choosiness.

if you have been awake at all lately, the news is plastered with gobs of stories about immigration-- states banning immigration, accusations flying wild, people hating people, man against man, woman against woman. it's disheartening to say the least. whether or not i know what is right or wrong, i do know this: we are all human and we all live in the same world. will we ever learn to share? pat always jokes with me about what a bad kid i was because i was actually spanked and he wasn't. i deserved it, i tell him. i was mean. i broke my brother's intricate lego cities out of sheer spite. i didn't like to share. i bit other kids. yea, i deserved the spanking. it'll probably all come full circle one day, don't you worry...

as i have lived these 26 years, however, i've opened my eyes to see that we're not so different, you and i. i think someone famous once said that. where will the line in the sand be drawn? when will the hate stop? who decided who belongs and who does not? this is not our world. this is not even our country. we all came as immigrants, and killed off the native americans to get to where we are today. was that right? no. are people actually scared that may happen again? maybe. like i said, i just don't get it. i just don't get the fact of people taking ownership over something that is not even theirs-- including america. i don't get choosing the worthiness of other people to live or die, to have or have not, when we ourselves are not in any hierarchy to make such decisions in the lives of others by any sense of the word.

the arguments about paying taxes and immigrants taking our "hard working" money, doesn't cut it with me either. if you haven't noticed, americans take full advantage of the system worse than any other population group, and most of us don't pay taxes either. it's true. look around. so what is the difference?? honestly, i believe it is fear. i believe it is racism, ethnicism, classism at its absolute worst. example: today i am on the phone with a state worker that couldn't understand me calling someone a "spaniard," meaning ethnically from spain. you know, the country? we went round and round about how spaniard does not mean from mexico, and yes, they can speak english. wow, lady. you work for the state, and you're that ignorant in diversity?? who has dropped the ball here? why are professionals not being taught diversity? maybe they are, but looking around, my office is all white people. boring. and counter-productive. teach diversity all you want, but then go into a white work place, and you still are not going to really get it. honestly. and it's not completely your fault. it is your fault, and mine, however, if we do not choose to educate ourselves. who are the people immigrating? who are they as humans, not a political battle? who are their families that desperately need a better life? if you and your family needed a better life, how would you feel if another country shut you out?? who are you, as a person? who am i? and who are we to choose?

xoxo, glutie: homemade gluten-free summer cobbler.

yummmmm! it's safe to say i'm not a dessert eater, even before i couldn't easily eat desserts. i used to ask for key lime pie instead of any other type of birthday cake. my parents would fulfill my request, and the candles were lit and all. but as far as cake, cookies, brownies, etc. i could really pass all together. i do, however, love goodies made with fresh, fresh, in-season fruit. it takes me back to my mamaw's tart apple pies that came straight from her apple trees, and later, my mom's scrumptious peach and blueberry pie that is requested almost every time my bro and sis visit. as i am no longer able to enjoy these, i figured it's time to work it out my own glutie-free way.

what you'll need:
~4 fresh, ripe SC/GA peaches (my personal favorite), sliced
about 1/2 container of fresh blueberries
1 box of betty crocker gluten free vanilla cake mix (actually, really legit) USE DRY
1 box peach gelatin USE DRY
water
peach/citrusy fruit juice (i used some tropical v8 juice that was in the fridge)
one stick of butter/margarine

clean, peel, and cut peaches and put them in the bottom of an 8.5x11 casserole dish. wash and add a handful or so of blueberries. adjust these measurements completely to your liking and feel free to use whatever fruit you please. once the bottom is layered with the fruit, dump the DRY package of gelatin mix on top of the fruit. then, dump the DRY cake mix on top of that. i patted that down just a bit, but not too tight. dump one cup water and half a cup of juice on top. slice butter into average-size pats and arrange on top of dump pile. simple right?? bake at 325-350 for about an hour. check on it. you want the butter to be melted, the liquid absorbed, and the cake to be browning on top.