Have Courage and Be Kind

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For some people, being kind is like breathing- they do it constantly without thinking.

For me, being kind is more like breathing correctly during yoga- I'm generally pretty good about it but sometimes I forget and have to be reminded that I need to do better. 

I've been pretty heartbroken since the election in November. It's tested my resilience and my commitment to intentional optimism. 

To be clear: I'm not heartbroken that the candidate I supported lost, I'm heartbroken that people who believe in violence and hatred feel like they've won. 

No one knows better than me that in politics, sometimes you lose. 

Sometimes what you hope for and dream of and work for doesn't happen. 

That's life. That's normal. 

C'est la vie. 

What I refuse to accept is the normalization of hatred. I refuse to accept the normalization of violence.

This is America. 

We always rise and show that we are worthy of the promise of the pursuit of happiness. 

Too often it takes longer than we want it to.

Too often we have to fight back against our own apathy to embrace the better angels of our nature. 

But we must. 

I am not perfect. I have been unkind and I will be unkind, but in small ways and in large ways, I hope you'll join me in committing to intentional kindness and optimism as we face these next four years. 

Kindness, empathy, and compassion are the most basic ways we can fight hatred in out every day lives.

Five Ways to Show Kindness:

1. See something, say something. 

If you see someone being harassed or treated rudely, have the courage to engage with the target by saying something like "Oh my gosh! Sarah?! I'm so glad to see you! It's been so long!"

Here's a good guide for what to do if you encounter public harassment. 

2. Stop and help.

If you see someone struggling with their shopping bags, offer to help. If you drive by a house where an elderly woman is trying to rake leaves from her motorized scooter, pull over and ask if you can help her. If there's a parent traveling alone with a baby on your plane, offer to hold that baby if mom/dad needs to go to the bathroom. 

3. Donate feminine care items.

Homeless shelters around the nation are in dire need of bras and feminine hygiene products. 

Here's an organization that will help you help women in need. 

4. Donate your time.

Is there a cause you believe in? Volunteer for it. 

Personally, I'm all about helping girls develop courage, confidence, and character so I volunteer for my local Girl Scout Service Unit. I also love my local library, so I've gotten involved with a group who wants to support it. 

Put your time where your heart is. 

5. Hold the door and smile at people. 

Especially for people who might worry that they're unsafe these days.

Little kindnesses add up. 

You don't have to be perfect, you just have to try. 

Every small effort to make the world a better place does matter.

So do it. 

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Curry Soup

I am so excited to share my favorite recipe for curried pumpkin soup with you today!

In my family, we taking cooking pretty seriously. 

On my dad's side my Nana is a published cook book author.

On my mom's side my family owns and runs two Bed & Breakfasts and a catering company in Northern Vermont. Our cousin also recently purchased a small hotel and restaurant in the area, and we're all related to Julia Child. 

(For real. Her dad was my great-grandfather's first cousin. They grew up together in Pennsylvania.)

 So if there are any production companies looking for new reality TV show ideas- I've got some material for you to work with. Brunch Wars, anyone? 

One of our go-to appetizers for events is a pumpkin bisque that is absolutely fabulous. We serve it in shot glasses because soup shots are always a good idea.

I put my own twist on the recipe by using coconut cream, and vegetable broth when I want to make things vegan. 

Adding the curry powder and the powdered ginger gives this soup a brightness and an almost Thai flavor that I just adore. If you're into curried vegetables, you'll be into this curried pumpkin soup recipe for sure. 

You can easily double or triple this if you're serving a crowd, and I like to freeze it in individual servings to take for meals on the go at work. 

Pumpkin Curry Soup

Ingredients:

-4 shallots

-2 cloves garlic

-2 cans of pureed pumpkin

-2 cans of coconut cream

-One box of Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth

-Two tablespoons curry powder

-One teaspoon powdered ginger

-Two tablespoons coconut oil, olive oil, butter

-Sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mince shallots and garlic. In a medium pan, saute shallots on low in your preferred oil until shallots are slightly caramelized and light brown in color. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

2. Pour canned pumpkin, coconut cream, broth, and sautéed vegetables into your slow cooker. Add curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. Give it a good stir.

3. Set your slow cooker to four hours on high. 

4. Check in every hour or so to stir and see how it's coming along. When everything has liquified, you can use an immersion blender to get everything to a smooth consistency or just leave it as-is if you're ok with beautiful dots of caramelized shallots floating in your soup. I know I'm cool with that. 

5. Serve hot with whatever delicious garnish fills you with joy. Thai red pepper for a kick of spice. Maybe some toasted pumpkin seeds. Heck, add some oyster crackers baked with olive oil and curry powder. You do you. 

What an Autumn

The election is over and the dust is starting to settle, at least in Vermont. Nationally it still feels like so much is uncertain and frankly pretty scary.

I didn't win this time. While I'm sad, I'm really ok. I feel so lucky to have received such amazing support from so many people and at the end of the day, sometimes what really matters is that you tried.

Failing is rarely ever failure.

 

Right now, I'm trying to get some sleep. I'm looking forward to spending more time with friends, more time with Martin and his family, and more time traveling. Generally just more time doing things that are fun, like my real job as a Flight Attendant and blogging.

 

Once I've rested a bit, I'm going to get back up and fight. I'll continue to fight hard for equality. For kindness. For optimism. For the values that truly make America great.

I am so proud of this nation we love and I know that we are stronger together.

 

We can do this.

What A Summer

At various points in my life I have been really busy. 

My senior year of high school I was an officer in no fewer than ten student organizations simultaneously.

When I was Miss Vermont I averaged four hours of sleep a night for an entire year because of the demands on my schedule.

So please understand how serious I am when I say that this summer I have been really, really, really busy. 

June and July were packed with international trips (heyyyy 30 hours in Paris with my boyfriend!), and a TON of campaign work, but I was like "Ok, cool, this is a lot but I've totally got this handled."

Then during the first week of August the you-know-what hit the fan. 

(I tried to come up with a less crass metaphor, but really that's what happened.) 

My mom had a stroke completely out of nowhere and has been sidelined ever since.
The good news is that she doesn't have any significant cognitive impairment and there's no paralysis. The bad news is she's just too tired mentally and physically to do most tasks, including things like driving and running her three businesses. 

Yes, three. At one time. 

And that is why my schedule suddenly spiraled out of control. 

All of a sudden I was responsible for a full time job, a political campaign, running three businesses, and a variety of other projects I had on the side. 

(Semi professional blogger here, y'all.)

So this is basically how I've been feeling for the last month and a half:

People keep asking how I'm getting through this. 

The answer? 

Coffee. My super supportive boyfriend. My competent campaign manager. Useful family members. Kind friends. 

Literally every single hour of every single day is packed with SOMETHING URGENT that I have to do. It's a lot. 

So essentially...

Please send wine, Catalyst Coffee gift cards, and don't be mad if I haven't watched your snap story lately. 

Support the campaign here and keep your fingers crossed!

Fear Means Go: Take the Leap

I don't know about you, dear reader, but I am very consistently scared. 

Beyond my actual phobias (heights, blood, and needles, FYI), I'm primarily afraid of failure.

Trying new things can be really scary because you're opening the door to failure and all of the negative emotions that come with it: embarrassment, shame, disappointment, and heartbreak all come to mind. 

Two things are really important here.

1. "Failure" isn't actually a negative thing.

2. Life truly begins at the edge of your comfort zone. 

#1

In my quarter century here on Earth, one of the most important lessons I have learned is that failing at something can often be the best thing that can happen to you. 

We have a lot of ways of talking about this idea. Maybe you've heard someone say "When God closes a door he opens a window." or something like "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." 

Having faith that if you do fail, it's because something better is coming can be one of the best ways to plow ahead towards your goal or your dream, no matter how much it scares you. I can point to countless incidents in my own life that illustrate this idea. If I hadn't "failed" the first time I ran for office, I never would have found the job I love so much now. If I hadn't "failed" at being married, I wouldn't have found the wonderful man I'm currently in a relationship with. 

Failure is always going to hurt, but it doesn't have to be a negative. 

You can learn from it, grow from it, and achieve more and better things because of it.

#2

Speaking of growth, to really live you've got to grow, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Your comfort zone might keep you safe, but if you stay inside of it your life will stagnate. At best, you'll be a very boring person...probably one with a boring life. You'll go to work, go home, see the same people, do the same things, and you might not ever understand the underlying feeling that something isn't quite right. 

When something scares you, it's a good indicator that you should try it at least once so that you have the chance to see who you might become.  

When you're afraid, it means that something is big enough and important enough that it deserves your very best effort. Fear means it's time to take the leap because something matters. 

If you have a dream, go all in. Try. Dare greatly, and grow. 

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Garfunkel and Oates songs, "Loser". 

There's a little bit of strong language involved, so don't watch it around the kiddos, but it's awesome. 

"You are such a loser, good for you.

It's something that a lot of people can't do.

Trying is hard, that's why people don't do it.

Losing is hard, they can't make it through it.

But not you."