Vegan French Toast and the Dirty Dozen

I wanted to share some things we've been doing in Eco-Logical Eating.

I'll do the recipe first, it's for Nina's Vegan French Toast. One word: Delicious. Regular french toast will never be as good once you've tried this. (serves 4)

2/3 c raw cashews
1 cup water
2/3 c sunflower oil
1 T agave nectar
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 T margarine
1 teas cinnamon
1/2 c pure
maple syrup, for serving
8 slices bread

1. Place cashews, water, oil, agave and vanilla in blender. Blend on high until completely smooth and creamy. Pour into a shallow bowl.
2. Warm a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spread a small amount of margarine to lightly coat the pan.
3. Dip bread in the cashew mixture one slice at a time, coating both sides. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and lightly brown before turning. Turn when edges are golden brown. Remove to a warm plate.
4. Repeat steps 3 with remaining bread.

Serve warm with maple syrup.

We topped ours with a warm apples that Nina mixed with some other yummy stuff but you could also top them with whatever you like on French Toast.

Next, the Dirty Dozen. These are the top things you should buy organic because of the high use of pesticides and their ability to soak into these fruits and veggies. You can find different lists, and it just depends on who is writing and their bias. This list comes from my professors. (One thing to think about, however, is that the most concentrated pesticides are in non-organic meat and dairy products because of biomagnification.) Also, if you don't get specifically organic corn or soy, it's most likely genetically modified. In addition to this list, we talked in class about buying organic bananas which is important from a social justice standpoint. The workers and environment are treated horribly by non-organic banana growers.

Twelve foods to eat organic (or find alternatives!):
1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Bell Peppers
7. Spinach
8. Nectarines
9. Kale (!)
10. Cherries
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes
Adapted from The Daily Green's (Published this month)

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Phew, Spring 2010 Semester is officially over

I finally have a moment to breath. Ah.... Feels good.

I finished my thesis on Sunday night. Final grades were due Monday at noon. Feels good to be done with that monster. Well, sort of... I still have to present it. I'm thinking that will happen next week on Wednesday. So I need to start planning that and getting a venue and audience.

This May term, I'm taking an honors course, "Inside the Holocaust" which is going to be rough emotionally, mentally, and academically. But that is how we grow. My class starts today in about 50 minutes so we'll see how that goes.

On a lighter note, I'm also helping my professors Michael and Nina Vought with their Eco-Logical Eating class which I took last year. I posted some things about it. They invited me to help with the food preparation and discussions. I of course said yes. I am excited to learn Nina's cooking secrets (she says she doesn't have any) and eat the delicious food. I also really like the Voughts and enjoy spending time with them. We had our first class yesterday. I'm reading a new book with them and will probably get a few more. The book I started is called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. I've just read the first chapter but can't wait to pick it back up again. It is very well written and incredibly captivating.

So just to warn you, I'll probably post some things concerning those classes. As well as my ballet class which goes until May 25. Tonight I am going to have them make crowns that are just a bit too small for their heads. They will have to pracitce balancing and walking slowly and smoothly in order for them to stay on. I hope they like it and that making the crowns doesn't take the entire class which I could see happening.

As far as my future plans go, they are still uncertain but I'm going to be working on my resume and getting some simple business cards this month to start the job hunt. I also posted my profile on an au pair website and have been getting a few positive responses. So I may be in France this time next year chasing some kids around the Eiffel Tower :) Who knows. I certainly don't lol.

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school & ballet

So, things have been crazy for me. I have been working on my thesis like mad. It's about twelve pages long at this point so I'm just over halfway but I've got to crank it out this weekend for sure. With work and my other classes I've been having to put it off this week. But now, I'm pretty much done with everything except for my finals in acting and yoga which I'm pretty much all the way prepared for so I can focus on that and get it done.

I've had three ballet classes now. The second went much like the first but the girls were more attentive. Each week they are paying more attention and they are able to remember the games and exercises we did the previous week. We are starting to build on some basic principles (although very slowly). This last class, I brought one of my bigger stuffed animals to help them learn how to leap and they really liked it. The stuffed animal is a sea cow and I told them that his name was Seymour the Sea Cow and that he was taking a nap in the middle of the floor so they have to quietly run up to him and jump over without making noise or stepping on him. They loved it. We also played "chasse around the rosy." It's just like ring around the rosy but you chasse instead of walking/running. It sometimes works better than other times because the girls sometimes start going in opposite directions. They also LOVE freeze dance, the older girls especially. The little ones don't really grasp the concept of sitting out and having a winner so I just give them assignments for when they freeze like make a shape or balance or do an "elevator." The little ones also liked playing with different kinds of music, and expressing how it made them feel. We did happy songs, scary songs, sad songs, and so on and they tried to express the emotion of the music through movement. They were doing really well. Each week we have been working on our Spring Dance and they actually remember it so I think I might try to choreograph a simple peice so they can do a small recital for their parents on the last week. I really enjoy teaching. I think next week, we will make crowns and practice bourrees with them balancing on our heads.

I've been having a really great time with all the closing banquets and final get togethers. Last weekend was the Senior Dinner. I got to dress up and have a great dinner with friends and see lots of people I've met throughout my time at Westminster so it was awesome. We had our last AMP meeting. The closing dinner is next Saturday and I'm so excited for that. Last night was the Honors Spring Banquet and it was surreal to be a senior there but it was very fun and nostalgic. I'm going to miss the many Westminster communities of which I have been priveledged to be a part. I definitely want to be an active alumni and give back when I can. I have really grown as an intellectual and a person and have many wonderful people at the college to thank for that.

I have some photos from Red Noses and these events that I'll have to put up when I get time. But now, back to work and my thesis...

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Red Noses in Review

Saturday, March 27 was the final show for Red Noses. It was amazing. The show went really well but the best part was what happened afterwards. We all changed out of our costumes and hurried back into the auditorium for the techie show -- a roast of the actors and our performances. They used a few props and costume pieces to establish their identities and made fun of the show and us. It was in a word hilarious.

After the techie show, the cast presented gifts (all arranged by our lead, Jared who played Father Flote) to techies, the Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager, and to the Theatre Department heads, Nina and Michael Vought (who I've blogged about before). Jared had found a page from a 14th century book of hours illuminated manuscript with a song whose lyrics were similar to the themes found in Red Noses. It was beautiful. We all thanked Nina and Michael for such a wonderful run and basked in the sunshine of love and gratitude.

One of the cast members, Charlie who is a Westminster alumni and who graciously fed us salad from Mazza every night (thank you Charlie!) made copies of a poem that has a history with the Westminster Theatre Department all the way back to 1964. (I'll add it later).

Then we helped clean up the dressing rooms, and some of us helped strike (take down the set) while we had a wonderful party in the black box. Nina and Michael provided food (YUM) and Harry Cross Jr. was DJ (fabulous!) We danced and laughed and ate. It was a wonderful close to a wonderful show.

I will miss the theatre. I will miss those crazy loud people and the singing and dancing and proclamations of "You're amazing!" "No, you're amazing!" I will miss the magic that an audience brings and the unity created in the cast when you take that magic and give it back.

God bless the people of the theatre!

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Shameful admission

I burst into a song from "Oliver!" the other day during rehearsal. Unprovoked. I started it.

*hangs head* Am I becomming a drama kid? Maybe.

But then, when we were getting warmed up before dress rehearsal, we had a dance party with musical music playing. And I didn't know ANY of the songs so I think I'm safe for now. I can be drama without being loud-musical-drama-song-bursting, right? But a rare song burst is ok, isn't it?

My perception of reality is starting to get a bit blurred from spending five hours a night in rehearsal for the past two weeks. But I'm having so much fun. I will be sad when it is over. And I will miss my loud, crazy, overly dramatic castmates.

And if I haven't already told you, come see the play! C'est fantastique! Last night was opening and it was incredible to perform with an audience laughing and feeding our energy.
Get your tickets here. :) Click on 'Red Noses'

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Drama Kids

They're starting to wear on me at rehearsals.

I can't stand the constant singing of musicals. Or the loudness.

Part of it might have to do with jealousy. I wish I could sing as well as they and I'll admit I am a tad jealous of their comraderie.

But mostly, I think it's just annoying.
They'd be so cool if they just didn't sing all the time! That is why I have never been into acting before.

And why I decided to not go to BYU (ha ha, you know that you know the type of kids there who bursts into random song and dance).

I must bear my burdens, the show must go on!

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Journal #4 Transformation

These past few days have been another of those cool life moments where things come together from different areas of your life to focus on one idea. Last time I mentioned it, I was thinking about wellness. This time it is the idea of transformation.

I helped my AMP mentor on Saturday with the matinee of Ririe-Woodbury's Circle Cycle. For my help, I got a pair of tickets to the evening show. It was a wonderfully playful but also thoughtful performance. Like the title declares, the dances are about circles and cycles. One was about the transformation of a catipillar into a butterfly. That dance, along with the other dances got me thinking about cycles and changes in our lives.

And then, low and behold, for our yoga journal question this week, we were asked about transformation. What we thought about it, if we have gone through a transformation, what transformations we would like to attain, and how yoga might support those transformations.

You can read my journal entry below.

I missed class on Monday and felt so grateful for it. Wednesday. I could feel the affect it had on my body. Everything was just a
little bit stiffer. From this experience, I see the benefit of maintaining a regular practice several times a week. I like the half sun salutations that we worked on. The cycle is refreshing.

I am trying to incorporate more of the breathing into the movement and poses. I find myself forgetting about the ujjayi breath as we get into more involved pose work. I am trying to focus on keeping a continual and mindful breath throughout the class. It is so much easier to focus on it and keep it smooth while just sitting. I want to be able to keep that level of mindfulness
of breath throughout the movements. It will help me stay in the moment and focus internally.

I read the fifth chapter of Farhi's book this week. It was about slowing down. This is something I have been trying to do recently, even before this class. I think slowing actually helps me fit everything into the day. Or at least it lets the important things fit instead of letting the little stuff get in the way of the big stuff. Slowing down makes you value the sweetness of
interacting with other people and getting to know yourself as well. I like how yoga incorporates slowness and attentiveness to ourselves. The movements are in relation to your own body's breath and natural desires instead of being dictated by the outward models of time or imposed counts or time limits. I like the idea of making life more like that as much as possible. Of course, we still need to respect time and be punctual to classes and work and meetings but in the inbetween, we can focus more on the moment as it happens rather than the way in which we measure the passing of moments.

Transformation. I like that you asked about this. I went to a dance show performed by Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company this weekend. It was called Circle Cycle. There was a dance about transformation and life cycles of butterflies. Since then, I have been thinking about it and the idea of circles and cycles in our lives. I used to think transformation meant becomming something completely different than what you were before but now I think it is more like expanding and becomming something that we always were inside but didn't necessarily know or comprehend just yet. Like a catipillar, which is a butterfly at birth but just hasn't manifested that aspect of its DNA to us yet. The being is the same, but the physical manifestation has changed forms in response to changes that happend within itself. I don't know if that makes sense but it is something I have been thinking about.

I have transformed in my spirituallity and am still transforming. I think most recently, yoga is supporting this change but previously, the change was supported by discussion, inquiry, and the beginnings of intellectual exploration into faiths and mythical ideas and non-mythical ideologies that were previously foreign to me.

I would like to continue in my spiritual transformation which I feel is still underway. I would also like to transform so that my physical wellbeing becomes a more prominent aspect of my life. I want to continue to make physical activity important and improve my mindfulness with food. I think that yoga will help by slowing me down. A lot of the time, I feel like there is no time to excersise or I skip breakfast in the morning for lack of time. If I were able to slow down not only on the mat but in life, I might be able to refocus and allow myself to have time for those important things by cutting out less important things and focus more on what my body needs. When I take care of it, it will take care of me and I will have the energy and time to take care of the other important stuff.

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Journal #3

My third yoga journal entry. We were asked to write about class that week, our readings and the three part ujjayi breathing. It's rather long, which is why I put it under the link below. If you are interested, please read, otherwise, it doesn't take up so much space :)


Class this week was refreshing. I like the hero pose a lot. It makes me feel peaceful and I find it easy to work into the rhythm of the movement with my breathing. I find that even if I am having a stressful time in school, in my social life, or getting in a rut spiritually, when I leave yoga class, I feel refreshed and new. Even though the problems are still there, I feel at peace and willing to continue throughout the day with a fresh outlook and serenity. I can't fully describe it with words, but I feel very fortunate to be able to practice at least twice a week in class. I have been practicing just once on weekends but am going to try and practice more on my own throughout the week.

I finished reading the fourth chapter in Bringing Yoga to Life. She talks about feeling grateful and dedicating your practice or keeping a prayer in mind. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunities and luxuries I do. I hope that I can incorporate that feeling into my life practice always. I feel as if I am starting on that journey and am consciously trying to carry the lessons in the book into my practice and daily life. I feel so much better about myself as a person because of it. And, without getting to personal, I am making peace with mistakes I have made the past by resolving and committing to be the person I am finding within myself through this practice.

I feel that my practicing being present on the mat has helped me to reawaken to being present in life. I still am not sure if I am getting all the way to being present. I am still trying to find it and I'm sure it will be a continual process but I have noticed I experience each moment more fully. For example, at work, I sometimes will go on 'auto pilot' and I will work for hours without really being there. At the end of the day, I feel exhausted and spent but wouldn't be able to really talk about my day. Recently, however, I feel more present and able to experience and enjoy my days. I am able to have more meaningful interactions with coworkers and really respond to my duties. It feels good.

The breathing is definitely helping. I will sometimes do a couple ujjayi (I don't know if that's spelled right) breaths if I find myself getting a little lost throughout the day to bring me back to the current moment. The challenging thing is the three parts. I think I'm still working on making it a natural process and letting my breath just do it instead of forcing it on my body but it is getting easier. I think it is easier for me to think of the breath first going into the very bottom of my lungs instead of thinking belly. When I think of it going into my belly, I tend to just stick my stomach out at the beginning of each breath instead of naturally letting the breath fill that area.

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I am Boutros One

Guess what?! I got a part in my school play! The play we are putting on is called Red Noses by Peter Barnes. It is a 'black comedy' set in Plague-ridden France.

I am going to play one of the Boutros Brothers (or Sisters in this case), a pair of one-legged tap dancers who join a comedy troupe set up by a priest hoping to bring cheap laughs to the dying masses. Yes, it is hilarious.

We will be performing March 18, 19, 20 & 25, 26, 27 in the Black Box Theatre in the Jewett Center for the Performing Arts. I hope you can come and see me play! (get more info here)

I am excited to be in this play but I have to admit I'm not one of those 'drama people.' You know the type -- randomly bursting into song (usually accompanied with broadway-style choreography), tending to be rather loud, and reciting monologues without provocation. Not only am I not like that, I get annoyed when I am surrounded by drama people for too long. So, while I am happy to be performing and working with a new group of friends, I'm slightly aprehensive about the whole thing. Wish me luck :)

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Yoga Journal #2 : Wellness + some recent life stuff

Do you ever have those days/weeks/months/semesters where everything seems to fit together from different areas of your life? For example, one class you're in might talk about a topic that you later discuss in a completely unrelated class, or you talk about something with your family and then there is a big news story about a similar thing. I love those types of moments. They feel serendipitous. They remind me that 'it's a small world' and that nothing happens in isolation.

I had one of these moments yesterday. On Saturday, I wrote my second yoga journal entry in which we were asked to write about classes, our readings, and wellness -- what it means, and practices that lead to wellness (here is a shortened version that is still long):

I thought classes this week were challenging. It was physically challenging to maintain alignment and the rhythm of breath while moving into and holding new
poses. There is also the mental challenge of staying present. The exercise of both mind and body is intense and compliments each other.

I have been reading Donna Farhi’s third chapter in Bringing Yoga to Life. I love it; she has a perspective that just feels right. I especially love how she talks about our
innate natures as being good. Society tends to view the innate nature of humans as corrupt and base. I find Farhi’s perspective refreshing and hopeful. She explains that, "all of the volatile and destructive emotions – anger, jealousy, envy, greed, and hatred – are born of [an] involuntary ignorance in which we perceive an ‘other’ and therefore a need to propagate and protect ‘our’ self" (29).

In the few weeks I have been practising, I already feel like I am returning to a deeper self that is good and selfless. I am seeking to incorporate that version of my self into my life more and more.

I think wellness is attending to our physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and social needs in a way that keeps us balanced and healthy as individuals. I think yoga is certainly a practice that will support wellness. Any practice that helps a person grow, reconnect, or reflect with themselves and others in any of the areas I identified can support wellness.

So here's where one of those serendipitous life moments comes in. On Sunday I went to church with Kelsey. I don't think I've mentioned this before but we are in a "Preparing for Eternal Marriage" sunday school class that I have problems with sometimes (another time I might explain a few of them) but yesterday's lesson was about preparing for life/becomming independent/developing as a person. It felt very much like the wellness reflection I had when writing my yoga journal. It was wonderful to mentally connect part of my new spirituality that I am finding through yoga with the church that nurtured my spirituality in previous years.

In other news, I am enjoying my new semester so far. I have mostly fun, artistic classes and I am also trying out new things. I have a drawing class, yoga, acting, art history, and photography. I am also doing an internship with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and writing a thesis (specific topic still tbd -- I need to get on that quick).

I tried out for the play that Westminster College is putting on in March -- Red Noses. I got call backs which was a good sign but still don't know if I got a part. I'll let you know when I do - should be either today or tomorrow. It's a new thing for me so I was very nervous and excited. Even if I'm just a little extra person singing in the chorus or something, I'll be happy.

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