Singing Owl at RevGalBlogPals says: Here in snow country we are settled in to what is a very long stretch of potentially boring days. The holidays are over. It is a very long time till we will get outside on a regular basis. The snow that seemed so beautiful at first is now dirty and the snow banks are piling up. Our vehicles are all the same shade of brownish grey, but if we go to the car wash our doors will freeze shut. People get grumpy. Of course, not everyone lives in a cold climate, but even in warmer places the days till springtime can get long. Help! Please give us five suggestions for combating cabin fever and staying cheerful in our monochromatic world?

I speak as one with a brand new alternator in a 10 year old car. (a special thank you to the unknown longhorn Spiritual Direction student who provided a jump in the seminary parking lot!)

1) well you could join me in ordination exams... Exegesis will take 5 days of my life while life adn classes go on around me.

2) Chili. Not monochromatic or boring. and if you put enough peppers in you get to enjoy it all day! OK, maybe that's not a benefit.

3) looking at the gardening catalogs. Thinking of the flowers that will bloom in spring.

4) reading church information forms (especially for churches in the south) and dreaming of getting permission to start sending out my resume.

5) facebook. nuff said.

gluten free pancakes. Just not the same.

Sophia at RevGalBlogPals writes:

Last week Sally gave us a beautiful, spiritually reflective Friday Five, so it's time for something light and fluffy (literally). It's inspired by the fact that as I write this my dear spouse TechnoGuy, with the assistance of daughter Ladybug, is making a batch of chocolate chip pancakes with two Christmas presents. One is the Knott's Berry Farm mix which came along with jam, boysenberry syrup, and biscuit mix from my aunt (we ended up with two sets, since my parents passed theirs on to avoid sweet and carb-y temptation). The other is the large size Black and Decker electric skillet he was thrilled that I got him online -- our trusty wedding present normal size one still works at going on 20 years, but the Teflon is getting worn, and he wanted more cooking space. So pull up a chair to the kitchen table and tell us all about your pancake preferences.

1. Scratch or mix? Buttermilk or plain?
Well, this has all become so complicated in the past 4 years since I found out I have celiac. So, now I generally use a gluten free mix, but they all kinda stink. (Trader Joes frozen GF pancakes are an OK substitute) I used to use the krusteaz. it had the best flavor/texture for a mix that I had found. My mom, on the other hand is always from scratch.

2. Pure and simple, or with additions cooked in?
pecans (pe CAHNS not PEE cans) or blueberries when I make them (plain for the boring DH).

3. For breakfast or for dinner?
breakfast, although I remember going out with my grandfather for pancakes for dinner at a local diner out near the interstate.

4. Preferred syrup or other topping? How about the best side dish?
Well, either a little peanut butter and syrup (that's sir-rup not sea-rup) or some frozen strawberries that I nuke for a few minutes to go mushy and warm.
The best side dish is thick-sliced, applewood smoked bacon.

5. Favorite pancake restaurant?
IHOP, the ones that had nuts and such in them (back in the day before I knew better. Now, no can do.)

New Year Friday Five

it's been, well, MONTHS since I wrote anything here, so, just to let you know I'm still alive, I'm doing today's Friday Five.

Sally at RevGalBlogPals says:

As we look back we may come to understand how God has worked in and through us in joy and sadness. how we have grown against what may seem impossible odds. As we look forward we may do so with expectation, and we may do so with fear and trembling. As we look back and forward in New Year's liminality I offer you this simple yet I hope profound Friday Five in two parts:

First list five things that you remember/ treasure from 2008

1. Recovery from my hysterectomy. It was a longer, slower road than I expected, but I didn't realize how sick and just "not me" I had become until I started to get well after the surgery.
2. Passing 2 of my ordination exams
   
3. CPE. memorable in good and difficult ways.
4. A year of great classes (mostly, there is one notable exception, but that blight is being addressed by leadership). I am really enjoying seminary. I was afraid to go back to school at my age, but it has been a blast!
5. Seeing several friends ordained, and, as an elder, participating in the ordination.
   

Then list five things that you are looking forward to in 2009

1. Passing the remaining 2 ordination exams. (Not, mind you, taking them. I do NOT look forward to taking them again, just getting them over with)
2. Graduation. Although the thought of the Father & Step Mother and the Mother & Step Father in one place is a bit scary.
3. Finding a first call. Hopefully in the part of the country I consider home, as opposed to the part of the country I currently live in.
4. Getting ordained and beginning life as a Minister of Word and Sacrament.
5. Moving (Aarrgh)