good morning, HOME

Today, I woke up in my bed.  The one in Pennsylvania.  I haven't been home since mid-July, so it felt very different waking up here.  The bed was too big, the sky was too grey, and once I moseyed on down to the kitchen, I found that there were way too many choices for breakfast!

One of the most exciting changes since I've been home is the food I can eat.  Chile has superb produce and seafood - arguably the best in the world - but I've been missing variety in my cuisine.  Also, my diet down south wasn't the healthiest, so I've decided to make some healthful changes (at least until Christmas cookies come around).

For breakfast this morning, I took full advantage of the presence of peanut butter in the pantry.  Not only is peanut butter unreasonably expensive in Chile, it is also insanely unpopular.  Rachael and I bought a couple of jars throughout our journey, but it was a luxury because its price was far too high.

Also, while I was gone, Mom obtained a VitaMix blender - one of the high-quality commercial type.  We had blenders like that at Panera, and they will grind up anything.

Excited to have my first smoothie in far too long, I got creative.  I threw in a bit more than half a banana, about twenty raisins, maybe a fourth a cup of oats, a large splash of milk, and a helping of smooth peanut butter.  (Clearly, I was way too excited to wait around with measuring things, plus I was experimenting.)  Oh, and I threw in three ice cubes, of course.  

With a little scoop of jelly, this would be the perfect "TUB PBJ wrap smoothie."  Maybe I was being nostalgic after my campus visit last night for Christmas Vespers.

I paired this thick and salty beverage with some Christmas-themed eggs:  one egg from my aunt's farm, shredded cheddar, and a bit of chopped tomato and green pepper.  (Again, I was too thrilled to eat that I forgot to take a picture of my pretty egg masterpiece.)  

I guess one might say I'm happy to be home for the holidays.