Cooking party

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." --Albert Einstein

A hurricane came and went without much of a stir in Volusia county. We've had lots of rain over the past week as Tropical Storm Ophelia / Hurricane Ophelia has been hanging out like faithful dog. I don't mind the rain so much, which alternates between squalls, sprinkles, and cloudy calm. It's just hard to get motivated to study when it's so dark outside and I'm already burned out from averaging 3-4 exams per week. I know, it's typical. . . from week 4 - finals (week 11) that's just the way things are around here in Palmer Florida land. I get through the stress by working out and sleeping.

Josh came over to study this afternoon. We ended up working on case studies for patient diagnoses and a few lumbar and pelvic set-ups for our exams on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have much more patience and attention span about academia than Josh. He was ready to quit long before me. But, we adapted the study session to become a cooking party. Allycia came over and with 5 cooks in the kitchen, we made Rob Hoyt's delightful muffins (we used peaches, pineapple, craisins, and raisins) which were a smashing success, and eggplant parmasean. Steve had already started a pot roast in the crock pot. So, we had a very tasty meal and lots of fun in the kitchen.

Josh helped cook a little, but mostly he ended up doing chores. I almost got him to vacuum, but not quite. He did take out the trash. Ha! Yes, if you are a guest at our place, either bring food to cook, help cook, or do chores. Actually, that's only if you're our friend, otherwise, we won't ask you to do anything. ;-)

Allycia burned her hand from the hot olive oil. Those pesky eggplants are like sponges to oil. . .but they can make some frisky oil splashes. We tried Victor's oil burn technique by applying tomato sauce to her arm. I don't know if she felt better, but we had fun playing with food.

Upcoming events on the agenda include getting our cooking skills in order and our elbows greasy volunteering at the local soup kitchen which houses and feeds displaced H. Katrina victims. We're also planning outreach to asians in the Daytona beach area. Sometime in the midst of all that hub-bub, I'm gonna study and ace my lab and final exams and apply for a scholarship. I like juggling, without it, I'd be utterly bored.