Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Parched

Don't think the things you say and do have an impact on others ripple-tidal wave style? 

We had a local Arbonne training meeting on Saturday where we met some people we hadn't met before. 

One of them, Rachel, grabbed hold of &'s arm and started chatting. In the realm of Facebook, we have the ability to get to know a little bit about people without ever actually meeting them. Sometimes good...sometimes scary. Right?

They chatted a bit and talked about running. & is running a 1/2 marathon next month and has been conditioning. That little bugger can run 8 miles and live to tell about it. Whew. Huge accomplishment. But I digress.

Rachel is a runner and she said a few years ago she was running in Colorado. The altitude and the distance snuck up on her and she got overheated. There was a convenience store and she stopped. She said she could see her reflection in the glass as she opened the door and that she looked like she was in trouble. Runners usually don't carry cash.

She asked for a cup of water. And was turned away. Really? 

Fast forward to a few years later. She's in our city, running with a friend. They get near &s coffee shop and the heat starts kicking their hind-ends. Rachel began to feel overheated and her friend noticed her color turning to red. The friend suggested they run across the street and ask for some water. Rachel said she'd never have gone by herself after her encounter in Colorado. But with a friend she felt a little more supported. 

They walked in. Asked for water. & was working. And Rachel said, "Not only did you get me water, you smiled, filled the cup with ice, offered refills until we were ready to go, and talked to us like we mattered." 

Rachel then went on to say, "We don't buy ice cream or coffee anywhere else now, Tazza has our loyalty. And I'll never, never shop at a ___name of convenient store chain_____ again. 

One cup of water. 

One tiny act of kindness, actually, more like an act of simple human connection. 

Be that glass of water in your world today. Bring refreshment, comfort and hope.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ a Teaser

I'm a little snobby about bananas. 

The texture and peel color have to be just right for me to crack one open and scarf it. 

Just a shade too ripe and the whole experience is ruined for me. 

I also hate banana flavoring. 

Last night, & invited Rob and I to her apartment for supper. Yum. I think this needs to be a weekly occurrence.

For dessert she decided to whip up a version of McFosters celestial banana and serve it over ice cream. 

See the top few statements. Meh. I thought. 

Oh my! She tossed some Earth Balance into a hot pan. Chunked some bananas  and threw them in. Sprinkled brown sugar over them and Vietnamese cinnamon over that. And cooked it until the sugar and Earth Balance formed a caramel. 

Needless to say, I'll have an exact recipe very soon. Right now, I'm planning to whip up a banana brunch cake with caramelized banana topping. Hello!

Scraps and Snippets ~ Apple Cinnamon Protein Cupcake Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Protein Cupcake Muffins
 
Makes 15 -16 Muffins. 22 Minutes at 350. (40ish mini-muffins bake 14 min at 350)

1 3/4 cups all whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup vegan cane sugar
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder (Arbonne, is highly recommended)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup non dairy milk
1 tsp lemon juice
2 TBSP ground flax seed
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Cup applesauce

Preheat the oven to 350. Line or lightly grease the muffin tins. Place milk in a container and add lemon juice. When milk begins to curdle add ground flax and stir. Let sit while you do the rest of the prep, It will begin to gel and replaces eggs.

In a large bowl place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and
cinnamon. Mix with a fork.
 
Add the milk/flax/lemon juice mixture, applesauce and vanilla. Stir until blended.

Fill the muffin tins or cupcake wrappers about 2/3's full.

Bake for 22 minutes. Let cool. Makes about 40 mini muffins. Bake them for approx 14 minutes.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Screechy, Screechy, OH! I Get It

Seems little tiny details really do make a difference when playing the violin. 

Like knowing where your fingers are supposed to go. A teeny bit up or down and not good. Then there's timing...you all know about my whole rhythm ridiculousness...well, I think I figured something out. 

My teacher explained it to me again, for the tenth time, maybe twentieth, and I think I understand, kind of. 

In my book there was a little section when I started learning eighth notes that had 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & underneath the score. And it said I should count those out loud while playing. Well, I didn't. I had enough trouble just counting 1 2 3 4. I thought I couldn't add the &, too. And still learn the crazy-backwards-but-not-really G string. So I kept kinda counting 1 2 3 4. What difference would it make and why clutter up the simple tap, tap, tap, tap of 1 2 3 4? And, of course, I didn't ask my teacher. Though I'm sure he appreciated that there was one thing I didn't ask him to explain again. He probably assumed that though I'm slow, I was still trying to obey the basic, iron clad rules.

Now. I maybe got away with this for a bit. There were the few times he nailed me for not actually counting because he could tell by my note issues that I was a bit off. He can tell by my behavior issues that I'm a lot off, but that's another story. 

Turns out, that 1, 2, 3, 4 isn't necessarily how I was supposed to be counting. I'm supposed to count the lowest denominator of notes. So if a piece has eighth, quarter and half notes, I need to count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 because the eighth notes follow that pattern and nail number and & and the quarter notes hit on the number and play through the &. Hello!

So life lesson. Little things do matter. They add up and make the musical score that follows us through life. I don't want to screech or be three clicks forward or two clicks behind all the folks playing alongside of me. For reals.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Road Trippin with Gratitude

Our Easter weekend was rich with sensory details. 

I took a whirlwind trip (10 hours) to Kansas City with Lindsey and & (the Vegan cheese girls) to help with an Arbonne party. Why would I go to Kansas City to help with an Arbonne party? Well, because I'm an Arbonne girl, now. (A mature woman, extremely professional and mature, actually.) I'm a huge fan of the products and the business is as good or better than the products. Just sayin. And feel free to ask questions about either one. 

But I digress. The cheese girls went along for moral support and because Cafe Gratitude was exactly 25 minutes away from our party. We not only managed a meal at Cafe Gratitude, but a side trip visit to FUD for a shared dessert. Oh, and hit a cute shop that looked like &'s Pinterest board. 

Anyhoo, I digress again. 

If you happen to be Vegan, vegetarian or love flavorful food served with charming quirk... and passing through Kansas City, give Cafe Gratitude a shot. I'm pretty sure you'll leave as impressed as we were. And full. 

We split one of the bowls. Not sure what it was called. I'm E-something. Each of the names is an I statement...or I'm statement. Like I'm Amazed. I'm Beautiful, I'm Positive, I'm Upbeat, I'm Creative. And none of those may actually be the names of the dishes. However, whatever I'mer's we chowed were delicious. Like I said, we split a brown rice/quinoa bowl of deliciousness....and a CLT (Coconut Bacon) YUM sandwich with the best black bean soup ever. And shared a raw nacho appetizer with a blob of -bury-your-face-in-it's-so-stinkin-good guacamole.  

Fud was a few blocks away. Would have loved hoofing it there and checking out the quirky neighborhood, but we did have a reason to be in KC, and time was ticking, so we drove. 

We shared a Vegan brownie sundae. Cashew ice cream and nine toppings. That sucker was amazing. Seriously. Nuts, chocolate and caramel drizzle, goji berries, blueberries. So good. 

Highly recommended by all three of us. And Kansas City is seriously just three hours away. Who knows what might end up happening there that will need our time and attention, ya know. Also. Heard IKEA is opening up there, too. Hello! 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Buffalo Scalloped Potatoes

Buffalo Scalloped Potatoes

5-6 medium potatoes thinly sliced or diced
1/2 onion thinly sliced or diced
1 TBSP Earth Balance
1 tub Vegan cream cheese (8 ounces, I used Trader Joe's)
2 stalks finely diced celery
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley
1 and 1/2 cups of the following liquids...water and red hot/pepper/wing sauce. I uses 1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce and 1/4 cup of habenaro hot pepper sauce and 3/4 cup water. This was a spicy combo. Nicely spicy for heat lovers, too much for weenies. :  ).

Instructions:

Dice or slice the potatoes and onion. Heat the Earth Balance in a skillet and toss in onions and potatoes and brown so they are semi-crunchy and caramelized. 

While the potatoes are browning, preheat oven to 350 and slightly spray 8 x 11 or 10 inch round pan. 

In a medium bowl mix liquids with the cream cheese. Add the spices and mix very well. Add the diced celery and blend. 

When your potatoes and onions are cooked to your preference slide half into the baking pan. Pour half of the buffalo sauce over the potatoes. Add the rest of the potatoes and repeat with rest of the sauce. Bake at 350 for approx 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and the sauce is bubbling.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ 11:11 Revelation

What shall I post? It's 11:11 p.m. on the eve of a long day, toward the end of a busy week. 

A recipe would be easy. I have one, sitting there, waiting for me to copy and paste. More silly ramblings are also a strong possibility. 

But. What's on my mind is a jumble of deep thoughts. I suppose late and tired is not a great time to churn out thoughts. But that's never stopped me before. 

I'm thinking about worship. And about interactions and about faith. 

I love Jesus with all that I am. But, I hate so much of what is said and done in His name. And I hate religion. Why do we think we can understand, let alone dissect, the God Whom spoke us into existence from dust He created? Why do we think we can label and classify the importance, the value and significance of people around us when each one of those people was hand-crafted by the One Whom holds all things together? Why does He allow us to choose to follow Him, rather than demand it? Why does He respect and honor our choices to push Him away or deny Him His deity, His birthright, His honor and His glory? And the biggest question of all...why would He humble Himself and become human so that He could be tortured and killed for the sins and forgiveness of those who were wielding the whips, the hammers and the vicious words? 

I can't understand a God who would become man. Who would take my place and my well-deserved consequences. Why would the Lion of Judah, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the very Son of God die for me? It makes no sense. It feels like a fairy tale, or a fable that some day will be revealed to be a small, weak figment behind a large magnifying glass and a puff of smoke, and clash of cheap cymbals. 

But. There is a flame in my heart, flickering, and bursting into full roar at times that tells me that what I believe is mind-bogglingly real. And that this life is the shadow, and the small, weak figment behind the puff of smoke and the clanging racket. That fire also reminds me that this life is where I can choose, and where I can change, where I can practice loving, where what I do, what I believe, sets the course for my eternity. 

Maybe it's the late hour. Maybe it's because I had two long conversations about worship and Christian music today. Maybe it's because two thousand plus years ago Jesus wasn't understood, wasn't honored, wasn't worshiped and was nearing the end of His physical ministry in a horrible slaughter. Or maybe it's because I've listened to the words of the Revelation Song over and over again, and can't get the image out of my head that this God I love is beyond description. And that maybe "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty Who is and was and is to come. With all creation I sing praise to the King of Kings" is almost all I need to say to the God Who died for me, and rose again and went to prepare a place for me, and left the seed of His Holy Spirit planted deeply in my heart, and Who will come back for me. 

Call me simple. Call me foolish. Call me wrong.  Tell me that there is only one acceptable style of worship. Or that I am beyond forgiveness. Or that I'm not following the right Ten Step Pattern to Spiritual Wholeness. Tell me that there is a limit to the number of times we can sing a song per month, or the number of verses or times we revisit a chorus. Or that I'm listening to the wrong channel in the universe. And I'm still going to love you. And I'm still going to love Jesus Christ, my Messiah, my God, my reason for joy and peace and wonder. And I'm still going to feel the flames in my heart stir when I sing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty Who is and was and is to come and with all creation I'll sing praise to the King of Kings Who is my everything" and I will adore Him.