Roommates: Chapter 4

Something that has been on my mind and been a frustrating point in my life since the middle of November is that I resigned my lease and didn't have all the roommates needed to fill all the spaces. Nyssa and I have been looking and looking and asking and attempting to persuade so many people since November. We had several people say yes only to back out just a few days later. I was getting really discouraged that things weren't working out. But I had at least 5 people that said, I'll know in May/June if I need a place to live next year and if I do, I would totally live with you!

Fast forward to March. Spring Break is approaching, people are starting to find out about RA positions, jobs, co-ops, etc. Nyssa and I decide that a choice must be made. If we don't have a new roommate shortly after spring break, then we are breaking our lease and finding a two-person apartment that we can afford. It's not the most ideal plan, but in the long run, it will cost the least amount of money. Keep in mind that throughout all these months of not knowing who I would be living with, I was doing my best to keep the attitude that God had something in mind for us and he WOULD provide. It wasn't until Spring Break time that I thought maybe what he was calling us to do was live somewhere else. Before Spring Break I contacted everyone who was a maybe for living with us and said that we needed some sort of answer by the end of spring break. One after another no's, and sorry's came back and Nyssa and I were prepared to go find a new place to live.

Then low and behold our dear friend Murphy said, "Hey you know my friend Brianna, she still needs a place to live next year. You should ask her."

And just like that, all our plans changed. Brianna and her dove, Mr. Darcy agreed to live with us for the next school year, and all the paperwork was completed within two weeks. As I reflected on it later, I realized that my initial feeling that God would provide someone I couldn't even dream up was absolutely true. I don't even know what prompted me to think that changing leases was the best option, probably just my desire to gain some control of the situation at hand, like I always feel like I need to do. I'm just very glad that God showed us what was best for us in time. It's been a great test of faith and trust in the One whom I often claim to have faith and trust in.

And I'm quite looking forward to what a new year of roommates will bring. Ginny will be dearly missed though... :)

~A

What's Behind Door Number Three?

Something else that has been a large part of my life is semester is being a student choreographer for the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company. I have been working towards this goal for almost three years now (basically since I started at Purdue) and it has finally become a reality. I have already been working with my group of 7 lovely dancers for about 7 weeks now, crafting a piece of choreography out of the creativity of their dancing bodies and some direction and ideas of my own.

It's been a really different experience, having 3 hours of rehearsal every week, coming up with costumes that I actually have a budget for, working with a super cool sound designer, (whose name happens to be Mercer, yes I know, it's adorable) and my favorite ever lighting designer, Ethan. :) I have a top notch team working with me, and a vivid imagination that is making this into a fun experience that is stretching me as a choreographer and dancer.

Last week I had the AWESOME opportunity to attend the American College Dance Festival which was held at Grand Valley State University in Michigan with several(~25) Purdue cohorts. At the festival I was able to take a gaggle of master classes from faculty members at schools around the country, watch 7 phenomenal dance concerts, perform in one of them, and listen to feedback from three highly esteemed adjudicators. The feedback was probably what challenged me the most as I listened to the adjudicators pick apart and dissect and evaluate and comment on piece after piece. Some of what they said I agreed with, some of it I didn't, but all of it was constructive in helping me re-evaluate what I am currently working on this semester. I'm really excited to head back to school and apply some of these ideas I have to my dance this semester. Hopefully my dancers don't get too upset about the new changes that are headed their way. :)

Also, if anyone is interested in attending this show at the end of April, let me know!

~A

I've been waiting on this door.

My opportunity has finally come. I got a summer internship working with Sensient Flavors in Indianapolis, Indiana. I am super excited to have the chance to work in industry and experience that side of Food Science. I have been placed in the Savory Lab division, what exactly I will be working on has yet to be determined and will likely vary from day to day.

Getting this internship has been the result of a lot of patience and reliance on God for His timing. I desperately wanted one last summer and it wasn't provided for me. I did however have a great experience working full time at Purdue and learning a lot about working with a variety of people. I am over the moon to be having a different sort of experience this summer though. I will still be living in West Lafayette as the one downside to this internship is that housing is not provided. Living at home would be the same amount of driving as living in Laffy Taffy so I decided to stay in the community of my friends and life at Purdue. I am looking forward to growing in several relationships this summer as one of my roommates is likely staying in Laffy Taffy as well.

I feel like this internship has been a long time coming. It's been hard standing by, watching my friends and peers get internships far before me and gaining all the experience that I want. Honestly it has been hard getting past this idea of entitlement that I should be given something just because I worked for it, just because some people tell me that I should.

I'm looking forward to a new work environment, I'm looking forward to being challenged by a new job, and I'm looking forward to my first foray into the food industry!

~A

The Gift of Feeding Others

People often talk about their spiritual gifts and how they can best utilize them to serve God and others. Not to sound full of myself or completely looney, but I really do think that one of my spiritual gifts could be the gift of feeding others. I suppose that you could lump it under serving others, or caring for others, but I like to look at it as cooking for Jesus.

As far back as I can remember I have loved being in the kitchen, helping to prepare dinner, making chocolate chip cookies or banana bread to share with others. As I have grown, that love and excitement of making food in the kitchen has only grown. I always said that I wanted to be a chef when I was little and I have long admired the skills of Emeril Lagassee, Alton Brown, and many others. My path on Food Science has steered me a little bit away from that, but I am confident that God is directing me where He wants me. Eventually at least.

However, this semester He gave me an opportunity to share my talents and passion with many people and have some fun while I was at it. February 18th I competed with three other friends of mine in the 3rd Annual Boiler Culinary Throwdown Competition. It's basically Purdue's version of Iron Chef: America, but with teams of 4 instead of chefs going head to head. We were given the secret ingredient of lemon balm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_officinalis) and challenged to come up with an appetizer, main dish, and dessert incorporating that ingredient that could all be cooked in 90 minutes. Added challenge was that we did not have the use of an oven or stove, just two butane burners to make all of our food. Challenge Accepted.

My fantastic team consisting of my roommate Ginny, my good friend Amber, and my friend Jake, all of whom are also Juniors in Food Science at Purdue, dubbed ourselves "The Saccharides" bringing our flair for science into the cooking show-down. We each took the name of a Saccharide for the competition: Jake was sucrose(a disaccharide), I was fructose(monosaccharide), Ginny was glucose(monosaccharide, also dubbed "the simple one"), and Amber was galactose(monosaccharide). Also, did I mention that Jake is about 6' 5''? With me clocking in at 5' 7'', I was the next tallest team member. Hence the disaccharide/monosaccharide thing. haha, we're so clever. We went head to head against 4 other teams of 4, most of which had more experience working in a professional setting in one team member than we did in all 4 of ours combined. However, we had some pure talent and science on our side. Our main competition was a team composed of 4 HTM majors, two of whom are going off to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) after graduating in May. Some of them had competed in this competition before, but not won. They were slightly intimidating as far as competition goes, but we kept it all light hearted and fun and were determined to just make the best food we could and have a great time doing it.

In the end my team ended up being the overall winners of the throwdown taking home the coveted knives. I was so ecstatic and proud of all the work that my team had put into it. I had entered the competition simply because I wanted to face a challenge just to see how I would do. I never imagined that we could come out of it the winners. I received many congratulations from my family and friends that were there supporting me, as well as numerous people in the days after. However, it struck me a little while after how much I didn't really deserve the praise that I was receiving. I did not in any way feel worthy of it.

I firmly believe that for whatever reason, God gave me a talent and a passion for cooking and for sharing my cooking with others. Winning the competition that day was to me, a fantastic example of how God can use the talents he bestows on us. I was very humbled by the fact that my team won, because I knew that it was only by our God-given gifts that we had been able to do anything noteworthy. It has spurred me on to try and better understand how God wants me to use this specific set of gifts to serve and glorify Him. How can my knife skills and cheesecake making abilities bring glory and honor to him?

I feel as though I can't adequately describe how this throwdown made me feel, and really, how it brought me even just a little bit into a deeper relationship with Christ. It amazes me every time I think about it. The engraved knife I have sitting in my kitchen will forever be a reminder to me that God gave us beautiful gifts. Go out and use them!

Also, for those of you who were wondering, this is what we made.


The appetizer was a chilled melon soup, made with cantaloupe, red peppers, and cream. It was served with a parmesan nut crisp that is essentially like a cheese cracker.

The main course was pork loin cooked sous vide, served with a lemon balm creamy pesto over penne with sauteed red peppers.

Dessert was a no-bake lemon cheesecake with a lemon balm reduction syrup.

And yes, the soup was served in a 100mL beaker and the syrup in a test tube. For Science!

~A

Wedding Number 1: Hannah and Joel

The weekend of February 11th, I had the distinct honor of traveling to Odon, IN to stand up in my dear friend Hannah's wedding. I have known Hannah since my freshman year at Purdue, when I joined the Windsor Governing Board. The next year when I was a sophomore she lived down the hall from me and we grew closer serving on the Executive Board together. I also found out that she went to my church and worked in the office there. We spent a lot of time chatting during the day when I would hang out and do homework. About the same time that Hannah's relationship with Joel began to blossom, she decided to join my current roommate Ginny and I on a lease at Copper Beech.

I still distinctly remember the day that Hannah called me in July. I had just gotten into the car to head over to Dan's for dinner and to visit with his mom and grandma who were visiting. I answered the phone, slightly confused as to why she was calling me at that particular time but glad to hear from her nonetheless. She started off the conversation with the typical hey how are you and then said, "I have something to ask you actually, will you be one of my bridesmaids?" I answered, "Absolutely!" before it even sank in what she was asking. I quickly ingested the information and proceeded to ask, "Wait, when did THIS happen?!?" Less than an hour ago was her reply and I quickly squealed in delight asking for all the details of the proposal. I was absolutely ecstatic for Hannah and her impending nuptials.

Being able to spend that weekend with Hannah and her family leading up to the wedding was a time I will always treasure. The love that was evident between Hannah and Joel and all of their families was heartwarming and gave me faith in the vows of marriage. I got chills standing up there in the church listening to Hannah and Joel recite their vows, to know how much support and love existed between them and how committed they were to their relationship. I had the privilege of watching their relationship grow from the start and to see it come full circle made me so happy.

I am so looking forward to weddings 2, 3, and 4 of this year. Aamod & Bethany, Ben & Alice, and Clay & Ginny respectively.

A Semester of Food

Recently a friend of mine was complaining that all I have done this semester is write lab reports and bake. Really when you get down to it, that is mostly correct. It is a busy semester full of classes that can at times be overwhelming, but the rest of the time make me so glad that I am in school doing what I am doing.

There are also a few exciting adventures that have happened recently and I'd like to be able to share them with you all here. Partially at the request of a friend to be able to see more of what I've been up to, and partially because I really would like to be able to keep people in the loop on the happenings of my life since I am so terrible at keeping in contact with people who matter to me.

Thusly the next few posts will hopefully be informative and enjoyable to read. :)

~A