a scare

2008-03-18T19:43:00.002-07:00

So this morning I had quite a scare -- however looking back it's helped me to look at my life differently.

For the past two days, I've had chest pain. I've been woken up in the middle of the night with searing pain and cold sweats. I thought it was heart burn (I've never had it before, so wasn't sure) but I looked up symptoms on the internet anyway. Well, I thought I was having a heart attack. But let's face it, I'm 23, I work out (at least think about it), eat ok, am at a healthy weight, etc., I had all the odds in favor of nothing -- except maybe hypochondria.

But I went to the ER anyway. Waking my poor husband up, we trekked to the hospital at 4 a.m. But the good thing is, is that this is Provo and there was no one there. We got right in.

Forty five minutes, an EKG and a Rite Aid visit later, I'm headed out with Prednisone and Loritab and a diagnosis for pleurisy (an inflammation of the chest walls). Hallelujah! I'm not going to die!

So, my ridiculous scare turned out to be nothing serious, duh, and now I'm home and loopy. However, I am looking at my life better ... like maybe putting that Oatmeal Creme Pie down and turning to real oatmeal.

beginnings

2008-03-18T19:43:00.001-07:00

I have finally decided to blog. I am a print journalism student in college -- in my very last semester -- and am finally starting.

Two completely different things happened today which sparked my blogging interest.

1. My good friend Sarah's blog (thursdaysmysterymeat). She's hilarious first of all, but she also makes ordinary things extraordinary. I realized I don't have to be extremely enchanting, but can look at my ordinary life and see the beauty in it.

2. I found the most FANTASTIC recipe to make The Absolutely Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg. Not kidding. It is fantastic. They turn out like five-star restaurant eggs. Genius! (recipe below)

To those of you who take the time to see my dabbling, I thank you! And enjoy the fussy, yet amazing eggs! -- just in time for Easter!

The Absolutely Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg

1. Lay the eggs in the pan and add cold water to cover eggs. Water should cover the eggs by 1 inch, so use a tall pan, and limit cooking to 2 dozen eggs at a time. Set over high heat and bring just to the boil; remove from heat, cover the pan, and let sit exactly 17 minutes.

2. When the time is up, transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice cubes and water. Chill for 2 minutes while bringing the cooking water to the boil again. (This 2 minute chilling shrinks the body of the egg from the shell.)

3. Transfer the eggs (6 at a time only) to the boiling water, bring to the boil again, and let boil for 10 seconds - this expands the shell from the egg. Remove eggs, and place back into the ice water.

4. Chilling the eggs promptly after each step prevents that dark line from forming, and if time allows, leave the eggs in the ice water after the last step for 15 to 20 minutes. Chilled eggs are easier to peel, as well. The peeled eggs will keep perfectly in the refrigerator, submerged in water in an uncovered container, for 2 to 3 days.

NOTES : The perfect hard boiled egg has a tender white, and a yolk properly set. There is not the faintest darkening of yolk where the white encircles it (a chemical reaction caused by too much heat in the cooking process). Eggs cooked this way can also be peeled neatly. The system described here, developed by the Georgia Egg Board, takes a bit of fussing - but it really does produce an absolutely Perfect Hard Boiled Egg!

la fille américaine

a scare

beginnings