Creative Wanderings

Things that are extremely unlikely to ever be uttered by me: I think I’ll quit dancingI don’t like readingPink is the ugliest color in the worldI wish I could belch the ABC’sI’m looking a little skinny these days… I need to gain 10 lbsSleeping is overrated Food is evil and should be avoided I miss running  Oh wait. Forget that last one! Yes, folks, it is official.  I miss running! I never in a million years thought that I’d every say that, let alone actually feel the pangs of missing running. It’s not something I’m particularly good at, and it’s not something I particularly love, but I do in fact miss it. Since running my race on Halloween Eve, I really haven’t hit the road much. I got in a decent hill run last Saturday (after a week of general inactivity), and I’ll probably try to get in a short Read more…

. . . with books. I love books. Seriously. I own way too many. I check out way too many from the library. I probably have as many books as I do clothes and shoes. I have books in 3 boxes in my closet, in two stacks on the shelf in my closet, layered two deep under my TV stand (behind closed doors thank goodness), lined up in a box next to my desk (all my current “school-assigned” books), stacked on the shelf under my desk, and a few spares left by old roommates out in the front room. By and large, those are the books that I own. Then we have the ones I’m borrowing. Those are mostly relegated to the top of the desk (currently coming in at two piles) and the floor. Sorry, but that John Constable book weighs probably 5 pounds and is absolutely too huge Read more…

So about nine years ago I ran a 5k race. And came in dead last. As in, the water girls and the police car that marks the end of the race were my companions for… honestly? probably nearly half the race. At least the last third of it.  Fast forward to this fall. My roommate and I decided we wanted to get into a workout routine, and we opted to run. In order to help motivate ourselves, we signed up for a 5k race, the Highway to Hale Halloween race. My goal: not come in last place! I’m happy to say, I succeeded in meeting my goal. I still want to improve my time, but I’m super excited with how I did! I came in 23 out of 52 in my age group, and 176 out of 325 overall!  WOOT!  (Sorry for the tabs of my browser. That’s what it Read more…

Mt. Timpanogos  Quaking Aspen Me, mom, and David Me at Sundance Fall Leaves (my favorite)

Saturday night Me: I should be healthy. Like actually eating lunch during the school week. And the weekend too.  Self: Yeah, that’s a great idea! We like food! Me: I’ve always though that a V-8 would make a nice lunch. I get my veggies, some nutrition, and it would totally balance out my morning munching on yogurt/granola bars/cereal. (My body requires a good balance of sweet and savory.)  Self: Ooh, we like V-8! And we know you’re mostly thinking about what a great lunch it would make because we’re at Wal-Mart and it’s on sale. You can get an extra two cans for normal price! Hooray for bargains. Me: Hey, I’m at Wal-Mart and V-8 is on sale, and it is in cute little cans! That’s such the perfect thing to leave at my desk. I’ll never be hungry again!  Self: Yeah right.   I buy the V-8. And it is Read more…

Dear friends, I believe in prayer. I love it. It has been a life-saver for me, so many times in my life. I will be forever grateful to my parents for raising me in a home filled with prayer, teaching me how to find answers and peace and guidance.  I sometimes joke with my mom about my patterns of calling her… generally we talk about once a week on the phone, chat way too much on gmail-chat, and maybe text here and there. But then I’ll start calling her almost every day. And my mom and I have both learned that for me and calling her, no news is good news. So if I’m calling every day…. well, its probably not great news. Prayer should not be like that, although I won’t deny that my count increases with hard times.  I love that I have someone constantly able to “pick Read more…

May I preface this post by saying that between 5:40 pm and 8:10 pm I went grocery shopping (for dinner/dessert ingredients), made the cheesecake and baked it, ran about 2 miles while it baked, took it out to cool, started the Cincinnati Chili simmering, showered, made pasta, got dressed, put makeup on, did my hair, set the table, cut up the condiments… well you get the idea. I felt like Superwoman by the time Matt knocked on the door. I even remembered to put napkins on before he got there! Anyways, let’s get to the point… INCREDIBLE YUMM!!!! Matt thought dinner tasted great, but his comment after eating a slice of this cheesecake? “Erica, you out-did yourself tonight.” Thank you very much! I wouldn’t call it a perfect result (the cheesecake, I mean) but it sure did taste AMAZING. Thanks, Paula Deen!I’m not sure if it needed to cook a Read more…

When Prop 8 was a big deal, especially when it was overturned by the judge, there was a lot of commentary going on nationwide. I followed it, to an extent, and even started reading the judicial ruling made by that judge. It was hugely long and I didn’t finish it, but it was very interesting to read. I’m pretty sure the opposition had a better-developed argument, and the lawyer on “our” side might have done more to bring credible evidentiary support to the issue. Regardless, I eventually stopped reading the case and news articles and commentary because it engenders (hah, great word choice for the topic) so much controversy. Controversy. That’s probably what I react to more than conflict. Conflict can be resolved. Controversy, on the other hand, seems to be an endless litany of arguments with no end in sight. So what spurred this discussion tonight? Essentially the same thing. Read more…

It is past all controversy that what costs dearest is, and ought to be, most valued. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)

I don’t remember how I first stumbled across this site, but it is a gem! Not that I use my crockpot all that much, but I’m slowly getting more and more use out of it. Matt is a master crockpot cooker, and the delicious foods he whips out of there have inspired me to try more of the low-maintenance cooking. So, if you’re like me and just a novice slow-cooker cook, check out 365 Days of Slow Cooking! She’s got great recipes and has even rated them. And her helpful tips are good for someone like me who barely knows how to buy meat, let alone slow-cooker worthy meat. Seriously, check it out.