Blueberry Banana Muffins (and life lately)

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Hi friends, how are you? Life has certainly changed a lot in the past week, hasn’t it?

Just last week we were doing fairly normal activities like cooking class, bootcamp, and making plans for IB & AP “mock” exams… and in the space of about 48 hours, found ourselves on a plane back to the US to ride out what has become an “enhanced community quarantine” in Manila. This Presidential order keeps residents home-bound, regulates food and medical supplies, and has laid off hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the city. It’s an uncomfortable situation to say the least.

It’s been a lot to wrap our minds around… so much uncertainty and so much potential loss. Theda feels it especially, as do all graduating Seniors- they have worked so hard for their IB diplomas and looking forward to the well-deserved rewards of Prom, Graduation, and Senior trip. Yet everything is on the line right now.

I know we are not the only ones to experience stress, anxiety, and the anticipation of loss. We all have plans for the future and it’s hard to keep them on hold for an uncertain period of time, not knowing how that “hold” will change things.

But maybe the “on-hold” nature of our lives at this point can serve a purpose too. We find that here in our little house, fulfilling our 2-week self-quarantine, our lives have become reduced… to school (online), food, sleep, board games, and connecting (online) with friends and family. It’s a much slower life, and how often have I wished for time to slow down?

In the past couple of days, I’ve been grateful to God for the “little” things that really aren’t so little: health, family, friends, and daily sustenance. I take life on a 24-hour basis right now… thanking the Lord that today we woke up healthy, today we have food to eat, today we can find joy in each other’s company. It’s a different way of thinking for me, and not unwelcome.

It snowed yesterday in Colorado and dumped about 10-12″ (20cm) of snow on us. It was perfect snow-ball and snowman-making snow, and we took full advantage… see pix below! Tommy never put on a jacket, and turns out he didn’t really need it as he never took a direct hit- must be nice to be able to catch every snowball thrown at you! Sara & I considered it quite an accomplishment to build our little snowman while still under attack…

I’ve also been cooking a lot… no other option since we’re not going out at all, ha. I made these blueberry banana muffins this morning for breakfast with some pretty basic ingredients using a recipe I made up in my head. They turned out pretty well and I know you can substitute with whatever you have on hand.

For example, if you don’t have blueberries, substitute chopped apples, pineapple, mango, or another frozen fruit. If you don’t have bananas, use applesauce. If you don’t have an egg (they’re in short supply here), just add an extra tablespoon of flaxseed meal. To substitute for the protein powder, add an extra tablespoon of regular flour, coconut or almond flour. It will all work. You may wind up with something completely different than what you first had in mind, but that will be OK.

I guess the point is to work with what we’ve got, not only in terms of the muffins… ya know?

Stay safe and healthy, friends!