You say it; I bake it. I

About a month and a half ago I threw out the offer on facebook that I would (attempt) to bake anything a friend requested for free as long as they purchased any especially expensive/obscure ingredients. This venture was meant to allay two problems: boredom and a need to expand my baking repertoire.
Fortunately, I found employment soon after posting this offer. But this means I have had less time for baking and blogging.

I will try to get this back on track.

The first request I filled was for snickerdoodle cookies. It's not exactly going where no man, or I, have gone before, but my cookie baking needs work. Mostly, I need to figure out the fats and learn to pull the trigger earlier with taking the cookies out so they stay nice and moist.

The dough and sugar/cinnamon/cocoa mix.

Mostly done and freshly inserted cookies.

The ones on the bottom probably should have come out already, but they turned out semi-malleable anyway.

Because of how cold the weather has been, I figured I would make an offering to the neighborhood squirrels and rabbits.

Yeah.... That's why I burnt a sheet... Not because I forgot they were in the oven while I was getting ready for work... 

That would be irresponsible.

So, the non-burnt cookies still came out a bit too crumbly for my liking. I partially blame to cold/dry air for that too. To put a little more moisture back in them, I stored them in sealed tubberware with some cheap white bread. I think that did a good bit to help.

The recipient was appreciative, but I have not heard a final assessment of them.

In the next few weeks I will try to get around to my 2nd and 3rd requests: diabetic-friendly-tiramisu and quiche.

Back at blogging but not much else.

Most of my former classmates are now in the midst of final exams. It's a time I didn't take very seriously because I loathed it on numerous levels, from what it does to people to its pedagogical value, and probably because I knew I wouldn't be doing very well.

What am I up to? Knitting, thinking of things to bake or candies to make, lurking the internet for job listings, and, oh yeah, trying to get my health in order.

When I started this fall, I thought that my sleep issues would be over quickly. I would go in for a sleep study, get diagnosed, follow treatment, and get better. I would be a new man with almost every aspect of my life being improved once I finally got quality sleep. It has been three months since my initial sleep study and almost 4 months since I started seeking help. I am trying to self-advocate, but so much seems out of my control.

Currently, the medication I am taking does little for my negative symptoms (writing this with a mild migraine) and has added at least on more: ridiculously bizarre dreams. I reached the maximum dosage for the medication about a month ago, and after numerous calls into the sleep clinic. I finally got another sleep study scheduled. It isn't until the middle of January. In the meantime, I haven't had any direct contact with my doctor since my October appointment. The best I have gotten has been a call back from a nurse. Otherwise I have had to keep calling the receptionists. Sometimes they have new information, others they just say they will send back another message.

In some ways this has really enriched my patient advocacy education from the summer. Most of the people that worked in my patient advocacy clinical came to it after having some kind of need for patient advocacy for themselves or their families. I had a little of that after working with my grandfather for a summer, but actually having to struggle with access to care and understanding an illness are something else entirely to experience than just making tough decisions in a bad situation. I'm not sure if I would have been a better or worse advocate for some clients if I had already had this experience. Part of poor sleep is being irritable, and I'm not sure I would have responded well to having my own bad experiences thrown back at me on the daily.

In the meantime,I am trying to eat well, exercise, and keep myself active. Oh, and you know... looking for employment.