widener

Last week I made some cinnamon swirl bread from scratch. I had a day off from work and decided that it would be a 'fun' activity to make some bread. Originally I was going to make white bread, but I decide the cinnamon bread would taste better. This bread was great with a little butter and a cup of coffee. I have included some pictures of the bread making process.

It is important to monitor the temperature of the liquids you are going to mix with the yeast because if it is too hot your yeast will die and your bread wont rise.

This is a picture of the yeast and water mixture.

You know the yeast is ready to be used when the water, sugar and yeast have risen a bit in the measuring cup. I don't know if the word risen is the correct word, its more like bubbles and had an obvious chemical reaction. It also shows that you didn't kill the yeast by having too hot of water.

This is the dough before it has had a chance to rise. For this kind of bread I had to let it rise for about an hour before it was ready to be put in the loaf pans.

The finished loaf! Delicious!

Posted by Joe Keifer at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the summer I am working at multiple places. The two main places that I work are Shoprite and for my neighbor. At Shoprite I work in the Frozen foods department. This involves stocking out popsicles, ice cream, frozen bread, frozen dinners, and pretty much anything else that is frozen. It’s great during the summer because it’s nice and cold. The only downsides are your hands get pretty cold sometimes and it can be a lot of heavy lifting. The neighbor who I work for had a stroke many years ago, but still requires some help around the house. Simple tasks like washing dishes or recycling paper. All activities that we take for granted that we can do. It is very rewarding but also fun at the same time. I have worked for her for almost five years now and we have gotten to know each other pretty well. On the side I work at Parkside Fire Company as an EMT and in Widener Admissions on Mondays.

This is a picture of the Shoprite that I work at. Not too exciting.

This is ambulance 45-7A one of the ambulances that I ride on when I work as an EMT.

I hope everyones summer is going well stay cool!!

Posted by Joe Keifer at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my spring break I went to Mississippi and build houses with Habitat for Humanity. I did this through a group on campus called Alternative Spring Break. This is my second year participating in this. I had a blast as a freshman doing it so I decided to involve myself with this group again. We worked on a house near Biloxi, MS. We started of the week with just a concrete slab and some of the frame of the house complete.

This is a picture of what we started with.....

After working for almost a week this is what we were able to complete. In addition to Widener students being at this work site there were volunteers from a church in Chicago and some AmeriCorps volunteers.

After we were done working we went out and explored the area. It was a lot of fun to enjoy the local food and specialties. Near by our work site there was a place called The Shed, which is a BBQ and blues restaurant. As it turns out this was a nationally award winning restaurant. The BBQ I had was amazing best ribs I've had in my life.

Another aspect of this trip that I particularly liked was getting to know other Widener students. When I first got on the airplane with the rest of the group I didn’t know many of them. By the end of this trip I had gotten to know most of the people on the trip pretty well. When you spend an entire week with someone you really get to see another side of them that you wouldn’t see at Widener.

Posted by Joe Keifer at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So here at Widener we got a three day weekend!! Due to the snow school ended up being canceled. I didn't do any sledding or snowman building. When I got the text at 6:15 saying school had been canceled I immediately turned off my alarm and went back sleep and slept till 10:30. I have been recovering from an upper respiratory infection and the extra sleep was quite beneficial. At that point I didn't particularly care about playing in the snow. The rest of the day I pretty much just relaxed and played some video games. I did go to the gym which wasn't really relaxing, but it was worth while.

Posted by Joe Keifer at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I was given a list of tips on how to avoid "blogger's block" one of the suggested topics to talk about was "How are you different now than you were in high school?"

I figured I would share how I have changed from high school. In high school I was very shy and defiantly not outgoing. I had very low confidence and didn't even think I would amount to anything to be honest. Luckily I decided to go to college with a positive attitude and was determined. In high school my graduating GPA was a 2.2, I really didn't try in high school. I don't even know how I ended up with a 2.2. Regardless I wanted to do better in college. My first semester at Widener I got a 3.9! So to make a long story short. In college I became more outgoing and tried my hardest not to be shy. I have met a lot of great people here at Widener and wouldn't want to go anywhere else. Widener has provided me with opportunities to open up as a person. I still am some what shy and not the most outgoing person in the world, but every day is a new day right? When I look back at high school I am a completely different person. I have learned so much about myself. Well enough of this babbling about my life and how much I have changed. I have a micro test to study for..... peace

Posted by Joe Keifer at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So over the past couple weeks I've started training for the MS-170 Coast the Coast Bike tour. It helps raise money to support people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) through sponsoring support groups as well as camps for kids whose parents have MS. It also raises money to fund research to help find a cure for MS, because at this time there are no cures only therapeutic measures that can lessen the severity of symptoms. The bike ride itself is 170 miles over two days and is a lot of fun, so I really looking forward to participating in it again. This will be my third year. It is hard to find time to get to the Wellness Center (gym) with all the activities and school work I have to keep up with. I'm hoping that I will be ready by May. While it is still three months away it is important to start training as early as possible.

This past weekend I hung out with my girlfriend on Saturday and Sunday. We watched this independent film called "Kiss of the Spider Woman." It was about two guys in prison and how they pass the time while they are in there. Overall I thought it was a pretty good movie, though since I was really tired I kind of was falling asleep, but my girlfriend kept waking me up because it’s her favorite movie and she wanted me to watch it. We also went out for late night coffee and cheese cake. Yes, I know it is an odd combination.
This week will be busy and probably somewhat stressful as I have an anatomy test this week and a whole bunch next week. Well that’s all for now…peace

Posted by Joe Keifer at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I would like to start off my blog by saying that I no longer look like the picture on the Widener admissions page. My hair is a lot shorter and now my ears get cold when the wind blows. :-( See the before and after pictures for the dramatic differences.

Before...

After...

As you can see there is quite a dramatic difference. My built in "hat" is no longer.

I guess it is only appropriate to introduce myself a little bit more. I am a sophomore nursing major who is highly involved in community service and helping others. Widener has really provided me a base from which to do this. I am a member of the Presidential Service Corps which is comprised of a group of students who are dedicated to community service and leadership. In addition to this I am a volunteer EMT-B at Parkside Rescue Squad which is located 5-10 min away from campus.

Posted by Joe Keifer at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)