How about some mashed potatoes with that chicken?

Things have been rather active professionally. In addition to passing our accreditation review with flying colors, I've also had some opportunities come up for new positions elsewhere. While I have had a lot of rewarding experiences where I currently work, I'm ready for a change. I'm hoping to get into a public library system where I can work with the public at large. I may be making this change as soon as mid-October. It's a very exciting time for me and although it will be hard leaving the campus where I have spent the last six years, this is a decision I feel is right for me both personally and professionally.

Since my last post in early August, I have tried out a number of recipes that I'll be sharing here over the next couple of weeks. I anticipate that I will be doing a lot more cooking too if I make the job change I'm hoping for, so recipes could come rapid fire. I'm also hoping for time for gardening and some of the other things I've had to put aside (art, music, spending time outside).

Today's recipe is a mashed potatoes recipe that compliments the oven-fried chicken recipe of my last post. These mashed potatoes are so creamy and good. This is not heart-healthy, low-fat, low cholesterol, or any other healthy moniker. Actually, there's no wheat in this recipe so it would be OK for someone with a wheat allergy. There, that's something. So here ya go, mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots.

What you'll need:
5 lbs. potatoes (your choice, but I like the sweeter red potatoes)
5 medium shallots
1 Tbs. bacon grease or olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

What you'll need to do:
1. Peel and cut the potatoes into 2-in pieces. Place into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until you can easily poke them with a fork or toothpick (about 15-20 min).
2. Drain potatoes and return to the pot.
3. Peel and chop the shallots (they always makes me cry).
4. In a medium frying pan, heat the bacon grease over medium heat and add the shallots. Saute and stir occasionally until the shallots have turned golden brown. You may need to reduce heat slightly to avoid burning them (low and slow is the key to good caramelized onions). Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Add the butter, buttermilk, heavy cream and spices to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher (the handheld kind) until creamy. Use a spoon or spatula to fold in the shallots. Serve warm.

You can up the ante even more with this recipe if you add bacon. You can soft-cook your bacon (even cook it way ahead of time), cut it into smaller chunks, and reserve the bacon grease if you don't have any already on hand.

Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken

I love fried chicken. It's one of my guilty pleasures in American cuisine (save the oxymoron jokes and comments for another time). The crunch of the batter, the moist meat, the flavor of the seasonings on my tongue. Every so often I get a craving that nothing else seems to satisfy except a bite of good fried chicken. Well, I found several recipes for oven-fried chicken that I borrowed from and cobbled together to create the recipe below. The beauty of oven-fried chicken is that it shaves off some of the fat and calories that inevitably come hand-in-hand with chicken fried the old-fashioned way in oil and grease. And this recipe allows you to still get that crunch that is such a key characteristic of fried chicken.

What you'll need:
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbs. salt
2 tsp. onion powder
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
6-8 meaty chicken pieces
2 c. buttermilk
5 c. ground cornflakes
4 Tbs. melted unsalted butter

What you'll need to do:
1. Mix together the cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and dry mustard in a small bowl.*
2. Arrange the chicken pieces in a 13x9-in baking dish so that no pieces overlap. Sprinkle with the spice mix. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken, cover, and put in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also chill overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degree and fit a wire rack inside a baking sheet.
4. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and dredge in the cornflakes. Drizzle the melted butter over the top of the chicken.
5. Place chicken on the rack so that no pieces overlap. Bake the chicken until crispy, about 35-40 minutes.

*You can adjust the spices to your taste. Scooter and I like garlic, so I added more. If you like your food with a little bite to it, up the amount of pepper you use.

The buttermilk "marinade" helps to keep the chicken super moist. You can use low-fat buttermilk and cut calories and fat further. Also, because the chicken cooks on a rack, the excess oil and grease drips down and away from the meat, meaning it's not cooking in a pool of fat. This is by no means a fat-free or low-fat recipe, but it will help trim some of the bad stuff and will be better than getting fried chicken from a fast-food chain.

You can serve this dish with this mashed potatoes recipe.

Core Comfort Food: Meat Loaf

I'm going to gloss over the fact that I haven't posted at all in the last two months. There was a move (which is still in progress), job hunting (also still in progress), and heightened activity and stress at work. The combination of the three has been, shall we say, challenging. My physical, mental, emotional, and at times moral capacities have been tested. In times of great stress, food can often be a comfort; meat loaf is, in my opinion, the epitome of American comfort food. And when you have a good recipe, this meat-and-potatoes ordinary meal can turn into something quite tasty. Here's a recipe I have used and pass on to you.

What you'll need:
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk
2/3 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs. snipped fresh parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup*

What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs then add the milk and combine. Add the bread crumbs, onion, herbs, and salt and pepper. Stir together.
3. Add the ground meat and mix the contents of the bowl together well.
4. Put meat mixture into an 8x4x2-in loaf pan. Even out the top and pat down gently. Bake in oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
5. Spread 1/2 the mushroom soup on the top of the meatloaf; add more if you wish (and if the pan can hold it). Bake for another 10 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and serve with roasted potatoes.

*My mom used this on her meatloaf instead of ketchup, and I think the flavor is better. We were not big ketchup people except for hot dogs, hamburgers, and fries. Putting ketchup on meatloaf just seems...wrong.

Le Fin, Le Commencement

It is over. It it just beginning.

This is the sentiment I feel now having officially graduated with my MLIS. Four years, fifteen classes, hundreds of readings, and about a bajillion pages of writing later, I'm done. The computer problems--wireless/Internet disconnects, computer crashes, and lost work--are no longer the dire threats to my academic and professional future they have been. The nervous breakdowns, the feeling that it's just all too much, and the sessions of crying on Scooter's shoulder are over (or at least my academics will no longer be the cause of them). The need to juggle work and school like a professional entertainer is no more. No more late nights, no more logging on to my course site every day, no more stressing over grades. I don't ever have to write another paper if I don't want to. How liberating that thought is! I have gained not only my MLIS but my ability to pursue the little pleasures of life once again. Having to sacrifice pleasure reading for class lectures and assigned articles is a thing of the past. My time (outside of work) is my own again, and it's a strange freedom.

And while my academic program is indeed over, my professional career is still in its youth. I have been a librarian for the past 4 1/2 years, and considered myself a "professional" long before the completion of my degree. But the MLIS is an acknowledgement of my skills and adds a validity to what I've done and continue to do. With the degree, new doors have opened and new opportunities have now become possible. So while the degree marks the end of my academic career, my professional one is in essence just beginning. And will hopefully blossom, as I'm praying it will in the near future.

One thing that multiple people have asked me is "Will you pursue another degree or a doctorate?" Well, even though I know Mom would love to be able to brag about another doctor in the family (Dad and sister have a PhD), the answer to that question is a resounding "NO!" I intend to be a life-long learner, but I am content with the single Master's. School is draining; doubly so when you are an adult with a full-time job and an active life. I don't see myself going back to school anytime soon, if ever. This was the first degree I pursued on my own and for myself. I think it is my last. Besides, I have that wonderful taste of freedom. And the memory of being a student and not having that is too fresh to want to go back. I have a serious case of post-senioritis.

And so I'll just enjoy life for a bit. Maybe in a few decades I'll be ready to go back.

A Summer Dessert Part 2

Lemons are the epitome of summer fruit. Chilled lemonade, lemon meringue pie, lemon cake--all summertime treats that speak of long days, picnics, and hot weather. So it should be no surprise that my other proposed "perfect" summer dessert is also from the lemon family: lemon bars. These are an absolutely scrumptious sweet, and they are not that difficult to make. This particular recipe results in a bar with a crust that's like a buttery version of shortbread and a lemon filling that's similar to a rich lemon curd. Topped with a little powdered sugar, it's a perfect picnic dessert to enjoy with a glass of cold iced tea. And by the way, yes it does matter which lemons you use. More about that after the recipe.

What you'll need:
2 c. flour
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbs. corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 Tbs. flour
1 tsp. lemon zest
3/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. half and half
powdered sugar for dusting

What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9-in pan (a Pyrex pan works very well if you have it).
2. In a medium bowl, add the 2 cups of flour, powdered sugar, corn starch, and salt. Quickly mix together. Add the butter and combine with the flour mixture with either a pastry blender or your fingers. Mixture should resemble breadcrumbs.
3. Press flour mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake about 20 minutes or until edges start to become golden.
4. As the crust is baking, mix together the eggs, granulated sugar, the 3 tablespoons of flour, the lemon zest, lemon juice, and the half and half.
5. After the crust has finished baking, pour the lemon mixture over the hot crust. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the center is set (it won't wiggle when you gently shake the pan).
6. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan. After the bars have cooled, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar. Store in the fridge and serve chilled.

As I mentioned above, it really does matter what kind of lemons you use. For anything with a lemon-type filling (lemon meringue pie, lemon bars, etc.) I always use Meyer lemons. This particular type of lemon has a juice that is sweeter than other lemons (others types I have found to be VERY bitter). Meyers also have the good fortune to be very juicy. For this recipe, I only needed 3 large Meyer lemons off of my mother's tree. Using other types of lemons would likely require more of them to make the 3/4 cup of necessary lemon juice. Meyer lemon skin can be used for the zest in this recipe (and when I made it, I did), but there is another kind of lemon Mom has that has great skin for zest--it's sturdier and more tart than that of the Meyers. Sadly, I don't know the specific name for it. All I can say is that it has a thicker skin and is larger in size than the Meyers.

Enjoy your summer desserts!

A Summer Dessert Part 1

Mother's Day was very low-key this year, more so than usual because Mom is still recovering from shoulder surgery. But we still managed to do a fine job with dinner. And because I couldn't decide on one dessert, I made two. The first is here, the second will be posted later this week.

Berry tartlets are one of two truly perfect summer desserts. They are light and should be served cool, which makes each bite wonderfully refreshing. I like fruit and I like making something yummy with fruit. And because fruit is healthy, a dessert with fresh fruit adds that little touch of anti-guilt to help kill the mental "I shouldn't be eating this" when all you want to do is indulge just a bit in something sweet. And what better way to enjoy fresh fruit then when it's the finishing touch of a berry tartlet?

What you'll need:
3 Tbs. ground almonds
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
3 Tbs. butter, chilled
2 Tbs. water
3/4 c. vanilla pudding
enough berries for 12-15 shells

What you'll need to do:
1. Add the ground almonds, flour, and granulated sugar to a food processor. Pulse to combine, then cut up and add the butter. Pulse until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
2. While running the motor, slowly add the water until a dough forms. If needed, add a few extra drops. Remove the dough and form it into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a tartlet pan with butter or cooking spray.
4. Thinly roll out the dough on a floured surface. Use a 2 1/2 or 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out rounds. Press together remaining dough, roll out, and continue cutting out rounds. Repeat until you run out of dough.
5. Gently place the rounds into the prepared tartlet pan and prick with a fork. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes or until the dough starts to get golden in color. Let cool on a rack.
6. Carefully spread pudding on the cooled shells. Arrange berries on top. See the picture at the beginning of this post to view the assembly. Prepared tartlets can be stored for several hours in the fridge. Serve chilled.

The only truly fattening part of this is the butter in the tartlet shell. Everything else is low or non-fat. No eggs are used, so this is a great recipe for anyone with egg allergies. Also, you can choose other fruits. Kiwis, bananas, and tangerines could also be used if cut into small pieces. I'm just particularly fond of the berry medley for this bite-sized dessert.

A second summer dessert recipe will follow later this week!

Making Magic with Julia Child

It's been awhile since my last new recipe. Scooter and I have been using a lot of repeats lately simply because both weeknights and weekends have been busy. And when you're busy, it's a lot faster to whip up something you've made before than to try out something new. But this last weekend, I decided to try a new recipe for Sunday dinner. When looking at my line of cookbooks, I grabbed one I hadn't turned to in awhile: Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And the recipe I chose was her "Roasted Chicken Steeped with Port Wine, Cream, and Mushrooms." This was truly an experience for the palate. So much so that I couldn't help but exclaiming "Oh my God!" after I tasted the sauce and making Scooter come to the kitchen to taste it too. He got this dreamy look in his eyes and just stood there with a smile, savoring the flavor. We licked up every drop (in my case, literally) from our plates when we sat down to our meal. I don't know how she is able to do it, but decades after writing her recipes down Julia still inspires cooks and gives them the steps to make magic in their kitchen. Turning basic ingredients like the ones above into something so incredible can't be anything but a kind of magic. So without further ado, here is my slight variation on Julia's recipe.

What you'll need:
3 lbs. meaty chicken pieces (thighs worked really well)
olive oil
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms
1/4 lb. white mushrooms
1 pkg. dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 c. water
1 1/2 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch, mixed with 1 Tbs. of the cream
1 shallot, peeled and diced small
1/3 c. port
1/4 c. brandy or cognac
salt and pepper to taste

What you'll need to do:
1. Put the dried porcini mushrooms into a small bowl and add enough water to almost cover them. Set aside.
2. Rinse and dry the chicken pieces. Place them on a flat rack in a roasting pan. Baste with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes or until juice is clear. Remove and set aside.
3. While the chicken is roasting, clean and trim the other mushrooms. Cut into quarters or thick slices. Set aside.
4. In a large saucepan, add the water, 1/2 Tbs. of the butter, lemon juice, and salt. Bring to a boil and add all of the mushrooms, including the porcini mushrooms' water. Cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Pour out the cooking liquid and reserve.
5. Add the cream and cornstarch mixture. Simmer for another 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper as desired and set aside.
6. When the chicken is done roasting, remove from oven and set aside to rest.
7. In a small saucepan, add 2 Tbs of the fat from the roasting pan. Stir in the shallots and cook slowly for 1 minute. Add the port and the reserved cooking liquid from the mushrooms. Boil rapidly until mixture has reduced to about 1/3 cup.
8. Add the contents of the small saucepan to the large saucepan and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until sauce starts to thicken.
9. Smear the inside of a dutch oven or casserole dish with the remaining butter. Add the chicken pieces and arrange. Put the dutch oven over medium to medium high heat until you hear the chicken starting to sizzle.
10. Pour in the brandy and use a long-handled match or lighter to light the alcohol. **BE CAREFUL and LEAN BACK FROM THE DISH when you do this** Remember, safety first! Tilt or shake the dutch oven until the flames disappear. If you get too nervous, put the lid on the pot to instantly put out the flame.
11. Pour in the mushroom mixture, cover and turn down to low heat for 5 minutes. Serve hot with rice or roasted potatoes.

This recipe suggests a white wine, but I'm so much more partial to red. We decided to try one that I bought at the store on a whim. It was of a winery I had enjoyed in the past (I like their Merlot), but a particular type that I hadn't yet sampled. Oh. My. God. It was fantastic! It was like the icing on the cake--a perfect way to round out the chicken. You can see the label here. If you ever come across this wine, do yourself a favor and buy it! Scooter and I finished the bottle. It's already on my shopping list for this weekend.

Between the outstanding food and the wine we fell in love with, it was a truly amazing meal. And the leftovers (sans wine) were just as good.

Go make some magic in your kitchen and bon appétit!

The Romance Novel

I admit it: I thought that romance novels had nothing to offer me. It wasn't so much the content. Yes, I am quite familiar with the genre stereotypes and tropes dealing with the content of romance novels, and I can hear the mental snickers of some of you as you read this. But honestly, it wasn't about the content. It was more that I didn't think I would find any good stories within the pages of a romance novel. To me, romance had been synonymous with "brainless fluff." This is a comparison that I know now is not uniformly deserved. My foray into this genre has been a journey, one that has been helped by friends and family including the very strong recommendations of my sister. It's not just about bodice-rippers or trite plots, although there are books of both types (sometimes both in the same book!) in the genre. It's about exploration and discovery, not in a sensual sense, but in an emotional I-know/wonder-what-that-feels-like sense.

Which brings me to another question: what makes a book a romance? I've read more books than I can count, and many of them have elements of romance in them without being romance novels. That includes many YA novels that I've read. To me, a romance book is one that centers around the human emotional experience: how we search for love (or lust) and what happens when we find it. Because no two people are exactly the same, there are countless ways in which this can manifest--and it's not all rainbows and unicorns (as Scooter would say). Love is a complicated emotion, so the stories that are inspired by it and in turn inspire us can be just a complicated. That's not to say that the novels with trite plot lines are bad. Sometimes I want to read a story that's like a really long fairy tale in the non-Grimm, Disney-esque sense: simple to follow, funny and light, with bad stuff that's not really bad and a guaranteed happy ending. And sometimes I want to read a story about the struggle behind love, about the not-so-perfect stuff and the bittersweet ending that's not the happily-ever-after you imagined (and even wistfully want just that little bit) but is just right anyway.

Right now, my experience is limited to only a few authors (although I plan to incorporate more works by more authors as I exhaust my sister's resources). My sister has introduced me to most of the authors in this genre that I've read--most recently Nora Roberts--but one was introduced to me by my old boss who passed on a recommendation from his wife, Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand. I enjoyed it so much, I bought my own copy and invested in some of the other titles she wrote. Reading romance novels is almost like watching chick flicks, a movie genre I like a lot (much to Scooter's chagrin). Not sure why I held romance novels at arm's length when I watch and enjoy so many chick flicks, and the two share so many themes. I don't have to over-analyze these books--I get to simply sit back and enjoy them. To feel them. Which yields a truly satisfying reading experience.

Here are some that I highly recommend for the curious:
Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand
Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand
The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand
In the Garden Trilogy by Nora Roberts
Three Sisters Island Trilogy by Nora Roberts
The Donovan Legacy Series by Nora Roberts
Arranged by Catherine McKenzie

I'll add more to the list as I think of them.

Higher Education Woes

We need an education make-over. This is a conclusion that I have come to after quite a bit of reflection, observation, and discussion about student performance and opportunities for higher education. I don't know what the education in other states is like, but in California there is definitely room for improvement.

Students aren't what they used to be. Perhaps this observation is skewed by my naive outlook on life and the academic achievers that I was encouraged to associate with when I was younger, but it seems like students as a whole don't seem to care as much about reaching academic goals. Sure, everyone wants to do well in life and be in a successful career, but I'm beginning to wonder if students have mentally disconnected the line between academic success and career success and don't feel that the latter is dependent on the former. Could it be that in their view good grades do not equal a good job anymore? Considering that we are limping out of a recession, that's not such a surprising conclusion for students to have made, especially if they or others close to them were experiencing unwanted unemployment and had a degree. If college is not seen as a valuable investment (as many of us have been told all our lives), then students are not going to clamor to get in. They will choose other paths, perhaps career training schools that advertise preparing individuals for entry-level positions and promise to assist students with finding jobs (not all of them deliver, and I have other issues with career school, but that is for another time and place). Perhaps it's not that the students have changed, but getting the bang for your buck in college has. Well, maybe so, but I don't think that's the whole story.

Education isn't what it used to be. Students in K-12 are not being as prepared for college and higher education as they could be (used to be?). Believe me, I do not blame the teachers. I was a teacher once, so I lived the challenges that they face in the classroom everyday. It's hard to make your students college-ready when your classroom is over-populated and daily lessons are completely taken over by pacing guides and district-mandated subject schedules that define how long teachers are allowed to spend on one area--and if students don't get it, too bad you have to move on. I know that seems unbelievable, but that was the situation I dealt with when I taught in a district in Northern California. So knowing that, it's not hard to accept that students are not being prepared. Not every teacher or even every district deals with like situations, but they exist. So by the time students get to high school, many of them are struggling because they didn't understand everything they should have in their K-8 classes. They enter high school already behind. They may graduate high school but they are not college-ready when they leave because they've missed important concepts or opportunities that help to build their critical thinking and reasoning skills, among other academic abilities. They are not by any means stupid or dumb...just absurdly unprepared. I see it everyday working with the students I do. I see students that are unable to think through a problem, even one that I would deem relatively simple; students that are very computer illiterate (what happened to giving them the chance in K-12 to familiarize themselves with the computer?); and students that don't know how to take notes or even write coherently. Writing skills, computer skills, critical thinking skills...all of these skill areas are supposed to be a part of every student's K-12 education. And perhaps for the majority of students it is happening, but I feel as though too many students are falling through the cracks. Education isn't what it used to be in California. Years ago, California ranked high among all the states (I want to say in the top ten, but I can't find the data) in terms of K-12 education; now, it ranks 33rd and performs poorly in several key areas.

One more piece of the puzzle still needs to be acknowledged. Let's face it: the cost of higher education isn't what it used to be. Every year, tuition for higher education rises, even for the state-run colleges and universities that are supposed to be "affordable" for students. The current cost of tuition and fees for California residents at UC Davis, a university I attended for two years before transferring to another, is $13,902. It's almost three times that much for out-of-state or international students to attend. When I attended the campus, tuition was only a fraction of that (my parents wrote the checks, so I don't have the receipts for the exact amount). That figure, as shown on the page I linked to, doesn't even include the other costs for school: health insurance (if you don't have proof of insurance through a parent), books, room and board, and other expenses. It adds up very quickly and means that students from low-income families have to take on substantial debt in order to attend school. What compounds the problem is that many students are finishing in 4 1/2 or 5 years, rather than 4. So that $33,073-per-year price tag noted on that same page I linked to just went from $132,292 for four years (as long as tuition doesn't continue to increase) to $148, 828 for 4 1/2 years or $165,363 for five years. You can buy a nice house in some parts of the country for that kind of money. For many students, taking on that much debt isn't an option. It's an insurmountable price tag for education, something that all students attending public school didn't have to pay for until knocking at the gate of California's public colleges and universities. This goes back to the idea of value I touched on above. What is the education one gets at the public colleges and universities worth? Is it worth the all-expenses-included-$33,073-a-year price tag? Is it worth more? Less? I think that more people are starting to say "less" and choosing other options. Could we start to see more growth in career training schools or other alternatives that focus on career opportunities rather than education? I don't know. Even many of these options come with a stiff price tag that could discourage people; a 15-month program at the school where I work is priced at about $30,000 and there's no way for the school to guarantee that every student will get a job in their field, even if there is staff to assist students with finding positions (and they do maintain a certain percentage of placements for accreditation purposes). Education costs are a gamble, and students have no way to be assured they will get a job after graduation, although job prospects have improved over the last couple of years.

I know I'm writing a lot of doom and gloom here, but there is a silver lining, a light for hope. Can you guess what it is?

The heroes of higher education are community colleges and libraries. Community colleges especially are not given enough credit for what it is they do. They take in all students that want to walk through their doors and get an education. If a student isn't college-ready, they have remedial courses and other services to help prepare students to transfer to a four-year college or university if that is really what they want to do. And if a student decides that a four-year college is not where they want to go and they want to concentrate on preparing for a career, well community colleges do that too. I didn't really appreciate the significance of this role until recently. And community colleges manage to perform at a cost that would be a dream come true at a UC or CSU campus. This local community college charges a mere $46 per unit. A student attending full-time and taking 12 units a semester is only spending $1,104 for the whole year in tuition, $1,166 if we include the other fees. Community colleges are giving students the ability to prepare for pursing higher education at four-year institutions or prepare for a career and doing so at a much more affordable cost. And let's not forget about libraries. Academic libraries, and yes even public libraries, are helping patrons of every age to pursue life-long learning and education. Remember my mention of students that are computer illiterate? My local public library system offers computer literacy classes. Academic libraries, particularly those at community colleges, offer instruction that builds critical thinking skills and helps students to be more prepared at being students (like being able to research for a class assignment). And they work with every skill level. Academic libraries do often offer for-credit courses as well; public libraries don't, but their workshops and other resources are often helpful when someone wants to concentrate on a specific skill set. And let's not forget the price tag for using the library: $0. Even academic libraries (excepting for-credit courses) offer their services for free, and sometimes people in the community are able to take advantage of what the library offers even if they aren't students.

So today, I salute all libraries and community colleges for what they do to help people with their life goals. Our education system is in trouble, but I think there's still hope. As long as these two entities exist to help address the needs of those that have career rather than academic aspirations, or need more preparation for college, or can't afford high tuition, then things are not broken beyond repair.

But they will eventually have to be fixed.

Italian Fruit Tart

I haven't made anything new for awhile, but this recipe is one that I keep forgetting to share here. I started making fruit tarts some years ago and am definitely overdue for my next one. I much prefer a cake-y base for a tart, rather than the harder pastry crust I've found in some store-bought tarts. The key to making this dessert both yummy and beautiful is to use fruits of different colors. I tend to use kiwis, tangerines and strawberries for the bright colors they have, and will add small berries, bananas, or other fruits that are in season. With the abundance of fruit available in the summer, this is an excellent warm-weather dessert.

What you'll need:
3 Tbs. finely-ground hazelnuts or almonds
3 Tbs. finely-ground vanilla cookie crumbs
1/4c. brown sugar
3 1/2 Tbs. butter or margarine, divided
2 eggs
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. flour
2 Tbs. rum
1/2 c. milk
4-5 kinds of fruit, peeled and divided into pieces as necessary
3/4 c. apple jelly

What you'll need to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the ground nuts, the cookie crumbs, brown sugar, and 2 1/2 Tbs of the butter with your fingers. Butter and dust an 11- to 11 1/2-inch tart pan. Sprinkle the nut mixture on the flat part of the pan and gently press down.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs with an electric mixer until foamy. Add the sugar and mix together at high speed until thick. Stir in the flour and the rum.
4. In a small pan, bring the milk and the remaining 1 Tbs. of butter to simmering. Immediately mix into the batter.
5. Pour the batter into the tart pan and bake on the lowest rack in the oven for about 25 minutes. Cake will be golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the cake should come out clean.
6. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Flip the pan over and ease the cake out of the pan. The nut mixture may stick. If this happens, scrape it off of the pan and gently spread it back onto the cake with a knife. Let the cake cool completely.
7. While the cake is cooling, strain the apple jelly (to thin it out so the consistency remains even) and add it to a small pan. Heat over medium-low heat until runny.
8. Arrange the fruit on the tart. Glaze with the warm apple jelly and let cool.

Now sit back and enjoy the ooos and ahhs when you serve your picture-worthy dessert. You can have it with whipped cream or all by itself. Enjoy!

Working With the Green

The hills are green, and the grassy turf is sprinkled with color from the spring wildflowers decorating the fields. The flowers have come in early this year, many in February because the lack of rain and the warmer weather have tricked them into thinking it's well into Spring. I see splashes of orange from California poppies and purple blushes in the fields from some tiny flower I don't have the name of every morning and evening as I drive to and from work. I feel like a flower myself, ready to pop out of my winter shell and bask in the sunshine and the spring breezes.

Even so, I never feel like it's truly Spring until I can get my garden going. The last couple of years, I've missed out on this because there wasn't enough time and space to really branch out (pardon the pun). This year, I have the opportunity to literally get my hands dirty and get a modest garden up and running. Poor Scooter has had to listen to me prattle on about vegetables and roses and bulb plants and bird feeders and outdoor furniture since Fall. Come hell or high water, I was going to have a garden this year. I am an unstoppable force that really needs my green. I'm almost embarrassed to say that a recent trip to OSH nearly had me spending on gardening stuff what other women spend on shoes. But in the end I had to be sensible; we're not able to do as much as we did three years ago. Part of it is because the backyard of our current place is cemented over, so everything has to be in pots or planter boxes (but I'll take what I can get). Part of it is because while I do have more time, life is still busy and I don't want to take on more than I can handle. And part of it is because the area is in a drought and it doesn't make any kind of sense to have a large garden that needs a lot of water. But all those garden goodies were very hard to resist.

So, we're starting small: some strawberries, some tomatoes, basil (other herbs to come), and one zucchini. The tomatoes and zucchini don't need tons of water (and actually zucchini--we found out--is susceptible to fungus if over-watered). The strawberries and basil are my two concessions that will probably need water every other day or every day, depending on how hot it gets. I also chose some flowering plants that don't seem to need a lot of water (every 2-3 days until established, then less after that). The few pictures below show our progress at the end of day 1.

We planted sequoia strawberries, the variety that Scooter likes.

A basil plant for pasta and to eat with tomato--an Italian must!

Scooter found this container at a swap meet. It's a perfect match for the red tomato.

The herb bed is ready and waiting. I just have to buy the herbs.

The zucchini bed before we lined and filled it. Scooter also added support on the sides to make sure it lasts the whole season.

Some of the pretty flowers we got to adorn the garden and not need tons of water.

We added another wine barrel with two tomatoes on day 2 (thank you K and Z for the donation of wine barrels!). We also added protection in the form of chicken wire for the strawberries and the zucchini; with cats in the area, the dirt would of course seem like a convenient litter box and I don't need that kind of surprise when I'm digging around. I hope to add thyme, oregano, and sage to the herb bed by May (there's a rosemary hedge out front, so we're good there); now that I'm cooking more again, I need my Italian herbs! And I have plans for adding bird feeders--high out of the reach of cats--and comfortable chairs to enjoy my new green space. Spring is just too much fun!

Information Literacy

This topic has been on my mind lately because of both my e-portfolio and a job posting I saw. On my way to work this morning (which is a time when I think about a lot of things), I began to wonder what challenges information literacy a few decades ago would have faced compared to today. This page provided by ACRL on information literacy implies that the concept wasn't even around then. I find that worthy of exploring further because of how I envision information literacy and teaching individuals information literacy skills. The main concepts could have been applied to one's search and use of information ten, twenty, or even fifty years ago. Perhaps back then these ideas were simply called research skills.

I see information literacy as teaching proficiency in three areas: how to search for information, how to analyze information, and how to use information. Obviously, the techniques for searching for information have been refined with the adoption of online and digital resources. However, the search for information still takes places within physical materials--skills that were relevant long before the Internet and that still are helpful to know now. The techniques used for analyzing information I don't see as having changed too much. The purpose of analyzing information is to be sure that the information is accurate and comes from an authoritative source (when doing publication-worthy research, authoritative sources are important). With digital resources, such as websites or webpages, finding the identifying information that one normally uses to determine this can be somewhat elusive; but the things we look for (author, author's bio, date of publication, etc.) haven't changed terribly much. How we use the information we find also is relatively the same. Sources still need to be properly cited and plagiarism is still considered the grave sin of writing. Citation styles have been updated to include the variety of materials one can find online or in digital formats, but again, the concepts of how to use others' works is still consistent with how it was done before we could "find everything online."

So what is the big challenge with information literacy today? Why would we need to coin a phrase for a process that is basically researching with a bigger pool of information? The "bigger pool of information" is the key here. Information literacy, in addition to teaching research concepts with more types of materials that one can use, is also teaching how to navigate the ocean of information that exists. It's about quantity. There is so much information out there that it's often hard for the information "newbies" to even complete the first task of searching for information. It would be like sending a sea captain out on a boat without any navigational tools and tell him to sail across the Pacific and land on a specific island out of the more than 7,000 that make up the Philippines. Setting a fresh-faced student in front of a computer and giving her a topic to research without any preparation is like what the sea captain would be up against. The student probably has some basic knowledge that she can draw from to start searching (as the sea captain would have to head in the right direction), but she's probably not able to find and use the resources that would be perfect for her needs (just as the sea captain would not be able to find that single tiny island without some navigational help). It also doesn't help that anyone can put any information on the Internet they want, as long as they have a site and host server--which means our student may think she found the information she needs when actually it's completely inaccurate.

This is where librarians come in. We have the skills to pay the bills, and we are willing and able to teach our patrons information literacy skills. In libraries that serve post-secondary student populations, this exchange is already happening; I suspect that it's also occurring in K-12 school libraries and media centers with a dedicated librarian or other individual that fills that role (but it's not always the case that the school has such a person on staff). The reality is that information literacy instruction isn't always reaching the students because (1) school or campus libraries may not provide it or (2) the instruction may not be compulsory so students choose not to participate (which is often the case at post-secondary institutions). Information literacy skills use critical thinking skills and Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive skills, so teaching information literacy not only serves to improve ones skills in finding and using information but also builds competence in these other areas. I guess my point here is that information literacy skills should be a required component of the classroom and library instruction in all school districts and at all levels of education up to and including undergraduate (and instruction should be compulsory). This can be done either by having instruction in the library that students would attend, or coordination between librarian and faculty that would allow the librarian to provide instruction in the classroom that would tie in to the course. It's not an impossible feat, and I'm sure it would be easily accomplished if everyone supported the idea and was willing to help make it happen.

I'll step down from my soapbox now. I get worked up about this because I want students to leave school with all the skills that will make them successful, and too often I see the product of an incomplete education. I don't by any means blame the teachers (believe me, I KNOW how hard you all work to teach kids, teens, and adults), but I think there is a way that we can do better by our students and make them competitive in all industries.

At the Finish Line

Well, I know that I was AWOL on here for awhile, but I did it. I finished my e-portfolio, and before my personal deadline of April 1. It has been accepted by my department, so I am officially done with all of my Master's work. No more classes, no more discussions, and best of all no more writing. My mom suggested that I print everything in my e-portfolio out and have it bound, and I'm considering the idea. Here's what the final numbers look like:

Competencies completed: 15
Competencies graded satisfactory: 15
Competencies in progress: 0
Competencies yet to address: 0
Revisions required: 2
Pages written: 86
Days remaining until advisor's deadline: 10 days
Days remaining until department's deadline: 24 days

It's a bit surreal. I feel myself waiting for the next assignment to emerge and I have to keep reminding myself that I'm done. My graduation ceremony is still over a month and half away, and I don't think I'll really feel like I'm done until I get to be hooded. Even when I go to the campus bookstore next week to order my graduation gear.

Two things that I needed to talk about in the "extra" parts of my e-portfolio were my professional goals and my professional growth plan. My goals are "to (1) work in an environment where I interact with and assist patrons on a daily basis both at the reference desk and in other capacities within and outside of the library; (2) focus on providing reference assistance and supporting and expanding the library’s online services; (3) develop and present library instruction workshops; and (4) work in either a public or academic library" (taken directly from my e-portfolio). Part of my professional growth plan is to keep learning. One thing that I've come to understand is that there is so much that we can learn from each other. Librarians are often a gregarious bunch (you should see us at our conferences) and are very willing to share their experiences and knowledge on pretty much every topic one could imagine has anything to do with libraries. And some topics that have nothing to do with libraries. Many librarians write on blogs in order to share this experience and insight with a larger crowd. I'm listing here a few blogs that I follow (some more loosely than others) so that I can share some of those I turn to for information and inspiration.

Librarian in Black: This librarian shares a lot of my views, and I appreciate her willingness to be very vocal about them (as sometimes I find myself unable to do the same). The author helps me to stay up-to-date with issues in the profession since she tends to be really on top of them. She's actually in the same region where I am, so it's nice to read about a "local" librarian's experiences.

In the Library with the Lead Pipe: What initially drew me to this blog was the name (used to play Clue a lot when I was young). What kept me returning back to the blog were the articles. It's a great blog which posts on a wide variety of topics. It's actually won some awards and is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals and EBSCO (where it's noted as peer-reviewed). I guess really it should be termed an online journal.

Librarian by Day: This is another great blog with topics that span nearly every library-related subject. I like Bobbi Newman's posts because they goes beyond the surface of a topic and dig a little. I appreciate her insight and experience.

The Library Loon: This is a rather witty blog and one that almost always gets a chuckle out of me. The authoress, whoever she is, tackles issues and shares her experiences with her audience by writing in a manner that Emily Post would most heartily applaud. And yet, she manages to inject much humor among the quite proper language. Perhaps this blog isn't for everyone, but I do enjoy it.

YALSA's The Hub: This is a must-read for anyone in YA services (and those folks probably are already reading it), but it's also a fun read for any librarians or even (YA) book enthusiasts. There is a LOT of discussion about up-and-coming and popular YA books and many book lists. With my growing interest in books for the YA audience, I am often browsing posts looking for potential titles to read. It's been a great help to figure out what I want to read next!

Librarian Problems: This one is purely for fun. Check it out, laugh, enjoy. No further explanation is needed.

So that's my short list. There are a few other blogs that I have bookmarked and go back to every so often, but these ones I follow more regularly and really enjoy. Feel free to note any other library blogs you enjoy in the comments section.

I hope to post a new recipe next week.

E-Portfolio Update

Just a quick update on where I am in my e-portfolio.

Competencies completed: 5
Competencies graded satisfactory: 4
Competencies in progress: 0
Competencies yet to address: 10
Revisions required: 1
Pages written: 29
Days remaining until advisor's deadline: 54 days
Days remaining until department's deadline: 68 days

With my birthday this week, I've given myself a little bit of a break and allowed myself to only submit one competency this week (which I just turned in today, so Happy Birthday to me!). With five competencies complete--and barring any revisions I have to do for the latest one submitted--I'm now a third of the way through. I cannot WAIT to get through the other two-thirds. I've been jumping all over the list and have been working on competencies out of order. I did do the first one first, but have not followed any rhyme or reason for the rest of the ones I've chosen to address. Perhaps the only common denominator between all of them is that I've already thought about what I want to include as evidence and what points I want to hit in my statement of competency. Slowly my grade list is filling up with 1's (the passing grade).

In the middle of work, school, and life stress I've also managed to lose five pounds, another small victory. Scooter has been helpful by cutting back on snacks he brings into the house. And he made this great marinade that he let the meat sit in for 3 days. I don't know if anyone else has let meat marinade that long, but we've done it twice now and the 3-day marinade makes the meat sooooooo good. I'll ask for the marinade recipe tonight and post tomorrow.

Until then, I can give my fingers a rest from typing...

And the work goes on and on...

I didn't think I could write so much in such a short amount of time. I have a fire under me to finish this final big project in record time. It would be so nice to have it all done by April. Not sure that will actually happen, but it's nice to dream and it keeps me motivated to get through all the work. Here's another e-portfolio update:

Competencies completed: 4
Competencies graded satisfactory: 3
Competencies in progress: 0
Competencies yet to address: 11
Revisions required: 1
Pages written: 23
Days remaining until advisor's deadline: 59 days
Days remaining until department's deadline: 73 days

I literally just submitted my fourth competency before writing this post, so of course I don't know what grade I have for it yet. I'm pushing to get a competency done every 2-3 days with 1-2 days break after a couple of them. The timing comes out to about 2 competencies per week with time off for good behavior. No wait, I mean downtime to relax. And perhaps continue making my slow way through the Terry Pratchett book I'm currently (trying) to read. I have a whole list of favorites I want to reread during the free time I'll get when this is over.

One of the perks of doing this project, if one wants to find the silver lining, is that I get to rediscover a lot of the work I've done and have forgotten about. I did spend 4 school years in the program (can it really have been that long?), so some of my earliest work has been buried under the later piles of articles I've read and papers I've written. I again thank the fates that I have multiple digital copies of EVERYTHING so even if I can't find all my printed articles and work for every class, I can at least locate the digital copy. If any fellow MLIS students are reading this, do yourself a favor and back up your work. Heed the warnings. Don't be the one that has to contact past instructors to track down papers (yes, that does happen).

I don't have much else to post. I think the 23 pages of (single-spaced) writing I've done so far has sucked all the writing mojo right out of me. I will try, try, try to post a recipe next week. Scooter is making soup this weekend which will taste so good in the rainy weather we are having. Perhaps I'll watch what he does and write down the recipe to share. Or maybe I'll make something sweet to eat with him and share with you...

More Pork Chops

My last semester may be in full swing, but the cooking doesn't stop. After all, Scooter and I need to eat, and we much prefer food we can enjoy. Just a quick e-portfolio update before this week's recipe.

Competencies completed: 2
Competencies graded satisfactory: 1
Competencies in progress: 0
Competencies yet to address: 13
Revisions required: 0
Pages written: 11
Days remaining until advisor's deadline: 67 days
Days remaining until department's deadline: 81 days

I'm still waiting to get feedback on the competency I submitted this morning. I've also gone through and created some notes for each competency to get me started with writing. There are a few I know I will struggle with.

Now to food. I've been on a pork kick recently. Scooter and I made pork chops together two nights ago using a recipe from my Italian cookbook. So this week's recipe is pork chops with tomatoes, cream, and wild mushrooms.

What you'll need:
1/4 c. olive oil, divided
2 lbs. boneless pork loin chops, about 3/4 inches thick
1/2 c. white wine*
1/2 c. canned whole tomatoes, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream or half and half
salt and pepper to taste
1 1-oz. package of dried wild mushrooms (can use dried procini mushrooms too)
1/2 lb. fresh white button mushrooms, sliced thin

What you'll need to do:
1. Put the dried mushrooms into a small bowl and add just enough water to cover them. Let sit and soak to reconstitute. Once they have, cut them into small pieces. Reserve the water.
2. In a large saute pan that can accommodate all the pork chops with no overlap, add 2 Tbs. of the olive oil and heat on medium high. When the oil is hot, add the pork. Brown pork well on both sides.
3. Add the wine to deglaze the pan. Let it simmer for about 20 seconds to burn off the alcohol and scrape any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the tomatoes, cream, salt and pepper, and reconstituted mushrooms. Lower heat until the pan is gently simmering and cover. Let chops cook for 40-45 minutes until tender.
5. Put the water from the reconstituted mushrooms into a small pot and boil down to about 1/3 c.
6. In another saute pan, add the remaining olive oil over high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the white mushrooms. Saute until all liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add the water from the small pot and cook, stirring frequently.
7. When all water has disappeared, turn off heat. Add the white mushrooms to the pork when it has become tender. Turn chops and stir the contents of the large saute pan to blend everything together. Cook over medium heat for another 5-8 minutes.
8. Serve hot over rice.

*As always, choose something you would drink--and enjoy a glass of the same wine with dinner!

I substituted half and half for the heavy cream when we made this to lower the fat content a bit. It still tasted really good, and for those of you that are concerned about fat/calories it's a good substitution. Lean cuts of pork or trimming the fat you see on the meat can help as well. 

Counting Down to April

The countdown has begun in earnest. As of last Thursday, I am now officially working on my last class, my last project for my MLIS. The official deadline for this work (the one set by the department) is April 21. However, my e-portfolio advisor--the faculty member in charge of reviewing my e-portfolio, providing feedback, and giving me my grade--has a deadline of April 7 for all 15 competencies.

It has been a head-on rush since last Thursday. With so much going on outside of school (I'm still working full-time, volunteering for two organizations, and oh yeah planning a wedding), I'm trying to do as much as I can as early as I can to give myself some breathing room when all hell breaks loose later (an eventuality I'm hoping won't come to pass but one I'm planning for nonetheless). I have 15 competencies to address, an introduction, a personal philosophy, and a conclusion to write. All but one competency require 4-6 single-space pages of writing to adequately address them and present my evidence of proficiency. That brings my total to anywhere from 56 to 84 pages of single-spaced writing for the first 14 competencies. I tend to write more than less, so I anticipate I'll be much closer to the upper end of that range, say about 80 pages. The other sections will add probably another 7 or so pages, bringing my estimated total to close to 90 pages. That's a lot of writing--about four times what my longest solo paper written in the program would equate to (it was 50 pages double-spaced). Each part of the entire work is given a grade of 1 for satisfactory or a 0 for unsatisfactory; to have a complete and acceptable e-portfolio, each section must be present and have a grade of 1. I'm pushing to try and get 2 competencies written a week to allow plenty of time for revisions.

So what are my stats so far? Here's an overview:

Competencies completed: 1
Competencies graded satisfactory: 1
Competencies in progress: 1
Competencies yet to address: 13
Revisions required: 0
Pages written: 8
Days remaining until advisor's deadline: 68 days
Days remaining until department's deadline: 82 days

There are a few things that I am thankful for, the first being that I hoarded everything from every class: every article, every discussion post, every assignment, every book, every one of my instructors' lecture notes. It means that I have plenty to use, but it also means that I have a lot to comb through. I am also thankful that I starting thinking about this project before last week. I made a lot of mental and physical notes that really helped to organize my thoughts and give me somewhere to start when I officially began to put it all together. I'm especially thankful that I backed up all of my work; I would hate to think where I would be right now mentally if anything I had done had gotten lost in the void.

For the next 2-3 months, I will need help with the stuff that's not school. School is the priority, so some of the other stuff is bound to fall through the cracks. Scooter and I already talked about this and he offered to help cook dinners during the week (yay!!!), among other things, so my at-home to-do list will shrink significantly. I just have to take things one day at a time.

Oh, and I know I promised an article on library cats. Here's the article. I think more libraries should have resident animals; if they're sociable, they can help libraries connect with patrons. If you're interested, you can also check out this library cats map that shows information on library cats around the world.

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Cranberry Fig Chutney

Over the holiday, I made this pork tenderloin recipe for Scooter and me for a Sunday dinner. The cranberry and fig flavor of the chutney make this a perfect winter meal. And I highly recommend making extra chutney. It's wonderful with any other pork dishes you make.

What you'll need:
1/2 c. canned whole cranberry sauce
1/4 c. mulled apple cider*
1/4 c. snipped dried figs
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. pork tenderloin pieces, cut thin
1 Tbs. cooking oil

What you'll need to do:
1. In a small saucepan, combine the cranberry sauce, cider, figs, sugar, and rosemary. Bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chutney reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside.
3. Heat cooking oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium high heat. Add a few pieces of pork, but don't crowd them. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until the juices run clear. Repeat until all meat is cooked.
4. Serve by spooning a little of the chutney onto the pork (and be sure to keep the chutney handy in case you want more!).

*Scooter likes bold flavors, and I have to say that the mulled cider made this especially good. If you can't buy mulled cider, you can make it. Martinelli's makes mulling spices that I highly recommend. We buy a container of apple juice, simmer it with the mulling spices for 15-20 minutes, then let the cider cool and return it to the container it came in. You can easily store it in your fridge for a couple of weeks this way, and it's nice to quickly pour a mug-full and zap it in the microwave for a hot drink on a cold night. Obviously, we loved mulled cider in our house.

Whoops!

I think I just went through a time warp. I blinked and already we're in mid-January. The almost two months since my last post have flown by, and I'm trying to catch my breath. There's been two holidays, a wedding proposal, a graduation, and preparation for my last semester. My weekends through at least the end of February are already booked with plans. Needless to say, life just suddenly went into overdrive.

This is going to be a big year for me. For those of you that have been following my blog, you probably know that I'm graduating from my Master's program in May. My last semester starts next week. The beginning of the end, you might say. My academics will be concentrated on putting together my e-portfolio (something I've posted about before), a large project that degree candidates can choose instead of a thesis. And no, it's not the easy way out. Yes, there's no additional research involved unless I feel I need to research for one of the core competencies I have to address. But there is a lot of review, analysis, evaluation, and presentation of my work and professional concepts from my entire program which I use to argue my case that my work has met the core competencies. There's a ton of writing involved and I have to look at all my work, what I've learned, and what I'm taking away very critically. No loosey-goosey work will be accepted. I'm glad to finally be at this last stage, but I'm nervous as to how well my e-portfolio advisor and I will work together.

The other major event happening this year is my wedding. Scooter proposed to me on Christmas Day and in December of this year, I will officially become Mrs. Scooter. I won't be talking about any wedding-related plans here; this is not the venue for that. I hope to keep even mention of the wedding to a minimum. Between my last semester and the inevitable wedding tasks to complete, I may again lose track of time and forget to post. I apologize in advance.

I'm also considering the future of this blog. Originally, this blog was created to chronicle my academic journey over the course of my Master's program. Well, my program will be done in May. I have to decide if I want to continue maintaining this blog and allow it to evolve after my program is complete. Any input from you, the readers, on this would be helpful.

I should have more to post next week, including a fun article that talks about six famous library cats. I will also post a recipe for pork medallions.