Recharging the Battery...

This past weekend was...wonderful!! I spent a delicious and low-key Thanksgiving day with Hilary, Emma, and lots of other fun folks. A sunny hike in Briones on Thanksgiving morning turned into Operation Josie Rescue when Hil and I found a dog that had been separated from it's owner. It was really *really* tempting to take cute Josie home, but luckily (for her and for Cairo) she was reunited with her owner.


The rest of the weekend was spent in the OC laughing, eating, hiking, running, eating, and laughing with Ellen and Mike. Some champagne and cookbooks by Julia Childs and Thomas Keller made for a great Thanksgiving Round #2.


So here's the latest newness:

1. Eating at Kogi--the famous Korean taco stand in LA. UNbelievable. I think I consumed about 25,000 mg of sodium, but it was worth it. We are convinced that the magic ingredient in all Kogi dishes is crack.

2. Seeing John Oliver (of Daily Show fame) live. Funny, funny stuff

3. Hiking in the hils above Irvine.

4. Getting into my bind in yoga. That was a looong time coming. See picture:

5. Getting back in the pool. 3/4 of a mile felt like it took about 10 years.

6. Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant. Not quite sure why I waited 34 years to do that but it...was...awesome! NO DISHES!!

7. New promotion: Director of Operations for Taste of the Nation, San Francisco. This year's goal is to get at least 2000 attendees and net $200,000 for hunger-related charities in San Francisco. If you're interested in volunteering..or just coming to eat some amazing food in April, let me know!

Beans, beans, the magical fruit...

What's a girl with 1.25lbs of ground turkey breast to do? Make chili of course! Cheap, healthy, filling, and yummy.

I tried a new chili recipe, one that doesn't involve beans! This is a recipe that I found on http://www.thefoodee.com/ and adapted a bit based on what I had in the house. It's deeelish and I don't miss the beans one bit! Neither do my workout buddies...hee hee.

6 slices bacon (I had turkey bacon in the freezer so used that)

2 celery ribs

1 green pepper ( I had 2 red so used those)

1 red pepper

1 medium onion

3 14-oz cans diced tomatoes

1 15 oz can tomato sauce (I used tomato paste instead to thicken it up)

1.5 lbs ground beef, turkey, etc

4 cloves garlic (ummm, I used like 8)

3 Large carrots (I added this to the recipe)

1 zucchini (I added this to the recipe)

2 teas cumin

2 T chili powder

1 teas smoked paprika

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder (I didn't add this)

1 teas oregano

3/4 c beef broth (I had veggie broth)

The end result? Wicked yummy and enough for dinners and lunches for most of this week. Garnish with chopped green onions, FF Greek Yogurt or fresh tomatoes.

Thankful....plus one more goal

Tis the time of year. To slow down. To look around. And to reflect on all the many things for which we are grateful. In these waning hours of 2010, I'm working to make gratitude a daily practice--to think of three things for which I'm grateful each night before I go to sleep.

To be sure, the list is long. I've been blessed with so much love, happiness, opportunity and beauty. Specifically...today...I'm grateful for:

-A strong healthy body

-A family that I love to the ends of the earth

-A job that I adore, and that challenges me every day

-The chance to live in the most beautiful place on earth

-The most special, hilarious, remarkable friends

-A new love that is sweet, strong and makes me smile

-A Thanksgiving spent, in my PJs, with my oldest and dearest friends...and wine

-A really fun Saturday that included spinning (with Kelvin!!), cooking (see photo) and cocktails with girlfriends

PS: The biggest goal, from my earlier post, for 2011 that I FORGOT to mention!! A half Ironman. Bring it!

Can It!!

What's a girl to do on a rainy, rainy weekend before Thanksgiving. Go to the movies with friends? Check. Take a hike in the rain with a good buddy? Check. Make homemade jams and preserves to give as holiday gifts? Check baby!


This weekend I'll tackle my greatest culinary project yet---homemade gourmet jams! I've got all the essentials: a pressure canner (borrowed from the best boss on earth), lots of canning jars, lots of time (did I mention the rain?) and Car Talk to keep me laughing. I'm still finalizing the jam selections but so far I'm leaning towards:


Gingered Pear Preserves

AND

Black Cherry Espresso Jam

and probably one other tbd...

So don't be surprised if:

a. You hear about a crazy lady in Oakland accidentally blowing her roof off from incorrectly securing the pressure canner lid


b. I show up at aforementioned movie or hike covered in jam-goo


c. You get some homemade jam for a holiday gift. Ho ho ho.

Can someone stop by and check on me at some point Sunday to make sure I'm not buried alive under a pile of cookbooks and jelly jars? Thanks.

Update!

If you're ever wondering what to do with 500 lbs of fresh veggies, some of which are weird, here's the answer: homemade soup!

This takes no time--you can make it while drinking morning coffee and listening to the news:

-1 carton low-sodium veggie stock

-Chopped veggies

-Can of diced tomatoes

-Can of white beans

-Salt, pepper, dried herbs

-Looooove

Low carb, low fat and high in all things good. Just eat with a few slices of roast turkey for protein.

New Farm Box...new discoveries

Another week, another farm box! This week's box had some things in it that I've never cooked with before including kohlrabi and radishes. Other yummy treats included yams, broccoli rabe, lettuce, raddichio, pears and apples.

So last night's dinner was:

-Organic chicken with caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes

-Sauteed broccoli rabe with shallots, garlic and pancetta

YUM.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with these radishes. Anyone?

Double workouts

Winter...ugh. There's nothing worse than darkness when you get up...and darkness when you leave work. I feel the winter approaching and the darkness creeping in..losing a little more light each day. This is traditionally my hardest time of year, being the sun worshipper that I am.

So this year I've developed a plan to combat the winter blues AND work towards training more aggressively for spring runs/rides. The plan involves twice daily workouts.

I shall give you a moment to stop laughing. Because yes, it is ridiculous, but it's also, I hope, going to keep me from going stir crazy during the winter CA rains.

So my plan is to exercise before work in the morning, and then follow up with an evening workout after leaving the office. On the days when it's not raining, I'll run at lunch instead of getting up at dark: thirty.

Day 1 of this plan was today. A morning hike and evening spin class. My plan tomorrow is a morning trail run and an evening hike. My goal is to do this 4 days a week. The other two days I can either rest completely or do one workout only.

With holiday cookie season approaching, this seems like a good time to get a jump start on both the winter blues and the winter 5lb cookie gain.

But don't get me wrong, I don't intend to stop eating cookies. I'm not *that* crazy.

New Year

Well, if one's birthday is any indication of the type of year they can expect, I'm in for a wonderful 365 days. My day has been special in so many ways:

1. I'm in LA for a conference...for a job I love

2. Last night had a delicious dinner in Japantown with a wonderful old friend (I'm not calling YOU old, Ellen...just our friendship :)

3. A decadent chocolate cake shared with co-workers. Nom nom nom

4. Notes, calls and wishes from friends and family near and far---I feel SO loved and warm and smooshy inside.

5. Looking forward to a Saturday filled with spinning, swimming (to work off the cake :) and Ethiopian food with good friends

6. Sunday...a trip to the Farmer's Market and then whisking away to a cabin on the desolate Pt. Reyes National Seashore with special Seattle friends. On the menu: fresh pasta with veggies, fresh clams/shrimp and apple crumble. Better make sure to pack the wine opener!

I feel like the luckiest girl on Earth. I'm looking forward to a year full of hard work, hard play, big adventures, big love, and big giving back. Happy happy.

Farther, faster, higher, happier...

I've been spending some time reflecting on my fitness/athletic goals for the coming year. 2010 was a great year--I got in a half marathon, a 2-day endurance bike ride, and lots of weekends of hiking, snowshoeing and backpacking.

For me, exercise fills a lot of roles. It's a hobby for sure--something I love and try to do at least 5-6 days a week. It's a social outlet: Running with Zan, yoga with Hilary, hiking with Sara, cycling with Mary... But it's also a way for me to stay focused and forward-thinking. I find that for me, I need to set discrete goals (races, etc...) in order to structure my training and make sure that I'm pushing myself harder than I would otherwise.

My goals for 2010 were solid, but not aggressive: run mid-distances, log long miles on the bike, and generally feel fit enough to participate in any activity that comes my way.

For 2011, I want to set some more aggressive goals. I want to run longer, cycle faster, climb higher, and push harder. This will mean more deliberate, structured training, and certainly more cross-training (swimming) and weightlifting. I want to feel stronger, faster, lighter and most importantly, ENJOY the process. And so starting now, before the holiday cookies and egg nog, I am making commitments to events and challenges that will push me harder, farther, and differently than I've pushed myself before.

And at the end of the day, when I've crossed the finish line, or reached the summit, I will smile as I always do, knowing that the journey to get there was really what it was all about, and looking forward to the next adventure.

Because, after all, life is about the journey, and who we share it with along the way. I plan for 2011 to be a fun, challenging journey and hope to share it with many of you!

2011 Goals:

March: Oakland Half Marathon

April: Santa Cruz Half Marathon

June: Tahoe Rim Ride

July: Climb Mt. Whitney

Fall: Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with Megan

New recipe

for Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon cookies.

Sooooo. Goooood.

Not quite perfection, but close. I'm always working on perfecting a portfolio of recipes for the day when I eventually open my own bakery...maaaany years from now. But in the meantime, the tasting of the goods sure is fun.

A week's worth

It's been a whole week since I've posted here. How did that happen? Some days time seems to tick by...so slowly. But most days, especially lately, and especially this weekend, time flies by so fast that it makes me dizzy.

I had a great weekend. After an all-too-brief trip to central PA, my heart is full and warm and happy. And my pants don't fit quite as well as they did on Thursday, but it was totally worth it. So here's what's new:

--GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!
--First football game...ever! It. Was. Awesome
--First Yuengling beer in almost 10 years. I missed my old friend.
--New work project--a heart disease study that sounds pretty durn interesting
--First time visiting State College, PA. A cute and lively town that revolves around it's beloved football team. Which, by the way, totally kicked Northwestern's ASS on Saturday!
--A new favorite drink: Soy latte
--New favorite snack: Baked kale chips with sea salt and olive oil. Yuuuuumy.

I'm a lucky kid...there's no doubt about that. Lucky and grateful.

Buster Keaton kicks *@ss!!

I'm not sure how I got to age (almost) 34 without ever seeing a Buster Keaton film. The man is a genius! Seeing one of his short films was a high point of a weekend full of high points and new things, including:

1. Visiting Davies Symphony Hall
2. Watching "Jekyll and Hyde" with John Barrymore--the creepiest, darkest, most awesome silent film I've ever seen. All of Barrymore's transformations from Jekyll to Hyde were done with no special effects--just pure changes in his facial expressions and some makeup. Simply incredible
3. Hearing Bach's Toccata on a real live organ...chilling
4. Halloween Charity Party....has anyone else noticed (and found disturbing) the fact that Halloween seems now to be an occasion for girls to put on slutty outfits and get drunk? Outfits spotted at this party (which was a benefit for Haiti relief) included: slutty cop, slutty nurse, slutty cat, slutty witch, slutty pirate...the list goes on.
5. Meeting baby Mason...so cute, so well-behaved
6. NOT EATING ANY HALLOWEEN CANDY!!!! I made it through the entire holiday without succumbing to one Snickers, Kit Kat or Milky Way. There's something sad and tragic about that.

I'm hoping that tomorrow, I can add "Watching the Giants win the World Series" to my list of new things!!! Fear the Beard!!!

Your mission...should you choose to accept it...

is to eat your body weight in leafy green veggies!

Our first CSA box has arrived and *wow* that's a lot of kale, spinach, rapini, chard, bok choy...

So it's time to get creative! The first meal was a success: chicken and sauteed rapini with red pepper flakes and garlic, and roasted beets.

With all these greens, it will be amazing if I don't turn into the Hulk...

Tonight I'm planning to bake the kale with a bit of sea salt and make kale chips. I know, how California of me.

I also made a jar of homemade applesauce last night. I took 2 apples, diced them up very finely, added a ton of cinnamon, a splash of vanilla, and a tsp of cranberry juice and cooked over low heat for about 30 minutes. The result was deeeeeeelicious.

Holy Delicious Tea, Batman!!

Wowza!! I have *officially* jumped on the Good Earth Tea bandwagon. I never tried it so never understood what the big deal was all about. Until today.

The tea (which you can get either caffeinated or caffeine-free) is a spicy herbal blend of cinnamon, chicory, lemongrass, peppermint and onandonandonandon...

It's seriously the most delicious tea I've ever had (next to PG Tips of course...right, Holly? :)

I'm on the road to addiction with this stuff, I can tell.....

PS: Ralph's name has been changed to something more appropriate to his curious nature. The best part is that his new name was suggested by my 91 year-old grandmother. How awesome is that?! So welcome....SPENSER!

Time for a new goal...

It's now been a month since the MS Waves to Wine ride. Hard to believe since I spent all summer getting ready for it and now it's almost a distant memory. But with the official arrival of Fall (which in Norcal is the first heavy rain of the season), it's time to start thinking about spring goals and a training plan for the winter.

So this was on my mind already today when I picked up my mail on the way in the house....and discovered EXACTLY what I will train for this spring: The Oakland Half Marathon! I had wanted to run it in 2010 but was, sadly, spending that week hiking and swimming in the AZ desert with my mom (insert really sad violin music here). So 2011 will be the year to run it! I'm excited. There will no doubt be other triathlons (Team Plushie has their eye on two coming up in the next few months) and bike events but this will be a good goal to train for! Especially since it's...umm...HILLY!!! Check out that elevation profile. Yikes.

I realize I didn't post yesterday, and there IS something else new to report. It's a biggie. Are you ready?

I have a chocolate bar in my house...and I have no desire to eat it.

Yes, you read that right. Ever since detoxing my body from sugar and carbohydrates over the past few weeks, sugar doesn't even appeal to me. What really appeals when I need a sweet treat is fruit. I've got bags of frozen berries in the freezer and snack on those when I need a little something sweet. But chocolate...doesn't do much for me right now. And that's not only new...it's DISTURBING.

Welcome Ralph!

Today's new thing is...drumroll please....a new KITTY! No, not mine. Lynn and David! Many of you may remember Desi AKA "Frank the Tank", pictured here:













Well, since Desi's much-too-soon departure in June, Lynn and David have been discussing getting another friend for their other portly kitty, Dion. Today they welcomed home a new furry friend---Ralph! Here he is:


Welcome Ralph!

Best afternoon break ever

I had the best little break this afternoon at work. I walked out to the orchard and picked a crisp little yellow apple from the tree and enjoyed the most delicious snack ever! This ranks right up there with other great mid-day breaks I've had at work, including feeding goats and axe-throwing with my boss. Yes, I have the best job ever.

New Recipe(s)

I'll be trying these tonight. I'll let you know how they turn out (i.e. if I end up calling for take-out at about 8pm):

Cider Chicken with Mushrooms (4 servings)
-1 lb boneless skinless chicken cut into cubes
-2 TBSP vegetable broth
-4 c muchrooms sliced
-1/2 c red bell pepper, diced
-1/2 c red onion, diced
-1/4 c apple cider vinegar
-1/8 c fresh parsley chopped

Cook chicken in broth over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add mushrooms, red bell pepper and vinegar cooking until soft. Garnish with parsley

Savory Spaghetti Squash (4 servings)
-1 spaghetti squash
-2 large garlic cloves, minced
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1-2 TBSP flaxseed oil

Cut squash in half, and scoop out the seeds. Place squash halves on nonstick baking sheet, cut side down. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. With a fork, separate the spaghetti pulp from the skin and place the pulp in a serving dish. Sprinkle on garlic, cinnamon, and oil and toss lightly.

BEWARE: Under-caffeinated woman on the loose

As part of my ongoing exploration into ways I can make myself miserable (see: 150 mile bike ride, no sugar or carbs posts) I've decided that while I love coffee, I consume entirely too much of it. On an average day I probably drink the equivalent of 2-3 cups of coffee. And while that's not completely appalling, it's more than I want to drink and, at my mini stature of 5'2, more than I should be drinking.

So today I only had one cup of coffee. It is now 1:03pm and I am ready to:
a) brew a giant pot of coffee and drink the whole thing
b) yell at someone...no, make that everyone
c) take 7 Advil to get rid of my pounding headache

We'll see how long this lasts...and how many friends and clients I alienate in the meantime. For now, I've got a conference call to discuss data and Excel spreadshees. I better put the phone on "mute".

Not the weekend I had planned...

But a good one nonetheless. Here's what the weekend was supposed to look like:

Saturday: Drive to Cowell Redwoods Park. Set up camp. Hike in park. Eat yummy camping food (carbs and chocolate).
Sunday: Hike. Drink coffee in Santa Cruz. Check out hot surfers. Drive home.

Here's what the weekend actually looked like:
Saturday: Spin class. Drive to Cowell Redwoods Park. Drive out of Cowell Redwoods Park. Drive to Santa Cruz. Hike along ocean. See sea lions, pelicans, people having sex on beach. Eat some camping food out of the back of the car alongside Hwy 1. Drive home. Watch movie.

The park where we planned to camp was...well, depressing. Few trees (funny, since the park has the name REDWOOD TREE in it), lots of people smoking, ATVs, beer (not a great combination)...just not at all what we were looking for. We would have been sleeping 10 feet away from the people in the next site (who were smoking) and would probably have been run over in a middle-of-the-night drunken ATV accident. So we opted to pack it in and head home. And it wasn't a bad decision--the weather Sunday was rainy and cold. Perfect for watching movies and swimming in the nice warm 81 degree YMCA pool.

Which brings me to my new things for the weekend (I eventually got there...)
-Swimming at the YMCA (not as traumatic as swimming at the Metrowest Framingham YMCA. Let's just say that Metrowest YMCA puts the "poo" in "pool"...)
-Hiking in a new park: Wilder State Ranch
-NOT drinking beer at Oktoberfest (we walked right by the beer garden without even a sip!)

Not the weekend I had planned, but a really, really relaxing one with lots and lots of laughing. Not. Shabby.

What I wanted for breakfast this morning...

was this:


What I had for breakfast this morning was this:

New yummy breakfast treat--high in protein, and tastes remarkabley like real sausage! Scrambled up with a few egg whites and topped with a bit of hot sauce this makes for a delish, filling breakfast.

It's no stack-o-buttery-pancakes though...

T-Rex arms no more!

Ok, first of all...last night's Brussles Sprouts? YUM!
So today's new thing is something I've actually been doing now for a whopping 2 weeks. Weightlifting. Are you done snickering? I currently have the upper body strength of a T-Rex. Meaning, useless limp tiny arms that do me no good. I'm hoping to soon get to kangaroo and eventually to monkey strength. Come to think of it, the monkey tail would be useful too...

So I've been working on lifting weights and doing pushups. The side effect of which is to make everyone in the gym laugh hysterically at my complete lack of strength. Once upon a time I did have good arm strength thanks to swimming and kickboxing. So I'm workin' my way back to those glory days and am looking forward to a time when I can again lift a 5-lb bag of sugar without breaking a sweat. Game on!

I heart bacon

Hey, here's a surprise--a posting about food. At this rate, I should just turn this into a recipe-sharing blog. But hey, sometimes I post things that aren't food-related. And by "sometimes" I mean "hardly ever".

I've got a giant bag-o-Brussles sprouts in my fridge. And while I love just roasting them with some garlic and olive oil, I'm in the mood to spice things up a bit. And because for the past month or so I've been having a passionate love affair with horseradish, this recipe just has to be made. And because I can never just make a recipe as it's written without modifying, I'm including my changes in parentheses to make this a little healthier. Seriously.. bacon, horseradish....you could put this sauce on old sneakers and make them taste amazing.

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 strips crisp-cooked bacon, finely chopped (I'm using turkey bacon)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream (I'm using nonfat Greek Yogurt instead)
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions
Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Put Brussels sprouts in the basket and steam until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.


Mix bacon, sour cream, horseradish, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the Brussels sprouts and toss to coat.

Follow immediately with copious amounts of chocolate.

New thing...actually following through with this blog!

I prefer to think of these last few (err, seven) months away from this blog as a sabbatical of sorts. I did not write a dissertation or travel to exotic lands for this sabbatical. Ok, it really wasn't like a sabbatical at all, but more like...what's the word...laziness. Yeah, that's it.

I have still been working on doing one new thing each day, to be sure. I just let the blogging get away from me. But no more! I promise you, dear readers (all three of you...hi Mom), that I will commit to blogging again through the end of this year. It's like any relationship. It takes work. And we broke up for a few months there, this little bloggy and I, but now we're back together and going strong.

So, I shall just pick up where I left off. Today's new thing is:

CSA Box! I'm so excited! I've been wanting one of these for...forever, actually. Zandra and I are sharing this box, which will arrive every week to her little princess castle (seriously, she lives in a tower) in the Mission on Tuesdays. This CSA box arrival will immediately be followed by lots of questions such as "what is this scary looking tubular thing?" and "why do these greens smell like feet?" and the inevitable "what are we supposed to do with 17 pounds of turnips?". I anticipate a winter full of stir-fry and veggie soup. And probably Gas-Ex. Yay, community supported agriculture!

Summer arrives in CA!!

I always appreciate living in the Bay area, but *especially* on 70 degree days in March when it's light until 7pm. It's just delicious. And speaking of delicious....of course this latest round of new things involves food. I know, shocking.

* Starbelly: A new SF restaurant. Chianti, pizza, pork shoulder, and beets with chevre. Not. Shabby.
* Tennis in Golden Gate Park. Followed by a walk through the notorious "Hippie Hill" complete with bongo drums, a digireedoo, and lots of dreadlocks and pit bulls.
* Back-to-Back Saturday morning spin classes. Thank God for Kelvin and his enthusiasm.
*New hike in Ohlone Wilderness. Spectacular scenery including red hawks and "Little Yosemite Valley".
* Peanut Butter Puffins cereal for breakfast. And dinner. Gluten-free and A-MAZING
* Meyer lemon tree for the backyard. Yumminess will ensue soon!

That's it for now! I've got a busy few weeks ahead--Seattle, conferences in San Jose and then off to Arizona for a few days of R&R (and hopefully sunshine).

A whole bunch of stuff

I'm baaaaaaaaack. I just can't seem to keep up with this blogging thing. I try, but it just seems like the days and weeks fly by lately. And yes, I know I sound like my parents. It's been a great and challenging few weeks all at the same time. There seems to be something in the universe right now that's making life challenging for lots of fantastic people. This has consumed a lot of my energy and attention and I'm hoping that things shift soon to bring some relief.

So I've had the opportunity to do the following new things!! You'll notice that lots of this involves snow. And eating.

1. New scone recipe....meh, not the best

2. Peeing in the snow under a full moon

3. Drinking wine from a box next to a roaring fire

4. Snowshoeing in a snowstorm

5. Finally stopping at Little Prague in Davis, CA after years of seeing the signs and thinking "I wonder how that place is." Answer: Awesome.

6. Getting a Blackberry!! That's right--I've joined 2006.

7. Snowball fight on the middle of a frozen lake

8. Eating a flaming chicken

9. Playing Scrabble by headlamp

Not shabby, huh?

Two days

It's been a nice, quiet, and reasonably productive few days. I've gotten lots of work done and finally feel caught up on rest. Although, don't get me wrong, I am still looking forward to vacation with Mom next month. But...enough about that. That's not what you came here for. Here's what you came here for:

-Trader Joe's chocolate. Deeee-licious. Now, part of that may be because I've not had any chocolate, salt, cheese or anything else remotely satisfying or enjoyable to eat in 2+ weeks. But let me tell you, even with my return to chocolate, this stuff was good.

-New scone recipes. (1) Strawberry Rosemary and (2) Blueberry with Lemon icing. I've done some good research and these look most promising. I will make them next week and let you know how they turn out.

See, I told you most things on this blog would revolve around food. :)

Three little words...

People have lots of opinions on these words. But I believe that you should tell your friends, family and loved ones that you love them. Often. We never know when we won't get a chance to say what we wished we would have. So I took the opportunity to let some of the amazing people in my life know how much I love them.

The Sounds of Science

Today's new thing was a huge winner: the newly renovated California Academy of Sciences museum in Golden Gate Park. What an awesome spot. Rainforest, living roof, eastern and western Pacific ecosystems, penguins...the list goes on. The exhibits are thoughtful, with attention to every detail. LCD screens illuminated next to tanks allow you to read about the animals, without bright lights that obscure and distress the animals. My favorite animal was the waxy monkey frog. Very cute.

Morning Run with Hilary and Not Sucking at Dice!

What a week! Busy busy and somehow I managed to find time to a) not kill anyone in a fit of sugar and fat-free aggression and b) squeeze some really fun things in. Here's what's new:

-Seeing Fiddler on the Roof with Harvey Fierstein. Apologies to David, Suzan and Dan for my poor selection of, what shall henceforth be known as, the John Wilkes Boothe seats. Last row...all the way in the corner at the back... The people on stage were so tiny--it was like watching a diorama. But after intermission we snuck down to some better seats and enjoyed the second half of the show watching life-sized people

-Not getting my a** handed to me in dice! Now usually I come in last. Dead last. My pitiful dice skills are no match for the talents of the Lafayette crowd. But last night...last night I came in third!! I was this close to winning $9! What a thrill

-Cupcakes from scratch. Not bad. If you don't mind little chunks of butter in your frosting. And let's face it, who does?

-Saturday morning run and Farmer's Market outing with Hilary. All I have to say is, I believe this could be the beginning of a beautiful new tradition. Great run, great post-run snacks (waffles, roast chicken, homemade breads, veggies) and a fantastic friend. Bliss.

Well, that's all for today. Later today I've got some tennis planned. That should be a hot mess. Ciao!

New Route to Work

and I didn't get lost! Sweeeeeet.

Smoothie with flax oil

Meh. Not the greatest. But it's supposed to help flush out toxins and cellulite so I can put up with it. I wonder if a little chocolate syrup would make it taste better?

Back to the blogosphere

Hello again! It's been a while since I've blogged...it's true. It's been a busy (but good) two weeks with lots of late nights working. But never fear dear readers (all 5 of you), I'm back and I've got some good stuff to report on. Check out THIS newness:
-After a bunch of almost-there batches, I think I've perfected my wheat bread recipe. Sweeeeet.
-Weird (but delicious) egg-shrimp pancake in Japantown
-Cross-country skiing (15K thankyouverymuch). This new activity also involved a major yard sale which, unfortunately, was not captured on video.
-Snowshoeing 8 miles
-Sandwiches in a hut overlooking Devil's Peak
-Getting trounced in Scrabble (ok, this is a joke...and decidedly NOT a new experience for me. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever won a game of scrabble. Doh)
-The Fat Flush diet. Goodbye chocolate, olive oil and cheese. Hello whey protein, cilantro and psyllium husks. Disclaimer: If I am cranky, moody, or otherwise unbearable to be around over the next 2 weeks, it's because I am eating really REALLY healthy food.

Tomorrow I'll resume blogging regularly. Try to contain your excitement. :)

New Travel Adventure/Goal

This one's a big one, folks. This is something I've been stewing over for a while. I've been contemplating where to go for my next big trip. It has, after all, been 18 months since my last big adventure in Nepal and I'm getting antsy to take another adventure trip. But where?

Then it came to me. Like a strong, clear beam of light. In a moment that was very quiet, very still, and very, very certain I knew.

Mt. Kilimanjaro.

It's been a dream for so long. But I never felt ready. Physically, mentally, financially. Until now. Next year is the year. I have, after all, climbed at and to that elevation (4600 meters) before. And survived....loved it, even.

And if I'm very very lucky, my special wonderful amazing adventure travel girlfriends will join me (you know who you are).

So...let the planning, research, and training begin. I cannot even sit still I'm so excited.

Weekend

I'm just back from an ever-so-relaxing and fun weekend with 2 lovely friends, Emily and Hilary. We had a fantastic girls ski weekend in Tahoe. The weekend was filled with fresh air, fresh powder, and a few new things, including:

-Sharing a hot tub with 6 Norwegian men
-Paying the Highway 80 dude $30 to put on our chains instead of spending 1 hour in the snow doing it ourselves (even though we TOTALLY could have)
-Summit lift at Sugarbowl
-Gondola ride to lodge
-Emily's breadcrumb chicken....nom nom
-Sipping microbrew beer in an outdoor heated tent...in January...at 9,000 feet

It's going to be a nice, busy week, and then I'm off to Tahoe again for more fun in the snow (cross-country skiing! snowshoeing! hot chocolate!) this weekend. Seriously, how lucky am I??

Pork Belly....surprisingly deeee-licious

I always see Anthony Bourdain and all the other hard-core foodies savoring pork belly on TV, but I'd never had the a) nerve b) interest c) cash flow to try it until now!
I went to, as promised, a new restaurant last night--Bellanico in Oakland (www.bellanico.net). It is a lovely, rustic, romantic little spot in the Glen Park neighborhood. I ordered a glass of wine and a salad and the fresh house-made pasta with hot peppers, bacon, roasted tomatoes and arugula. Yum, right? Right. My dining companion ordered a beer, the pork belly, and the risotto with ocean-y things and sausage. "Pork belly" I thought to myself. "Hmmm".

When the PB (that's short for pork belly, you see) arrived, I was offered a taste. And so in brave, bold, I'm-gonna-try-something-new fashion, I took a taste.
Holy moly. Yum-city. Since pork belly is very high in fat, and is really considered a throw-away part of the pig here in the US, I expected it to be heavy, oily, fatty and just generally ick. The meat was tender, very flavorful (more of a dark meat taste than usual pork loin) and the sauces--to die for. It came accompanied with a spicy whole grain mustard sauce, and a red onion chutney. Each was better than the other.

So pork belly was a success! But don't go looking for me to start eating elk eyeballs and eagle talons like Bear Grylls. Not yet, anyways.

An accountant and a yucky sandwich

For today and yesterday there have been a few new things! Nothing too sexy or exciting considering it's mid-week and between work, exercise, and volunteering I don't have much free time for skydiving or nude surfing or any one of the other new things it's been suggested I try.

But here is some mid-week newness:
-New exit off of the Bay Bridge (good...got me to where I was going, didn't get lost, and didn't have to sit in 101 traffic)
-First sandwich from Panera Bread (ICK. Oily, heavy, not very healthy tasting. What's the big deal about this place? Unfortunately I was at a three hour dinner meeting so it was eat a 1/2 sandwich or eat my notebook. Sandwich won.)
-Hired my first accountant. That's right, I put on my big-girl pants and finally did it.
-Tonight--anticipate eating at a new restaurant. Not sure where, but I'm up for some new Oakland/Berkeley eats! Stay tuned for a restaurant review in tomorrow's post!

Toodles.

Detox Cleanse

It's spring cleaning, CA-style. Time for my semi-annual liver, kidney and digestive cleanse. I'm trying a new one this winter that's meant to be more effective. It also comes with more rules, including:

-no caffeine (I will disobey this rule)

-no processed foods (no problem)

-lots of water (check)

-lots of sleep (well, if it's medically recommended...)

-minimal sugar (so sad. Does chocolate have sugar?)

Ahh well, it's only a few weeks, right? But you know, if I'm offered a piece of cake or a slice of pie, I'll probably accept....because it would be rude not to, right?

Twitter...what's all the fuss?

I finally signed up for Twitter today. Not because I care to know when Sally gets a ham sandwich or that Bill is stuck in traffic, but because I think that this will (eventually) be useful for work. We've discussed "tweeting" as one way to be in touch with participants in different programs, so today I decided to check it out.

I'm not yet convinced that this mode is really the future of communication, but it's certainly true that it's changing how folks communicate. I would argue that Twitter's net contribution to communication is, at this point, an increase in quantity, not quality. Does tweeting about activities of daily living really improve our relationships?

I'll still take a hand-written letter or Hallmark card over a tweet any day.

Being vulnerable

That's all I'll say for today. But that's today's new thing. Not easy. But eventually, hopefully, worth it. Ta ta!

New Run! Featuring mud, and gummi bears

Today's new thing was a new trail run! In a new town that I'd never before been to! I got up at 6am (on a Saturday. That's 6AM ON A SATURDAY, folks. Just wanted to be sure you caught that) to run a 9K over in Pacifica in the beautiful hills...okay, they're really mountains...south of San Francisco.

Since it had been raining for 2 weeks, the trails were muddy. Very muddy. But the course was beautiful--climbing up up up until we were at the top and were rewarded with great views of the ocean and the green, lush hillsides. The course offered a 9K, 21K, 30K and 50K. How beautiful it was to run in the hills with the warm sun, which we hadn't seen in a while, on our backs. The highlight for me was (besides the end which featured gummi bears) a stunning grove of eucalyptus trees at the top of a little ridge. The smell was intoxicating!

It was a great day and now I'm anticipating a great dinner complete with wine and roasted chicken! Thanks to DBrown for inviting me to this trail race--what a fun morning!!

New Allergy?

It doth seem that I have developed myself a new allergy. Yay, me. I'll spare you the details but it involves an itchy, bumpy rash on my arms. Ok, well, those are the details I guess. Anyhoo, said rash has flared up three times in the past month. Now, thanks to the internet, there are lots of possible explanations for this rash. Here are a few from the inter-web:

*Poisonous plants

*New toys

*New tools

*Smallpox

*West Nile Fever

*and the most likely, Diaper rash

So what's a girl to do? My suspicion is that this is a food allergy, and I have two theories. Please keep in mind that neither of these theories is informed by science, and are therefore, likely completely wrong. But, they are the only ones I have. My guess is that this is either an allergy to gluten (oh please God no) or to iodine from sushi. The flareups have each happened within 24 hours of eating sushi, which leads me to think it's the latter.

Therefore, my new thing for today is: NO MORE SUSHI. Can you hear me crying? No more wasabi. No more pickled ginger. No more rainbow rolls. Oh my heart, how it breaks. I'm going to practice sushi abstinence for a while and see what happens. If that doesn't clear it up, it may be time to consider West Nile as a possibility.

Thurs: Up with the birdies

Well, I would have been up with the birds, if the birds had been up. Instead, since it was pouring rain--at the rate of 1/4 inch an hour--I was up with, well, the rain. And today my new activity was an EARLY MORNING workout. Me + elliptical + treadmill + Good Morning America = ready for more caffeine. Overall it was great to get er' done early so that I have the rest of the day to not think about it. Let's see later, around 3pm when my eyelids feel like they've got bricks on top of them, how I'm feeling about the morning workout. But so far I think I like it. We'll see if I still feel the same way tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off at 0:Dark-thirty.

Wednesday: Airplane cards

Wednesday night I learned a new game--airplane cards!! It's a game totally designed by and invented for dudes. The cards have photographs of airplanes on them. Below each photo are approximately 6 'specs' about each plane: top speed, ceiling/ft....OMG, why am I even going into so much detail. Anyways, the basic point of the game is that each round, you hope your airplane kicks every other airplane's ass. It was very fun. I lost, of course, because I got like, 5 helicopters which, as it turns out, are totally crappy compared to most other planes. Who knew?

Bundle of new things

Tuesday already….how did that happen? I’m well aware that it’s been nearly a week since I last blogged. I have a great excuse. I had the wonderful good fortune to spend a long weekend with 4 of the most amazing, smart (smaht), fun, kind, loving and generous women ever put on this planet. I left early Friday morning and just returned late last night, so please forgive my absence from the blogosphere during that time. I spent three blissful days laughing, talking, smiling, EATING (of course) and generally just looking around and wondering how on earth I got so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. And during those several days, I got the opportunity to do many new things! I will list them here. This should more than cover the one-new-thing-a-day goal that is this blog.

So, without further delay, here’s are some new things I got to experience over the past few days:
-South Carolina (never been to that state!)
-The 5-month pregnant glow of my beautiful friend Lauren
-Salad served by Leila Clair Doyle
-Erica’s new house
-Decatur, GA
-Taste delicious roti made by Nadia’s aunt
-Nad’s mom’s Dal…..OMG…one of the best things I’ve ever eaten
-Being offered Girl Scout Cookies by a total stranger (we politely declined)
-White chocolate made of goat milk
-Walking in Piedmont Park with the sun on my back

That should cover it. Sure, it was a weekend full of new things. But it was also a weekend full of all things familiar—sitting around and digging into our favorite chocolate cake with our forks, fighting over who gets to treat to tea/lunch/gas this time, watching in amazement as Erica’s girls grow and grow and get ever more beautiful and sweet, and laughing…a lot. What a wonderful weekend. I love you guys so very much.