine:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 T vanilla
Mix until smooth and creamy
In separate bowl combine:
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 t salt
Add dry ingredients gradually to egg mixture.
Mix well at medium speed (start slowly and work up to faster).
Melt 1 cup Earth Balance margarine and drizzle into batter as mixer is running.
Mix well.
Pour into greased brownie pan ( I used 9 X 13) and bake at 350 until inserted knife comes clean. Approximately 35 minutes.
LaPaz suggests letting them cool before enjoying, but that’s just not how we work around here. I suggest eating them nearly the minute they come out of the oven.
I tell you what! If LaPaz posts many more of these yummy gluten-free recipes, she’s going to earn herself a Star Wars moniker of her very own.
Mace Windu: “I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The Dark Side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor.” Ki-Adi-Mundi: “If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, he must be removed from office.” Mace Windu: “The Jedi Council will have to take control of the Senate to ensure a peaceful transition.” Yoda: “Hmm. To a dark place this line of thought will take us. Great care we must take.” Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Around January a thought occurred to me, what if Padawan Learner and I are allergic to something we’re eating? You see, Padawan Learner and I have issues. Skin issues, to be specific – lots of very stubborn plantar warts (both of us), eczema on the palms of my hands, and a foul, dirty-hair type smell that just radiated out of PL. The warts were just something we’ve both had for years and assumed that it was something we were just going to have to live with, just part of who we were. I figured my eczema was the same. But there was just no way that PL’s smell was something that could be ignored. Granted, the kid was exercising for hours a a time at trampoline and gymnastics classes, but YEOZA, the smell was intense and no amount of hair washing or showering did anything about it. Within a half-hour of washing up, it was back. I aired his room out daily. We cranked the windows open in the car – even in winter. Something had to be done. Many people said, “Oh, that’s just how boy’s smell,” and suggested that it would go away once he became interested in dating and cared about his appearance/hygiene. Trust me, he cared. He washed.
I thought back to another person I knew that used to have a similar smell, a very sour dirty-body smell despite being more than adequate in all the usual hygiene behaviors – showering, using an anti-perspirant/deodorant, brushing teeth twice a day, etc. He was a hard-core, junk food & what-are-veggies carnivore. His rancid smell seemed to disappear when he moved in with a staunch vegetarian who then did the bulk of the cooking. His smell disappeared quickly. I thought about what PL ate. Our meals were healthy and well-rounded, but he did eat a significant amount of animal protein in the form of eggs and – especially – cheese. Nearly as much of a “dairy-atarian” as his non-meat-eating friend, Biggs.
I remembered hearing once that vegans don’t stink because they weren’t ingesting any animal protein. Not knowing any, I didn’t know if it was true or not. That was another venue to check out. Dad Windu and I talked it over, including PL as much as we could – despite this one and only refrain of NOOOOO – and decided that February (the shortest month) would be when we went temporarily vegan. Well, lo-and-behold the smell was gone within 4 days. Nothing, nada, niets. The first time he got in the car after one of his marathon trampoline classes and I didn’t have to roll the windows down was an eye-opener. He actually smelled fresh after his workout.
We allowed our systems to clear out for February and began adding foods in, beginning with dairy. A glass of milk, a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup for dinner. It took about 1 hour for the smell to begin creeping in and 2 days for it to hit it’s maximum again. He also developed a patch of hives along this upper back. Dairy was out. We added everything back in slowly, but nothing else triggered the smell like dairy did and does.
As a side bonus, his warts cleared up without our even noticing once he was off dairy (mine are still there but at least aren’t growing or spreading), his acne has greatly improved, and my eczema is clear so long as I don’t goof up and slip in some dairy unawares. PL and I are walking, talking dairy-detectors now. When there’s dairy in something we don’t expect, his smell will flare up and skin breaks out and my eczema starts up again. Not terribly, but enough to remind us to read our labels more carefully again.
I got to thinking about this again as I made yet another batch of Red Leader’s Soft Vegan Ginger Cookies (or as we call them, Soft Jedi Ginger Cookies) this morning. They’re very good. Even Dad Windu, who doesn’t much like ginger, liked these cookies. Red Leader says these are her go-to ginger cookies, despite the fact that they’re vegan.
“The Federation has gone too far this time. ” - Queen Amidala, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
The Federation of germs, that is. Dad Windu has been sick since last Sunday. He came home before lunch on Monday, slept nearly all day Tuesday and came home again before lunch today. DW doesn’t get sick often, but when he does he goes all out. DW is quite decent about being sick, so this doesn’t apply to him, but this is still one of my favorite “sick men” videos. My good friend, Yoda, reminded me of it yesterday. See how wise she is?
“Master Luke, Sir, it’s so good to see you fully functional again. R2 expresses his relief also.” – C-3PO, Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Padawan Learner has returned to the land of the living. He was up and around and eating doughnuts on Sunday morning as usual. While he wasn’t quite as “active” as usual (those who know him are wiping away tears now), he was happy and healthy and feeling nearly like himself again. I am very thankful.
