Recipe: Simple Andes Mint Cookies

Finals are over, so I can bake! I have pinning recipes I have wanted to try on Pinterest for the past couple weeks and final got to try one. I love Andes Mints, so of course this recipe had to be the first I tried, but it called for the mints to be melted on the top, which was a bit annoying and messy so I modified it, here it is:

Ingredients:1 Devil's Food cake mix
1/2 cup of oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints

Mix the cake mix, oil and eggs. Roll into walnut size ball with half an Andes Mint in the middle. Cook at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes.

Oregon in Review

After being back in Iowa for a few weeks ad feeling a little more settled, I have had time to reflect on the time in Oregon. So here are a few things that were learned or worth remembering.

Pumping your own gas is against the law in the state of Oregon.I was not a big fan of this law, it meant that you had to wait longer to get gas while the 1, maybe 2 gas attendants filled all the tanks. Plus the chance of getting your windows washed was like 1 in 459!

Roadsharing signs don't mean anything to drivers.There are plenty of 'Share the Road' signs throughout Oregon and in places there are even nicely paved bike lanes. I figured riding my bike would be pretty relaxed, considering all the signs. But after a few close calls, I decided the drivers don't seem to understand road sharing. In a lot of places the shoulder really didn't exist and I would ride as tight to the white line as possible, but logging trucks do not move over and it freaked me out way too many times!

Crosswalks are for real.Something that took me the entire time I was in Oregon to adjust to was the use of crosswalks. Pedestrians would just go, because the cars were expected to stop. I never really trusted that theory and most the time I would stop at the corner waiting for the car to go, but then the car would suddenly stop and I would have to take off across the road. As a driver, I had to stay aware because at any time a pedestrian could keep coming and I would be expected to stop. It led to many awkward times for me and my roommates who also were not accustomed to it.

Rain, Rain & More Rain.It rained everyday. Seeing the sun for 45 minutes in a week was sometimes a miracle! When I was told it rained, but didn't snow I didn't think it would be that bad. I underestimated the gray-ness of rain. It was very annoying to constantly have wet pants, shoes, socks, etc. I also heard from someone that true Oregonians don't use umbrellas. I can say I wasn't a true Oregonian by those standards. I had an umbrella with me at all times, my umbrella probably saw more use this year than it has in its entire lifespan! However, I also know that this was an abnormal year in rain totals, cold and snow for the Portland area, but I am not a fan of the rain!

Population of 20,000+When I interviewed, I was told Forest Grove had a population of 20,000. In my mind that was a pretty good sized town, I mean 20 times the size of Greene! I also figured it would have stores, restaurants and other 'big' city things. This was all a dream. Forest Grove did have a chain grocery store, but that was pretty much it. If you wanted anything else, you had to drive to Hillsboro or Beaverton. Kind of annoying, but I guess it is relative. In Iowa, that size of town would have all that stuff, but in Oregon it wasn't big enough to house all of those stores.

Regional food cravings.Almond bark was pretty much an unknown in Oregon. I thought it was surprising, but it was a lesson in regional markets, which may be helpful in grad school. I also learned cheeseballs are also a regional thing. Lastly, the name for maidrites, as I have always called them, is very confusing to others. I made dinner for a bunch of people one night and I said I was making maidrites, several admitted after they got there that they had know idea what I was making. It was an interesting discussion as we came up for all the different names they called them.

Overall, it was a good experience. I learned about a region that is a lot different than the midwest, I also learned how I would and wouldn't manage people in the future. During the 10 months in Oregon, I think I also realized what I find more important in life and one of those things is being closer to my family. I want the opportunity to go home for an important thing in my siblings' lives or to just be able to stop by and see everyone. I had a great first year out of undergrad, I visited 15 states, I visited my family on the west coast, I met some great people, I had my first full time job, I learned how to manage my own expenses and I had the support of my family throughout. What more can I ask for?

Adventures: Spring Break

Shortly after I got back from Colorado my roommates headed to Las Vegas for spring break and to see Chantel's sister play tennis for North Dakota State. I, however, had to report back to work, but luckily all the teams were on spring break trips, so no one was playing at home making my schedule pretty flexible! So I ventured out with some optometry friends who had stayed in Forest Grove for the break.

Waterfalls

The sun finally showed up in Forest Grove for longer than an hour, so a car load of us decided to head to the Columbia Gorge area to hike. We took the scenic highway and made a quick stop at Vista point and then headed on with the intentions of stopping at all the waterfalls along the way and ending at Multnomah Falls.

Our first stop was at Latourell Falls, we hiked to the top and then down to the base. It was a rather quick stop, but got us warmed up for the rest of the falls. The second stop was at Bridal Veil, which required a bit more hiking because it was off the main area. This waterfall wasn't as tall as the others, but it was significantly wider. The third stop was at Wahkeena Falls, this waterfall did a bit more winding on it's way down than the others did and didn't require much hiking to get to.

The final stop was at Multnomah Falls and amazingly it wasn't that busy! We started the 1.25 mile hike up...a very steep 1.25 miles, with 11 switch backs. But once we made it to the top the view was kind of cool from the observation deck. When hiked back up river for a while before heading back down. Once we reached the ground level we luckily were able to get some pictures of the whole falls without anyone walking or standing on the bridge!

Voodoo Doughnuts

On the way back from the falls, I suggested we stop at Voodoo Doughnuts. I guess the place is well known and it's something you must do in Portland. To be honest I had never heard of it before coming here and only noticed it because people will stand in lines that wrap around the block for hours to go in. When we got there the line hadn't turned the corner, so we waited for about 30 minutes to go in. There famous doughnut is the maple bacon bar, which is a maple doughnut with bacon strips on top. I was told by one of my 14s parents that I had to try it, so I did. It was very interesting, but not something I need again. They also had doughnuts with fruitloops, captain crunch, oreos and other random stuff on top. Waaay to much sugar!

Saké Tasting

Unbeknownst to me, Forest Grove has 1 of 5 saké breweries in the United States. However, the optometry students know it and a couple of them were heading for a tasting on Thursday, so I headed along. Wasn't too bad, plus because we were the only ones there at the time (but who really goes saké tasting in the middle of a workday afternoon), we got to ask a bunch of questions. This brewery is the only American owned saké brewery in the US and the first to make flavor infused saké...probably will have to get some to bring back to Iowa.

NCAA Brackets

Not going to say much, mine was a bust. No final four teams & only 3 elite eight teams. However, I did beat David and that gives me bragging rights for at least a year.

Book Review: Wooden

I finally got my hands on a John Wooden book! Or I guess I should say my mom did and sent it to me for Valentine's Day.

The book did not disappoint. It was an easy read and written in a conversational tone. It was also written in segments, making it a quick and enlightening read. John Wooden was very set in how he did things and it stemmed back to the days of his childhood. He did not let others influence his beliefs or define his success for him, he was a knowledgeable confident person who defined success in his own way.

In the book he discusses where his beliefs stem from, the values he had and worked to instill in his life and his players' lives. While basketball was an important part of his life and the platform he had that brought his ideas out to the public, it was just a small part of his life. In his high school years, a teacher gave out an assignment asking the students to define success. Wooden reflected on the term for years and came up with a definition and a pyramid of success, which encompasses everything he felt is necessary for an individual to become successfully in life.

Wooden's definition of success: "Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best become the best that you are capable of becoming."

A few other thoughts I found interesting:

"Know that when you are through learning, you are through."

"You never fail if you know in your heart that you did the best of which you are capable."

"You are in the presence of a true competitor when you observe that they are indeed getting the most joy out of the most difficult circumstances."

"There is a choice you have to make, in everything you do. And you must always keep in mind the choice you make, makes you."

"If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier."

The book was great and I wish I could assign it to my 18s team to read, because I think it would help. But as I would guess none of them would read it, so I took many pages of notes and hope that it will inspire my coaching over the next month.

Adventures: Colorado

Last weekend I headed to the Colorado Crossroads with the 18s team and let me tell you it was a bit more than I bargained for, but I got to see Central people and visit the Garden of the Gods.

We flew to Denver on St. Patrick's Day, after over a 4 hour delay and getting our connection held for us in Salt Lake. Luckily, it was the first day of the NCAA tournament so we could sit and watch the games. Secondly, for St. Patrick's Day Southwest airlines gives free drinks for the holiday!

Additionally, when we got to our hotel in Denver we discovered that we were staying at one of the NCAA Tournament host hotels, with Gonzaga. In my family, my dad would be going crazy because of his small obsession with the school for a reason unknown to anyone, probably even him, and my mom and David would be in search of John Stockton for an autograph.

Anyway, as I was sitting in the lounge area after the had made their entrance after winning and messing up my bracket, I scanned the group of parents and Gonzaga fans and found John Stockton. Yes, in person. After encouraging of Athena coaches I finally walked over and asked for a picture. He politely denied my request because he didn't want to start something and have to take a ton a pictures. I understood and settled for a handshake and a discussion about club volleyball, because his daughter plays in the same region. But it was pretty cool and we ran into him several times in our hotel over the three days.

Garden of the Gods
After the first day at the tournament the other 18s coach and I headed to Colorado Springs to visit the Garden of the Gods. It was a bit longer of a drive than anticipated, but we got a good hour to walk around and enjoy being outdoors rain free in the sun! If I would have had longer I would have loved to sit and just enjoy being outside or maybe climb a bit more. But we had to get back to the team.

Colorado Crossroads
The tournament did not go so well. The team I am working with lacks competitive nature and enjoying the game and if you know me, I am very competitive and playing volleyball is very enjoyable to me. It killed me to watch them play on the first day, no one smiled or celebrated a great play! It was painful, but the other problem was how disrespectful our team was to those working our court. This team has had ongoing problems with respecting their teammates and others at tournaments. It peaked at the tournament and parents and players revolted.

On Day 2, the head coach decided to walk away from the team for the rest of the tournament. This left me... Yep, not the greatest situation to be in, but Lena, the club director sat with me during the day and while the still didn't look like they were enjoying the game it went okay. Day 3, was all me and it was single elimination. With the lack of competitiveness we couldn't take advantage of the weaknesses of the other team and win, so our tournament weekend ended early in the day.

I stuck with them all weekend, because I don't give up, especially when the going gets tough. I have been on teams that have had their share of drama, but nothing to this level. My goal for the final month of our season is to make a change even if it's only a small change in one person I will feel satisfied. I want these girls to appreciate the opportunity they have to play and to use it to better themselves not only as a volleyball player, but also as a person. I have several ideas, I just don't know what will sink in. Wish me luck or send me ideas!

Book Review: Sundays at Tiffany's

Back to the fiction books. This is the book my aunt Pam got me for the flight back to Portland after Christmas and I am a bit behind and just read it, in approximately 4 days. So it was a page turner, plus the 3 page chapters made me feel like a speed reader, which I am far from being!

Anywho, Sundays at Tiffany's is written under the name James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. The story starts when Jane is eight years old and has an imaginary friend. Her mother, Vivienne has been successful and and is more concerned with her looks and tangible items that say she is rich. She's not the best mother and Jane find comfort in imaginary friend, Michael. The book then jumps ahead 20 years, Jane has found herself successfully working in her mother's production company and has written a hit Broadway production about a girl and her imaginary friend. But her life takes a turn when she runs into Michael again.

Like I said it was a page turner and it's a short book. While not very realistic, but of course I realize it is fiction, it was still a tear-jerker. So if you need a light read, check it out.

New Pacific Website

At work we have been focused on website migration pretty much since I got back after Christmas break. The plan was to update the website to a more easily accessible website for those who work on it (me & my boss) and to make it standout to prospective student-athletes. The design was done by a company, but all the data had to uploaded from the old site to the new site and it took a long while. Three of us worked on it over the last 2.5 months to get it loaded and yesterday was the official launch date. There are many new additions including getting to add action shots to game stories, video to the pages and fun facts about Pacific athletics. However, I am not thrilled about having a headshot up there now..

So, it is now live and yes there are still several things we will be tweaking and several things I have noticed that aren't linked right. But it is a major step up from what we had and I think it looks sharp, so check it out: http://goboxers.com/