Have you ever felt an instant connection to a song? You maybe catch a bit of it on the radio and after just a few bars, your heart quickens and you know you're going to love this song so much that it will instantly become part of your "forever playlist." Everyone has one, even if it's only in your head. What's on yours?
Mine has things like "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," by Stevie Wonder, "And I Love Her," by the Beatles, "Somewhere Only We Know," by Keane, and many more. What's on your list? Songs like that will always be among my favorites, and sometimes I add songs after the first taste.
That happened on Monday. I was leaving work to pick up my dog (yeah, Lucia gets dog-sat by my mother-in-law. If you had a puppy and lived in an apartment, you'd understand) and realized I was listening to a song I'd never heard before. After mere seconds, I literally whispered "wow," and knew I was going to love this song forever. It was a combination of the actual music, the voices, the lyrics, and mostly the harmony (I'm such a sucker for great harmony!). I immediately texted (at a stop light, folks!) Bestie. She had to hear this song. After all, the two of us worked on the harmony for a Les Mis song for hours years ago until we got it just right. Turns out I'm way behind the times. She and Bestie Jr. had been enjoying the song for a while now. Guess I should get Spotify? How do you discover new music? I don't discover new tunes until they show up on the radio or I get a free song on iTunes.
What is it about music that makes it just stick to your soul? Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's only the case if you're a music person. But I believe music uniquely connects to the soul, as much art does, but unlike modern media or anything like that. Music is special.
What is this song, you ask? It's "Just Give Me a Reason," from Pink's new album, featuring Nate Ruess. It's clean, and it feels very real. It seems like a relationship in which the woman fears problems and needs reassuring, and the man thinks everything is fine, and they're going to make it. I love how real it seems, and the emotion in their voices. Beautiful. Listen to it here. Enjoy and tell me what you think!
xoxo, A
4.24.2013
4.12.2013
Can It Be? The Perfect Steak?!
For Mike's birthday, we went to Outback. Good steak. Today, I made steak that I liked even better. Mike prefers his with that apple wood- smoked flavor, but I can't really do anything about that. We live in an apartment and have no grill or smoker or anything like that, though my apartment did get pretty smoky in this process.
One of my 30 Before 30 things to do (I have been slacking on lots of them. For example, I haven't been taking a picture every day. Or a bubble bath once week. Oh well.) was to "cook the perfect steak." That might not be a big deal to you, but I've botched several steaks. Mike loves steak, and I've gotten some great cuts from Publix and over-cooked them, under-cooked them and then microwaved them (eek.), or over-marinated them. So for me, cooking the perfect steak would be quite a feat.
I did a lot of research. I knew already that searing the meat and then roasting it would seal in the flavor the best. But there were lots of other methods. So I smooshed them all together and this is what I came up with, and it worked. My steak was crispy on the top and bottom, and perfectly medium in the center. It was oh-so- juicy and tender. Mike's was more like medium-rare, and he likes it more medium, but his was a thicker steak. So, if you are like me and struggle to make the perfect steak, try this. You may want to tweak it to make it your own, but this is what worked for me. Please picture me doing this all very quickly and frantically. Because that would be accurate.
Ingredients:
A pound of sirloin, separated into two fillets (Mike's was thicker and bigger than mine). Get the good stuff.
Kosher salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Butter
Spray oil
Cast iron pan (regular oven-safe would probably work too, but maybe not as well).
Foil
Paper towels
1. First, bring your meat to room temperature. I had mine sitting out for maybe an hour. Don't worry- we cooked out any potential bacteria.
2. While that's warming up, bring your oven to 500 degrees with your cast iron pan inside, and turn a burner to medium-high (if it's electric like mine. If it's gas, maybe wait so you don't have open flame!).
3. When your oven is preheated, pat the meat dry with paper towels, spray a bit of spray oil onto them (so they don't stick to your hot pan), and season one side with kosher salt and cracked pepper. I was pretty liberal with it, but not crazy-style.
4. Pull your very hot cast iron pan out of the oven and onto your already hot burner and drop a pat of butter in there so it sizzles. Be sure it gets all over the bottom of that skillet.
5. Put your steaks, seasoned- side down, in the skillet. DO NOT MOVE THEM. Leave them in place for one minute, and season the side that is up. When one minute passes, Use tongs to flip them over onto a part of the skillet that has butter on it. DO NOT MOVE THEM.
6. After another minute, put them in the oven. When two minutes have passed, turn them over again.
7. After two more minutes, take the pan out of the oven, put one small pat of butter on each steak (optional), and cover with foil. Let it rest there, undisturbed, for another two minutes or so. It will continue to cook a bit as it rests, and the juices will settle in.
8. Eat and enjoy.
Keep in mind: Mike's steak was 1 1/2- 2 inches thick and turned out medium rare. Mine was about 1 inch thick and was perfectly medium. I suggest an additional 30 seconds for every 1/2 inch of steak. You can use the "OK Test" to determine how done your meat is if you don't have a good meat thermometer. Like me-- mine stinks. Put your forefinger and thumb together like the "okay" sign. The fleshy part under your thumb is what medium rare should feel like. If you use your middle finger and thumb, that part will feel like what medium feels like. If you use your ring finger, that's what medium well is like, and your pinky with your thumb is what well feels like. It works!
So, try this out and tell me what you think!
xoxo, A
One of my 30 Before 30 things to do (I have been slacking on lots of them. For example, I haven't been taking a picture every day. Or a bubble bath once week. Oh well.) was to "cook the perfect steak." That might not be a big deal to you, but I've botched several steaks. Mike loves steak, and I've gotten some great cuts from Publix and over-cooked them, under-cooked them and then microwaved them (eek.), or over-marinated them. So for me, cooking the perfect steak would be quite a feat.
I did a lot of research. I knew already that searing the meat and then roasting it would seal in the flavor the best. But there were lots of other methods. So I smooshed them all together and this is what I came up with, and it worked. My steak was crispy on the top and bottom, and perfectly medium in the center. It was oh-so- juicy and tender. Mike's was more like medium-rare, and he likes it more medium, but his was a thicker steak. So, if you are like me and struggle to make the perfect steak, try this. You may want to tweak it to make it your own, but this is what worked for me. Please picture me doing this all very quickly and frantically. Because that would be accurate.
Ingredients:
A pound of sirloin, separated into two fillets (Mike's was thicker and bigger than mine). Get the good stuff.
Kosher salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Butter
Spray oil
Cast iron pan (regular oven-safe would probably work too, but maybe not as well).
Foil
Paper towels
1. First, bring your meat to room temperature. I had mine sitting out for maybe an hour. Don't worry- we cooked out any potential bacteria.
2. While that's warming up, bring your oven to 500 degrees with your cast iron pan inside, and turn a burner to medium-high (if it's electric like mine. If it's gas, maybe wait so you don't have open flame!).
3. When your oven is preheated, pat the meat dry with paper towels, spray a bit of spray oil onto them (so they don't stick to your hot pan), and season one side with kosher salt and cracked pepper. I was pretty liberal with it, but not crazy-style.
4. Pull your very hot cast iron pan out of the oven and onto your already hot burner and drop a pat of butter in there so it sizzles. Be sure it gets all over the bottom of that skillet.
5. Put your steaks, seasoned- side down, in the skillet. DO NOT MOVE THEM. Leave them in place for one minute, and season the side that is up. When one minute passes, Use tongs to flip them over onto a part of the skillet that has butter on it. DO NOT MOVE THEM.
6. After another minute, put them in the oven. When two minutes have passed, turn them over again.
7. After two more minutes, take the pan out of the oven, put one small pat of butter on each steak (optional), and cover with foil. Let it rest there, undisturbed, for another two minutes or so. It will continue to cook a bit as it rests, and the juices will settle in.
8. Eat and enjoy.
Keep in mind: Mike's steak was 1 1/2- 2 inches thick and turned out medium rare. Mine was about 1 inch thick and was perfectly medium. I suggest an additional 30 seconds for every 1/2 inch of steak. You can use the "OK Test" to determine how done your meat is if you don't have a good meat thermometer. Like me-- mine stinks. Put your forefinger and thumb together like the "okay" sign. The fleshy part under your thumb is what medium rare should feel like. If you use your middle finger and thumb, that part will feel like what medium feels like. If you use your ring finger, that's what medium well is like, and your pinky with your thumb is what well feels like. It works!
So, try this out and tell me what you think!
xoxo, A
4.09.2013
Entitled
Do you ever feel like you deserve something? Maybe because you've been working hard, or reached a goal, or whatever? A bubble bath, a special trip to Chipotle, that outfit at Target-- you know what I'm talking about. I feel that way, sometimes. After a week of eating well, I deserve a donut, right? And after paying off a credit card, I deserve a special purchase, right? (Just kidding, Mom-- I wouldn't do that!) This kind of mentality that I get myself into (partially with myself to blame, partially the media, and partially society), I've developed a sort of entitled attitude that I don't even consciously know exists, most of the time.
As a teacher, it's pretty evident that much of our youth are growing up with an entitled attitude. I never realized that as a part of this society, it's one of my downfalls, too. How did I realize this? Through a series of disappointments. Why was I disappointed? Because I felt like I deserved those things, so when I didn't get them, I was disappointed.
First, my parents (who were thinking about investing in a home here in Florida for Mike and me to rent from them) put an offer in on a great house. We didn't get it. Then, they put in an offer on an even better house, and we had a good chance of getting it. Then the owners backed out and decided to give it to charity. Um, okay then. I was disappointed. If we had gotten this house, we could save an extra $200/month and get rid of our debt faster, thus allowing us to try to have a family sooner. Without this house, we stay in an apartment that has ridiculous neighbors and water bills, throw our money away monthly, and trudge along in our debt payment plan for another year, with no hope of changing our housing situation or family situation. In short, we're stuck.
But still- why was I disappointed? I have a wonderful husband that I had prayed so long for. We both have multiple jobs that allow us to live a comfortable life. We've been able to travel. We have a great church family and ministries we're involved in. So what's the problem, even if things aren't happening on my timetable?
The problem is, somewhere along the way I began to believe that I deserved to have a house, nice decorations, a yard, children, and a cushioned bank account. I don't deserve that, though. God often blesses people with those things, but I don't deserve them.
What I actually deserve is an eternity of separation from God in hell. Nothing less. By God's grace, he saved me from that through faith in Christ's sacrifice for my sin. That is enough. That is more than enough. Anything else is icing on the cake. Shelter of any kind? Icing. Food? That's chocolate icing. Clothes? Cream cheese icing. No matter what the world tells me, I do not deserve those "extra" things. If God blesses me with them, I can fully enjoy them... but I shouldn't expect them. Not, of course, because God isn't good, but because he knows so much more than I do. So on any given day, in any circumstance, I am always doing better than I deserve. And I really, really am trying to remember that.
xoxo, A
As a teacher, it's pretty evident that much of our youth are growing up with an entitled attitude. I never realized that as a part of this society, it's one of my downfalls, too. How did I realize this? Through a series of disappointments. Why was I disappointed? Because I felt like I deserved those things, so when I didn't get them, I was disappointed.
First, my parents (who were thinking about investing in a home here in Florida for Mike and me to rent from them) put an offer in on a great house. We didn't get it. Then, they put in an offer on an even better house, and we had a good chance of getting it. Then the owners backed out and decided to give it to charity. Um, okay then. I was disappointed. If we had gotten this house, we could save an extra $200/month and get rid of our debt faster, thus allowing us to try to have a family sooner. Without this house, we stay in an apartment that has ridiculous neighbors and water bills, throw our money away monthly, and trudge along in our debt payment plan for another year, with no hope of changing our housing situation or family situation. In short, we're stuck.
But still- why was I disappointed? I have a wonderful husband that I had prayed so long for. We both have multiple jobs that allow us to live a comfortable life. We've been able to travel. We have a great church family and ministries we're involved in. So what's the problem, even if things aren't happening on my timetable?
The problem is, somewhere along the way I began to believe that I deserved to have a house, nice decorations, a yard, children, and a cushioned bank account. I don't deserve that, though. God often blesses people with those things, but I don't deserve them.
What I actually deserve is an eternity of separation from God in hell. Nothing less. By God's grace, he saved me from that through faith in Christ's sacrifice for my sin. That is enough. That is more than enough. Anything else is icing on the cake. Shelter of any kind? Icing. Food? That's chocolate icing. Clothes? Cream cheese icing. No matter what the world tells me, I do not deserve those "extra" things. If God blesses me with them, I can fully enjoy them... but I shouldn't expect them. Not, of course, because God isn't good, but because he knows so much more than I do. So on any given day, in any circumstance, I am always doing better than I deserve. And I really, really am trying to remember that.
xoxo, A
4.03.2013
Body Image Smackdown
I have no idea if the title of this blog post is going to accurately reflect its contents. It doesn't matter. Anytime I have the chance to use the word "smackdown" in a blog post title, I'm going to. Maybe I'll also write "Lemon Crepe Cake Smackdown," too.
Maybe I'm the worst person to write about body image... or maybe I'm the best person to write about it. I'm not thin and have never been thin. I'm thinner now than I've ever been, but honestly, Ilike love to eat and I dislike hate working out. Combine that with a slowing metabolism, and you have a bonafide weight-struggler. Hi, my name is Amanda and I'm a weight-struggler. But somehow, as a chubby kid, I never fell into an eating disorder. How could that be? Somehow, I never thought I was "not _______ enough." How did I develop a healthy body image as a child, and why did it get worse as I got older? As I thought about it, here's what I came up with:
What's really been affected by my now struggling body image is my marriage. I know Mike loves me because he tells me so and he wanted to marry me and stay married to me. But because of my assumptions about what men find attractive, and my insecurities about my "imperfections," I seem to need affirmation-- something I never needed in the past. It's caused me to place expectations on my husband that he shouldn't have to meet. I've allowed my own body image to plummet because of what the media tells me I should be like.
The truth is, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. If I am healthy and not lazy or gluttonous, I'm doing just fine. Comparison is the thief of joy. I will always be chubby, always have cellulite, and always have jiggly bits. But I like who I am and how God made me.
Who does the world think it is, anyway, telling me what "perfect" looks like?!
I don't consciously think about body image all that often, but I'll bet it's in my head more than I realize (especially with the insurmountable piles of photos on Pinterest). Still, these thoughts about body image began yesterday, when I found this pin:
The post is by a mom who doesn't like seeing naked Barbies lying around the house; they disturb her. So she drew bathing suits on the dolls so her daughter can play with perpetually clothed Barbies. The idea in and of itself isn't a terrible one. I think I understand why she did it. But I do really disagree with her reasoning. She doesn't want her daughter to get negative ideas about body image, etc. from naked Barbies. I'm going to just go ahead and submit that drawing on a naked Barbie actually changes nothing about what that tiny mannequin looks like. Her breasts are just as pronounced, and they're putting molded undies on them now anyway (they're just flesh- colored, and I'll wager most women have flesh- colored undies too). And what about black Barbies? The sharpie coloring won't show up well. Does black Barbie look clothed simply because her skin isn't peach like white Barbie? Just saying.
Ultimately, it's not about the naked Barbies a little girl plays with that warps her body image. There is nothing wrong with human bodies. Let me pose this question: is there anything inherently wrong with nakedness? Answer: no. God created Adam and Eve naked and He called it good. I'm positive Adam called it good too. The only problem with nakedness is the sin that has tainted it. When sin is connected to nakedness, then it's a problem. Unfortunately, nakedness and sin have become pretty interwoven in our culture, which is why I probably won't have famous nude paintings all around my house. It's not because nakedness is bad, but because I don't want people weirded out or young men's minds going places it doesn't need to go. Unless naked Barbies cause your child (or husband/son?) to stumble, the only thing you're teaching your daughter by coloring bathing suits on them is that we should be ashamed of our bodies.
All this to say, I am not a mom, but I hope that when I am, I will do my best to foster an open, honest communication with my daughter about body image. I'll do my best to not complain about my body. I'll do my best to not make working out or healthy eating my idol. I'll do my best to praise her inward qualities, rather than focus on the physical. I'll do my best to not comment on the looks of others. And I'll do my best to combat the lies that the media throws at girls that they have to look "perfect."
And in closing, let me just say that I love Tina Fey. We do not agree politically or religiously, but she one of the most brilliant, intelligent, lovely, insanely funny and witty people of this generation, or ever. I like many of the things she's said about body image. One I love, and will leave you with today, is a quote from her book, Bossypants. I read it last summer on the cruise and it had me both laughing and thinking the whole time. The brackets are mine, to avoid language that might offend.
“...I think the first real change in women’s body image came when JLo turned it butt-style. That was the first time that having a large-scale situation in the back was part of mainstream American beauty. Girls wanted butts now. Men were free to admit that they had always enjoyed them. And then, what felt like moments later, boom—Beyoncé brought the leg meat. A back porch and thick muscular legs were now widely admired. And from that day forward, women embraced their diversity and realized that all shapes and sizes are beautiful. Ah ha ha. No. I’m totally messing with you. All Beyonce and JLo have done is add to the laundry list of attributes women must have to qualify as beautiful. Now every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall [butt], long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll [breasts]..."
There is no "perfect," unless you understand that God's design for your body was and is perfect. And coloring on Barbie dolls won't help a little girl understand that without proper teaching.
Maybe I'm the worst person to write about body image... or maybe I'm the best person to write about it. I'm not thin and have never been thin. I'm thinner now than I've ever been, but honestly, I
- It's not about the dolls I played with-- I played with Barbies and everything else and didn't compare myself to them.
- I have a distinct memory as a very young child, putting two halves of an Easter egg under my shirt, to resemble breasts. My mom didn't freak out. She just said, "You'll have those someday."
- I can't remember a single time in my childhood that I heard my mom complain about her body.
- When my mom did work out, it never interfered with our normal lives and wasn't a topic of conversation, except when my dad labeled her workout video "Belly Butt Boogie," and we laughed.
- My mom cooked good, healthy, satisfying, balanced meals and enjoyed them.
- I was accomplished in lots of things: academics, drawing, music, writing, and imagination. My body wasn't my focus.
- I had a positive male presence in my life who didn't emphasize physical beauty.
What's really been affected by my now struggling body image is my marriage. I know Mike loves me because he tells me so and he wanted to marry me and stay married to me. But because of my assumptions about what men find attractive, and my insecurities about my "imperfections," I seem to need affirmation-- something I never needed in the past. It's caused me to place expectations on my husband that he shouldn't have to meet. I've allowed my own body image to plummet because of what the media tells me I should be like.
The truth is, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. If I am healthy and not lazy or gluttonous, I'm doing just fine. Comparison is the thief of joy. I will always be chubby, always have cellulite, and always have jiggly bits. But I like who I am and how God made me.
Who does the world think it is, anyway, telling me what "perfect" looks like?!
I don't consciously think about body image all that often, but I'll bet it's in my head more than I realize (especially with the insurmountable piles of photos on Pinterest). Still, these thoughts about body image began yesterday, when I found this pin:
The post is by a mom who doesn't like seeing naked Barbies lying around the house; they disturb her. So she drew bathing suits on the dolls so her daughter can play with perpetually clothed Barbies. The idea in and of itself isn't a terrible one. I think I understand why she did it. But I do really disagree with her reasoning. She doesn't want her daughter to get negative ideas about body image, etc. from naked Barbies. I'm going to just go ahead and submit that drawing on a naked Barbie actually changes nothing about what that tiny mannequin looks like. Her breasts are just as pronounced, and they're putting molded undies on them now anyway (they're just flesh- colored, and I'll wager most women have flesh- colored undies too). And what about black Barbies? The sharpie coloring won't show up well. Does black Barbie look clothed simply because her skin isn't peach like white Barbie? Just saying.
Ultimately, it's not about the naked Barbies a little girl plays with that warps her body image. There is nothing wrong with human bodies. Let me pose this question: is there anything inherently wrong with nakedness? Answer: no. God created Adam and Eve naked and He called it good. I'm positive Adam called it good too. The only problem with nakedness is the sin that has tainted it. When sin is connected to nakedness, then it's a problem. Unfortunately, nakedness and sin have become pretty interwoven in our culture, which is why I probably won't have famous nude paintings all around my house. It's not because nakedness is bad, but because I don't want people weirded out or young men's minds going places it doesn't need to go. Unless naked Barbies cause your child (or husband/son?) to stumble, the only thing you're teaching your daughter by coloring bathing suits on them is that we should be ashamed of our bodies.
All this to say, I am not a mom, but I hope that when I am, I will do my best to foster an open, honest communication with my daughter about body image. I'll do my best to not complain about my body. I'll do my best to not make working out or healthy eating my idol. I'll do my best to praise her inward qualities, rather than focus on the physical. I'll do my best to not comment on the looks of others. And I'll do my best to combat the lies that the media throws at girls that they have to look "perfect."
And in closing, let me just say that I love Tina Fey. We do not agree politically or religiously, but she one of the most brilliant, intelligent, lovely, insanely funny and witty people of this generation, or ever. I like many of the things she's said about body image. One I love, and will leave you with today, is a quote from her book, Bossypants. I read it last summer on the cruise and it had me both laughing and thinking the whole time. The brackets are mine, to avoid language that might offend.
“...I think the first real change in women’s body image came when JLo turned it butt-style. That was the first time that having a large-scale situation in the back was part of mainstream American beauty. Girls wanted butts now. Men were free to admit that they had always enjoyed them. And then, what felt like moments later, boom—Beyoncé brought the leg meat. A back porch and thick muscular legs were now widely admired. And from that day forward, women embraced their diversity and realized that all shapes and sizes are beautiful. Ah ha ha. No. I’m totally messing with you. All Beyonce and JLo have done is add to the laundry list of attributes women must have to qualify as beautiful. Now every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall [butt], long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll [breasts]..."
There is no "perfect," unless you understand that God's design for your body was and is perfect. And coloring on Barbie dolls won't help a little girl understand that without proper teaching.
xoxo, A
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