The Accident: Part 1

Let me preface this post/series by saying that I've been wanting to write down the events surrounding "the accident" along with my thoughts, feelings, lessons I've learned and how I feel more than five years after for a while now, but am finally feeling like now is the right time.  It has taken me many years to feel comfortable sharing this ordeal, but stories like this must be shared.  If I help or encourage one person, it will be all worth it to me.  I wish I had thought to keep a blog as I lived through these events in real-time, but alas, this will have to do.  This blog is a record of my life and feelings, so I want to be sure I can look back on these years and not feel like I've forgotten the details.  I do not want people to pity me.  My life is so wonderful and filled to the brim with happiness.  

December 22, 2009.  The fall semester of my junior year at Lehigh University had just ended.  I was home in Niskayuna, NY, and would be there for the next month.  I was excited to decompress and was very much looking forward to the holidays.  The feelings that swirl around during Christmas are some of my favorite.  I adore the traditions, and details, and sweets, and spirit of giving.  

During the fall semester of 2009, I noticed that I was straining to see the board during classes, so I made an eye doctor appointment at the office where my mom, dad and youngest sister had gone several times before.  Quite honestly, I remember feeling excited that this appointment might result in my being able to see.  Imagine that!  

My appointment was on December 22, 2009 around 12:30 pm.  That morning I woke up, went to the gym, came home to shower, had leftover soup with some grilled cheese, and drove to the doctor's office. The office is in a large shopping plaza and it was somewhere I had been dozens of times before.  I made sure that I had sunglasses in my car for after the appointment should my eyes be sensitive from being dilated.  I had talked to my mom about what to expect during the appointment.  I was ready.  

I parked my car, walked inside, and spoke with the woman at the front desk.  She asked for my name, insurance card, and photo ID.  I was asked to fill out a bunch of forms since I was a new patient, and then I waited for the nurse to call me back.  I vividly remember looking at a magazine and reading a recipe for a salad that sounded good.  It felt like I waited for about 10 minutes and then was called back for the "puff test," to test for glaucoma.  The nurse ushered me to a small waiting area outside of the exam room with just a few chairs, and told me I could wait there until I was called in.  Keep in mind, thus far, I had not seen any other patients at the office.  Since this was before the time that I had a smartphone, I looked around at the wall decor and tried to be patient.  At this point, I felt good.  

The doctor finally came out and said that I could join her in the exam room.  When I walked in, the first thing I thought was that the apparatus looked like something from a scary movie.  I let that thought go from my mind, and let myself feel at ease, and that I was in control of the situation.

Memorial Day Weekend 2015.

Mike had a ton of work to do this weekend so instead of spending the weekend alone in my apartment, I decided to hightail it home for the weekend to spend time with my mom and sister!  Thanks to my office closing a 3 p.m. on Friday, I was able to be on the road by 4:15, so I made it home in about 5 hours and hardly hit any traffic.  

Saturday felt like fall in upstate New York.  It was a beautiful sunny day, but it was chilly with a breeze.  I loved it.  I will take cold, breezy, snowy, icy weather over hot, humid weather any day of the week.  

Both of my sisters are in tremendously great physical shape.  I offered to workout with my youngest sister on Saturday, and truly thought that I would be able to do some of it with her.  But no, she blew me out of the water with her speed and strength within the first lap around the track.  Shooee.  She told me that she runs at 7 minute mile.  I couldn't even dream of doing that.  

Here is the only photo with people in it that I took during the whole weekend: 

^^ Carrie is on the right side of the photo.  This is our high school track.  I spent many nights hanging here with my friends at football games.  

My mom, sister, cousin Zach, aunt Barbie and grandparents spent most of Saturday watching NCAA men's lacrosse.  It was intense, and fun, and stressful, and exhausting...even though I wasn't exercising, hah!

While at the grocery store with my mom, cousin, and aunt, we came across a veggie labeled simply as "produce."  My cousin knew that these unusual looking veggies are called fiddleheads.  During some googling of what fiddleheads were we found that they are only available for two weeks of the year and are unfurled fern fronds.  We followed a Wegman's recipe (here) and they turned out surprisingly well!  

^^ Washed and trimmed fiddleheads.

 ^^ Cooked fiddleheads. 

Because I have a wicked sweet tooth, and because Pinterest is my weakness, I decided to make this Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel tart.  It was very rich, but oh so delicious!  You should probably all go make it as soon as possible.    

And then I promptly fell asleep in front of the TV.  The end to a wonderful weekend at home!  El fin.

xoxo,

Megan

Girls day.

I truly have the best friends.  They are smart and kind, funny and caring, beautiful and talented, inspiring and adventurous.  They also call various parts of the country and world, home.  So when my wonderful friend Courtney told me months ago that she was making the trip from San Francisco to the Bethlehem area, she asked if I would be able to meet up with her for the day.  Obviously, I jumped at the chance and asked to take a vacation day.  It is not every day that one of your favorite former residents turned friend makes the 3000+ mile trip.  

Today was the day.  And I was so excited.  Yesterday was Lehigh's commencement ceremony so we decided to meet up near Lehigh, where Courtney was staying.  Can we just have a minute to talk about how I still cannot believe that I graduated from college four years ago?  Yeah, cannot believe it.  I loved college.  I miss college, but I miss being close to all my best girls always.  Miss our spontaneous adventures, and late-night chats, and having so many opportunities at our fingertips.

So this morning I drove up to Lehigh to meet Courtney for breakfast at Blue Sky Cafe.  This is far and away my favorite restaurant near Lehigh's campus.  It is seriously delish.  Courtney and I shared a veggie omelet and lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry syrup.  We chatted and chatted, and left smelling like Blue Sky!

^^ Blue Sky Cafe! 

We met up with freshly-graduated Becca and decided to brave the humidity and take a nature walk/hike at Jacobsburg State Park.  It was gorgeously green and lush.  There were wildflowers all over, and the three of us were able to have some stimulating girl talk.  We are all at very different stages in our careers and lives, so we were able to share advice and insight, and I soaked every second of it right up.  

My fitbit indicated that we walked for about 4.5 miles.  Here are some photos from the trail.

^^ Jacobsburg State Park.

Of course, we had to document our fun with a sweaty, post-hike selfie.

^^ Jacobsburg State Park.  All nice and sweaty.

Even though we had eaten so much for breakfast, we decided to make the most out of our time in Bethlehem and ate another great meal!  Courtney and Becca had a food bucket list, and they invited me to join them for crepes at Full of Crepes.  It opened after I had already graduated, so it was my first time and it did not disappoint.  I could not pass up a sweet crepe, and that solidified how much of a sweet tooth I really have.  

^^ Crepes in Campus Square!

We capped off our great visit with some chatting in the shade in Campus Square where I made sure to rehash some of my best stories from my days as a Resident Assistant (Gryphon).  

Whenever I am at Lehigh, I always feel so at home.  My four years at that school built into the side of the mountain really shaped me into who I am today.  The memories that I made there are some of my favorite and most treasured.  I had some of my happiest times there and lived through some of the hardest times. (More about that in a later post.)  I experienced triumphs and tears, successes and failures, but I would not trade those times for anything in the world.  My heart is swelling with such wonderful memories and true love for Lehigh, my friends, and all the lessons I learned.  I'm not sure what I did to get this lucky, but goodness, I just adore my life.

^^ Just love the view from Lookout Point.  

I definitely left a piece of my heart on old South Mountain.  

Thanks, Courtney for coming to visit!  Maybe next time I see you will be in San Francisco so you can show me all the best places to go!  So glad you were on my hall five years ago. Long live Richards D2.

xoxo,

Megan

Sweet pea and basil pesto.

I made this pesto recipe a few weeks ago and it was delicious, so I decided to make it again for dinner tonight and for lunches throughout the week.  This time I took note of the measurements that I used.  This pesto is especially appealing to me because it is not as savory and rich as traditional basil pesto--the peas make it slightly sweet, and really compliment the basil.  It also takes about 5 minutes to make.  

You just can't argue with that :)  Here's how:

Sweet pea and basil pesto

8-10 large, healthy basil leaves 
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet peas
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 large clove garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Cook peas according to package.  Drain and cool slightly.

2. In food processor or blender, puree basil and garlic.

3. Add peas, and puree until smooth.  

4. Add parmesan cheese.  Blend until incorporated, and drizzle in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil until combined.  

5. Salt and pepper to taste.  



**I served mine over pasta, with sautéed chicken sausage.  The pesto reheats well and allows the cheese to melt.


xoxo,
Megan

I'm back and a recipe.

This blog has been sorely and embarrassingly neglected.  I wish I was better about posting content here, but I always feel as though I do not have anything to write about.  I've decided that I am going to seek out things to write about, after all, this blog is about my life, and I do get up and live each day so I should have things to write about, right? 

So today I'll start with a recipe that I made this past week that turned out so well.  It's my take on vegetarian tacos, but they were more similar to fajitas.  This is not based off of any other recipe, and just popped into my mind while wandering the grocery store.  And they were soooo good.  My recipe is below.  Keep in mind that I don't really measure when I cook, so everything is an estimate, and feel free to modify based on your preferences.  Hope you enjoy! 

Zucchini and Sweet Potato Tacos

1 medium sweet potato 
2 small zucchini (or 1 large)
6 oz. white mushrooms
1 can black beans
1/2 medium vidalia onion (Spanish onion would also work)
2 large cloves garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Soft taco shells
Colby-jack cheese (cheddar or a blend would also be good)
Avocado (not pictured, I added it later)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and peel sweet potato, and chop into small chunks.  I made mine about 1/2 inch in size.  Toss in 1 tablespoon olive oil and spread on baking sheet covered with aluminum foil (helps prevent sticking).  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until pieces are tender.  Remember to mix about halfway through cooking. They should not be mushy, and should keep their form.

2. Wash, and cut zucchini and mushrooms into 1/2 inch chunks.  

3. In a large skillet, add one tablespoon olive oil and add zucchini and mushrooms.  Cook on medium heat until veggies are tender.  Do not overcook!

4. In small saucepan, heat black beans over low heat.  

5. Once zucchini and mushrooms are done cooking, drain 1/2 of the liquid, and pour into medium bowl.  Add sweet potato to bowl.  Mix in chili powder, paprika, cumin, and season with salt and pepper.  
**Next time I might add in a dash of cayenne pepper for a little heat, but I didn't this time and I still thought these turned out great.

6.  Wipe out skillet with paper towel, and add in 1/2 teaspoon olive oil.  On medium heat, add one taco shell to  skillet and allow shell to get lightly brown and crispy.  Make sure to flip shell over so both sides get good and toasty.  Don't skip this step--it totally takes these tacos to another level!

7. Assemble tacos.  Here's how I did mine: Place two taco shells on plate, and fill each one with one large spoonful of black beans, and lots of veggies.  Top with cheese and some avocado chunks.  

8. Enjoy!


xoxo, 
Megan