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Let them eat JAM!

2011-06-06T16:53:00.001-07:00

Who needs cake, when you have Jam!?

Strawberry Jam, to be precise.

I spent the better part of the weekend making 3 batches of Strawberry Jam with my family (Hi Mom!)

This stuff is good. I know I've posted MY "Jam" recipe on here before, but this was the traditional, real-deal, boil-the-jars, makes 16-of-'em, type of Jam making. Have a look:

Recipe:
3 cups crushed strawberries
3/4 cup water
1 box Sure-Jell
1/2 cup sugar
Yield ~4 cups Jam

1. Hull a boat-load of strawberries

2. Process in Cuisinart until chunky (do not overprocess, unless you want a jelly consistency)

3. Measure out 3 cups

4. Pour crushed strawberries, water and Sure-Jell into saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for exactly 1 minute. Add sugar and stir for 1 more minute.

5. Remove from heat, skim any foam from the top, and pour immediately into jars*. Fill to within 1/8 inch of top.

6. Close securly, and submerge jars in boiling water (you want the jars covered by 1-2 inches of water. It is a BIG pot with A LOT of water) for 10 minutes.

7. Remove jars from water, let cool, and decorate to your hearts content!

* Before we started, we sterilized our jars.
** IF you are planning to store the jam in the fridge, you don't HAVE to boil the jars. But, if you boil them, the jars will be shelf-stable for about 1 year. Up to you.

Uh oh

2011-05-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

So. For those of you who don't know me in real life, I'm a bit of a klutz.

Clumsy.

Sloppy.

Hasty.

Whatever you want to call it.

But, let's just say, I make a lot of careless mistakes.

Like, knocking over wine glasses on the dish-dry rack, and then foolishly thinking I could vacuum up the shards. (<-- BAD IDEA. Think - teeny tiny glass pieces flying EVERYWHERE. One month later, I am still picking them out of the carpet in the NEXT.ROOM)

Or my latest caper - thinking I could figure out how to use the hubs Soda Stream while he wasn't around, and not realizing that you have to screw the bottle in, not just hold it up to the nozzle real close.

Not-so-carbonated-water EVERYWHERE.

Which, you know, isn't the end of the world. It's just water. Unless you happened to be mid recipe-blog-photo-shoot, and your camera also happens to be sitting on the water soaked counter. And, in your haste to clean up the mess, it doesn't dawn on you that, hey, maybe a camera sitting in a PUDDLE of water overnight is NOT the best idea.

So, all of that to explain (albeit long-windedly) why there are no pictures in this post, and may not be any pictures on this blog for some time to come....at least not until I can outgrow my carelessness enough to let myself buy nice things again...

Sigh.

Fiesta!

2011-04-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

This past month, our cooking club put on a pre-Cinco-de-Mayo fiesta, and ever since, I CAN NOT shake the craving for Mexican food!

The weather was perfect for a little al fresco dining, and we had a blast sitting by the fire and eating some AMAZING Mexican food.

I may have since started frequenting Baja Ranch Market and buying avocados, limes and cilantro in bulk. Perhaps.

(What, you don't have coffee mugs filled with cilantro in your fridge?!)

On The Menu:

Margaritas (of course!)
Pico de Gallo and Guacamole
Agave Cornbread Muffins
Pinto Bean Salsa Salad
Zucchini Black Bean Casserole
Spanish Rice
- 1 c. rice
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1/2 c. tomato sauce (the kind that comes in a can - not pasta sauce)
- 1/2 c. canned, diced tomatoes
- 1 1/4 c. water
- 2/3 c. frozen corn
- 2/3 c. frozen peas
- salt, pepper, and oregano to taste

In a cast iron pot, combine rice and oil. (If you don't have a cast iron pot, any pot will do!)
Turn the heat to high. Stir the rice constantly. As the rice heats, it will start to turn golden brown and start popping in the pot. Keep stirring and don't let the rice burn!
When the rice is a deep golden brown, and before it gets burned, add the liquids, veggies, and spices.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
When the mixture is boiling, cover the pot, and let simmer for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, remove from heat.
Fluff with a fork and serve!

Chicken Enchiladas
-Pulled Chicken
- Tortillas
- Enchilada Sauce (I used Trader Joes)
- Grated Mexican Cheese

Pour about 1/3 cup sauce in a shallow dish.
Heat tortilla in a dry pan, about 15 seconds each side.
Dip tortilla in sauce to coat.
Fill with about 1/4 cup chicken.
Roll up and place seamside down in casserole dish.
Sprinkle cheese on tip, and bake about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Veggie Enchiladas
- 1/2 lb sweet potato, cubed and steamed about 15 minutes
- 1/2 cup corn kernels
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1/2 cup + 1 jar salsa verde (I used Trader Joes)
- Grated Mexican Cheese

Combine potato, corn, beans and 1/2 cup salsa.
Follow the same method as for Chicken Enchiladas, using the Salsa Verde as the 'Enchilada Sauce'.
*Note - do NOT skip the heating of the tortillas as I did. Turns out this is an integral step, as it makes the tortilla pliable. Otherwise your 'enchiladas' will be more like a 'broken tortilla casserole'...oh well.

And let's not forget about dessert:

Chocolate Chipotle Brownies
Chocolate Flan Cakes (with some adaptations from here and the chef...)

So delicious!

I can't wait to see what we cook up next month!

Easter Recap

2011-04-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

We started our day with the BEST cinnamon rolls:

And then after church, and despite the cold temps and dreary skies (drizzle at times!!!) we braved the back yard to grill for the first time this season:

Thanks to my Mom and Dad for hosting. We may have gone a leeeettttle bit overboard - what, you guys don't have more types of vegetables (7) and desserts (6) than you do people (5)?

Amateurs.

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of our awesome desserts. But here's one of A & me. Hopefully that's good enough!

Trail love

2011-04-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

The weather here in Southern California the past couple weeks was absolutely beautiful, and what better way to take advantage of the sun than HIKING!

I first hiked the Mt. Wilson trail about 2 weeks ago.

To say I love this trail would be a HUGE understatement, considering I've already been back to hike it 3 times since then.

But really, how could you not love a trail that starts out with this adorable little place:

Has stunning views:

Fun hiking companions (hi Kiki!):

Frequent scenery changes:

And ample shade:

Oh I know. The BOULDER that stopped me in my tracks! Exhibit A:

I was too chicken to go bouldering over this bad boy. (Actually, that is not entirely true...I tried, and then cut my hand in the process. THEN I chickened out).

It was FREEZING this day, and we were ~5 miles in already. The altitude gains on this trail are significant, so it was MUCH colder at the top - about 50 degrees, compared with the 65 at the trail head.

Although the weather has reverted back to gloom, you can bet that as soon as the sun pokes itself out again, I will be back at Mount Wilson.

Carrot cake bites

2011-04-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon this awesome recipe on Angela's blog.

Being the sucker for all things 101 Cookbooks, and actually having all the ingredients for one recipe on hand, I decided to go ahead and whip up a batch of these awesome carrot cake bites:

I just made a second batch last night (with a couple modifications) and A thinks these turned out even better than the 1st batch (I disagree...so go try them both ways for yourself, and see what you think!)

Carrot cake bites: (Inspired by 101 Cookbooks, Oh She Glows)

1/2 cup buckwheat flour (I made this by grinding untoasted buckwheat groats in my VitaMix.)

1/4 cup multigrain cereal (TJ's brand)

1/4 cup shredded coconut (I used partially de-fatted)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger (dried)

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup raisins (soaked in HOT water for about 1/2 hour <--This is KEY. Do NOT skip!)

1/2 cup carrots

1/4 cup maple syrup (I used sugar free)

2 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl

3. Stir in fruit and nuts

4. Combine wet ingredients in measuring cup (a la Mama Pea - I love this method, do it all the time!)

5. Add wet to dry and mix to combine. Per Angela's recipe, the dough should be pretty wet. I needed to add more Almond milk to my mixture to acheive that consistency, but I think it is the key to a softer, crumblier cookie

6. Drop by the tbsp onto a silpat (or parchment) covered cookie sheet

7. Bake for 15 minutes at 350, let cool on cookie sheet another 10 minutes

So - what do you think? Do you like the orignial version better? Or my modification?

Barefoot

2011-04-12T07:37:00.000-07:00

*Warning - this post contains pictures of FEET. So, if you're one of those anti-feet people who get creeped out by other peoples feet, well, browse-along now.*

It's been awhile since I posted a running update, in part, because there has not been a whole lot of running going on around here. But, I'm slowly easing my way into the world of barefoot running, so I figured it was a good time for a progress report.

I finally got a pair of these for my birthday:

Unfortunately they were a leeeetle bit too small, so I sent them back for the next size up. Which should be arriving....any day now...

So, since patience is not my strong-suit, I decided to take matters into my own ~~hands~~, err, feet, I guess...

That's right. I've been running completely barefoot on my treadmill a couple times a week.

I worked my way up to 2 miles last week, and when I stopped, what I thought were calluses on my feet turned out to be blisters. Ouch.

So I'm back down to 1.5 miles at a time now.

But here is the strange thing...it doesn't hurt! Based on all my research, I was expecting calf pain, soreness in my shins, etc. Maybe because I'd been running in the Nike Free for quite awhile before ditching the shoes altogether...or maybe because I'm a forefoot runner. Whatever the reason, the only thing holding me back at this point is lack of calluses on my feet.

So I'll get there.

In the meantime, my heels are still KILLING me during pretty much every standing/walking related activity, even during Spin. So, I've mom'd-up and ordered a pair FitFlops.

If I promise not to wear them in public, can we still be friends?

In the mean time, more often than not, I can be found sitting at my desk like this:

(Yes, those are frozen water bottles under my feet.)

Mmm. Jam.

2011-04-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

I love peanut butter. LOVE. Eat-it-every-day-loooooove. But sometimes, the peanut butter - it needs a little help. I tend not to buy jam (in part, because I don't like all the added sugar, and in part, because I don't like all the additives.) But last week, I tried making Ashley's buckwheat bakes for breakfast (which, BTW are super yummy!) and it was calling out for some peanut butter and jelly.

I accidentally stumbled on this jam making 'method' (if it is even formal enough to be called that...?) back around Thanksgiving time, when I had a few too many bags of ~~fresh~~ quickly fading cranberries on hand.

Here is my favorite way to make jam that I can feel good about:

Stovetop Jam:
1 lb fruit of choice (I used a frozen berry-blend, but you could also use fresh.)
1/2 cup fruit juice (I used no sugar added cran-pomegranite, but you could do fresh squeezed orange, depending on your fruit, or even water.)

Combine fruit and liquid in a small saucepan. Cover and let simmer on medium heat ~15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Remove cover and continue to reduce, until what's in your pan resembles jam, ~10 more minutes.

That's it. If you don't like lumps, you can blend with an immersion blender, or mash with a fork.

A word of caution - it splatters. And if you use berries? Then it stains. So wear an apron, or stand back! Also, it burns quickly once the lid is removed, so stir frequently, and/or keep an eye on it. Do NOT, go check blogs and 'forget' that you're cooking. (I'm just saying, you might be adding more water and muttering under your breath if you do.)

Amazing deal

2011-04-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Run, don't walk to your nearest Whole Foods!

"Why" you ask?

Because look what is on super-sale:

Want to see what's inside?

Curious how much it costs? $14.99! No, seriously. According to the shelf tag, regular price = $32.97. The deal is on until 4/27/11.

What kind of crazy good deal is this? Well, put it this way...there are 15 packets inside the bottle. Usually, these single serve packets sell for $2 in my Whole Foods.

So basically, this package is like getting each of the packets for 1/2 off, and getting a FREE shaker cup. I love my shaker cups!

And lest you think all we buy at Whole Foods is the healthy green stuff, here is why we REALLY walked over there last night:

Yummy Colorado beer. Seriously, highly recommend. Besides, you can wash it down with a chaser of greens. Which most definately balances out the nutritional effects of the beer...

We're buying a HOUSE!

2011-03-17T08:14:00.001-07:00

After what feels like YEARS of looking at literally EVERY house for sale in Pasadena, we have found THE ONE.

From the first second I stepped foot in this house, I just knew we had found our home.

After a couple rounds of negotiations, we settled on a price and heard the great news on Saturday - WE GOT THE HOUSE!

We aren't moving quite yet - the seller's have 3 young girls, and want to finish out the school year before moving out of state. So at this point, the plan is to close escrow in May, rent the house back to the seller's for a month, and move in somewhere around the first of July.

Yesterday we conducted our home inspection, and aside from a few minor plumbing issues which we will need to get cleaned up, the house passed with flying colors!

I snapped a couple pictures of the house while we were over there, but I felt a little weird about taking pictures of someone else's "stuff" so I mainly stuck to the exterior.

The house is bordered by Cal Tech, Pasadena City College and the Huntington Gardens. It is in such a beautiful neighborhood!

The house was originally built in 1931, but when the current owners moved in they
did an extensive remodel, adding on a front bedroom and bathroom, completely gutting the kitchen and renovating all the bathrooms and bedrooms.

We were SO fortunate the owner was there yesterday and showed us her photo albums of when THEY moved into the house (pre-renovation) and walked us through all the pictures from the renovation. We could barely believe it was the same house.

And we feel SO lucky to be buying from them. Their painstakingly beautiful renovations and preservation of the house is completely to our benefit, and we are SO thankful for all the hard work that they put in.

Now, if only July would hurry up and GET HERE. We can't WAIT to move into this gorgeous house.

(And now for my disclaimer: I am PETRIFIED that something will come up in the Escrow period and prevent us from closing on our house. So please please, think a few positive thoughts for us. Escrow should close in May....)

Pasadena Cooking Club

2011-03-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

As much as I loved my first cooking club, schlepping warm food 45-60 minutes across town just wasn't working out for me anymore. By the time I'd get there, everything would be cold, and sometimes, reheating just doesn't cut it, you know? (I felt like I was bringing leftovers every time!)

So, around the beginning of the year, I decided - why not get a similar group together on this side of town? At first, I was a little bit afraid that I didn't know enough people, but to my great surprise, after only 2 months we have ~15 members! (No, all 15 don't come to dinner every time...that would be INSANITY. Although, we'd probably have enough food...!)

Last month's theme was "favorites". Everyone brought a favorite dish, and it was delicious!

I didn't do such a great job collecting the recipes, but I did take pictures:

The starters: Roasted garlic soup, and Seared Scallop Salad. YUM!

And 2 of the main courses (Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken and Bread Salad):

Also on last month's menu:
Pretzel Rolls (similar recipe)
Caramelized Onion & Prosciutto Pizza
Ribs

This time around, our theme was "bottleluck". Everyone brought a dish which included some type of alcohol in the ingredients. YUM!

I did a MUCH better job collecting the recipes, but, alas no pictures. (Click for links to recipes.)

Sparkling Meyer Lemon Cocktail
Beet & Avocado Salad with Champagne Vinagrette
Jalapeno Cheese Beer Bread
Penne a la Vodka
Meyer Lemon Chicken Piccata
Ginger Chicken & Yams
Chocolate Bourbon Truffle Tart (A few chef's notes on the tart...)
For the crust:
- I used an 11'' tart pan and increased the recipe by 1.5x.
- It helps if the butter is super cold and cut into small cubes.
- I only needed to bake it for 15 minutes; the crust would have been burnt by 20.
- If you don't have a tart pan, you can use a pie pan instead.
For the caramel:
- I cut the pecans to 1/2 cup since 1 cup seemed too pecan pie-like.
- I added a vanilla bean to enhance the flavour.
- Since I don't have a candy thermometer, I used the cold water method to check if it was at the soft-ball stage
For the chocolate:
- I substituted half-and-half and added a bit of sea salt.
- I cut the bourbon by half because I thought it would taste too boozy with the full amount.
- I whisked up the leftover heavy whipping cream and added approximately 1 tbsp bourbon per 1 cup of whipped cream.

Baked Brie with Grand Marnier

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) round Brie cheese
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Cut slits about 1/4-inch deep in a crossing pattern across the top and along the sides of the Brie wheel.
Place the brie in a baking dish.
Bake the Brie in the preheated oven until softened, about 5 minutes.
While the Brie bakes, stir the brown sugar, pecans, and alcohol in a small bowl; pour onto the top of the Brie and return to the oven another 10 minutes.
Serve immediately with crackers, grapes, or green apple slices.

Chocolate Mousse
(From: J. Rosso & S. Lukins. 1989. The New Basics Cookbook)

1 ½ pounds Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate morsels
½ cup brewed espresso
½ cup Grand Marnier
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
¼ cup sugar
8 egg whites
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 cup (additional) heavy whipping cream (optional)

1. Melt the chocolate in a heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly. Add the espresso, then stir in the Grand Marnier. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
2. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
3. Whip 1 cup of the cream until thickened. Gradually add the sugar, beating until the cream is stiff.
4. Beat the egg whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the whipped cream.
5. Stir about one third of the cream mixture thoroughly into the chocolate mixture. Then scrape the remaining over the chocolate base, and gently fold them together. Pour the mousse into individual dessert cups or a serving bowl and refrigerate until set, 2 hours.(Optional) At serving time, whip the remaining 1 cup cream until thickened. Add the vanilla and whip to soft peaks. Top each portion with a dollop of whipped cream.

Here's to getting it right next month: recipes AND pictures! Until April...

The Wedding! A (really long) photo essay.

2011-03-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved a girl...

One day he asked her a very important question, and...

...they decided to get married!

She primped,

and she prepped,

with all her best friends.

And then she put on

the most beautiful dress!

They had to sneak a quick peek

all by themselves

before joining their families

and all their best friends.

The ceremony was short

and sweet

and sealed with a kiss,

before they walked down the aisle together - wedded bliss!

A quick round of toasts

and much needed drinks!

A walk through the vineyard in the fading light

before heading inside to start off the night!

The guests took their seats,

and settled in for some toasts,

while the photographers discovered the photo booth!

While the bride was busy dancing with Dad,

what was Mom up to? (Being bad!)

Busted!

The bride and the groom danced to the most wonderful song.

Ever wondered how many people can fit in a photo booth? Now you know...

Here go Albert and Elizabeth - taking a bite out of married life!

Thanks to EVERYONE who was part of this perfect day. We love you all.

Getting ready to run

2011-03-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading this:

And now I can't wait to get a pair of these:

I'm not quite over my injuries yet. But when I'm ready to start running again, I am taking up barefooting.

If you have ANY interest in the subject, and LOVE the scientific explanations of why certain things are good for you, I highly suggest this book. The evolutionary theory alone was fascinating. So much of this book resonated with me.

It even made re-learning how to run sound like fun!

Time on my hands

2011-02-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

I'm currently on Day 4 of no running. FOUR. I'm slowly going crazy. As I walked home from Yoga this morning, I saw a girl running up the other side of the street, and guess what I felt? Jealousy. (I may have then jogged a couple quick steps, felt a jolt of pain in my heel, and resigned myself to the fact that I am not ready yet.)

So. I'm pushing for a couple more days off. I can make it a week, right? You have no idea how hard this is for me, especially when every time I turn around, I see this:

(New shoes. I ordered them Sunday. The day before I quit running. They arrived Tuesday. The day after I quit running. I have the worlds.worst.timing.)

I also have a heck of a lot more time on my hands now that I'm not running every day (and taking the extra shower) most of which has coincidentally been taken up by two impending work deadlines.

But, in the rare 20 minutes I found somewhere amidst the 3-ring circus that was yesterday, I made something delicious:

Have you guys tried this stuff? Salad dressing crack. It is amazing. Sweet, salty, surprisingly light. The hitch? It costs about $6 a bottle. SIX DOLLARS. For salad dressing?! You have got to be kidding me. (Thanks, Mom, for getting me hooked on the sauce.)

I admit - I shelled out for it a few times. And then I realized, the ingredient list was not terribly complex. And, I even had everything on it in my pantry.

So I got creative. The first experiment was, meh. Second time? Closer.

Yesterday? I made it. This is every bit as good as the original, and best of all, it was FREE.

Way-cheaper-than-Galeo's crack dressing:
1/2 c. Miso
1/4 c. Tahini
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 c. unsweetened rice wine vinegar
1/2 c. water
6 Splenda packets
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sesame oil

1. Put all ingredients except sesame oil in blender, and mix on high until nicely combined.
2. While blender is still running, open the small lid and sloooowly drizzle in oil. This way, your dressing will emulsify, and, if you keep it in the fridge (duh) it won't separate.
3. Pour on top of huge salad and enjoy!

Some notes:
1. I used Kyoto White Miso:

I can usually find this on sale at Whole Foods for about $3.50. This has tub lasted me 4 months.

2. Check your rice wine vinegar. A lot of them are sweetened. This is not a big deal, but if yours is sweetened, then you might want to cut back or omit the Splenda. We're making salad dressing here, not frosting.

3. This recipe made slightly more dressing than would fit in the bottle + dress my salad for lunch. No worries. It also makes an AWESOME dip for baby carrots :)

Yum.

Day One

2011-02-08T21:01:00.001-08:00

I didn't run today. It feels really weird. But at least I didn't cry today either :)

This is the first rest day I've had in 16 months. Sadly, it wasn't really very "restful" at all, seeing as I had a 6AM conference call, visited 2 clients on the complete opposite side of LA, and didn't walk back in the door until quarter to 8 tonight.

At which point I cooked dinner (while still wearing my suit, and shoving baby carrots and hummus into my mouth as fast as I could chew). And then did the dishes.

Can I collapse onto the couch with my book yet?

Maybe I'll try "resting" tomorrow...with some Yoga. ;)

Fresh Start

2011-02-07T18:19:00.001-08:00

It all started on our wedding day.

I got up, ate some breakfast, and headed out for a run. I parked at a random strip mall a couple miles from our hotel, grabbed my iPhone, took one last swig of water, and headed off.

7 miles later, my knee gave out. Up until that moment, it was the one of the best runs I'd had all year. Fast, sunny, hilly, perfect really.

And then I limped the last mile back to the car, and, truthfully, all the way down the aisle. I've been limping ever since.

Yup, that's right. I've been injured, in some capacity or the other, for basically the past 4 months. I'm at my wits end. I've eased off (running the bare minimum for days at at time.) I've tried physical therapy, weights, stretching, yoga, foam rolling, massage, icing, new shoes, barefoot shoes. Nothing is working. I am beyond frustrated.

Sure, the ITBS seems to be getting better. But now my feet are in agony. And my lower back hurts. As soon as one injury fades, a new one crops up to take it's place.

Enough.
After 487 days and 1394 miles, I'VE.HAD.ENOUGH.

Let me rephrase that. My BODY has decided it's had enough.

I do NOT want to stop running every day. But I have exhausted every other way I can think of to fix whatever it is that is wrong with me. (Which, you know, varies like the days of the week lately...)

This decision has literally brought me to tears 3 times already today, and I feel a 4th coming on.

I'm scared. I'm irrationally afraid I'll lose my stamina, or my speed, or my desire. Or all of the above. What will be my outlet? My me time? I don't love other sports the way I LOVE to run.

But I'm more afraid that if I don't stop now, sooner or later I'll have to stop forever. And that would be much, much worse.

(Technically, I guess I'm not 'stopping'. I'm 'pausing'. I'm still going to run. But right now, I just can't do it every day. And I can't go very far.)

I'm not sure how long it's going to be. And that uncertainty is frightening. But I don't want to set some arbitrary time frame either. Who knows - maybe, in 4 more months, I still won't be healed. Or maybe all my body really needs is a few short weeks with some rest days mixed in. I really don't know. And I have to be okay with that.

For now, I'm scared. And I'm going to miss my daily runs like crazy.

Save the peanut flour!!

2011-02-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

OH NO.

Trader Joe's is doing it AGAIN - discontinuing a product that I looooooooove.

I'm (sadly) quite serious. I can't make it through a day without this stuff. I know there have been some mixed emotions - you either love the stuff or you just don't get it (add more salt/sweetener, keep trying, I promise you'll find the combination you love).

But for my sanity's sake, please PLEASE take 1 minute to email TJ's and complain.

I'll even make it easy for you: http://www.traderjoes.com/about/index.asp

There is the link. Bottom right corner: select "Customer Questions and Feedback" and use the drop down menu to select "General Question".

All you need to do is 1) give them your email address (maybe then they'll send you coupons...?) and 2) BEG them not to discontinue the Peanut Flour.

Please help. I don't know what I'll do without this stuff...

Citrus Overload

2011-01-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

It's January. In Southern California. Which, really can only mean one thing...citrus!

Holy moly, it is EVERYWHERE. All the farmer's market are stocked. Every tree I walk past is dripping fruit. Sprouts has oranges for $0.36 a POUND. And good thing, because aside from raspberries and pineapple, citrus is pretty much the only thing I feel like eating right now. (No, not THOSE kind of cravings. Keep your pants on Mom.)

Since last weeks "Food for a Day" post was so fun, I thought this week, I'd give you guys a sneak peek inside of our fridge. Sound like fun? Here we go:

(Totally not staged. Don't all your groceries face front all the time? What pizza box on the counter?)
From left to right:

Top shelf - FF Greek yogurt, FF cottage cheese, Designer Whey protein powder (x2), FF ricotta, SF jam, soy creamer, Siggis (2 for $3 at Whole Foods this week, + $1 off coupon!) Earth Balance spread, Brita.

Middle Shelf - Leftovers (quiche, spaghetti), blueberries, brown rice, eggs, egg whites

Bottom shelf - Sugar snap peas, carrots, roasted brussel sprouts, roasted brocolli, baby carrots, veggie stock. (Sadly, our crispers are tooooo small, and a whole nother shelf is usually devoted to salad toppings and other miscellaneous veggies.)

Crisper left - Citrus. What's that? You'd like a closer look? Sure:

What, you guys don't have a whole drawer just devoted to citrus in your fridge? Anyone have any recipes for oranges?

Fridge door - Boat load of condiments, Silk light vanilla soy milk, Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk, light mayo, soy sauce.

In all seriousness though, I really didn't pull anything out of the fridge before taking these pictures. Just some strategic re-positioning so that most things were visible. And, please send help. We are drowning in oranges. Not complaining, I just need some creative way to use them all up. Because there are more coming in February...

My day in food

2011-01-19T20:05:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those where you glance down at the bottom right corner of your screen and think, WTF? How did it get to be 7:53? P.M.

Seriously. The entire world decided to need my attention TODAY. I know, I'm very important.

How does any of this relate to my post? Not at all. But hey. It's my blog, and if I feel like venting, I'm gonna vent.

At any rate. I've been wanting to do one of those "day in food" type posts for awhile now. I see them on lots of other peoples blogs. And while I don't really feel like I need to keep myself "accountable" or have some AMAZING recipes and step-by-step instructions to share, I still thought it'd be fun. If you think so too, comment!

If not, I'll know by your radio silence that no one really cares how delicious tempeh can be or how fast soup can be made when you're famished after Spin.

Without futher adieu, breakfast!

(whole wheat english muffin, tofutti cream "cheese" mixed w/ cinnamon, raisins, walnuts, a side of protein-yogurt w/ half a banana, and my favorite Chai green tea)

Seriously, SO delicious. Sadly, the english muffin did not tide me over to lunch. Fail. I guess I need more volume in my breakfasts...

Lunch:

(enormous salad. I eat some variation of this basically EVERY day for lunch and it NEVER gets old. In the mix: spinach, baby lettuce, shredded cabbage, carrots, brocolli, roasted kabocha squash, sugar snap peas, fat free feta, and some homemade miso dressing. With more of the crack tea. Who needs coffee!?)

So. This tempeh. (The stuff that kinda-sorta looks like taco meat.) It is AMAZING. I wish I could take credit for the recipe. And I CAN! (At least, for the modifications I made to the original.) Go see Mama Pea for the real deal.

What did I change? Left out the agave & lime. Added 1/2 cup salsa and 1 tsp smoked paprika. I like to call this version: Enchilada Tempeh. Tastes like it was marinated in a bottle of enchilada sauce. Way, way healthier enchilada sauce. Seriously so good - even the husband likes it this way!

Moving right along. I had my (hopefully) last PT appointment this afternoon and a date with a Spin bike (and running buddy Laura) afterwards, so I knew I'd need a snack to tide me over:

(fat free ricotta, greek yogurt, protein powder, Libby's pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, blitzed in the mini prep. like puddin'. and yes, I ate it out of the blender bowl. why dirty a dish?!)

I saved half of this for dessert and it is CALLING to me from the fridge right now!

When I finally made it home from Spin, I was exhausted. And NOT in the mood to 'cook' anything. Enter - lazy girl's soup for one (husband is working late...):

Start to finish this soup definately took less than 30 minutes. What's that? You'd like the recipe? Of course!

1/4 C french (green) lentils, dry
2 C vegetable stock
1/4 C quinoa, dry
1/4 onion, diced
3-4 small carrots, diced
s & p to taste

1. Throw lentils & stock into pot over medium heat.
2. While lentils simmer, dice onion & carrot, and saute in a spritz of olive oil over medium heat, just until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add onion & carrot mixture, quinoa, to lentils. Reduce heat to medium low.
4. Set timer for 20 minutes and hop in the shower.
5. Check soup after 20 minutes. If your lentils are tender and carrots are almost (but not quite) mush, it's done.

Yours might end up looking a little dry like mine (above). You may also be STARVING as it is now going on 8:15. (I'm just saying) If this happens, add more (cold) veggie stock and/or water. For the added benefit of having some broth, and, you know, not searing your tongue. Hello, blisters.

(much better with broth)

Also consumed but not pictured: A Siggis yogurt w/ blueberries & flax, about 87 cups of herbal tea, 1/2 a pack of Orbit peach gum.

So there you have it! A whole day in food.

Now where is that pumpkin yogurt and my book....

2011 - the year of the hamstring

2011-01-12T14:46:00.001-08:00

So, first things first, a VERY belated happy new year to all my friends! (Well, all 9 of you who actually read this anyways...)

I'm almost embarassed that this post is so belated, but, uh, you see I was out of town last week, with not a second to spare for posting. And, I, uh, had a case of blogger's block.

Ok, ok. The REAL reason for the delay is that I hadn't really come up with any blog-worthy New Year's Resolutions to post.

I know, I know. I don't HAVE to post a resolution. And I have plenty of smaller and more personal resolutions that I'm not sharing. But, I really did want to have SOMETHING to be held accountable to this year.

Well, this morning, I finally figured it out.

Friends - welcome to the year of the hamstring.

I went back to yoga this morning. For the first time in nearly a month. And you know what? It Sucked (with a capital-S). It was hard. I couldn't even touch the floor in forward fold. I needed a block. I felt like a January Joiner. (Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with that, go JJ'S!! But when you've been practicing yoga for 8 years, you'd kind of like to get some street cred for that, you know?)

And that led me to think, "WTF is going ON with my hamstrings!? When did they get so TIGHT!"

And THAT led me to think, "I should be practicing yoga more often".

When I got home, I sat and thought on this one for awhile. And friends, I have a confession to make.

(I don't really like yoga.)

Yoga is my spinach. It's that thing you do because everyone tells you how good it is for you, and you know you're supposed to do it. But, if I'm really honest, yoga just doesn't do it for me. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I dislike it, I just don't get excited for it the way I do other activities.

Take running. LOVE. LOOOOOOOOOOVE. Not enough "o's" in the world to express the looove. Spinning? Adore it. Everytime a great song comes on the radio, my first thought is, "This would be SO FUN to Spin to." Seriously. Not dance to. Spin to. Pilates? Love it so much I wish I could afford to go every day. Alas, the Super Lotto has not come through for us just yet...

But seriously, back to the topic at hand. I just don't GET that blissed-out, zen, bendy, clean, amazing feel that I think I am SUPPOSED to get from yoga. And I think I know why. I think...it's my attitude towards it.

You see, I'm not good at yoga. And, as a general rule, I don't like things I'm not good at. (Yes, I too have character flaws.) In the spirit of full disclosure though, it's kind of my own damn fault that I'm no good at yoga. Since I don't like it, I don't TRY that hard to improve.

And that brings me back to the title of the post. My goal is to IMPROVE at yoga this year. I plan to measure it by how much flexibility I can gain, and how I feel towards my practice. Here's how I plan to accomplish my goal. By:

1. Going to classes consistently. Like it or not, I just have to accept that flexibility is clearly something my body needs more of, and yoga is the path to get there.
2. Pushing myself a little harder. Feeling comfortable in that child's pose? I don't think so. I make too many excuses for myself during class (ahem, who's that sneaking out to the bathroom whenever an inversion is coming up? Yeah, that's me. Oh, the shame.)
3. Being more fearless. (Goes hand in hand with #2 - there is a good reason I sneak out during inversions, I'm afraid of falling over!)
4. Doing the poses that are hard for ME daily. This would include all manner of hamstring stretches, Pigeon, Squats, that god-awful foot stretching one, and chest openers. Sadly, I tend to back away from doing the hard stuff when I practice on my own.
5. Practice somewhere relaxing. I love the studio in my gym. But for those short practices at home, I'm thinking I might head out here:

(weather permitting, of course)

I really hope this works. There was a point in my past where at least I used to LIKE yoga. And even if I don't ever fall in LOVE, hopefully I can at least get back to liking it.

If I can learn to love spinach, I'm pretty sure I can learn to love yoga too.

Race Recap - Venice Christmas Run

2010-12-19T17:50:00.000-08:00

I realize I'm a bit late getting this post up, but it's the holidays. Everyone gets cut a little slack during the holidays, right?

I've been having some knee pain recently (another post, another day) and was really nervous about how this race was going to go. I knew I had it in me to reach my 55:00 goal, but, I was so, so scared that my knee was going to give out during the race.

But, on Saturday morning, I got up bright and early to make the 20-mile trek across town to the race. At 6:30 on a Saturday morning, I figured 30 minutes was plenty of time, right?

No. Wrong. First the 110 was closed. Detour.

Then the 405 was closed. Detour.

Then race parking was a zoo. I had at least expected as much. So, my trusty sherpa (ahem. Albert) dropped me off half a mile from the start, with less than 2 minutes til the start of the race. I jogged to the start line (nice, warm up!) With a brief detour through the porta-potty line, natch.

I found my sister and her husband, who had picked up my bib and t-shirt for me (thank you!) Also around this point, I heard the emcee wish the runner's good luck, and I vaguely remember a starting horn? But....my sherpa was nowhere to be found.

I frantically searched around for race registration, hoping I could leave my goodie bag and t-shirt with them, because I was NOT running 6.2 miles with a plastic baggie in my hands. Uh uh. Not gonna happen.

Thank goodness for chip timing and long corrals. After I finally got situated, I hopped in the corral and took off about 3 minutes after the start of the race.

I spent the first mile or 2 dodging slow pokes, walkers, strollers, and a guy in a red-unitard (no, seriously. I think he was supposed to be "Santa". Right.) and settled into a comfortable, if not ambitious, pace.

At this point I was really worried whether my knee was going to start bugging me. I felt that familiar twinge around mile 4, so I backed off a little bit, but at mile 5 I realized my knee was going to hold out for the last mile, and pushed it to a new personal record....drumroll please...

51:43~! (Official chip time, 8:20/mile pace)

I was in shock. I knew I had been running fast, but I was trying to pace 8:50 miles, to meet my 55:00 goal, so imagine my shock when I got in under 52:00!

This is what happy looks like:

(My awesome sister PR'd too.) We smashed this race!

I will definately be back next year...maybe a sub-50 is in my future...? I have a whole year to train...

Big winner

2010-12-10T15:02:00.000-08:00

There are certain validating moments in a blogger's life that make us realize that we're REALLY a blogger.

For example, getting your first comment from a stranger. (Someone else is reading this, Mom!)

Or, more recently in my case, winning your first blog giveaway! WOOT!!

I won this:

From here. Thanks Hilary!

And if I do say so, I'm pretty sure there is no better prize up for grabs online these days. I hit the blog-giveaway jackpot!

Now, any ideas how I'm gonna use all these up? Please send recipe suggestions!

The Great Pumpkin

2010-12-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin.

It's EVERYWHERE. And I couldn't be happier about it. Truth be told, I've been putting pumpkin in pretty much everything since it appeared on Whole Food's shelves in mid-August (smoothie's, yogurt, oatmeal, ~~spooned directly into my mouth~~ you get the picture).

I've always loved pumpkin, but until this year, I chalked it up as just another one of my strange tastes. Don't get me wrong, I know most people love the pie, but I figured that was pretty much the only reason anyone was buying the canned stuff.

Oh, I was wrong. Seems there is a whole bunch of healthy-living bloggers (here, here and here, for example) who are just as obsessed with the pumpkin as I am. And here's another funny thing - they're all shockingly brand loyal to the Libby's.

I didn't get it. Sure, I'd HAD Libby's, but I figured all canned pumpkin was created equal, no? Glance at the ingredients list. There is precisely ONE ingredient in all the major brands - pumpkin. So what difference does it make, right? Wrong.

Inspired by Libby's mania, and determined to see what all the fuss was about, I grabbed a super-size can as soon as it appeared on the shelves of my neigbhorhood Fresh & Easy (shameless plug, Kiki) and stockpiled it away with the rest.

And, inspired by Emily's post I decided to do a little pumpkin-off of my own.

The contenders:

Trader Joe's Organic - last purchased at TJ's for $1.99/15 oz.
The verdict: What was I thinking? Watery, runny, mushy and BROWN. How did this used to be my go-to pumpkin?

Farmer's Market Organic - last purchased at Whole Foods, for $2.39/15 oz. (on sale)
The verdict: Better. Orange (at least) and generally less watery. A good fall-back plan.

Libby's - last purchased at Target, for $1.29/15 oz. (on sale)
The verdict: I finally get it. Of the three, this tastes the most like PUMPKIN.

(And yes, you read that right, $1.29 at Target as of last ~~night~~ week. I made A buy me 7 more cans. And then carry them home.)

So I guess Libby's can add 1 more convert to their cult-following. I still don't get WHY it tastes so much better, but it SO DOES.

Salted caramel hot chocolate

2010-11-27T19:22:00.001-08:00

Ever since I saw this on the Starbucks holiday drink menu, I've been wanting to try it. I mean, come on? How many perfect elements can you fit into ONE drink?!

Until, that is, I looked up the nutrition stats online. 450 calories, 16g of fat? Um, no thanks.

So, tonight, I decided to made up my own (much healthier) version:

Healthy Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate for 1

Ingredients:

In a small saucepan, bring 1 mug of almond milk to a low boil. Add 2 tbsp cocoa powder and 4 tbsp sugar-free caramel Torani syrup. Whisk together, until smooth. Add Splenda and sea salt to taste.
Sip, and enjoy guilt free. This version has 80 calories and ZERO grams of fat.

Give Thanks

2010-11-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

I first saw this lovely idea over on Melanie's blog and thought it would be a fantastic way to start my Thanksgiving morning. (Well, that and a 10 mile run to make room for all the TURKEY!)

So today, in no particular order, I am thankful for:
My husband and best friend:

My healthy and supportive family:

(I'm thankful for Mom too, but she wouldn't get on the swing...)

Wonderful friends
Long runs:

A body that LETS me go on long runs
My job, especially in this economy
Pumpkins:

COFFEE!
Sunshine
My treadmill:

Wine :)
Eclectic 24 and good music in general
A warm (well, not so much lately), safe place to call home
Curling up with a good book:

Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea
My yoga practice (which I promise to stop neglecting)
Spinning classes with Sami - Hooooo!
Modern Family
Blogs
Candles
Persimmon:

Chocolate
Fall colors
Cookies
Long talks with old friends
This amazing life

That's it - 4 minutes, and so very much to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone - gobble gobble!

Why I hate global warming

2010-11-22T17:10:00.000-08:00

A list of the reasons why I HATE global warming:

1. It didn't get get truly COLD until this weekend. (This is the first 10 day forecast where it doesn't get above 70 once!)

2. Having to wait to wear cute seasonally appropriate warm clothes:

(I missed the Uggs! And, my blanket-sweater. Mmm, cozy.)

3. Farmer tans from running in tanktops/shorts. See exhibit below:

May I direct your attention to November 4th. The day I RAN to Alhambra to pick our car up from servicing? NINETY FIVE. Yes, you read that correctly.

Or how about November 13th, my first post-wedding long training run? Relief - only 80 degrees. Yet I still managed to come home sun-burned. In NOVEMBER - lovely. (Yes Mom, I was wearing sunscreen.)

It's no secret that I love Fall, ~~probably~~ more than any other season. And this year, I feel gipped, Mother Nature. I'd like my money back. What's that you say? You don't offer refunds?

Earlier this year, I read that book, No Impact Man, and it got me thinking about all the ways I am contributing to the warming of our planet. And for awhile, I was doing a REALLY good job of improving my wasteful behaviors. Like only using a cupful of water to brush my teeth. And walking/running all my local errands. Or, the great paper-towel embargo (which ~~was~~ is NOT so fun - oh, the LAUNDRY! I swear, I am washing more towels than Burke Williams every day.)

But I'm getting disheartened. I need to see some results, people! I mean, how many paper towels will it take to GET.FALL.BACK where it belongs on the calendar. You know, in September?

Please, PLEASE just don't hit me with winter next week...I really just don't think I can take it...

'Runs' in the family (get it?!?)

2010-11-15T15:01:00.002-08:00

To say running is a huge part of my life would be a total understatement.

As I mentioned here, I signed on for another year of daily running, but even more exciting is that this time, I've got company! My sister, Kiki, decided to take up the daily run challenge with me, and has started her very own blog about it! I couldn't be happier!

So far this year, I've been shaking things up in my running routine.

After a year straight of daily runs (1012 miles, WOOT!) things were getting too easy. Not like I am a sucker for punishment or anything like that, but I just wasn't seeing the same benefits of my daily runs anymore.

Why not?
1. I was running too slow. So, now I am picking up the pace.
2. I was running too long. So, hello - intervals!
3. I wasn't challenging myself. So, I'm doing hill work (oh, joy...)
4. I wasn't cross-training. So, I joined a gym (Equinox, swoon) and started spinning.
5. I HURT EVERYWHERE. So, I added yoga classes at the gym and started icing and foam rolling. (I LOATHE foam rolling, BTW, but, I must begrudgingly admit, it helps.)

See? Lots of changes.

One thing that has really helped me run faster is focusing on pacing and turnover. (Runner's World suggests optimal turnover is 180 steps per minute. At first this feels like your legs are on crack, but you get used to it.)

What's getting my pace up these days? New running music:

I'm hoping all these changes will help me to a 10K PR next month, here:

(I'm hoping for under 55:00)

And, I'm following this training plan in hopes of finishing under 2:00 in the Huntington Beach 1/2 marathon in February:

In with the new

2010-11-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

Plenty of people warned me that with marriage comes change. And I listened, I did. But really, kind of with one ear only. ("in one ear and out the other" comes to mind...) I figured, with 4 years under our belts, and having lived together for the past 2, what, really would change?

There was nothing particularly spectacular about this past weekend, but it sure did kick off a wave of change.

On Friday, there was this:

My old desk chair was so uncomfortably worn out that it was time for something new. This one has padding in all the places, where sadly, I do not (if you catch my drift..) and a full back that supports my neck ~~when I start to nod off on conference calls.~~ Um, that never happens...

This chair is SO much better.

On Sunday, it was this:

This tea is all the rage in the healthy-blogsphere. Since I haven't been able to win it in any giveaways, when I saw it at Cost Plus last night, I decided it must be worth the hefty 7.99 price tag. 17 bloggers can't all be wrong, can they?

Actually? Yes, they can. I should've saved my money and bought 3 more boxes of my old favorite:

Don't get me wrong. It's not like it was awful, but it sure didn't live up to the hype. Oh well.

Sandwiched between all that, we unofficially started house hunting. I'd say we've probably looked at 30-40 houses over the past 2 years, just to get an idea what is out there and how far our housing dollars would stretch. But, this weekend something changed.

We found the first house that I think could actually be a contender:

And it is comfortably affordable. Like, wouldn't-blow-our-nest-egg comfortable. Like, one-income-family comfortable. I didn't think this existed.

I've been daydreaming about it all day. Can you imagine cooking in this kitchen?

(Probably my favorite room in this house, but really, the whole thing is beautiful.)

But there's a catch. I don't love the neighborhood. I mean, the immediate neighborhood within a 2-3 block radius is freaking adorable. But, the major streets bordering the neighborhood? Kind of dumpy. Supposedly it's an up-and-coming area, but, what if it never quite gets there? And how long is it gonna take? (Patience is not one of my strong suits...)

So here is my question:
Is the trade-off worth it? How much does the neighborhood matter if you love the house, and love the price even more?

Guilty

2010-11-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. (I skipped Spinning this morning. And I had already reserved my bike. Bad Betty!)

Why did I skip spinning? Because my body is EXHAUSTED. I am still (STILL!) jet-lagged, more than a week after getting home. I have been passing out on the couch somewhere around 9:00 every night, and yet, struggle to get out of bed NINE HOURS LATER.

Huh? I NEVER get jet lag. Never. I firmly believe it is all mental. I really do believe that if you put your mindset in the time zone you're travelling to, when stepping foot on the plane, that the mental clock is much more powerful than the body's clock.

Clearly, I am wrong, and this interminable exhaustion is my body's giant f-you to my mind.

Anyways.

Instead, I baked!

pumpkin cheesecake tartlet

(Okay, not so much "baked" per se, considering this is a refrigerator treat. But still!)

I'm planning on making a version of this for Thanksgiving, but need to work out a few kinks in the recipe. Stay tuned for the final results!

Back to life. Back to reality. Back to blogging.

2010-11-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

~~I'm~~ We're back.

From here:

And this:

To here:

And this:

But that's okay. Truth be told, I'm such a sucker for routine, that I've really missed the normalcy.

And, somewhere in all the wedding/travelling/eating mayhem that was October, November snuck up on me.

Things I'm looking forward to this month:
* Blogging more regularly (including a wedding recap, honeymoon recap and some running updates)
* Hosting my 1st Thanksgiving!
* Cooler temps (please? PLEASE!)
* UCLA tailgates
* Pumpkin EVERYTHING!
* Recipe posts

But until I get around to all of that, here's a wedding pic to tide you over in the meantime :)

Goals and Milestones

2010-10-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

It may be a rainy, dreary day outside, but so far it is shaping up to be a lovely day for me.

Why, because I hit 1,000 miles today. A whole 5 days before the wedding.

Back when I set this crazy goal, I was WAY below where I needed to be to hit the 1,000 mile mark on October 9th. So, I stepped it up a bit, and apparently overcompensated. Oops.

But have no fear. I'm going to continue to run every day this week. We'll see where I end up after my run Saturday morning, mileage-wise.

More importantly, I've loved every day of this past year so much, that I've decided I'm not stopping. I'd love to say I'll run every day FOREVER, but I'm not really sure how realistic that is...

For now, I'm adding on another year. And a couple more goals:

1. Venice Christmas Run, December 11, 2010 at or below 55:00
2. Pasadena Half Marathon, February, 2010 sub-2:00:00
3. Nike SF Marathon next October...? (If I can get in through the lottery)

That should keep me on my feet :)

It's been a fantastic year of running. Thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way.

ONE MORE MONTH!!!

2010-09-09T10:06:00.001-07:00

That is all.

Bachelorette weekend!

2010-08-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hooray! It's finally here!

We're spending the weekend here:

Ojai Valley Inn & Spa

I will be logging plenty of time in here:

Sipping on one of many of these:

And tasting organic wine here:

Casa Barranca Winery

I'll be back Monday, rested and relaxed, with a full recap.

Have a lovely weekend!

Outfit inspiration

2010-08-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

So, it's never to early to start planning one's Honeymoon wardrobe, right?

I saw this image on AT (seriously digging the "must-have outfits" tab) and HAD to recreate:

Until then I saw this one on BR:

At which point I realized, that the perfect solution would be to combine them all together into ONE AMAZING SUPER-OUTFIT*! (Commence wild shopping spree...)

Imagine if you will, the top 1/2 of outfit 1 with the bottom 1/2 of outfit 2:

Clockwise from top left: Shawl Collar Tunic - Ann Taylor; Dusk Til Dawn Hobo - Red by Marc Ecko (Macy's); Floral Linen Scarf - H&M; Inka Boots in Cognac - Steve Madden (Macy's); Skinny Jeggings** - Celebrity Pink (Macy's***).

* Sound familiar to any Friends fans? "Hat's are back." (Rachel) "And this time, they've all ganged up to form one giant SUPER-HAT!" (Chandler) Anyone, anyone?

** Yes, I own something called a 'Jegging'. It's a jean legging. The 80's are back and they are NOT going anywhere. Get used to it.

*** Yes, Macy's is having a CRAZY sale, on top of which, I somehow persuaded the woman in front of me in line to 'loan' me her 20% off coupon. (Thank you!)

All told, the damage was under $200. Not bad. (P.S. Did you know that Ann Taylor offers a 20% student discount? I ain't too proud to beg, yo.)

2 months to go!

2010-08-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

The wedding is only 2 months away! And, while I am feeling stressed and panicky (so much to do!) I am also feeling really good and confident that we can get everything done...hopefully, with some time to spare.

Since last month's post, we've gotten SO much done on our to-do list...including writing a to-do list...seeing the entire population of what needs to get done REALLY helps me kick into high gear. And, has a strangely calming effect.

This month I scratched another 134 miles off my to-do list (And, started to think about organizing some sort of pre-wedding fun-run to cross of that 1,000th mile...too ambitious?) I'm down to just 205 miles to go before the big day!

Also during this past month, we had my bridal shower (so FUN!)at Malibu Wines:

Yum

With all my bridesmaids

Mom and Kiki did an AMAZING job putting this all together

As I was heading home from the shower, I got really sad realizing that this once-in-a-lifetime event was over. What made me sad wasn't realizing that the shower was over, but realizing how fast the day goes by, and how quickly our engagement has flown past.

For all those days when I've wished silently to my self for the day to just 'hurry up and get here' I'm starting to regret not enjoying the whole planning process just a little bit more.

So, I'm going balls to the walls here for these last 2 months, and planning to enjoy every last second!

That SMELL*

2010-08-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

As I sit here writing this, I am being TORTURED by one of the 10 best scents of all time - fresh baking bread.

I'm a jane-come-lately to the Jim Lahey no-knead bread recipe, but by George, I don't think I'll ever buy another loaf of bread again. I breezed right past the bakery stand at the Farmer's Market on Sunday, because I would SO much rather have this:

Considering our apartment is only 1,000 square feet, after a mere 12 minutes in the oven, I was SO distracted by the smell (which, in 1,000 square feet is basically inescapable) that I had to start writing about the bread.

Throw out the bread machine, step away from the KitchenAid. There is NO excuse not to make this bread. It has 4 ingredients. It takes 12 minutes of your time. You don't have to KNEAD!

I followed Deb's repost of the recipe here (which I would highly suggest, especially after reviewing the extensive comments, #29 of which had some GREAT suggestions to make this even easier.)

Basically, it boils down to this:
Mix 3 cups of flour, 1/3 tsp active dry yeast and 1.5 tsp salt.
Combine with 1 5/8 cups of water (heated to 110 degrees).
Cover with plastic wrap, and walk away.
Come back in 18 hours, flour dough and bowl thoroughly, and walk away again.
Come back in 2 hours and bake.
Wait in sheer agony for the next 45-60 minutes while your home smells better than you ever thought possible.
Cool bread on rack (or, burn fingertips and roof of mouth, your choice...)

Yes, clearly I've abridged a lot of important information - which is why you should follow the link above to the 'real' recipe.

But seriously - doesn't this sound like something you could easily do? Don't you want a piece of this:

Pardon me - the timer on my oven just beeped. I've got bread to eat, people.

* Admittedly, not necessarily the best title for a blog post...

Milestone!

2010-07-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

One year, one hundred posts!

I can't believe it - today is my one year blogversary. And, coincidentally, this is my 100th post. Who would've thought I'd have so much to say!?

I'm taking the rest of the night off to celebrate :) with a delicious pesto and shrimp pizza, some homemade cookie dough truffles, and a delicious glass of port.

I'll be back next week with a recap of my bridal shower (tomorrow!) a delicious bread recipe, and some eye candy I'm currently longing for.

Have a lovely Friday!

Cheesecake frozen yogurt

2010-07-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I love frozen yogurt. LOVE.

As in can't walk past a Yogurtland without going in to taste the new flavors - love.

As in, will drive 10 miles out of my way for Menchie's - love.

As in, won't finish my entire dinner, and will pawn leftovers onto A, so that I can stop and get some on the way home - love.

Except, I hate that I don't know what's IN it. Specifically, ingredients, nutrition facts? Don't get me wrong, I checked out the nutrition facts here and here, but, I have no idea if I am portioning out exactly 83 grams of the stuff (um, who am I kidding, most likely NOT!) nor can I remember which flavor I got, whether it was non-fat, low-fat, etc. TOO MUCH WORK. Especially for a dessert. And especially, when I can make it myself.

I know what you're thinking. "Cottage cheese? In frozen yogurt? Gross." I know, because I thought that too. And maybe you'll try it and STILL think it's gross. But not me. I am hooked. (P.S. It is WAY cheaper than $0.35 per ounce...and SO much healthier.)

Cheesecake 'frozen yogurt':
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 scoop protein powder
1 tbsp sugar-free almond Torani (you can buy this at Cost Plus)
1-2 packets of Equal (if you are a CRAZY sweet tooth like me)

Combine all ingredients in a Cuisinart or food processor (I would not suggest a blender - too hard to get it out.) Blend until consistency is smooth. Spoon into a bowl, and freeze for 40-60 minutes, to preference. Top with berries.

Now, tell me that doesn't taste like cheesecake filling.

Enjoy not ruining your diet, meeting your protein needs for the day, and saving $5.37 and a trip outdoors in your jammies :)

Nutrition Facts: Calories - 130; Fat - 1g; Protein - 23g; Carb - 5.5g; Fiber - 0.25g

3 more months

2010-07-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

It's July 9th.

That means only THREE.MORE.MONTHS.

Three months! (Commence panic attack)

Three months to:
* Find supplies for our favors
* Start dress fittings
* Buy shoes to go with the dress
* Taste and pick food and wine for our reception
* Panic
* Nail down the ceremony
* Find the groom's suit, and shoes
* Meet with the DJ and pick music
* Get a marriage license (where does one get one of these, anyways? Does it take long? Am I behind? Ack.)
* Panic late into the night
* Run 340 more miles
* Collapse into heap of rubble

This wedding planning business is some time and labor-intensive, scary stuff.

But, I have no fear. I'll get it all done.

Tomorrow.

Because tonight, I am going to be preoccupied with THESE:

That's right. Figs are back in season! We got a HUGE 2 lb container at Trader Joe's last night and they are DELICIOUS. I think I've consumed about 10 of them already...

On tonight's menu:

(Image courtesy of Martha Stewart)
Yep, that's right. It is pizza friday after all.

Yum. I'll deal with the stress tomorrow.

Mango Milkshake

2010-06-15T13:33:00.001-07:00

Hello summer. Meet my new addiction, the mango milkshake:

These days, I am seriously obsessed with all things protein powder (Designer Whey, specifically.) This stuff is delicious. And you can put it in EVERYTHING! It is the first protein powder I've found that actually dissolves. Easily! Like, with nothing more than a spoon in some milk.

So, I'll be featuring a few of my favorite Designer Whey recipes over the next week or so. But, my current go to is this one:

Mango Milkshake:

Frozen mango (about 15 pieces)
1/2 C non-fat greek yogurt
1/2 C soy milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Combine all ingredients in blender. (Because I like all my food ridiculously sweet, I also added 2 packets of equal to the mix.)

Scrape sides with a spatula to get every.last.drop of goodness into your glass. (You may also want to reserve the spatula to scrape the sides of your glass when you're done drinking. No? Just me? Oh well then.)

Nutrition Facts: Calories - 245; Fat - 3g; Protein - 32.5g; Carb - 22g; Fiber - 2g

4 more months...!

2010-06-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

Four months from today I will be waking up as "Mrs." I'm kind of in shock. We've been engaged for almost a year, I've run 559 miles, and, yes, I've set myself another wedding goal.

Hitting 1,000 miles on my treadmill last month was such a fun accomplishment, that I've decided to hit 1,000 miles on my wedding day. So, that leaves me roughly 441 miles to go before October 9. (Or, about 3.6 miles a day - not too bad.)

Motiviation is TOTALLY not a problem. I picked up my wedding dress yesterday. Remember this beauty?:

It's hanging over our bedroom door (concealed in a garment bag, don't worry) for at least the next couple months until I start alterations. So both the motivation and the means to my goal are sitting within 998 square feet of one another - and me.

In other wedding-related news, we picked a venue for the shower! The lovely Malibu Wines came highly recommended by a friend (Hi Kristin!) and was EXACTLY what I'd been looking for, but unable to find.

Check it out:

Naturally, being at a winery, there will be some sort of wine-tasting related activity - what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon, no?

I visited the winery with my family over Memorial Day weekend. As we were leaving, the live band was just starting to get set up. I really think that if I hadn't had dinner plans, my sister and I could've just stayed there all night, and shared a bottle of wine.

I mean - seriously, this place has Adirondack chairs! Was it made specifically for me?

But, the real clincher, and what made me know deep in my bones that THIS was the shower venue for me? The swing.

I am a sucker for a swing. So much so that I forced my dad to build one in our backyard growing up (by which I mean, when I was in high school.)

So naturally, after a few minutes on this swing, the deal was sealed.

Now, I just can't wait to bake these to serve at the shower:

(Photo courtesy of Tessa at Handle the Heat)

Mine - all mine!

2010-06-07T12:42:00.001-07:00

I love Pasadena. Maybe other stores in other towns were doing it too, but, Neo 39 has had a teaser window up for WEEKS, leading so many unsuspecting shoppers to think they already had the coveted Tom's Wedge in stock. And so, they painstakingly took down a waiting list, and called this morning to say, my shoes were in!

I just walked up there and picked them up, and they're so.dang.cute. I could BARELY restrain myself from wearing them home. (I didn't, in case you're curious, I put them in a baggu, and walked home AS FAST AS I COULD to put them on.)

Now if I could just complete the remaining pieces of my ideal summer outfit...

Milestone

2010-05-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

Today my treadmill and I hit a significant milestone:

A couple weeks ago, I realized I was creeping really close to the 1,000 mile mark on my odometer, and decided, 'what the heck - I'm going to get it to 1,000 before June.' (Nothing like waiting until the absolute last minute eh?)

Kidding aside, this is a significant milestone for me, not just because 1,000 miles is A LOT of miles (and, does not take into consideration all of the outdoor miles I log) but because, never in my WILDEST dreams, did I think the chubby little girl who used to make herself so sick before school on gym class days, that she got to stay home from school just to avoid failing (again!) at chinups, situps, jog-a-thon, or whatever torture was on tap for the day, would become an accomplished runner.

Running has truly evolved into my hobby. I've been running for 234 days straight as of today, and truly, it no longer feels like 'an obligation' that I have to do, just because I set out on this crazy mission to run every day for the year before my wedding. My runs are something I look forward to every morning, something that feels as ordinary as drinking water, checking email, taking a shower. It is a part of my routine, that is so ingrained now, that I can't imagine ever stopping.

I am so glad I am not that intimidated little girl anymore, who didn't think she could do it. More than anything else (toned legs, cardio endurance, license to eat brownies...) running has given me that, and I wouldn't trade the confidence for anything in the world. Except maybe more brownies.

Cooking Club - Brunch Edition

2010-05-30T18:14:00.001-07:00

Tonight is a rarity in our household - I'm home by myself for the evening, and have the following girly activities on tap:
- Sipping a glass of white wine (currently in process)
- Making and eating a delicious grilled cheese sandwich with balsamic onion jam
- Devouring a (rather LARGE) chocolate chip brownie (baking in the oven right now)
- Watching a chick flick (It's Complicated, if you must know)

And as I'm sitting here, having the epitome of girl-time, I'm thinking back to the brunch my ladies cooking club put on last weekend.

It was delicious, entertaining, educational (I flipped my first crepe!) and most importantly, really, really fun. This is an amazing group of girls, and I have so much fun getting together and cooking with these women, and sharing a meal.

So, it's only natural that we wanted to share our recipes too.

On last weeks brunch menu:

Liz's Layered Fruit Salad:

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups fresh or drained canned unsweetened pineapple chunks
1 cup seedless red grapes
2 medium bananas, sliced
2 medium oranges, sectioned
1 medium grapefruit, sectioned
1 pkg. strawberries, sliced
2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
1 pkg. blueberries

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine the first six ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for five minutes. Remove from the heat; cool completely.
Meanwhile, layer fruit in a glass-serving bowl. Remove cinnamon stick from the sauce; pour sauce over fruit.
Cover and chill for several hours or over night.

Recipe yields 8 servings.

Kate's Chocolate Filled Buns:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (about 7 ounces)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 packages quick-rise yeast (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups bread flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
Cooking spray
3 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Lightly spoon whole wheat flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, and quick-rise yeast in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Combine milk, 1/2 cup water, butter, and canola oil in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until mixture is warm (100° to 110°). Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir 1 minute. Add egg; stir 1 minute. Lightly spoon bread flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add bread flour to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn mixture out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 2 minutes.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; lightly coat top of dough with cooking spray. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and punch down. Divide dough into 16 equal portions; shape each portion into a ball. Working with one ball at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), roll dough into a 5-inch circle. Place about 1 1/2 teaspoons chocolate in the center of circle. Roll up dough tightly, jelly-roll fashion; pinch seams to seal. Place buns, seam side down, on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Tuck ends under; cover. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and chocolate.

Lightly coat dough with cooking spray; cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 40 minutes or until doubled in size. Lightly brush tops of buns with egg white.

Bake at 375° for 17 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Jami's Crepe's:
To make the strawberry cream cheese filling:
1/2 of an 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup cut-up strawberries
In a food processor, a blender, or with an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese, ricotta cheese, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, and orange zest together until just smooth. Place the filling and the strawberries in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make the strawberry topping:
3 cups strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice

Mix the strawberries, sugar, and juice together in a food processor or blender until the sugar is dissolved and the strawberries are mashed. Some chunks should remain. Set aside in the refrigerator.

To make the crepes:
(You’ll need a good nonstick pan to cook your crepes.)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
butter

1. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the milk, extract and two eggs together. Add the liquids to the flour mixture and whisk together until smooth.
3. Heat a small skillet or crepe pan until medium hot. Melt some butter in the pan. Pour about a quarter cup of the batter into the preheated pan. Immediately tip and rotate the skillet so that there is a thin coating of batter over the bottom of the pan. Cook until it is light-colored on one side and turn and cook on the second side. Remove the cooked crepe to a plate. Repeat, stacking the crepes between sheets of waxed paper. Cover them to keep warm. This recipe should make 10-12 eight-inch crepes.
(The secret to cooking crepes is to rotate the pan to spread the batter as soon as it hits the hot pan.)

Jami's (crazy delicious) grapefruit sorbet:
3 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice (about 4 grapefruits), divided
3/4 cup sugar

1. Combine 1/2 cup grapefruit juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently.
2. Combine the sugar mixture and the remaining 2 1/2 cups grapefruit juice in a medium bowl; cover and refrigerate until chilled.
3. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze the mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions. Spoon the sorbet into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze for 1 hour or until the sorbet is firm. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)

Kristin's Fritatta:

(AKA, "the frittata that thinks it's a souffle"...it puffed up a good 3-4 inches above the pan when we took it out of the oven! And then settled back into something that rather resembled a frittata)

8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tbs flour
1 bunch asparagus
2 spring onions
Goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Beat eggs, milk and flour. Saute asparagus and onion until soft. Pour eggs into greased glass pie dish. Add asparagus mixture and crumbled goat cheese. Bake @ 350 for 30-40 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked through.

Elizabeth's Granola:
Cooking Spray
3 cups regular oats or Trader Joe's multigrain cereal
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup agave
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried fruit(I used cranberries)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cover a jelly-roll pan with parchment paper.

Combine oats, brown sugar, nuts, and salt in a large bowl.

Combine agave, vegetable oil, and butter in a small saucepan over low heat; cook 2 minutes until warm. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Stir together. Pour over oat mixture. Lightly coat hands with cooking spray. Gently mix until combined.

Spread onto prepared jelly-roll pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes or so, stirring every 10 minutes. Cook until golden brown. Cool completely on pan; stir in fruit.

Variation: For chocolate granola, only use 2 tbs oil and omit butter. Add 2 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate at the same time as the vanilla extract.

Second Variation: Ginger Snap Granola: Add 1 tsp each ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to dry ingredients. Add 2 tbs dark molasses, zest of 1 lemon to wet ingredients. In place of dried fruit, add candied or crystallized ginger, diced

Serve with greek yogurt.

Open House - Welcome to our Bedroom

2010-05-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

The last stop on our home tour!

The bedroom has taken a little getting used to - it's a LOT smaller than the bedroom in my last place. But, now that we've been here a few weeks, I'm growing to like that. I mean, it's the room we generally spend the least time in, and, the most passive time in. So, I'd rather have the extra space in the kitchen and the office.

Really the only piece of furniture we got for the new place is this awesome new dresser. I feel like such an adult (the dresser actually matches the bed frame!)

Did I mention we have a walk-in closet? Or that this is the FIRST time in my life that I've had a walk-in closet? Love.

And finally, the hallway. Behind that door is my prized washer/dryer. And, I love that there is enough room in this hall for my storage bench (which previously had been collecting dust, still unassembled in its' box, because it wouldn't fit in the old place.)

Well - that's it for the Open House tour. Hope you enjoyed it. We love living here, and if you are ever in the Pasadena area, let us know! We love visitors :)

Open House - Welcome to our Living Room

2010-05-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'd been hoping that the weather would clear up a bit before taking today's pictures, because it's been a bit gloomy here all day - rain in May...say wha??

Anyways, seeing as it will be getting dark soon, I caved and took a few shots of the living room.

The living room opens right into the office, which, at first seemed a little odd. But, we took a page from my sister's old house, and used the couch and this table to divide the open space up, and, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like it!

Of course, we had to find a home for our wine rack and wine fridge :)

And some extra seating

And finally, a sneak preview of the hallway leading back to the bedroom, and my prized posession - the washer and dryer!
(And, yes, that is The Hangover on the TV in the background)

Off to make another batch of homemade granola to share with my family - recipe coming soon!

Open House - Welcome to my Office!

2010-05-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned yet how much I love working from home? Oh, I have? Well, you'd love it too if you got to work here:

Notice the space heater sitting right there under my desk? Yes, the same space heater I used to have in my 'actual' office until it was banished from the building by our scary office manager? Just one of the many MANY perks of my 'new' office :) Warmth. (Yes, I know it's May, and 72 degrees. I am still cold. Ok?)

Since we only have 4 rooms in the new place, the office also does double duty as the reading nook:

The library:

And, last but not least, the gym:

(Talk about no excuses...I sit with my back to this thing all day. Every time I turn around, it calls to me. And I usually give in...)

Did I happen to mention that the window behind my computer looks out onto this:

Open House - Welcome to our kitchen!

2010-05-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our kitchen.

After the kitchen in that last place, I think almost ANY kitchen would be a vast improvement. But, seriously - did I win the big kitchen lottery or what? Look at that counter space! Look at all.those.cabinets! Sweet storage!

This kitchen is so big and open that we actually had a place to put our dining room table and chairs - to close off all the open space between the kitchen and the living room (p.s. living room teaser in the background there...)

Because our kitchen is so BIG and so FUNCTIONAL, I've been really motivated to cook lately.

If you look closely, in that second picture, you can even see my delicious breakfast cooking as I was snapping away - always the multi-tasker, you know:

A million thanks to Jenna of Eat Live Run for posting this Oatmeal Pancake recipe. I have been living on them since last week, and I think they may have FINALLY gotten me out of my oatmeal funk.

Oatmeal Pancake:
(Recipe shamelessly copied from Eat, Live, Run)

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup pasteurized egg whites
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
salt, cinnamon to taste
1/2 ripe banana

Combine oats, egg whites, baking powder and seasonings in a medium bowl. Refridgerate, covered, overnight.

Just before cooking, mash 1/2 banana, and incorporate into oat mixture.

Cook over low heat approximately 3-5 minutes per side.

I top mine with a little sugar-free maple syrup, and the other half of the banana.

Open House

2010-05-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new home!

This week, I'll be posting a room-by-room series of the new place. Since there are really only 4 rooms though, (I figure I'll spare you all the bathroom...) I'm starting off today with a front-door teaser, and the top 10 things I LOVE about our new place:

10. Our very own washer and dryer
9. My amazing, HUGE, open kitchen
8. Working from home - part I (streaming KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic all day long)
7. Working from home - part II (taking Pilates classes during the middle of the day)
6. Living 2 blocks away from Old Town Pasadena
5. Green everywhere. Green mountains, Green trees, Green Street, Greene & Greene architecture
4. My awesome book club
3. Lots of lovely windows
2. No downstairs neighbors for the treadmill to disturb
1. Having our first place that is really OURS. Not my old place, or A's old place, but OURS together <3

Welcome to Pasadena!

Moving Day!

2010-05-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

It's here, it's finally here!

Today, we are moving here:

After 10+ years in West LA, I am ready for a serious change: Pasadena here we come! "Pasadena?" (you may be thinking) "But it's so far!" Well, yes. But, as you may remember from my post last month, I am primarily working from home these days. And, as anyone who has ever lived there knows, moving to Pasadena is kind of like joining a cult. It gets this hold on you, and just won't let go! (and you don't want it to either) But I digress...

This move has been a long time coming. I first put my condo up for sale in SEPTEMBER, yes, that's right, NINE months ago. And finally, (FINALLY!) it looks like I have a buyer with some staying power. My escrow is scheduled to close a week from today.

A's condo sale was a totally different, but no less stressful kind of nightmare. His place sold within 2 weeks, but he had the escrow from HELL. It only took EIGHTY SEVEN DAYS for the lender to approve his (totally overqualified) buyers loan. On a 30 day escrow. Whatever.

Now that all is said and done, we finally get to move into our new apartment in Pasadena. Where we'll be over looking this:

...from our super-cool corner apartment. With lots of windows. And a huge den. And a really nice onsite gym.

I will post pictures soon, once we get all our stuff unpacked and set up. Here's hoping the mover's don't break anything...

I have no words

2010-04-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

So I guess I have a mild case of blogger's-block. Since I don't have much to say, I thought I'd at least share some awesome pictures from last week's Grand Canyon hike:

Snow at the top!

With my favorite client Ed (the hike organizer)

Energized!

Outhouse = sight for sore ~~eyes~~ well, uh, you can figure it out...

Quick photo break

Light at the end of the tunnel

We have to climb all the way back up!?!

So close to the top...

And we made it!

no joke

2010-03-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of my new job. No, seriously. How cruel is that?

When I got my offer letter, I didn't really think much about the April 1 start date. But for the past couple months, as this day has been creeping ever closer, I can't help but panic - what if I wake up on the 1st, and ha ha, just kidding - I'm stuck in the old job?

Thankfully, the new job is for real.

For the past 8 years, I've been working for a public accounting firm about 3 miles away from our home. This was my first job out of college, and I have had so many wonderful experiences in this job. I learned more, and faster than I would have in any other job, or with any other firm for that matter. I got to travel the world, working for clients in New York, Phoenix, San Diego, heck, I even lived in Melbourne, Australia for 4 months.

But, for 8 years, my career was my LIFE. And with an impending wedding and a family (hopefully) somewhere off in the not-so-distant future, it began to feel like it was time for a change.

Fortunately, I have a brilliant boss who recognized a need for my talents (but in a different capacity) within our firm. Which means that even so today I start a new job, I am staying with the same firm. I am so thankful, because this firm has really become an extension of my family over the past 8 years.

The old job was go-go-go all the time, serving clients who want what they want, when they want it (which is usually NOW!!! or, 20 minutes ago, even on Saturday afternoons, or Sunday nights...) The old job was competitive - who can bill the most hours? I can work later than you can! Sound awful?

The new job (I think) is none of those things.

Today, I transferred to our National office (um, which just so happens to be in New York...) and I will primarily be working on firm-wide training. For the lay-person, that basically means I am no longer a slave to my clients, and will be spending the majority of my time teaching people how to do what I did for the past 8 years, designing training materials, and improving our firm training programs.

Am I excited? Let's just say, if I was still 10, I'd have made one of those paper-chains to count down the days.

I can't wait for the new job, the new opportunity, and the chance to get more involved in something I feel so passionate about - teaching accounting!

PS - no, we are not moving to New York. I'll be working from home! And, the new job came with a rockin' promotion. I am on top of the world right now.

Pacific half marathon

2010-03-28T22:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ran the Pacific half marathon. For a first half, it wasn't so bad. (Um, ok, who am I kidding - as I crossed the finish line I thought to myself "well, I can cross that one off the life list, no need to do THAT again...").

Here we are queing at the start:

I can honestly say, this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life - harder even than hiking in and out of the Grand Canyon (all 17 miles) in one day. (Which, by the way, I will be doing for the second time this coming Saturday...am I crazy? Yeah, I think so...)

But, in retrospect, it's really kind of all my fault. See, I didn't consider one very important piece of information when I registered for this run:

See that HUGE hill on mile 3? My nemesis. Notice the not-so-gentle upward slope across the whole route? Not a gentle introduction to the world of half marathons.

Although, the view at about mile 4:

Yeah, that part was pretty awesome.

Unfortunately, I didn't snap any pictures at the finish line. I was too busy hugging the sides of the finish arch :) but I did get this cool one from the race photographers:

I'm really proud of myself (yes, it's MY blog, so I get to say that) and although yesterday I was thinking this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, today, with a little retrospect, I'm wondering which race is next? (Flat races only, hilly routes need not apply.)

my favorite day of the year

2010-03-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday!

I'm sure everyone feels this way about their OWN birthday, but March 19th is definately the best day to be born on.

On the agenda for today:
Hike Temescal Canyon
Brunch at Cafe Vida
Shopping on Montana
Pinkberry
Manicure
Pizza night with the whole family

Seriously, does it get any better than this? I don't think so.

Slow Readers book club

2010-03-05T17:47:00.000-08:00

I love to read. Hands down, favorite passive indoor activity.

And yet, as much as I love reading, I have a surprising confession to make – I’ve never been in a book club before. Up until a couple weeks ago, I’d never even heard of a blogger book club, until I spotted this on our.city.lights.

I loved (LOVED!) Walls first book, The Glass Castle. I even posted about it here while I was reading it.

So I decided to take the plunge and a couple weeks ago I joined not one, but TWO book clubs. Right. Because with all my free time these days, MORE commitments are exactly what I need. Sure, ok. More about book club #2 to come…

I finished the book in a weekend, and I’ve been procrastinating writing this post since last Sunday because, well, first of all, I’m new at this. And, how exactly does one engage in a book club that is, by definition, pretty much confined to being a rhetorical conversation? (Unless someone comments on the post, I guess…)

I truly had no idea how to write this post.

So I cheated. I googled some book club discussion questions about the book. And finally, I figured out what to write about.

I’m not going to ‘summarize’ the book, because you can click over to Amazon as easy as I can. I’m not going to torture you with lengthy prose about how great the book is, or how nostalgic it made me for my US History classes. And I’m not going to compare and contrast it with The Glass Castle. I’m just going to answer one question:

“Discuss Lily’s husband Jim. How does his personality complement her strong nature?”

Quite simply, Jim is perfect for Lily. He is calm yet creative, non-plussed yet spontaneous. But most of all he is accepting. He accepts who Lily is and he knows better than to try and change her. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he loves everything about her. When I first realized this, I was puzzled. And then, relieved. And THEN, I had my lightbulb moment.

You see, a couple weeks ago, I went to see Valentine’s Day and the moral that I took away from it was that in a truly successful relationship, you have to accept the other person for ALL of who they are, not just the parts that are easy to like.

Which is exactly why Jim is perfect for Lily. She has flaws. We all do. Think about it. (I know, it sounds horrible.) The idealist in me thinks you should love EVERY.SINGLE.THING about your partner. But damned if that isn’t a high hurdle when you turn it around on yourself? I’d venture a guess that most people don’t love everything about themselves – because if we did, we’d never have any ambition to improve.

So, if we can’t love everything about ourselves, how can we expect someone else to? Better yet, how can we expect to love 100% of someone else? If that’s not setting an unrealistically high expectation, I don’t know what is.

What I'm trying to say, is that the moral of the story (for Lily and Jim, in the movie and I guess even in real life) is learning not to let the parts you don’t love bother you, and accepting one another despite (or maybe even because of) those bits that are a little harder to love.

Maybe it’s not the lightbulb moment for you that it was for me, but if you’re looking for some examples of Jim’s calm acceptance of Lily and her peculiarities, maybe you should consider checking out the book.

By a thread

2010-02-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm alive, still here. Hanging on, just barely...

Between the 60+ hour work weeks and all the running, I am just barely staying afloat.

But I had to post to commemorate a couple special things:
1. 4 straight months of running every day, and I'm more addicted than ever.
2. Only 8 more months until the BIG day! Gah! I can't believe how fast the time is going by.

So much news to share, but not enough time to blog about it all...le sigh. At least I can share the reader's digest version:
1. New job! Transferring to a new office, new department, and totally different role on April 1 (no joke)
2. New home! Both A and I sold our places. We close escrow within a couple days of one another, and move in t-minus 27 days. If only we knew where we were going to live...

That's all for tonight

Decisions, decisions

2010-01-12T20:57:00.001-08:00

I've been making a lot of those around here lately.

First, I picked a dress!

Finding this picture online really helped secure my decision, not only with regards to the dress, but also because...

We picked photographers! Gabriel and Carlie (who took the picture of the dress, above) are not only EXTREMELY talented, they are super cool, and we can't wait to work with them!

Check out their beautiful work at their website, or on their blog.

We also booked our honeymoon today - a 7-day Mediterranean cruise, leaving from Barcelona, and stopping in Monte Carlo, Rome, Naples, Florence and Palma.

And finally, the most important decision of them all: the guy.

Tonight, I got home from a stressful 2 days of work (following on the heels of a non-existent weekend) and walked into the cleanest home I've seen in a long time. A had worked hard all day to clean up our place, and he told me possibly the sweetest thing I've ever heard - he did it all because he couldn't wait to see how happy it would make me when I walked through the door.

I may not be making any other good decisions (wedding, life, what have you) but I know I got at least this one thing right...

What have you been doing with your new presents?

2010-01-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

I got a microplaner and a candy thermometer and I've been busy in my kitchen since Christmas!
First up I made these:

(Image courtesy of The District Domestic)

(My own slightly less professional quality photo)

These are DELICIOUS. Chewy, buttery, sweet, salty, everything a caramel should be. I followed this recipe verbatim, and it was pretty easy. But, it's VERY important to follow the recipe meticulously.

A couple pointers (that I may or may not have learned the hard way):
1. Leave the caramel on the parchment paper while cutting it into small squares. This caramel is sticky. (I turned mine out onto a cutting board, and it promptly began melding itself right onto the plastic. Not fun.)
2. Cut one row of caramel at a time, and wrap immediately. Again - because the caramel is sticky, I noticed that if I left a couple pieces sitting to close together for more than a couple seconds, they started to merge back into each other.

My next culinary experiment: Meyer Lemon Curd

(Image courtesy of put up or shut up>

This might be better than the caramels. I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with the Meyer Lemon these days.

I gambled a bit more on this recipe and made some modifications, but I wasn't about to take any chances with the instructions. So of course, I consulted the most trustworthy source I know for all things culinary/scientific: Alton Brown.

Meyer Lemon Curd

1 C Splenda
4 whole eggs
1 C Meyer Lemon juice (4-5 medium lemons)
1/2 C Meyer Lemon zest
6 T butter, cut into squares

Then just follow Alton's step-by-step instructions. I was hoping that substituting Splenda for sugar wouldn't affect the consistency, and so far it seems fine.

I also had to whisk mine a bit longer than 8 minutes (I'd read somewhere that it should reach about 160 degrees) for it to thicken.

Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

Micro

2009-12-31T15:39:00.000-08:00

Alright folks today is the LAST day of charity month.

I've learned a TON about so many amazing charitable organizations, but today's is really my favorite for several reasons.

Years ago, I read Muhammad Yunus' Banker to the Poor (which, if you have not yet read, I whole-heartedly suggest) and developed a soft spot for Microcredit. So much so that I even took a class about it during my last quarter of business school.

In a nutshell: Microcredit = providing small loans (microloans, usually under $750) to those in poverty who lack collateral and a verifiable credit history and therefore would not be extended traditional credit. These loans are designed to spur entrepreneurship, and are repaid on a very short time-frame (usually less than 20 weeks.) If you're interested in learning more, here is a good intro from Wikipedia. Maybe it's just me, but despite it's flaws, I find the field of Microfinance fascinating.

Which brings me to today's charitable act. Meet Miraluna:

Miraluna sells bananas in her own small store in the Phillipines, as well as working a farm.

She needs additional capital ($150) to supplement her businesses. The loan will be used to buy additional merchandise to sell in her store and will also help her grow more and better crops. Miraluna has three children. Ranging from 1 - 14 years old.

This loan was Miraluna's Christmas wish, and I just kick started it with a $50 donation.

I haven't really asked for many donations throughout the course of this month, because I'm pulling out all the stops now: In case anyone is still reading, please, won't you help me fund the remaining $100 of Miraluna's loan?

If 4 readers can donate just $25 each, we can get her the loan she needs to improve and expand her business. I think it would be AMAZING for run betty run readers to fund an entire microloan - don't you? (Not to mention - this is truly the gift that keeps on giving - once your original donation is repaid by Miraluna, you can pass the amount of the loan onto another candidate.)

Please head here to donate.

Madre

2009-12-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "MADRE uses human rights to advance social justice. We partner with women in communities worldwide to meet urgent, local needs and create long-term solutions to the problems that women face."

Website: http://www.madre.org/index.php?video=1

My donation: $5

MADRE supports existing women's organizations, ensuring that skills and resources remain in the communities that their programs serve for the long term.

Currently, MADRE is working with various organizations to provide programs for women's health, combatting violence against women, peace building, economic and environmental justice.

MADRE's programs are operated in Afghanistan, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Iraq, Kenya, Nicaragua, Palestine, Panama, Peru and Sudan. Quite an impressive global reach.

Feed a cold, starve a....landfill?

2009-12-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

Oh Glamour, I have ever so many bones to pick with you (and your 31 Days of Giving Calendar).

Today's suggestion: "Starve a landfill. Make this a 'no wrapping paper' year - use newspapers, even the pages of this magazine, instead."

On December 29? Don't you think it just might be a little bit too late to be thinking about wrapping my presents for the holiday that passed, oh FOUR DAYS AGO!?!

Logistics aside, I did make a concerted effort to use as little wrapping paper as possible this year. Among my tactics - recycling wrapping paper and gift bags from last year and using creative scraps of paper leftover from crafting projects.

Ultimately, I did have to use some wrapping paper. But, I didn't buy any. Either before the holiday or at the 50% off day-after sales. Mostly, because I saved so much paper by re-using what I had, that I still have plenty to get me through at least next Christmas.

Feel's pretty good actually.

Contraband

2009-12-28T19:35:00.000-08:00

Last week, after stuffing our bellies at delicious Bouchon in Northern California wine country, A and I took a little stroll up Washington Street in the heart of beautiful Yountville.

It was a brisk and beautiful evening, and as we neared the end of our walk, we meandered across the specatcular grounds of the Vintage Estate Mall when what to my wandering eyes did appear but:
A beautiful Meyer lemon tree!

This one was pregnant with fruit, so much so that a few lemons had even fallen to the ground and begun to spoil. Now, I'm not usually one for ~~stealing~~ taking things that aren't mine, but in this case - clearly no one else was making good use of the fruit, and it's not like we were on private property, (plus, no one was there to catch me in the act...)

All week I've been scouring the blog world to find just the perfect recipe for my contraband lemon. Tart? Lemon bars? Preserves? Finally, I settled on this:

(expert food stylist and professional photographer, alas, I am not...)

Meyer Lemon Pasta

1 8 oz. package Papardelle (I like Trader Joe’s egg papardelle)
1 large Meyer lemon
1.5 T olive oil
About 20 basil leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 C ricotta cheese

1. Cook papardelle according to package instructions.
2. While pasta is cooking, zest the lemon. Reserve. Cut in half and juice the lemon. Reserve.
3. Chiffonade the basil leaves.
4. When pasta is al dente, drain. Return pasta to pot, and mix in lemon zest, juice, oil, basil, salt and pepper.
5. When pasta is thoroughly mixed, add ricotta, tossing gently.

Notes: Most of the recipes I (loosely) based this on suggested reserving anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, and stirring that in with the ricotta for a creamier sauce. Personally – I wasn’t looking to make a “cream” sauce. I like my ricotta lumpy. Up to you though, really.

Also, if you’re one of the lucky ones with a Kitchen Aid pasta maker, I bet homemade pasta would be fantastic in this. But, the TJ’s papardelle is a really close 2nd to homemade.

For dessert, A treated me to Mani's bakery.

And we topped it all off with a delicious bottle of this:

Behind

2009-12-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

What is it about Christmas that makes you want to put the rest of your life up on a shelf for a few days, and then, only much later, when you're fully rested and recovered (and slightly bored...) go pick it back up again?

For me, the past few days have flown past, and I'm not quite sure what I did.

I know what I didn't do - blog.

Another rapid fire posting for the last several days' charities:

In this economy, 36% more families are struggling with hunger. For $5 at http://feedingamerica.org/ you can provide 20 bags of groceries to food banks around the country.

If you knit (which I do not...) you can send squares to http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/warmup.html to be worked into an afghan that will be given to women's shelters. Or you can take the easy way out (like me) and just donate cash...

A donation to International Medical Corp enables them to provide life-saving services by training health care professionals to care for their own communities. You know, the whole give a man vs. teach a man to fish... concept?

And finally, at the I DO Foundation brides and grooms can link their wedding registries to their favorite charities to generate funding for their favorite causes. We haven't created our registry yet (though after spending the better part of yesterday in Williams Sonoma and Sur la Table, I'M READY) but I'll be sure to link back to it when we do.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

I couldn't leave without spreading another smidge of holiday cheer this evening:

Merry Christmas!

P.S. This one's for Mom - let's see how often she checks the blog, and if she can figure out what it is before tomorrow...

The Fistula Foundation

2009-12-24T18:16:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "...to raise awareness of and funding for fistula repair, prevention, and educational programs worldwide."

Website: http://www.fistulafoundation.org/index.html

My donation: $5

Fistula mainly plagues women in developing countries and is apparently easy to treat with increased access to obstetric care.

Not being one of the more "glamourous" (no pun intended) charities selected by the mag this year, and on Christmas Eve, nonetheless, I'll spare you all the medical definition of fistula. I'd encourage you NOT to look it up on your own. Definately not right before mealtime. Or after. Or really, ever. And for those who are still curious, I offer this explanation of the effects of fistula, lifted from the website: "A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their inability to have children and their foul smell." Gross.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

Winter Weekend

2009-12-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

This weekend, A and I headed up north to spend some time in SF and a leisurely couple days eating and drinking our way through Napa. We had an awesome time, and since my posts have been pretty sparse for pictures lately, I'll just let the evidence speak for itself.

We had a wonderful time.

Union Square

Bramble Trees outside Beringer Brothers

With dear friend Meredith at Beringer 'Mansion'

Oxbow Public Market

Seriously? This place is foodie heaven. Like a mini-Embarcadero with varying food stands, bakeries, chocolatiers, a green grocer, cafe, even a wine and cheese market. We stopped here twice. (Um, in the same day.)

Spices at Oxbow

Beautiful organic produce

My own personal heaven on Earth

No, wait - this is my heaven on Earth

Nope, wrong again - THIS is my heaven on Earth

Well, in any case, here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Playing Catch-Up

2009-12-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

I went on vacation! (My laptop did not...)

So, I have a bit of catching-up to do today. In the interest of not boring you all to death, I'll try to keep this short.

First up we have GO campaign, an Organization, "dedicated to helping orphans and vulnerable children throughout the world build a better future."

Image courtesy of GO campaign (clearly)

I chose to support the Ethiopian School for Tigray with my $10 donation. After recently finishing Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea I firmly believe in the connection between education and the eradication of poverty and violence. According to GO campaign's site, "only 63.4% of school age children [are] enrolled in primary schools. Most schools lack proper sanitation, playgrounds are practically nonexistent, and supplies and materials are luxury items afforded to very few schools." My donation will go towards establishing a comprehensive educational program to benefit about 200 children in the Hintalo Wejirat District of Northern Ethiopia.

Next up we have Hannah's Socks.

This amazing Organization began because of the curiousity and compassion of a 4 year old girl:

Images courtesy of Hannah's Socks

It's not so much that her story is anything too special. But what it inspired her parent's to do is moving. I didn't know that socks and undergarments were the least donated (and most needed) items for most homeless shelters. (I always just assumed it was food.) My $5 donation will help Hannah reach her goal of donating 60,000 pairs of socks in 2009. She's pretty close - with 54,345 pairs donated to date.

And finally today we have free kibble where for the 10 seconds it takes to answer a trivia question, you can donate 10 pieces of kibble to animal shelters where it will be used to feed hungry dogs.

Having not grown up with pets (and with a somewhat irrational fear of most dogs) I didn't really understand the significance of this Organization. Until this weekend when animal shelters in San Francisco were all over the news. Apparently, Chihuahua's were 'trendy' pets in 2007 or so. However, since they are no longer all the rage (at least, not in California anyways) these dogs are now overcrowding animal shelters throughout the state. Virgin America airlines has graciously arranged to fly several of these pups to shelters on the East Coast (where, apparently Chihuahua's are still in high demand) as soon as the weather permits.

So there you have it, my charitable acts for the past few days. Be back later with a vacation recap and some gorgeous photos.

The International Rescue Committee

2009-12-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "Founded in 1933, the IRC is a global leader in emergency relief, rehabilitation, protection of human rights, post-conflict development, resettlement services and advocacy for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression."

Website: https://www.theirc.org/

My donation: $10

The IRC works in 42 countries providing emergency relief, relocating refugees, and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. They also help refugees resettle in the U.S and become self-sufficient.

The IRC is another well-known and well-respected charitable Organization with a long-standing history of doing good, that I am proud to support with my donation today.

Home Based Care Alliance

2009-12-19T19:24:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "...advocating for transparency and accountability in HIV/AIDS programming."

Website: http://homebasedcarealliance.wordpress.com/

My donation: $5

The Alliance is comprised of caregivers who improve the lives of orphans, vulnerable children and people living with AIDS by promoting food security, training community members in health care, providing counseling and creating safe havens for women and children in need.

As far as I can tell, the Alliance is a vehicle for the caregivers to both unite, gain recognition and access funding.

I was surprised to learn that among the many challenges facing caregivers and those whom they serve, the primary challenge isn't solely a lack of funding, but really it is the social stigma of HIV/AIDS as well as women's inequality (which, unfortunately, fuels the vicious cycle of HIV/AIDS in Africa.)

Ultimately, it seems a caregivers first and foremost role is one of service - to protect and serve those most in need. The ultimate philanthropists.

GoGirlGo! Fund

2009-12-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "[To] support...non-profit agencies providing sports and/or physical activity programs for girls along the Gulf Coast whose facilities and programs have been damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina."

Website: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Giving-And-Membership/R/Robin-Roberts-GoGirlGo-Fund.aspx

My donation: $5

The GoGirlGo! Fund is the primary program adminstered by the Women's Sports Foundation. The purpose of the Fund is to combat the physical health problems that affect a large proportion of young American women and girls. The Organization (supported in large part by the GoGirlGo! Fund) encourages girls to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle. Something very near and dear to my heart.

Literally every Organzation I have researched so far this month has reminded me of the sad conditions facing so many of the people both in this country and across the world. And while I feel strongly about so many causes, obsesity is one that really socks me in the gut every time. Did you know that 25 million children (under the age of 17) are overweight or obese? That 15-30% of girls aged 16 & 17 report that they get NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AT ALL on a daily basis?

The most basic premise of this Organization is that if kids/girls are involved in sports, they'll be too busy to fall into some of the worse traps that await them, such as drug use, underage drinking, and a whole host of other unsavory behaviors. Not to mention the fact that they will be improving their health and their quality of life.

(Images courtesy of Women's Sports Foundation)

I appreciate what the Women's Sports Foundation is doing for these girls.

Running errands...literally

2009-12-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

I love Fridays (when I work from home). I love December in Southern California (helllllloooo 75 degrees and sunny). And I especially love running errands. Literally.

This morning, I brought our car in for service. One of the many MANY perks of leasing a BMW is the free maintenance and the shuttle service. Correction. The ONE-WAY shuttle service.

Not such a big deal for your average two-car family. A and I however share our one car (now there's a story for another time) which has never been problematic. Except for when we have to take our one and only car in for service. The service center is nice enough to bring us back home after we drop the car off. But when it's ready for pick-up? Sorry Charlie, it's up to you to get back there.

Thank goodness we live a whopping 3 miles away, so I've taken to running back to pick up the car when it's ready.

Today, we piled on an additional jaunt to the grocery store first, and from there I continued on to the dealership while A walked the groceries home and cooked us up some lunch.

Seriously - I don't think there is any way to improve on errands (well, barring a fairy godmother loaning me her wand...that is.)

Carolina for Kibera

2009-12-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "Carolina For Kibera (CFK) fights abject poverty and helps prevent violence through community-based development in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya and beyond."

Website: http://cfk.unc.edu/about.php

My donation: $5

CFK is an affiliated program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Organization firmly believes that in order to solve problems related to poverty, those affected by it must be a part of the solution. In that sense, the Organization is much more a hand up than a hand out. I like this philosophy.

Kibera faces a whole host of problems, from an overwhelming youth population, to bloody clashes between the 6 different ethnic groups that call the slums home, to the estimated 12-15% of the population suffering from HIV/AIDS.

CFK's aim is to promote youth leadearship and provide improved sanitation and healh conditions through core projects such as the Youth Sports Program, the Tabitha clinic and the Binti Pamoja Center.

As the Organization is affiliated with UNC, students from various universities (including UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, Georgetown, Columbia, and many others) can apply to intern as volunteers with the Organization and may even have the opportunity to travel to Kenya and study in nearby universities in Nairobi. Some of the students even blog about their experiences with the Organization here.

(All images courtesy of Carolina for Kibera)

Seems pretty cool to me.

Small Can Be Big

2009-12-16T21:03:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "...to address a developing homeless crisis in Massachusetts."

Website: http://www.smallcanbebig.org/

My donation: $5

Small can be big is an amazing Organization. The premise is that small local donations for a family on the edge of financial disaster can make a huge difference over the long run. Too bad the organization is based across the country from me. But still, I love the site set up - as a donor, you get to choose what type of need you want your contribution to support: fending off eviction, escaping domestic violence, struggling with unemployment, etc. For each unique cause there are several families who need a helping hand, and a brief description of the circumstances they face.

For example:

I selected "fending off eviction" (based on my recently developed soft spot for homelessness.) My donation went to a widowed mother of 6 struggling scrape together $1,300 to pay her rent for the next month, and prevent her grieving family from eviction. This family lost their father in an unexpected accident last year, and are now struggling to make ends meet. The kids range in age from 3 - 16. After reading their story, I only wish I could give more.

What I love most about this site is the personal stories and the ability to direct your donation to whichever cause you choose.

Go check it out - these stories will tug at your heartstrings, and since donations as small as $1 are accepted, hopefully you'll be able to help in a small way.

Share Our Strength (and have a holiday party!)

2009-12-15T13:29:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "Share Our Strength is a National Organization that works hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry."

Website: http://www.strength.org/

My donation: $5

Redemption! Today's charitable activity is awesome. Share Our Strength is a fantastic organization, working to solve a problem that I have recently become much more concerned with - childhood hunger in America.

As I mentioned last week, Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle focuses extensively on the problems of childhood hunger in certain parts of the U.S. I was saddened to read how in middle school, Walls was so humiliated that her families poverty precluded her from bringing a lunch to school, that she spent the majority of her days sitting in the girl's bathroom, waiting for someone to throw a half-eaten sandwich or unwanted piece of fruit in the trash, so she could scavenge herself a meal.

(images courtesy of Share Our Strength)

[Ordinarily, this is the part of the post where I'd start telling you about all the great work the Organization is doing. Lucky for me, Share Our Strength has their very own blog, which saves me from writing all about it.]

And now the best part of today's challenge - the dinner party! We're hosting a holiday potluck (which is really more of a holiday wine & cheese & cookie party, but whatever) for a group of our friends tonight. The idea here being, the money we save on going out would be contributed to Share Our Strength.

Last night, I got my festive (Taylor Swift) Christmas music on, busted out the mixer, and whipped up some awesome holiday cookies, including...these homemade oreos.

While Deb's photos are hands down lovelier than mine (see evidence below) mine still taste AWESOME. (And I should know, seeing as I may or may not have eaten 3 of these for lunch today...thank goodness for long runs.)

Mine (What they lack in looks they more than make up for in taste)

Deb's (image via Smitten Kitchen)

American Red Cross

2009-12-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: "The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies."

Website: http://www.redcross.org/en/

My Donation: ~~FREE~~ $10

For CYRING OUT LOUD Glamour!!! You know, normally, I am not one of those people ~~with nothing better to do with their time~~ who send nasty letters to the editor into magazines. But...this is seriously the last straw.

Today's charitable act was MEANT to be sending holiday cards to soliders overseas. I was actually excited for this one. I have plenty of Christmas cards lying around, and for little more than the cost of a stamp, I could send as many notes of thanks to the men and women protecting our country as my little heart desires.

Except.

The cards are actually mailed to an American Red Cross P.O. Box, not directly to the troops, so that each card can be checked for hazardous material and inappropriate content before being delivered to deserving soldiers. Totally understandable.

Now lets think about this, shall we? Today is December 14. Christmas is 11 days away. Hannukah started 3 days ago. Even if delivering the mail only took a week (to get overseas...yeah, right...but still, a simplifying assumption) and sorting the mail took a week, cards would have to be mailed out by December 11 AT THE LATEST in order for the servicemen to receive them on Christams.

Not surprisingly, the Red Cross has THOUGHT of this, and has closed the Holiday Card P.O. box for the 2009 season. Glamour, however, chose this as the charitable act for TODAY, December 14, WHEN THE BOX WAS ALREADY CLOSED!

Am I surprised? Not in the least.

But, I feel so guilty that I missed the deadline, that I decided to make a small contribution to the American Red Cross instead. P.S. $0.92 of every $1.00 that is donated to the Red Cross is spent on humanitarian services and programs!

Glamour take note - my subscription notice just came in the mail this weekend. Will I be renewing? Uh...what do you think?

Doctors Without Borders

2009-12-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: ...provides assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict...irrespective of race, religion, creed or political convictions.

Website: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

My Donation: $5

Founded in 1971, Doctors Without Borders (or "Medicins Sans Frontieres", "MSF") provides aid to people in 60 countries. MSF primarily helps people who are affected by armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, lack of health care or natural disasters.

In 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize. Pretty cool.

One thing I have always respected about MSF is the fact that the bulk of the volunteer work is done by ordinary medical professional's who donate their time to serve the underserved for a period of time. To me, MSF has always been the Organization that epitomizes that the regular Joe can do something to make a difference.

So, I was happy to make my contribution to MSF today.

In other news, in case anyone out there is keeping track, I skipped a day. I'm not proud. But yesterday was SUPER busy. And, when I sat down tonight to start researching the Organization (goodgifts.org) I just wasn't feeling it. Again, not enough information about the charity for my taste. Plus, I was $5 above budget from Wednesday's donation to Save the Children (who wouldn't accept a donation of anything less than $10) so I chose to skip a day and get back on budget.

Oh well.

Hope you enjoyed your weekends - I need another day to recover from mine!

Plastic Jungle

2009-12-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: Uh...doesn't really have one

Website: http://www.plasticjungle.com/pjweb/

My Donation: Nothing

Strike 3? This week has not been good for me, charitably speaking.

I was amped by the idea of donating my unused giftcards to charity. I had an old Macy's card lying around with about $8 (what am I ever going to get at Macy's for $8??) and a couple $5 Coffee Bean cards collecting dust (I mean, why go to Coffee Bean when you could have STARBUCKS!?).

And then I went to the website...

(Side rant: I love charity. I love the internet. I do NOT love how most charities use the internet. I get it, it's a charity. There's not a whole lot of money lying around for website upgrades. But seriously? If your Organization's site is so poor that it makes it hard for me to find out any meaningful information about your mission or operations, is it any wonder that I'm not going to bother donating to your cause? And P.S. Glamour - did you hire Olivia from "The City" as the junior copy editor who reviewed this error ridden giving calendar? 'Cuz I'm thinking a monkey could've done a better job...)

Ok, so now that I've gotten that out of my system:

Plastic Jungle (PJ) is not a charity. It's an online ~~black market~~ (ahem...) "vehicle" for after-market buying and selling of retail gift cards. If you persist and wade through the fine print and buried links, you'll find one page devoted to non-profit organizations, however, PJ puts the onus on the individual charities to round up a bunch of unused gift cards, mail them in, and then takes a sizeable 20% commission and convenience fee off the face value of the cards, remitting the remainder back to the charity in cash. P.S. gift cards with a value of less than $10 are not welcome. (The minimum value jumps up to $25 if you want to donate cards through the site.)

Seriously people? Worst idea ever. The brilliant (or so I thought) part of this plan is putting those piddly $5 gift cards (or remaining $3.56 balances at stores you don't really shop in) to some sort of productive use. For $10-$25 I can surely use that gift card on SOMETHING.

Sorely disappointed today (could ya tell)?

If anyone is looking for me this weekend, I guess I'll be buying Christmas presents at Macy's while sipping a Vanilla Ice Blended. (Oh, gag.)

GoodSearch

2009-12-10T09:46:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: To help as many nonprofits and schools as possible…[by] funding the great works they are doing.

Website: http://www.goodsearch.com/

My donation: Free!

All day today, instead of Googling things, I am GoodSearching them. I’ve left the browser up on my computer and every time I need to look something up, I’m clicking over to GoodSearch.

One thing I really like about this site – you get to choose which charity your search supports. I chose the Susan G. Komen International Headquarters (since I was mildly disappointed that none of this month’s charities supported breast cancer.)

Good Search also has a link which demonstrates how much funding has been raised in support of each charity, broken down by month and number of searches. This page also explains (in much better detail than the Care2 site) how using the site benefits the charity. Namely, “50% of the revenue generated from advertisers on GoodSearch is shared with the charity.” I’m presuming then, that GoodSearch uses the data (i.e. which charity user’s select) to track the advertising revenue generated by each search. That’s the good news.

Now for the bad news… estimated funding is just over $0.01 per search. Yikes that’s low. For the entire 2009 year, the Susan G. Komen foundation has only earned $375.82 from over 35,000 searches.

If any ~~nerds~~ inquiring minds like me are curious how pay-per-click advertising works, and what exceptions there are to the GoodSearch model, I highly recommend visiting their FAQ. Seems as though there are several searches that won’t qualify towards donations (like searching for commonly known URL’s ahem, Facebook and Hotmail, searches for anything ending in “.com”, and many other exceptions.) This is GoodSearch’s intelligent way of preventing fraudulent use of the site to artificially drive advertising revenues.

Will I still use GoodSearch? As long as the search results are comparable with Google, I’d rather have 50% of my generated ad revenue going to charity than 100% of it ending up in Sergey Brin’s pockets.

2 down, 10 to go

2009-12-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

I just finished month 2 of running every day. Man, time flies when you are having fun.

Not much notable to report this month, other than the truly nasty cold that I got right around Thanksgiving. I even missed a couple days of work, but couldn’t bring myself to miss a day of running, so I ran right through that cold. Word to the wise – running (while breathing through one’s nose) with a sinus infection…not so fun.

No pictures this month, since most of my runs were on my trusty treadmill. Dude – it’s cold.

Except for this one - taken from one of my runs while we were in Hawaii for a wedding:

And this one (because it's just so pretty):

10 more months 'til the big day!

Care2

2009-12-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: Make it easy for everyone to live a healthy, green lifestyle and impact the causes they care about most.

Website: http://www.care2.com/

My donation: Free!

The “click to donate” section of the website was a little tough to find http://www.care2.com/take-action/ (made even MORE difficult since the folks at Glamour had incorrectly listed the url, but whatevs…) but once I started clicking, I realized just how EASY this one was.

As I was clicking away, I began to wonder how my click was generating funding for the various charities. I think I must be part engineer (thanks Dad!) because I am always curious about how things work. Or maybe it’s all that good business school training…

So, how is it that by my clicking on an icon, I help cure breast cancer? Someone break it down for me, please?

I spent the better part of an hour browsing the website, and the best I could come up with was that their advertisers sponsor the website and somehow, the more times people click on the icons the more the advertisers contribute to the various charities. Huh.

I wish I had better things to say about this site, because I really believe the Organization is trying to do (A LOT) of good things. Unfortunately, that old saying, “you can’t be everything to everyone” really comes to mind. The site lacks focus, which wouldn’t be so bad…except that the vast expanse of coverage the Organization is clearly trying to achieve comes at the expense of the website’s functionality. Trust me, it was a nightmare to navigate.

But, would I spend the 15 seconds a day to do click a few of the links? Yeah, it doesn’t get much easier than that.

Save the Children

2009-12-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: “Our mission is to create lasting, positive change in the lives of children in need.”

Website: http://www.savethechildren.org/

My donation: $10

Save the Children is one of the larger and more long standing non-profit organizations, providing a wide range of programs from prenatal care for new mothers to immunizing young children, building schools in developing countries and improving literacy and nutrition for children living in poverty in the U.S.

Hold up – what? Save the Children is doing work in the U.S.? I learned something new. And timely.

Until a couple nights ago, I didn’t realize the extent of poverty in the U.S. That is, until I started reading Jeanette Walls, “The Glass Castle”. You may have heard the buzz about this book, but in case you live under a rock:
Walls and her siblings grow up in what can only be described as poverty in the remote desert of the Western United States. While Walls and her siblings mature into successful adults, their parents ultimately follow their children to New York to watch them succeed, while choosing instead to live a life of homelessness.

The book is marvelous. But it opened my eyes to a very real problem that is going on all around us in the United States.

Did you know that 1 in 6 children in the U.S. lives in poverty? I didn’t. According to STC’s website (there is a “U.S. Programs” link under the “Programs” tab, in case you’re browsing the site) there are communities in Appalachia, the Mississippi River Delta, the Gulf Coast, the Southwest (where Walls grew up) and California’s Central Valley that are so impoverished that the conditions there resemble parts of the developing world.

Ok – plain English now? There are communities in California that are as developed as a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.

It breaks my heart to think that there are children living within a hundred miles from me who are suffering. I was especially saddened to read that children living in poor rural areas are disproportionately affected by obesity because they grow up in environments with limited access to healthy food and limited opportunities to be physically active.

It doesn’t surprise me. I know you can buy a lot more calories with $1 at McDonalds than you can with $1 at Trader Joes.

But, just because it’s no surprise to me doesn’t mean it sucks any less. This one hits a little too close to home for me.

Go donate.

Taproot Foundation

2009-12-07T08:08:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: “The Taproot Foundation strengthens nonprofits by engaging business professionals in service.”

Website: http://www.taprootfoundation.org/

My donation: ~~Free!~~ REJECTED

Taproot runs a limited number of pro-bono projects at a time for selected non-profit organizations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and a handful of other cities. A Taproot staff member acts as a project manager for each team. Volunteers work in teams of 3 - 6 and primarily complete their service online. Teams hold weekly 30-minute conference calls and meet in person with the client about once per month. Taproot’s projects generally last 6 months and require a time commitment of about 100 hours over that period.

The initial questionnaire took about 10 – 15 minutes to complete online. A wide variety of business skill sets lend themselves well to the types of volunteer positions that Taproot uses on each of their pro-bono projects. Unfortunately, my skill set was not in demand for any of the current projects that are running in the Los Angeles area.

I received a (very polite) email from the Foundation informing me that they, “…could not find a matching pro bono consulting project for [my] experience at this time.”

While I was initially crushed from the harsh rejection (kidding, kidding) I have to admit, I’m breathing a sigh of relief on this one. A 100-hour, 6-month team project sounded frighteningly reminiscent of my MBA GAP project, which we painfully rehashed in a dinner conversation last week. Talk about dodging a bullet!

I guess they can’t all be charities I’m totally excited about, right?

National Gardening Association

2009-12-06T14:57:00.001-08:00

Mission Statement: “To promote home, school, and community gardening as a means to renew and sustain the essential connections between people, plants, and the environment.”

Website: http://www.garden.org/home

My donation: $5

The description from the giving calendar had me really psyched about today’s charity: “$5 to garden.org buys seeds for enough veggies to feed a struggling family of seven.”

Awesome. Feeding the hungry with homegrown healthy vegetables? I’m actually feeling a little bit jealous that this hungry family gets to eat better quality produce than I do (since the extra 2 hours I got sleeping in this morning was more important to me than dragging my slightly hungover butt to the Farmer’s Market.)

But I digress.

I browsed out to the website, but the information I found there makes the organization sound more like a gardening education program than a charity devoted to feeding the hungry with (cost effective) fresh vegetables. I mean, yes it is important to instill the value of gardening in children, and yes, I’d like to know which plot of my backyard is the ideal section to plant my vegetable garden…but, well, I feel a bit mislead.

I’m still making my donation, but Glamour: next time, please don’t mislead readers about the mission of the organization, k?

Vitamin Angels

2009-12-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: “Vitamin Angels is dedicated to reducing child mortality by advancing availability, access and use of essential nutrients to newborns, infants and children under five.”

Website: http://vitaminangels.org/

My donation: $5

Seriously? How cute are these kids:

I’m totally the ~~sucker~~ sap who cries at those Sally Struthers, “Feed the Children” commercials. But, I’ve never done anything about it.

Interesting facts I learned in my research:
· One third of all childhood deaths are caused by undernutrition
· Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of childhood mortality and blindness
· Vitamin A deficiency can be cured with a simple capsule every 6 months, and can reduce childhood mortality by 23%

But perhaps the most compelling thing I learned? The cost to provide vitamins to one child for the first 5 years of life (which are the most critical years) is ONE DOLLAR. That’s it. A dollar. So, basically, for the cost of the tall latte you’re sipping right this minute, you could have treated malnutrition for ~3 kids.

Inspired yet? I just saved 5 kids. What have you done this morning?

I’m never buying canned soup again

2009-12-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

I’ve been sick for the past week (sadly, including on Thanksgiving) and nothing has sounded appetizing except for soup. I’ve tried everything to kick the craving from Progresso (blech) to Whole Foods soup bar (marginally better) to the Ramen House (we’re getting close).

Today I made this for lunch:

And now I’m serious when I say I’m never bothering with that store-bought crap again. I made this soup in 15 minutes, with ingredients that I already had on hand. I can’t even get to the store and back and microwave my soup in 15 minutes anyways, so it’s not like it even takes longer to make this soup! The keys to speed are cooking the stock and the chicken at the same time (in separate pans) and slicing the vegetables really thinly, so that they’ll cook faster.

Almost Homemade Chicken soup

1 ½ C Stock (I used Pacific’s Organic, Free-Range Chicken Broth)
Vegetables (I used 1 carrot, 1/3 onion and 1 green onion)
2 oz Pasta (I used Buckwheat Soba)
3 oz Chicken breast (Frozen is fine, doesn’t even need to be thawed)
Seasonings to taste (I used a little sea salt and black pepper on the chicken)
Medium saucepan
Small frying pan

1. Add about ¼ C stock to a small/medium saucepan over low heat.
2. At the same time, place chicken breast in small frying pan over medium heat.
3. Chop vegetables and add to stock. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
4. Add about ¾ C stock to saucepan and bring back up to simmer.
5. Remove chicken breast from saucepan when almost cooked through, and chop in to bite-size pieces.
6. Add remaining stock to saucepan, along with pasta and bring back up to simmer. Simmer until pasta is almost cooked.
7. Add chopped chicken to saucepan about 1-2 minutes before pasta is cooked, and simmer until pasta is done. Pour soup into bowl, eat, and be magically cured of ailment. (No, seriously. It works. I added a tall glass of orange juice on the side to boost the curing effectiveness.)

Street Soccer USA

2009-12-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: “Soccer for social change…Ending homelessness through sports.”

Website: http://streetsoccerusa.org/

My donation: $5

Homelessness has always been a soft spot for me. When I was in high school, I played in an orchestra that rehearsed at Cal State Northridge. As soon as I turned 16, I started driving myself to rehearsals every Sunday night. To get there, I took the Reseda exit off the 101, and every Sunday night, the same homeless man was standing on the corner. He seemed nice enough, so I started giving him a dollar every week when I drove past him. Then, I started bringing him food – a sandwich here, an apple there. I thought we had a pretty good relationship.

One week, I decided to go all out. I asked my mom to help me put together a care package – toothbrush, toothpaste, bottled water, snack packs. I was so excited to drive to rehearsal that week. And wouldn’t you know it – my homeless friend wasn’t there.

Street Soccer USA acknowledges that the homeless are generally looked down upon, marginalized and socially excluded. By creating a team environment, the Organization provides a community of support and helps the homeless to build trusting relationships.

I was impressed to learn that one year after joining the Street Soccer program, 75% of participants move off the streets.

I never saw my homeless friend again. I can only hope that he got his life together and ended up off the streets too.

Donate books

2009-12-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Another freebie! And timely too. Lately, I’ve been feeling like A and I are outgrowing our space, not because we need more space, really, but because we just have TOO MUCH STUFF. Stuff that we don’t use, don’t need, probably shouldn’t have bought in the first place, and it is crowding us out of our home!

I went on a mini- cleaning binge and pulled together a nice stack of books destined for my local public library: http://www.lapl.org/branches/Branch.php?bID=16

I love our library. It’s really small, walking distance from our place, and the librarians are really friendly. Did you know that you can call and ask them if they have a book, they’ll look for it, and if they do have it, they’ll pull it from the shelf and save it for you? Total time saver. (Because I can’t tell you how many times I have walked up there only to be disappointed that the books I was looking for were out on loan.)

I guess I should probably suck it up and pay my overdue fines when I drop off the pile of books this afternoon…

icouldbe.org

2009-12-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

Mission statement: “icouldbe.org is an online career development/educational planning and mentoring program matching at-risk middle and high school students with volunteer adult mentors. By connecting students online with committed professionals from a broad range of career fields, icouldbe.org expands young peoples’ vision of their own potential, encourages them to set educational and career goals, and helps identify pathways to achieving goals.”

Website: http://icouldbe.org/

My donation: Ad hoc mentor (free!)

Each year, 1.2 million young people drop out of school. This number didn’t mean very much to me until it was put in the following context: that is 30% of all students in the U.S. (THIRTY PERCENT! Are you kidding me?!) The students icouldbe.org serves are from the demographic communities that are statistically most likely to drop out of school.

I also learned that an alarmingly low 68% of 9th grade students will graduate from high school, and only 18% will go on to receive an undergraduate degree. The numbers didn't hit me until I saw this graph:

(Apologies for the blurry image)

See that teeny tiny small bar on the right? Mind you, this is not 18% of underprivileged 9th graders, this is 18% of ALL 9th grade students in America. (Ummm, seriously people? This is America! I really had no idea.)

In all fairness, I feel like I should warn you – this one has a little meat to it. In order to become an online mentor in the program, you’re required to submit to a background check, which can take up to 2 weeks. Filling out the background check questionnaire takes about 5 minutes.

The time commitment for a year-long mentor is about an hour a week. Luckily, there is the “ad hoc mentor” option, which basically allows you to log in and answer mentee’s questions that are posted to the discussion boards whenever you have a few spare moments.

I spent 10 minutes this morning answering questions about financial aid for college, money management and career decisions. Super easy, and surprisingly rewarding!

Pajama Program

2009-12-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement: “The Pajama Program…provides new, warm pajamas and new books to children in need in the United States, and around the world, many who are waiting and hoping to be adopted.”

Website: http://www.pajamaprogram.org/

My donation: $10

As I was browsing the website to learn more about this organization, I stumbled across founder Genevieve Piturro’s inspiring account of what prompted her to start the Pajama Program back in 2000.

I’ll admit, before I started researching the organization for this post, I didn’t really understand what the big deal was – I mean, they’re just pajama’s, right? But after reading her story, I had a completely new perspective.

If Genevieve’s story doesn’t tug on your heartstrings, I’m sure the pictures of the kids will get you.

Here’s hoping you’ll click through and be compelled to make a donation of your own.

‘Tis the season to be…charitable

2009-11-29T19:21:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays. Cold weather, spending time with family, pie, cookies, 8 straight weeks of Christmas music on the radio, presents. What’s not to love?

A few weeks ago, as I was thumbing the pages of one of my magazines, I stumbled across this great little giving calendar:

My first thought was, “how cool – I’m going to do every single one of these, and then I'm going to blog about it” followed very closely by, “I wonder how much that would cost.” ($451 in case you’re wondering.)

Now, while I love the idea of giving something back, I’d still like there to be a little something left to take care of the rest of my holiday gift list.

So I did what any good (nerdy) accountant would do – I dragged out my trusty ~~calculator~~ laptop, opened up excel, set a scope, and got to work. Here’s what I did:
1. Any day where the financial commitment is over $5, I reduced it to $5.
2. Any cause that I feel more strongly about, where the financial commitment is under $5, I increased it to $5 - $10.
3. The one cause I feel most strongly about, I allocated $50. (Coincidentally, this is on the last day of the month. Nothing like going out with a bang!)

Here’s how the month will play out for me, financially:

All in, I’ll be contributing $150 to a variety of worthy charitable causes throughout the month of December, and I’ll be blogging about it here.

Tune in daily, for posts about each organization and links to their websites. Maybe, hopefully, you’ll feel compelled to donate a little something too.

Say ‘yes’ ‘probably’ to the dress

2009-11-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

I’ve spent the better part of the last 4 Saturdays shopping for wedding dresses, and although I don’t actually watch the show, from what I’ve heard, I’m getting the feeling that there are some serious editing liberties taken with the show.

Trust me, no one is trying on just 3 dresses and finding “the one.”

Or at least I’m not.

I’d guesstimate that I’ve tried on at least 50 dresses so far, and I’m still nowhere NEAR making a decision.

But, I reached a turning point on Saturday. After trying on at least 8 10 12 dresses, I took mercy on the poor sales associate and threw in the towel (at that store anyways.) And that is when she gave me some REALLY good advice…”stop torturing yourself.”

Data-whore that I am, I had this idea that trying on AS MANY DRESSES AS POSSIBLE would somehow help me find the *perfect* dress. But really, they’re all so similar, and yeah, I like some better than others, but I think I am at the point where I’ve pretty much narrowed down the style and there really isn’t all that much difference between all the front runners.

SO. No more trying on (new) wedding dresses. We’re taking a couple more trips to visit some of the front runners, and decisions will be made SOON.

In the meantime, tell me what you think:

(Photo courtezy of Gabriel Ryan here, sash/flower added by me)

(Photo courtesy of Ella Bridals)

(No, I’m not superstitious, and could care less if A sees the dresses I am choosing between. It’s so hard to make such a big decision without his input! Besides, he's already seen this...sitting right next to me as I blog.)

Please, PLEASE leave comments, and let me know what you think. I'm hoping to make a decision in the next few days.

One down, eleven to go

2009-11-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe that I’m already a whole month into this running resolution. This month has reminded me, once again, why it is that I love running every day. It’s become a habit; my daily run is something that I look forward to from the minute I wake up until my feet hit the pavement (or treadmill).

I’ll be driving in the car and hear one of my running songs come on the radio, and I get the sudden urge to drop everything and go out for a run. On my short days, sometimes it’s hard to stop at just 15 minutes.

I’m officially hooked.

Now, that said, I do still have some crappy runs and just plain bad days. Like this Saturday. I’ve been feeling sorta under the weather and just generally run down for a few weeks now. This weeks’ ‘long’ run was a 6-miler early Saturday morning (before going to try on wedding dresses)!

From the first 5 minutes, I just knew something wasn’t right. It felt like someone was squeezing my whole torso with all their might. Slow as I went, I couldn’t get a deep, fulfilling breath. Man, did I want to turn around, walk, lie down in the middle of the San Vicente median (you get the picture). But I didn’t. I kept going, and eventually, I made it home. And truth be told, by mile 5, I was feeling pretty great.

(A couple pictures from some of my more recent runs.)

(Along the beach)

(At my hotel gym in Portland this morning)

(Saturday's long run)

And some good news to end on - I got my iPhone! Not only do I feel safer on long runs, I have 2 new running playlists, and I can take pictures while I am out running. I also downloaded this awesome running app that tracks how far you’ve run, pace and split times (in 2 minute increments) and elevation gains and losses.

I finally get the “there’s an app for that” marketing campaign. Oh so hooked on the iPhone.

Which one would you choose?

2009-11-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

The sensible, more conservative and (most likely) more comfortable:

Or, the so-so-so pretty but my feet are screaming in pain just looking at them:

I mean, I do have a desk job, after all...it's not like I would be walking in them (much...)

Dear Stomach

2009-10-30T17:33:00.001-07:00

Please accept my deepest apologies for the barrage of crap I made you digest today. I promise to behave better at the next Halloween party.

Sincerely, Betty.

P.S. Thanks again for waiting until AFTER our 4-mile run to remind me of the torture I subjected you to earlier today...

The one about the poop soup

2009-10-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly. Tonight's post is all about the Camp Pendleton Mud Run.

A and I woke up bright and early Saturday morning (5:45AM to be exact...) to head down to Camp Pendleton. Along the way, we stopped off for a much needed pre-race pit stop, which just so happened to be at the Starbucks across the street from Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Pretty, no?

We finally made it to the base (t-minus 1.5 hours to race time) and drove around a huge circle for what seemed like WAY too long. When we finally found the race parking (t-minus 45 minutes to race time) A dropped me off about a mile from the starting line, and I got my warm-up jog in by running up to the starting line. (Note to the US Armed Services - a little signage is not going to threaten our National security - I'm just saying...)

My Firm was one of the race sponsors, and so we had a nice little booth set up near the starting line. My awesome teammates had my race number and official race t-shirt. Unfortunately, since A was still navigating the parking nightmare, no pre-race photos, but he did manage to snap a shot of all the runners en masse:

After avoiding the spray from the fire hoses during the first mile, another mile in loose sand, and a 2-mile uphill trail run, we arrived at the poop soup, lovingly nicknamed for its putrid scent and texture. Sadly, the marines standing guard on the sidelines ~~forced~~ 'encouraged' us to, "GET IN THE MUD PIT". Lovely.

Next came a a quick jog across the "lake" which, thanks to this lovely drought Southern CA has been suffering, was completely dry. Except for the goopy mud at the edges, courtesy of another fire hose.

Next up, another mud pit (complete with 5-foot wall to be scaled) a 30-foot tunnel crawl. Then we scaled the hill of mud. Thankfully, my teammates gave me a literal push up the hill, and the Marine standing guard at the top of the hill took mercy on me, and didn't try to wash me back down the hill with his fire hose.

After a steep down hill quarter-mile, with the finish line in our sights...

(see how happy we looked?!?)

...we arrived at the last obstacle:Poop Soup - part 2. I'm not gonna lie - I couldn't stomach getting face down in this goo. Luckily, the Marines had let down their guard by this point.

Once we'd all made it out of the pit, my teammates and I linked arms and sprinted through the finish line.

I'm so proud of my teammates. We stuck together for the whole race, and still managed to come in first of all the teams from our office.

All in all, an excellent way to spend a Saturday morning. It would've been nice if it were a little cooler than 85 sweltering degrees and two days later, my quads are still SORE (which may be, in part, attributable to the 2 hour bike ride we went on yesterday...) but, I'm still really glad I got to participate in the mud run with all these awesome folks:

One down, fifty one to go...

2009-10-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Week one was a success!

Despite a gluttonous weekend in wine country, I ran every day. I even managed to fit in a beautiful 4 mile run through downtown Morro Bay on Sunday morning. I ran from our cute hotel:

To the Morro rock:

(It was really cold - I was very thankful for the fireplace in our room when I got back!)

Tomorrow morning, I am heading to Camp Pendleton to participate in the YMCA Mud Run.

Next time you see me, I will look something like this:

(What was I thinking!?!)

Day 1

2009-10-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

I have big news today.

One year from today, on 10/9/10, Albert and I will be getting married here.

Previously, I mentioned that back in June I had run every day for a month. Initially, when I completed that first month, I had wanted to extend it to a full year, but for many reasons, the timing just wasn't right.

So, today dear readers, the time is right.

Starting today, I will be running every day, for the next year, culminating in our wedding day.

A couple ground rules:
1. "Running" constitutes a minumum of 15 minutes, either on the treadmill or outdoors.
2. "Every day" does not include days that I am sick (as judged by whether or not I'd call in sick to work.)

This was my run this morning:

It was great. This is going to be an amazing year.

To mark the midpoint, I registered for the Pacific Half Marathon, on March 27, 2010.

And to the naysayers, who say it's, "not healthy to run every day, you need time off to recover" I'd refer you to rule 1 above. 15 minutes on my rest days is not going to derail my recovery. So, if you don't have anything nice to say...well, you know how this one ends.

I'll be doing lots of gmap-pedometer tracking of my longer runs, and I'll post those here along with photos (courtesy of my new iPhone, which will be accompanying me on all my long runs!)

Now, all I need is a partner in crime. Any takers for the half-marathon?

Earthy-crunchy

2009-09-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

Who am I? What have I become? I'm afraid I'm turning into one of those hippy-dippy's that we make fun of because for the second time now, I've made my own homemade granola. And its GOOD.

The first batch turned out just okay...not sweet enough, a little burnt, but still added a nice guilt-free crunch to pumpkin pie yogurt.

I made some modifications to the second batch and it turned out SO DELICIOUS that it's almost gone (and I just made it yesterday.) Even A ~~is inhaling~~ will eat it.

Try it, you will probably ~~scarf down all 9 servings in less than 48 hours~~ like it:

Pumpkin spice granola

2 C old fashioned oats
1/2 C pumpkin puree
3/4 C water
1 T (sugar free) maple syrup
1/2 C Splenda
2 t cinnamon
2 t vanilla
1 T Torani sugar free pumpkin pie syrup (optional - you can find this at Cost Plus on sale right now!)
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 C raw pepitas
Non-stick cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a small food processor, blend pumpkin, water, maple syrup, Splenda, cinnamon, vanilla, Torani, syrup and sea salt until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, toss the wet ingredients with the oats and pepitas.
4. Lay out the mixture in a thin, single layer on a baking tray, lined with parchment paper. Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. (This aids the browning process, but is completely optional.)
5. Bake for 45-50 minutes until oats are starting to brown. Check granola every ten minutes. (I “flip” mine after the first ten minutes and spray the bottom with non-stick cooking spray. After 20 minutes and 30 minutes I use 2 large knives to break the clumps down into smaller bits. This speeds the drying process too.)
6. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet.
7. Crunch away!

Makes about 2 1/4 C

Nutrition Facts per 1/4 C serving (approximate): Calories – 93.2, Fat – 2.9, Protein – 3.3, Carbohydrate – 13.9, Fiber – 2.5

Well-deserved

2009-09-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

I bought one of these this afternoon to motivate me to follow-through with my planned long run tonight:

It worked. I headed out around 6, intending to run for about an hour and a half while A had his weekly Sunday night bro-mance.

1:46:18 later, I finished my first 10-miler!

1:47:48 later, I drank my mango peach coconut water. From an iced glass.

So, so happy :)

Resolutions - Week (I don't know)

2009-09-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

After a brief hiatus, I'm back with the resolutions this week!

Tomorrow I kick off two really big, really stressful, really simultaneous work projects. Man am I not looking forward to this. I also have some exciting plans in the works, more info to be revealed on that later. So, to help me keep some sanity and health in my life over the next 2 months or so, here are my resolutions for at least the next week (if not longer):

1. Run, bike/spin or go to Pilates every day
2. Foam roll 3x
3. Read a chapter every night

Attainable. Not easy, but even with the increasingly hectic schedule, at a minimum, I should be able to keep up with these resolutions.

I discovered a great new running blog (No Meat Athlete) and a great new workout. Much like the claims, the first session was increadibly painful (read, lots of rolling around on the floor, wincing and yelping in pain, while A sat on the couch alternately watching football and laughing at me in my misery). But, after a half-hour of rolling, I have to admit, my lower body feels much more relaxed and ready to tackle a nice long run tonight.

I've also noticed that I have a tough time falling asleep when I spend my evenings in front of a computer or TV screen. So, I'd like to start developing a better evening routine, including some leisure-reading. I'm reading a fantastic new book - Three Cups of Tea - and have a healthy stack of reading waiting in on my nighttable, so I need to get reading!

Here's to a great new week!