Peach Dessert

Ashley M. Feldman this is for you and your enjoyment of cooking blogs.

Peach dessert is something my grandma has always made and one of Jodee's favorite desserts. So this this week I got bored (with job searching) and got fresh peaches to make it and then visited Allison for lunch with Jodee and a delivery of dessert to her mom at work. It is very simple to make (Ashley, you should make it) and very tasty.

Crust
1 cup flour
5 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1/2 cup margarine
Mix above and pat into bottom of 7x13 cake pan
Bake 15 min at 350 degrees

Let crust cool and slice fresh peaches onto the crust

Custard
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
3/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cup Water
Boil above 3 ingredients.
Add 1 package peach jello to above and cool.
Pour custard mixture on top of peaches.

Refrigerate until custard is solid

Top with cool whip

**Can use strawberries and strawberry jello instead.

2 years later

It has officially been 2 years after the floods took out Greene's historic main street and many homes along the banks of the Shell Rock River.

The Shell Rock River runs through the heart of Greene, Iowa. Most summers it draws large crowds of boaters who want to spend a warm weekend on the river tubing, skiing and catching some rays. In 2008, it had other plans. About a month earlier Butler County had be declared a disaster area due the EF5 tornado that hit Parkersburg, just 23 miles south of Greene and New Hartford. By the time June rolled around many other small Butler County towns started to fear a flood, but not the the extent of which it happened. The flood affected Greene, New Hartford, Shell Rock and Parkersburg, yet again. Butler County, still without a real stoplight, was hit hard and left many people wondering how each of these small communities would respond.

I think the nature of small community people kicked in. Those that fared better than others were supportive, meals were cooked and distributed, clean-up efforts were supported and time was volunteered to help each community bounce back. Sure the government sent in FEMA workers and the Red Cross, but I think it was the citizens in each town that truly brought their town back to life.

Looking at Parkersburg now, many of the houses have been rebuilt and the school is beautiful. The town growing, the remnants of the disaster are still visible in the lack of trees and areas that haven't rebuilt, but it definitely shows the effort each citizen is putting in to keep their town strong.

The main street of stores in Greene are all up and running again. The grocery store was completely re-done and as I said in an earlier post my grandparents building now offers nice rooms to stay in close to the river. However, the historic community center was torn down in the past year, which I think to many was very sad because of everything that has been tied to the building. Many of the homes that suffered are being torn down and the families have had to find new places. While there are still lingering effects of the flood and people still get a bit worried at the site of rising water, Greene is doing well.

In 2008, Greene had to cancel its town days, ironically named River Days, due to the flood. This weekend River Days kicks-off the 2nd celebration post flood. It kind of is a remembrance of what the community went through, but also shows we have bounced back.

Graduation Speeches

It's been one week since graduation, but some key points in the baccalaureate and commencement speeches have stuck with me.

The first was the a Bible verse I have always liked and it was the main focus of the baccalaureate speech by Kip Murphy and then my aunt wrote it into the card she sent me.
It is Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the plan I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."

It is disappointing to me to have received my diploma, applied to a large number of jobs and not being employed. I realize it will work out and I need to keep applying and continue to have a positive outlook. But hearing this verse and having it sent to me is a nice reminder that I am not in control of what happens, there is a plan laid out and I have to trust in God and let it work.

The next point came from the commencement speech by Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, a member of the board of directors of Interface, Inc. among many other titles. Her speech discussed many transformative moments in that have affected her life. It's interesting that once you think about it there are many moments in your life that have changed something enough that it made an impact. I would say one big transformative moment in my life was deciding to withdraw the down payment I had paid to Iowa State in order to enroll at Central. While at the time I knew Central felt like the place I needed to be, it was a hard decision because all my friends were heading to ISU. Sitting at my graduation I had no regrets of attending Central, I had so many more opportunities given to me academically and athletically, created many close relationships and achieved many great things.

Lastly, Dianne Dillion-Ridgley brought up the idea of human talent as a resource. A resource that is ongoing. Each person brings a different talent to the world and adds to another's talent. It is what keeps our society moving forward. Each of us needs to recognize our talents and use them as a powerful resource to better the world in which we live.

Thoughts After Graduation

As I look back on my time at Central there are a few things I find important that I wish I would have figured out sooner. These 10 thoughts are something I want my siblings to know when they start their higher education.


1. Take your education seriously from Day #1.
It took me a while to get into the whole groove of college level studying, but I wish I would have learned it sooner because I wouldn't have to have the disappointment of being .03 off of graduating with honors.

2. Take advantage of opportunities.
If you get the chance to study off campus-do it! To participate in a club, team or campus activity-do it! Each opportunity is a new chance to learn or meet new people.

3. Ask questions and for advice.
Take advantage of knowledgeable sources. Don't hesitate to ask questions when you don't understand, it helps you learn! Ask for advice, a fresh opinion is always helpful.

4. Create a network.
Early on you won't understand why this is so important, but when you start looking for internships and jobs it will be. The saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know", seems to be more and more true each and every job I apply to.

5. Remember gratitude and time management.
Thank those who help you and be grateful for everything you receive, learn and already have. Have a planner and manage your time well, it will reduce your stress. And always remember it will all get done, it always does if you work at it!

6. Enjoy the time you have as a student.
This is one of the last times, if not the last, you get to live with a bunch of friends, play competitive athletics and live a little carefree. After graduation you have to start taking more responsibility for your life, as do your friends. Each of you will take a career path you have chosen and it may not be in the same place. So enjoy the student lifestyle while you are in it!

7. Make your own decisions.
You know what your heart, gut and head are telling you, so listen! Don't let mom and dad make the decisions for you. Do what you will enjoy and go where you feel comfortable!

8. Do something you are passionate about.
Choose a major you enjoy. Why waste your time learning something you don't find delight in? If you don't like studying it chances are you won't like it as a career.

9. Believe in your abilities.
Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something! If you know you can, you will be successful. In everything you do, do your best and don't waste your talent!

10. Do what you say you will.
Nothing is more annoying than working with someone who says they will do something, but then never does. Make sure if you say you will do something you do it! Follow through on each task you set out to do and you will gain trust from those you work with and your levels of achievement will be higher.

Working in Teams

Many times throughout my college career I have been involved with teams, not just on the athletic fields, to accomplish a task. I have at times been on teams that worked well together and achieved at a high level, but of course there are always the team experiences that didn't go so well and you are stuck working on more than your fair share and stressed!

I have come to find working on teams for projects can have many advantages and disadvantages. And of course in many of my classes we have had to learn how to best work as a team in order to create more positives than negatives.

With teams it is nice to have the increased amount of ideas, getting to divide up the work and allowing members to focus on what they know best. This results in a better final products, which of course is expected by a professor if you are allowed to work in a team. However, the pitfalls of working on a team in a college course are the students who will not participate evenly because they clearly don't care about their final grade...as long as they pass. These members usually put more stress on the ones who want to achieve a high grade and have to make up for the slacking member. Meeting times are another downfall, college students have many obligations they have to meet and planning for a group to meet gets challenging!

I can say I have stressed out on probably far too many projects during my undergraduate career, but I don't like to just get by on them. I want to produce a result that I can be proud of. Last week was a prime example of it. Meeting with a my group we had 3/4 of our paper done early and waited for the 4th person to send it in. It came far too late and involved reducing the amount of sleep I got caused a lot of stress. But as usual everything was handed in on time. It drives me crazy when people say they will get something done, but then procrastinate and don't follow-through on the task! If you say you will do something, make sure you can and then do it...to the best of your ability!
I do enjoy group work and love the fact more ideas are thought of and more work can get done quickly. And I feel once I am in a job, where everyone is working for the same common goal, working in a group will become more enjoyable and less stressful!

End of My College Career

The days of putting on the Central red uniform are becoming less and less. Each time I load up my bag I realize my days as a competitive athlete are numbered. Knowing this makes each great throw sweeter and a bad day out that much more discouraging. But one thing I need to keep in perspective is 'I DID GET TO COMPETE IN COLLEGE ATHLETICS!' I was able to carry on with 2 sports, that I fully enjoyed for 4 more years after high school. Not everyone can say that and I don't regret a moment of it.

While at times the experience wasn't enjoyable in the current moment, looking back on it there was a lesson in each thing. It needed to happen to teach me about myself and my response. Each time something challenged me, I found a new level of determination, mental capacity and increased work ethic. I can feel good upon the completion of my career in Dutch athletics because I never backed away from a challenge and if I competed it was will all I had.

I contribute my growth as an athlete and person to the numerous coaches I have had at Central. Each one challenged me in a new way. Many of them genuinely cared about my growth as a person over my athletic growth. They knew athletics would end and life would continue. Therefore, helping their players develop skills that were helpful to them in the future would be more beneficial.

I didn't have a scholarship to play for 4 more years. But I did it out of enjoyment. I created friendships that will last long after my playing days and gained mental toughness and determination. I will walk away from my college athletic career without regret and 'what if' questions, because I finished strong and did what I enjoyed.

Central athletics will always be a part of me.

Prom

I am not a huge fan of prom, simply put. However, I did make a trip home to see my sister head to her first one.

To me prom is superficial. In high school it seems that it is only getting more of a fashion contest as time goes on as well. People are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars to get a 17 year-old to look like a star for what only adds up to be less than 10 hours. To me that doesn't seem worth it. High schoolers are tanning to the point of craziness, because who needs to be that fakely dark in April? Not to mention all the increased risk of cancer from tanning that much. I guess I'm all together against 'fake baking.'

As the market starts to realize the extremes parents are going to please their kids with these dresses, they crank up the price! Why not? Parents who want to please their kids will pay for it. And the hair, really? Let's spend a lot for 57 bobbypins and gallon of hairspray. Fake nails are another thing that drives me nuts, the nails are insanely long and for an athlete they need to be off within the next week for most cases.

I suppose I may be a bit harsh on prom, but in high school I had a great group of friends who felt the same way. We attempted to boycott our Junior prom, but many of our parents told us we would regret the decision and highly insisted we at least attend for a bit. So the goal of the whole thing was to spend nothing on it. Libby and I got dresses from my cousins, we were going to do each other's hair, said no way to tanning and nails and were literally only paying for flip-flops. For after prom we were camping out by the river at a friends house and our parents to support our 'slight' boycott decided they would all put together a breakfast for us. Unfortunately for me I didn't get to attend with my friends and spent a couple nights in the critical care unit in the hospital, with little recollection of the incident that landed me there. While not what my mom wants to remember from my Junior prom, it's what happened. And trust me I am thankful to have my life and a family that cares about me.

Senior prom most my friends succeeded in their boycott attempts, and I attended to say I at least attended one of these events. I went through finding a dress, again borrowing because I refuse to spend money on something I will only where once, and having a friend who was boycotting prom do my hair. I spent an hour or so at prom before taking off to Ames. Where the next day we participated in the ISU triathlon doughnut run....a 5k where you eat doughnuts every quarter mile to reduce your time. Trust me it was an interesting thing. In the afternoon we cheered on those who successfully boycotted prom in a mountain bike race in Boone. Not what a traditional prom goer would do, but why follow the trend?

Leah did make me proud when she decided not to purchase a dress, but rather go through many people to find a dress to borrow. She also at least thought of boycotting the tanning, but ended up doing it and gaining thousands of freckles and no real tan, because she is a redhead. She and 2 friends had a family friend do their hair, so didn't have to travel far to get a bunch of bobbypins stuck in her hair. She did look gorgeous by the time she was ready to leave! And it was great for me to be able to get a bunch of pictures from my final photography project.