The Snow Trifecta

Weather wise, things are looking pretty white for Boston. Bleh. At this point, I’m growing an immunity and am unfazed by 6-12 inches. It’s more like a light dusting.

Snow goes hand in hand with something I like to call the pre-apocalyptic bread and milk run. This phenomenon is when Americans run (literally) to supermarkets to hoard all of the bread and milk they can. If you’re a member of my household, you can also tack on 30 rolls of toilet paper to the list of snow day necessities. In my family, getting all three of these items in one trip is attaining the house arrest trifecta.

I’m an artist, I know.

In my opinion, this is one of those inherited traditions passed down from generation to generation to generation. Now, at 26 years old, I stand before you to ask the question, WHY?! What is it about snow that makes people run to the store for these particular items? Honestly, what are you making with this stuff?! French toast and bread pudding to last us a whole week? I don’t get it.

Because it is well past midnight and I’m not about to call my mom or grandma, I will go to my back up — GOOGLE! I did a search on ‘milk bread snow’. What I found was shocking. First of all, I am not alone in this mystery. There is a whole puzzled population out there questioning the people around us and sometimes even ourselves. Why are we brainwashed drones all buying the same emergency kit?

Some very wise person from the UK responded, “These are the things that are not stored in wharehouses and are delivered daily, the weather prevented deliverys as the major roads were closed, and many delivery trucks were snowed in. Also the people working in the factories that produced these items could not get in to work(slowing production). So because there were no deliveries, the stck quickly ran out.” Ok, I rescind my “wise” comment. I judge people based on grammar and spelling. He makes a valid point, but I cannot take him seriously. Sadly, this was one of the more well rounded answers out there. Many people ask the question, few people dare to answer.

This will forever be an unsolved mystery to me and I’m sure the bread and milk run will perpetuate itself until the end of time. My response? Screw the makings of French toast. I’ll buy everything I need to make a mean guacamole. If I’m going to be under house arrest, I’m eating what I like.

P.S. I am my father’s daughter — the extra rolls of toilet paper still stand.

Donuts!

I. DIY

Leaving my fear at the door and armed with two baby sized tubs of shortening, I got a little crazy with Mr. E… in the kitchen. It’s become a tradition of ours to get donuts at Craigie every Sunday, which proves miracles happen since I’m not the size of a house. I had to run and knock on the nearest piece of wood after typing those words.

A while ago, we vowed to be more active members in our own kitchen. This should explain some inactivity on Katie Eats Boston. I’ve been whipping up healthy eats for the past few weeks with some little cheat meals on the weekends. To jump start us, we forewent our typical Sunday donuts. Instead, we shuffled to the mall Saturday afternoon, picked up a donut cutter ready to make our donuts for the next morning. Mind you, I’m aware this was not a healthy move, but we were taking baby steps. Our impatience got the better of us and we headed to the store late Saturday night for some cider donut fixins.

I have such a wonderful memory associated with cider donuts. Earlier this fall, Mr. E and I drove up to Apple Crest Farms in New Hampshire for their fall festival and ate hands down the most amazing cider donuts.

Piping hot and super cidery from Apple Crest Farms

Seriously, game over. All other cider donut makers, just hang your hats and go home. I figured if we were going to make donuts, it would have to be the apple cider variety. I have to admit, the amount of shortening you need to use is not for the faint of heart. Shortening really does improve the grease factor of fried goods, as I’ve learned with fried chicken. Just think as it sits, the fat solidifies back to its room temperature form so you’re not left eating an oil sponge.

A whole lotta’ shortening

Going at the dough

Cinnamon sugar and cider glazed cider donuts!

Ready to fry the remaining donut holes

Voila ici!

For the dough, I used a minimal amount of concentrated cider that boiled down to about 1/4 of its original volume. In hindsight, I should have pureed apple to pump up the apple flavor. If I’m eating a cider donut, I’d like to know I’m eating a cider donut. That being said, I thought we made a pretty solid showing for our first time. Will I be making donuts on a regular weekly basis? Absolutely not. Let’s leave that to the experts. Craigie on Sundays and Apple Crest in October. See you guys there.

a good reminder

I. In response

to Friday’s major emotional meltdown.  I won’t get into that just yet.  I feel like I have a lot on my mind to kind of mull over.  However, this wonderful list made its way into my life today (via Bleed for Fashion) and it was too good not to share.

A few things to think about when life delivers a dose of difficulty and stress…

1. Happiness is never constant, and it’s not supposed to be. – You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.  To believe that you can reach a state of happiness and stay there forever, is like the tide believing she can reach for the shoreline and remain there forever; or like a fruit tree believing that if she only holds on tighter, she can keep her fruit from dropping to the ground.  Happiness is simply a series of moments that come and go and add sweetness to our lives.  Learn to accept this, and the more happy moments you will have.  
   
2. Failures are temporary situations that teach us necessary lessons. – Life’s best lessons are usually learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes.  So yes, you will fail sometimes.  The faster you accept this, the faster you can get on with being brilliant. You’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.  Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  So get out there and try!  Either you succeed or you learn a vital lesson.  Win – Win.
3. Even if you can’t see it now, you are making progress. – You may not be where you want to be yet, but if you think about it, you’re no longer where you once were either.  You have good reason to believe that you can trust yourself going forward.  Not because you’ve always made the right choices, but because you survived the bad ones, and taken small steps in the right direction.  So cry for a moment if you have to, and get it out of your system.  Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak; since birth, it has always been a sign that you’re alive and full of potential.  Once you’re done, keep going!  You’re undoubtedly getting closer to where you want to be.
4. How you feel when you’re stressed is not a true measure of reality. – Just because you’re afraid, doesn’t mean you’re in danger.  Just because you feel alone, doesn’t mean nobody loves you.  Just because youthink you might fail, doesn’t mean you will.  Look beyond your doubts and keep searching for the truth.  Be aware of your mental self-talk.  We all talk silently to ourselves in our heads, but we aren’t always conscious of what we’re saying or how it’s affecting us.  The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful.  Listen to your self-talk and replace negative thoughts with positive ones.  The sun is always shining on some part of your life.  Sometimes you just have to forget how you feel, remember what you deserve, and keep pushing forward.
5. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. – You can learn great things from your failures and mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.  If you’ve been asking the same questions for months or even years, yet are still stuck, it’s probably not that you haven’t been given the answers, but that you don’t like the answers you were given.  It takes a lot of courage to admit that something needs to change, and a lot more courage still, to accept the responsibility for actually changing it.  The most important step forward is taking the first step.  The simple act of getting started and doing something will give you the momentum you need, and soon you’ll find yourself in a positive spiral of positive changes – one building on the other.
6. You are not what happened to you in the past. – No matter how chaotic the past has been, the future is a clean, fresh, wide open slate. You are not your past habits. You are not your past failures. You are not how others have at one time treated you. You are only who you think you are right now in this moment. You are only what you do right now in this moment.  
   
7. Not getting what you want can be a blessing. – Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of good luck, because it forces you reevaluate things, opening new doors to opportunities and information you would have otherwise overlooked.  Remember, some things in life fall apart so that better things can fall together.
8. Being a ‘work in progress’ is a great state to be in. – Stop berating yourself for being a work in progress.  Start embracing it!  Because being a work in progress doesn’t mean you’re not good enough today; it means you want a better tomorrow, and you wish to love yourself completely, so you can live your life fully.  It means you’re determined to heal your heart, expand your mind and cultivate the gifts you know you’re meant to share.  May we all be works in progress forever, and celebrate the fact that we are!
9. Nobody else can do it for you. – Keep doing what you know in your heart is right for YOU.  Let your dreams be bigger than your fears and your actions louder than your words.  Live by choice, not by chance.  Make changes, not excuses.  Be motivated, not manipulated.  Work to excel, not compete.  Choose to listen to your inner voice, not the jumbled opinions of everyone else.  It’s your road, and yours alone.  Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.
10. Life is not easy, but it’s worth it. – If you expect it to be, you will perpetually disappoint yourself.  Achieving anything worthwhile in life takes effort.  So start every morning ready to run farther than you did yesterday and fight harder than you ever have before.  Above all, make sure you properly align your efforts with your goals.  It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it in the end.

the return

I. Busy Season

A month and a half later, I’ve resurfaced unscathed, for the most part anyway. This was the fastest, most concentrated busy season I’ve ever experienced but I worked with amazing people who filled my days with challenges (the good kinds), laughs, and epic amounts of trail mix. I was afforded a very good opportunity this year, one that I think will help me out a ton in this upcoming year. Keeping my fingers crossed that all turns out.

II. Instalife

. 1 . 2 . 3 .

1.
The only way I like wearing my hair these days. Seriously, it’s super quick and convenient. Women love it because it is clean, confident and whimsical. Plus, a nice perk is that most men are completely frightened by this hairdo. That’s right, stay away you creepy dudes!

2.
Pretending to be a healthier person, post busy season. I’ve gone to the gym two nights this week. Count ‘em. Two! That’s still two more than I was going before, so I’m happy about that. I want to start doing my 3-4 day a week thing, but I have a feeling that won’t be happening anytime soon since I feel like I”m booking myself up for dinners next week with all of the long lost souls I call my friends.

3.
Taking Mr. E to get some xiao long bao in Chinatown. That was a pretty awesome night. I don’t know what crazy juice Mr. E was drinking that day, but he was suddenly inspired to be completely spontaneous when I proffered C-town as an eating option after a late night movie. Moved by his sudden urge to try, something we scurried off to order some xiao long bao, some seriously spicy mapo tofu, and Taiwanese noodle soup. YUM, YUM, YUM!

III. The Happiness Files

What’s a return post without a good appreciation list?!

• For all of my upcoming travels this year – Australia with Mr. E, TBD (maybe the DR or California’s vineyards) with Kate and Marcia, and Zurich with my family.
• Iced coffee with extra skim milk — I’ve forgotten how wonderful you are.  Please forgive me for neglecting you.
• The Big Picture.  Seriously amazing.  I’m moved every other day.

Queens County

Astoria through a dirty car window