Making the Case for Olive Oil

What I am enjoying right now about this recipe is that when I listed the ingredients and centered the text it formed this cool heart shape which reminds me of how heart-healthy this little gem of a dish is. There isn’t a speck of bad fat in it.

Black Bean & Corn Salad

1 can  Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

1 can  yellow corn (rinsed and drained)

1/3 c  roasted red peppers (chopped)

¼ c  Bermuda onion (finely chopped)

1/3 c fresh cilantro (chopped)

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp lime juice

Salt

As long as we're discussing heart-related matters, please indulge me for just a moment or two on the topic of “olive oil.” It is not all the same! I’ve tried many and finally found one that is so smooth and delicious that it’s a staple in my kitchen. It is my premium product reserved for dressings, drizzling, and dipping – not suggested for heating (unless money is just of no concern.) I use Frantoia Extra Virgin Olive Oil. If you are not familiar with it prepare yourself for sticker-shock because it costs a cool $27. for a 33.8 ounce bottle. GASP! Now, stay with me here, frugal friends, before writing me off as an “olive oil snob” because I’ve conducted some research on this topic, strange woman that I am.  Look, I’m going to just copy and paste an Abstract for a paper I wrote entitled, Olive Oil: The Key to Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.

EVOO comes from the first pressing, therefore; it  is the least processed with the greatest health benefits. There are cheaper EVOOs, and if taste matters, Frantoia is the one!

Abstract

Known to be heart-healthy, the Mediterranean diet incorporates a nutritious, whole foods eating plan that includes generous amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, whole grains, and the regular use of olive oil.  The Seven Countries Study examined rates of death from heart disease in people from around the world to find that deaths were strongly associated with diets high in saturated fats as opposed to total fats.  The research found that while both Finland and Crete consumed 40 percent of their calories from fat, Finland experienced the highest death rate from heart disease, and Crete experienced the lowest.  Upon this finding, scientists from around the world began to study types of fat and discovered that the key to the many health benefits of the Mediterranean diet is in the prominent use of olive oil.

How cool is that?

Now, which is cheaper, heart disease or my rockin' extra virgin olive olive?

Mixing It Up!

Rinse and drain beans and corn and put them in a mixing bowl. Add chopped roasted red peppers and chopped Bermuda onion. Wisk oil and lime juice together. Pour over vegetables. Add salt and chopped cilantro and stir. Chill. Serve cold.

Caution: Fresh cilantro makes this dish. If you do not grow your own then just go ahead and treat yourself to overpaying for it at the grocery store because you need it for this recipe.  

Grow it at home!

Summer Alternatives:

4 ears of fresh corn on the cob; grilled

½ large fresh red bell pepper; finely chopped

Let me leave you with the conclusions of my research on olive oil.

Conclusions

              To promote good health the mayo clinic recommends that when cooking with fats, olive oil is the best choice because it lowers risks of heart disease by reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and total cholesterol levels in the blood.  According to the Food and Drug Administration consuming about two tablespoons of olive oil daily may reduce the risks of heart disease.

              Extra Virgin olive oil is considered one of the best food oils available today.  Higher quality, organic oils may cost a bit more than lesser quality pressings but the significant increase in healthy benefits of lesser processed, cold-pressed extra virgin oil make it a wise investment.  “When used as a primary source of fat in whole foods, healthy eating plans such as the Mediterranean diet, the potential goodness of this oil prevails.” (MayoClinic)

"Mommy, They Ruined My Pasta Salad!"

People aren't around me very long before picking up on my strong value for learning. When choosing a preschool for my daughter, Abigail, I conducted an exhaustive search for a place where I felt comfortable that my child would be given an opportunity to learn and grow with selective freedom of choice. I wanted her to be in an environment that would nurture her curiosity and independence and allow her the space to be who she is intended to be. We chose Wilmington Montessori School, and my daughter will attest today that it was a phenomenal early education for her where there was a strong emphasis on "respect for self, others, and the environment." One of the things that I liked from the onset was the way they handled meals and snacks. They encourage good nutrition, and parents are free to pack cold lunches as well as meals requiring heat-up. There are full kitchens shared between two classrooms throughout the preschool wing of the building. It's a super set-up for the kids and teachers as well. Now, Abi has always been a very good eater. I have a photo of her eating half a turkey, lettuce and tomato sandwich at age 9 months with not a tooth in her head. One of Abi's favorite recipes is my pasta salad. She has been gobbling this up since she was 18 months old. 

Now, before I share this incredibly simple dish I'll tell you a funny story. It was September, and a brand new school year had begun. Abigail was 2.5 years old and had moved up to the 2-year-old toddler room. She and I had packed her lunch the night before, and she was delighted that she was having her favorite thing, pasta salad. I dropped Abi off at school, put her lunch in the fridge, and went on to work. At 3pm I picked her up to find her furious. She made it out of the building and into the car before bursting into tears. I got her in her car seat against all the fit-pitching, and finally things settled down enough for me to understand what had gone so terribly wrong at school. "Mommy, they ruined my pasta salad! I told them not to heat it up, and they put it in the microwave anyway! The cheese melted! They ruined it!" I was desperately trying not to laugh at this toddler who was just so bent out of shape over her pasta salad. Thank God there was more at home. She was placated knowing that she could have pasta salad for her afternoon snack and dinner too if she wanted more of it.  So here's what the fuss is all about...

Abigail's Fit-Pitching Pasta Salad

1 box tri-colored Rigatoni

3/4 c. cubed sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 c. cubed muenster cheese

1/2 c. sliced pimento-filled green olives

1/2 c. sliced black olives

1 mixture of Good Season's Italian Salad Dressing

Make this up ahead of time so it has time to blend  nicely before you add  it to your salad.

This dish is all about the Good Season's Salad Dressing which I don't recall being without for more than 12 hours on any given day over the past 25 years. I love the stuff! Go ahead and splurge for the bottle because it has the fill lines for balsamic vinegar, water, and olive oil. I've had mine for at least 20 years. Remember to add the spice packet and shake! 

You can use as much dressing as you like.  I usually mix in about 2/3 the bottle and add more if needed after it chills.

Talk about simple: 

I begin with setting a big pot of salted water on to boil. I add the pasta when the water comes to full boil, and this gives me the time I need to get the other ingredients ready. As I mentioned my dressing is nearly always made up, so I go directly to cubing my cheeses, and throwing it in a big mixing bowl as I go. Then I slice my olives and add them to the mixing bowl. The pasta is ready in 10 to 12 minutes. Be sure that it is fully cooked because you will drain it in a colander and immediately cool it down with cold water to stop it from cooking and cool it completely. When the pasta is cold drain it and add it to the mixing bowl. Stir in the dressing, cover and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. When you pull it out add more dressing and stir  just before you serve it. Serves 8 easily (unless Abi's in attendance!)

I've served this as a main dish with garlic bread and a small salad, and it also makes a great side dish to grilled hamburgers or any sandwich. Today I had some with a couple of ham biscuits!

Heat At Your Own Risk!

Goodnight, I Love You

One of my favorite quotes is Leo Tolstoy's, “All, everything I understand, I understand only because I love.” I am one who loves very deeply and very broadly. In fact, love can be so intense for me that I have a great deal of difficulty writing about it, and it’s probable that those for whom my love is most intense do not fully grasp my feelings for them. I approach all of humanity with love, and I intensely love a very few. It would be overwhelming to do it any other way! I’ll attempt here to stay more on the surface of love for even that is powerful enough.

I learned from observing my mother that love is verb. When I was growing up my Mama modeled her love for my two sisters and me through action and with great intention. Not only did she work three jobs to support us, but even our spankings were all about love, and Mama was good about verbalizing that before, during, and after any such event of reprimand. She believed that communication is imperative to clarity, and it was most important to her that her children understood who she was, where she was coming from and why, and what all of that meant for us. And what it meant was we were loved! It was a nightly ritual that after we were in our rooms and settled into our beds, we would break the silence and holler throughout the house calling each other by name, “Goodnight. I love you.” That was long before John-Boy and The Waltons, and they only said “Goodnight” anyhow.  Mama made the rules at our house, and one big rule was we could “never let the sun go down on our wrath.” And, let me assure you that when you put a single mother and three girls all born 2.5 years apart under one roof, and the youngest gets to be about 12-years-old, they are going to experience some significant wrath. And in Mama's house, that wrath was going to subside before bedtime and end with “Goodnight. I love you.”

I have never regretted my religious affiliation with Christianity, although; I have been saddened at times throughout my life by the desire and intention of many to utilize religion as a means of disconnection among the human race.  By the time I reached adulthood (not an hour past age 18 down south where I was raised) I had read the King James version of the Bible from Genesis through Revelations twice. I had not only read it, but studied it fairly extensively.  My teenage years were spent proactively pursuing a relationship with God, consciously upholding my faith, and practicing the religion I was taught in a tiny church in Fieldale, Virginia. Nearly all of my time outside of school was spent in some connection with my church. I was either sitting in worship service or participating in some sort of mission work ranging from fundraising for congregational youth ministries, teaching Sunday School, developing and leading youth programs, travelling as a singer with a southern gospel music ministry, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, sharing the good news from door to door, and inviting others into the fold. I was a very busy and highly productive teenager.

As I've grown and broadened my thinking I've come to believe that some of what I was taught at church was really just a whole lot of hogwash, however; that in no way diminishes the value and magnitude of not only my overall experience, but my grand-scale takeaway for life. Simply, love one another. 

I never mistook humans for walking in the perfection of God. If I gleaned a thing from all of my exposure to Christianity, it was that people – all people, are riddled with faults that lead us to sin against God’s commandments and the teachings of Jesus Christ.  The concept comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans 3:23 where he writes, "for there is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  I've kept this at the top of my awareness, I chose early-on in my personal faith walk, to focus most intently on two significant statements made by none other than the great teacher himself, Jesus:

“A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

John 13:34

“Judge not, and you shall not be judged: condemn not, and you shall not be condemned:  forgive, and you shall be forgiven.”  Luke 6:37

Now, growing up in faithful church attendance, I can tell you for sure that I’ve encountered many a devout church-goer who struggles much more with the “love one another” and “judge not” commandments than any of the “Thou Shalt Nots.” I’ve chosen to focus on the magnitude of these two Christian teachings during most of my life, not because the other stuff isn’t important, but because, for me abstaining from killing, stealing, lying, adultery, idol worshipping, coveting, and the like just aren’t much of a daily challenge. Besides, Mama had already taught me to practice what she considered bare minimum character requirements for the well-functioning of society. God, or no God, there was to be no killing, stealing or lying among Mama's kids.

Over my 38-year faith journey, I’ve learned a lot about the power of love and acceptance. When we come from a place of love of all people we accept our individual differences, and the natural outcome is that we withhold judgment of others and their choices across the broad spectrum because love just doesn't judge. It doesn’t mean that we agree, condone, or affiliate with everything and everyone. It just means that we are steeped in love that allows us to live and let live – leaving the judgment to God. That said, I will guarantee you that I have never met even one person in whom I failed to find something good and lovable.  My look into the world’s religions has taught me that we humans are more alike than we are different and that, like Christianity – Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism are also centered on love. 

Goodnight. I love you.

Cleaning Out the Fridge

This morning I opened the refrigerator to find a few too many straggling foods. These "hangers on" just needed to be finished. There's about a third of a can of black olives, half an onion, half a red pepper, about two cups of mozzarella left of a four-cup bag that's been around for nearly a month, and maybe half a cup of grated parmesan cheese that I only use for a specific recipe, so it just really needs to go because I only make that recipe once a year -- at the end of the year, and it's now the beginning of the year.

Okay, the wheels are turning, what shall I concoct? The mozzarella screams baked pasta dish. A quick check of the pantry solidifies my decision: canned tomatoes, a jar of red pasta sauce, and a box of whole wheat spaghetti. Baked spaghetti it shall be! Wonder if I have any of those fully cooked meatballs I like to keep in the freezer? Sure do! Now, I know I've got olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper so all is well, and I'm ready to throw this thing together.

I toss 15 meatballs in a sauce pot and add the jar of pasta sauce, can of diced tomatoes, and a handful of chopped garlic. The meatballs thaw in the sauce. I cover the pot and let its contents blend on medium-low heat. While the sauce is coming together, I boil some water, add salt, and the box of spaghetti. As the spaghetti is cooking, I pull the now defrosted meatballs from the sauce, quarter them, and return them to the sauce to simmer.

Normally I would clean up the edges of this pot prior to snapping the photo, but I'm in a hurry.

I drain the pasta, rinse it under cold water, and transfer it to a mixing bowl where I coat the pasta with olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper before adding the sliced black olives, onion, and chopped red pepper. Humm, it's looking pretty good. I could probably add a little more oil with balsamic vinegar for pasta salad, but I won't this time because I'm committed to my baked spaghetti.

Coat a baking dish with a little olive oil , and transfer the pasta and veggies to the dish.

.

Cover with meat sauce, top with mozzarella cheese, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

The finished product...

Let cool then cut into 9 large to 12 regular servings.

Serving Tips:

What I like about this dish is, one, I know it's gonna be tasty because when is a cheesy, baked pasta dish not delicious? Two, I can freeze several servings and pull them out when I don't have time to cook during the week. Served with a salad and bread the meal is complete with little effort.

Again, normally I would trim to a more perfect  rectangle for the presentation, but I'm in a hurry to get outside today!

Ready for the freezer!

2012: Prepared to Succeed

Today is that magical day that begins the new year when I am already deeply entrenched in contemplating my hopes, dreams, and intentions for 2012.  What will I change?  What will I keep?  What will I toss?  What needs tweaking? What are my big, bold, audacious goals: personally, professionally, financially, physically, spiritually?  Am I on target with my 5-year plan?  This pensive thought takes place as I reduce clutter and organize various spaces -- a process that usually begins December 26th for me. I begin to clean out and organize drawers, closets, files, my car, cabinets, bookshelves -- all in what used to be a more conscious effort to get a jump on preparing to meet the opportunities that are bound to surface on a moments notice, quite possibly, at the very dawn of the new year. Like Henry Hartman, Zig Ziglar, and several others have stated, "success is when preparation meets opportunity." Then there's the 13th century proverb that one of my mentors lives by, (be prepared to) "strike when the iron is hot." These ideas certainly clarify my role in creating my own success. I am to simply be prepared to act decisively when my opportunity arises.

Now, I've been practicing this method for a few decades, and I'm here to attest to the validity of this notion that  the name of the success game is preparedness. Here's why. We control neither the nature of opportunity nor its' timing. Opportunity presents. We are either prepared to grab it or not. It typically does not linger long enough for us to become prepared after it presents. When it does, I call that crazy lucky! More often it's sort of like when a butterfly lands, and I not only have my camera, but the right lens is attached and settings are good enough to grab the shot before it flies away. That's happened once in my life.

"Prepared to Succeed" at Hawk's Cay on Duck Key, Florida

Getting this photo probably wasn't on my list of things to accomplish back in 2002 when I took it, and my annual projections usually do not include things of this sort, however; all of the elements required to achieve this photo apply to the more significant goals that I do set. To capture this butterfly, I had to "be" in the moment, acutely aware of my surroundings. "Being" is a huge factor in recognizing fleeting opportunity. Sometimes we wander through the day inattentive to the present. We overlook opportunity because we are not in the moment at hand. We are, all too many times, dwelling in the past --revisiting resentment, pain, or the joy of past successes. While back there we are missing the opportunity that settles within our reach in the present. To succeed I was prepared. I knew how to use my camera and showed up with it. I had to be in the present, but if I had stopped there I wouldn't have the photo. I had to take some action-- do something. Position the camera, focus, and shoot. And by this combination what I have is a photo, or success.

A Simple Saturday Afternoon

Yesterday we were blessed with one of those remarkably beautiful autumn days that we’ve waited nearly three-quarters of the year to experience. I basked in the bright sun that filled a clear, blue October sky. With a high of 75 degrees, it was the perfect day for an afternoon drive – but to where? Ah, Amish country!

So what’s on the trip agenda? I want to be outside enjoying the beautiful colors of fall. Learning something of the Amish culture would be time well-spent, and I can’t leave without some homemade jam. This is the extent of what I intend to accomplish during my journey. It occurs to me that maybe I should do some research first to insure that my trip out to Strasburg, PA serves my defined purpose. On second thought, a buddy at work told me if I just take Route 1 past Longwood Gardens to 41, I should arrive and clearly recognize that I’m among the Amish within about 1 hour and 10 minutes. I’ll just hop in the car and go for it! After all my agenda should be easily met fairly immediately upon entering the general area.

Seemingly no sooner decided than do I find myself surrounded by open farmland. I have never seen so many acres of corn, barns, and silos. I have arrived! If there remains any question whatsoever, up the road there I spot a horse-drawn buggy dart from one farm, across the street, to another. Yes, I am most definitely among the Amish. Within just a few more minutes I am pulling into a quaint little spot called The Amish Village located in Strasburg, PA. Clearly, I've stumbled upon exactly the place to accomplish my afternoon agenda!

Outdoors enjoying the fall weather and colors, learning about the Amish culture, & finding some homemade jam.

I begin with the 1840's farm house tour for a cost of $8.25. This is where I pick up several bits of information that I did not know about the Amish. Spawned from the Protestant Reformation in 16th century Europe they were defined as Anabaptists based upon their fundamental belief and practice that baptism is reserved for adults because infants cannot make an informed decision to uphold the practices of the faith as they are not yet able to discern between good and evil. The Amish emerged as their own distinct church on the Swiss-German boarder with a small group of Mennonites led by Jacob Amman in the late 1600's. Amman led a movement to break from the Mennonites, and revert to the practice of shunning of members who didn't conform to church teachings. By the 1900's the Amish had migrated away from Europe. Those remaining rejoined the Mennonites. There are no Amish occupying Europe today.

The Amish do not maintain church buildings. Church members reserve a parlor in their homes where meetings are held bi-weekly on Sundays from 8am until noon. The parlor is solely for the purpose of worship which includes congregational singing with no musical instruments followed by a 3.5 hour sermon. They continue to use the Martin Luther version of the Bible written in German. The Amish speak  Pennsylvania Dutch. It is a dialect of the German language. The word Dutch should be Deutsche. It was simply mispronounced when these German-speaking people migrated to America.  

The Parlor: This is where the community gathers for church service.

The largest room in the Amish home is the kitchen. It is where much work takes place and where the family gathers outside of church and working the fields. Today the Amish use propane to fuel more modern ranges, refrigerators, and lamps. The floor lamp beside the stove is on wheels. The cabinet houses a propane tank. This is a more modern day convenience over lanterns. In-door plumbing relies on air pressure.

You will find one mirror in the Amish home. It is in the kitchen and solely for the purpose of  men shaving. See the flash?

Women spend a lot of time sewing and working with foods. There is a second kitchen that is used in the warmer weather to keep from heating up the house. The celler is a place used for churning butter, canning, and putting up food for the winter.

The large pot weighs 80 lbs empty and over 100 lbs. full. There's a steel beam overhead, and a pulley system is used to move the pot off the heat. The wooden barrel is a butter churner with a turning handle on the side.

Most of us are aware that the Amish observe a "no vanity" policy. In this they dress very plainly and wear mostly black with no adornments of any kind. Even the buttons on their clothing are intended to be functional only. They use suspenders rather than belts to avoid the shiny belt buckles, and buttons are typically black. This is in opposition to the German soldiers whose uniforms were adorned with shiny buttons. In fact, they use eyes and hooks for fascinating on most of their handmade pieces. Here's another interesting fact about Amish attire. What they are wearing indicates whether they are married or single. It is all in the head covering.  See these two hats?  Look closely and notice that the one on the bottom is popped out at the top and the one on top is flat. That flatness is created by an indented ridge that goes around the top of the hat. When a man is single he wears the hat with the ridge. Once he is married the ridge is popped out. Now, this same rule applies whether he is wearing his straw hat while working or his black hat. 

All Amish will have their heads covered whenever in public.

So how will we know when a woman is married or single? The bride will wear a handmade dress the color of her choosing (within the acceptable color range, of course, so nothing too bold or flashy.) She will wear a white apron that has never been worn before and a black kapp. After the wedding her black kapp will be replaced with a white one signifying that she is now a married woman. The white apron that she wears on her wedding day will not be worn again until her burial.

You may be wondering how the Amish justify their beautifully-crafted, colorful quilts. They do use these fine textiles in their own bedrooms on the premise that no one outside those in the home enters the bedrooms so there is no perceived vanity associated with the use of the quilts.

The quilt pictured sells for $700. The Amish have large families of 6 to 8 children so cradles are in the bedroom for years.

On to the out of doors to tour the grounds and enjoy some of the beautiful, autumn weather and colors. Didn't have to look too far!

WOW!

1. 

The Amish craft beautiful (expensive) furniture.

I encountered plenty of covered buggies over the afternoon in Amish country.

I would be remiss not to share the Amish education system. I actually had the privilege of meeting the school teacher while touring the one-room school house. Youth from grades 1 through 8 are taught here. It works because students are provided with daily work aligned with their individual ability. I do understand this concept because my daughter's elementary education was within the Montessori system which practices similarly with more than few differences, I am sure. 

Love the sign at the threshold of the school house.

From the time that I entered the room until I existed the building I was wholly engrossed in all of the educational opportunities around me.

Very inviting with the school bell overhead

The desks in the front are smaller.

I was thrilled to find that the Dick and Jane books are still in use. They were encased so I asked the teacher if they are still actually used to teach reading, and I am pleased to know that they are!

"See Spot run!" Love it!

Okay, what else did I declare was on the agenda for the afternoon? Homemade jam?

Done. And some honey to boot!

Now, if you're gonna drive out to the Pennsylvania Amish country go ahead and stop for a smorgasbord supper. You will not regret that, no sir. I had a feast before leaving town -- with some of the best service I've received anywhere in a long time. Gotta love that blue sky!

Some may say, "Why take a whole afternoon to drive all the way out to Strasburg to learn about the Amish when you can just research it on the internet"? To this I respond, "You're kidding, right."?

28 Years to an Undergrad!

I'm not exactly conventional and conforming in my approach to living. I am usually assessing my unique situation to determine a course that will successfully get me to my goal. I pay attention to and respect other people and their ideas and methods toward achievement. Then I tweak things so they work for me. So, while I have nearly always been soaking up as much knowledge and understanding as my brain can absorb on a given day, my personal circumstances and desires were not conducive to acquiring my bachelor's degree by the recommended method (i.e. graduate from high school, enroll in college, and emerge 4 years later with a bachelor's degree.) Sounds simple enough, but at the time that I graduated from high school this just didn't work for me, so I pursued what I believed would, and, in fact, did work. I left home and entered the workforce.

I possess a very strong value for education acquired through any and all sources of learning -- pretty much every person, place, thing, or experience. I have never believed that the greatest lessons or the most extensive learning, are gleaned from the traditional American classroom. For example, my moving about 250 miles away from my home (with $10. and a tank of gas) just after my 18th birthday provided an ideal forum for invaluable education in the areas of practical life and economics among other character-building aspects. Nine days later I began my first career in the field of Ocean Transportation as a lowly, albeit; proud manifest clerk where I proceeded to learn more about geography and social studies from my on-the-job experience than I had throughout my 12 years of formal classroom education on these subjects. Apparently, I learn by doing because I distinctly recall drawing maps of Africa on the bottom of my flip-flops to pass my geography final in the 8th grade since I just couldn't stay awake in the class. My Maritime experience, however; led me to an insatiable interest in the world's cultural differences including everything from foods, languages, values and beliefs, political structures, religions, to weather, landscapes, agriculture, industries, currencies, social and economic positions, and relationships.

Now, never let it be said that I did not begin college upon completing high school in 1981, for I most certainly did. I wanted to be an English professor. As I became more knowledgeable of transportation and  world trade, I came to think that I should pursue a degree in Transportation Management. Several years  and a few promotions later I figured International Business was probably more fitting. Then I made a major leap into real estate sales and marketing which meant I was an entrepreneur and needed some accounting, finance and marketing courses. Soon after that I married a man who had previously been married and had a toddler. Wanting to be the best possible stepmother on the planet, I turned toward human development. Ironically, the child's mother hated my guts.   When I say "hate," I mean this woman loathed my very existence. Desperately attempting to gain a better understanding of how one human being could possess so much jealousy, self-absorption and preconceived notions that seemed to lead her to something between insane and pure evil behavior, I rushed into the social sciences. So vigorously did I pursue all things of the human mind that when I went for my pre-graduation review, the counselor couldn't readily assess whether I was graduating from the behavioral science department or the business department. I should note that when I had my own daughter all formal studies ceased for nearly a decade as a whole new level of learning ensued. Then all of a sudden...BAM! I graduated -- just 28 years after I had begun.
                                                       
Ultimately, here's when and how I became complete. In January of 2008 I walked into the university, sat down and told the counselor that I intended to complete my degree in the shortest possible period of time for the least amount of money. We got all of my transcripts together from multiple colleges, and I had her sign off on the credits that the university would accept. She suggested an accelerated program wherein each core course was completed in five weeks. I looked it over, signed on, finished up 14 months later, and walked in my graduation. Why walk at age 47? Because it had been 28 years! See the proof?

3.91 GPA with Magna Cum Laude Honors

                                                                 

Now here's what's really important to note out of this experience. I've been an eager student all my life. I mean to say that learning is something I make a point of doing every, single day. I've got a friend who says, "College education is wasted on the young." Since I did college from the time I was age 18 through age 47, I think I understand what he means by that. College is expensive compared with other means for learning -- on the job, reading, seminars, mastermind groups, volunteer projects, making poor choices, encountering adversity, playing games, going to church, public transportation, travel, cooking, hunting, hiking, scouting, sports, gardening, the arts, museums, festivals, and all of the other ways in which we acquire knowledge and education.  The only source for my education that I have found to be more expensive than college is parenting. Now, I am by no means suggesting that folks ought to take up my "28 years to an undergrad" plan. What my friend says rings true for me in that as I grew and matured, my learning in the college classroom became much more extensive, and, therefore; less expensive. So it wasn't that teachers in my earlier years were any less qualified or good at their jobs. It was that my own knowledge base and life experience became deeper and richer with each passing day. As my life progresses so does my mind expand. I have increasingly better internal resources to fully grasp and readily relate and apply course content, and I bet this goes on forever for those who want it which is really exciting and also supports my friend's conclusion that as we age we are able to better balance the exorbitant costs for college through maximizing our gain of education. At least that's what I think he means by his statement, "College education is wasted on the young." And, in that context, I agree.

I began with thoughts of the conventional, recommended path to obtaining a college degree. The purpose for the conventional approach is to become gainfully employed -- just ask any high school counselor.  So we are advised to graduate high school, follow with college enrollment, and choose a major that leads to gainful employment upon completion which is to be 8 semesters later when we are about age 22. It does work -- for some.  My college education was for the purpose of acquiring knowledge -- not employment. When I wanted employment I sought it through employers first then used my continuous college studies and learning to work my way into progressively higher positions in the workplace and greater income-producing opportunities.  I have never regretted that choice for myself, nor do I believe it is right for everyone. It is critical to note that my professional interests center on business as opposed to medicine and the like.

Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management (May, 2009)

                                                                                                                                              
Learning and education opportunities are ever-present for the taking for every person, every moment, of every day. To live is to learn, and I intend to continue to capitalize on the efficiency of this notion. The education gained during my 28-year journey to a bachelor's degree, while of value and significance to me, pales in comparison to all that I've learned and continue to learn outside of formal education.

                           "I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma."
                            ~Ertha Kitt