Personal Growth

I'll admit that I am a creature of habit. I remember hearing a few years ago that people do most of their growing and changing between the ages of 18 and 25, and thinking that huge things had happened in that time, but that my habits were mostly the same as they had been in high school. But you know what? Maybe I am just a late changer (goodness knows I was definitely a late bloomer). Because lately there are some things that have seriously grown on me:

• Puppies! Three years ago, I did not particularly like animals. I KNOW. This blog is one big testament to the fact that this is no longer the case. Moving on.
• Chili. Where has chili been all my life? I had chili for the first time a year and a half ago. Now I could eat chili for every meal, especially the steakhouse kind they sell super cheap on the soup counter at Safeway.
• Watching basketball. Specifically, Whitworth basketball. I know obscure things about the players. I look up recaps of games I just got home from. If we can't go to a game, I watch it stream on the computer. I've even gone to a bunch of games without Travis. I am certain I've been to more basketball games in the last year and a half than in the previous 25 years. Does this make me a sports fan? I shudder to think that it just might.
• Using recipes. I have never much liked using recipes, partly because they usually require small amounts of lots of expensive ingredients (I am cheap), partly because I like to stick with what I know (poor Travis- I'd be happy with the same 3 meals over and over), and partly because I am just not that disciplined. But after going gluten free a few months ago, I realized that my repertoire was seriously limited, and we'd be eating the same one thing over and over if I didn't branch out. So I started using recipes, and discovered some beautiful things. Did you know you can wrap things in bacon and cook them on skewers, and it tastes like heaven? Did you know maple syrup makes chicken and potatoes sweet and juicy and tender? Did you know you can make an amazing cookie with only peanut butter, brown sugar, and eggs? Well let me tell you, recipes know those things. And now I do too.
• Wearing makeup. I held out for YEARS, and I'm glad I did, but now that I wear a little bit of makeup every day, I will concede that it makes me look older. Lately, people have been asking if I'm a college freshman and not a freshman in high school. Improvement!

  

  Exhibit #1 that people can change: I take hundreds of photos of my dog, and edit them just for fun.