ask yourself: how did i get here

happy birthday, papa 1-t! happy snomgasm, dc!

happy birthday do the best dad in all the land!

and happy snowmageddon, dc! play hard this weekend and eat lots of soup!

no, i will not sign your petition

i don’t mean to start a hot debate here about pro-choice v. pro-life, and i have been paying ZERO attention to the superbowl ad thing, bc i don’t think it should be given so much attention, but i just got a mass email saying:

Sign the petition to get CBS to pull the anti-choice Superbowl ad - http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/937/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2090

now, i’m pro-choice. i firmly believe that a woman should be able to do with her body (until a baby can reasonably survive on it’s own without her) what she chooses, regardless of what my own personal decision might be. i’m not here to entertain any arguments about when the fetus is something other than a fetus.

i’m here to ask, isn’t it the right of pro-lifers to buy air space and exercise their freedom of free speech? just because i don’t believe them to be right doesn’t mean they are without rights. just as i would expect pro-choicers to be given the same rights to buy air space and to create a media blitz and fight for their case.

i do think it’s pretty lame of the network to sell space to a controversial ad if it said it wasn’t going to do that, but whatever, they are a business, right? in it to make money? okaythen.

this was the view out my window when i finally picked the sleep outa my eyes this morning.  i TOTALLY slept in and it felt great. there is just something so cozy about going to sleep with giant fluffy snow flakes floating down and waking up to snow covered trees.  this view right here, is exactly what sold me on my apartment. trees. beautiful trees full of green leaves and flowers in the summer, changing colors in the fall, this awesomeness in the winter and then coming back to life in the spring.

snowy dc adventures

…are so much fun!

roosk an i enjoyed the snowy dc wonderland on our long run today.  snow is fun, no way around that. it was fluffy and made things interesting. the city was deserted at least compared to a typical saturday. roosk planned a fun route around the monuments and around the white house so we got to be nerdy little tourists.

after a quickly going over clothing options with roosk over the phone, i bundled up (can i just say i think cycling shirts are awesome and shouldn’t be exclusive to cycling…the pockets were freaking amazing today and i’m not ashamed to admit it) and headed out the door. it was clear right away that i wanted shades for eye protection from the falling snow so after i met up with roosk about half mile in, we headed back to her place to get some. while we were there we ran into a darrensicle.

d was returning from his EIGHTEEN mile jaunt as we were headed back out. so, while we were out for eek! 8, he was recovering from eek! 18! and his eyes were almost frozen shut.

off we went. first photo op was the capitol. its in the background, i promise. it was snowing so a bit hard to see. we stopped a tourist to snap our photo.

and after he took our pic, he had his buddy take one of all three of us. so typical. and hilarious.

the mall was a good place to run becuase the paths are gravel so traction was awesome. there were other runners out there too. we thought that was annoying bc it made us feel less hard core. but, i’ve decided we were still pretty hard core.

we were headed up 17th which is right by the west wing exit and were stopped (as was vehicular traffic) while the motorcade exited.

after some research, roosk has two theories of who was behind the tinted windows. it was either obama headed to the duke/georgetown game or the former president bush’s (both of them) leaving after a social visit with the obamas. timing was right for either. but we were just happy to have a forced breather…where the capitol police (specifically that guy on the left) laughed at our huffing and puffing. he obviously didn’t understand what being hard core is all about.

just around the corner was the front of the white house…looking pretty and white today! another tourist snapped this pic. sometimes those tourists can just be so darn helpful.

when i got home i was COVERED in snow and ice! i couldn’t resist a self portrait outside my building.  it was really a great time. i’m so glad we got out and i had a blast playing in the snow.

and then i stretched my hips and iced my knees and ankles (cause i’m an old lady)…which felt sort of weird considering i was just out in the snow for the past 1.5 hours and my eyebrows were covered in ice by the time i was done. but i always regret if i skip it.

eventually i couldn’t stand it anymore and ran into the hot shower of my dreams.

its 6 and the snow finally stopped. time for some pho with the squeeze and a little house party action to warm the soul.

happy saturday!

going with the flow

www.mindmapinspiration.com

when i get my head into something, make a plan, i get crazy about carrying it out exactly how i set out to (note: this does not apply to unfun activities like vacuuming or folding clean laundry). there are obvious limitations to this, but my mind just plain doesn’t wrap around that. if it doesn’t get what it wants, its pissed. i’m pissed. this is one of those personal growth things. i just need to get over it and go with the flow instead of feeling upset or guilty (yes, i was raised catholic…sort of) if things or LIFE doesn’t go as planned. i think this whole endurance festa i have thrown for myself in 2010 has the potential to turn me into a real freakin basket case. i’m extremely conscious of this and i plan to do my best to learn and grow. (pretty mature of me, if i do say so myself.) (also funny and unlikely,) (but who am i to laugh in the face of a learning experience?)

if you have seen my ‘training plan’ you have had a quick glimpse into my compulsiveness. i have had to force myself not to fill out the calendar past march, but i’m not sure i can hold back much longer. if i make it to the middle of february, i’ll be happy.

but, things come up, experiences, people and life comes up. saturday i had a chance to grab a massage with the squeeze. (it was INCREDIBLE) afterwards i chose to ditch the workout and enjoy a nap, hot bath and my book instead. and while i loved giving myself over to relaxation, i confess that i couldn’t get the missed miles and swim out of my head. by the end of the day it was only taking up a tiny portion of my mind, but it was there. i need to let go. to go with the flow.

monday, i. could. not. motivate. i couldn’t even motivate to stretch. all i wanted was some homemade pasta sauce and ravioli with several pieces of fresh bread. and a glass of red. by the time i started at the glass of red, i had pretty much let go of the missed day.

yesterday, i had 5 miles with speed intervals. but roosk’s schedule was different this week and she was doing 5 too. so i ditched the counting to 60 over and over again (which is how i measure an interval…crazy technical, i know) and we had a great run and a chance to chat and catch up…which we needed. i don’t need the intervals. i do enjoy them, but when i set out this year, my goal was to get the miles in. and we did. and it was way more enjoyable than counting to 60 over and over again. there will be more intervals. thursday doesn’t have anything specific tied to the miles, tuesday did. SWITCH!

i’m TOTALLY goin with the flow, no? does it count that i am recording going with the flow? or is that just not going with the flow at all? okay, okay, but one step at a time here. its hard to just ‘turn off’ psychotically anal.

i hope to be able to continue to curb my crazy. to not get so caught up in what i compulsively plan to do because who gives a hoot if my plan is achieved down to every detail. i’m happy if it gets achieved at all. maybe one day i’ll allow this brilliance to carry over into my personal life…then again, maybe not.

what i’m learning, just a few short weeks into this ‘training’ (i don’t know why i keep using quotes because training is in fact what i’m doing), is that not only will this be a mental challenge to complete, but it will be a mental challenge to complete in a mentally HEALTHY way, you know, without going totally mental.

i’m always looking for ways to improve though, so i spose chipping away at the crazy is a good way to start.

www.philly2010.livestrong.org/annejuliet

sunday bready sunday

i’m getting back in the habit of baking bread on sundays.  i think i stopped doing it regularly when i moved into my new place with my tiny oven that is about 50 degrees off depending on the temperature i set.  a few weeks ago i decided to get the heck over it and work with the oven until we developed a happy bread baking relationship.  growing up with the sounds and smells of fresh bread baking constantly made a snob out of me. (okay, lots of things made a snob out of me.) and a delicious french baguette with a crunchy crust is a favorite indulgence.  (yes, i like sour dough too, mike, and i’ll get back to work on that soon…)  so began my journey to get the baguettes back in the rotation…

it’s one of the the most satisfying processes and tastes i can think of.  its basic, time consuming and so simple yet complex. the only ingredients are yeast (holy yummy smell), water, pinch each of sugar and salt and flour. and time. yet in the end, its flavorful and texture rich.  it’s a great escape.

and because its so important to me and lately, to my sanity and happiness, i figured i’d share my experience so yesterday i took a few photos throughout the process….at present, i use julia’s basic recipe. it’s a classic and i can see no reason to stray. it has been very good to me.

yeast is one of the most fabulous smells EVER. seriously, ever. when i start to get whiffs of it coming to life, i get so excited for what’s to come.  nerdy, but true.

tepid water (100-110 degrees) and yeast mixed with some food (sugar) wakes everything up.  if it doesn’t, time to go buy some new yeast.  when it doubles in size like that (above), you’re good to go.

when i started out, my dad told me i had to learn to make bread by hand first, then i could learn to depend on the cuisinart or stand mixer.  that was a long time ago though and i have long since earned my cuisinart (thanks, dad!).  in it, a few cups of flour and a pinch of salt.

after the yeast has been proofed (its alive!), add some cold water. turn on the cuisinart and slowly pour the liquid in.  this is the machine kneading and it goes until the dough forms into a ball and rotates about 10 times, adding drips of water or tbs of flour as needed.

then you let it rest for 5 min before turning it on again for 30 more spins.  after the machine kneading is done, it rests some more on the counter top.

baking bread requires patience.  something i normally don’t have much of, but in the kitchen, i do.  its my therapy.

after it rests for a few min, you begin the first hand kneading. this process just spreads the yeast around and jolts it awake. its also when you know if the dough is going to be any good or not. if not, you haven’t wasted too much time and can still start over.  this particular batch was pretty decent. it was smooth and not sticky unless i gave it a pinch.  i put it in a bowl for the first rising.

this is the dough after the first rising.  i give it a wake up with a very short and specific kneading, then put it back in the bowl and cover it for rising numero due where it will be bursting out of the bowl after a few hours.

the risings are a good time for me to get errands and workouts done. got my long run out of the way during the second rising yesterday and came home to the dough literally pushing the top off. awesome.

my oven is small and has room for three small baguettes. so i weigh the dough, and evenly divide it before forming the loaves.

i cover the two that are resting with a towel so they don’t form any skin.  it takes a few minutes of kneading to redistribute the good stuff (yeast!) as i’m forming loaves on my lightly floured surface.

three loaves ready for a third and final rising. i cover them with another towel and get to work negotiating with my oven to heat to the right temp and hopefully convince it to bake my bread all perfectly golden brown and such.

with my old standard size oven, i could fit enough whole stones in to cover the rack. usually 8-9.  this little guy, well this little guy is a whole other story altogether.  it fits four stones. four. that’s simply not enough. its unacceptable. so one day, i set to work cracking stones to make my baking surface big enough for my needs.  i needed four stones to break at the right spot to give me a piece that was about two thirds the size of a stone.  i only wasted 3 tiles!  and one of the wasted tiles actually turned out to give me the final small corner piece i needed to bring the other pieces all together.

you really should have seen me on the kitchen floor with a hammer and a skewer.

i keep them in the pictured tray on top of my fridge when i’m not using them.

its not pretty, but it does the trick!

the tray is for steam. right when i put the unbaked loaves in, i squeeze a turkey baster full of water into the tray and quickly close the oven door. it produces steam that helps give the loaves the beautiful, crispy crust on the outside.  sometimes you can just use the bottom of the oven, but it puts the fire right out in mine. with a bigger oven, you can steam it up a few minutes before putting your bread in but with my little guy, it just lets all the steam out, so i do it all at the same time.

and of course, my trusty thermometer.  it takes awhile to get that bad boy up to 450 and i have to set my oven to over 500 degrees. i do this early on in the last rising in case i need to make temperature adjustments, which i usually do.  but, by the time the loaves are ready, usually ole bessy is too.

the goal is to have pinched the dough enough that they don’t tear apart like that during rising, but sometimes it doesn’t work out so well.  not the end of the world though.

after carefully rolling the loaves onto the peel, i make slits int he dough to allow for expansion in the oven. then i slide them in and wait for my nose to start smiling.

after about 20 minutes, i turn the oven down slightly and give it another 10 or so.

then i take its temp to ensure its done inside before taking them all out to cool.

have you ever heard bread cool? it crackles so loud! and smells so good. i can hear it cooling in the kitchen from my living room.  then my mouth starts watering.

eventually i break off about a third of a loaf into small pieces, butter it and over indulge.

ohmygoodness its so good.  and so satisfying. everyone should do this. it saves me so much in therapy.

dobcutts 2009

drinking other book clubs under the table since 2009

its our (my girlfriends and i) book club.  clearly the focus is on expanding our literary horizons.

it great. some of my favorite folks. each month someone picks a book, hosts then pick the next months host.  no theme, though the first three months certainly had a new york male thing going on. we shoot for paperbacks. we have a master list that we keep with book suggestions to pick from.  i like it because i end up reading books i wouldn’t necessarily pick out myself.  a little expansion of my horizons if you will.  and i’m sure you will.

everyone that can meets the 3rd thursday of the month.  tonight is book club night. i won’t talk about tonight’s book today because we haven’t met yet, but i figured i could put the other three we have read so far. i know i’m always looking for book recs, maybe you are too! i’m not going to ‘review’ anything, you can google and find plenty of detailed opinions out there. but i’ll let you know if i’d recommend it or not!  plus i like just learning about a book i may have never heard of…so i spose that’s what this is. not sounding very exciting is it? oh well…

i have zero idea what to expect, but ended up LOVING this book.  its a memoir, which i always sort of love because its something that actually happened. its like reading history, but with a story behind it. i really love books from the male perspective as well because, as a woman, i think so incredibly differently. i actually wish there was a dude present to discuss this one with us.  plus i love bars. and cigerettes. and relationships. and i always wanted a place to go drink beer…where everyone knew my name…

i’d definitely recommend this one.

i admit i wanted to read this one, so i was happy it was chosen. i read one other book by him and was curious to get at this one. but, had i not had to read it, i’m not sure i would have finished it. it was good, don’t get me wrong, and in the end i think i even liked it, but i struggled getting into this one for long stretches of time. and for me, i really like throwing myself into a book and only reemerging to pee (and even then i usually take it with me) or refill my wine glass.  its a private eye type story and the main character has tourette’s (i’m not giving anything away), which was a great perspective, but i found it sort of annoying to read. hence the short spurts.

i would recommend it if you like jonathan lethem, but i’d say read another of his books first.  might i suggest the fortress of solitude?

as someone who does not eat fancy often, but who loves food and finds the whole foodie world completely mesmerizing, i loved this book.  another memoir. i liked frank a lot.  he’s a pretty well known guy when you look into his career, but you really felt like he was just a dude. he struggled with eating disorders, but had/has a major passion for food.  his struggle is sad, but the man who comes out of it is amazing.  and his career has been so fascinating, especially his years as the new york times restaurant critic.  i don’t know how he did it, but i loved reading about his adventures.  oh, and i think i also gained 5 pounds reading it because on more than one occasion i found myself stirring a pot of uber fatty and delicious pasta sauce with one hand while reading with the other. and its a quick read.

two high fives from this book club member.

dimpliage is down

i have to admit, i felt like major goof for even posting a link to raise money last wednesday given the events in haiti.  so i took a step back. the plan was to really start to push the fundraising efforts in january, but i’m not doing that - there are obviously more important things going on at the moment.

but i will tell you that i’m enjoying learning what my body is capable of. most recently i learned it is possible to de-dimple your booty.  that’s right, run the dimples right out of your booty. some of you have already heard or read my excitement on this one, but(t) it’s real excitement, i assure you.

last night after my run i stole a glimpse of my booty in the mirror on the way to the shower.

let’s not pretend that we don’t all do this from time to time, am i right?  …hello?

okay, fine, i’ll be the only honest one here. and even if i am alone in this, i’m thrilled to report that my ass, if nothing else, is definitely benefiting from training for this half.  dimpliage is definitely down (wow, i can’t believe i’m going here) and i’m pretty sure my ass is on its way to looking pretty darn sassy. and it’s only been a few weeks - i can’t wait to see how it looks in march!  if you ever find yourself running consistently and you want to secretly check yourself out in the mirror (nobody will know) (it is highly encouraged), you might even find that you like what you find back there!

or don’t find, as the case may be.