kapachino

Author: Kathleen

  • Pita Pizza

    I’ve been trying to eat healthier for about 6 weeks now. And even though I’d like to be, I am not a cook. I just haven’t had the time to get in to that yet. But sometimes it’s really helpful to make things myself: for the variety, because it can be cheaper, and healthier too. So I’m going to give you a recipe now, but since this is the first time I’ve done this I’m going to make some caveats which will hold for all future recipes (if, indeed, there are any to follow):

    a) This won’t be fancy, but when I do give you a recipe it’s going to be quick, easy, good, and healthy. At least in my opinion.
    b) I’m not married, and usually only have to provide a meal for myself or 1-2 others. I have no idea about cooking for an entire family.
    c) The measurements may not be exact, because I estimate a lot. Sometimes I won’t even give you measurements, because I think you can figure it out for yourself, like I did.

    Pita Pizza

    Whole wheat pita bread
    Pizza sauce
    Low fat mozzarella cheese

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
    2. Cover the pita in pizza sauce
    3. Add a layer of cheese
    4. Place on top shelf of oven
    5. Cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted

    And that’s it! Oh, and you can add meat if you want, but I prefer plain cheese. If you want to keep it healthy though, stick with lean meat.

  • Reading Statistics

    From Booking Through Thursday:

    There was a widely bruited-about statistic reported last week, stating that 1 in 4 Americans did not read a single book last year. Clearly, we don’t fall into that category, but . . . how many of our friends do? Do you have friends/family who read as much as you do? Or are you the only person you know who has a serious reading habit?

    Let’s see…almost all of my closest friends are readers. I can’t think of any that have not read a book in the last year. My roommates and I started a book club in October of 2005 and it is still going strong. When we started it was just the three of us, and now we have five regular members. Small, yes, but flexible and personal. We read a book a month and then get together at a coffee shop and discuss it.

    My boyfriend loves to read, which is a huge turn-on for me! I really think that he has read more books than me in his life, although he protests. Our normal genres are completely different, but we like to venture into each others’ every once in awhile. For example, I promised him that the next book I read (other than book club books) will be Stephen King’s IT. I am pretty open to most any kind of book, as long as it is decent, and I love discussing books with him because he has so much insight and comes at it from a totally different perspective than I do.

    As for my family, we all read except for my youngest brother Barry who is a senior in college. When the seventh Harry Potter book came out, he asked me to tell him what happened when I finished the book because he “had to know.” I, of course, asked him why he didn’t just read it for himself. His answer was, “I don’t read.” How sad! I think I’m going to try to get him onto audiobooks, and then maybe eventually he’ll move on to the harder stuff.

    My dad, as previously mentioned, is a constant reader like I am. My mom I think is usually too busy to read much, but I know she enjoys it and has done a lot of it in the past. My brother David has grown to be more and more of a reader over the years which makes me extremely happy, even though we don’t always have similar taste in books.

    That’s my reading world! I enjoy it. And the people in it. :)

  • First Day Of School

    Growing up my mom always demanded that she take my brothers and I to school on the first day instead of us riding the bus so that she could take our pictures. When we were younger this wasn’t such a big deal, but once high school rolled around I was pretty embarrassed about it. She kept telling us that we’d appreciate it, and deep down I knew she was right, but it didn’t seem worth it at the time. Of course, now I am glad that we will have those pictures to look back on, and sometime soon I hope to dig them out of her photo box. I let the tradition lapse for awhile in college, but today as I was getting ready to leave for what might possibly the last first day of school that I will ever have, I decided to bring it back. The picture isn’t quite the same since it’s in my room and not at school, but hey, I tried.

    I am taking two clinical courses this semester: OB and pediatrics. Today and all this week we have OB classes. I am excited about this semester because a) I am ready to get back to some actual clinical work after a semester of psych, and b) I love babies, and I want to find out whether I would like to work in this area full-time. I enjoyed class today, so that’s a good sign.

    Although we did watch a video in which a doctor examined many specimens of placenta, while my friend Lauren next to me tried not to gag. She doesn’t want to be an OB nurse.

    Oh, and my professor did say this: “I have a recipe for placenta stew.”

  • Destination: Pompeii

    Today is the anniversary of the destruction of Pompeii by Mt. Vesuvius. Pompeii has always held a fascination for me. I think it’s the combination of its age, the remnants of daily life that it preserved, and its uniqueness. When I went to Greece it was the Acropolis that had me transfixed. In Russia, the Tolstoy House Museum was my favorite tourist site. Pompeii is a combination of the aspects that each of these offered.

    Most of what scholars know of daily life in ancient Roman culture comes from Pompeii. It was a thriving city at the time, and most people probably didn’t even know that Mt. Vesuvius was a volcano. It was also five miles away, so they probably thought they had time to flee if necessary. But by the end of the day the city was covered in more than 20 feet of debris. It was as if time had just stopped. When it was excavated in 1860 archaeologists found holes in the sediment with human remains in them. They poured plaster into these spaces and thus obtained perfect molds of these people at the time of their deaths, down to the expressions on their faces. There was a father and son on the floor of a house, the boy on his back looking up at his father, and they were holding hands. Adults were found trying to protect their children. Families rushed to the sea. Dogs strained at their leashes.

    One day, I’d like to see it for myself.

  • Booking Through Thursday

    I discovered a blog that posts a prompt about books and reading every Thursday; it’s called Booking Through Thursday. I don’t think I’ll be responding to it every week, because I don’t have good answers to all of the questions. But if I see one that interests me, I’ll write about it.

    Today, the prompt is:

    When growing up did your family share your love of books? If so, did one person get you into reading? And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)

    Reading is definitely in my family. For as long as I can remember my dad has been a habitual library frequenter. His brother, my uncle, is also an avid reader. I’m sure that my parents encouraged me to read, but I doubt that they had to try very hard in that area with me. I’m pretty sure I just took to it.

    I do have one regret. One summer when I was in elementary school my dad decided to read aloud every day to my brothers and me. He chose one of his favorite books when he was a kid, Swallows and Amazons. Looking back, this should have been a special bonding experience for us, and a chance for my dad to share something that was important to him with us. But, we were kids and were not at a maturity level to appreciate that. My dad kept trying with us, but eventually he had to give up because we just wouldn’t pay attention. We never finished the book. Since then I’ve always wondered how the story turned out. I suppose that’s a mystery that is easily solved.