I've Developed Decorating ADD

As in, every time I think about going to write something I get distracted by something for the new place. Seriously, I have to stop. Right after I get the images printed and framed for that wall...

The good news is, my self control is making a comeback and my compulsion to decorate should be satiated by breaking out the holiday decor.

That and I really do need to tackle those last boxes in the guest bedroom and the new yellow curtains make me happy enough to just forget about the long list of other things I was going to do.

Oh and the new couch was totally worth it. It seats a small team with ease and I'm pretty happy with the DVF pillows I found too. As you can imagine, Mason is not allowed on the first floor when we're gone. Proper pics soon. I just have to compulsively clean first, now that the floor isn't covered in cardboard boxes. (See, every time I pretend my inner Martha is under control, she makes a come back.)

Home Sweet Repair

Home. Six weeks with a proper roof over our heads and I have developed a specific sigh for when I think of what a friend said to me after we closed. "Welcome to home ownership where every week is a chance for something new to break."

Oy to the vey.

Day 1: Roof leaks causing damage to master bedroom ceiling. (ah but it's a condo, so we don't own the roof, but we have to deal with the red tape of repairs.)

Day 2: Microwave begins strange perpetual buzzing. Pay for repairman to tell us motherboard is fried, but we can still cook with it if the buzzing doesn't drive us crazy. Will be cheaper to buy a new one than repair.

Day 4: Wood floor boards begin to pop up near balcony. 

Day 7: Dog breaks mirror on door.

Day 10: Dog crushes first door handle.

Day 11: Dog pulls eye hooks out of door from opposite side.

Day 15: Dog begins destruction of door and frame.

Day 20: Switch starter for gas fireplace stops working. 

Day 27: Water damage appears on first floor new floors.

Day 25: Dog crushes second door handle.

Day 33: Leave for Paris.

Day 40: Discover repairs not completed while gone. Summon contractors who begin at least phase one of repairs. At least 2-3 more weeks before other work done. Told 9 foot wall of glass doors and windows will need to be replaced in the next 1-2 years for sure.

Thank God for Paris. Weim anyone?

Home

The ache in my feet and shoulders verify what the piles of paper and boxes strewn about could also tell you... we moved.

Let's not discuss the guest bedroom, but it seems strongly possible (insert jinx here) that we may actually get through the bulk of the unpacking by the end of next weekend.

What I relished this weekend was waking up Saturday morning and walking down to Dupont to grab breakfast in the early hours before the city is really awake, just morning delivery guys and locals bustling about. My love affair with this city continues and after arriving here in August 1997 I can finally say we're home.

Living in a Cardboard Paradise

The list of things I learned from buying our first place is growing by the day. Not quite proportionate to the number of cardboard boxes in my house right now, but oy veh. Things keeping me afloat as I fill my time with managing contractors, other vendors, changing plans, etc. are I'm totally indebted to our friends who hooked us up with boxes and packing material. You know who you are and I am very grateful the "booze for boxes program" was a success and you can all certainly call in babysitting, random chore assistance, or dinner on demand just about anytime you want. I also keep trying to imagine the luxury of just walking down to Dupont to get coffee, snack, or whatever I want because it's walkable. yippee. And two thumbs up to DH for putting up with my chicken little the sky is falling mentality of late.

The move is three days away and we will be ready and Goodwill will be a substantially more stocked. I can say with confidence that the closet purging(s) of 2010 that coincided with DH's trips have helped with the packing tremendously. Seriously, do not neglect a good all closets yearly clean out. Even though I will still have made three additional trip to donate items before we move, it's not nearly the master disaster it could be.

Also, I'm realizing there's a whole lot of stuff we have that we only use once in a blue moon. Particularly in the kitchen serving and/or preparation department. I either need to start making more homemade pasta or let other folks borrow it to make their own because the beautiful little Italian hand crank machine it wasting away in a cabinet (but I refuse to part with it). So if you want to make your own ravioli, just let me know and we can work out a pasta maker lease program (will accept payment in fresh pasta).

I've developed all kinds of thoughts on negotiating with vendors, specifically contractors, but I'll save that for another day. Instead I'm going to continue packing the kitchen and wondering if I really do need that many serving bowls.

Amazing Women

Perhaps the most tangible part of social networking for me is the wide range of friends and ideas I'm able to reconnect with or discover at my fingertips. I wanted to share a few of amazing things some of these women are doing.

Bee-utiful

Maybe it was the "Save the Honeybees" campaign on the side of a häagen-daz container or some random news bit, but when I saw that my friend Tiffany had started keeping her own honey bees, I thought how cool. I've enjoyed reading about her updates and it's gotten me to pay attention to the apiary movement popping up at work and following Vanishing Bees. 

Run, Recycle, and Yum

Her enthusiasm has been contagious as long as I've known her, so I love that my friend Kelly's blog tackles everything from how to make a fabulous quilt to homemade granola; how to train for your first half marathon to composting. Her energy makes my day brighter every time I have a chance to hear what she's working on.

Brilliant and Raising Three Boys
What I love about catching up with my friend Sarah's life through her blog is I get the perfect balance of real life peppered with her brilliant rhetoric commentary (because she's a rock star PhD). It also reminds me that life is way more fun with laughter, chaos and the ones you love.

Doing Exactly What She Wants
Anytime I think about what exactly I want to do personally or professional, I think about my friend Jen who's living the dream on the West Coast. Exactly what she said she was going to do. She's looking at our 30s with a serious "take the world by storm, but let's do while having a glass of wine" mentality. Oh, and she's wicked smart about the interwebs. California Dreaming.

Ciao Bella
We never got to spend enough time together in KC, but I love hearing about Caroline's adventures in Northern Italy. Living abroad in Italy. Enough said.

There are so many other women who inspire me and I promise to post links to their online musing soon.

Smiling

I'm really sure what prompted it, but recently I've begun making a point of smiling at people I pass in the hall or on the street. Not a crazy, stalker lingering eye contact smile, but just a bright, brief hello smile. The response has been mixed. It's always pleasant to receive a smile back in the brief seconds you pass someone, but it's not over disconcerting when someone just ignores you. I'm thinking though it's better to put a little happy karma out there than not.

Getting It Down On Paper

The following is a jumble of thoughts that are not fully formed into a singular idea, but it is important to me to capture them in a state of flux and to share them to aid in the formation of a greater idea.
 
Gathered around a computer on Monday night with the women of my book club I realized there needs to be a shift. Sitting in a pew at Sixth & I Synagogue last night I realized that I could help source, not just support a new idea. Perhaps the catalysts seem disparate, but these two statements are now steeping in my brain:

-Only women can manage to be 50 percent of the world's population and still be a special interest group.

-Giving can be an intrinsic part of a for-profit business model.

The first was remarked by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, author of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana a book about an extraordinary woman who created a business in Afghanistan that employed dozens of women during the Taliban rule of the past decades. In discussing her work with her directly surrounded by a group of women I have known for more than a decade I was struck that we could be doing more here and abroad.

Why is it that women have allowed societal pressures to fit in, succeed and advance compromise how we treat each other. Why are we unable to support each other at work, at home, at large without first judging, competitively measuring and compromising our own ethos. For all the examples of women empowerment and support of women's initiatives we may read or even experience, we still limit our own capacity for fundamentally altering society by perpetuating the negative and limiting constructs of the past. We judge ourselves, each other and then blame society.

The second idea came from Blake Mycoskie speaking about his new book Start Something That Matters. The idea that he frames his work with TOMS not as a shoe company, but rather around the one for one idea came into focus for me as he was speaking. For-profit companies can perpetuate societal change, be the subject of cause marketing, and still meet their stakeholder obligations.

From where I sit on a daily basis, I see people view the world in starkly different ways. Those that believe you can connect purpose and profit and those that believe connecting those ideas compromises the profit.

I believe we have an obligation to change business constructs and I believe women can help drive this change from within.

Burger Burger

Vegetables are something I usually prepare to put on burgers, not in burgers. So this weekend when I prepared to host a cook out for a combination of omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans I had to create a different kind of menu.

I wanted to make sure that everyone could enjoy the menu. So our combined efforts includes lots of grilled veggies, gorgeous orzo salad, delicious veggies with hummus and tapenade and chips/salsa. 

I used my small chopper to process the
oats/pumpkins seeds, spice blend, carrots
and black beans.

 Besides the regular burgers, turkey burgers and hotdogs, I attempted my first purposely vegan recipe, black bean burgers. It seemed that most recipes call for a fairly sophisticated spice blend, a vegetable binder, and the beans smashed and whole.

This particular recipe had a bit of a Indian spice profile and the verdict from vegans and omnivores was that it's a keeper.

I found the process of making the burgers simple and intriguing since it's a careful balance of binding the ingredients and adding enough flavor. I'm not giving up meat anytime soon, but I will certainly be exploring more vegan-inspired recipes.

Vegan Bean Burger Recipe from Daily Garnish
Makes 6 burgers.

• 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup dry rolled oats
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

To Prepare:  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Next, add the oats and pepitas to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped (they will still be a little chunky).  Let it run for roughly 10 seconds.  Grate the carrots, and then add to your mixture in the food processor.  Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil.  Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together.

Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans.  Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium sized patties.  Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or into a baking pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.  If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.

Planning an Escape

http://pinterest.com/pin/96679785/

In one month we will officially be in possession of our new place. In two months we'll be leaving for Paris. Kinda feeling like the luckiest girl in the world right now. Just about the time we'll be completely tired of unpacking, we'll pack our bags to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in the city of lights. Giddy happy.

So with a week or so to explore and brisk November weather sure to keep us bundled, I'm looking for good suggestions about where to go and what to do in the city. We're hoping to hit the flea markets to look for a few things for the new place. Our apartment rental place gave us great tips on shipping large items back, so I'm prepared to hit the stores for items of all sizes.

And of course, I could spend years of my life looking at art, so big and small I'm on the hunt for the best shows and galleries to go see, since I can't spend the whole week in the Louvre.

What do you suggest?

Purge & Pack

Organized moves are an imperative for me. We've criss-crossed town and the country a few times to know that moving things you never really liked is not worth it. Our new motivation is also a desire to live a less cluttered life in the new place. We're not even close to ending up on an episode of hoarders, but we clearly have more stuff than we need.

So as we start to pack for our move this fall, everything is getting purged before it can be packed. The first victims during our Hurricane Irene weekend were the books. We've thinned our books every year and have at various points made substantial donations to the local library. However, our shelves always seem to still be laden. 

Said shelves are not making the move to the new place. Their slightly warped nature (courtesy of DH's law books-also not making the move) really makes them a prime candidate for purging. However, this will leave the books that did make the cut languishing in boxes until we resolve what to do with them. 

After the cut, we still have 11 boxes of books. Eleven. Seriously? That's post purge? This does not bode well. So a dilemma. Create a shrine to the books at the new place and take up precious square footage or slice again? 

What makes a book worth keeping? My first job was at a book store so I have some serious attachment to "real" books, but their sheer volume is running counter to our "less is more" plan. What to do?

Design Inspired

 As we delve into the fantasy land of how to decorate our first official place, I'm perusing a wide range of design blogs in search of inspiration. A few that I've come across that I really love at the moment include:

This photo grid with white frames may be very useful.

Design Sponge

Pure Style Home

House of Turquoise

Living It at Home

Sarah Richardson

Lovely Clusters

Material Girls

The Lettered Cottage

I'm definitely in search of other points of inspiration. 900+ sq. feet means we have to make every inch count. Other blog or site suggestions welcome.

It's a Mother @*&%ing Bake Off

Acquired haphazardly over weeks, bananas suddenly take over our freezer from time to time and demand to be made into banana bread. This evening as I reached for my trusted Betty Crocker recipe I thought perhaps the folks at Cook's Illustrated had a recipe worth trying. Sure enough, a taunting recipe appeared in my search called "The Ultimate Banana Bread." How could I not try this recipe? Intrigued that it required me to "juice the bananas" for extra banana taste I dove in.

Complete aside: every recipe I make from CI lately requires me to juice something that I would never conceive of juicing (see delicious Corn Chowder recipe) seriously, it has you juice the corn...

Cook's Illustrated Ultimate Banana Bread.

So, with more than enough frozen bananas to tackle both recipes, I began with the CI recipe and found it very simple to make. I did include the toasted walnuts. Sure it makes a few extra dirty dishes, but I figured why not. If it makes the "ultimate" bread it would be worth the toil.

My trusty BC recipe (see my tweaked version below), I made while the other baked and put it into three smaller loaves since I'd have to give some away. Two people can only eat so much banana bread in one week.

The result? The CI version cooked quickly in just 55 minutes. Using more than a cup less of flour than the BC recipe, the density of the CI batter eliminates one of the issues the BC recipe has with often not being finished in the center when the top of the loaf is already browned. The "shingled" banana pieces on top made it somewhat difficult to remove from the loaf pan, but are supposed to help with the loaf rising evenly. The BC recipe while it took 1 hour and 15 minutes to fully bake, the more dense loaf is more reminiscent of a loaf-style bread. In the end, we both agreed the BC recipe is still on top for us.  A first loss for CI and few less dishes to do next time the frozen bananas come calling.

Banana Bread (modified from the Betty Crocker New Cookbook version)

Betty Crocker Banana Bread.
The pans were slightly overfilled.

1 1/4 c sugar

1/2 c stick butter, softened

2 eggs

5 ripe mashed bananas

1/2 c skim milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c chopped nuts

Set oven to 350 degrees, make sure the upper rack is in the middle of the oven. Grease bottoms only of pan(s) using shortening or spray.

Mix sugar and butter, stir in eggs. Add bananas, milk, vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt. Fold in nuts

Pour into pans. Top with a quick blend of finely chopped walnuts, sugar (and brown sugar too if you have it) to create a strudel-like topping. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Check at 45 minutes depending on the heat of your oven. Cool on baking rack for at least 15 minutes before removing from loaf pan and allowing to cool further. 

Almost Home

Our new building. Only two units
inside and one is ours!

It's official. We have roots in the form of a mortgage. After arriving here 14 years ago, five apartments, and three states later we have a little corner to call our own. It will be fall before we move in, but it's ours and we're very excited.

To celebrate we're getting a new couch and vetting the rest of the apartment. We've got a lot that needs to go and certainly if it hasn't been unpacked in multiple moves, it's not coming with us.

So before the cardboard, bubble wrap and packing tape invade our current apartment (and before our first check is due) we're enjoying the idea of finally having a place to call our own.

New Summer Salad Favorite

Cooking through everything we purchased in one week ended up stretching into two week, but I am happy to say that we actually did it. No leftovers were thrown out. No limp celery was discovered at the bottom of the drawer. And this couscous salad recipe may be my new bomb-digity go to recipe for summer. It calls for making the veggies on the grill, but given our lack of ready access to a grill, I decided to roast them.

One note: This recipe makes a lot of salad. I mean enough to take to a picnic with 20 of your closest friends, so cutting it in half  or more would be a good way to go if you don't want it for every meal for five days. That being said, it is delicious cold and at room temp so it makes the perfect office lunch item.

I also doctored up a quick peach cobbler with very ripe peaches from the fridge. Yum.

Now I need to come up with recipes for the quinoa, jasmine rice, and navy beans in my cabinet. My orzo is going to be made into this (thanks to M for the idea!). Ideas welcome.

Underneath this Pile of Paper

We've read and reread all of the documents, emailed back and forth so many times I think even my gmail is tired, and texted with the various parties and vendors all to reach the same conclusion that in a few days we'll finally own something.

A tiny place to call our own that is metro accessible, has garage parking (gasp!), a little balcony, and requires no actual work to be able to inhabit it (beyond of course my our OCD tendencies to change things). Once the ink is dry more on our new little place.

However, what I have been thinking about is how not simple mortgage paperwork is for consumers. Seriously, Truth in Lending Act, there might be truth in there, but you did not make it easy to find.

Forget market euphoria driving people to make delusional decisions about how much house they can afford. Let's talk about how dense and complicated we've made the purchasing process.  I've lost count of the number of times we've stopped someone in the process and said "Can you explain that again?" "Why do these numbers not actually add up to this other number?" "What does that mean exactly at it relates to this other item?" "What are the ramifications of doing this vs. that?"

Given that people often just smile and nod when you explain something to them, even when they don't understand, I can only imagine how this paperwork tsunami washes over folks and leaves them gasping for air.

Of course you say, for important decisions like this they'll pay attention. Really? And while I'm not alleging that the banks can make consumers read the paperwork, the paperwork could be more legible.

It's more examining the process as a whole and considering people who are far more intimidated by this process, unsure what they can and can't ask, and who feel rushed. Why would we feel the need to rush people into something they have financial obligations on for the next 30 years? Surely with all of the fees we're now paying to process all of the paperwork the new Lending Act requires, someone could actually say, "hey, we should think about the consumer in this process and not just try to rush them through the paperwork."

We're indebted to our realtor for filing in gaps of knowledge along the way, but what about the people who have representation that isn't as knowledgeable and they don't even realize it. The fact that people are staking their financial futures (in part) on sometimes a leap of faith is disconcerting to me. I'm beginning to have a new appreciation for all of the stories of people saying they didn't understand what they were signing. I'm not willing to accept it as a blanket excuse for bad decisions, but it certainly points to a continuing need to figure out how to greater empower and educate consumers.

No Good Very Bad Waste

Sticky, icy, mysterious, stinky, and abandoned. All of these could be used to describe food in my fridge at one point or another. Visions of rigorous weekly refrigerator cleanings do not always manifest themselves. As a result, from time to time an unaccounted for container or more often abandoned veggies or fruit in a drawer are extracted and found to be less then edible.

This food waste is a regular red flag for budget keeping. If you spend the money to buy the food, why on earth would you keep wasting it by letting it rot. DH points this out constantly. No one ever goes through the produce section and picks out broccoli with the ambition of not steaming it. I don't stand their and handpick green beans only to extract them frosty from the fridge later, rendered tasteless by the days spent in the veggie drawer.

Yet, my very first world problem keeps rearing its ugly head. And this New York Times piece notes that it could equal $40 a week totally $2,275 a year of wasted food and cash.

As I blissfully wandered through the store this week, I was determined to not only stick to my shopping list, but to also not buy more than we can consume before it expires.

In theory, all of the produce sitting in my fridge at this moment, will be consumed this week. As in the next 7-10 days. No veggie or herb will be left behind.

In addition, my meal planning this week focused on using things I already have in my pantry. I've enacted a self-imposed dry carb purchasing ban for the moment. No more purchasing of dried pastas, grains, legumes, etc. until I've put a serious dent in what's already in my pantry. Why on earth do I keep amassing new types of rice when I have four already on a shelf at home. What are we stock piling for? An emergency 30 person dinner where we can only use what we already have in the house?

Hello Thai Chicken Skewers and the can of coconut milk you'll use up from my pantry and Toasted Israeli Couscous Salad with Grilled Summer Veggies that will clear out some couscous and stock.  And, waiting in the fridge already made for tonight's dinner is what promises to be a tasty Corn Chowder that used up some bacon and onions from the drawer.

Old Fashioned Thank You

Beautifully printed stationary is something I've always loved. I have a favorite box filled with bits and pieces I've picked up over the years that I sort through when sending out a note. From monogrammed stationary left over from our wedding thank you notes to packets of little hallmark cards, I can almost always find something that works.

What I've been noticing recently (and also realized as a result that I'm old) is a fairly large decrease in the art of written thank you notes and the use of proper stationary. How rude.

The decrease in appreciation for paper by many and it's decreasing use is directly linked of course to our rise of email and text. We fire off thank you notes after meetings on email to ensure we send a speedy reply. Too long is the regular first class mail these days.

So I call for an increase in the written note and while we're at it, a well constructed thank you note. The basic rules my mother taught me decades ago:

-Salutation
-First sentence. Thank you for [insert item].
-Second sentence. [Compliment the item and explain how you are going to use it].
-Third sentence. [Additional context about when or how you received it and why it's great].
-Fourth sentence. [Thank them again].
-Fifth sentence. [Wish them well].
-Signature

And please, teach the graduates in your life that you always send thank you notes for everything. From interviews to gift and everything in between.

Homemade Birthday

Strawberries are DH's all time favorite fruit. With an early summer birthday the ruby red berries are in peak form for his big day. Angel food cake and fresh strawberries are the classic birthday cake go to for him. Some version of shortcake also makes a regular appearance at birthday celebrations.

This year I went in search of something new. And this Cook's Illustrated Strawberry Cream Cake did not disappoint. DH declared it the best birthday cake ever. While it's a three-part effort, none of the steps are too complicated and while the final product looks a little more rustic than the model pic, the taste was divine.

I'm late in posting so I know peak strawberry picking season has past, but good market berries would be worth picking up to make this if you need a good summer show stopper dessert.

Cherry Delicious

Walking through the farmer's market last weekend signs called out "last sour cherries of the season." We've been enjoying sweet cherries from the market for weeks and I've watched other folks carry flats of sour cherries and wondered what the fuss was all about. But for some reason those "last chance" signs and the handy handwritten sign that said "about a quart and half needed for one pie" I walked home with just enough sour cherries in my bag to make my first sour cherry pie.

Research led to some very strong opinions and my go to source Cook's Illustrated strongly recommended using tapioca as a thickener. A quick survey of the pantry and a stronger desire to not run out to the store and I settled on this recipe from Bon Appetit on epicurious that used the old corn starch standard.

As an extra cheat, I also grabbed some Wegmans pie crust out of my freezer and went to town. Behold, my first cherry pie and lattice crust.

This came out way better than expected and I was also not that tortured by pitting all those cherries, thanks to this handy tip. So, my interest in pie making has been piqued. What should I make next?

Is This Thing on?

Let me get this out and then we can get on with it. My silence of late has largely been a result of suddenly feeling like the act of blogging was over exposing my private life to the world. Too much navel gazing about non-important topics and a strange totally irrational fear that someday I'll go to apply for a job and they'll pull up some blog entry that they found offensive and as a result can't hire me because I'd never be able to get a security clearance.  Right, that should be my big concern as a higher ed/arts person...all those top secret Matisse manuscripts I won't be able to review for exhibition prep...

Several kind friends have even said they read my tripe from time to time (you are very kind and know who you are. Thank you. I owe you a drink and this is why we are friends. You indulge me by reading this and then actually saying something nice. My ego thanks you.)
 Anyhow, I've realized that I started this whole endeavor to create greater accountability for myself in life balance; to experiment with this media directly to better understand its applications in my work; and finally to give me a chance to write something besides a planning document from time to time.

So I'm going to cautiously stumble my way back to the keyboard and try and do this with greater regularity (ha!) and also recognize that I've been so inspired by friends across the country lately that I need to take a moment and write about it.

For now I'll just say that as DC summer swells into full heat and humidity, we're trying to fill our days with more friends and laughter and enjoy the time we have together. And if you need a better excuse to enjoy summer, check out 3191's summer essentials they posted before taking their own summer break.

Morning Stretch

30 minutes before my alarm went off this morning I was awake. The dog licking my face may have helped that step. 30 minutes later I walked into my gym and set up my mat for a morning hatha yoga class that I've been saying I was going to go to for the past three years. It's included in the cost of my monthly membership. Yeah, that's right practically "free" yoga is offered four days a week, but I have managed to go a total of one time in three years at the gym and never in the morning. I have of course driven 15-30 minutes and paid $18 for a class, but the free one next door... well I guess it was just too convenient.

Well, I liked it and just might drag myself back onto my mat for Monday morning's class. Because wow, I am so not bendy. And any flexibility I had previously developed has evaporated.

I think I need a little lion's breath to get me through the rest of today. But let's be clear I am not yet prepared to make friends with morning.

I Took My Watch Off

It was an uneventful moment on Sunday afternoon, but blissfully my left wrist relinquished it's role of constant time keeper for four whole days. Wow you think, big deal. But let's be honest, it's less about the watch and more about the fact that I left my blackberry plugged in and charging for the same four days. I only checked it twice and even then only responded to one email chain. In my world that's epic (my new way over used word of the moment).

The beach trip provided the opportunity to unplug, there will be more on that later, but for now as I try to grasp for the feel of the sun and the sound of the waves from my very corporate and impersonal New England hotel room-- I'm staring at my watch well aware it goes back on tomorrow. For tonight though, it's sitting next to the cell phone charger.

Blech.

Silence has been brought to you by the letter I as in illness. Since late last Thursday I've been ruing the day/the person/the food that has gotten me sick (not sure which). All projects slated for the holiday weekend have not happened (save doing the laundry) as I have been practically comatose. Props to the dog for staying by my side, still slightly disappointed I couldn't teach him to run to the store for me. Sigh.

All those thoughts I had in my twenties about what I missed out on not ever living on my own without roommates of any sort... total b.s. Seriously. Having no one around to ask to run to get you something as simple as ice chips from the next room, let alone something from the store sucks. Call me dependent, whatever. There was nothing pleasant about my trip to the co-op for me or the cashier who looked at me like I might give her the bubonic plague as I attempted to secure broth and more applesauce.

Slowly regaining footing just in time for DH's pending return. Finally.

Dinner with the Whole Family

The upside of DH's constant travel as of late is being able to meet up with friends on short notice for a drink or dinner. It makes the days go more quickly and offers far better conversation (sorry pup). I've realized in meeting up with friends in the city and at their homes that I've gotten away from inviting folks over to our place.

As I pondered this, I realized it started out as not wanting to inconvenience friends with young kids. It was far easier for them for me to pop over to see them, sometimes with a full meal or just a bottle of wine in tow. Now as our friends kids are getting older, I'm realizing I might be rude and lazy in not inviting folks over.

Not wanting to have to obligate all of our friends into finding babysitters every time we invite them over, what's the best timing on having friends with kids over for dinner. Weekend? Lunch? Dinner? Menu? We love all our friends little ones, but without kids of our own we often miss out on the context clues of what easiest, best for our friends and their kids. Maybe they do want to come over sans kids. I have no idea.

So what's the best scenario, we want our friends to enjoy seeing us and vice versa, not cause more stress. So what do dinner parties look like with kids when hosted by non-kid friends?

Can't Type Eating

So it turns out my efforts to break up with McDonalds have be futile. And I can actually trace my weight gain to about the time my resistance started waning and then just flat out gave in. After eeking out my first 10 miler last year on the fumes of the previous year's training and coasting into summer on a runner's high, I flat out stopped. I mean just stopped.

While any individual with an ounce of common sense can wake up every morning and say simply: eat less, exercise more. Make healthy choices. Every time you eat you have a choice. Don't watch more TV, watch less by going out and doing something. I have ignored said knowledge by sitting still and feeding myself nonesuch.

Therefore I should not be surprised by the predicament I've eaten myself into. I take full responsibility for my expanding pants and inertia. Sure, I could give you a long list of environmental factors: stress at work, increased travel schedule by DH, breaking up with my trainer, and on and on. But the reality is, I have the time to make it happen and I'm not.

This morning my alarm was set to catch the 7am yoga class before work, my clothes were set out, but when the alarm went off, I rolled over and took over both sides of the bed since DH is traveling. Not exactly a calorie burning exercise.

I have 137 days until the Army 10 miler and I have to get my act together.

My über awesome, running her first half and full marathon this year, friend Kelly has recommend Jeff Galloway's training method and I'm looking at starting from the beginning with his 5K training podcast. I need to start a new routine. Create a new set of incentives so I stop going through the drive through and start going to the gym.

Summer Professional

Summer work clothes. It's the source of a daily dressing dilemma. Light enough to not melt on the way to work and running between buildings, but enough layers to survive air conditioned chilled buildings. Add to that not being the same size as last summer and I'm in a stuffed pickle.

I need to find the right pieces to get me through at least the first two months of summer that aren't too expensive and I can mix and match to have enough outfits to not literally wear the same thing everyday. The core pieces already in rotation are of course black pants, a winter white pant, and a gray pant. I'm hating every top I have in my closet. I have black sleeveless dress and a black/white print dress. Beyond that, a big black belt and a nude belt that I've been pairing endlessly.

I need color, I need easy, I need help.

S'mores

Um, made them tonight after grilling out. Awesomeness. What made them extra awesome were these ridiculous large marshmallows. Seriously, three times the size of a regular marshmallows. Run, do not walk to make s'mores with them.

Berry Welcome

Summer temps are seeping into the forecast so I decided to embrace the abundant berries at the store by making a simple straightforward crumble. Raspberries, blueberries and strawberries tossed together with a little flour/brown sugar and poured into a square pan. A quick crumble on top of flour/brown sugar/melted butter and into the oven at 350 for 35ish minutes until the berries just bubble. Eat.

It's a bit sweet. I might add oats to the crumble next time and maybe do blackberries instead of blueberries. All options I've seen in various recipes that make sense to me. Also, this would be awesome with cream, ice cream, etc. And I'm thinking a tiny sprinkle of fresh mint, thyme or sage when serving would be yum.

Apparently I Live in a Bubble

A recent conversation with a very, very close person in my life (from and living in Midwest for full disclosure) left me a little bruised. Definitively I was told that because I live "inside the beltway" I no longer understand what it means to be living in the Midwest or how people in the Midwest "are."

So all those times when I flinch during the campaign cycle when politicians say "he's a Washington Insider" which is code for an evil, disenfranchised, out-of-touch individual are now being applied to me. My zip code makes me a member of the "ruling class." Seriously, I'm not making this up.

Really? Wow, last time I checked I was still trying to figure out how to save up enough to buy house, cut my grocery and gas budget, cook better meals at home, and scrape together enough for a vacation if there's anything left over. How is that exactly out of touch with the rest of the country?

Furthermore, I was informed that people make a choice. You either do well or do good, but you can't do both.

Metaphorically staggering backwards, I recover enough to sputter, I'm sorry what part of working for a college and my spouse being an AID contractor scream doing well in your terms? Are we far more fortunate than many people really struggling to make the bills on a daily basis, absolutely. But have I sold out and started doing PR for people who club baby seals, melt the ice caps and want to build condos in Antarctica? Um, no.

I respectfully disagree on so many levels.

When the discussion devolves into you don't understand me because you live in Washington, I fear there's no conversation left to have... sigh.

Damn, I Became A Fiscally Responsible Adult

I fear my fiscal responsibility is spreading to every nanobite of my brain. We've been hunting for a new place and keep reaching the same conclusion that what we're looking for is still slightly out of reach. So instead of being reasonable, we plow forward and keep recalculating how far we're willing to stretch. Then reason kicks in and we tell ourselves, "no, don't be ridiculous" and retreat back to original savings goal. Five years ago, I might have been willing to stretch my budget and comfort level. Now,  fiscal security and responsible spending are these odd legitimate boundaries that I'm not willing to bypass. Wow. If I'm this much fun in my early thirties imagine how riveting we'll be in our forties and perhaps with kids. Ha. That will be awesome.

Tonight we drew a line and officially said no, we're waiting until we reach it. Responsibility makes me rootch. Oh yeah, I just broke out a Pennsylvania Dutch word. Yikes.

Translation Required

Having a spouse who travels regularly to far flung corners of the third world creates a unique balancing act in our relationship. We only have to manage for weeks at a time, not the years that military families often have to handle. But the time apart has certainly made me have a greater appreciation and admiration for the families that sacrifice their time together in service to the country.

We've learned overtime that we can manage the departure and even the time apart fairly well. Skype is a beautiful thing. When the Internet connection is spotty the Skype chat almost always works. Being flexible about the time of day we can chat can be challenging, but makes the trips easier. It's "re-entry" that is often the most challenging.

Coming off weeks of exhaustive work, sleep deprivation and long flights doesn't bring out the best in anyone. Merged with a fairly repetitive, domestic routine of work, walking the dog and cleaning isn't always pretty. I've learned that the three week barrier is noticeable. Another colleague's wife once characterized it as: week one you miss them, week two you work out a routine and by week three when they come back they are interrupting your routine. Sounds harsher than really intended, but the idea is generally correct.

The same patterns that we revert to as couples, can be maintained as individuals or radically altered when we are on our own. For most folks a few days a part might be a welcome occasional break. For most, regular departures is not ideal. I completely agree.

But when you know your life will include such a schedule, how do you evolve as a couple to make it as enjoyable and smooth as possible for both of you? The rewards of being with someone who truly loves their work is incredible. Truly living for the work, not just working to live.

Finding the right balance of get-a-ways, time at home, and respecting the transition time is important. How do you balance?

From Page to Table

As some Midwestern right of passage, my mother has long sent me magazine subscriptions. This past year, I finally asked if she could just send me Vanity Fair and the Economist instead. She kindly agreed, but as the subscriptions are running out on Midwest Living and Better Homes and Gardens, I do still read them.

This month I was pleasantly surprised that BHG actually had multiple recipes I wanted to make. So last night as we grilled out for the first time this season (yum BBQ chicken) I also made their new potato-cauliflower salad.

My affection for cauliflower, the often neglected or velveeta coated veggie, is life long snack companion. I'm always happy to see it in a recipe. I used croutons instead of the bread sticks, and french onion dip because I couldn't find the chive dip it called for, but all in all a good recipe that I would add a little tabasco kick or more pepper. Definitely making it into the summer rotation.

Leaving Money on the Table

After watching two episodes of Extreme Couponing I've been shamed into realizing I'm throwing money away at the grocery store. Let's not discuss the fact that I was watching this completely odd show in the first place. As I've mentioned, DH's travel allows a lot of free time for late night TV watching.

To be fair, I still don't quite understand why these individual families need 900 cans of rotel, hot sauce, and years of tooth brushes. I mean, even if the sleep medicine is free with the coupons, what are you going to do with 150 bottles of it? One family mentioned donating some items to a food bank (guessing tax write off), they all have these massive warehouse-style pantries in their houses. I digress.

On a weekly basis we purchase very few brand name products. There are very few coupons for fresh produce. I buy generic store brand a lot. So the end result has been not even looking for coupons, just store card sales. I'm realizing though with a little effort there are likely other savings to be had.

So I'm on a mission to inventory what products we use the most of and to figure out if there are coupons out there. The weekly circular doesn't really have brands we use that often. Any recommendations from other largely organic shoppers out there?

Beach Plan

You would think this is a post about exercising to get ready for the beach. You would be wrong. We're headed to the beach with the whole family in late June and we need to meal plan for the week to keep the trip on the cheap. So, I'm in search of the perfect meal suggestions. Breakfast at home, lunch on the beach and dinner at the house. Nothing particularly glamorous, just easy beach food. Suggestions welcome.

Breakfast Ideas

• Fresh fruit (whole and for smoothies)
• Cereal
• Granola w/ yogurt (and fruit, why not go parfait crazy)

Lunch & Snack Ideas

• Lots of cut veggies
• Welches fruit bites
• Sandwiches, but what type?
• Need more choices that can be consumed on the beach...

Dinner Ideas (largely for the grill)

• Balsamic marinade pork tenderloin with wilted spinach
• Burgers with grilled onions, blue cheese, spinach
• Cauliflower and potato salad
• Hotdogs (duh)
• BBQ Chicken
• Grilled veggies (zucchini, asparagus, peppers)

Babble With Little Substance

That title is truth in advertising.

Not that my blogging record for this month's Nablopomo was intact before blogger went down, but the two day forced hiatus didn't really help improve my track record. At any rate, climbing back on metaphorical blogging saddle...

Now appearing briefly back at home, DH. Yea! For a mere five days the continent has decided we can have him back here before he flies out again. Three trips so close together means interesting work for him, but lots of long hours and writing to be done. Not sure how much we'll see of him awake and not with his nose to the laptop. But here is better than not so we'll take it. And note the "we" in this little babble is me and the dog. When you spend weeks on end with just a canine companion you resort to referring to the pairing as "we," so pathetic.

The hunt continues for a proper house, but we keep striking out or getting out bid. So send good karma our way. I keep telling myself that we're saving more every month we don't find something so really there's no rush.

Operations recipe sort and picture books will be in full effect when DH takes off again so get excited.

Sorting Party

Sounds way more glamorous than "I spent my weekend going through papers and finding storage solutions for stuff." So my "sorting party" was a little like losing a bet. A few months back we created a new workspace in the loft for DH and quickly his paperwork began forming a moat around the area.

Compounding the paper lake was a separate sort we also completed of miscellaneous items that we had identified as needing or wanting to keep, but they had no proper home. DH had agreed to handle the paperwork, I had said when that was done I would deal with the rest.

My dislike for clutter finally made me cave. I spent several hours not only sorting through a hodge podge of college papers and portfolio materials, but also piles of DH's research. For the record the new fancy hotel workspace model the company has moved to where no one actually has an office is reeking havoc on our space. So delighted we can become the storage facility for papers that need to be kept for future projects, but can't be kept at the office because they eliminated all of the file cabinets. Brilliant.

So my Saturday/Sunday sort struck me as productive because I can see the floor again upstairs, but also made me wonder "how much of this do we really need?" There's that weird balance between not wanting to be a hoarder and also not wanting to get rid of literally every item the second you have no immediate use for it.

Are there reasonable standards for how much one should really have or hold on to? Holiday decorations are always a point of wonder for me. We currently have four boxes of Christmas decorations, one holds the tree, and the others are full of ornaments and various other decorations. It strikes me as too much, but I keep thinking that I'll use more of it. No?

Sure our china and crystal are still packed up and take up space, but that doesn't bother me. It's the seemingly random boxes of "memory" stuff that I fear could overwhelm us. We have at least three boxes of photos or mementos from the past 12 years and prior.  So do I take the time to make them all into books now? Minimize the space? How many childhood stuffed animals should we really hold onto?

I don't want to dispose for the sake of disposing, but I also don't want to be a warehouse for things of no use and no true sentimental value. How are you handling what to keep and what to not?

Verbal Insults

It's never okay. In the past four days I have been verbally harassed by two different men in public places. One was a teenager, the other in his mid-fifties. One was black, the other was white. Both were at major retail chains. Both incidents were initiated by the men. Both times there were numerous witnesses. Both times I found myself stunned, unable to muster the words that are usually so quick to my tongue.

The first was random and unexpected. Standing amidst the storage containers at Target three teenagers came rounding the corner playing a fast paced game of hide and go seek. Everyone looked, no one said anything. When one of the young men grabbed my cart and flung it at his friend. I looked and said, "Hey, that's enough that's my cart." The series of expletives that flew from his mouth at top volume were astounding. All directed at me. I looked at him stunned said "enough" and then simply turned away, not wanting to provoke the situation further. The boys moved on.

A few minutes later as I was maneuvering the containers into my cart  the same teenager came around the corner to my right and started hurtling additional insults directly at me regarding my weight, my gender, my existence. I looked up and saw his friends circling, watching from a far. He was looking for a reaction, largely out of a second bout of shock, I gave him none. I couldn't find my quick wit, I was suddenly rendered silent by a teenager showing off for his friends, a target for their amusement.

I look quickly for a manager, any employee and found none. I debated heading to the front of the store, reporting it. I did nothing. I quickly finished my shopping and left looking over my shoulder the whole time. I was angry at the situation. I was angry at my inability to respond.

Then tonight without notice as I stood waiting to check out at Petsmart from the vet clinic a man who was also waiting to check out pushed down the counter towards me all the while voicing his need to check out quickly. He gave me a once over and loudly said "You clearly have no where to be or rush off too. You're of no importance. I have a kid I'm late to pick up at karate and I need my dogs. You can wait."

I looked at him startled, my dog at my feet anxious to leave. "I'm sorry," I said shocked by his aggression and word choice. "I'm checking out, I've been here nearly an hour, it will only take a moment."

Raising his voice he replied, "No, you can wait. You had someone helping you and I need to go. I need to leave you WILL wait." The poor vet tech behind the counter was frozen, lacking a witty remark I turned to her and said to take care of him so the problem would go away.

He remarked again, "That's right ____ you wait." I stood there silenced, stunned. Again, my words failed me.

And now I'm angry. Angry that I lacked the words to retort? Yes. But far more angry that it was acceptable or even conceivable for these radically different individuals to behave in such a way. Both times my gender was a factor. Both times bystanders stood there and did nothing.

No one struck me. There was no blood spilled, but a serious offense was committed.Verbal abuse of any kind is unacceptable. How has it become acceptable in society, across ages, to treat women, or any individual for that matter in such an offensive manner?

Why is this type of bullying tolerated? I can remember grade school insults being hurled at me for my weight and my acne. I spent nearly an entire semester hiding under a slide during recess reading a book to avoid being targeted. But I found my voice, my confidence and never looked back.

Now in my thirties the same school yard bullying behavior was thrust on me again and again I found myself speechless. The one so often ready with a retort, left dumbfounded by a flurry of insults not worth my time.

This type of behavior cannot stand.

Pillow Carnage

After a dozen I stopped counting. The trouble is that the wrath against the pillows would come without warning. After months of what must have been an uneasy peace between the stuffed faction and the canine, it would start again. Sometimes a would be sacrifice was drug out to the living room, unharmed, but marked for death.

Other times it would be a polite pull off of the pillowcase, and corner bite to allow the stuffing to ooze out, but not render the pillow completely useless. Then the tactical strikes would begin. In a single sitting upwards of five pillows could be taken out. All rendered useless by a midsection tear or an across the top rip.

The sofa accent pillows never saw it coming. After years of not even acknowledging each other they were gone- left as carcasses to be cleaned up on the battlefield carpet. The replacements were gone within a month. Reclining watching TV now involves folding up blankets to create a headrest on the couch. Mainly out of fear that there must be a limit to how many pillows a person can really purchase on a rolling basis.

The morning routine involves stuffing the bed pillows in a closet and making sure it is firmly closed. The couch pillows used to get tossed up the loft stairs. All held hostage by the canine inhabitant.

But yesterday there was a sneak attack that went unnoticed. As I rounded the top of the stairs this morning with laundry in hand I glanced to my left and saw the tell tale signs of battle, fluff. Scattered across the papers waiting to be sorted by the lateral file, the final guest bedroom pillow had fallen. Quietly and without fanfare the ranks had been once again thinned.

Looks like it's time to go Target the replacements. It's getting hard and harder to find volunteers.

Ode to Tomato Soup

Or perhaps "A realization of my obsession with tomatoes in all forms." The summer tomato harvest isn't even in sight and I am already unconsciously peppering my cooking with a disproportionate amount of tomato goodness. Exhibit A: Cook's Illustrated Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. Yes, it's so good you capitalize every word. 

Note on Cooks Illustrated: It's a subscriber website, but they have a free 14-day trial, so if you aren't already a convert, scurry over there for this download and the one below.

Four days after that pizza, still eating it. Crust-still awesome. Sauce to cheese ratio-outstanding. A true leftovers champ. Inspired by this success and also because I meal planned around making it, I dove into Cook's Illustrated recipe #2 (Exhibit B) of the week, the creamy creamless tomato soup.

The headline: 45 minutes start to finish with time to make accompanying grilled cheese. Also, I continue my love affair with my stick blender. Wow that thing can blend a mean soup.

So back to the soup. Over the winter I put my crockpot to hard use making beef stew, chili, chicken noodle soup, etc. Now with the weather being a cluster as of late the crisp, rainy days have left me wanting a warm bowl of something.

Initial Soup Base

This quick tomato soup was the answer. There's nothing in this recipe you don't already have in your kitchen or could easily source at any grocery store. The only reason I'm not listing said recipe is I think CI is really strict about reproducing recipes. The kick in this recipe comes red chili pepper flakes, bread, brandy, the right onion/garlic ratio.

The full soup before boiling and blending.

I started to run it through a very fine mesh strainer to make it smoother, but it was taking forever and it was already pretty fine, so I just went with it as is and I'm not looking back. I'm already thinking about the next bowl. And the cream? Didn't miss it at all. It's a full bodied soup that when paired with a dairy ladden grilled cheese or salad is right on point.

Why have I generally skipped over tomato soups all of my life? I love tomatoes in every form. Well, I'll be making amends with this soup right through into caprese season. I mean summer.

Flash of Unity

Flash mobs. During Vietnam they called them gatherings, mass crowds, the anti-war movement, peace protests, on and on. There was a purpose, a focus, sometimes fractional, but largely focused towards a larger idea. Now we gather and leave.

I did not live through Vietnam. My "first war" was Gulf War I in sixth grade and I remember a friend's mom being deployed. I remember the CNN coverage that I later studied in college as the CNN effect. There were yellow ribbons on the trees and discussion of the creation of desert camouflage for the U.S. Military.

As I watched the gatherings on Sunday night at the White House, Time Square, and beyond at first I was awed. Wow, this massive and spontaneous outpouring of patriotism seemed momentous. Yet, I was torn. As I listened to the debate and discussion in the days that have followed my mixed emotions have expanded.

My daily NPR fix highlighted the fact that the college students that poured into the streets and onto campus quads were in middle school on September 11. Aware of the crisis, but largely unable to comprehend the larger geopolitical impact. Hearing student interviews,  people spoke of thinking of Osama Bin Laden as Lord Voldermort or the Boogie Man. Really? Really? Your parents put you to bed telling you scary stories about how a terrorist organization is going to get you?

How can we have thousands of students stream out into the streets in the middle of the night who have exhibited no large opinion on the "hunt" to date. No group reaction to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. No comment about whether or not this is or is not how the U.S. should be investing it's military resources.

So why the gathering? Because there is a yearning to be a part of something larger, something greater than themselves. To be a part of history. As long as it's done before the next "thing" comes up. Sustained engagement seems to be lacking. They're too busy. Class, socializing, exploring, interning, facebooking, repeat. We're all too busy. Too overwhelmed by the amount of information being shared or not shared. Able to click over to another channel rather than have the entire media consciousness be absorbed by a singular story. The fifteen minutes we allotted to this are up.

It has left me thinking hard about how do you harness that collective eagerness of a generation, a country so longing to be inspired. We inherently yearn for greatness. We want to be a part of something greater than ourselves. To leave the world better than we found it. Maybe this well intentioned outpouring can serve as spark for greater, authentic engagement. Not just something that lasts as long as your Capital Bikeshare Rental.

Beautiful People, Beautiful Things

Being around creative people inspires me. Being around creative people that are dear friends is thrilling. Seeing their work up close and how joyful the act of creating makes them is fantastic.So tonight when I got to see a great group of friends, old and new, and check out my talented friend Jeanne Griffin's new creative gig called Zest I was delighted. And now have a new gorgeous necklace for summer. Her new collaboration with a friend is a pop-up boutique. So on point for right now, which is why her taste is always impeccable and on trend.

Finding a creative outlet is so critical to keeping the creativity in my work fresh. It's been waning as of late, so I'm in search of something new. Painting course vs. graphic design... hmm. Seems like a more logic summer endeavor than say working on an unhealthy tan at the beach. Maybe a little canvas, literal or digital is exactly what I need.

Maybe I'll Try Something New

Fittingly my first attempt at NaBloPoMo is around the word maybe. Since as of late I've been a whole lot of "maybe I'll do that later," a month of focused on writing might actually be useful and hopefully a bit less whiny than the drivel of late. Tonight I dove back into solid home cooking again. Perhaps not the healthiest of choices, the Chicago Deep Dish from Cook's Illustrated, but my first attempt at pizza dough and I'm really happy with the basic sauce from the recipe. Now I'm patiently waiting for it to cool to see if the effort is tasty.

Meal planning for the week has a few new recipes in store. A creamy (creamless) tomato soup, WW smothered pork chops, and a whole lot of asparagus. So delicious. Maybe I'll actually avoid eating out this week and stay on budget/schedule.

Newton's First Law

Shaking off inertia is a psychological mind game that really does require a series of very small choices to be made in an effort to go from being completely at rest to a constant state of motion. Somehow in an effort to slow and enjoy life more I've managed to slow down so much, I'm missing out on the very things I am making time to enjoy. I've correlated being in a constant state of motion with doing too much and therefore rewarding myself with the privilege of doing less. Ha. What a fallacy.

I've managed to pull out running clothes and running shoes and set the alarm for 6:30. (I know that's not early for some of my friends, but do we need to discuss how much mornings and I do not get along?) I've also managed to hit the snooze button on two beautiful mornings for walking/running. I will not be discouraged, I can do this.

Note: I apologize for the more naval gazing turn of writing for the moment, I'm hoping by writing I start to be more accountable again.

In listening to the NPR piece about sitting too much at work, my sedentary routine was further amplified. Instead of wondering about why so many people are walking instead of working throughout the day, I should be applauding them for modeling a far more constructive approach to their health and workday.

I was surprisingly unable to even really delve into this New York Times piece on how sugar is poisoning us. My DH found it riveting and over 1.1 million people have viewed the video that highlighted the research. So I'm thinking about it and listening to the video as I type this entry.

What is not surprising when considering the state of inertia is that it effects every aspect of your life. Lack of interest in exercise has compromised my eating habits. By degrading my eating habits I've impacted our fiscal balance by eating out more and cooking at home less. Hello vicious cycle, I'm getting off this ride.

Lenten Loathing

The ironic nature of starting a blog to track your own efforts in mindful living and then avoiding said blog because you're on a mental hiatus from moving forward is obvious in the time between posts here.

Lent as a marker in time during spring often serves as an apt reboot for new years resolutions. In the past few years I've pep talked myself not into giving up things such as caffeine or chocolate, but rather adding something new to my routine like more gym time, yoga, swimming, etc. As a result, I hit my training goals in 2009 and then promptly road my healthy achievements right off a cliff.

The odd nature of falling off a life precipice is that you are often in total free fall for an extended period of time before you really sit up and say "wow, when did that happen?" And by that, you of course are asking why you suddenly find yourself nearly 15+ lbs. heavier than when you started training, completely divorced from your gym routine, without any yoga centering left, and the closet you've come to runner's high in months was breathing deeply while driving past someone else running on a gorgeous day.

As I rounded the corner into 2011, I knew I was in trouble. The fumes of training that had propelled me across the 2010 Broad Street 10 miler were long gone and I was committed to kicking the 2011 race with some serious training. Then I canceled my trainer because I wanted to save the money. I haven't seen the gym since.

My friends and I sporadically tried to get reinvigorated by going to yoga, fail. We signed up for an 8k in March to give us a midway training goal. A  friend ran the race wearing my bib because the number of times I've put on my running shoes in recent months? Zero. Nada. Not even close.

Number of excuses? Infinite. Number of legitimate life altering excuses? Zero.

So Lent was to mark a new beginning for me, a chance to refocus. With less than three days to go, I am no further ahead than I was at the beginning. I actually can't run the race next weekend because I literally couldn't finish in the allotted time and taking your body from zero to ten miles on a single morning is unwise and potentially damaging. So that free fall? I think I'm starting to see the bottom of the canyon.

I know all of the one day at time adages, one foot in front of the other, try not to focus on the big picture, just start with something small. So my something small is acknowledging that I've lost all accountability.

I'm going to start climbing out now, I need go dust off my running shoes.

Well Appointed

There's a quiet beauty in a well composed still life.Through 3191 Miles Apart, I peer each week into a seemingly effortless moment of two talented, creative individuals. For a moment I escape and think about a serene well-paced morning. The kind where the crisp air inspires warm, soft pajamas to be worn a little longer. Coffee scented steam seeps from the kitchen and fluffy pancakes beg to be made. Sweet syrup swirling with melted butter creating breakfast perfection on a plate. The sky is wide and bright, the view expansive and whole.

So I'm seeking to capture more of those moments. On film and in life. Well edited groupings of personal belongings does not need to be an endeavor left to professionals. Items with stories, tables carefully laid, cheerful yellow shoes. These are all edited pieces of expression. I haven't decided if or how to catalog the images I snap, but I am starting with a fresh look at my walls. Specifically what's hanging on them.

I love a good Target  wall piece as much as the next person. But, I'm starting to edit commercial art out of my life.  It's not a finite, never ever will I own something that's mass produced. Rather, I want to try to know the artists that created the pieces on my walls or even better create some of it myself. Purchased and hung because it was the right piece for the space and because I like the color, the image.

Local art. Student art. Etsy. All great places to find artists just waiting to share their talent. My one exception? Is do still love The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.

Made Up Like A Grown Up

After a month or so of the new makeup routine, I've concluded there are a few things I really love. Megan from Princess Street totally had it right on a quick out-the-door face.

Where has tinted moisturizer been for the last 15 years of my life? I've been using the porcelain Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer as my only foundation most days and it's fantastic. When I feel I need to be a bit more polished, I break out the MAC, but most days it's not needed.

The Makeup Forever 5 Camouflage Cream Palette No. 1 is magical. I was a little intimidated by this and the idea that this is my concealer. Yet, after a little trial and error, it's better than any stick concealer I've ever used.

The four-color MAC eye shadow palette is amazing and the MAC Viva Glam lipstick #6 is fab. I am totally in love. Finally, the creamy eye liner from MAC also outstanding.

Now I just need to be better about really washing my face before bed. No reason to age this face any faster.

Cold Meds Are Cramping My Style

A dense cold infused fog has settled into my head and is refusing to depart. It's untimely arrival during our weekend trip was not ideal, but lucky me, it waited to go all out until I was back at work. It's gotten so bad I've had people spontaneously offer me cold medicine. I think death warmed over is probably a generous description of my current look. Sorry co-workers.

Yet, I am encouraged to persevere as the signs of spring are multiplying daily and I work to shake off this cold like the February blahs. So I am endeavoring to reengage with writing, running, and yoga this month so that the Broad Street 10 miler doesn't run me over.

Anyone else dusting off their mindful endeavors as March begins? I know I'll be adding new running shoes to my mix this month (the Brooks I've been running in are not comfortable) and hoping they magically make me wicked fast. Hmm, that might be the speed button on the treadmill.

I've signed up with my trusty race buddies for the St. Patrick's Day 8k-- that's going to be painful. I'm also loving a new Yoga Basics class at DownDog on Wednesday nights at 7:45pm.

The biggest shift, and I know this will sound easy for some, I'm going to try and make the flip from evening gym person to morning gym person. This may be harder than the actual hour I need to spend running at said gym. Mornings and I do not talk. Suggestions for updates to my run mix are welcome.

Sometimes You Need a Vacation

For now that means squeezing three tiny get-away weekends into February. Silence on this blog brought to you by Philadelphia, Glastonbury, and Charlottesville.Writing will resume in March.

Status Update

After reading this article in the Washington Post I started to pay more attention to the life events and proclamations made back and forth between friends on Facebook. Individuals merely commenting on their daily state of being becomes in aggregate an accounting of a friend's pregnancy or continued search for employment.

Valentine's Day of course brought a spike in the professions of love and affection and I began to wonder about how a perceived instant audience of FB is altering our behavior to share personal details. Do we more readily share or express our ups and downs because the personal, yet impersonal nature of Facebook? Does the cattle call news need just make it easier to share big life news? Allowing us to include more people in our joy and sorrows, and therefore by extension actually bringing us closer together?

I'm thrilled when I see a friend announce they are expecting that I might otherwise never have heard about. And there's always a few go to friends for pithy comments and clever commentary on their life experiences. I've carved out time in my schedule to regularly check FB. Does this enhance my overall well being? Make me more connected to my fellow man? To a certain degree, yes. I am not one to advocate for the extraction of technology from our lives as a means of communication.

However, I certainly believe the line between public and private lives is more readily blurring. One of the more honest comments I've read in recent months about work life balance is that you can't separate the two. The balance is in the blending of them. By creating strict hierarchies of separation and punishing yourself when you fail to adhere, no one wins and more unnecessary is created. Balance yes, but full separation is highly unlikely. So how does this same logic potentially apply to blurring our public and private personas?
 
For my own consideration because I work in communications, interacting with new media channels in a closed a protected manner is largely against the very idea of exploring a mediums potential. If I tweeted and blogged to myself, I wouldn't gain greater understanding of information flow and user behavior. Yet, the risk is higher. I'm creating a permanent digital paper trail of my writing, my ideas, myself as an individual.

But fundamentally I return to the larger question of relationships and personal information sharing. Are we extracting a greater benefit out of now sharing more information about our feelings, our life changes? Are we creating a new set of expectations about relationship success and failure? Do you show your relationship status or not? Do you post personal pictures or not?

Inevitably age introduces a level of comfort or seamless integration of technology into how one expresses their thoughts and feelings about big events and relationships. So, isolating emerging users and fluent users (basically everyone under 27 or so) and focusing on the late 20s to 40s crowd, have we enhanced our lives or the quality of our relationships by documenting it on FB?

I would put forth a qualified yes. And yet, I find myself limiting my information on the site more and more. Deleting and removing images that seem extraneously archived there. And I wonder how the next ruminations of the machine will alter our behavior in 24, 36 months and beyond.

A Valentine from ee cummings

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i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)