Don't Settle For The Candy

Twice a week, my school sits together as a community in a Quaker Meeting for Worship. Often, we are given a query to consider. While I rarely speak in Meeting, sometimes a blog post in born from the question we are pondering. Friday's query was: What does Valentine's Day mean to you? Is it just about candy or telling someone you have a crush on them, or does it mean something more than that?

When I was a teenager, I absolutely hated Valentine's Day and most things. Every February 14th, I would invite all of my girl friends over for an Anti V-Day party: everyone was required to wear black and bring a bag of candy, and I would provide a movie with absolutely zero romantic plot line. "Valentine's Day is a holiday invented by card companies to sell us crap we don't need!" I would exclaim. I think I just hated how much it was shoved down our throats.

Source

So naturally, I was a bit concerned about Valentine's Day in high school from the other side. After all, my students don't always handle human relationships... um... at all.

As I sat in Meeting on Friday listening to my students respond to this query, I was overwhelmed by the maturity with which they approached this subject. Themes of community, friendship, and service ran in all of their messages. The whole room was on the same page.

Throughout the day, students (not just couples!) gave each other cheesy gifts, held hands, and exchanged kind words. We had a small Valentine's Day shop in the lobby to raise money for our sister school in Africa, and it warmed my heart to see the students buying things for each other and supporting a good cause at the same time. Sure, the students were out of their minds on sugar all day. But it was an awesome day. At the end of the day, one of my coworkers and I travelled around the building delivering anonymous flowers to classrooms, throwing petals, singing songs, and making a ton of Mean Girls references.

Source

I still think Valentine's Day might be a day created by Hallmark to make us buy heart-shaped things at a 30% markup. But with all of the horrible things happening in the world every single day, isn't it wonderful that we have this one day that forces us to stop and appreciate the people in our lives that bring us joy? Maybe for you that means your spouse or your significant other. Maybe for you that means your best friends or your roommates. Maybe it means your students, your teachers, your coworkers, your boss, or your employees. Maybe it just means the guy at the deli who makes your egg sandwich in the mornings (shout out to Russell at Court Order, and the two other bodega men that my ASL 2 students mentioned when I gave this schpeal to them on Friday). The world is a dark, twisted, scary place. And we don't force ourselves to appreciate the light in it enough.

So even though it's a few days late, if you are reading this, I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day, and I owe you a piece of overpriced chocolate.

What does Valentine's Day mean to YOU? Is it worth seeing beyond the hype?

Mini Thanksgiving

Well, hello there! It's been a while! I am finally settled into my new job, new apartment, and new life, which means one thing: time to blog more! I know, I know, I say this all the time. But maybe this time it will actually stick?

We are midway through my absolute favorite time of year. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays with no strings attached - no gifts, no religion; just family, food, and fun. The stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a time for hall decking, treat baking, and gift giving (my three favorite things). Christmas is, of course, the BEST day of the year, and this year I have the great joy of bringing Hanukkah to my gentile roommates. We close the season with New Year's - a fresh start for the next 12 months of life. Isn't it beautiful?!

This year, my roommates and I decided to host a potluck "Friendsgiving" dinner. Mary pointed out that serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner would take away from the big day, which we were all spending with our families outside of NYC. We decided our Thanksgiving needed a theme - and after we crushed Karin's dream of a Mexican Thanksgiving, Mini Thanksgiving was born. Few people know this about me, but it has always been my dream to host a party where everything was prepared in muffin tins. Mini Thanksgiving was here to make my dreams come true!

Okay, so neither of the things that I made were actually cupcake shaped. BUT it was really amazing how all of our guests interpreted the miniature theme. I hope you're hungry, because you're headed for a food pic spam!

Our table was set.



Sarah made sure we didn't prepare dinner starving - we all arrived to an apartment rich with the smells of Pumpkin Muffins and spicy Sweet Potato Fries!

Karin made Mini Brie Bites filled with delicious blueberry jam.

Mary prepared our main course, Turkey and Cranberry Ravioli. Giada ain't got nothing on this girl!

Mary also made sure we had plenty of crusty bread to soak up the buttery sauce.

I made Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes, but added a little extra garlic and rosemary for good measure.

Attempting to bring a little health to the table, I also made my famous Roasted Green Beans... served in martini glasses, of course.

Laura & Renee made Mini Mac and Cheeses that were to die for.



Kait stopped by and brought Domino's Cheesy Bread - a welcome addition!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of our delicious dessert - I think I was too full to move! Laura & Renee made us Mini Apple Pies a la mode. Here's a picture from Little Bit Funky's original recipe:

And obviously we hated every bite.



It was, by far, one of the BEST dinner parties I've ever been a part of.

Have you ever put a twist on a traditional holiday celebration?

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

... they obviously are baking and/or eating cupcakes.


St. Patrick's Day fell in the middle of spring break & midterms this year, which was also peak dieting phase for me. Y'all know I would much rather eat my calories in dessert than drink them in alcohol, so while I allowed myself a celebratory Guinness, I did most of my St. Paddy's celebrating with chocolate cupcakes and Bailey's frosting.


I used Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe, with a few alterations, and Baileys Irish Cream Frosting from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, which was simply perfect. I wholeheartedly believe these could be a year-round treat!


Here's what you'll need to make about 30 cupcakes:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk (I used skim)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour.

In a separate bowl, mix together oil, sugar, and vanilla extract. I did this by hand, but you're welcome to use a mixer here.

Add eggs, one at a time, until your mixture looks nice and goopy.

Meanwhile, put your milk and water together in a pot and bring to an almost-boil. You want it hot, but milk gets funky when it boils. You just want to scald it a bit.

Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk mixture into your wet ingredient bowl. Again, I do this by hand so as not to overmix the cake, but you could do it in a stand mixer and most people wouldn't know the difference.

Oh yea, be prepared for your kitchen to start smelling AMAZING the minute the milk hits the cocoa. It'll be like delicious, bakeable hot chocolate. People will come out of the woodwork. Be prepared.

Once everything is combined (it'll probably be a little bubbly or lumpy), fill your cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way with the batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, depending on the size and temperature of your oven. I rotate mine halfway through because my oven is horrible.

When they're done, you will have delicious, perfectly chocolate cupcakes.

These cupcakes take easily to any frosting, or to no frosting at all! I halved Martha's Baileys recipe and had enough to pipe onto 30 cupcakes, easily, but I like a big cake to frosting ratio. Here's the halved recipe:

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Baileys Irish Cream liqueur (do yourself a favor and use the real stuff here, no knockoffs. It's worth it. It's such a small amount that you'll have the rest for drinking later - and do you really want to drink the fake stuff? No. No you don't.)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

With an electric mixer (hand or stand) on medium-high speed, cream the butter until smooth. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of the bowl. After every two additions, raise speed to high and beat for 10 seconds to aerate frosting.

Add Baileys and vanilla, and beat until combined and smooth. I used a piping bag with a round tip and topped my babies with semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Voila! Such delicious little cupcakes. And don't they look like miniature Guinnesses?

These were a HUGE hit. I ended up stashing some in the freezer to make truffles out of, and they magically disappeared over a few days. This cake is my absolute favorite, go-to chocolate cake recipe, and I'll definitely be making this frosting again!

We've had a lot of cause for celebration lately. Have you made any treats to share with friends and family?

A New Dawn, A New Day

Every year, I write out an extensive list of New Year's Resolutions. Sometimes, I even write them for new school years or the Jewish new year. Usually this laundry list has a theme, like "unity" or "balance" or "strength". And every year, I print out this list and tell myself I will look at it frequently and monitor my progress. And every year, I do that sometimes... but most of the time, I just keep on keeping on.

Lately I've been thinking. There are a lot of things in my life that I'm unsatisfied with, and a lot of things in my life that are better than they've ever been. If I were to type out a list of measurable action items a la marketing plan, it would be about 15 pages long. And I can really only see as far as May. After that, who can say? My roles change every year. Who can anticipate where an entire year will go?

Maybe that's why we're meant to make A new year's resolution, not SEVERAL new year's resolutions. Maybe for some people making one resolution is easy; maybe some people don't change roles as often as a graduate student or entry level worker or newlywed. But as far down the line as I can see, I'm going to be in this crazy dynamic lifestyle where I'm juggling the student hat, the teacher hat, the girlfriend hat, the daughter hat, the sister hat and the friend hat, all while trying not to lose sight of the ME hat. How do you sum up all of the directions you want all of those people to go in one sentence?

In 2011, I will be the best me I can be.

In every role, in every way, I will do my damnedest. I will learn my limits for each individual task and when I am approaching them. I will balance all of them with poise and grace. I will never forget that among all of these, I need to find time for being a better ME for the sake of ME and doing the things that I love selfishly - yoga on Fridays, baking cupcakes, and looking in the mirror and actually liking what I see.

It's Christmas Time in the City

Christmas in NYC is legendary. I must admit, I was a little worried it wouldn't live up to its hype. I was even MORE worried I wouldn't have time to see anything because I'd be hauled up in a library for the entire Thanksgiving to Christmas interim. But I found some time to explore, and here is what I saw (All photos mine unless otherwise noted):

Central Park Skating

One of my best friends from undergrad came to visit the weekend after Thanksgiving, and her family took on me on my first tour of NYC Christmas. We started at the Wollman Ice Skating Rink in Central Park. It was so picturesque!

Please play the Charlie Brown song in your head

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of US skating, but you can see how many people were down there! After we were done, we walked through Midtown and ate at an Irish Pub near Madison Square Garden. I then met some friends for some more holiday/birthday cheer. It was a great day!

Rockefeller Christmas Tree

Some of you may know that I saw the tree as it was en route to Rockefeller - on an 18 wheeler driving down Amsterdam with a police cavalcade at 11:00 at night! A few days later on my way to watch a Gators game, I saw the tree with all of its scaffolding at the Rock but no lights. I watched the lighting on TV and counted down the minutes until I could see it. We walked near it on our previously-mentioned adventure through Midtown - I could tell by the crowds - but we didn't get close enough to see it.

So on my fake solo Christmas, I left a little early to see Elf on Broadway and took the D train to Rockefeller Center. After I got lost in the concourse, I ended up coming out of the door I've seen a million times on my favorite show.

What do we want? To bring you sandwiches!

When do we want it? Whenever would be convenient for you!

(Source - Mind Grapes Vineyard)

I turned to my left and there it was, right behind the two-block-long line for PaulFest on SNL - the treeeeee!

Now I'm sure y'all have seen pictures of it before; maybe you've seen it on TV. But unless you have seen this 75-foot beauty in person, you can't even imagine its splendor. It's just magnificent. They even switched out the 30 Rock flags for the festivities!

Elf the Musical

After seeing the tree, I made my way over to Times Square to see the limited engagement of Elf on Broadway! Now, Elf is my favorite Christmas movie. Period.

I'm singing! I'm on your blog and I'm singing!

(Source - Halloween Landing Zone)

So needless to say, I was a little worried about the Broadway adaptation. But with its resume, I was reassured: Directed and choreographed by the man who brought us the Drowsy Chaperone and the Highland fling of Spamalot, gorgeous sets by the man who designed a million buildings and the sets for Legally Blonde and Hairspray, music and lyrics by the team responsible for The Wedding Singer, and costumes by a man with both Broadway (Legally Blonde, Drowsy Chaperone) and Christmas (Radio City Christmas Spectacular) experience. Alright! I will see it. By myself because no one else wanted to go. And you know what I thought?

This critic was spot on. It was ridiculous and nonsensical. The lead, Sebastian Arcelus, didn't try to be Will Ferrell - he was his own endearingly goofy Buddy the Elf. Every cast member was brilliant. The sets, costumes and music were fabulous. I loved the use of technology. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. But it was great fun. I loved every minute of it. Perfect for kids of all ages!

We're singing! Concrete Jane liked us on Broadway and now we're singing!

(Source - Elle Girl)

(And yes, that IS Norm from Cheers as Santa up there. WIN!)

Snow on College Walk

The minute I finished my final final, it started to snow. And not just flurry, but actually snow. Not enough that it obstructed anything, and it didn't even last very long. But the important thing was, I ended my holiday celebration in NYC by frolicking in the snow with my roommate (let's call her Roomie V).

Our romantic walk down College Walk

Low Library all lit up and snowy!

Frolicking! Roomie V says I look like a gingerbread man

Overall, I was happy to have checked so many things off my holiday to-do list. There are still so many things to do in the next few years, including the Rockette Christmas show and some kind of public Hanukkah ceremony. For my first year, I think I did pretty darn well - especially considering I aced all of my finals in the midst of this (Thanks, finals survival team!).

Does your neighborhood do anything special for the holidays? Have you added any new location-based traditions this year?

All I Want For Christmas Is...

My only wish all month has been for finals to be over and for me to come out without dying. Now I can think a little broader. These are COMPLETELY unrealistic and I do not expect any of these, nor would I be able to USE half of them (and some don't exist). But if I could have anything in the world for Christmas - besides the obvious world peace, goodwill towards men, stuff - I would like:

Cupcake Recipes from everyone I know, whenever I want them, that will always turn out perfectly.

Hermione's Time Turner from HP 5

A humidifier that makes me feel better about NYC winter without making me feel worse about mold (appearance is a perk)

A Mrs. Potts teapot

A cupcake carrier that collapses.

I don't mean just kind of collapses. I want it to fold FLAT.

At least two more pairs of TOMS

An Anthropologie shopping spree

A laundry lady that would remember to do my laundry when I forgot and always wash everything perfectly.

That spell Hermione uses in HP7.1 to make her bag infinitely large

Lots and lots of scarves

A KitchenAid Stand Mixer

(all I've ever wanted for every major holiday and now I have nowhere to put it)

What's on the top of your unrealistic materialistic optimistic Christmas list?

The Clever North Wind Had Other Plans

Tomorrow, I am leaving NYC for the first time since I got here (with the exception of a day in Long Island, but that hardly counts). Looking back, this is the longest I've really ever stayed in one place without leaving, if only for a day.

Ridiculous, huh? But in undergrad, I had my boyfriend 2 hours away, my mom 4 hours away, my sister 5 hours away, a beach 1.5 hours away, Disney World 2 hours away... and me and my car just peaced out whenever we could. It's not that I don't like where I live. It's just that I get restless and bored in one place for too long of a time. I think it's genetic.

The first time I saw Chocolat, I knew I had found an explanation for this gene. I think I'll call it the North Wind Gene. For those of you who haven't seen the film, Vianne comes from a long line of drifters. They stay in one place until the clever north wind blows in and tells them to go elsewhere.

Her daughter, Anouk, hates this. But she reluctantly follows her mother wherever she goes. My mom has the North Wind Gene. I don't think my dad has it, but his job certainly wants him to. I lived in 5 houses before I was 8. I was used to home being a state of mind instead of a physical location, but I still felt Anouk's resistance to our constant moving.

But once we moved to Florida and stayed for 10 years, I grew restless. You can fight nature, but it'll come back eventually. I couldn't wait to get to Gainesville. Once I was there for 4 years, I couldn't wait to get to NYC. I was seriously done with the entire state of Florida. I should also point out that even though we were in that same house for 10 years, my dad has since moved 3 times and my mom has moved twice. Again, you can fight nature, but it'll catch up.

I know I'll be living in NYC for a while, but that doesn't mean the North Wind doesn't want me getting out of town every once in a while. The stress of school and the excitement of seeing loved ones only adds to the need for a vacation! In general, I'm looking forward to the things I miss about the South: warmer weather, sweet tea, southern hospitality, Publix subs and Chick-fil-A nuggets. But this Thanksgiving, what I'm really looking forward to is starting some new traditions with my family.

This is the first Thanksgiving we'll be having in my sister's apartment, and it's the first Thanksgiving out of the awkward-transition stage that all families go through when the north wind stirs the pot a little. I'm sad that my mom won't be there, but I'm really looking forward to cooking all day with my sister. The menu has some changes that stray away from the traditional Thanksgiving we had while I was growing up, but my all-time favorites are there: my famous green beans, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and frozen chocolate mousse pie. I really don't care what else happens as long as I have those three dishes and my family by my side.

Apart from Thanksgiving, I'll be spending a weekend in New Orleans with my sister and her fiance before we head to Atlanta to start the holiday. I've never been, and I'm really looking forward to a REAL vacation with absolutely no responsibilities.

Safe travels to everyone out there going away for Turkey Day! Hopefully I'll find some time to blog while I'm away, but in case I don't, Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

(All images from Fanpop)

A Plague Among Us

Ladies and gentlemen, everyone I know has become infected with a horrible, horrible disease. It's been going on for about a week now, and it shows no signs of letting up. I know we will all be relieved of our pain in just a few short days, but for the time being, we are all desperately and miserably sick. I asked my friends to come up with a word for this pox, and the lovely Rox has done so for us.

re · turk · u · lous adj

extremely sluggish or unmotivated to perform one's required duties or tasks, particularly schoolwork, especially during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving vacation

Yes, we all feel returkulous right about now, and will continue to feel so until our planes and cars depart our college campuses and give us the freedom of a much-needed vacation.

Here's a checklist so you can see if you are returkulous as well:

- excessive, ongoing laziness

- an unrealistic view of how much one needs to do

- restlessness, or a feeling of being "on edge"

- irritability

- tiredness

- muscle tension

- headaches

- nausea

- difficulty concentrating

- the need to sleep at least 3 times as long as usual

- over or under eating

- the desire to do everything but the task at hand

If you feel you may be returkulous, talk to your travel agent today. The only cure is vacation. Can't leave? Staycations can provide a mental break without breaking the bank.

Side effects of vacations may include sun tan, weight gain from holiday sweets, shopping sprees, laughs, good times and hugs from family and friends. Staycation side effects may include any and all of the above, plus a newfound appreciation for the place in which you live. Holiday cleaning may occur.

Feeling returkulous is real, and you don't have to suffer alone. Talk to your friends about being returkulous. We can make it through this together.