They stole my bike

White cookies

2009-05-27T13:39:00.000-10:00

My great-aunt Helen died last weekend. She was 97, and up until the last few months, lived mostly independently. Helen was never without a smile and a laugh, a lover of life, living the last 40 years on her own after her husband, Carl, passed away. My dad grew up having weekly dinners at her house, and since my dad's mom died when he was 20, he always really valued his relationship with aunt Helen.

She leaves a legacy of good humor, of joy, and most important, of the white cookies she'd give out in round tins every Christmas.

Each family received its own tin, and it was a generous family who would share their stash at the annual holiday gathering. Our was kept secreted away in an rarely frequented cupboard, eaten slowly and with a firm eye toward equality. She shared the recipe freely, surprised in her Scandinavian modesty that we liked them so much. We used to claim that the cookies we made were never the same and suspected her of hiding the secret ingredient or tip, but I made them last Christmas and everyone agreed they were the real thing (although a bit too big... she really does mean a teaspoon).

Great Aunt Helen’s White Cookies (Sand Cookies)
2 cups (1 cup butter, and 1 c margarine)
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 c flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
14 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 c. almonds (Helen doesn't use)

Beat shortenings and sugar until frothy with electric beater. Sift dry ingredients twice and add to sugar mixture, beating until airy. Take rounded teaspoons, roll into ball and flatten with fork. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake on a cookie sheet 25 min at 300. May need more flour if nuts are omitted.

Catch up

2009-05-26T08:56:00.004-10:00

My goodness! Here we are in late May. Let's see: momentous moments:
1. Husband turned 30! Celebrated with takeout and dusk walk in the parks around our house.
2. We run our first ultramarathon! And survive. My desire to do the race stemmed from my belief that it sounded IMPOSSIBLE. Alas, it was not. Discovered 31 miles is not all that different, and that sometimes running hurts less than walking.
3. Garden round 7, and I think it's H house, 1, Garden, 0. We are finally figuring out how to manage the jungle and even to grow more vegetables than what seemed possible.
4. Husband expresses a desire to travel internationally! Plans to the homeland are in the works.
5. Come down with seasonal bout of spring fever. Cured by crossing the headwaters of the Mississippi and getting drunk at annual cabin lane Memorial Day cookout.

March/April/May books

2009-05-25T14:14:00.000-10:00

March-April-May list
A Voyage Long and Strange - Tony Horwitz. A look at an era in American history most Americans (i.e. me) know little about, the time after Columbus and before the Mayflower.

My Little Red Book, a series of stories from women about their first period, by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff.

Tamara Drewe - Posy Simmonds. Fun graphic novel.

Enrique's Journey - Sonia Nazario.

Other books
The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yoko Ogawa
Here's the Story - Maureen McCormick
The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
How Starbucks Saved My Life - Michael Gates Gill. Self-indulgent, sappy, racist at times.
Darling Jim - Christian Moerk
Never Tell a Lie - Hallie Ephron

Spring break

2009-04-01T16:13:00.003-10:00

Our spring break has a lot less spring this year.

And a lot more snow. Instead of running on the beach, we're running through snowdrifts. The skis have made another appearance, as have the snowshoes.

Our vacation still has a few of the classic vacation standards--generous cocktail hour(s), lots of reading, lots of relaxing, and good food.

And this year, cats!

They were so cute daintily sniffing at the snow, until Stilton decided to make a run for it.

Too bad I was barefoot at the time.

Winter fun

2009-03-03T13:28:00.005-10:00

Cabin weekends

Broomball

Winter camping

Jan/Feb books

2009-03-03T05:14:00.000-10:00

Jan/Feb reads:
Burma Chronicles - Guy Delisle. Jamilti and other stories - Rutu Modan. Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet (Ivory Coast). These three are graphic novels for the non-graphic novel reader, and offer really interesting glimpses into three different cultures. Next time you're reaching for a travel memoir, try one of these instead--you won't be disappointed.

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen. I read this for my book club and liked it even more than I remembered. If you're reading Austen, I really liked the Headline publishers version I got from our local library... the bright cover and normal-sized print made Austen seem more accessible.

Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri. Lahiri never disappoints--she always delivers up interesting characters and thoughtful plots.

Confessions of a Teen Sleuth - Chelsea Cain. Clever, entertaining would-be memoir of the "real" Nancy Drew.

Ethan Frome and House of Mirth - Edith Wharton. Both of these are fabulous... the first a short, snowy winter read of missed opportunity, the second, a crushing, fall-into-disgrace novel that proves that not all books end happily.

What to do about Alice? by Barbara Kerley. Beautifully illustrated children's book about Alice Roosevelt.

Also read:
In pursuit of Alice Thrift and Into Love and Out Again- Elinor Lipman.
Paper Towns by John Green. Good, thinking-person's young adult novel.

Valentine's Day cards, rejected

2009-02-14T04:48:00.002-10:00

- cards featuring dogs (initially cute, but what do dogs have to do with romantic love?)
- cards referring to our "old love"
- stalker cards ("I knew since the first moment I saw you that we'd be together forever...")
- cards "To the man I love"
- odd sex cards ("I'll do anything... except that one thing.")

Yoga at the cabin

2009-02-08T14:34:00.004-10:00

Thanks, Mother Nature

2009-02-08T08:53:00.000-10:00

"Nature wants us to be mediocre because we have a greater chance to survive and reproduce. Mediocrity is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life."

-advice from my lululemon yoga tote.

New Year tipsy (in February)

2009-02-08T01:00:00.000-10:00

Some thinking I've enjoyed on New Year's Resolutions:
1. Make a detailed master plan, making scary projects seem manageable
2. Not make any goals, freeing you up to suddenly do something amazing, like write a novel
3. Simple goodness: Resolving for more candlelight

Stop procrastinating at work with better lists
Start procrastinating at work with new games

Get a new fresh desktop wallpapers -- Marimekko wallpapers here and here and also some from Nate Williams

New Year

2009-01-08T14:31:00.003-10:00

You've got to love January. Once you get over the post-Christmas letdown and post-New Year's letdown and survive that hellish first day back at work, that is.

Because in January, you finally have time? get up the motivation? to do things like call the city and request another recycle bin. And replace dull eyebrow scissors. And it feels fantastic. Never have I been so excited to go to Target and Ikea. And you know what else is great? Green pepper, eaten raw. Like nirvana after the cheese platters and cookie trays of December.

2009 is another blank slate, a new training schedule up on the fridge, a year of possibilities. And I am ready for it.

Nov/Dec book list

2008-12-29T05:13:00.000-10:00

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Highly recommended murder mystery tale, set in Sweden and sure to be followed by two sequels.

French Milk by Lucy Knisley. Graphic novel about a 22-year-old's stay in Paris with her mother. Beautifully done. Reminds you what it was like to be 22 again.

Dreams from my father by Barack Obama. A bit slow, but really interesting... good to know more about our next president.

Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Although I don't buy into this as a life-changing theory, Gladwell empowers you to use your common sense to think critically about problems and consider new solutions. Good for the workplace.

Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things...Stories by Nick Hornby et al. Classic book of stories, would be fantastic for kids, not bad for adults, either.

Also read:
To Siberia - Pers Patterson

Handmade holidays

2008-12-28T14:00:00.001-10:00

Gave:
- The best homemade gifts I gave (with my brother) were hardbound books of photos from our spring trips to my parents. We used the Mac program iPhoto and they turned out amazing--really good quality, attractive and clean template options, and bright color. My parents were thrilled, especially as they, like many people, don't order prints anymore and have all their photos on the computer.

- Candied orange peel (amazing! Like super flavorful gummy worms. I used KC's recipe from last year with a few modifications (boil a lot longer).

- Stuffed birds to crafty co-workers. A friend had sent me the free sewing pattern.

I infusing some of the stuffing with a few drops of lavender oil (from a farm in Sequim, WA, purchased on our trip). In others I swapped the lavender for some dried catnip to give as a cat toy.

I made biscotti (again), only because KC asked if I was going to make "my biscotti," as if it were my thing, which tickled me and made me want to make it. I tried to grow enough herbs and peppers to give as gifts but our week or two of neglect while on vacation did them in.

I also ran out of gift tags, but made some using paper samples and a rounded corner punch, and was pleased with the result.

Received:
The best homemade gift by far was this tasty bottle of limoncello, luckily caught on photo before the contents had disappeared. (Lest you think we're greedy lushes, we have been sharing the Christmas cheer with in-laws and other guests).

Merry Christmas!

Christmas eve at my parents.

Google stalking my husband

2008-12-10T08:09:00.003-10:00

So Husband's been getting a bit of publicity lately, and I was having a hard time tracking it all down... searching for news clips, checking city magazines, etc. and I realized that there was a much better way to do this: set up a Google alert for his name. We use these at work all the time to track buzz (news, blogs, videos, etc.) about our institution... Google wraps up all the new hits and sends it to you in a nice tidy daily email.

And it's been effective--no more searching. But damn, does it feel creepy to get these alerts in your email. That's probably because it is creepy.

Growing up

2008-12-03T05:35:00.000-10:00

My secondary New Year's resolution last year (after "do less") was "let myself be a grown up." This one is a little hard to explain quickly, but in short: there was something about being the youngest in both my immediate and extended family (at least in my generation) that I was letting carry too much weight in how I presented myself; and I wanted to remind myself that that role was self-imposed.

Anyway, I was reminded of that resolution recently at work, when I started scrutinizing my emails and not liking what I found. These may have more to do with female social patterns than feeling inferior, but nevertheless, I am working on:

Eliminating or at least reducing qualifiers, such as "just" in "I just wanted to check..."
Not feeling the need to use !s

Omitting the omnipresent "Thanks," when it's really not needed.

To compensate and extend a bit of warmth, I've added what I hope is the neutral "Hi," i.e., instead of "George," "Hi George."

Sew

2008-12-02T14:53:00.006-10:00

After a bit of exploration, I've decided sewing and embroidery are for me. Sayonara, knitting. Crocheting, you can stuff it.

After getting a sewing machine in June 07 and completing classes early this year, I'm starting to try my hand at a few things.

I made the most basic, most beginner of all quilts, a simple lap quilt.

Emboldened, I then made a tree skirt, which turned out to be a bit small for those duties but which filled in nicely as a "table topper." (My great-grandma made the ceramic tree; she was crafty, but my grandma, let me tell you, made a living off of her craftiness. She still reigns supreme over her town's annual fair.)

Husband finally let us get a real tree. Tree do not photograph well, but I made series of bird and button garlands to help cover for our lack of ornaments.

Lastly, here's a bit of the embroidery--I'm too enamored with these veggies not to include them.

I also did a camping series. Not sure when I'll need camping-themed napkins; but if the occasion arises, I'm ready.

Brr

2008-11-10T04:53:00.003-10:00

That's my breath. Inside my house.

We arrived home last night to a broken furnace. Good thing we arrived home late, because after chucking the leftovers in the fridge and putting a few things away, we dove under the covers with the cats and slept away the cold.

But today it feels pretty damn cold (the aluminum casing on the MacBook now seems like a poor design choice). But the repairman's here, and he had the replacement part in his van, so hopefully, soon, heat!

Identity

2008-11-02T14:48:00.000-10:00

When my grandparents introduced me to their friends at my grandpa's 80th birthday party, I was "their granddaughter, the runner." My brother was "their grandson, who worked as a bartender in the Virgin Islands." I guess it's better to be something in the present tense, so when I give up running someday, I'll have to replace it with something equally exciting (their granddaughter, the trapeze artist) so I don't become "their granddaughter, who used to run."

Speaking of which, aerial work is apparently an amazing workout...all core strength, says my yoga teacher. So, you know... it could happen.

What are you introduced as?

Wedding season

2008-11-01T04:42:00.000-10:00

As I sat with a group of girls affixing tiny sparkles and stitching twine on wedding programs this week, one asked, "So, did you do anything homemade for your wedding?"

Thinking of invites and programs, which I designed with the help of a graphic designer friend but didn't decorate, I declined... then gulped as the memories flooded back.

Oh my goodness, the things people did for me.

1. I made my friend MG, who has the most gorgeous handwriting ever, write all my place cards.
2. My friend EC conceived of and then constructed a forest of tiny topiary trees, color-coded to indicate meal choice, to affix the place cards to.
3. My mother-in-law took on both the favors and the centerpieces, which included folding 175 origami boxes to hold the candies.

And there's so much more I can't even begin to describe it all. Here's just the tiniest smidgen of what my parents did: we left the morning after the wedding for our honeymoon (in first class, thanks to their upgrade) and arrived home (picked up by my parents, of course, who brought my car along since I'd left it at their house) to find all our wedding presents stacked neatly in our second-floor apartment, tuxes returned, and wedding dress shipped off to one of those wedding dress preservation companies.

Is six years too late to send out another batch of thank-yous?
I didn't think so.

Winter arrives

2008-10-31T12:55:00.000-10:00

Winter arrived last Sunday, a day that started cautiously sunny but quickly whipped up a cold wind and a sleety, snowy precip. After a quick run and a few timely chores (disconnecting and draining the hose, uprooting and drying the pepper plants) we dove into the house and spent the day reading and being cozy. Husband retired for a nap around 4, and when he still hadn't risen at 6:15 I started calling up gently to him from my perch in front of fire. When that didn't work I progressed to the stairs. He came down a few minutes later wearing his robe.

"You going to take a shower?" I asked, confused, as he'd taken one that morning.
"I was thinking about it," he said defensively.

He stood there aimlessly for awhile, looking at the fire and me and the cats, before confessing that he had thought it was Monday morning.

Tea

2008-10-30T04:31:00.003-10:00

Is Tea Forte better than other teas, or it is just the experience that makes it so good? Taking a careful sip from the steaming cup, I decided it doesn't matter.

Orange pekoe + autumn sky

September/October Book List

2008-10-30T02:54:00.000-10:00

September/October books
How to be useful: A beginner's guide to not hating work by Megan Hustad. Not just useful, but actually enjoyable to read. It was so good I took notes. Hustad's target audience is recent grads who work in offices, but I found her advice a much-needed reminder for the getting-complacent late 20s/early 30s, and even helpful in thinking about how to manage others.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Unapologetically dark, this novel about a orphan and a town in WWII Germany feels like an accurate portrayal about what it might have been like. Rich, deep, and oddly shelved in the young adult section.

When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (audiobook). I loved some of these essays and skipped over a lot on the first few discs... in particular I liked the last third best, especially the three-part essay on how he quit smoking that takes place in Japan.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami. I love Murakami and I love running... and I think you need to have an affection for both to like this book--it's pretty niche. But if you're in that niche it's great.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.

Political pie

2008-10-13T11:21:00.002-10:00

I post this tonight with a heavy heart... after a day spent reading terrible stories about racism and hatred in the upcoming political election, and even worse, receiving an email from a beloved relative espousing all that bigotry and lies, I want to steer clear of anything remotely related to politics so I don't risk offending anyone how I've been offended today. Yet this post was supposed to be so innocuous, so light-hearted, that I'm going to go with it anyway.

I wanted to share with you a recipe that Husband and I came up with during the primary elections. This dish is so named not because it's a commentary on his character, personality, or values, but rather because it's hour-plus baking time lets you stick it in the oven, go and vote, and return to have dinner ready. I thought I'd share it with you in case you wanted to make it election night or to try it beforehand just to wish your candidate luck.

Obama Pie (or, in the spirit of bipartisanship, you may call it McCain pie if you like)
Adapted from Byerly's
Note: this recipe requires thawing in advance

2 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 14-oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
4 large eggs, beaten
8 oz. feta cheese
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (in oven, single layer, while oven in preheating, 5-7 minutes)
1.5 t salt
4 T butter, melted
8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Heat oil in skillet, saute onion until soft, 3-4 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, mix onion with spinach, eggs, feta, pine nuts, and salt.
3. Brush a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate with some of the melted butter. Place a sheet of phyllo dough over the plate, letting the ends overlap the side, and butter the top of the sheet. Add three more sheets, buttering in between, then spoon spinach filling into center of pie plate. Top with remaining four sheets, buttering in between and on top of the last one. Tuck in ends of phyllo dough.
4. Bake until browned all over, anywhere from 50 to 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy with a sense of satisfaction for having contributed to the nation's electoral process.

Marathon #8 - TCM 2

2008-10-10T14:53:00.007-10:00

I don't think I've fully conveyed the mental anxiety that marathon running induces. I was reminded of it while reading Haruki Murakami's What I talk about when I talk about running. An extremely experienced marathoner, Murakami recounts training really well for a recent race and then tanking near the end. For his next race, he trains more moderately and approaches it in a low-stress whatever-happens mentality, and tanks again.

So in the week leading up to a race I simultaneously fret that I've overtrained (done too many 22+ runs and worn my legs down to shreds) and that I've undertrained (why haven't I pushed myself more on long runs?). I worry that I'll go for too fast of a time and crash in a fantastic heap of hubris, or that I'll go too slow and sell myself short. The only thing that really keeps me sane is having a group of people that I run with and therefore can compare myself to so I have some idea of where I should be.

And so there I was last week at the starting line of the Twin Cities Marathon with my group, distrustful of the cool (45 degree) forecast in our sleeveless shirts, with long socks on our arms to stave off the chill. I never dreamed I'd be wearing those socks until mile 16, but at mile 2 the sky opened up and it rained for the first half of the race. In a crashing downpour we ran around Lake Calhoun and Harriet, a steaming half-naked mass churning through the flooded streets. All I could do was laugh and whoop at the the ridiculousness of it all, and be thankful for the cool weather.

Ever since I crashed last year I've paid a bit more attention to how the weather influences your running ability... Jeff Galloway has a little chart that I've shared with my training groups:

Adjusting Race Pace for Heat:
Estimated temperature at finish - Slower than goal pace - 8 min mile becomes...
55-60 degrees - 1% - 8:05
60-65 degrees - 3% - 8:15
65-70 degrees - 5% - 8:25
70-75 degrees - 7% - 8:35
75-80 degrees - 12% - 8:58
80-85 degrees - 20% - 9:35
Above 85 degrees - Forget it... run for fun

It's a little extreme, but the point is clear: you have a lot better chance of making a good time if it's cooler. So when I realized that we finally had a chance at the elusive 50-degree marathon, I let my goal time creep up a bit and got comfortable with the idea of starting out faster than usual.

After mile 19 we crossed the Mississippi and dug in for the grudge of the last 6+ miles. With much beloved running buddies SJ and AP by my side (making it a little Grandma's reunion), we pulled each other along the river, up the hills and on to Summit Avenue. Miles 23 and 24 were tough, and I had to dig deep... Summit feels never ending and unrelentingly uphill... and seeing how close to the end I got last year was just heartbreaking.

I walked up the last hill around Dale and found myself made a personal mission by a group of crazed spectators... they walked along with me cheering like maniacs and erupted into hysteria when I took off running and didn't look back (thanks guys! whoever you are!). I turned the corner at mile 25 and enjoyed the steady decline of the last mile... running it in to the finish, leaving everything on the course.

I was elated to see the time (4:02! Ten minutes off my PR!) but too spent for tears this time. The relief of stopping running is so amazing... it is the best feeling in the world.

I'm really proud of my time... nervous about replicating it, and conscious that my next goal is clearly the much sought after "sub-4." But for now there is the blessed relief from long-run training and a chance to work on some other running goals over the winter... and to do some non-running things as well! like sewing and baking.

Old shoes

2008-09-17T16:58:00.004-10:00

Husband and I got new shoes tonight... I was feeling kind of guilty (at least in my case; Husband's shoes were a sodden mess) but a quick peek at the bottoms made me feel justified, if not horrified that I'd still been running on them.

Old vs. new

Note the wear, especially at the tops and bottoms. They haven't come out with a new version of 2130s yet so I ended up getting exactly the same shoe.

And Husband, old vs. new:

Although these shoes are useless for distance running, they have plenty of life left, and with a good washing (and de-stinking) look pretty decent, so I'll pass them on to a local program that gives them to kids who need gym shoes.

Eating local can eat it

2008-09-04T15:37:00.001-10:00

I give up. It's been only two and a half weeks, but I yield.

When my friend AP first mentioned trying to eat locally (within 100 miles of where she lived), I thought she was crazy. But then I read all those books and it seemed like a fun adventure! so we signed up (mentally, at least) for the Eat Local Challenge, choosing the forgiving goal of eating local for every 4 out of 5 foods for 1 month.

And it was fun! Our concept of what we could eat locally exploded. We hit multiple farmer's markets, ate fabulous local produce, and we were amazed by the number of regular meals we could adapt without much trouble. We discovered locally processed and/or grown pasta and flours, plums and berries and the season's first apples, split peas and dried beans... even as I write this it sounds so easy... I mean, you've got honey and maple syrup and all the wheat and dairy in the world!

But lo, it is not so easy. Ultimately we were brought down by:
1. Time. Although late summer is a great time, produce-wise, to eat local, it is also a terrible time, schedule-wise. Our weeknights are nearly full, so we'd grocery shop on our lunch hour and then come home at 8:30 and start cooking... and cleaning, washing up sinkfuls of pots and pans.

2. Feeling like we were cheating all the time. My co-op is generous with the "local" label, affixing it to nearly anything in the tri-state area... and some products that are merely locally owned... which is good, but does that count? We made an exception for dining out, which sounded reasonable until it's a coffee here and brunch there and then dinner here, and is that what eating local really looks like? And what about beverages? Is farmer-to-farmer, locally roasted coffee OK? Even milk (and other dairy products) had me wondering where the cows really lived.

When a few unusually stressful weeks at work left me tossing and turning at night and running around panic busy during the day, I realized that now is maybe not a great time to take on a task like this.

So we gave up, and even though we're not eating all that much less locally, I feel so much better not having to think about food all the time. Eating local is something we'll continue to aspire to and value, but for now, it will have to be in moderation.

Insider gu

2008-09-03T02:53:00.003-10:00

According to a reliable source, police have been frequenting local running stores to stock up on gu to use while working protest detail at the RNC.

Monthly book post: August

2008-09-01T08:59:00.000-10:00

Boy do I have some good books for your this month!

I was told there'd be cake by Sloane Crosley. I kept not wanting to read this book because it's a series of essays, but whenever I picked it up I laughed out loud and couldn't put it down. Crosley is a brilliant essayist, equal to the hard hitters of the genre and her stories of single life in NYC (which bear no similarly to Sex and the City) have earned the attention of HBO, which bought it for a new series.

Moose: Tales from Fat Camp by Stephanie Klein. If you always wanted to know what those fat camps advertised in the back of Seventeen magazine were like, Klein has the answer. My favorite part was last third of the book, when Klein talks about what life is like post-fat camp, how she was able to shed the pounds but not the identity of being a fat camp champ.

Plenty: One man, one woman, and one raucous year of eating locally by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. If you're interested in eating locally, I found this book to be a more practical how-to than Barbara Kingsolver's, even though neither live in the Midwest and therefore address what it's like to eat locally here. Smith and MacKinnon are extremely hardcore about it; you'll never take wheat for granted again!

Other reads:
Certain girls by Jennifer Weiner. I was loving this book until the last few chapters.
Sleeping Arrangements by Madeline Wickham
The geography of bliss : one grump's search for the happiest places in the world by Eric Weiner
The spring cleaning murders by Dorothy Cannell. English murder mysteries help pass time on planes and ferries.

Show us your...

2008-08-29T06:42:00.004-10:00

It has become the thing to do for women of my generation: head to Nordstrom's and be fitted for a bra. A girl's first bra fitting (or however she got her first bra... I think my mom just brought some home) is a legendary event, I don't think any of us ever envisioned there'd be this second pilgrimage. Yet cautioned by Oprah and Glamour about how many women wear the wrong size, and uncomfortable/unflattering that can be, I finally joined my sisters and invited a woman about my age to come into my dressing room and check out my rack.

While I did not find out (shock!) that I was in the wrong size, I was thrilled to have some service in finding bras. My normal shopping experience goes like this: find cute bras, check for my size (which they make) but is not there, find bras in my size but they are padded which I do not like, find racks and racks of bras that do not come in my size, start to feel very unloved and woe-is-me and I-do-not-belong-here, and ultimately buy a new version of the exact same bra I have because it's all I can find. In fact, I'd had the same experience wandering around Nordstrom that day before I got the courage to ask someone to check me out.

But hark! The efficient saleswoman came back with an armload of bras in my size that I do not already own and that are not padded! Hurrah! Never again will I wander around woebegone. Now I'll always avail myself of expert service, reigning like a queen from my dressing room as they deftly select from the collection they know so well.

Trip planning

2008-08-20T11:09:00.000-10:00

The art of trip planning is one that is intensely personal. Do you like to have your restaurant reservations booked in advance? Do you feel burdened by plans and expectations? Husband and I try to strike a balance, researching enough to know that we're not missing out on something amazing but arriving with some ideas of things we'd like to do. We've also learned a few things about ourselves, namely, that we do not like uncertainty--we'll gladly pay the campground reservation fee, even if it doesn't seem likely to fill up, and we like to be early for things like planes and ferries and the like.

Here's a short list of resources we usually consult:

Frommers.com is a great place to start, because it's free and gives a good overview. It's good for making the big decisions, like "Do I want to stay on this island or that one?"

From there, guidebooks always provide a good overview, although I approach them with a bit of skepticism. Rough Guides tend to be my favorite, followed by the Hidden series and Lonely Planet.

My favorite source is the New York Times, which archives an extensive library of travel articles. Their "36 hours in ____" is always a good feature, although I certainly never aspire to abide by their ambitious itineraries.

Lastly, my most invaluable source is blogs. I read a lot of bloggers from the Pacific Northwest, so for our latest trip I was inspired by the advice of Orangette, Not Martha, Tea and Cookies, and ShelTerrific. Don't read any local blogs? Search on blog search engines to stumble upon some unwitting reviews.

Marathon #7 - Paavo

2008-08-19T11:35:00.002-10:00

Since Husband can't do the Twin Cities Marathon this fall, we looked for another option to keep him in training. We settled on the Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Hurley, Wisconsin. After reading its rousing history, how could we not?

"The cream of the Midwest distance runners traditionally join forces with hundreds of novice and veteran marathoners for the running of 'The Paavo,'" claims the website. "The marathon enjoyed its zenith in the mid-1970's, when over 1,100 runners would take to the course. As the national craze in distance running faded by the 1980s, so did the interest in the Paavo as marathon. But the machine that drives the Paavo kept going, and while marathons around the nation ceased to run, the Paavo kept churning away, mile after mile, year after year.

The marathon's namesake was the winner of nine Olympic gold medals, the greatest Finnish runner in that nation's history. The name reflects the Finnish nature of the Hurley area.

Husband and I counted ourselves one of the "hundreds of novice marathoners," as was evident at the starting line, when a friend pointed out that I had a shot at winning my age group. He was right: there were just five of us younger women. Tough old men ruled.

I hadn't prepared for the race, training up to only 16 miles with my Twin Cities marathon group. I was wavering between the dream of going for the PR in anonymity (there's something about running a race without having people know about it or watch me that I like sometimes) or having a good ol' fun run. Running buddy AP had been talking about "soul running" lately... running how you feel and not looking at your watch... so I decided to take her advice and commit to good spirits.

Husband and I kept together for the requisite 13 miles, enjoying the scenery as we ran through a series of cute town and gorgeous range country wilderness, enjoying the company of other runners, and me calling out "Too fast!" when Husband unknowingly sped up to 8:20s. We separated to within eyesight after that, trudging through some of the hardest miles psychologically, 18-22.

We met up again at 23, and boy was I glad to finally catch up with him. "We'll take it in easy, run it in together," I thought. "How fitting for our 6th anniversary." As it happens at this point of the race, our paces weren't quite the same, and it becomes crucial to run and walk according to your own schedule. So we separated again without explanation

Mile 24.5-25.5 were uphill, the "Cemetery Hill" the veterans had talked about with understated Midwestern stoicism on the bus ride to the start. I decided that running the hills was at odds with my commitment to have fun, so I walked up them smiling at the cars driving by and imaging an invisible sign on myself, "Saving myself for Twin Cities!"

As lighthearted as I make these recaps, I should admit that I also have a deep fear of descending into ambulance-land again. At this point in the race it becomes really important for me to feel that I don't have to push it, that I should tail but not pass the person in front of me, that I shouldn't hurt.

I picked it up again as the hill leveled off, and soon saw a sign for mile 26. I knew I could certainly run it in from here, so I kicked it in and turned onto the main street. And this is why you do small marathons: It was just me, and a few blocks lined with spectators until the finish line. I busted it out in a big ol' sprint with people cheering just for me and the announcer calling my name and time--the greatest feeling in the world. Especially when I saw the clock, which to my surprise, told me I'd taken yet another few minutes off my PR time -- 4:12 and change.

Husband sprinted it in a few minutes later and we celebrated, picking up our bright orange shirts and medals ("I finished the Paavo" boasts the sparkley orange ribbon, perhaps the best medal ever). It was a great end to a great vacation, and a wonderful way to celebrate our 6th anniversary.

Seattle/Victoria

2008-08-15T16:01:00.008-10:00

There was only one thing keeping me from visiting the Pacific Northwest: the conviction that if I saw the glory firsthand I'd have to move there. Between the mountains and the climate and the coffee we were pretty much hooked... I think the only thing that saved us is that we didn't go to Oregon.

Planning our trip was difficult because we could have spent a week in each place. Instead, we afforded Seattle only a day and a half. Luckily, we had a good tour guide--our college friend E.

He took us to some of his favorite neighborhoods and haunts (who knew salmon could climb stairs?), ate nostalgic Canadian food with us at Pike's Place Market (the Steelhead Diner's poutine; they also make a mean martini), nearly threw up from the dizzying views with us at the Seattle Public Library, finally, crashed sleepily with us at Gas Works Park.

We allotted the amazing Olympic National Park just a day and a half as well... enough time to hike to Sol Duc Falls, soak for hours in the hot springs, and drink local beer on the porch of our cabin and stare in awe at the mountains.

Canadophiles that we are, we gave Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria two days.

Highlights included a visit to the cute waterfront town of Cowichan Bay, our fabulous campsite at Goldstream Provincial Park, and touring Victoria, including the Royal British Columbia Museum, smoothies at Rebar, Munro's Books, and having cocktails and yes, more poutine, at Canoe Brewpub.

But alas, it was in Victoria that disaster struck. When we arrived midday on the ferry, there were huge crowds and detours in the city proper. A quick peek at our guides confirmed it was the 150th anniversary of the founding of British Columbia. Instead of coming back into town after setting up camp, we headed north. The next morning we learned from a chatty young storeclerk that the BC150 event culminated in free concert by Feist! Oh, the pain! Husband and I stood struck dumb. It was minutes before we could utter cries of anguish.

We spent out last night on Whidbey Island... and man, I could have spent a week at the gorgeous, historic Captain Whidbey Inn, going on runs around the coast, sipping local wine on the patio at dusk, reading on the dock, and sleeping in the softest, most perfect bed ever.

It was a fabulous trip!

Next time in the Pacific Northwest:
1. More camping and hiking at Olympic
2. Vancouver
3. Oregon

Monthly book post: July

2008-07-31T20:13:00.000-10:00

July list:
Just Do It: How One Couple Turned Off the TV and Turned On Their Sex Lives for 101 Days (No Excuses!) by Douglas Brown. I couldn't stop talking about this book after I read it... the couple completely reorients their life to achieve their goal (sex every night), and it's so interesting to see how broad that scope is, from how in shape they are (physical appearance), to what their bedroom looks like, to what vacations they take, to how they treat each other during the day, to what they give up to make the time. A great read for couples.

Oh for fun: The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough, swiped from my parent's cabin in a book-deprived pinch, the novel, which takes place in Australia, is one of those fabulous family saga stories. In the chick lit genre, The Fidelity Files by Jessica Brody was really fun.

Also read:
Man Bites Log: The Unlikely Adventures of a City Guy in the Woods by Max Alexander
My turquoise years by M.A.C. Farrant
Accidentally on purpose : a one-night stand, my unplanned parenthood, and loving the best mistake I ever made by Mary F. Pols

Red, blue, green

2008-07-28T05:56:00.009-10:00

One of my unfortunate diversions is visiting design porn sites like Apartment Therapy and Design Sponge, sites that show beautiful photos of rooms and make you want to buy stuff. Or renovate, as they are big on DIY and share some inspiring techniques.

But lately I've realized that beautiful rooms are more about carefully selected and well arranged items. So I looked around my house and starting thinking not about what I could buy, but what I could do with what I had.

I started with the guest room—my favorite room. It’s sort of “my” room, my de-facto crafty project area, my place to nap and curl up with the cats (Husband has his “man-nook” in the basement). But it’s also our most eclectic room, with lots of random, free furniture and multiple purposes.

A critical eye found much to criticize: a slapdash of colors (I know that blue pillow doesn’t go, but I’ve stubbornly refused to care); dead plants (I’m no feng shui expert, but even I can tell that dead things send a bad vibe), and things that I want to use but don’t have a place for.

Red, green, blue, in a room with pale yellow walls. Yuck! The blue has to go!

I collected the offending items and removed them from the room (and took the dying plant to rehab, aka my office, where they are free from the snapping jaws of cats).

Then, I made a collection of things that I had sitting around unused that I could add to play up the palette, and gave the room a thorough clean.

While it’s no radical transformation, it’s definitely more harmonious (my before-and-after photos didn't turn out, so you'll have to use your imagination). It also made clear what the room does need: a new bedside table, which also would allow us to rearrange the room to better suit the space.

But for now, the room gives me a wonderful sense of peace and harmony.

4th of July

2008-07-12T14:13:00.001-10:00

Fourth of July...

One (mischievous 3-year-old)

Two (adorable 1-year-olds)

Three (pina coladas... OK there were a lot more but this was just one batch!)

Here's to the 4th of July, and a lifelong friendship with the B family. From my very first memory (swimming with them in Lake Winnipeg), to trips to Disney World, to summers at a lake resort, through boy-craziness and college and drinking too much to marriage and babies, I'm so glad to spend what must be our 18th 4th of July together!

Paddling with my brother

2008-07-11T15:02:00.001-10:00

Two nights in the Boundary Waters with Big Brother (and Husband)...
Will we survive without lapsing into sibling rivalry?
Without pushing each other's buttons?
Without tipping each other's boats?

Kayak and canoe: a peaceful coexistence.

Of course we will, and did.

A few things I learned:
1. On a river, a kayak rules. Big brother deftly paddled through two portages Husband and I had to disembark and haul our gear through.

2. This product changed my life:

What you're seeing is a water filtration device that requires nearly no human effort. You fill the bag with water and let my best friend gravity do the work. Five minutes later you have a Nalgene canteen of fresh water. I was all, "Pills, schmills, I'm fine," but Big Brother talked me into it. The only danger is drinking so much you have to get up at night to pee.

3. A new tasty lunch treat: veggie jerky! About $1.19 at the co-op. Also (and I'm not sure why I never thought to try this) fake lunch meat packs in just fine without refrigeration. Even Big Brother was enjoying himself some tasty Tofurky slices...

All in all, it was a good trip.

Survivor CSA

2008-07-10T14:12:00.006-10:00

It usually takes about a week for me to go from thrilled about my CSA (behold the beautiful vegetables!) to panicked about figuring out how to eat it all before it goes bad. Every year I have to remind myself of my hard-earned survival strategies; this year, I thought I'd share them with you.

1. Pasta salad, a.k.a. the kitchen sink
Nothing swallows up veggies you don't know what to do with or don't particularly care for like pasta salad. Pasta (or tortellini) + armfuls of nearly any veggie + dressing (I usually use the packets) + maybe some beans for protein, and you've got yourself 4-plus tasty meals.
See also: stir fry.

Pasta salad... a tasty foil for broccoli, garlic scapes, kohlrabi, summer squash, leftover corn on the cob, asparagus, going-bad celery, and peapods, pictured here.

2. Pureeing, a.k.a crispy no more
As much as I like crunchy vegetables, after awhile I long for a different texture. Pureeing veggies for soups or sauces is a great respite and also makes some of your less-than-favorite vegetables seemingly disappear.

3. Add chocolate
My trusty zucchini muffin recipe* has turned summer squash from my least favorite CSA find to one of my most coveted. Centuries of desperate farmwives have paved the way for us; enter your loathsome veggie into any search engine and be rewarded with inventive recipes.
*Via http://everybodylikessandwiches.blogspot.com. Also works with summer squash. Not the prettiest muffin but very tasty.

4. When all else fails, preserve! Blanch and freeze (again the internet has handy directions), can, dry, pickle, whatever--I always feel such a relief when I remember that I don't have to eat it all! And nothing feels cooler than pulling out your own put-up veggies and cooking with them.

Monthly book post: June

2008-07-01T11:38:00.001-10:00

June reads
The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa. I love Japanese fiction...there's something about the sparsity of it, the simplicity. Beautiful.

The Summer Book - Tove Jansson. Wonderful, children's-like book that takes place on a far-flung island in Finland. The type of book you want buy so you can read it to your children.

Other books
They did it with love - Kate Morgenroth. Murder mystery in wealthy suburbia.
Then She Found Me - Elinor Lipman. You can always count on Lipman for a good read.
Island of Lost Girls - Jennifer McMahon
A Place for Jeremy - Patricia Hermes. I loved this book as a kid; found it in a box of books recovered from my parents.
Anne's House of Dreams and Anne of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Rereading a bit of Anne goodness, also recovered from parents. Note: Anne not only has a live-in housekeeper but baby nurses. When did we decide we had to do it all ourselves?

Marathon #6 - Grandma's 2

2008-06-26T12:51:00.002-10:00

The week leading up to Grandma's was such a relief, having met our goal in Rochester. I didn't fret over weather forecasts, I didn't feel the usual phantom pain. I did go through the requisite soul-searching ("Why do I do this?") where I remember that I love training and racing and that's why I do it; not to achieve a goal time.

I was pretty giddy waiting to line up because it was COOL--not the hot humidity of last year. Our group of six held together through nearly the half, when Husband and another woman broke off a bit, but our pack of four was strong, with me pacing, AJ calling the walk breaks, and SJ and MP providing the first-marathon spirit. The day turned hot, with a searing sun, but there was a breeze (albeit a headwind) and overall it was tolerable--not ideal, but decent. Ever the superfans, my parents (aka the Green Team) appeared to cheer us on 5 times in the first 16 miles, on pace to set a new PR and course record.

Around mile 19 we saw Husband again, and SJ took off around 20. AJ and I ran up Lemon Drop Hill and headed toward downtown, offering words of encouragement to each other (OK, I spoke up a few times and she was a bit more proffering...) and fortifying ourselves for the end. I saw my parents again at 24. My Med-City blister returned right on schedule ("Oh! blister!" "It's OK now!" taking place in about 5 seconds). Overall I felt hot and tired and worried about finishing then crashing and having to go to the med tent.... and I told myself it was OK, that whatever time I finished in was fine, I just had to keep running but didn't need to go fast.

We rounded the corner and headed downhill to the interminable, maze-like, never-ending trek to the finish line. The band at 25.5 played "Another one bites the dust," which struck me as cruel as people around me suddenly seized with cramps and nearly fell over (And another one's gone and another's gone and another one bites the dust...") My parents appeared on a bridge about 6 blocks from the finish line... I raised my hand about 6 inches in greeting. (Later on: My dad: "You looked really pale!" Me: "Uh, yeah. I was, you know, running to the finish line. I.e. completely exhausted?!)

I trailed AJ in and sliced a minute off my PR time! 4:14!

We lingered at the finish line a long time, greeting friends and people from my running group. I definitely didn't have the dancing-in-the-streets feel of PRing like I did at Med-City: but what I was really bursting with pride at was how well my running group did. All of the first-time marathoners made amazing times and ran really smart races, nearly all achieving negative splits (speeding up in the last half). I was so thrilled for them and felt very mother hen.

Husband and I stayed up on the North Shore another day. We're getting pretty spoiled on campsites, though... I used to think you had to travel far to get the good stuff., but this beauty was only 0.7 miles in, and we had the area all to ourselves.

Ely weekend

2008-06-08T11:14:00.006-10:00

We caught part of the weekend-long dock dogs competition... dogs compete in three categories: speed retrieve, extreme vertical, and big air (pictured here). The biggest air we saw was 18 feet--pretty amazing. But my favorite were the dogs who got all excited and took a running start only to cower at the dock's edge.

We "camped" at the cabin (i.e. no power or water) because it hadn't been opened yet.

There are notes up at the Ely cabin with reminders about everything from where the bedding is to how to make pancakes. They have been there since roughly 1986. We love them.

29

2008-06-03T05:23:00.006-10:00

ON TURNING 29
I had so been enjoying saying I was 28 recently (28! doesn't that sound so young?!) that when Husband asked me how it felt being 29, I realized I felt a bit old. But I've been querying my 30+ friends about what goal they set out to accomplish before their 30th birthdays (skydiving! going back to grad school! completing an Olympic-length triathlon! getting a divorce!) in preparation for next year.

STRANGEST BIRTHDAY GREETING
A personal voicemail message from my car dealership.

GIFTS
Who doesn't love a good package from a foreign country? The official stamps, the foreign language, the embarrassed giraffe cartoon... even the tape is different!

But the contents were even better!

At least if you're a bit of a logic puzzle nerd, like me. My dad sat next to a Japanese man on the plane who had one of these books, so he asked for the publishing info. Some people import wine from France.... others, puzzles from Japan. Thanks Dad!

Monthly book post: May

2008-05-30T02:48:00.001-10:00

May books:
Our book club read Night by Elie Wiesel, which needs no explanation, but which explains why we might have abandoned our June read, Love in the Time of Cholera, for something more lighthearted, a.k.a. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. Fun and frivilous, Evanovich was the perfect antidote.

More fizzy tonic: The Gatecrasher by Madeline Wickham (who also writes as Sophie Kinsella).

Sports Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark came recommended to be by a nutrition professor, and was more than the obvious, same-old stuff you might read in a magazine.... it had really honest, forthright advice for those expending lots of energy in athletic pursuits, such as YOU WILL NEED MORE FOOD and YOU NEED TO PLAN FOR THIS MORE FOOD. I.e., it's really OK that you're eating two breakfasts or two lunches because that is better than denying that you are hungry and then raiding the office candy bowl at 2 p.m.

Marathon #5

2008-05-26T13:22:00.005-10:00

Since 3 of the 4 races we ran last year were the hottest on record, we decided to do Marathon #5 this spring to hedge our bets against the predicted heat of Grandma's. So when the weather report predicted a high of 84 for race day, I had a bit of a "What is the point?" meltdown, a cross between a little kid pout-fest and an adult metaphysical crisis (the adult version might have had a hell and fuck or two thrown in).

I was also really worried about my body--still that damn groin. That may seem like too much information, but the groin is where your leg muscles connect to your abdominal muscles. i.e. ESSENTIAL. (Aside: Dr. Cutie was actually AT THE RACE, competing in the marathon relay, and I was really worried that I'd see him and we'd have some awkward conversation about my groin. Fortunately, I didn't see him and we didn't have to go there.)

Husband and I started out the race together on the humid, overcast morning with a light breeze. At mile 12 or so we split up... Husband was pushing ahead and I was ready to let him go, having done my duty of making sure we paced well enough not to hit the half mark too soon (2:07).

Miles 18-22 I didn't feel good... I felt like I was slowing down, which seemed to be confirmed by my watch, although I was purposefully not keeping too close of an eye on it. My face and head felt steamy hot, so I took off my hat to see if that would help... people kept asking me how I was doing which gave me pause, because that was my first warning sign at Twin Cities that I wasn't doing well. Later I realized that this was probably because it was a small-town, small-field race.

At mile 23 I got an unexpected second wind, and started passing people that I'd been leap-frogging with. Soon I was passing people like crazy, and people were cheering me on, and the last mile sped by and I looked at my watch and realized with complete shock that it was likely that I was going to PR. I caught a glimpse of Husband on one of the last straight-aways and followed him in, tears filling my eyes as I saw the much-sought-after 4:15 time.

The last few days I've just been elated, so happy to have achieved my goal and so relieved to have some of the pressure off for Grandma's. I feel like breaking open champagne and dancing in the streets (although it would have to be in a hobbled, blister-footed sort of way). And I'm so out-of-my-mind thrilled for Husband, who ran an amazing race and smashed his previous PR time by 17 minutes.

Not sure what to think...

2008-05-26T12:42:00.003-10:00

about the fact that my new nearly-29-year-old license photo looks EXACTLY THE SAME as my 21-year-old license.

$3.69

2008-05-21T02:56:00.003-10:00

In line at Caribou:

Girl: These drinks are like, so overpriced. I mean, like, they cost as much as a gallon of gas.
Girl 2: Totally.

Why my physical therapist makes me blush

2008-05-08T12:58:00.005-10:00

It starts with the fact that he's cute. Then there's that he's digging around in my pelvis, plucking my groin muscles like a banjo, searching around for the exact spot that's causing me pain that's about two inches from another famously hard to find spot...

Dr. Cute: "Is it there?"
Tacohead: "Not quite. It's a little to the left, I think... just a bit more..."
Tacohead: Grunt of pain as he hits the spot
Dr. Cute: "Got it."

I think I could handle all that, I really could, if it wasn't for his coaching patter as he works out the sore spots. He usually gets us into a contorted position and has me push my leg against him in resistance as he presses his finger harder and harder into the stubborn muscle, getting it to relax and yield.

And all the while, he's saying things like:
"Come on, come on, come on, come on, you got it..."
Or:
"Right there, right there, right there, yeah, right there..."

What's a girl to do?

In training

2008-05-07T03:55:00.002-10:00

THINGS THAT BREAK YOUR HEART
A soon-to-be-new-mom, five months left to go, assembles the newly purchased jogging stroller and takes it out on a run, a bag of sugar buckled in the seat, so that she'll be ready when her new daughter arrives from Ethiopia.

Monthly book post: April

2008-04-28T19:07:00.000-10:00

April book list
Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella. Lexi wakes up after an accident and can't remember the last three years of her life, in which she suddenly became successful, married, and somewhat of a bitch. I always look forward to Kinsella's latest--pure beach read goodness.

Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. What life would be like if your family was in the spy business and you used your spy skills (surveillance, breaking & entering, GPS tracking) to solve your problems (i.e. your suspicious boyfriend and troublesome younger sister). As fun and clever as the prequel.

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino. Two Japanese prep school grads wind up as dead prostitutes... as told by their classmate and sister. An interesting exploration of character.

The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller.
Beginner's Greek by James Collin.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Also read
The Chamomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
Hanna's daughters by Marianne Fredriksson

Half Marathon #5

2008-04-28T05:17:00.006-10:00

I wouldn't normally run on a day (at least, a day in late April) that required the removal of ice chunks from one's eyelashes, brows, and forehead every ten minutes...but we'd already signed up.

And when you and Husband decided (on Tuesday, when the sun was shining) that you should push it, and see if you could break your half marathon records, well, you'd already committed to that, too.

It's not like we wanted to linger out there.

So pushing it as hard as we could, accepting glasses of water half full with snow at water stops, with eyes half shut and cheeks stinging, we ran, and amazingly, finished in time to earn Husband a PR and to be within 20 seconds of my PR.

The hot coffee at the finish line never tasted so good.

Marathon training

2008-04-21T13:05:00.006-10:00

I thought I'd share my marathon training schedule because I think it's a lot more do-able and less intimidating than people think.

In general this is a guideline--my actual log does not look just like this. I often do 8 on Tuesday and then skip Saturday, do 6 runs one week and 4 the next, etc.

Things that are really important:
1. Doing hill and/or speed work
2. Doing the long runs and climbing mileage gradually
Things that aren't as important:
1. Running five times a week. You could easily swap in some cross-training.
2. It's OK to have an off week once in awhile. Most people get sick, take a vacation, etc., and it's not a big deal.

There are a million theories on running, of which this is just one. But there you go.
I also think going from 9 miles to 10 miles is as hard as going from 14 to 15 and then from 19 to 20. You always push yourself so you're tired when you're done; going longer isn't that much different.

But I won't lie: the last 6.2 miles break all the rules.

Tacohead's Running Gear Review 2

2008-04-21T12:21:00.003-10:00

When I pulled out our worn bag of frozen edamame, Husband reminded me that I should do an update on the running gear review I did last year.

Most of these items are still vital parts of my running routine. Nearly one year and four marathons later, I still am quite passionate about Endurox, the Garmin Forerunner, gu gel, and BioFreeze. Less vital but still nice are the Stick and New Skin Liquid Bandage.

Here are a few other products I failed to mention:

Running Gear additions, 2008:

Water belt (gray and black, GoLite brand) -- I don't think these are nearly as annoying to wear as you'd think, although in the heat of summer they certainly aren't my favorite. But it's such a luxury to have space to store your sunglasses and gel, and to know that you have water with you. I wouldn't run 12+ miles without one, even if I passed water pumps on the way.

BodyGlide -- all-purpose lube, especially good for feet, underarm area (when wearing short sleeves), along sportbras, inner thighs, etc. Husband and I are not the fanatics that most of our running friends are about this stuff, but chafing really sucks and takes forever to go away. On race day I put this stuff everywhere.

I put a hat in here because that and sunglasses are such essential items for me, even though they are not fancy. I also put my new shoes (Nikes of all things, can you believe it? But the toe box is so nice and roomy!) as a point about getting good shoes that fit your particular stride and foot shape and a reminder to replace them every 500 or so miles. It's worth it to go to a true running store that knows what they're doing, even if you don't buy them there. I did a little parade of gu to celebrate my affection for it, also to point out that you can usually get a discount if you buy by the case. And the edamame is to show how much it's worn in its year of use. I love you edamame... although I spend most of my time lately sitting on you, tending to my I-must-be-getting-older-if-rec-sports-are-leaving-me-with-injuries, not-going-away groin strain, courtesy of broomball 2008.

Bahamas

2008-04-17T14:03:00.004-10:00

I loved our St. John vacations because there was so much there that Husband and I liked to do: hiking, snorkeling, exploring, boating.

I was initially a bit disappointed to find that Paradise Island, Bahamas had little of that, but I realized that although it's fun to have lots of things you like to do, it's also fun to have very little you're interested in doing.

Because why leave, when you have this:

and when you're tired of that, this:

We did get out a bit. Our resort was affiliated with the Mini-Disneyland-esqe Atlantis Resort next door. We rode the water slides, shopped, gambled (OK, Husband hit the "max credit" button on the quarter slots once while my brother was playing to say that he's done it), and explored the aquariums.

You know my penchant for doing things I've never done before. On this trip, it was:
1. Being covered in seaweed paste then wrapped up in foil like a baked potato.
2. Drinking champagne daily. Now that is a hobby I could get into.
3. Celebrity sighting. Who knew we'd share the resort with an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning actor, or sit next to the pool with a CNN reporter/talk show host?

Confession

2008-04-12T09:44:00.003-10:00

I didn't really have a connecting flight.

But I was in the very last row of the plane and the jetway had malfunctioned and we'd been sitting at our gate for 15 minutes and I felt bad for Husband continually circling, searching for me to pick me up...

So I tucked my luggage tag under the handle of my wheelie bag, bowed my head, and let you let me by to exit the plane, not meeting your eye as you wished me good luck in making my next flight.

I'm sorry. I owe you one.

What sex is like

2008-04-10T16:58:00.002-10:00

according to the hotel neighbors I've had recently:

1. Bang the headboard against the wall a lot
2. Shout "yes!"
3. Abruptly end and become completely silent.

San Diego

2008-04-09T19:32:00.002-10:00

Water, bridge, boat, train
carrying army tank, army tank, army tank
like a kid's play set gone wrong

wherest the coal car? the caboose?
Oh San Diego
You have many tasty restaurants

And a generally agreeable clime
But why a Hilo Hattie store?
Hawaii you are not.

Brain

2008-04-09T19:08:00.003-10:00

ON VACATION:
........yes...................... a mojito sounds.............. nice...
...............or.........maybe..................gin...ger................. mar...gar..ita?....................................................hmm.....

VACATION + 30 hours:
....what to make for book club? I could do a fruit tart, but I know C is on a diet....but I can't forget haircut Saturday morn. Should I bring a picture so she cuts it like she did when....got to fix that slipcover....and the tree! must trim it before it blooms... I forget! every! year!.......is that cat puke?......oohh... need to call T... such a bad friend....maybe edamame and something and the fruit tart...edamame's healthy.....and that dr. appointment...and did I tell people that I was going to be in late?....or the fruit and puff pastry thing.... that'd be easier....

Monthly book post: March

2008-04-08T11:37:00.001-10:00

So late! Sorry. Post-vacation post coming up soon!

March list:
The Opposite of Love by Julia Buxbaum. Good chick lit.

A Part of the Furniture by Mary Wesley. Like a good classic English novel with a bit more sex thrown in, not in a The Other Boleyn Girl way, but in a "my, people had fun then, too!" kind of way.

Also read:
Midori by Moonlight by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga

A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson. I have a thing for women's mid-life/marriage crisis stories, although it's kind of a sad little genre. Maybe I want to read all about it so I don't find myself in my 50s realizing I've been doing the wrong thing for 30 years.

Good stuff

2008-03-27T03:52:00.004-10:00

GOOD STUFF I've read recently:
Yes, running can make you high at the NYT.
The real cost of financial clutter at Unclutterer.
Be a great friend, DIY hair removal, whether you need to duck getting out of a helicopter: another great list from Not Martha.

YOGURT, CONT'D
So I've been exploring ways to eat plain yogurt since it has so much less sugar than flavored yogurts. Bananas and blueberries have been tasty, but when out of both I tried (don't gag) peanut butter and it's surprisingly good. I'd never buy peanut butter yogurt at a store, but it's yummy mixed in--small bits of smooth salty/sweet peanut butter alongside the tart cool yogurt.

Yogurt

2008-03-12T06:56:00.005-10:00

After four years I've finally figured out how to have yogurt for breakfast with a minimal amount of waste and mess.

PROBLEM:
Individual yogurts = convenient BUT more expensive and lots of packaging and more difficult to transport as need 5 each week
Big yogurt tubs = messy to eat out of OR wasteful to put in disposable cups OR messy to wash out of cup every day (also requires trip to sink two floors down).

SOLUTION:
Big yogurt + small yogurt container to refill each day. I transfer a day's portion into the small container, eat it, spoon in the next day's portion, and put it back in the fridge. I periodically wash it out to prevent long term germ/old yogurt build up.

Now, if Old Home would only do something about their packaging. Seriously, it's horrendous. They should take a cue from competitor Schroeder, whose packaging makes me s w o o n.

The perfect accompaniment? Bittersweet granola from the Kitchn, via Not Martha. I am only allowed to eat it on yogurt otherwise it gets out of hand [i.e. into mouth].

Excuses

2008-03-10T16:47:00.000-10:00

Disclaimer: I'm not sure why I write so much about my thoughts about having children here. It is disproportionate to how much I really think about it. But you know how you have that friend who talk with about fashion and that other friend you consult on gardening? Well, besides talking with Husband (of course) and a few friends, this blog is where I go to with my thoughts about having children. Why, I don't know. But here it is.

In the last few years when I've imagined having children, I've had these ideas about what I thought I would want or need before trying to have kids.

At one point I swore I'd join a fancy gym and get in really good shape first. At another, I decided that I'd finally indulge and get really good bed linens (? I'm not sure quite what I was thinking here... because I'd be spending a lot of time in bed before and during being pregnant? I think I also had some idea that a child should be conceived amid proper linens, which probably tells you more about me than you wanted to know).

I realized lately with bemusement that these things that once sounded so important and far-away had now been achieved. Marathon running has put me in decent shape. Our bed is cloaked in pleasing and respectable linens. Despite these accomplishments, neither seems very important to me anymore as a precursor to children. Or maybe, it's that having these things doesn't make me feel any more ready.

But I do have one good excuse left... when we got married at 23 I said then that it was one thing to get married first, but quite another to be the first to have children. In the last year or two some family friends and distant friends have had kids, but still none of my good friends have taken the step.

As good as this excuse is, I'm not sure how many more years I can hang onto it, because among my good friends, very few are even married. But maybe I'll find that like the physical fitness and bed linens, this excuse doesn't matter either, in the end.

There comes a time

2008-03-10T03:53:00.002-10:00

in every March, when it becomes imperative that I spend a hour perusing the spa menu at the upcoming beach resort. When I must confirm that yes, yoga on the beach is offered twice a day, and yes, a mojito may be obtained by merely raising the flag on one's beach chair.

I am done with double-layer running tights and windburn cheeks. Done with shoveling! Done with shivering! Bring on spring and more immediately, spring break!

Monthly book post: February

2008-03-03T17:47:00.001-10:00

February books
Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch. A Kitchen Confidential of the front room, Damrosch reveals what it's like to serve at a four-star restaurant. More about restaurant industry secrets than the secrets of its clientele, the book will make you rethink the way you eat and order in restaurants.

Also read
The five love languages by Gary Chapman
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
Postcards from the Edge by Anderson Cooper
Still revisiting some of my favorite children's books--more Judy Blume, the Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr and Flicka, Dicka, and Ricka books by Maj Lindman, and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.

Miscellany

2008-02-20T06:50:00.000-10:00

I'm all plans and no execution lately. I have all these ideas for posts, but haven't gotten it together to make them happen. And I keep writing drafts and deleting them. Here's something to hold over until I get a bit more time to do a proper post:

UNDERWAY
A cupcake contest, pitting the cities' best bakeries. Whose buttercream will reign supreme? I'll post the results once we've declared a victor.

NOSTALGIA
For those who read the Babysitter's Club books or Sweet Valley High, these sites are fabulous:
The Dairi Burger (SVH)
What Claudia Wore (BSC)
BSC Headquarters (BSC)

CRAFTY
There's something about February that makes me want to embroider. Posie Gets Cozy's Pleasant Dishtowels look pretty tempting. DesignSponge's cookie tin makeover was also a fun little project for an old pretzel tin.

FOOD
To celebrate avocado season, here's one of my favorite recipes: Comfort rice. Mix a few cups white (short-grain) or brown rice with one avocado, cubed, and top with a generous splash of rice wine vinegar, a generous pinch of salt, and a hearty sprinkling of furikake. It's so hearty and warm and sour and salty you have to feel good just eating it (I have a recipe for "Comfort Pasta," which inspired this recipe's name). Cucumbers can replace avocados when they're in season.

Things that make me cry: While driving

2008-02-06T17:49:00.002-10:00

1. Funeral processions
2. Terrible accidents
3. People on strike
4. Political enthusiasts encouraging you to vote (bonus if they're holding a homemade sign)
5. Chubby fathers jogging with their chubby sons

Monthly book post: January

2008-01-30T06:57:00.000-10:00

January books
After Dark by Haruki Murakami. One of my favorite authors, Murakami doesn't disappoint in this novel that takes place one night in Tokyo. One of his more accessible books.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney. This 2006 Costa Book of the Year Award-winning novel opens with a murder in a desolate Canadian post and gets more interesting from there. Well-written, with hints of Jack London's "To Build a Fire" and A Narrative of the Captivity, Sufferings and Removes of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.

The Godmother by Carrie Adams. One woman and her many friends, all with their own very real and troubling problems, come together in this fast-paced novel. One of those books that prompts you to consider what you would do if you were in those situations, then to pray that you will never be, because they're the type of problems that have no easy solutions.

The sharper your knife, the less you cry by Kathleen Flynn. Flynn fulfills a life dream to attend Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Although I'll never cook most of the things she described (most require doing appalling things to poultry and fish) it was a fun insight into the famous and influential school.

Also read:
In college I loved reading a bunch of books by the same author and then analyzing one aspect of them in a big old thesis. Although I haven't put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), I've been enjoying rereading Judy Blume favorites (Here's to you, Rachel Robinson, Blubber, Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret) and noticing things I overlooked as a kid. For example: the parents in her novels are really interesting, both in the lives they lead, their relationships with each other, and how they interact with their kids.

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
Keeping Christmas: Yuletide Traditions in Norway and the New Land by Kathleen Stokker
D.I.Y: Design it Yourself by Ellen Lupton

The cabin... where I enjoyed reading many of the January books. On the table there is one of Husband's - Bill Bryson's Shakespeare: The World as Stage.

All things running

2008-01-21T15:55:00.009-10:00

Resources:
Tacohead's Running Gear Review
Tacohead's Running Gear Review 2
Running in the winter
Marathon training
Husband on training movies

Recaps:
Marathon #8 - TCM 2
Marathon #7 - Paavo
Marathon #6 - Grandma's 2
Marathon #5 - Med-City 2
Half-Marathon #5 - Brainerd
Marathon #4 - Rocket City
Marathon #3 - Twin Cities
Marathon #2 - Grandma's
Marathon #1 - Med City
Half-marathon #1 - Frozen Half
TC 10-mile

Musings:
Identity
Why I run
Nerves
The zone
No excuses

Book lists

2008-01-10T16:16:00.004-10:00

2008 mini reviews
September/October 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008

2007 mini reviews
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007

2007 complete books read
SEE ALSO: 2007 books organized by category, which is how I think of them and may be more helpful in finding interesting read.

Heat - Bill Buford
The Secret River - Kate Grenville
Snow Blind - P.J. Tracy
*Two in a Bed - Paul Rosenblatt
* An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
I like you: Entertaining under the influence - Amy Sedaris
Girls - Frederick Busch
*American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang
The Doctor's Wife- Ariyoshi Sawako
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
The Boy Book- E. Lockhart
Hattie Big Sky - Kirby Larson
* Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Marisha Pessl
* Poster Child: A Memoir - Emily Rapp
Black Swan Green - David Mitchell
Candy Girl: A year in the life of an unlikely stripper - Diablo Cody
Unseen - Mari Jungstedt
Cancer Vixen - Marisa Acocella Marchetto
Life as we knew it - Susan Beth Pfeffer
Great with child: Letters to a young mother - Beth Ann Fennelly
Falling boy - Alison McGhee
Two in the Wild - Susan Fox Rogers
Astrid and Veronika - Linda Olsson
The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
*The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz
Shyness and Dignity - Dag Solstad
Stones from the River - Ursula Hegi
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse - Louise Erdrich
The Inheritance of Sorrow - Kiran Desai
*The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade - Ann Fessler
*If you lived here - Diana Sachs
The looniness of the long distance runner - Russell Taylor
Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult

Waking: A memoir of trauma and transcendence - Matthew Sanford
Gaining: The truth about life after eating disorders - Aimee Liu
Survival in Auschwitz - Primo Levi
Love is a Mix Tape - Rob Sheffield
*Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See - Robert Kurson
Girl Stories - Lauren Weinstein
*Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States - Pete Jordan
*An Encyclopedia of Ordinary Life - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
The Plain Janes - Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
Cabin Pressure: One Man's Futile Attempt to Recapture His Youth as a Camp Counselor - Josh Wolk
Pretty Little Mistakes - Heather McElhatton
Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson

Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith - Anne Lamott
I love you Beth Cooper - Larry Doyle
Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night - Peggy Orenstein
Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild - Paul Gruchow
Dangerously Alice - Phyllis Naylor
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (reread) - J.K. Rowling
The Princess of Burundi - Kjell Ericksson
*On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
Frenemies - Megan Crane
Partly Cloudy Patriot - Sarah Vowell
Austenland - Shannon Hale
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant - Daniel Tammet
The Sweet Edge by Alison Pick
Without a Map - Meredith Hall
Two-part invention: The story of a marriage - Madeline L'Engle
Second Opinions: Stories of intuition and choice in a changing world of medicine - Jerome Groopman
Swapping Lives - Jane Green
Literacy and Longing in L.A. - Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack
Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America - Linda Furiya
Fourth Comings - Megan McCafferty
The Discomfort Zone - Jonathan Franzen
Still Life with Chickens: Starting Over in a House by the Sea - Catherine Goldhamme
The Lost: The Search for Six of Six Million - Daniel Mendelsson
The Best of Friends: Two women, two continents, and one enduring friendship - Sara James and Ginger Mauney
Women, Water, Wisdom: Voices from the Upper Mississippi - Nancy Scheibe
Mary Reilly - Valerie Martin
Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex?: More Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Whiskey Sour - Mark Leyner
Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR's Polio Haven by Susan Richards Shreve
Here if you need me: A true story by Kate Braestrup
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Novel by Leonie Swann
The Headmaster Ritual by Taylor Antrim
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of food life, by Barbara Kingsolver
Identical Strangers: A memoir of twins separated and reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein
The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
Gluten Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
*Deep survival : who lives, who dies, and why : true stories of miraculous endurance and sudden death by Laurence Gonzales
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
*Let the northern lights erase your name by Vendela Vida
The simple home : the luxury of enough by Sarah Nettleton and Frank Edgerton Martin
Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume by Jennifer O'Connell, et al

Good to know

2008-01-10T11:26:00.000-10:00

A follow-up on the Twin Cities Marathon, from an article in the February 2008 Runner’s World titled "Even hotter? Same day, same scorching conditions, but no drama at Twin Cities”

“Chicago wasn’t the only Midwestern race to face blistering heat on October 7. In fact, 400 miles away, runners in Minneapolis lacing up for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon faced slightly nastier conditions when the gun sounded. At 8 a.m. racers were sweating in 72 degree heat and 87 percent humidity. Four hours later, it hit 80 degrees and 72 percent humidity.”

The article noted that Twin Cities had a higher rate of medical treatment and hospital transport than Chicago. “[B]ut things were different in Minneapolis: No one died, the media spotlight wasn’t glaring, and there was no drama over lost ambulances, water shortages, or a course closure.”

Recycling citrus

2008-01-09T08:16:00.000-10:00

I have some latent Depression-era delight over making good use of food that you'd normally throw away. And since we're all about recycling, why not make the most of your peels? Here are a few ideas for turn rinds into riches (beyond the delicious candied peels).

Make them into a powder to sprinkle on roasted meats or baked goods
Make limoncello
Make a candle

Blank slate

2008-01-01T15:08:00.000-10:00

This sight of this has been making me happy ever since I took down the scarred and scribbled 2007 version. The year, fresh and clean, full of possibilities.

Husband and I have been watching bits of Anne of Green Gables lately, who is found of reminding herself that "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it."

Here's to 2008!

Monthly book post: December

2007-12-30T15:24:00.000-10:00

December list:
Deep survival : who lives, who dies, and why : true stories of miraculous endurance and sudden death by Laurence Gonzales. One of my top ten books, I reread this when I realized I'd forgotten some of Gonzales's arguments.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. I was a bit put off by the title, which is reminiscent of nearly everything on the Barnes & Noble paperback fiction table, but the novel reads like a more coherent Mrs. Dalloway (which is good, because Woolf is one of my favorites) and was engaging enough to read up until the moment we left to line up for the marathon.

Let the northern lights erase your name by Vendela Vida. Set mostly in Finland, this novel plunges you into the cold icy stoicism, humility, and beauty of northern Scandinavia, and into the life of a woman who abandoned her fiance to track down her father. The characters in this novel don't act as you expect them to, yet it's not altogether unbelievable.

The simple home : the luxury of enough by Sarah Nettleton and Frank Edgerton Martin. Pretty pretty pictures of real homes that values resources, functionality, and aesthetics over McMansion acreage.

Also read:
Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume by Jennifer O'Connell, Meg Cabot, Beth Kendrick, Julie Kenner, and Cara Lockwood. A series of essays: I love the first ones but my disappointment with the last half keeps me from recommending it.

A moment

2007-12-28T08:07:00.000-10:00

A moment for art: posters about the 35W bridge collapse

Crafty: Update

2007-12-18T15:20:00.000-10:00

I thought I'd do a little follow up to the Christmas craft post so I could remember some of this for next year.

HOMEMADE FOOD GIFTS

Enamored with both almonds and Italy, I ended up making amaretti and biscotti (recipe follows, technically cantuccini) to give away. Both are easy to make and quite tasty.

I received a few very yummy and clever gifts. Husband declares that the candied orange peels are "chock full of awesome" and "need to be taken away from me." (Note on recipe: remove from syrup, roll in sugar to make this version).

And I'm totally copying this idea next year: dried herbs from the garden, packaged in cute little jars from Penzey's. Good thing AP gave us a little primer on drying herbs!

Speaking of AP, another fabulous food gift that she gave me a few years ago was homemade cream cheese, dusted with curry powder. Husband and I still swoon at the memory.

OTHER FOOD GIFTS I'm giving this year:

Ames Farm makes some tasty honey, and has a cute gift set of 5 for $15.

Cheese - who wouldn't enjoy a nice selection of local cheeses from the coop? (My dad, I hope).

Clementines
Green and Black's chocolate bars

And even though it's usually awkward and unsuccessful, I'm always trying to tie on interesting things on top of my gifts. Two ideas: Nut Goodies (local and festively wrapped) and mandarins (with the little leaves attached).

Happy holidays!

Almond Biscotti of Tuscany (Cantuccini)
modified from Lynne Rossetto Kasper's recipe, printed in the Star Tribune, for those with a food chopper/small food processor and no large Cuisinart-style food processor

Makes 30 to 40 cookies.
• 14 oz. whole blanched almonds, toasted
• Generous 1 1/2 tbsp. shredded lemon zest
• 2 generous tsp. shredded orange zest
• 1 1/2 c. bleached flour (measured by lightly spooning flour into the cup and leveling with a straight edge)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 2 1/2 tbsp. clear corn syrup
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter and flour a large cookie sheet. In a food chopper, process almonds until coarsely ground (like coarse sand) with a few larger chunks remaining. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in both the zests, the flour, and the baking powder. In a separate bowl, mix the salt, pepper, eggs, egg whites, corn syrup, sugar and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients, mixing only long enough to blend. Dough will be a dense batter -- do not overmix.

Using a rubber spatula and pastry scraper to help you, spread the batter on the baking sheet, shaping it into two 16-inch-long loaves about 3 inches wide and 1 inch high. Space about 3 inches apart.

Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven, turning heat up to 325 degrees. Cool the biscotti 10 minutes, slice crossways 1/2 -inch thick, and turn each piece on its side. Bake 12 more minutes, turn over the cookies and bake another 15 minutes. Cool the biscotti completely on a rack. They are best eaten the second day and later.

Marathon #4

2007-12-12T15:10:00.000-10:00

Last weekend Husband and I traveled to Alabama to see what that's all about (conclusion: AWESOME) and to run a marathon. The race itself was more akin to my first marathon - lots of waving and thanking volunteers, chatting and wooting, enjoying the sites, out to have a good time and not break some the land-speed record.

To be sure, the race had a few southern charms. I've never had a race emcee let us know he'd be praying for us. Or been cheered on by Baptist teens bearing motivational signs from the Bible. Or been accosted by disgusting protesters/"spectators" outside Planned Parenthood. I don't know enough about Auburn or 'Bama football or the military to understand the seemingly incomprehensible cheers (hooky hooky hoo!?). Nor has the post-race refreshments ever included two kinds of Moon Pies.

The course was the flattest thing I've ever seen. It was beautiful. The weather (average low is 35, average high, 55) was a unseasonably warm 71, with what-is-starting-to-seem-inevitable? extreme humidity. You can see the haze/mugginess in some of the photos. Speaking of the photos, you might be wondering how we came to have them. My amazing and frequent-flier-laden parents flew in to cheer us on. They were an unbelievable support crew and quickly expanded their cheering efforts to include a few handfuls of other runners, who they came to know as the runners were right before or after us throughout the race.

To us, the residential streets were a fun opportunity for ethnographic study. To local residents, I'm sure they were just extremely boring.

We ran together the whole way, which was a first, and seeing what Husband goes through (oh the cramping!) makes me even more impressed with his strength and determination. We finished in a respectable 4:43. Then we walked the cowboy walk of the victorious, showered off the layers of salty sweat, napped, and headed out for a Thai and sushi dinner of champions.

We rounded out our trip by driving up into the hills and touring some caves.

UPDATE: I found some photos on my parents' camera from Grandma's and added them to that post.

Day 30

2007-11-30T10:56:00.000-10:00

And we're done! While writing everyday is hard (even if you cheat and solicit guest bloggers), remembering to write every day is by far the hardest part. Often I'd be going happily up to bed and see my little reminder post-it yelling "POST!" and trudge back down and sit myself in front of the computer.

And wow, writing about myself really made me sick of me. A big big thank you to the guest bloggers for keeping me from going insane and better yet, providing some fun content.

Thanks for sticking with me! See you soon (but not tomorrow!).

Monthly book post: November

2007-11-29T03:20:00.000-10:00

November list:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of food life, by Barbara Kingsolver. Barbara and her family commit to eating (mostly) local foods for one calendar year, growing most of their own food. I was so looking forward to this book that I was a bit let down when I finally read it. I wanted more what-life-was-really-like-living-local, and less politics and information. But I still enjoyed it overall... it really made me think of things differently and gave me some practical ideas about different ways to live. So, who wants to can tomatoes with me next year?

Identical Strangers: A memoir of twins separated and reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. Elyse and Paula were part of the Louise Wise adoption agency study that separated twins to explore the nature vs. nurture question... without telling them or their parents Alternating viewpoints, Elyse and Paula are unfailingly honest as they get to know each other (admitting that at times they wonder if they'd been better off not knowing) and investigate the study, tracking down the doctors who participated as well as other separated twins.

The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell. An murder mystery about a pair of sisters who were involved with their stepfather's death many years ago... and now that they are older, one finds herself wondering what really happened that day. An entertaining cast of characters forge unexpected connections as the plot twists and turns toward its conclusion... in all a captivating and well done book.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I wouldn't have read this book were it not for my book club (circuses are not a topic I'm usually drawn to), but it was a fun read. I'm not sure what we'll talk about... but if you're looking for something to keep you occupied on an airplane ride or to escape to for a weekend, this would suffice.

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume. I love Judy Blume. There's such a perfect simplicity in her writing... and she captures all those what-you-think-are-taboo-at-the-time subjects of adolescence. I realized I hadn't read this one so I checked it out... a good read about a girl whose dad dies. My favorites of hers are Starring Sally J. Freedman, as Herself, Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, and Just As Long As We're Together. She's also written a few books for adults, such as her classic, Wifey, a story about a woman who is "tired of chicken on Wednesdays and sex on Saturdays."

Other books:
Gluten Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (I really disliked this book!)

Guest blogger! Husband on comics, cont'd

2007-11-28T10:49:00.000-10:00

Recommendations

Here they are. These are the comics that I love. These are things that I think you might like as well, oh, anonymous reader.

Oh...by the way there is an excessive use of the word 'awesome' in what follows. This is something I would not allow in my prose...but the world just isn't ready to bring back 'rad'.

The Holy Trinity of things comics. There are three books (two collected editions, one graphic novel) that every person lionizing things comics recommend to everybody…ever:

1. Watchmen. Written by Alan Moore. Pencils, inks and letters by Dave Gibbons. Coloring by John Higgins. This is the most artful super-hero comic I have ever read. It deconstructs the archetype and makes you think “damn…this could happen.” And then you flip the page and see a giant, naked, blue, radioactive man and realize…nope…it couldn’t. Crazy stuff aside, this is true literature and the illustrations are some of the industry’s finest. The only warning I can offer is that this book was released in 1986 and as such is four-color so the coloring isn’t that nuanced. I have only met one person who likes super heroes that doesn’t like this book…and his only criticism is that it is overrated.

2. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Written, drawn and inked by Frank Miller. Colored by Lynn Varley. Again this is a superhero book but dang is it awesome. This deals with Batman at 50 trying to come back. He is old, tired and pissed. We watch him training himself to come back (training!) and then watch him kick butt. Frank Miller is somewhat of a wunderkind in Hollywood right now. 300 is a comic he did in 1998 (again with Lynn Varley) was made into a film. Sin City (which is entirely his creation) was also a film. He will now be directing The Spirit which is the creation of Will Eisner who is the God of all things comics (to the extent that he even coined the phrase graphic novel). Give it a read. It is dense but it is awesome.

3. Maus. Written and drawn by Art Spiegelman. When described in short this sounds like an exercise in bad taste. This is a comic book series dealing with the Holocaust with a cast of anthropomorphic animals. This is the story of Art Spiegelman’s grandfather’s experience in concentration camps. The Jews are represented by mice, the German’s by either cats or dogs, and the result is a completely heart-rending and informative experience. The fact that we are not looking at humans allow us the distance we need to deal with the horror. I have seen 14-year-olds read this in one sitting and senior citizens reading it as well--it is amazing. Everybody recommends this who has read it…everyone.

Superhero ongoing series that I love:

4. Justice Society of America. Written by Geoff Johns. Pencils by Dale Eaglesham. Inks by Art Thibert. Colors by Jeromy Cox. This is fun. It uses really old characters from the D.C. Universe and some new ones. It is great fun: crazy adventures and deeply character-driven stories.

5. The Fantastic Four. By 17,000,000 different writers and artists. Talk about crazy nonsense--the fantastic four wins. So much fun. A guy who eats planets. Parents with super powers finding child care. A guy made of rock who has a blind girlfriend. Come on. It’s awesome.

6. Powers. Written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Michael Avon-Oeming. Here is the Hollywood pitch: A homicide unit specializing in super-hero crime. That is awesome. Also I love the dynamics of the detectives the villains and the whole world. It is atmospheric and super fun.

7. Various Spider-Man titles. Again, 17,000,000 million creators. Smart-ass person with super powers who simultaneously deals with crazy villains and figures out how to pay the rent. I even love the stupid issues. Of late in Amazing Peter Parker (Spider-man) has been a little full of pathos and nasty and things aren’t looking good for his marriage but damn is it fun. However Ultimate Spider-Man (which is essentially a retelling of the early stuff) is always awesome. Always. I would suggest that one for the newbies.

8. Daredevil. Written by many but the best have been Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis, and Ed Brubaker. The art has been by many but best by Frank Miller, David Mack, Alex Maleev, and Michael Lark. Matt Murdock is a blind guy whose four other senses were heightened but here’s the kicker…he doesn’t have fear. Oh, he is also a lawyer…and an informal detective. The single coolest thing about Daredevil is that his stories are Shakespearian in construct. His villains don’t punch him in the face and run away they make his life miserable. This is a strange thing to enjoy reading but damn is it entertaining.

Non-Super Hero and Slice of Life books:

9. Blankets. Written and drawn by Craig Thompson. The Hollywood pitch isn’t that inspiring. Guy is sad. Actually there is quite a bit more to it. If you are put off by super-hero fun then take a look at this one. Visually it is awesome and the story is very evocative of young love from the male perspective.

10. Mouse Guard. Written and drawn by Brian Petersen. High fantasy with mice. The protagonists fight crabs and snakes and stuff…it’s cool and has shockingly awesome visuals.

11.True Story Swear To God. Written and Drawn by Tom Beland. The title says it all. It is bittersweet but awesome.

12.Fun Home. Written and drawn by Alison Bechdel. The subtitle of this piece is A Family Tragicomic and it is fitting. It is funny in spots but always lyrical. The issues of sexuality have never been better dealt with in this medium (in my limited experience).

13. American Born Chinese. Written, Drawn and lettered by Gene Yang. Colored by Lark Pien. Just freaking awesome. Five different vignettes that draw a broader conclusion. Funny, sensitive but above all: awesome.

For T.V. Fans (of which I am not a member):

14. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Season 8. Written by Joss Whedon. Pencils by Georges Jenty and Paul Lee. Inks by Andy Owens. Colors by Dave Stewart. I have been “waiting for the trade" (often comics are collected in 6-8 issue arcs as trade paperbacks that are released 3 or 4 months after the periodical series reaches the end of the story arc) on this one. I haven’t read it yet. My friends who have (read: nerds) have loved it. I too will love it as I am one of the Buffy-Faithful (there is a pun there if you know the series (if not my geek is stronger than yours)).

15. Red Menace. Written by Adam Brody with Bilson and Demeyo (the latter two having had written the 1980’s Flash TV series). Penciled by Gerry Ordway (if you are a nerd it’s a big deal). Adam Brody is a super-hot TV star…according to my 12 year-old students. He was on the O.C. which was apparently a T.V. show. I’ve not seen it. But the comic is all about what if the red scare was not about commies but supers…its good. It’s short (115 pages). Give it a look.

16. Wolverine.Written by Marc Guggenheim. Art by Huberto Ramos. Guggenheim has worked on all of those Law and Order, CSI: Duluth andPolice-Cops shows (the latter two shows were cleverly cynical…he actually worked on Law and Order: SVU and CSI:Miami).

17. Young Avengers. Written by Allen Heinberg. Art by Jim Cheung. The stupidest, money-grab idea in the last 20 years becomes an awesome story with beautiful art. The story is a group of kids who have the powers of the Avengers (the Marvel super group) who are put to the test by both super villains and their own soap opera like trials and. All of this written by Gilmore Girls (and The O.C. though I have never seen that) writer Allen Heinberg. Where can I get mine?

18. The Astonishing X-Men. Written by Joss Whedon. Pencils and inks by John Cassiday. Colors by Laura Martin. If you want to sound like a comics glitterati the only X-book you can claim to like is Astonishing. I agree…it is great. Whedon’s feel for dialogue made popular a television series that lasted seven seasons based on a film that 18 people have seen (see next entry (ooh, he also was a writer on Toy Story). The art is clean, clear and kick-butt. If you are of a mind, check it out. Seriously the only comic that could get my money faster would be Aaron Sorkin writing…anything…ever…seriously he could make anything interesting. Even a list of recommended comics on a blog that normally has nothing to do with comics.

Lastly is a lightning-round-esque list of stuff I love (not like…love) for more info email Tacohead…she’ll forward it to me.

Newspaper stuff…

Peanuts by Charles Shultz. I get it...it's good...gotta say though...little depressing.

For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnson.…OK a Canadian is going to get my vote regardless…but the continuity and the clarity is amazing. I love it

F-Minus by Tony Carillo. Funny as Far Side and more incisive. Check it out.

Far Side by Gary Larson. Every time I laugh at this I feel I am closer the dark side.

Boondocks by Aaron McGruder. Right up my alley political satire...actively anti-racist and has a ton of heart.

Zits written by Jerry Scott and illustrated by Jim Borgman. Made me wish I had treated my parents better.

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. As much as I love comic books…I love Calvin more. This is the single greatest achievement in graphic fiction…ever. I kid you not. If it were not financially stupid I would own his whole run. I love it. Caveat emptor: I have been told that as far as sequential art goes whatever you most loved at 12 is what you are going to love the most the rest of your life. I think it holds up but I am biased.

Guest blogger! Slumlord on finding women

2007-11-27T11:05:00.000-10:00

Today, as a special treat for sticking with me throughout November, I bring you the Slumlord, who allows us a peek into his obsession with spreadsheets and their uses beyond the usual work applications. He also gives us a peek into his kitchen... or at least, what used to be his kitchen. Thanks Slummy!

A hearty thank you to She of the Stolen Bike for allowing a numbers and spreadsheet guy like me, the Slumlord, to share this space.

Before we get into the dark and scary mind of the Slumlord, a bit of background is needed. For example, one might wonder why a person would be called the Slumlord. I agree with you, good reader, this is an unjust term given to me by my Hetero Life Partner aka Tenant aka Señor Ferret. Apparently, he requires a more functional kitchen than this:

Personally, I see this as the perfect rustic kitchen with a nice…ah…shall we say "Open floor plan." In many countries this would be luxurious and I should increase his rent accordingly. It has a refrigerator and a stove, what else does he need?! Running water is not needed, nor is a prep area! As you can see, the title of Slumlord is completely unjust.

I am frequently mocked for my use of spreadsheets by my tenant, Señor Ferret, because I use them for nearly every important decision in life. Sure, a normal person might use spreadsheets for financial decisions such as purchasing a home or remodeling the kitchen, but I take it one step further - even emotional decisions can be made with a spreadsheet. As a single man, finding a woman (Yes, a WOMAN) to spend my life with is a good example of how a spreadsheet can be used to make a decision.We all know that no one is perfect (except for me, of course) and compromises need to be made to make the happiest match. The only way I know how to compromise is based on data, so it is time to create data. Rate each important aspect of a person such as intelligence, sense of humor, life goals, personality, and looks based on your ideal. Once you average the scores you have an accurate numerical assessment of the person against your ideal which will assist in determining if this is a good compromise. You can add some conditional formatting where certain deal breakers aren’t met to draw your attention to any issues, such as a 5 in intelligence – a woman smarter than me would not be good. For the more detail oriented people, like me, each of these parent categories can be broken down into individual components to allow a thorough examination of each category. Clearly, you need to see the Girlfriend Rater v1.02 for you to fully appreciate its brilliance:

Lame? Yes. Emotionless? Yes, that’s the whole point. It’s the perfect way to make a decision and feel comfortable that all aspects are reviewed. In other news, if anyone knows a 8, 9, 8, 8.5, 9 looking for a 10, 12, 10, 10, 10 you know who to call.

Black Friday

2007-11-26T14:25:00.000-10:00

I lied. Husband is continuing his post tomorrow. Stay tuned!

At 5:55 on Friday morning I was shivering outside Macy's, preparing to run in and grab the Hannah Montana doll doorbuster that we had convinced ourselves my little cousin wanted more than anything in the world. We were successful, only to get mesmerized by the pretty, pretty boots minutes later and when we left Macy's for Caribou, boots in hand, poor Hannah was left behind. We didn't realize it until Sunday, when in the name of holy Christmas miracles, she was waiting patiently for us in the lost and found.

Guest blogger! Husband on comics

2007-11-25T17:07:00.000-10:00

I never would have opened up a comic or a graphic novel if Husband hadn't given me a few recommendations for titles that challenged the stereotype I had about comics. So I asked him to write a bit about comics for those who haven't picked one up since the Betty and Veronica days, and to provide a few recommendations to get you started. Thanks Husband!

A few people know this about me but it is time to come out of the long box…er… closet to a broader group.

Here goes (clears throat) I am a fanboy.

(crickets)

Sorry my geek:English dictionary wasn’t working. I am a comic book fan.

(hushed silence)

Whoo…I feel so free. I never anticipated feeling like this. I am a comics fan…a geek…a nerd…I am a Fanboy. Wow. (sniff) I love you all.

Here is the thing. When a fanboy or girl first “comes out” the thing most expected of him or her is to justify their particular hobby. I understand this tendency given the stigma associated with comics fandom. To a non-comics fan, the idea of the comic book is a quaint one. One envisions oneself at twelve years old with skinned knees drinking Hi-C, chewing Big League Chew and flipping through the latest Archie Digest and laughing along as Jughead yet again foils his own plans because of his lust for the cheeseburger. Your parents then call out to you and tell you to put down that trash and go outside and play.

However, when somebody thinks of a Fanboy one pictures the following. A sallow-skinned well-fed (or anemic depending on your preferred stereotype) person living in their parents basement surrounded by long white boxes of funny books, a life sized storm trooper suspended from the ceiling by an intricate system of pulleys and levers and a melange of discarded take-away containers covering the floor screaming the names Dominoes, Lui’s Chow Mien, and Taco Bell. There is a piquancy that permeates the air that has tones of ball sweat, discarded chili-cheese burrito and lost hopes. This person can quote chapter and verse from the book of Batman. This person does not understand why the “Comic Book Guy” on the Simpsons is funny, s/he thinks they have been separated at birth.

The truth is that the average fanboy (only adults are fanboys…kids can love comics but it takes a bit for those seeds of obsession to percolate to the role of fanboy-I-tude) is faintly bookish, given to obsession and above all loves stories.

That is what comics are…stories. True the cleavage, spandex, and heat vision to reality ratio is a lot higher than in Dostoevsky’s oeuvre but still…stories. But here is why I like comics. They are Awesome.

Some stuff I like about comics:

The gutters
A gutter is the space between two panels. In that space you are responsible for the fate of that character. This allows you to fill in the details. Here is a common conics scenario.

Panel One: Buxom young woman in extreme foreground facing the reader, making a salad. Drunk guy holding an axe in extreme background.

Panel Two: the neck and shoulders of the buxom young salad-maker.

What happened? In a movie you watch Hacky McChopsalot decapitate Suzie Mixedgreens. In a comic there are infinite options. I can see the appeal but I prefer to have the option that an invisible chipmunk came into the room used a rusty paring knife to sever the head of the soccer mom who ran over her boyfriend in her Cadillac SUV.. Uh…never mind…I take that back.

Options
There are three basic types of comics.

The ongoing series. These are the titles where every month you will get an installment of a title that may date back as far as 1938 (Action Comics if you are keeping score at home) and you will read part of this broad history while continuing a story arc. A story arc is a story that takes 2-12 issues and they are always self-contained while adding to the broader story (story in fanboy-speak is called continuity).
Limited series: Limited series are just that if you wanted to take a character from a book or an alternative future of a book you can tell that story, but it won’t happen in the normal title. Let’s say you wanted to create a story of spider-man where he was thinking he might be a furry. This would not happen in the regular book…but in a six issue series why not dress Peter Parker as Scrappy-Doo and lock him in a room with Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer with a bottle of champagne and a copy of Laying Private Ryan. Um…let me just say that idea…Husband TM.
The graphic novel. If you are a fanboy and want to sound cool you call all comics graphic novels. I actually know the derivation of the term “graphic novel” but I won’t bother you with it. The only things that you can actually call “graphic novels” are things intended to be one story. In that story you get the whole story you don’t think…”wait but what happens next?”

TOMORROW: A few specific comics that I love and recommendations you may enjoy (assuming you are not well versed in the comics world).

Crafty 2: Scavenged Crafts

2007-11-24T13:51:00.000-10:00

A couple of years ago I noticed that nearly every other house on the street displays something pretty and seasonal in planters on their doorsteps... spring annuals, robust summer blooms, harvest colored mums, and then piney boughs and berries for the winter. Since then I've been trying to keep up... but have felt bad because it seems so wasteful to spend all this money on things that I end up throwing away when the season's done.

I was thinking about this the other day when I noticed all the planters were filled with wintry bouquets... and my eyes alighted on the dogwood bush in the corner of our yard. Hey! The same red branches that I saw for sale at local fancy grocery store! Then this morning I drove over to my parents and found a teetering stack of pots next to their garbage. Hey! Two perfect planters! A sweep of their backyard (part of a former pine tree farm) and I had arm fulls of boughs and a sack full of pine cones.

It's a bit free-flowing and needs a little touch-up after some of the branches settled, but hey, it was free!

My second scavenged craft isn't something that I put together but something that will enable me to do crafts. Since I got my sewing machine in June I've been thinking idly about a table for it... wondering if I should buy something cheap at Ikea... or ask around... or make something from an old door in the garage.

Then Husband and I were driving home from running last week and I spied a table on the curb with a FREE sign. I'm not usually one to pick up random stuff, but after half a block I asked Husband to drive around again. We hobbled out the car, inspected it, and shoved in it the back.

It's got a metal top and is nice and big, and has these extensions tucked under the top to make it even bigger. It just needs some fresh paint on the bottom part.

Good timing, as I start my sewing classes next week!

Guest blogger! Bino on sleeping

2007-11-23T14:35:00.000-10:00

When I was thinking of potential guest bloggers to ask, I thought of people who didn't have blogs but who should because they have interesting things to say. I'm very pleased that Bino accepted my invitation, and lo, how he outdid himself. If you're ever attempted a top 10 list, you know how coming up the material for 10 is pushing it. Bino crushes us all and busts out an impressive 25 without breaking a sweat. Or without falling asleep, which, as you will soon learn, is more impressive. Thanks Bino!

Over the past weekend wife LEH and I spent time giving thanks (mostly for food and liquor) with our soccer team at our 2nd Annual Soccer Thanksgiving Festival. Après consuming too much food, too many“Little Smokies,” and imbibing a few too many shots of tequila, the fellas proceeded to lounge around in the reclining leather chairs… mmm, very comfy. Shortly thereafter we somehow stumbled on to our hosts’ stash of magazines (I was definitely not the one snooping!), the topmost one which proclaimed “Top 50 Places to Ski.”

I don’t know what it is, but nothing captivates your attention like a “Top 25” or “Top 50” list. Many people attempt to mesmerize the masses with their “Top 10” lists, but these just don’t cut the mustard. Perhaps it’s that a Top 10 list is not robust enough, or perhaps we recognize the lackluster attempt inherent in cultivating 1000’s of items down to a paltry list of 10. Needless to say we were all spellbound with reading and discussing the list created by the readers of Ski magazine. In the magic of the moment we shared stories of past experiences (“This one time I was skiing at ___ and, oh man, there’s this one run where…”), we hatched plans for future vacations together, and created a Top 25 list of our own.

In the spirit of Top 25 Lists, I thought it might be appropriate to provide my own enthralling list, but what to choose? After waffling for a few days, I decided to proceed with what I do best. So here you have it folks, unrestricted and uncensored (excluding the descriptors and/or caveats), in no:

Bino’s Top 25 Places To Fall Asleep

In a snuggly warm bed (preferably pre-warmed by wife LEH)
On the porcelain chair in the “office”

THUD!
LEH: Bino, are you okay in there?
Me: Yep, just dropped my book on accident, that’s all.

On the couch by the window (preferably with the sun shining through)
At a Smashing Pumpkins concert (I was rather sick, but still!)
In the car on the way to church (darn those heated seats)
In the car on the way home from church (mmm, I love these heated seats)
In the car on the way to soccer (Can you drive LEH, I’m low on gas.)
In the car on the way home from soccer (hey, I worked hard out there)
Riding in the car on the way home from a party

LEH: Are you going to fall asleep?
Me: No, I’m not tired.

In the car during a road trip with LEH to Michigan, to Utah, to Illinois, to Lutsen, to…
Pretty much anytime I ride in the car. No, seriously, anytime I’m in the car I’m a disaster.
In the middle of my own sentence…
While opening gifts for family Christmas gathering (scoring negative points as it was the in-laws again!)
At the computer in my office (Place the beaker in theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee)
In a chair, on the couch, or on the floor at the aforementioned party (especially post drinking)
On the floor in the hall outside of my dorm room in Ellingson, in the middle of a conversation
In the middle of lecture in college, complete with the GIGANTIC full-body muscle jerk that scares the people sitting next to you
While playing Catch Phrase at the 1^st Annual Soccer Thanksgiving Festival
While watching TV in the old apartment

Roomie: Bino, it’s late (11 PM), go to bed.
Me: Wha, what? Oh, thanks, yeah, I’ll get up soon.
Five hours later…Me: Ugh! What time is it, and why does my neck hurt?

On my bed in the middle of my own party (thank you mystery person for setting my alarm clock early enough for the next day to make it to work on time)
While taking the PRAXIS II exam (requisite for receiving my teaching license)
While grading papers for class (“Mr. Bino, what’s this big green line on my paper for?”)
On the porcelain chair in the “office” (yes, it’s happened more than once!)
Hanging out with friends at Perkins

LEH: Are you sure you should take that cough medicine?
Me: Yeah, I’ll be fine. It says “May make you drowsy” but this stuff never really works…

On the floor of my in-laws dining room, under the table, with feet propped up on chair, post dinner

Oh dear

2007-11-23T10:48:00.000-10:00

I got all wrapped up the day that I forgot to post! Somewhere between the running and the getting ready and the packing and the leaving I forgot all about posting. Blogger would allow me to cheat and post as if it were yesterday, but no. I admit. I lost. But since it was by accident and not for lack of things to say, I'll post twice for Friday to make up for it.

Here's the post I had all queued up, too:

What greater holiday is there than Thanksgiving? Its entire purpose is to eat, be with others, and give thanks, three things that I love. There isn't even church. And it's followed by a three-day weekend, so it has that kick-off-the-season feel, instead of the have-to-go-to-work-tomorrow shadow that haunts Easter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crafty

2007-11-21T04:24:00.000-10:00

Christmas is a good excuse to indulge your crafty side and make a few homemade gifts. Every year I try a couple of things... some have been more successful than others, but here's a little list if you're looking for a few ideas. If you have favorites of your own, please share them with us!

GIFTS
Organizers. I made these pretty accordion-style organizers last year and was quite pleased with the results. PaperSource had all the supplies (nice envelopes, fancy ribbons, and label stickers) for pretty reasonable, especially if you're making a few sets.

Ornaments. A perennial favorite, and couldn't be easier. I've taken seashells from our beachy trips and put a dab of glue in them and inserted both ends of a foot-long ribbon, making a loop so it hangs on the tree. I took a silver pen and wrote the year and destination on the ribbon. I've also taken photos from the year and made a little paper frame and glued on a ribbon length to the top corners to hang on the tree. Anything + glue + ribbon = a pretty little gift.

Other ideas...
EC and I made these marble magnets once up at the cabin... they are quite fun and easy, and who couldn't use a few stylish little magnets?

FOOD GIFTS
Biscotti. I made two kinds - cranberry ginger and orange hazelnut, and wrapped about five pieces each in tissue paper, clear bag, and a ribbon. I think biscotti's quite tasty and is a perfect winter coffee/cocoa break, not-too-sweet treat, but it's so dry and doesn't look very appealing so I'm not sure whether I'll do this again.

Spiced/glazed nuts. I put these in a big glass jar tied up with ribbon... and it didn't look nearly as pretty or yummy as I thought it would. I was even kind of embarrassed to hand them over when the time came. Perhaps one of those clear bags instead? They are tasty to eat, however, whether you choose a spicy recipe or one that's more sweet.

For this year, I was thinking about this pretty looking pistachio brittle in the latest Martha Stewart Living... but I always feel like sweet treats are enjoyed yet also resented. At least the brittle has some protein. Oooh... I've also wanted to try one of those homemade marshmallow recipes... wouldn't that be a nice treat to receive? The airtight container and keeping only 3 days would be a trick, though.

Day 20

2007-11-20T09:46:00.000-10:00

10 whole days left! You might be wondering, can I make it? Yes, I can feel the doubt, even as I type. Your lack of confidence... your pity... your concern for how low the blogging standards can sink. What will she post next? A photo of her freezer? Daily updates about the cats? A blow by blow update on her cold? Yet more Pillow Book? When will blessed December arrive?

But lo! Fear not, gentle reader, for the best is yet to come. I have two more Guest Bloggers gracing us with their insightful wisdom and wit, and one Guest Blogger making a valiant return, not unlike when a coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the championship in the classic training movie Hoosiers.

Yes, we all may have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Tacohead on beachy vacations

2007-11-19T07:49:00.000-10:00

I've always thought I have only two skills to offer people: proof-reading their Christmas card letters and advising them on where to go for a beachy vacation. Inspired by the guest bloggers, I decided to have some fun with the vacation topic and create a little quiz.

Tacohead's Beachy Vacation Indicator Test
To take: Grab a sheet of paper and write the following letters across the top: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I. Then read the first statement. If you agree with it, give each letter indicated a point. If you strongly agree with it, give each letter a few points. If you feel neutral, skip it and go on to the next statement. If you disagree or strongly disagree with it, take away a point from that letter. (That may mean some letters will have negative points).

I want to use my passport – A, B, C, H, I
A short flight is important – A
I want to avoid small island-hopping planes – A, B, D, E, H, I
I get sea-sick – no ferries please – A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I
I want to be able to drive a car and have it be easy – D, E, F, G
I want to be able to drive a car... on the left side of the road – B, C, I
I don’t want to drive a car – A, H
Gorgeous beaches are important to me – C, E, H
Being able to hike is important to me – C, E, F, G
I like to shop for great deals on jewelry, cologne, etc., haggling required – A, B
I like to shop for goods in stores found on Rodeo Drive – D, E, H, I

To have the following cuisines/drinks on my trip sounds appealing:
Pineapple – D, E, F, G
Guacamole and margaritas - A
Sushi – D, F
West African – B, C
Familiar chain restaurants – D, E, G
Rum drinks – B, C, H, I
Cheap drinks – A, B, C

It would be fun if the destination felt a bit like visiting England – H
It would be fun if the destination felt a bit like visiting Japan – D, F
I don’t want to spend much money, but I want to stay in a hotel in a lively place – A, B, D
I don’t want to spend much money, but I want something quiet, and would consider camping-like accommodations – C, E, F, G
I like places known for impeccable service – H, I
It is important to me that the people who live there have a decent standard of living – C, D, E, F, G, H
I have money I want to hide in an off-shore account – I

NOW:
Tally up the smiley points under each letter. The ones with the highest totals are the places you're most interested in!

So, here's where to book your trip. DISCLAIMER - this indicator is for fun, and is severely limited by the fact that it includes only destinations I've been to. And it has many flaws (including grouping Mexico together as ONE GIANT MASS but then parsing out the Hawaiian islands).

A Mexico
B St. Thomas
C St. John
D Oahu
E Maui
F Kauai
G Hawaii (the island of)
H Bermuda
I Grand Cayman

Cadbury is like a 12-year-old girl

2007-11-18T11:05:00.000-10:00

He won't go to the litter box alone. He meows and meows until Stilton goes downstairs and stands by him while he uses it.

IN OTHER NEWS
I am sick! Well, I have that regular old cold that is going around. I keep berating myself for wanting to lie around but then I remember: I'm sick! That's part of the deal! It's what you do.

Must go:
1. do quick chores like put away laundry that will make me feel all stress-y and gloom-and-doom Monday-y if I find them un-done when I go up to bed
2. prep dinner (baked BBQ tofu and sweet potato fries)
3. make cocoa
4. light a fire in fireplace
5. sit by fire and drink cocoa

Nada

2007-11-17T13:48:00.000-10:00

I'm sorry to report that I'm not posting today. There's this rule, you see. You run 20 miles, you get an all-day pass to do whatever you want. They hand them out when you're done, with the Endurox. And I'm flashing you mine.
Good. We understand each other.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to (nerd alert!) doing puzzles and hanging with the cats. And eating, as soon as Husband comes back with the goods.

Guest blogger! AP on fall projects

2007-11-16T04:12:00.000-10:00

A quick introduction: While I write jubilant posts about knitting a scarf or the first and only time I've canned anything, my friend AP knits sweaters and puts up provisions for the winter that would make anyone's grandma proud. She can brew beer, make cheese (from cows she's milked), and makes a mean pear pie. No wonder she was better at Girl Scouts than I was. I've asked her to tell us a bit about what she's been up to... she makes all the amazing things she does sound so easy and doable.

I keep trying and not getting around to writing my own blog about projects I’m working on so I thought I’d use my five minutes as a “guest blogger” and stick to my theme by telling you about some of my fall projects. We finally had a frost here in my northern Midwest City a full month later than our September 25th average, and I’ve decided I better get to all of the fall projects I’ve been putting off for weeks. They’re some of my favorite tasks of the year so I don’t know why it’s been so difficult. An afternoon of time away from work has been extraordinarily helpful.

1. Seed Saving
Well, really my primary task was to clean out all of the ugly, dead, frozen things from the garden in front of the house. I have a neighbor who pays more attention to my yard than I do and has even been known to mow my lawn and cut back my plants that don’t meet her specifications. So, for the neighbor’s sake, I thought I’d relocate the in situ compost to the proper bin in the backyard. In the process, though, I collected some seeds from my scarlet runner beans to plant again next year. Though my trellising was quite inadequate this year, I’m convinced scarlet runner beans would look great climbing up the front of my house all the way to the roof. Now that they’re all cleaned out, my front gardens aren’t much to look at—I’m considering talking a friend into painting some faux plants on my foundation. Instead, here’s a photo of my saved scarlet runner bean seeds. Aren’t they gorgeous?

2. Salsa Verde
A few years ago, I was all excited about growing tomatillos so I planted a whole bed in my garden and, as anyone who’s ever grown tomatillos can imagine, I came to regret it. Even if I liked tomatillos, which it turns out I don’t, not much anyway, a whole bed, no matter how small the bed, is WAY TOO MANY (unless you have a good market). Tomatillos are prolific in a big way. Not only will one plant produce an unfathomable number of fruits that are incongruently both sickly sweet and bitter, there is no way you will possibly pick all of the fruit and they will self seed and come back many times over the following year again and again and again. So it happened that without planting a single tomatillo plant in my garden this year, I felt obligated during a recent afternoon in the garden to harvest a full paper grocery bag of the little buggers.

I gave away an armload to a friend who thought they might be good roasted with honey, my roommate made a triple batch of enchilada sauce, and I still have too many for my liking. I haven’t heard how the roasting with honey went, the enchiladas were quite tasty and I’ll be making salsa verde tonight. It’s really quite convenient that I also harvested a bag of jalapeno peppers during the same trip to the garden.

3. Garlic
Though she may have crossed the line in doing my gardening for me on occasion, it turns out that my neighbor may have a point. Last fall, after moving away from many years on a farm into an urban house with a very small yard, I tried to compensate by planting my backyard full of garlic. This summer, when the garlic should have been pulled out of the ground and hung in a cool place to dry, I was busy living my new, urban life and didn’t get to it. Today when I went to see if all was lost, I found that my undug garlic bulbs had actually sprouted into a second generation. I decided to make the most of my inattentiveness and try an experiment—will pre-sprouted garlic cloves survive transplanting just before winter? I dug a few clumps of new shoots, separated them and replanted them in a different garden. They’re well mulched to keep the weeds out while I’m ignoring them next year. We’ll see how it goes.

4. Horseradish
Another thing I inherited in my garden this year was a copious supply of horseradish. I’ve wanted to make horseradish sauce for a few years and never seem to get around to it so I decided this was my year.

It’s really a very easy process. You dig up the roots, clean and peel them, blend them with water, drain the water off, pack the mush in a jar and top it off with vinegar. Apparently, the longer the ground horseradish is exposed to air, the more hot and pungent it gets due to some enzymatic process. So, well prepared cooks who manage to top their horseradish mush off immediately will end up with a milder version while disorganized folks with too little counter space who wait at least three minutes to get the vinegar poured will have a hotter product. I have a heck of a lot of horseradish now so I hope it’s tasty.

5. Herbs
I was going to write a little more abut drying herbs and how I killed half of my houseplants this week but there’s not really too much to say. I’ll leave it at this: Herbs are super easy to dry. If you have a garden or know of a garden that you can snip a few herbs from (thyme, sage and rosemary have all probably survived the frost we’ve had to date), snip a few, tie a string around them and hang them upside down until they’re crunchy. When they’re completely dry, pull them from their stems and store them in a lidded glass jar (they get dusty if you leave them hanging from the curtain rod in your kitchen all winter.) This also works with bunches of herbs you buy from the grocery and don’t use all of.

And my poor houseplants. They’re dropping like flies. So far this week, I’ve lost my mint, a huge old aloe, and a lavender plant that had been doing SO well all summer.

Perhaps it’s the aphids that I found on my pretty indoor pepper plant.

In the fridge

2007-11-15T15:45:00.000-10:00

Another interesting? strange? internet trend is to post the contents of your fridge.
So here it is. Uncensored. Quite full from a recent grocery run and a few treats from my parent's Costco run.

My god the condiments. Especially the hot sauces. What is wrong with us?
And I don't take responsibility for those Velveeta (i.e. emergency comfort grilled cheese) slices. Although I don't deny partaking.

Day of no multitasking

2007-11-14T10:33:00.000-10:00

If you've ever done yoga or meditated, you know what not multitasking is like. The constant fight to be in the moment, not thinking or doing anything else... and failing... then trying again, and achieving moments of restful calm... before thinking about that email you need to send and what you're going to have for dinner.

Here are the things I didn't do today:
1. Read the newspaper while drying my hair and then eating breakfast
2. Listen to the radio while driving

3. Open multiple programs or tabs on my computer, as best as I was able (Man, you have to try this one. It's comical).

4. Do anything while eating lunch (Boring! I finally stopped halfway through and returned some email; then stopped and finished lunch.)

5. Listen to the radio while driving home.
6. Listen to music or clean up while making dinner. (This was the hardest. I'm always putting away the dishes/sipping something/playing with CDs/cleaning/tidying while cooking... so it was really hard to just do one thing).
7. Do anything while eating dinner, alone. Damn.

I like experiments, so I think I'm going to try keeping up with some parts of this for a few more days to see how it goes. I feel like I noticed a lot more today, and felt calmer.

1+1=3?

2007-11-13T10:33:00.000-10:00

First, a short quiz!

At this very moment, are you:
1. Eating or drinking
2. Listening to something
3. Keeping an eye of your email/IM/etc.
4. Toggling between reading blogs and your work.

If you can answer "none of the above," you win a prize.

I've always seen multitasking as 1+1=3, an efficient use of time that allows you to get much more done. Then I read Walter Kirn's article in the November 07 Atlantic Monthly.

According to Kirn, "Multitasking messes with the brain in several ways. At the most basic level, the mental balancing act that it requires--the constant switching and pivoting--energize regions of the brain that specialize in visual processing and physical coordination and simultaneously appear to shortchange some of the higher areas related to memory and learning. We concentrate on the act of concentration at the expense of whatever it is that we're supposed to be concentrating on."

He cites an experiment at UCLA that studied a group of 20-somethings who were asked to sort index cards in two trials, one in silence and one while listening for specific tones in a series of randomly presented sounds. The findings: "The subjects managed to sort the cards just as well with the musical distraction--but they had a much harder time remembering what, exactly, they'd been sorting once the experiment was over."

Also: "Certain studies find that multitasking boosts the level of stress-related hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline and wears down our systems through biochemical friction, prematurely aging us. In the short term, the confusion, fatigue, and chaos merely hamper our ability to focus and analyze, but in the long term, they may cause it to atrophy."

Scary stuff. Instead of learning to meditate, maybe we should start with trying to eat breakfast without reading the paper or watching TV.

TOMORROW: I put Kirn to the test, attempting A DAY WITHOUT MULTITASKING.

UPDATE: AP reported that someone she knew suffering from the early symptoms of Alzheimer's was told to multitask more! to ward off further regression. Cooking was recommended in particular. Interesting!

Oops

2007-11-12T12:55:00.000-10:00

Things I have dropped down the bathroom sink:
1. Toothpaste caps (3)
2. Hair clip
3. The little silver "H" button that goes on top of the hot water tap
4. Eyeshadow brush

NaBloMoPo

2007-11-11T12:23:00.000-10:00

A spinoff of NaBloMoPo this year is NaBloShoeMo: a daily picture of your shoes. I don't think I have 30 pairs of shoes, but to play along for just one day, here are a few samples from my closet:

black metallic Privo Blink

My latest running shoes: Asics Gel Kayano

A blast from the past: purple foil Doc Martens

Sock monkey slippers

Guest blogger! Husband on training movies

2007-11-10T18:06:00.001-10:00

Today I bring you a special treat! Standing in for boring-ol-me is handsome and erudite Guest Blogger Husband.

Hi. This is Husband. As he with the ultimate capacity for self-destruction, the topic of my guest-blog (yes, we live in a society where that is an acceptable phrase) refers specifically to a subject where you feel as though you are doing something of observable benefit to the world but in point of fact are doing absolutely nothing.

Allow me to rephrase. I do not mean a task like alphabetizing your CDs or cleaning out your inbox. I mean doing something that while you feel you are making yourself a better person, you are actively making yourself feel worse and making your self-esteem look much more like self-loathing.

This quality is imperative in somebody with a high capacity for self-destruction. If this is something to which you aspire...read on (which guarantees you a spot in my camp). If you don't want to fall in a recursive loop, then go vacuum, rake, or fold something.

The point of this particular blog is to highlight the greatest training sequences in film (read: movies). I love training sequences. Male or female, something about watching somebody put themselves through hell to make themselves better and more fine tuned for the sport of their desire gives me warm fuzzies and makes me want to raise my fist in the air in exuberance (read: like Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club).

The following is a list with some anecdotes as to why I love them and why you should watch them wearing appropriate workout gear and Protein Shake in one hand.

10. Personal Best. OK so this one is a little specious because it is basically a lesbian love story and as a boy of 14 when I first watched it on Bravo at 1:00 am, the running may have not been the center of my focus. However, I have watched this movie since, and found the desperation to improve one's physical performance (not in the sack...well...OK in the sack but that is not what I meant) quite inspiring. Lots of running much, much faster than I will ever run.

9. Major League. A comedy. I use that term loosely. I does contain a lot of actors. One who went on to play the President (in 24), one who killed vampires (in the Blade oeuvre...that's right oeuvre), one who starred in the Hot Shots movies and that guy from all of those things who you can never place. Anyway. You watch a band of mediocre baseball player train up to become a team (dammit) and kick some major tail. Some things that are important for the genre that we have learned from this movie. One: first basemen must be fat, rude, and spit tobacco. Two: women who own sports teams desire failure (I know...it's sad.) Three: all baseball players who are at all from the Caribbean are superstitious to the extent that they perform quasi voodoo rituals in the clubhouse, but can only truly succeed when one renounces one's traditions and adopt a more Judeo-Christian attitude (every bit as sad). The reason I love this is because it makes me want to strive.

8. Miracle. Come on. In addition to all of the awesome with the hockey it's all about people's dreams and aspirations. The only way the characters can obtain them is by kicking their own asses every day. I remember being totally inspired to kick ass while watching this move and eating potato chips, French onion dip and a bourbon and diet coke. Needless to say asses have yet to be kicked.

7. Rocky. This one is easy. Brother wants to kick ass in order to win the love of Talia Shire(!). I defy you to not feel like you want to be the most awesome person of all time after watching Sly drink four raw eggs and run up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After finishing the film for the first time I considered making my fight name the Norwegian Gelding....but I just couldn't pick what color robe so I abandoned it.

6. Spartacus. Ooh...Stanley Kubric...look at me being cinema savvy. But really, guys training together only to kill one another...awesome. Reminds me of middle school *rimshot*. Spartacus had a dimple in his chin...I have a dimple in my chin...I am Spartacus.

5. Karate Kid. So Ralph Macchio was 31 years old playing a 16 year old. Pat Morita was playing a somewhat embarrassing stereotype but damn. Wax-on wax-off. Paint the fence. Grab the fly with the chopsticks. That would definitely make me want to learn the damn crane kick and hit Johnny in the face. I cheered...but of course I was 9. Sweep the leg Johnny. Yes sensei indeed.

4. Chariots of Fire. Come on you know the ditty. Dun dun dun dun dun dunnnn. dun dun dun dun dunnnn. dun dun dun dun dun duh dunnnn. dun dun dun dun dun. doo doo doo doo do do do. doo doo doo do doo. doo doo doo doo doo doo doo. dun dun dun dun dun. I defy you to watch that movie and not sing that in your head at some point in the race.

3. Prefontaine. Jordan Catalano playing a distance runner (OK it was Jared Leto...but come on...brother will be 78 playing the senior Bowling with the Stars circuit and I will think of him as Jordan). This is the single most awesome running movie of all time that has nothing but terrible acting and an embarrassing script. That being said. If I were asked what I would rather watch right now: Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now or Prefontaine...I would go with Pre every time. He runs a lot...he's good at it. It's awesome.

2. Remember the Titans. Denzel. (wait, read in movie trailer guy voice) In a world full of racial tension, two groups of players must come together for a common goal. With forced sentimentality and Disneyfied struggles and strife, we find that we are all the same. We all want to kick ass. With the ass kicking. Oh, Denzel's in it too. (end movie trailer guy's voice). Movie's awesome they have to work damn hard and they learn lessons about diversity. Love it.

1. Bend it Like Beckham. OK. So I know I mentioned Personal Best first which pushes my dirty-old-man meter to like 7.5. already, so a movie about attractive teenage women soccer players being my single favorite training sequence movie of all times probably makes me the guy you hope doesn't sit next you you on the bus. But I am admitting this to all 15 of you who read this. This is the movie that made me start running. She of the Stolen Bike and I saw this movie in the theatre in April of 2002. The next day I started running. After having finished four marathons and training for my fifth I think the inspirational qualities of this film could not be overstated. God bless you Keira Knightely.

Other movies worth noting for specious reasons. Marathon Man with Hoffman and Olivier...not about running but the Holocaust. Well, I know that now. Logan's Run, not about running...and pretty crap. Ran by Akira Kurosawa...actually a Japanese retelling of King Lear...very few instances of body glide or water stops. 300 - I really want computer generated abs...but hell...who needs a six-pack when I have a keg. Spider-Man - Peter figuring out his powers is cool...but he is a superhero who has probably not thought of the phrase "florp chafing." And last but not least ,the Joss Whedon oeuvre because its awesome.

So thus concludes my list of training awesomeness. Any time any of you want to watch any of these movies let me know...but make sure to bring workout clothes because I am powerless against their jazzercizing influence.

Thanks She of the Stolen Bike. It's been fun.

Signing off
Husband

Drinking local

2007-11-09T12:31:00.000-10:00

I thought I was so clever when I realized that out of all the things you can't get locally, you can get one very important thing: vodka.

My celebratory jig was quashed when I remembered that vodka has two best buddies: tonic and limes. Decidedly not local.

Sigh.

Coffee, fixed

2007-11-08T05:34:00.000-10:00

I'm sometimes late to the environmental game. While everyone else is warming up and getting ready to take the field, I'm still tying my shoes and fiddling with my glove.

I was convinced that part of the coffee experience was the paper cup. Its smooth clean white paper sliding against your thumb. The crisp logos, and even better, pretty holiday designs. I was so sure that I never even tried bringing my own stainless steel travel mug... until I was on my way to a camping trip a few weeks ago and realized that I already had my mug with me.

Shock: Coffee tastes better and stays hot longer in a travel mug.

If that weren't enough, today I noticed that local coffee shop charges me the small price, even though the mug holds at least a medium.

I'll be damned.

I'll give it back

2007-11-07T12:14:00.001-10:00

Dear Daylight Savings Time,
Why do you bring so much joy on Sunday only to kick our asses the rest of the week? You freely give us that extra hour, then make us pay, pay, PAY!
With sorrow,
Tacohead

Up to her earrings in murky territory

2007-11-06T11:37:00.002-10:00

I went to a women's conference today. There were a lot of tremendous things about it... but I couldn't decide what to think about the resource fair that took place right before lunch. It was one of those things with the booths and the drawings and free samples. I'm sure they let pretty much anyone who wants to pay to exhibit do so, but in between all the booths that seemed right (MBA programs, women's bookstores, health insurance), there were all these booths that seemed murky (spas, high-end purses) and the booths that seemed downright wrong (Mary Kay makeup, gimmicky soap).

Why is a spa OK but makeup not? Would it have been different if it were a high-end, mineral-based makeup? What about it being Mary Kay--is it a company that empowers women or exploits them in a sketchy pyramid scheme?
And am I being naive? Are makeup and purses really part of the businesswoman's attire, and therefore, no different than having a tie booth at a men's expo?

More Pillow Book

2007-11-05T03:24:00.000-10:00

A few more lists from Sei Shonagon*:

64. Surprising and Distressing Things
While one is cleaning a decorative comb, something catches in the teeth and the comb breaks.
A carriage overturns. One would have imagined that such a solid, bulky object would remain forever on its wheels. It all seems like a dream--astonishing and senseless.
A child or grown-up blurts out something that is bound to make people uncomfortable.
All night long one has been waiting for a man who one thought was sure to arrive. At dawn, just when one has forgotten about him for a moment and dozed off, a crow caws loudly. One wakes up with a start and sees that it is daytime--most astonishing.

148. Pleasing Things
Finding a large number of tales that one has not read before. Or acquiring a second volume of a tale whose first volume one has enjoyed. But often it is a disappointment.
Someone has torn up a letter and thrown it away. Picking up the pieces, one finds that many of them can be fitted together.
A person of quality is holding forth about something in the past or about a recent event that is being widely discussed. Several people are gathered around him, but it is oneself that he keeps looking at as he talks.
I am most pleased when I hear someone I love being praised or being mentioned approvingly by an important person.
When one is competing in an object match (it does not matter what kind) how can one help being pleased at winning?

And another from me:

Things that make you feel virtuous
Having broken shoes repaired
Making and then drinking tea
Using an off-misused word correctly
Crossing something off a list
Throwing/recycling away empty shampoo bottles

*Ivan Morris translation