A Year of Owl

Today marks exactly one year since I met Owl in person for the first time. It's not that big of a deal I guess, it's just hard for me to believe it's been a year already. On one hand I wonder how it could be only just one year because SO MUCH has happened, so much has changed, but on the other hand it just doesn't seem like it's been that long. It seems like this past year has gone by so quickly.

I have been reflecting on all the changes that have taken place since I met Owl and how different things would be had I not met him. Meeting Owl was a catalyst for some major life changes for me. Pretty much all these changes have been positive. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be in this cool place I am in now and I wouldn't know the amazing, wonderful people for whom I am so incredibly grateful. I would never have met Rabbit, Wolf, Pine or Pet, all awesome people whom I adore. Also, he introduced me to a spiritual path that makes so much sense to me. It has really felt like a homecoming and when it started coming together for me, I felt like I had finally found what I had been looking for. I will be forever grateful for that. I have also gone through some big personal changes that were influenced by Owl and by our relationship. Some of his insights and my realizations during certain experiences we had together have led me to reexamine certain behaviors and thought patterns that were unnecessary or detrimental to my mental and spiritual well being. I have also developed a more positive worldview and attitude, partly as a result of dealing with the ups and downs of our relationship. Wow, it's crazy to think of how much influence he has had on my life. One whole year...

The photo is of Owl and I at a wedding last New Year's Eve, a mere week after we first met in person (we met online a few weeks earlier).

Vegan Cinnamon Almond Cookies

I've been stuck in a cookie rut for a while. All I had been making were no-bake cookies, the classic but amazingly yummy chocolate chip cookies, gingersnaps and peanut butter oatmeal cookies. Well and of course the sugar cookies Pine and I made a couple of weeks ago. But, what I had been wanting was a totally new recipe, something I had never made before. Well, about a week ago I made some almond milk and was left with a bunch of almond pulp that I didn't want to just throw out. So...almond cookies came to mind! I found a recipe in Joy of Cooking and modified it just a bit. Here's my version:

Cream together:
1 cup sugar
1 cup earth balance margarine

Add and mix well:
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup almond pulp (or ground almonds)

Add, mixing with hands:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Chill for a couple of hours, then roll out and cut (I just used a small glass to make circles). Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. I got almost six dozen 1-2 inch cookies.

They are pretty tasty, and I love the size. They obviously didn't rise (well, no leavener!) so they are fairly flat, but they are so cute and compact. I like 'em!

Merry Yule!

Ah, the winter solstice is finally upon us. I have been waiting for this day for a while now. The shortest day of the year, the moment after which the light will start growing again. The moment of the rebirth of the sun and the slow return to life. Lately I have been feeling the lack of sunlight down deep. I have been bundling up and hibernating and taking time to contemplate and reflect. Tis the season for such things I suppose. Thankfully I have not yet begun to feel sad for lack of sunlight and warmth, that usually doesn't happen until February or so. I am so very thankful though, knowing that now the sun will be in the sky a little longer each day, instead of the other way 'round. So, tonight I will celebrate the return of the sun. For now, I think I will pop outside to watch the moon, it is quite lovely. I wish everyone a very wonderful solstice and hope you all will enjoy the return of the light as much as I will! Goodnight!

Burning Man, 2008 Festival Fun

I have something exciting to announce.....I'm going to Burning Man!!!! WOOOOOO! I am SO excited! Just recently I had decided that since one of my lifelong goals is to have rewarding/enriching/enlightening/amazing/fun experiences that I should spend next year doing just that. The year is mostly open anyway and I'll be traveling to and fro around the country, so I decided that maybe I should just hit up some festivals while I'm at it. If we can make it happen, Rabbit, Wolf and I will be going to Starwood in upstate New York and I might make it out to Pagan Spirit Gathering in Ohio for Summer Solstice, unless I'm still busy camping in Oregon. Recently I had been considering Burning Man as well, since it just sounds like a very unique, crazy experience and I thought I'd want to go at least once in my life. Why not next year!? I hadn't seriously considered it until I found out that Pet was also thinking about going. I did some research a couple of days ago and the more I read about it and looked at pictures, the more I realized I wanted to go. I really just want to experience it all for myself. So, I called Pet up and....we're going! Well, we aren't 100% sure yet, he has to make sure to get off from work...but, tentatively, WE'RE GOING TO BURNING MAN!!! YEEEEAAAAHH!

The photo is of Black Rock City in 2006, and is here on Flickr.

Sweaty Vag Soap and Jesus Buttplugs (OR Hot Muffs)

I'm really not going to write about vag soap and buttplugs (although they are both great topics), these things are just something the opening cook and I talked about this morning at work. I think my talk of hot muffs brought it up. You see, I make muffins every morning I work, so the word muff is used liberally when I am around. Lately I have been known to yell out something like, "Hot muffs! Hot muffs! Watch out I've got some hot muffs!" whilst carrying the muffins pans still hot from the oven through the kitchen. Y'know, I wouldn't want anyone getting burned from the muffin hotness. This morning I made some delicious peach raspberry coconut (with a hint of orange!) muffins and cut one up to try. I took the plate back to the kitchen so everyone else could try it and when the kitchen manager refused it, the owner said, "What's the matter? You don't want a bite of her muff?" Ah...that could probably constitute sexual harassment, but seeing as how the kitchen manager and owner are boinking, I don't think he cared. Wow, I work with some awesome people...

New Skill to be Acquired: Barista!

I'm feeling good! I've been looking for another job for the past couple of months, and I finally found one today! I'm so glad! I will now be a barista at an awesome locally owned coffee shop. It was pretty easy too, I picked up an app yesterday, handed it directly to the owner today and we talked right then. I'll be starting next week, woot! I'll have the chance to work at their location downtown, or at their kiosks around town. This change will be really nice I think. Something new and different at least. And it means I'll have some coffee shop experience, so finding a job wherever else may be easier. I'm pretty glad to have found a job at another local business (woo for not working at Starbucks!). I was beginning to think I'd have to go corporate because I wasn't having much luck. Corporate working, while it has its perks, just doesn't seem as fun! Yeah new job!

Make less babies

I found this on Global Orgasm and thought it was a great statement that I wanted to share:

"Let’s make children even more valued by making fewer of them, before the pressures of overpopulation drive our children to kill each other. "