am I too neurotic?

If you found a horse fly (one of those big ugly ones) crawling around on your toothbrush this morning, what would you do? I thought soaking it in Listerine for 10 minutes would do the trick, but even then I gagged at the idea of putting it in my mouth... crazy?

a new endevour

I got my fall placement recently, which will be at a hospital that is a bike ride from my house. I don't think I'll be able to ride a bike there though, considering my dress code includes heels and dress pants or a skirt. It's a nice idea though. My supervisor gave me a sneak peak of what I will get to do. It's a long list of alot of new things that I have never done, including swallowing evals (bedside fiberoptic endoscopic video!, meaning we stick a tiny camera up your nose and down your throat) and therapy, traumatic brain injury, stroke (I have worked with stroke patients actually, just not acute), tumor board (wow, didn't know speech therapists sat on tumor boards), craniofacial clinic (I saw a bit of this in Mexicali, but I am really excited to get this chance again-- this would include stuff like cleft palate and cleft lip), voice disorders, stuttering, and motor speech disorders. phew-- I am nervous already, trying to enjoy the rest of this break but maybe I should be preparing??

It's been awhile

I was looking for my last recipe post and finally found it back in January. It's not that I haven't been in the kitchen since then, just haven't been posting. I wanted to write this one down because it was that good. I can't wait to make it again, and I thought might as well write it here in case other people want to try it. The bread is really really moist, maybe too moist for some. Using frozen berries weighs it down a bit I think, so if you go that direction definitely be patient in the baking-- it may take awhile longer.

Lemon Berry Yogurt Bread
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
servings: 1 loaf
time: 1 1/2 hours

• 1 1/2 cups + extra for the frozen fruit
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 cup sugar (+ 1 tablespoon sugar for sauce)
  
• 3 eggs
• grated lemon zest from 2 lemons
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups frozen berries, thawed (I used a mix of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Drain the berries on a paper towel and then mix them with the remaining tablespoon of flour to dry them out a bit more, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 60+ minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes. Then remove from the pan and pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Enjoy!

Miss Popularity

Perhaps my favorite post yet from 'Stuff White People Like'. The best sentence is the last one of the article.

Girls with Bangs

If you see a white woman and you are trying to figure out whether she is liked or just merely tolerated by white people, the best thing you can do is get a quick look at her haircut. It is a known fact that white people love women who wear their hair with bangs that hang straight down.

A number of very popular white women have worn this hairstyle including Joni Mitchell, Jane Birkin, Jenny Lewis and every girl ever photographed by Vice Magazine or the Cobrasnake. (Note: it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with these two things as they are both beloved by cool white people. Follow up note: these same things are hated by cooler white people).

Many people associate this type of haircut with children and people looking for the most efficient way to get hair out of their eyes. But for white people, this simple haircut makes a bold declaration by saying that the wearer is artistic, deep, and has probably dated a guy in a band you like. Of course, as with many things loved by white people, simple often means expensive and these haircuts usually cost upwards of $100.

It is essential for you to know this haircut is more than a mere fashion statement– it is an important cultural marking. Throughout the world, many cultures feature ceremonies to announce that a girl has become a woman. For white people, the haircut-with-bangs is an important symbol that a female has completed her transformation from a nerdy girl to a cool woman. In fact, if you went to high school with a nerdy white girl who moved to a big city, there is a good chance she will show up to your high school reunion with this haircut.

When you are introduced to a group of white people, it’s a good idea to befriend the girl with the bangs. She’s probably the most popular.

The Dog, Cat, Rat

Ronnie and his friends were bachelor partying it up last weekend and ran into this guy. The groom was probably the most excited (and most intoxicated) one of all, but they all shared their account with me upon return.

I think it is a fair thing to say that my goal when I am up in Santa Barbara next month is to find, meet, and take a picture with this modern marvel.