Oatmeal Obsessed?

You people have been laughing at my oatmeal habits.
And yes, the habits probably ARE laughable.
But this topic, obsession, has gotten me to think a bit about my daily breakfast routine and why it matters so much to me.

Oatmeal before the milk step.

Let me describe it to you first: into the oatmeal pan (yes, the same pan every day), I scoop one half cup of uncooked, old fashioned oats. Then one cup (plus a splash) of water. I put this on the stove on high. Then I get a small plate out of the cabinet and the container of raw almonds out of the fridge. I grab a handful of almonds and put them on the plate and count them--2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18!--it's a great day when I grab exactly 18. I do most of the time actually. I put the plate of almonds in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then I check the oatmeal. If not already, soon it is boiling, so I remove it from the heat and stir it with the spoon I'll use to eat my oatmeal. While still in the pan, I add cinnamon and a few raisins. After I scoop it into my oatmeal bowl (it's a handmade work of pottery with a beautiful blue glaze), I put some frozen blueberries on top and stir those in. I wash the oatmeal pan and set it aside to dry. I take the almonds out of the microwave when they finish and place the oatmeal bowl in for 30 seconds (to thaw the blueberries). In the meantime, I choose a pear from the fruit bowl and slice it up and put it into a plastic bowl (so I can take it in the car with me if I'm unable to finish it before it's time to leave for school). When the microwave dings, I retrieve my oatmeal bowl, toss the 18 toasted almonds on top, pour a bit of 1% organic cow milk on top of the oatmeal/blueberry/raisin mixture, mix it up with the spoon, and carry my breakfast to the dining table to sit down and eat.

You may call me obsessed when I tell you I do this entire process, exactly like this, every single day. You may call me obsessed when I tell you that one of the most difficult things about traveling for me not having this morning routine. (Thank you, Starbucks, for this.) (And I'm sorry, McDonald's, but I will never eat this.)(Because I don't eat at McDonald's.)
And maybe I am obsessed, but this is all important to me.

Mornings have always been extremely difficult in my world (though ever since I turned 40, mornings are becoming a little bit easier. Strange, eh?) I'm not sure why mornings are rough. It doesn't seem to matter how late I've slept in or how many hours of sleep I have gotten, that first hour or so is rough. Part of it is physical--I have some form of arthritis (arthritis as a whole is incredibly difficult to pinpoint and diagnose specifically, so I'm not sure exactly what to call it), and my body in the morning is slow and stiff and sore, some mornings more than others. That's a huge part of it. But well before I was dealing with that in my life, I struggled right out of bed. Speech is difficult (beyond single syllable utterings). I don't like people in my physical space. I can't handle extra noise, not even the radio on morning NPR news. Every morning is an epic battle with my alarm clock to pull myself out of bed.

But the oatmeal routine helps. It's less the meal itself than the process to create it. All of the motions create a ritual--my morning ritual to start my day. It's meditative. It's predictable. It's quiet. There are no surprises. I know exactly what to expect. And somehow, going through all the steps helps wake up my body and mind. After the routine, I'm more ready to face the day, whatever it brings.

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If you've gotten this far, you might as well check out my photos from spring break last year to see the photo I told you about--the one where my daughter demonstrates absolute and total fear on a water ride at Sea World (it's toward the middle of the collection of photos--scroll and you'll find it).

Blog Carnival Edition #1: REBEL

This first edition of the Zerwin SLCC Blog Carnival was an interesting exploration through different aspects of rebel, rebellious, rebelliousness...

It was clear how much Chris McCandless was attached to this concept for many of the bloggers who responded to the call for submissions. Many (like Dana) pointed out details from his life that make him rebellious, except for Esther who wondered if maybe Chris wasn't a rebel actually--just really selfish (and be sure to check out Dana's post for a link to a very cool video someone did while hiking the Stampede Trail). There were lots of thoughts about what kind of rebel CM was. Tristan found him a stubborn rebel (after some compelling reflections on rebels in Syria--what is the planet to do about Syria, people?). Ryan asks his readers (that's YOU in case you're wondering) if CM's death was justified because of his discontent with his family or if we can just explain it by his naivete (answer his questions in the comments after his post). And Max traces how CM's rebellion had significant effects on other people and still does to this day.

Beyond the world of the book, there were some interesting reflections on rebellion. Owen shows how rebels have improved humanity and makes me think about how I believe love is the most rebellious act there is. Don't you think? Isn't that what Harry Potter is about? Harry wins in the end because he fights for love, right? And Voldemort is incapable of acting through love so he cannot beat Harry in the end. (Are you people Harry Potter fans? Or is this the last time I should bring that up in this class? Please advise.) Fenno discusses several rebels in history who have made things better for people and makes me wonder if rebels must by definition be visionary. I've been pondering that since I read what Fenno had to say. Erik suggests that teens rebel because they learn rebellious behavior from adults. Very interesting. What do you all think? Do teens get called out for the same rebellious behavior that adults show all the time? 

Good or bad, rebellion IS popular, as Madelyn points out with connections to three compelling articles she found on the internet. Cool stuff. And Addie's post takes on rebellion within a very specific context: the traditions and trends surrounding makeup. More cool stuff.

Finally, Ms. Maytum's post contains a hilarious list of rules that she wrote for her room when she was 6 and a half and talks about how rebellion worked in her life as a teenager and how it shows up in her life as an adult. There are contradictions--she reflects over them to arrive at her own understanding of what it means to rebel.

Thanks for your thoughtful submissions to the first edition of the blog carnival!

p.s. Here's Jake on rebellion in a rebellious world. And Colman. And Daelin on punk rock. And Riley on Fat Amy. And John's thoughts on CM. And Ian's thoughts on the various types of rebels in the world.

A few pics from my Labor Day weekend adventure to Coupeville, WA

I had an awesome time in Coupeville this past week for the wedding of a good friend of mine from college. I traveled with one of my college roommates--we met at the airport in Seattle and drove together to Coupeville. I just wanted to post here a few photos:

 The big boat here is The Linmar--my college friend (the groom) bought it a few years ago after it had been burned badly in a fire. He restored it to the beautiful boat you see here. I stayed on the boat for the weekend. 

 Here I am on The Linmar.

 With the groom (Kuhrt) and my college roommate, Katie.

 Just goofing around.

 The bride and groom and some of the wedding party during photos on the boat.

 The ceremony.

Sunrise on Monday morning--had to get up at 5:30 to drive the two hours to the airport that morning.