buckwheat

So, today I made pancakes all on my own for what I think was the first time in my life. Funny huh? That seems like such a normal thing to make. Even single guys who couldn't boil water somehow know how to whip up a batch of pancakes. Nonetheless, this was my first. And there are a couple good reasons why...well, maybe just one. I don't really like pancakes. I never have. I don't recall ever hearing that we were having pancakes and looking forward to it, it was more of a drudgery to be endured (yet I always loved waffles...hm). That is until my mother discovered buckwheat. If you've never had pancakes with some buckwheat substituted for some of the wheat you really ought to try it. I'm sure there are people who won't like it at all, but, surprisingly, I love it! When at home and I know those are on the menu, I actually do perk up and look forward to it.

So last weekend I was in Vegas and got to stay with my cute brother and his new wife and they made pancakes with a wheat-free gluten-free mix that was really yummie and got me to thinking that maybe I could like pancakes. Thus, before returning to Utah I got some of that mix as well as some buckwheat pancake mix; today at church I invited a friend over; and tonight I made pancakes for my first time ever. I put a ton of blueberries in that I'd purchase especially for the occasion, cooked them up, and voila! They were irregularly shaped, but very yummy.

Those pancakes with a little scrambled eggs and a sweet, fresh orange made a fabulous Sunday supper that I am looking forward to repeating in the future. So here's to learning something new, and trying it!

P.S. I realize it's kind of funny that I would like waffles but not pancakes, and I've thought about it and think it must be something to do with texture. Waffles are crisper, and buckwheat pancakes have a kind of gritty texture, as do cornmeal pancakes from Ihop that I also recently discovered that I love. They taste a lot like corn bread (which is one of my favorites) and are super yummy. So all these things are more grainy-like, I guess, than usual pancakes...and it would seem that I like that alot.

adequate hydration

"You should get a bigger water bottle."...a seemingly innocuous comment...that I seem to have gotten a lot of. Firstly, why do all these people even care that I have to walk a whole 15 steps into the office to fill my 12 oz. water bottle almost a whole two or three times a day? Secondly, don't they think I knew what I was doing when I purchased it? I am verging on 29 and have lived away from home for much of that time. I mean, my little bottle is just the size I want! It fits in my purse, can be tucked under a jacket, doesn't look out of place on my desk, and is not ungainly to drink from. It's not like I'm crossing the Sahara in my daily commute. I only have to make it from one conveniently located source of purified water to the next. If I had a cup you wouldn't be saying "you should get a bigger cup," but cause it's a bottle it needs to be bigger?! I also got stainless steel on purpose since most of my fluids come from it and I don't want to intake any more of that plastic chemical that is reportedly bad for me than I have to. And maybe I like having an excuse to get up and walk around every so often throughout the day. Who wants to sit inert for 5 hours together? Certainly not me.

So, honestly, while I don't hold anything against these people with their truly innocent, yet irritating comments, I do beg of you, should you notice my diminutive-yet-perfectly-adequate water bottle and wonder why I didn't splurge on a larger...just keep it to yourself.

two stories

Ok, there are a couple of things that have happened lately that are just interesting enough that I've wanted to tell you all, and just uninteresting enough that I seem to have forgetten to ever tell you over the phone. So, here I will make remedy.

First, we totally had an earthquake recently and I actually felt it. The last time I was in an earthquake I was asleep and didn't wake up at all. This time, I'd just woken up, was sitting in my bed thinking about getting up and my bed started to jiggle. At first I thought I must have moved violently enough to make it do so, but then it kept on jiggling while I sat perfectly still. Hm. That's interesting. "Wow, an earthquake!" I thought. Then I pretty much forgot about it til later in the day when someone mentioned it and we talked more about it. Then everyone I saw at work got to relate their earthquake-noticing-or-else-didn't-notice stories. Turns out the epicenter was near Wendover and had caused some pretty serious damages there. I hope all is turning out alright for them. But yeah, weird, I totally felt an earthquake.

Then story number two--this one still makes me chuckle when I think of it. So, sometime ago I went to get my armpits waxed (by the way, I was pretty happy with the results). It hurt pretty dang bad, but the pain is short lived, so if someone is hairy enough to really want to try I'd say go for it, but that's not the point. So I'm there in the salon, laying on a massage-style bed, with my arm over my head and the lady helping me is applying wax to my underarm. Suddenly she stops, probes the area a bit, and asks if I do regular self examinations on a particular personal type of tissue (so worded for the benefit of under-age eyes :) as well as if she can see my other arm. Then she says, "See, what is that?" and directs my attention to a "lump" in my armpit. I reach my other hand over, press the same location, and say in a matter-of-fact tone with incredulous undertones, "that's muscle..." HA! I guess she doesn't get too many girls in there who actually workout their upper body cause she totally didn't recognize that it was muscle! HA! Oh man, some people's kids.