New job!

I've been missing from the interwebs.  I probably missed it more than it missed me. 


Why have I been missing, I'll pretend it asked?


Well, I started a new job/got promoted at my temporary job.  Kind of an in-depth explanation is required, but that's the gist of it.  Here's what has been keeping me so preoccupied:


I work for this company called Endorse. They are a startup in the Bay area that gives people 2% back for purchases at retailers and 10% back on products that you "endorse" on their Facebook app. They have only been around for about 2 months. Big name products and retailers are on their app. You mail in your receipts (think Netflix style system, here) and in a few weeks they mail you a check. It's basically a big rebate program.

The position they just promoted me to is kind of an efficiency manager, which might be WAY over my head... but I'm excited about the challenge (when I'm not panicking!). Basically I'm responsible for developing a system of data entry and mailing that is as fast as possible. Up until now I've just been typing in data off of your receipts and doing a very small amount of customer service.

It has some super interesting problems and, with the drive times included, takes up about 11 hours of my day.  If I have anything else going on in the evening, I'm often gone for up to 14 hours.  My husband and kitties have been feeling neglected.

I haven't had the greatest response to the change in my schedule.  I am a person who needs a LOT of down time to recharge, ponder, and keep myself at a basic functioning level.  When I don't have this time, my general reaction is to veg in front of the television.

NOT healthy.

And not the downtime I need.  Anyway, the last weeks have been my typical overwhelmed/tv flopping/rinse/repeat cycle that happens when my schedule changes.  It has been interspersed with a week or two of all-in, gung ho, everything is clean thrown in here and there (which is why I have clean clothes to wear), but generally speaking, I'm still in my adjustment cycle.

Time to watch more Star Trek?

The Basics of Christianity

I get Pat Robertson and Robert Pattinson mixed up all the time, but generally they both annoy me.  The "Christian" guy much more so than the tween love interest.  Let me explain why...

The harshest words Jesus ever had for anyone were the people who were super religious.  They were so concerned with following rules of their belief system that they became self-righteous, judgmental, and evil in their thoughts and actions toward others.  You know most of the verses that those Pat/Robert followers use to beat other people over the head with?  Those verses were generally aimed at religious people.  Not at soldiers, homosexuals, prostitutes, or other "sinners."  Based on what Jesus said, the guys you definitely didn't want to be were the people who said they followed God but didn't act anything like him.

Jesus said that you would know who really followed him because of the love they demonstrated.

Most of the "Bible verses" you hear on tv are completely made up.  I aim to set the general record straight.  Our parents' generation were required to go to Sunday School growing up, so they had at least the gist of what the Bible was all about.  My generation does not know even the basics.  So all the snide comments, the made up "Bible verses" in the media, the sensationalized misguided zealots, the scandals, the magic salvation prayer, the cults, the uneducated and immature, all of this adds up to make Jesus look really, really bad.  Not to mention awkward to talk about in public. And I hate it.

Here's why I hate it so much:  Society has turned Jesus' message upside-down and backwards.  There is a lot of ground to cover to talk about what's really included in Christianity.  And lots of debate even there.  But a simple religion wouldn't cover life.  A simple religion would be a mockery of the pain most everyone experiences. But we're going back to the basics, which means simplifying.  Fortunately for you, the Bible starts with one theme and builds on it.

There is a central message that Jesus taught.  And I love it.  And I love him for sharing it.  Ready?

Love.

Love God, love others.  Tell everybody about this love.

Then Jesus talked a lot about what would happen if everybody lived this way.  He called it the Kingdom of God.  Jesus also talked a lot about what would happen if you didn't live that way.  He talked about what love really looked like.  How nothing, nothing could trump God's love.  How nothing in human existence is more powerful than love.

We live in a society obsessed with love.  We are really obsessed with is the idea that another person can complete us, consume us, meet our needs, give us passion and zest for life and living.  And another person can do that... for a while.  Then those chemicals in our brain adjust to euphoria and we realize that we are still stuck in this space called life and another person cannot possibly provide or protect us from everything.  So where is the all-consuming love we see on TV and read about and all seem to be chasing?

I hope I do a good job at living out God's version of love.  I hope I can correct some of the damage we've done to the name "Christ."  Because really, I'm crazy in love with God.

Toothpaste

Just so you did not start to worry and think I had decided to act like a normal person, I have spent some time looking into all natural toothpaste.  Yes, that's right.  This all natural craze has gone that far!

It seems like just about everybody knows about all the studies linking sodium laureth sulfates (not to be confused with lauryl sulfates!) to cancer.  What I bet you didn't know is that your toothpaste is chock full of them.  Unfortunately, laureth sulfates are what give your toothpaste, shampoo, and other detergents those nice, fun bubbles.  These bad boys are in all the major toothpaste brands.  Even the "healthy" brands like Tom's.

Not only are your toothpastes full of laureth sulfates, but they have another offender:  fluoride.  Now, I know we all grew up hearing that this was good for you.  A lot of places even add various forms of fluoride to the water supply to help prevent tooth decay.  I'm going to give you a nice bullet-pointed list of reasons to avoid fluoride.  Or, if you want to read a good article that nicely summarizes the research on fluroide, click here.

• Fluoride makes a lot of little kids sick to their stomach, and may even cause gastrointestinal distress in adults.
• Research has not shown any significant effects of tooth decay prevention from adding fluoride to water.  Oh, actually, in New Zealand, kids living in areas with fluoridated water actually had worse tooth decay.
• Fluoride has been shown to decrease your thyroid function, and is one of the leading suspects in the rapidly increasing number of cases of hypothyroidism in the U.S.
• Fluoride accumulates in your body over a long period of time, even if you only get it in low doses.

Because your body cannot dispose of fluoride, even small amounts of it (like what is in your toothpaste) are cause for concern.  There is a lot more research about fluorides, but those are the highlights.  Anyway, to avoid sodium laureth sulfates and fluoride, I embarked on a toothpaste quest.

As usual, I started by trying ot make my own toothpaste.  This was a horrible, horrible mistake.  While baking soda is good for your teeth, it tastes like you're brushing your teeth with salt.  Nasty!  I headed to the stores.

After much whining and reading, I could not find a single toothpaste in store that did not have fluoride or sodium laureth sulfate.  If a toothpaste didn't have one, it had the other.  Now, I don't know if there is enough laureth sulfate in toothpaste to effect you.  I may have been making this a lot harder on myself than it needed to be.  But since I'd rather be safe than sorry, I eventually ordered a TON of Burt's Bees fluoride free toothpaste.  This stuff tastes MUCH better than Tom's (which was almost as bad as the baking soda experiment). 

The all natural toothpaste does not foam as well as my old Colgate did, but that is to be expected sans laureth sulfates.  In addition, the Burt's Bees toothpaste is not mint flavored, since whatever it is that cleans your teeth comes from cranberries.  I sometimes think I might have bad breath sooner after using this than I did when I used Colgate (a common problem for us heavy coffee drinkers) but I compensate by using a mouthwash more often, which is probably better for me anyway. 

Fall cookies!

Fall officially starts tomorrow!  In order to celebrate, I made a new kind of cookie.  Yes, it was just an excuse to make something pumpkin.  No, I do not feel bad.  At least, not once I tasted these!

These cookies are not very sweet, so don't skimp and skip the glaze.  Trust me.  The glaze sets off the cookies perfectly.


Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies with a Maple Glaze

Ingredients
1 can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!  gross!)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsps cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves or allspice
1/2 tsp ginger
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts  (I used pecans)

1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup warmed pure maple syrup

Directions
1.  Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl.  Set aside.
2.  In a larger bowl, mix the ingredients up to the rolled oats.  Once your spices, flour, and risers are well mixed, add the oats and the nuts.
3.  Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.  This dough will be dry, so you may have to mix it by hand.
4.  Place parchment paper on cookie sheets.  These cookies do not rise much, so roll them into balls and flatten.  This makes ~3 dozen cookies, depending on the size.
5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
6.  In the meantime, warm the maple syrup.  Mix the last three ingredients in a separate bowl to make a glaze.  Drizzle over cooled cookies.

The Food Bandwagon

You know how certain foods are not only in season, but mysteriously become suddenly "nutritionally trendy?"  These foods drive me crazy.  In the past it's been cranberries, acai berries, green tea, broccoli, to eat or not to eat eggs, turkey versus chicken, is coffee good or bad for you, etc...  Right now the nutritionists' are all about kale.  Kale, kale, kale.  All the health articles that have been popping up on my screen have been about the nutritional benefits of kale.

This time, I decided that instead of AVOIDING the trend, I'd jump on it.  I've never tried kale.  Sure!  Why not?  Maybe it'll become a new favorite.  Maybe, since there is all this hype, there will be tons of delicious recipes to try that explain how to use kale.  Right?

WRONG!

My kale-tastrophes have included kale chips, kale smoothies, kale in soup, and more smoothies.  I have, to date, found two things to do with kale that were edible.  One was delicious.  The other is meh.  And let me tell you, my bag of kale seems infinite.

But it you're interested in jumping on the food bandwagon, here are my two recipes:

Kale Smoothies


2 cups kale
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
ice

Directions:
This is going to be a thick smoothie.  There is no avoiding that with kale.  You do want to make sure that you remove all the stem pieces, because no matter how long your kale is in the blender, those things will give you a chunky smoothie if you don't avoid them.

Blend the kale first.  Then add all the other ingredients.  For a more delicious, colder beverage, freeze your banana ahead of time.

This does NOT keep overnight.  No, of COURSE I'm not speaking from experience.  *pull out cup, uncover, sip, gag*


Potato & Kale Soup
(I'll come up with a more creative name for this later. :P)

1 bag fingerling potatoes (or 3 large potatoes cut up)
2 baked and cubed chicken breasts
1 can garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas)
1 can black beans
2 cups kale
1 packet onion soup powder
water or chicken stock
garlic & pepper to taste

Directions:
Throw things in crock pot until your potatoes are soft.  Add as much water or broth as your prefer (I like my soups heartier, so I do this sparingly).  Add the kale during the last hour or two of cooking.  Eat, enjoy!


P.S.  It's the soup that is delicious.

The Super Lazy

Sorry for not writing for a while!  Once I figured out how to go all natural, I ran out of interesting things to tell you about.  Life has consisted of normalcy.  Normal chores, applying for jobs, normal kitten antics...  I did meet with a few people to talk about volunteering opportunities through our church, and have gone out to coffee with a few gals to try to make friends.  I had forgotten how obnoxious it is to start over in a new place!  Anyway, I didn't want to bore with with the doldrums of all this, so I put it off for two weeks!

On the upside, my prayer life has been fantastic!  God has really been doing some cool things lately, and I've been pretty content and at peace, even though it's pretty tempting to go crazy with frustration &/or boredom once in a while.  Gotta give him the glory!

Bay Area Beaches

We have been living in the San Francisco Area for roughly three months.  Every free weekend we've had has been spent going to various beaches.  Curt is completely addicted.  Keep in mind that most beaches are small and windy, unless otherwise noted.  Here are some of the most recommended beaches versus our favorites, and what we like about each one!

Most Recommended


Half Moon Bay


The Good:   Very easy to find, lots of cute shops all nautically themed, piers, easy parking.
The Bad:   Very touristy.  That means lots of people.  Also, where was the beach!?  Only found piers.
The Ugly:   SMELLS.  Rotting fish smell is not my favorite.

Baker Beach

The Good:   Gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Nice sand, clean beach.  Can watch enormous barges coming in with all our junk from China.
The Bad:  Parking is awful.  Find a spot to park on Google Maps and plan to walk a ways to get to the beach.
The Ugly:  This is a clothing optional beach.  That means lots of naked old guys.  To make this even funnier, they were sunning themselves ONLY on the part of the beach where all the tourists were trying to take pictures of the bridge.  Hello, exhibitionists!


Santa Cruz Beach

The Good:   Also gorgeous.  There is a boardwalk and a mini theme park.  It is a good sized beach with lots of walkways around the area and good views.  Very touristy, but there is tons to do!
The Bad:   SO. MANY. PEOPLE.
The Ugly:   They keep this place pretty clean, but with so many people and activities, it tends to be a little trashy.  Also, touristy flashy colors painted on everything.

Favorite

Bean Hollow Beach

The Good:  TIDEPOOLS!  I don't need to tell you anything else, because that's the best thing about a beach.  Okay, fine.  It was also pretty, had nice sand, blah blah blah.  Tidepools!
The Bad:   Who cares!?  There were tidepools with critters!  Oh alright, it was extra windy.  But that just made giant crashing waves that contributed to the tide pools!  Huzzah!
The Ugly:  Moot.


Grey Whale Cove

The Good:   This little treasure has a fun hiking trail going into the hills above the beach.  Really neat views.  The beach itself is tucked away, cut out of a cliff.  Nice and remote, and not very windy.  Not very many people.
The Bad:   There is a nifty stairway walking down to this beach.  Unfortunately, at the end of said stairway is a gross pond of... muck.  Walk past, THEN enjoy pretty beach.
The Ugly:   This is also a clothing optional beach.  Stay away from the north end with the ugly naked dudes.


Ocean Beach

The Good:   AMAZING parking.  Nice sand.  HUGE.  Usually has a lot of people, but it's so big that it's not a problem.  You can usually see a volleyball or frisbee game happening.  It is right next to Golden Gate Park, so if you fancy some trees you just have to turn around 180 degrees.
The Bad:   This is also a popular tourist stop.  It's also very windy.
The Ugly:   Nothing of note.


We've been to other beaches, like Pacifica and Pescadaro.  We have driven by even more.  These are just our favorites!