Stress

I am very very very stressed today. Look at these negative factors:

:(

(acne present)

HELP!

I'm addicted to Mario Cart.

I think about it all the time.

I just want to unlock the red haired princess.

Judging people

I read this blog entry today: Joe Rogan's story. I found it very inspiring and true. Here is an except:

When you hear someone’s story, they are no longer just an idea or an object, they become a human. They become a five year old who had terrifying things thrust on them or a 12 year old who never learned what it feels like to be safe or a single mom who is trying to balance three kids, a job and a million other responsibilities. Stories make 2D people 3D. And in the process, they make it nearly impossible for you to judge someone.

I love that! Read it again - "Stories make 2D people 3D."

***Side note: There is a weakness in this way of thinking - if something terrible has happened to somebody in the past, does that make it okay for them to do bad things or be a bad person? This is besides the point of my blog entry, I just wanted to throw it out there.

Back to judging. I judge people all the time and I hate myself for it. I feel like everybody has a unique set of standards that they hold a person to. For some people their standards are things like never wear black with brown or don't be democrat/republican. If one of those standards are broken that person will judge them as less of a human being (That's kind of my personal definition of "judging" - seeing somebody as less of a human being, instead of the fearfully and wonderfully made person God made them).

Here is my raw moment - my personal standards: I am most likely to judge you...

• if you are Christian Reformed
• if you wear out dated or poorly fitted clothes
• if you are not smart - i.e. you don't have valid reasons to back up arguments
• if you are just like all of your friends
• if you are in a bad situation and you won't do anything to get yourself out of it (you're lazy)
• if you are a flake
• if your children are throwing a tantrum in a public place
• if you live in Grand Rapids and go to Rags yet have never heard of HopCat
• if you judge me first

I think it's good to recognize my standards. Next time I go to judge somebody I can remember that it doesn't really matter what they are wearing or what background they were raised in. And even if they are doing something bad or sinful, it's not my place to judge them.* They were made by God and we really aren't all that different. They deserve my love just as much as everybody else.

*There is a time and a place for recognizing sin when done by a brother or sister in Christ - I am not talking about this. I actually still have mixed feelings if we are suppose to judge their sins. I feel like it should be left to God but at the same time confronted.

Yeah!

From 'I love you' to 'I can't live without you'

Enjoy!

Look what else I found!

I feel bad for some of these kids, I'm freaked out watching this and I'm in bed.

P.S. Sometimes I procrastinate going to sleep...

P.S.S. I was so funny in 2008 (I highly recommend you go and read entries from September)

I found them!

Spring Cleaning!

on a friday night. :(

Look what still fits after 7 years!

I made these my junior year in high school. I was "artsy" and made my own clothes (by buying jeans at gap and sewing on a flower with old rags and drawing on them with a sharpie). Those were the days. . .

They kind of give me a front butt now. I'll take that as a sign of maturity and spiritual growth.

New Job!

I got a job as a dog walker!

Look how cute I can be:

Okay, let's be realistic: I will never look like that. My calves are never going to be that thin and I don't wear heals (or skirts above my knee).

This is more like it:

Okay, I'm not that lazy.

This is what I will actually look like:

Minus the backpack plus a dog.

I don't know why I thought it was important to share that with you. I guess I'm really pumped about my new job. I can put on all my future resumes that I was a dog walker - something that takes hard work, skill, and dedication. Seriously, my resume kicks butt compared to yours.

My Personal Environmental Impact

I've almost killed a whole tree!*

*Correction - I have almost killed 1% of a tree. My bad.

Broiled Portobello Mushroom "Pizzas"

I have gotten 2 requests for this recipe and I have procrastinated long enough! Here you are, Rita and Holly!

I got this recipe from The Complete Vegan Cookbook. This cookbook is amazing for healthy, feel-good recipes (bonus: they weren't too vegan-y). This recipe is really simple and can be made with non-vegan ingredients. It makes 4 "pizzas" but I would say it serves 2, maybe 3. It's one of my favorite dishes to make when I have a friend over for lunch because it's easy to prep ahead of time and tastes great.

Broiled Portobello Mushroom "Pizzas"

4 medium portobello mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 canned tomatoes, drained

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh spinach leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 course dry break crumbs

1/2 cup shredded soy cheese (or just normal mozzarella cheese)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the broiler.

Pop off stems of the mushrooms - wipe off any bits of soil. Sprinkle caps with salt and pepper and place mushrooms cap side down on a broiler pan (I always put aluminum foil on the pan for easy clean up). Place pan about 6 inches from heat source and cook until lightly browned and tenderized, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, spinach, basil, garlic, oregano, and remaining salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Toss to combine well and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, soy cheese, and olive oil. Toss to combine well and set aside.

When mushrooms caps are ready, turn them over and spoon in tomato filling evenly into the caps. Top evenly with the bread crumb mixture. Return the pan the broiler and cook until cheese has melted and the crumbs are lightly browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: I almost always end up burning the bread crumb mixture and while it looks nasty, it still tastes fine. But you can avoid this by carefully watching the "pizzas" and constantly checking on them after 1 minute under the broiler.

Enjoy!

Happy Monday!

This never fails to make me smile on Monday mornings:

enjoy!

23rd Birthday Bash at Viceroy

Thanks to all the friends that came out. It was a really really great night.

Couscous Confetti Salad

I was feeling really depressed today. And not the "I'm sad but everything is great" kind of depression, it was the "I'm sad and everything is falling apart, so I'm going to climb into my bed and lay there for two weeks" kind of depression. So, I climb into bed and prepared my body for two weeks of laying there. . . but I got bored after about 3 hours. So, I decided to go grocery shopping and make Couscous Confetti Salad. And folks, it was as good as the title claims - a real party to swing me back into happy land.

I loved making this! I used to never make/like salads like this because my social media always told me salads have lettuce. This has whole wheat couscous, carrot, green onion, parsley, and red pepper. But despite the absence of lettuce, I loved it! It was a lot of chopping but it's so healthy and I can just pop it into my mouth right out of the fridge.

That's shredded carrot (not cheese). It was my first time shredding a carrot and I have to be honest- I felt like I was torturing it to death.

RIP carrot

That's a lot Couscous Confetti Salad.

Close up!

Also, I don't know why blogger underlines everything after a upload a picture. Usually I go through some work to undo it but tonight I am too lazy.

Funny Picture!

I'm tired! (take #2)

I took a picture in case you didn't believe me.

My to-do list is overwhelming. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. It's strange how a thought about a to-do list can be exhausting. Americans are weird. I can't help but think that if I was born in France maybe I wouldn't be so exhausted all the time. I learned in class that they eat baguette with almost every meal. That sounds nice.

Oh gag. I'm procrastinating on my exhaustive to-do list- it's making me more exhausted. Oh, life- just let me day dream about being French.