A Tasty Halloween

Halloween this year was rather eventful - but not in the orthodox sense. I had been scheduled to man the Dia de Los Muertos corner from 10am until I left for clinical at 2pm. Typically clinical ends at 9:30pm. With such a long day before me, I did the one thing that could immediately make it better - I dressed up!

My costume this year was Snow White. I have always been keen on the Disney princess and after watching the television show Once Upon a Time I have become more and more attached to her. I made myself as pale as I could look without looking dead, and wore a bright shade of lipstick to complete the look.

My friend dressed up as Red Riding Hood, who, in Once Upon a Time is best friends with Snow White. It was a perfect match! We hung out pretty much all day just for effect. (Not really, we just like hanging out together - plus we are in the same clinical group). I even had the honor of curling her luscious blond hair! I think I had far too much fun helping her with her costume.

In fact, I helped put together costumes for several of my friends! If there's one thing I truly appreciate about Halloween, it's the opportunity to show off a great costume. Maybe it's from theatre withdrawals...

Anyway, one of my first tasks of the day included whipping up a batch of champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate) for our Dia de Los Muertos celebration. It was so easy to make and delicious! I decided not to post my own photos with the recipe because the ones I took did not do it justice.

As I mentioned, I was scheduled for the M.E.Ch.A. corner all morning, but some replacements came in time for me to complete a festive scavenger hunt around school. Of course, Red was my hunting companion. Scuttling around campus, we saw all sorts of costumes! The faculty and staff had some of the best costumes.

Unfortunately my day was cut short by clinical. Although I did end up throwing some swimming goggles around my neck to participate in the sports-themed festivities at the care facility, I did not feel quite so enthused about the holiday. Fortunately, we did get off early (by 15 minutes, but still).

As soon as I returned, I gathered my friends and we ventured out to 23rd to hit up Little Big Burger before it closed to get our beloved truffle fries. After satisfying our salty cravings, we then satisfied our sweet cravings through Salt'N'Straw. The icing on the cake was that Salt'N'Straw - pause for effect - did not have a line. The day could not have gotten any better.

From left: Tinkerbell (Milly), Esmeralda (Amanda),
Snow White (Me), and Red Riding Hood (Emily).

...And that was the extent of my Halloween festivities. I returned from the outing exhausted and heading towards a food coma, or as I recently learned, a postprandial somnolence. (What can I say? I'm still a nursing student.)

Pan Dulce y Champurrado

Did I previously mention my involvement with the latin@ group on campus called Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (M.E.Ch.A.)? Whether or not I did, I am a co-president of the group and helped put on today's celebration of a Mexican holiday, El Dia de Los Muertos. It is not technically a two-day celebration, but our group wanted to include as many people that attend classes at this campus, especially those that commute, in our celebration. Our first day was a success! There was a great turnout and the pan dulce and champurrado we provided were a hit!!

Our set-up in the common area, complete with an altar with decorations and a list of the deceased we are honoring as well as a bit of history behind the cultural event.

As much as I enjoyed receiving compliments on our display and the food and drinks, I hope that tomorrow we can provide more cultural background to the festivities - it being Halloween and all. I will be making the champurrado tomorrow morning which I will, of course, document and post about tomorrow. I will also provide the recipe for champurrado on the Recipes page.

On a side note: I am very excited for Halloween tomorrow...

Treat Yo Self

Good, better, best,

Never stop to rest,

Until the good is better

and the better, best.

Out of all the things from the Stevens Family show on Disney Channel I remember, I remember Ren Stevens sing-songingly recite this. It is almost poetical how simplistic the rhyme is - especially with its depth. Now, this may be me over-analyzing things again, but I have found myself repeating this to myself every day and wonder if it is damaging my idea of a successful day.

I always wonder right before bed if there are a few more things I can do before ending my day. Whether that be writing a blogpost or reading one more section of a textbook, I always think of one or two more things that I can do to make my day seem more fulfilled. Silly, no? 

With the fast pace of nursing school, I constantly wonder if I am missing out on things. For instance, today I had an episode of New Girl playing on my computer as I took notes for a class. (SPOILER ALERT FOR SEASON 2) It got to the episode in which Nick kisses Jess (finally!) and I had to take a moment to recover my thoughts. It was such an expected thing, based on the way the season was going, but it took me completely by surprise. 

Or take, for a simpler example, looking at my cousin's senior soccer photos. I could not believe how grown-up my cousin looked! I still cannot believe time flies the way it does. 

What if I am missing out on things? I do not want to miss out on my loved ones' lives! I do not want to do poorly in school either! I want to keep up with everything all at once! WHAT TO DO?!?!

It occurred to me when I went to get bubble tea and fries (do not judge me - truffle fries and guava bubble tea with tapioca hit the spot after an exam) - that all I need to do is use my rewards wisely. Instead of napping when I do not necessarily need the sleep or watching a movie on my own I could be cooking in the kitchen with friends or enjoying someone's company while waiting in line to devour a delicious dessert (cough*Salt'N'Straw*cough). However pressed for time I may be, spending time with friends and accomplishing other tasks all amount to productivity in my book.

NaNoWriMo

My darling sister reminded me yesterday that National Novel Writing Month (November) is coming up and she is already preparing herself for her fifth year. I, of course, accepted the implied challenge. For more information on NaNoWriMo, check out nanowrimo.org.

ADDED TO THE LIST!