IMPACT Conference

I just returned late last night from a trip to Amherst, Massachusetts for the IMPACT Conference. The IMPACT conference is mainly for college students seeking to make a difference in the world, but also attending are non-profit administrators, college advisors, and AmeriCorps members. It's a place for training and conversations about how make a change in the world where we live. It was a busy four days for me, starting with a 9 a.m. departure and ending with a 11:30 p.m. arrival and cram packed with workshops, speakers, excursions, and travelling in between. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Travelling to a new place. It was exciting to see Massachusets, even if only briefly and not completely.
2. The thrill of community. I was proud to wear my AmeriCorps shirt one day because I knew there were many other AmeriCorps members there as well. Sometimes I feel alone in my position, balancing between not being a student but not being a regular staff member.  Even though I didn't really talk to any other VISTAs, it was nice to feel the sense of community.
3. Visiting with my little brother. Despite an accident he was stuck behind delaying his visit, we were able to have dinner and dessert together. It was strange being in the passenger seat while he drove. We have an odd relationship, but when we are travelling together we do fairly well.
4. The conversations. More about my lingering thoughts later, but a highlight was all of the good conversations had in workshops and with Berea folks.
5. Speaking of Berea folks, it was cool to meet several Berea alumni who are now working for non-profits.
6. Seeing Emily Dickenson's house and learning that Robert Frost also once lived in Amherst as well.
7. Experiencing another college campus.
8. Surprising myself with how quickly I felt comfortable navigating not only the campus but also the town.

My lingering thought after the conference concerns the words that I use to describe various people groups or ideas. This stems from a workshop on words, a conversation about microaggressions, and some personal reflection. I am pondering the implications of phrases such as "our community" versus "the community", "underprivileged kids", "the homeless", "protest, riot, and uprising", "serve" versus "help", and "people of color". I am careful not to assign judgement to any of these phrases very quickly because of the fear it could create within me. I do not want to ponder my words so much that I begin judging others for what they say or I create a fear within myself about speaking incorrectly. Instead, this reflection leaves me mindful of how I say what I am thinking. It makes me ponder if the words that come from my mouth and fingers accurately represent what I am thinking. It also makes me ponder if I am "codeswitching" or using different language in different circumstances. I guess my only thought right now is that we should all feel free to express our opinions, but we should be careful about the way and the context in which we express them.

Now for some pictures!

A "bumper diaper" on a car.

There's always a Chestnut Street.

The Homestead. Emily Dickenson's house.

Geese on UMass Amherst's campus.

The Homestead. Emily Dickenson's house.

IMPACT Conference.

Emily Dickenson and Robert Frost have a conversation.

One flight I was lucky enough to get a window seat.

UMass Amherst Pond

Recent Happenings..

...in the life of The Farmer's Daughter. Hey, that's me!
I decided since I haven't seen most of my good friends (and fellow Twenty Somethings) in about a week, they might need a catch-up on my life. Today, I went to Frankfort with my fellow OT students. We went to the Capitol, met with legislators, and advocated for bills that we wanted or didn't want passed. It was neat, but honestly, there was so much waiting around. Waiting to meet with legislators and waiting for the next event. But it was still interesting and one of my group members said they kept flashing to the Netflix original, House of Cards, while they were watching the legislators walk around. The lives of these people is intriguing, I might just have to add that show to my list of things I want to watch on Netflix. (Not what I should really be doing with my time!)

J and I observing the Fairness Rally

By the way, thanks for hosting a really cute
Galentine's Day party last week, Granny Eyre! 

Also, I have a new-to-me vehicle (aka my Mom's old car). It was bittersweet to say goodbye to Cruella, and she is still at my parent's house, but it is sooooo nice to be in a better vehicle. It's the little things, like a well running heater, an in tact headliner, slightly tinted windows, and a little bit more room in the cab of the vehicle..oh, and bigger cup holders! Needless to say, I'm happy I got to upgrade!

It is also official, I will be staying in Berea for the summer and through the fall of next year (maybe longer). My landlords were asking about my plans and I decided, if they wanted me to stick around for the fall of next year, I would like to stay. I wouldn't mind spending my summer at home, but I should be able to visit home more often when I don't have classes this summer.

Speaking of my little apartment, I am very happy with how my plant shelf is coming along. While I was home for winter break I found a small shelf that is supposed to be mounted on the wall. I had visions of sitting it in front of my little window in my bedroom/living room and putting plants on it. My mother has the greenest thumb you'll ever see, so I knew she'd love the idea. I upcycled several tin cans by painting them and using them for the pots. The idea was to use all tin cans, but that didn't actually happen. Anyway, she replanted several low-light plants she had into the cans and other small pots for me. It brightens the living room and makes me happy!

I really liked this silhouette photo I took of it on Sunday

I hope you enjoyed my little update!
The Farmer's Daughter

Lemon Bars

Do you have a favorite dessert that you used to have as a kid? If you're like me, you probably had LOTS of favorite desserts growing up. Although ice cream was probably my all-time favorite, I also really loved the lemon bars that my grandmother used to make. They had just the right amount of sweet vs. sour.

I had a couple lemons sitting on the counter from grocery shopping last week, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't have my grandmother's recipe, so I found one on allrecipes.com and made that one. This definitely isn't a healthy recipe (it calls for 2 sticks of butter, just in the crust!) and lots of sugar! I used real cane sugar, because I'm trying to eat healthier. I can feel you judging me, but please remember that small steps in the right direction still matter! And there is fruit in there!

All in all, the lemon bars turned out pretty well. I haven't had any complaints from anyone who has tried them. Next time, I will try to put more of the lemon mixture and less of the "bar," or the crust part at the bottom.

The recipe I used can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/10294/the-best-lemon-bars/?internalSource=staff%20pick&referringId=1995&referringContentType=recipe%20hub

                                                                                                                            -Miss Ellaneous

A Weekend of Love

Who says Valentine's Day is only for couples? This year, I took the servant approach to celebrate this day of love.

On Saturday evening, my church hosted a Valentine's dinner for the adults in the congregation complete with catered food and fun games. I and four other single gals, including Captain Something Fun, watched the children while their parents participated in the dinner. We had seven children from two families ranging from seven months to ten years old. The children were served Little Caesar's pizza, which I've discovered children prefer over any other kind of pizza. The rest of the evening was a mixture of games, coloring, singing, and cuddling. Captain truly shined by teaching the kids some fun games and leading us in silly songs. I rather enjoyed playing with the seven-month-old, who was full of smiles.

The special project of the evening was decorating cookies. It was funny because I went in one room and mixed the icing while the other three gals kept the kids in a separate room. Apparently I wasn't fast enough because children kept trying to break in and see what I was concocting. Before I brought in the icing, I tried to lay down some ground rules. On the cuff, the ones I came up with included asking when you wanted to switch icing colors and waiting your turn. I felt smart for laying down those rules. The one I forgot was to not lick the knife and put it back in the bowl. That rule quickly got established.

One child declared that this icing was the best he had ever had. Funnily enough it was basic Pillsbury icing from Wal-Mart. I think the colors tricked him into thinking it was special.

I decorated the blue one. A three-year-old decorated the other broken bits. He immediately broke all of his cookies before decorating them. I guess hearts weren't his thing.

Most of the cookies were consumed before any pictures were taken, and I was definitely glad we waited until later in the evening to dispense the sugar. One parent took one look at his daughter and laughingly declared that she had consumed too much sugar, but he was appreciative that there was childcare so he and his wife could have a child-free evening together.

Another special moment for me was when I read a book to the older girl in the group. She chose a book of Bible verses, but told me I didn't have to read the verse addresses. Even though the reading only lasted a few pages, it was sweet to have her cuddled up next to me listening to me read.

Here's what happens when the icing colors all got combined.

On Sunday, actual Valentine's Day, I was greeted at church with a beautiful long-stemmed yellow rose by a friend. It is one of those special varieties that don't require water and last forever. After church, I drove to Richmond to watch a play with my brother's girlfriend. She teaches high school choir and some of her students were performing in a community theater production of various love songs from Broadway. Some songs were very well done and some reminded me that this was a community theater full of youth. During the first act, I kept waiting for something familiar from Phantom, RENT, Grease, or the like. Finally, I was rewarded with a song from Phantom of the Opera, even if it wasn't performed with as much emotion as the original. I got nervous at the end when I saw several people line up on the stage that they would try to close with Seasons of Love from RENT. It just seemed too cheesy to close with that. Thankfully that wasn't the case. Overall it was a good show.
After a scary drive home from Richmond in the snow, I stayed home and enjoyed a couple of cookies to finish out my Valentine's evening.

No secret admirers. No special valentines notes. It was still a good weekend.

Date night in Lexington

Last weekend, I went ice-skating for the first time since high school (actually, only my second time ever)! I still can't bring myself to love it. The skates hurt my feet too much for me to really enjoy it. Being in pain can kind of put a damper on the fun. Maybe I just have weird feet? Anyways, Jeff and I went there on a date with another couple. It was cute because the guys were the ones who bugged us to go and they skated until the rink was closing. Jeff held my hand the entire time I was on the ice, because he wanted to make sure I didn't fall. I would have been just fine without him holding onto me, but it was sweet, so I tried not to play the "independent woman" card and let him help me.

Afterwards, we shared free nachos and then went to play pool at the Silver Cue Billiards Bar in Lexington. I wasn't nearly as good as I was the past couple times we have went, but I enjoyed it none-the-less. Once we left the Silver Cue, we headed over to Tolly-Ho where I had a giant plate of chili cheese fries covered in jalapeño peppers. What can I say....we know how to eat!

These past few weeks, I've pretty much just been cooped up in the house and haven't gone anywhere. I appreciated the chance to get out for awhile.

                                                                                               -Miss Ellaneous

Love is...

It is currently the month in which Valentine's Day is. And with it come many expectations about love. From my own perspective it seems like the world is telling me I need a man to feel loved, a man who will buy me a cute teddy bear, some roses and chocolates. Now don't get me wrong those are not bad things for a man to do but I think love is much more than material things and I don't think having a man will fulfill my expectation for love. Only God can do that. Sometimes though I feel myself looking for love in all the wrong places because this world we live in has gotten me to believe that love can be found in Man alone. February is an especially hard month if you are single like me because then I start catching myself searching for love often times in people and things instead of from God. I read a book once that had this statement in it, "We accept the love we think we deserve." This quote really hit home for me. More times than not I think I am undeserving of love. (Which in the grand scheme of things I am but because of Jesus I am deserving of love). So I accept things that I think will satisfy my love needs. What I am missing is God's unconditional love. Love in the way God wants us to see it is written out in the bible for us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

That is real unconditional love that God wants each and everyone of us to have. And that is how we should all show love back to one another no matter the circumstances. Remember if you are struggling with feelings of not being loved, know that God loves you very much and cares for you deeply you just have to trust him.