Back in the Blogosphere! My Ode to Indiana's Winter Shenanigans

So, I'm posting for the heck of posting just to force myself to blog again. It's like that moment when you've decided you are going to workout again and the first step is to get up and put on your workout clothes. But truly. I must blog. It calls to me. It gives me so much joy to blah blah blah on the internet. I don't know who reads my stuff, or even gives a rip about what I have to say, but my brain reels with thoughts all of the day long, and it's pretty cathartic to have the illusion that someone is hearing what I'm thinking about. Call it my parking lot of verbal vomit, my storage unit of dusty mind boxes, my shoe rack of proverbial flip flops, my backpack of virtual notebooks. 

I'm not even going to pretend that I'll be consistent about how much I'll post. We all know how that panned out. I might be tempted though to schedule in some "spontaneous" creative times in my calendar as forethought. Regardless, here it is 2015. I've begun to write again. 

Enjoy my first attempt this afternoon!

So what do you do with the 5-6 inches of fresh snow that has fallen in your front yard? Make a coffee slushy. You should have seen the ridiculous parental (not a real word - I know) look my husband gave me when I asked him to fill a coffee cup with snow before he proceeded to do grown up things like shovel our sidewalk. His side eye essentially said, "You. Are. Being. Juvenile." Mind you, only moments ago I slid down the steps in my pajamas just to irritate him. Lol. What more did he expect from me at this point? 

While he sweat and toiled I giggled to myself like 5 year olds do when they are inspired within their little minds to make a delicious snowy, coffee, creamy slushy concoction.

So down to business. Follow this process very carefully if you want the best treat you've ever spontaneously created from the natural elements afforded to you by mother nature. Come to think of it, it was probably so satisfying because I felt so self-sufficient! You know, like catching a fish yourself, skinning it, gutting it and frying it up for dinner over a campfire. Discovery Channel should really make a show about this.  

Step 1: Find coffee mug of choice and ask household adult to fill mug with snow instead of doing it yourself in order to avoid the snowmaggedon that decided to show up on your doorstep weeks before Spring is set to arrive. You missed your turn Winter. Don't be so selfish. (Bitter much? Yes.) 

Step 2: Brew coffee of choice and chill. In my case, use leftover coffee of choice** and pour over mug-shaped snowball. It is important to focus on taking pictures of the perfect pour instead of realizing that you might be spilling on the kitchen counter. 

Step 3: Take flavored creamer of desired choice and pour over mug-shaped snowball. Again, insert moment of narcissistic photography, paying no mind to the other responsibilities that might be calling to your attention like laundry, or making breakfast. 

Step 4: Use spoon to stir and enjoy! The best bites are at the bottom where all the cream and sugar has settled. Mmmmm. Mine tasted like a vanilla latte. 

Optional Step 5: Spend such an exorbitant amount of time touching up photos and making a collage of your coffee slushy adventures just in time to have it all melt into a standard, very boring cup of iced coffee that made this whole process a complete waste of time.*

This was a treat y'all! Another post coming soon. Hopefully. Maybe. 

<3 Rodelyn

**Shout out to Hopscotch coffee for you Bloomingtonians. I'm always down for a new cup o' Joe. Hopscotch just opened this year and locally roasts their beans. You can find them on the Beeline off of Walnut. No convenient parking unfortunately.They also are fair trade, which I'm super stoked about. Although, they should really get Fair Trade certified. People trust the branding - And please get World FT cert. plzzzz? NOT the joke that the standard FT logo has become! A sticker saying Fair Trade doesn't mean much. But anyway, I'm partial to my medium roasts from the Latin Americas, and their medium blend from Oaxaca is delicious. I approve! Not that my say means much of anything. But seriously though. Go check 'em out. Support your local businesses!

*Be forewarned about Step 5. It's not worth the effort. For a whole hot minute my dreams were crushed. If you bother with this step though, comment below and let me know about what delicious coffee concoction you created!

The Gray Area of Integrity

"What on earth could she be talking about?" Is what you're likely thinking if you've decided to read this post. When you look up the word, "integrity" on merriam-webster.com you get these three definitions:

1. firm adherence to a code of moralistic or artistic values

2. an unimpaired condition

3. the quality or state of being undivided

I think that my own personal definition of integrity might be an amalgamation of those three:

"A firm adherence to a moralistically unimpaired or undivided code of values (that might be a little artsy - j/k)."

I was prompted to write about this particular musing today when I found myself in conflict with - myself. In coping with the outcome of a personal circumstance I was confronted with an emotionally debilitating predicament. I had hit the gray area of integrity! 

(Must click for full effect! :-P)

It all began the other day when I just couldn't stop mulling over "the unsaid situation" and felt my heart aching. It wasn't that good kindof lovesick ache either. It was more of the oh-crap-my-world-is-going-to-end ache. (A little exaggerated, no?) The manifestation of my little predicament was that of guilt - guilt that I had wronged someone close to me. Guilt that I had jeopardized some crucial relationships. Fear that I had nicked my fragile little reputation. Suffice it to say - I might have been a little manic. *Blech.* 

As I pressed in a little deeper into my psyche, I found the root of the unquenchable distress. There were two conflicting values. Boiled down simply, it was a value that concerned me crashing headlong into a value that concerned others. Of course they overlapped and blahdy blah blah blah. If I assume that I am undivided in my code of values then how do I reconcile a situation where one part of my code asks me to compromise in order to firmly adhere to another part of my code!!!!! 

I know, I know....

That's what you're sayin'.

I hope that you were able to sort through all of that verbal vomit. I tend to do the verbal vomit thing. Ask anyone. Haha. Well...assuming that you gleaned even a smidgen of what I was trying to say, then I would like to believe that someone out there in the virtual world resonates with me. 

I even took this up with Lord God Almighty. We had a good long talk, reviewed some stuff from the Bible and still couldn't sort through it. So have I found a solution to non-conflictedness? Not really. But what I have realized about myself is that my values are FULL of these contradictions and the curve ball gets thrown when my ethical and moral compasses are set against them. So do I set out on an intellectual pilgrimage to purge my mind of all opposing values? Talk about overwhelming. But the idea of preventative measures to reduce the amount of intellectual and emotional trauma I go through IS appealing. It might also keep others from walking into the crossfire (aka verbal vomit). I'm content to remain unresolved - for now. 

But I do welcome any tips. All pychological/philosophical/ethical/moral Yodas welcome. :)

"Awesome Yoda cake" courtesy of bitrebels.com

Quick recap: Definition of Integrity. Emotional debilitation. Gray area. Dramatic chipmunk. Heart achiness. Conflicting values. Bwaaah!@#$%^&*((*&^%$#@#$%^$$$. Hippy lemur. Unresolved. Yoda. 

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!