4 Years

I was having a long overdue dinner with K last night when I suddenly realized that as of last week, I have now lived in Chicago for 4 years! In some ways it feels like so much longer and in other ways it seems like it was only yesterday. As much as I often miss California and dear friends there, Chicago is very much home right now. I have found a community here where I can be known to others and can know them. Since I moved here I have:

• Lived in 4 different apartments
• Started working for a different organization than I moved here for
• Have been baptized in Lake Michigan
• Served as an elder of a church during a very difficult time of transition
• Learned where to find the best bar food deals every night of the week
• Somehow become a fan of the Cubs
• Learned that it is possible to function without driving everywhere I go and that taking a bus is perfectly acceptable
• Felt some of the most intense loneliness of my life
• Gotten past that loneliness and been able to help others with the same feelings
• Have spent more time talking about the weather than ever
• Uttered the words 'oh good, it's warm enough to snow now'

The list could go on, but you get the picture. The last 4 years have been good. There are things in my life that I wish were different (cough, I'm still single, cough) and there are ways that I want to improve myself personally. But, I'm on the right track and have learned to give myself some grace in life. I have no idea what the future holds. I don't know how much longer I will live in this city. I don't know what the next steps in my career are going to be. But, I know that 4 years ago I moved to a new city and started over and have become a better person for it.

You know you want to try these

Several months ago we joked with one of my co-workers that we were going to find him a cake with bacon for his birthday. A couple of months after that his birthday rolled around and we were on the hunt for something including bacon to bring in for him. We found a bakery near our office that made a bacon maple cupcake. They were expensive but we thought we'd get a couple just for kicks. One of my other co-workers made the brilliant suggestion that we should just make bacon maple cupcakes instead of buying them. I'm not one to shy away from a baking challenge so when she found a recipe for the cupcakes online I promptly volunteered to make them.
The process began with cooking up about a pound of bacon so that I could save the drippings and then chop up the bacon. Both would go into the cupcakes.
This is how the cupcakes begin. Two sticks of butter and two tablespoons of hardened bacon drippings. This is going to be good!

Once the butter and bacon drippings are whipped together, you add other standard cupcake batter ingredients and some good quality maple syrup. The more I think about it, if you take out the bacon drippings, this batter would be a really good basic cupcake. Once the ingredients are all mixed together you add in all the bacon bits and stir together.

Once you bake the cupcakes you end up with these.

Hands down the best part of these was the frosting! Butter, powdered sugar and good quality maple syrup. Amazing! I'll be keeping the frosting recipe around for a long time. Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with a little sea salt and raw sugar.
Aren't they beautiful?

These were a huge hit at the office. I was almost afraid to even taste them but they were surprisingly good. The cake wasn't overly sweet (almost like a cornbread) and the bacon added a nice touch of savory. These were pretty dense and only a few people were able to eat an entire cupcake in one sitting. I made these back in July and people are still talking about them. They were declared to be the best birthday present my co-worker had ever gotten. They made people do little dances of joy. They made jaws drop in disbelief.

Oh Julia

I got to see Julie and Julia last night. It was cute, but I'm glad that I saw it for free. It's a good renter. Make a nice meal, have some friends over and then watch. Entertaining, but not the best movie ever. However, it is an undisputed fact that Meryl Streep is AMAZING! I want to be her.
I'm sure I won't be the only one who feels this way, but I was actually almost inspired to pick a cookbook and cook my way through it after last night. I don't have the follow-thru to actually do it, but the thought did cross my mind. I'll just have to settle for having my friends over occasionally and trying out a new dish or two.

On another note, I'm off to treat myself to a mani/pedi and then this evening I will be making mini cupcakes for a benefit tomorrow night for a friend who just had brain surgery. Perhaps I will also blog about all those other things I keep saying I'll blog about.

In the meantime, check out www.helpfebepainfree.com

P.S.

Earlier this week our offices moved to a new floor in our building. So, instead of sitting by the guy I never talk to (story to come later about running into him at a street fair last weekend) I have to sit right in front of my boss (who will be out for the next month because his wife had a baby yesterday, Westley Beckett, so cute!). The point of this little story is that in the little office right by me sits an older gentleman who talks to loud and still uses a TYPE WRITER!!! What? I didn't know they were even still around. I heard it for the first time yesterday and I just about died of laughter.

Stay Tuned

My internet is being installed at my apartment tomorrow. So, if all goes well, I'll be able to update you all on my new place, the making of bacon cupcakes and all other boring details of my life over the past couple of months. I know that you have been dying to read all about it!

FINALLY!!

I have moved into my very own apartment! My stuff is out of storage and slowly being put in it's place. I'm no longer in limbo about where I might or might not be living. It feels good! As soon as I get internet set up at my place and get things cleaned up a bit, I'll take you all on a little tour.

So Sorry

My apologies to the few of you who stop by here every once in awhile to stalk me. I've been rather absent. Truth be told, I'm exhausted. Mentally. Physically. Spiritually. I've thought about posting something a few times. I just haven't had the energy.
I'll be back, but for now I'm laying low.