Chapter One & A Half: Figuring It Out

I've been fondly referring to the past two weeks at home as "Chapter One & A Half: My Life as a Hermit."

Back-cover summary: A girl walks into a bar.......turns 21, and then leaves to become a hermit. Catchy, right?

In all truth, I've spent the last two weeks doing, well...just doing "me."

For those wondering, that's somewhere between more than nothing and not much of anything. Having decided pajamas and bathing suits are the only two forms of real clothing, I've declared a state of modest indecency. And I'm completely and utterly okay with it.

Life update in a nutshell? I made it through finals (read: the Dark Ages) and tasted just a smidge of D.C. summer before movin' on and movin' out. Midwest, ho! I spent a week in Indiana, marked first by dog days and life talks with A and then a lovely lunch with V and fiancé. The end of the week concluded with a sibling reunion of brotherly love, not to mention a scary glimpse at next year's graduation.

Homeward bound, with love! And so the hermit life began.

Since coming home, there's been a fair shake of straight chillin'. Life here is real and necessary and really necessary. It's far from the buzzing eventfulness you might normally hear from me. Real life happens at a slower, steadier pace - beauty without the "glamour" of busy, shall we say. But keepin' it real is rule #1. Onwards!

I've taken a moment to just hit the stop key on life. I'm letting my hair whip in the wind of Pacific Coast Highway, as I sing loudly and egregiously out-of-tune to whatever is on the radio. Windows down, music up. Yoga has been a rewind and reset switch. Beaching has been the play button. I've spent hours with AL doing major catchup and days on the sand with AT. Somewhere in the mix, I've found my way to Los Angeles with SC to visit friends C, M, and P at UCLA and Pasadena.

Meanwhile... Watchin': Breaking Bad. I'm late to the party. And nobody was surprised ever. Chillin' to the sound of: this summery house beat Dancin' like nobody's watching to:  Equal parts Fitz and Foster Readin': Nada enchilada. Book recommendations, anyone? Please?

Thinkin' bout: Chapter One & A Half

I keep talking about this subject. Some of you are intrigued. Most of you are thinking, "Please don't make me do math."

It's Monday. Math be gone! We're keeping banter light and refreshing. Just like the lemonade/iced tea/sangria you're drinking.

(high five!)

So what is this Chapter One & A Half?

Let's call it the unmarked middle ground. It's found roughly at the intersection of Chapter 1: Yo, I'm a kid (ft. Nintendo 64 & Lunchables, middle school...ugh, stubborn teenagedom, and red solo cup = premium dishware?) and Chapter 2: Dear world, I'm a grown-up (ft. everything else). 

Since finishing this past semester at Georgetown, I've found myself thinking about uncertainty. This conversation about in-betweens comes in light of life talks with friends, many of whom just graduated from college.  With 20ish years under our belts, we're increasingly asked, "So, what are you going to do with your life?"

It's like a gameshow question! Seemingly impossible to answer. Bound to make your brain sweat a little. And while "I don't know" isn't a wrong answer, it may very well put you in double jeopardy.

Some of us have a good answer, or something that sounds a lot like one. Others of us have become masters at changing the subject.

Weather? Amanda Bynes' meltdowns. Sports!! Happy hour?! Anything will do.

Uncertainty is at the core of this mid-chapter crisis. Destination without direction (like whoa).

It's the equal but opposite pull in two directions that causes one to feel as if they're straddling the present and future...one foot in and one foot out. Especially at this age, it's easy to feel like our heads are in the clouds, while our feet are tied to the ground. For newly graduated friends, it may be the idea of career or family or financial security or evolving relationships.

For me, it stems from these strange two weeks between Spring and Summer. These jam-packed three months of interning at Google between junior and senior year in D.C.. This exciting fourth year of Georgetown between college and real life.

Simply put, Chapter One & A Half is the uncertainty and discomfort that comes with not knowing what comes next.  For those who have had a relatively certain path until now, this idea of not knowing is terrifying. It goes against everything we know.

Perhaps though, that's the point. Chapter One & A Half is not about knowing. It's about figuring it out. What a life this would be if we knew everything already? If we chose to forego the exploring and the adventuring. And the trying and the failing and the everything-in-between that is embodied by figuring it out.

As my dear friend C joked:

"Figuring out is not optional. That's why we do it."

So as I write this Monday, I'm staring uncertainty squarely in the face. It reminds me, and hopefully you too, that we grow as people at the brink of our (dis)comfort zone. Here, we realize how the world looks brighter after we've opened closed eyes. Somehow, not seeing enables us to see better. It doesn't change how clear something is, but it may change how clearly we can see it.

And as for certainty? Well, that's only half of it.

SKC Repost: The 5 Best Cool Things to Grill

With Memorial Day announcing the beginning of beach days and the official start of summer right around the corner, it’s finally time to dust off the grill for barbecue season. Now admittedly, it’s easy to get stuck in BBQ chicken and grilled steak ruts. But hey, life’s too short. Not you. Not this summer.

Put your game grill face on. Turn up the heat (and the music.) Dance like nobody’s watching.

And show me your grillz…because things are about to get hot in here.

**The 5 Best Cool Foods to Grill**

But wait, there’s more! Wanna find out the best five best awesome barbeque-ables? Head on over to THIS CRAZY COOL PLACE, and check it out!

Recipe: Healthier Pecan Pie (and no corn syrup!)

This pecan pie was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. With a perfect ratio of nuts to filling and filling to crust, the pie was a crowd-pleaser for sure in our house. And by that, I mean it disappeared within two days.

I guess we just can’t shut our pie holes.

When I first entertained the idea of making a pie (a rare occurrence considering I don’t much care for pie), I had a hard time deciding which flavor.

Fruit? Ewwwwww. I am not a fan of gloppy, cooked fruit.

Pumpkin? I wouldn’t mind, but I knew everyone else would think it out of season.

Banana or Coconut Cream? Again, not my thing whatsoever. Blake would probably love a banana cream pie though.

Eschewing the weirder flavors (mincemeat…), I decided on pecan. My whole family likes it, and I was not adverse. (Especially considering my love for nuts and nut butters!)

Pecan it was!

Of course, I had a few requirements.

1) No corn syrup – Whether or not corn syrup is truly bad for you, I don’t know. However, being that it is still considered controversial in the food world, I decided to steer clear. When pecan pie was invented, corn syrup wasn’t involved, so I knew it was do-able.

2) Healthier than the average pie – True to the nature of my love for health/nutrition (and this blog!), I wanted to make this pie a little healthier without sacrificing taste. I made the following adjustments:

• no lard in the pie crust
• nonfat sour cream instead of regular
• unbleached flour
• no corn syrup in the filling
• whole wheat flour in the filling
• molasses in the filling for a boost of flavor + minerals

I also used almond milk in the filling because I figured the subtle smooth nuttiness would compliment the pecan flavor well.

Summer Pecan Pie

I’m not generally a pie person, but this pie is good stuff. An intricately flavored molasses filling and warm, toasty pecans add a wonderful depth to the pie, while the flaky crust serves as a great canvas. Sweet and buttery without being too rich, the pie is perfect for a night at home or a summer gathering. Even better, there is no corn syrup or other icky additives!

Ingredients:

Crust 2 cups flour 1/2 cup butter, very cold and cubed in small pieces 1/4 cup nonfat sour cream, heaping 1/4 tsp salt

Filling 1 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp white sugar 2 tbsp molasses 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted 2 eggs 1 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour 1 tbsp almond milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup pecans, chopped extra pecans (for garnish), optional

Directions:

Crust

1. Before you begin, make sure you’re butter is very cold. Cut butter into flour with a knife, fork, or pastry cutter. Continue incorporating butter into flour, working quickly until a coarse sand-like texture is formed. (Note: Do NOT melt butter into the flour mixture.)
2. Place mixture in the freezer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove bowl from freezer and pour contents onto a wooden cutting board. Using a rolling pin, roll the butter into the flour—beginning to form a dough with the flattened butter.
4. Then, add the sour cream and continue rolling to form a ball. The dough ball should be moist but not wet. If necessary, you can add a little bit more flour, until this consistency is reached.
5. Return the dough to the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
6. Take the dough out of the freezer, and roll out into a circle, roughly 10 inches in diameter (to fit your pie pan).
7. Take circle and fit it in a greased pie pan, crimping the edges if desired.
8. At this point, you can return the dough to the freezer and save for later use or proceed with the recipe.

Pie

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs until foamy. Stir in melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, and vanilla. Whisk again until even mixture is formed.
3. Add the milk, flour, and pecans. Again, stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour filling mixture into unbaked 9 –inch pie shell. Garnish with extra pecans, if desired.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go shut my pie hole, so I can a) go do hot yoga and b) you can go make this.  

Happy Memorial Day!