What I have eaten this week that you may not have

The new no gluten, no dairy me has made things a leetle interesting on the food front. I have been trying a lot of new foods and this week has been no exception. So far:

1. A cake with no wheat flour, eggs, or dairy - instead it had chickpea flour and tofu in it. Odd. I made lemon chiffon cupcakes. They were not truly awful but would I prefer a "normal" fairy cake, why yes, yes I would.
2. Umeboshi paste. This is made from pickled Ume (some fruit somewhere between an apricot and a plum - Japanese thing). I did not eat this neat, I made rice balls covered in toasted sesame seeds and the umeboshi went in the rice. They were delicious, especially served with:
3. Tamari. This is just wheat free soy sauce really.
   
4. Three different kinds of milk, none of which were from a cow (or any animal actually). These were rice, soy, and almond.
5. Ice cream made from coconut milk (guess that makes four types of milk). I think I prefer coconut milk ice cream to the ordinary cow based.
   

Tomorrow I will be making a pasta, dairy, and meat-free lasagne! (Black bean lasagne - corn tortillas instead of the noodles and I have soy cheese and sour cream).

Countdown to Texas

This weekend I have actually commenced the packing up of all my belongings. Cannot believe it has been a year since I moved here, time has flown by.. but in some ways I feel like I have lived here for much longer than that. My landlords invited me for dinner last night and their kids made me feel very guilty for leaving. Nothing like a 6 year old pouting and getting upset for laying on a guilt trip!

I guess my biggest news of late is my new eating habits. I decided enough was enough with my digestive and stomach issues and I tried the elimination diet. The way it is supposed to work is that you cut a ton of food groups out of your diet for a while and then reintroduce them one by one to see if any of them cause your symptoms. I got a few big red flags:

1. Dairy - well I knew this one, but I guess it is good to have it confirmed.
2. Wheat (gluten)- this is the big killer, wheat is in so many yummy yummy things that I love to eat (pasta, bread, cakes, crackers, soy sauce.. it is in freaking everything). However, wheat also seems to be the worst thing for me, every time I eat it I suffer.

So I am now a dairy and gluten free eater. I feel fabulous. On first glance it seems like a really difficult thing to do but the payoff is so great that it has been easier than I thought it would be... so far anyway. Have to see if I can keep it up.

Hmmm what else:

• I was supposed to be in France last week and then in the UK for my friend's hen party yesterday. Alas I went nowhere because of the issues related with having to get a new visa. I am really sad I couldn't go but the extra time here is much needed.
• John and I have been together for a year now. That seems incredible. I get all soppy thinking about it, which isn't like me so I'll shut up now. I am so excited to move to Texas with him.
• My motivation at work is severely lacking. Urgh.
• I am going to go make my lunch now. Roasted tomatoes with toasted pine nuts and basil in RICE pasta. Yay for rice pasta.
  

Post-move PANIC

Yet again over a month has gone by since my last post. I have to confess I am beginning to show signs of stress. Much stress. The move to Texas is looming (less than a month and a half) and there are about 3 months worth of things to be done. I am at that stage where there is so much I need to do that I seem incapable of doing any of it. I have resigned myself to not really having any fun this weekend so I can at least catch up a little. I did manage to go to the Farmers' Market this morning and pick me up some lovely fruit and veg... oh and I now have two of the best goats cheeses I have ever had in residence in my fridge. Yummers.

What has happened since my last post? The most important thing has to be that my parents came into town just to go wedding dress shopping with me. I found "the dress" even though when I went I was not sure such a thing existed. It was all very surreal. Initially seeing myself in the mirror in wedding dresses was hard to mesh with reality. However, the dress that I chose was the unanimous choice of all and I am so excited about it. I was told it would take 6 months to arrive and then by some fluke it was in stock so I already have my dress. It is at a friend's house so that John does not see it at all.

Right back to work - photoshop is calling.. and crashing.

What a difference a year makes

One year ago today all my belongings were packed in a truck and I left Knoxville to start a new chapter of my life in DC. I remember feeling cautiously optimistic about the changes that might lie ahead and amazingly thankful that I had finally finished my Ph.D and had a life without graduate school ahead of me. I actually went back to Knoxville last weekend. It had been 10 months and there were some people I just needed to see. While I was there I had a few snippets of time to myself between meeting friends and I went back to some old haunts and was surprised at how foreign things seemed. I have changed a lot over the last year and Knoxville the place really hit this home. Surely it had been more than a year, I thought, or how can things feel this out of place, how can this part of my life seem so distant?? Thank goodness for my friends in Knoxville, they reminded me where my home in Knoxville was. I had forgotten how much I missed some of them, although I am not sure how. I really did not want to drive back when I did as there were more people to see, more news to catch up on (not to mention chicken pot pie to eat - Rene!!!!).

So what has happened over the last year? I have gained some more confidence in my abilities, more independence, more wrinkles. I have worked in a job in a field I love with amazing people. I am now engaged to a man I did not know this time last year and I could not be happier. I was unaware that relationships could even be like this. I have made a whole new group of friends in DC - people who I will be friends with for many many years to come. I have met several new additions to the world (Babies Evie and Maggie) and missed those people who are no longer here, I have missed them terribly.

The next logical question to ask is what will the next year bring? If possible, it seems I may see more change than in the last year. It brings me a new job. This time next year I will be finishing my first year as an Assistant Professor. I will be in the job I dreamed of having at 16, the job the careers' advisor told me I would never be able to get. I will be in Texas, with my wonderul fiance. I will have seen several friends get married and be close to getting married myself.

I have so many reasons to be thankful and just wanted to take the time to thank my friends, family, and fiance because you are what make my life so incredible.

Chocolate cake in 5 minutes

A dear friend sent me a recipe a while back that I forgot about and after tonight I may wish it had stayed that way. It is for a chocolate cake that you can make in five minutes total.

What you need:
1 large coffee mug
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
splash of vanilla extract

Combine all dry ingredients in coffee mug, add egg, milk, vanilla extract, and oil - mix well.
Add chocolate chips if you are using them
Microwave for three minutes (my microwave is 1000 watt and this seemed to work well)

Cake will rise in mug. I have huuuuuge mugs due to my love of vast amounts of coffee but if you use a normal size mug I imagine this would rise over the top.

Let cool

EAT

Life changes

So my last post was all about my big news. Apparently I caught the lucky virus for a while as under a week after John and I got engaged I was offered the job I interviewed for in Texas. This is my dream job. I cannot quite believe it. Of course I have accepted, although there are many visa hoops to jump through before anything is completely settled. I am so optimistic though. Some of you are probably wondering what this job is, so I guess I should tell you.

It is an Assistant Professor position in Meteoritics and Planetary Science at Texas Christian University. They have an amazing meteorite collection there which I would be responsible for curating on top of research and teaching responsibilities. I would be able to have my own students too. It is so exciting. Looks like John and I will be moving to Fort Worth, Texas.

Big big news

Well most of my readers will know by now that last week was a very busy one in the land of rambling Rhi.

1. I attended the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas
2. I had a job interview, also in Texas
3. It was my birthday (so close to 30 now I can almost touch it)
4. John PROPOSED

The last one, of course, trumps all the rest. I am stupidly happy and excited, really looking forward to the next stage of my life now with John. Now to answer the two questions all my female friends keep asking.

1. Was it romantic? Yes John proposed in a romantic fashion and got down on one knee.
2. What does the ring look like? The ring is perfect. I have, for as long as I can remember, desperately wanted a pearl ring but finding an attractive one is a bit of a challenge. John did amazingly well on this and bought the most beautiful one I have seen. I was not going to post any pictures as they don't do it justice but I think I should bow to the peer pressure here (I have been bombarded with emails and facebook messages asking for pictures). Pictures are shown below.