May It Be Epic
I hope that your holidays are amazing, full of fun and relaxation, and that they bring you the opportunity to spend time with people you love.
In other words, I hope they’re epic.
Today, I have food-related things to do: grocery shopping, preparing Christmas dessert-for-breakfast, and then frying latkes for dinner tonight. We’ve opted for ice cream sandwiches for breakfast tomorrow. I’ll be using a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe from the book, Sister Pie, which my very thoughtful friend from law school gave me when she came to visit earlier this year. If I had been more thoughtful, I’d have turned the page and learned before this afternoon that the dough is supposed to rest for at least 24 hours, which will be impossible at this point. We’re also making custard style vanilla ice cream from The Perfect Scoop. (There’s a newer version of that book, but we have the original one.) I’ll be using Green Girl Vanilla Bean Gelato in my sandwich so that I don’t feel like trash after breakfast. With the leftover egg whites from the ice cream, I’m going to try making meringues. Latkes are courtesy of Smitten Kitchen’s recipe.
Speaking of food, we’ve actually been basically eating our way through this holiday season. Friendsgiving with the staff and volunteers in the Presidio was amazing as always, and it started us off well for the holiday season. I think this was our third celebration with the team, and I love the combination of getting time with our friends we’ve now known for a few years, interns we’ve only just met, and staff who are focused on showing up in meaningful ways (like taking time during the event to bring our attention to indigenous peoples) and doing their best for the earth.
Wyatt and I went ice skating a couple of times over Thanksgiving week, and that was super. A little chilly, but definitely super. Here we are at Snoopy’s Home Ice.
Also, this past weekend, we did a version of the intentions setting exercise in the December article from GetzWell Pediatrics. We made spring-roll wraps with our favorite rice wrappers by Star Anise Foods, and although we used more than 7 ingredients, I’m fine with a more robust representation of the Healthy Mind Platter. We also had two kinds of potato chips because why not? As we ate, we did little maps and drawings of how we envision spending our time in the coming year. We noticed the things we currently have plenty of (like focus time), and the things we need more of (like play time), and considered how we can find more balance in our week. Next, we each made a short list of the things we want to let go of from 2019, and then we burned the lists. I should have timed us, but it was within a few hours that we had already gone back to our old ways on a couple of those things we burned (surprise!), so obviously, this intentions thing is ongoing.
Fortunately, intentions can happen in the background while you do everything else. If you’ve got a free evening coming up and you’re local to San Francisco, you may want to check out Night Bloom at the Conservatory of Flowers. It’s on through January 5. It’s very magical. Here’s a peek at some of the photos Wyatt took:
