RecipeMuncher

Oops - I almost forgot to announce the winner of the box of Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s!

The winner is:

(drum roll, please….)

Tory, aka Herbivore, from the very cool blog, Herbivious.

Congrats, Herbivore! Make sure to contact me at veggie-terrain [at] gmail [dot] com with your info, and I’ll send those cookies out to you asap!

A little over 2 months have past since my last post, which simultaneously seems like too much time and not quite enough. Although “too much” and “not enough” for what, I’m not exactly sure…

All I know is that these past few months have brought me both amazing joys and unbearable sadness. And because I don’t know where to begin, I’ll just go ahead and start.

At the end of September, CH’s mom passed away. It crushed me in a way that I can’t even begin to explain, and I obviously don’t need to tell you how difficult it has been for CH’s family… I wrote a bit about what was going on with her in my last post, and honestly, I don’t want to say much more about that.

What I do want to share is that Suzanne fought with more strength and more determination than anyone I have ever encountered in my life. Her quick wit, brilliant vocabulary, and “matter-of-fact” attitude stayed with her to the very end, which created some much-needed bright spots for all of us.

And while it was terribly difficult to be there during Suzanne’s final few weeks, the fact that she allowed me in during such an intimate time is something that I will be forever grateful for. I’ve never witnessed such unyielding devotion from a husband, such sincere admiration from two sons, and such perpetual and unwavering love from a wife and mother.

(Those are the things that I’ll never forget…)

Just a week and a half after Suzanne passed away, and when good news seemed very, very far away, I finally got some amazing news. I found out that I passed the Bar Exam!

It was just after 2am when I found out (via the Bar’s website), which required that I read the “You passed” sentence about 100 times before it finally began to sink in. I even printed a copy of the screen, just to make sure that the word “passed” didn’t not-so-miraculously change to “failed” when it ended up on paper.

It didn’t.

As CH can confirm, I alternated between screaming, crying, and laughing hysterically when I go the news. The most fantastic part was when CH told me to be quiet so that I wouldn’t wake up the neighbors, and I got to yell - “So what, I’ll sue ‘em if they complain!” Yes, it was pretty ridiculous, but it sure made me feel lawyerly.

And, speaking of lawyerly, I was “sworn in” to the Illinois Bar at the beginning of November, just 2 days after BARACK OBAMA WON THE ELECTION! (Is it crazy that I’m just as giddy today as I was on Election night?!)

However, I’m still looking for work - gotta love the economy right now - which means that any of you who know criminal defense attorneys that practice in the Chicago-area will be getting cookies from me asap. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink…

Anyway, from this point forward, I’ll do my best to keep up with Veggie Terrain a bit better. I always feel like something’s missing when I’m not posting pictures/recipes on my site or commenting on other people’s blogs, but sometimes life throws a lot at you at once.

So, thanks for letting me get away with skipping the food during these last few posts - I’ll be back to it before you know it.

I’ve been avoiding writing about what I’m about to share because writing about it - putting the words in a permanent place - somehow makes the situation seem more real.

I keep telling myself that things will be alright and that I should keep certain things private (this is supposed to be a food blog, for God’s sakes), but right at this moment, at this time, I need to let some of my feelings out…

CH’s mother, a woman of amazing beauty and grace, is dying of cancer. It’s a terrible, painful, frightening, unfair, and completely incomprehensible situation. She was diagnosed just over a year ago, and has been fighting like hell to beat it ever since.

I’ve known Suzanne since CH and I started dating almost 11 years ago, although I could never have predicted the impact that she would have on my life at that time. Over the years, I’ve grown to think of her as another mom, as well as a wonderful friend.

Suzanne invited me into her tight-knit family with open arms, and has always gone out of her way to make me feel loved and included. In fact, some of my fondest, early memories of dating CH include his parents. And although that might sound funny, they are times that I’m truly grateful for.

I’ve never met someone as strong, sincere, and intelligent as Suzanne is. Our conversations have ranged from politics and international travel, to the ins and outs of zoning laws and shopping for comfortable shoes. As a result, I’ve always loved the way that dinners with CH and his parents have drifted into 3-hour territory (regardless of where we all were or what time it was), solely because none of us could stop talking…

Suzanne is a force to be reckoned with - both at work and at home - and I absolutely love her for that. She’s taught me so much about the importance of family, of standing up for your beliefs, and of following your dreams. And I am infinitely grateful to her for the unparalleled job that she’s done of raising her kids - CH is an incredible boyfriend in no small part because of his mom.

My sincerest hope is that during these last few weeks Suzanne can feel her pain replaced by the warm embrace of her family and friends’ support, love, and pure adulation, which is exactly what she has provided to all of us for so many years…

I’m so proud to have known CH’s mom and simply can’t imagine the world without her, but I do know that we are all better off for having her in it.

It’s official: my nearly 3-month-long hiatus from Veggie Terrain (coupled with a recent 4-day “complete blog shutdown”) has finally ended!

But as much as I’ve truly missed blogging, I’m proud to say that I accomplished a lot during my absence. During the past few months, I graduated from law school, completed an undeniably hellish Bar-prep program, and ultimately sat for the Bar Exam, itself. And although I won’t know whether I passed until the 2nd week of October (talk about traumatic), I’m trying to be as positive as possible, and to take comfort in the fact that I’ve never worked so hard at anything in my life…

So, with that little bit of Bar Exam talk out of the way, let’s get to the new - and hopefully improved - Veggie Terrain!

I’ve spent the past few days completely overhauling my blog: revamping the layout and background; tidying up the sidebars; reorganizing my blogroll; and even adding a new set of “WordPress-ish” links to the top of the pag…