Confections of the Pen

gardening update

2010-08-17T20:32:00.001-07:00

forgot to mention - i have a bumper crop of basil, rosemary, and red bell peppers! i got about a dozen zucchini before it perished in the summer heat, and i can't control my mint plant. black swallowtail caterpillars made my italian parsley plant home for a while, but a new harvest has since taken its place. so overall my vegetable garden is mostly a garnish and seasoning garden, but i'm happy nonetheless.

the shame that is 9 pounds

2010-08-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

last year when i reached a weight i felt quite proud of, i promised myself i would never stray far from that. after i finished running the boston marathon, i took a season off of running. however, i did not take a season off of eating like a runner, and it has been to my detriment. at the end of boston, i was about five pounds heavier than the same time last year. now, i have added an additional four pounds to the mark.

not good!

while i knew that i needed to get back with the program, i told myself that i would when i was ready. the combination of seeing pictures at myself at my brother-in-law's wedding and the number on the scale have given me sufficient motivation. so what program am i going on? vegan! i'm kind of following the regimen from the book skinny bitch. fruit for breakfast, light lunch of salad/soup/sandwich, snacks of fruit, veggies, and/or nuts, and a heartier (but still low cal) dinner. i forgot how fantastic it feels to eat clean. yesterday was a bit tough adjusting to the lack of bread or cereal for breakfast, but today i feel great! no sluggishness or excessive hunger at all. the fiber really helps keep me full. i had a banana before my run, a low-cal smoothie with protein and fiber for breakfast, snacked on fruit and almonds, a salad with pita chips and hummus for lunch, and a great tofu stirfry dinner with soba noodles and plums for dessert.

tonight while bret and i watched tv, i did some ab and arms work. time to get toned up, and get my core strong for the white rock marathon in december. i've decided that i would like to have lost 14 total pounds by white rock, to get down to my true goal weight. we will see if that can be accomplished. in the meantime, it's just one day at a time. every day i eat well, i can feel good about myself. that's worth way more than the comfort of eating something tasty but unhealthy.

the hardest part of this diet will be alcohol - i'm restricting myself to clear vodka only, and that in very strict moderation. i can only drink when i'm out at a bar or at a social gathering. so i can have a dirty martini or vodka with club soda maybe once or twice a week. when tempted, i will have to remind myself that this will save me several hundred calories a week (hopefully translating to at least a pound a month).

why vegan, you ask? it's a convenient health option if you commit yourself to getting all the nutrients you need without any animal products. this means that heavy starches (lots of potatoes, pasta, and bread) are not on the menu in large doses. highly processed things (amy's meals, morningstar faux meat entrees) should also be kept to a minimum. calories need to come from complex carbs (whole grain rice, spinach, beans, legumes, veggies and fruits of every color). it also restricts restaurant options to very healthy and limited choices. ultimately it's much easier to eat vegan at home, which will save me money and calories. eating a healthy vegan diet is also very cleansing to the body. by introducing more plants into your system, the fiber sweeps a lot of toxins out. eating mostly vegan helped me manage my weight for a long time, so i think this is at least a good place to start.

so week one has officially started... i have about 16 weeks until the marathon, which means i need to lose a little less than one pound a week. i think this is doable and realistic, especially if i don't pig out when my runner metabolism kicks in. that's a big if - i'll have to try to pig out on spinach and arugula, not beer and french fries. right now, i feel so good i don't even want a french fry. will i feel this way in four weeks when i'm languishing? probably not, but at least now i have a "journal" to visit with complaints.

the upside of feeling on the down side

2010-06-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

i relish in the biggest perk of paying employee pricing for the best supplements in the industry: having energy and never getting sick (or the closest version of "sick" being a little tired and sniffly). when i went to the blood mobile yesterday to offer up a pint of apparently iron abundant type 0- (i really should donate more often), i was thrilled at how fast i filled up a bag and returned to my work day.

however, there is only so much judicious doses of b vitamins and amino acids can do in the case of losing a pint of blood. i woke up this morning with a paper white face feeling on the verge of a faint. so i made a big breakfast of eggs over easy and toast with a big glass of juice to wash down my vitamins. it took the sharpest edge off of the wooziness so i could peacefully lay in bed and read some of my sookie stackhouse diaries (not necessarily the best idea when you're thinking about being short on blood).

so here i am, too weak and dizzy to drive out to lunch with friends or do much more, really, than lay here in bed. i will admit, it's driving me a bit insane. i'm not used to feeling run down - i like to spend my weekends doing things like playing ultimate frisbee with bret and his co workers (definitely not an option). but now i'm thinking about this, and trying to remember the last time i let myself spend an entire day in bed. what are the things i never take the time to do anymore? put pictures up on facebook and in the empty digital picture frame i've had since christmas, work on scrap books, and finally finish some thank you cards. write a blog entry, peruse facebook with shameless abandon, and read such frivolous articles as why pom wonderful is worth spending more money on than minute maid.

so while i wish bitterly that i could be sweating out there on the soccer fields before a hearty grilled cheese lunch, it can all wait in the name of that great thing we all call being lazy.

have a good weekend, and luxuriate in some laziness with me!

Free Juice if you become a fan of Genesis Today on Facebook!

2010-05-18T13:20:00.001-07:00

the challenges if vegetable gardening

2010-05-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

after a few weeks of veggie gardening, i've discovered that it's harder than people make it sound like. however, i do have a few success stories along with the failures...

tomatillo plant: i grew this from seeds, and it's not doing so hot. i don't know if it's not warm enough or what, but it doesn't seem to want to grow. initially, i had a little army of green sproutlings shooting out of the ground, but one by one they seem to have gotten worn out and have fallen over.

avocado plant: finally transplanted into a pot, and i'm not sure whether this guy will make it or not. one day the little sprout looks green and healthy, and the next it's a bit pruny. i need to read more on how to take care of an avocado i guess. i've heard that it's really hard to grow avocados, so i won't throw myself off a cliff if it doesn't work out.

squash: i have three varieties: zucchini, calabaza squash, and summer squash growing. all seem to be thriving. one actually produced a lovely yellow blossom.

cucumber: also thriving!

tomato bush: i have this growing in a large pot. something keeps eating the blossoms, which makes the outlook not so great for actually having fruit. it's something bigger than a bug, because it looks like some a-hole ran past and pinched the bloom off of the plant. frustrating to say the least. maybe it's mr. fox?

basil: doing well, but something loves chewing on it, so i have to use this organic pest killer i got at the green living expo. it actually sloughs the guts of the offending bug until it dies! however, it's safe for pets.

cilantro: not doing so well. i think it's getting too hot for it already.

thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage: fantabulous! all growing in abundance.

garlic: it sprouted surprisingly quickly, and the leaves even have a bit of a garlic odor already.

jalapeno: surprisingly, not doing so well. i'm thinking about switching it to a pot so i don't water it as often as everything else and see how it does.

bell peppers: not doing so hot either. i think i need to do more research, because every time a new pepper starts, it dies.

and there's my veggie garden. any advice from experienced gardeners would be really helpful! hopefully i'll have at least a few things to eat from it! at the very least, i have a beautiful herb garden started.

hello spring!

2010-03-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

it's my favorite time of year - that time after the cold (and this year it really was cold, i have my gas bills to prove it) when it starts to be warm enough for open windows occasionally and afternoons in t-shirts and flip flops. because of all the rain, everything is an intense, hungry green. everywhere. a world of color. this morning, on the "back" section of my down-and-back run, i watched the sun rise and the world exploded in green. such a contrast to the concrete jungle that is dallas!

i had some recent spring discoveries. tulip bulbs planted about two years ago have finally decided to sprout! honestly, i thought i had dug them all up until yesterday evening. i pulled into the drive way after work (and the sun was still up!) to see what i thought was a bunch of weeds in the front flower bed. closer investigation showed me the sprouts of tulips! i couldn't believe it! a couple of feet to the left of the last tulip sprout sat a big bushy green thing i thought was a weed. nope - butter lettuce.

last fall, i planted lettuce and spinach seeds into a little indoor eco-system thingie. i decided to do my seed planting project on the front porch where, apparently, a breeze blew a butter lettuce seed into the flower bed. six months later, without a scrap of care, i have a gorgeous bunch of butter lettuce! i'm going to pick it tomorrow night for salad.

this has told me that lettuce is easy to grow. butter lettuce happens to be my very favorite variety of lettuce, so i'm encouraged. this weekend, bret and i are headed to the store for seeds and timber to make a raised bed in the back yard. i'm going to get my tomato, squash, herb, and cucumber seeds planted before it's too late. i have a heap of compost about ready to do the job, so success beckons!

with my new job, i've had to think hard about convenience, because i have no time. i've had to squeeze in runs with eyes barely open from exhaustion and make time for ridiculous amounts of family visits (per the usual). however, to peddle health food to the mass grocery consumer, it's all worth it.

cheers to all the stuff i've discovered that can make life so much easier.

-witch hazel. it is now my face toner, chafing healer, neosporin, and zit blaster. at $6 for a really big bottle, that is one crazy bargain.

-castille soap. my sister-in-love shannon turned me on to this miracle! i use it to wash my body, face, house, and dog. and every flavor smells amazing.

-white vinegar. the stuff makes fabric softener, window cleaner, coffee maker descaler, and floor mopping solution (when combined with tea tree oil for de-germing). and it's under $2 for a gallon.

-seventh generation. they have decided to lower their prices, making their plant-based cleaners cost the same as brands of the chemical-laden, toxic stuff i refuse to inundate my house with.

-whole foods store brand. organic options for a fraction of the price of many other retailers, including fantastic vitamins. i highly recommend their spirulina, co q 10, and CalMag supplements.

-emergen-c, spirulina, and alive! vitamins. they've kept me plague-free, with the addition of judicious tonics of sea buckthorn and pure mangosteen. i'm proud to say that with my very slight cold this past weekend (which was nothing compared to past colds where i've been bed-ridden with fevers), the only medication i took was a single dose of aspirin. my body healed itself.

-reflective running vest (thanks dad!) has kept me from being run over during dark morning runs. now i just need one for seamus, and we're all set. soon, though, the sun will be up when i go running. can't wait!

-fruit flavored green tea. makes my afternoons go from "bleh" to "yeh!"

my improving immunity

2010-02-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

on tuesday evening, i got home from work late to a very sick husband. he had a raging fever and was, well, puny. the man hardly ever gets sick; it's usually him who ends up having to take care of me. it took restraint, but i kept my distance. in the midst of keeping distance, i poured superfood supplements for him and gave him vitamins. i followed with equally potent doses and we both went to bed early.

in the morning, bret was still sickly, so he didn't go to work. i felt a little run down, but i tried not to think about it. i downed more healthy doses of superfoods and went to work. i fully expected to come down with a nasty plague - i took emergen-c and drank lots of water. in the middle of the day, i started to feel drained, but not actually sick. by the end of the day, after taking some more superfoods, i felt better than i had all day.

today i woke up feeling at 100%! i went to the gym after work and got in a good run. this feels like a victory for me. so i'm here to tell my secrets, because i'm not known for having a very strong immune system.

i've started a daily regimen of alive multi-vitamins, spirulina, and calcium. because i'm spoiled by my work, i also take an ounce each of noni100, acai100, and goji100 most days. thanks to one of my co-workers who does a lot of research on homeopathic remedies, i learned about the powers of oil of oregano, and i take that on days i have allergies. our company recently came out with a sea buckthorn supplement. i took judicious doses of that these past couple of days, and i attribute that more than anything to avoiding getting sick. but the two stars here, i think, were the oregano oil and the sea buckthorn. taking emergen-c helped give me a boost as well.

oil of oregano - like mint and thyme oils, oil of oregano is an astringent. you can drip it into boiling water and inhale for a healthy lung cleanser, or you can take it in capsule form. supposedly it wards off infections, kills food poisoning, and helps relieve stomach aches. it's also a powerful expectorant, and has something in it that helps your body's immune system attack histamines and viruses. definitely don't overdo it, as it can make you nauseated. it can also rid your intestines of the good bacteria it needs, so follow oil of oregano treatments with a course of probiotics.

sea buckthorn - this stuff is weird and i'm still researching it. but in essence, sea buckthorn is loaded with vitamin c and will kick your immune system's butt into gear. if you have a stuffy head or lungs, the sea buckthorn will clean it out immediately. in fact, i discovered detox systems from just two days of taking therapeutic doses (more than 2 ounces a day). my skin was a bit oily, and by this morning, i had the same euphoria i experienced while on the lemonade diet. also, i didn't get sick. it's something that you also shouldn't overdo on. these two treatments are powerful. one has to remember that just because you're taking a plant doesn't mean it won't harm your body. it's always good to consult your doctor before starting a new health regimen.

and so i believe i've tackled my immunity problem. instead of allergy medicine, i take vitamins, so the financial expenditure is no different. i'm taking much higher-quality vitamins than i was before (yes it does make a difference). i'm making sure to get lots of sleep and keep balance in my life. if i can avoid getting sick once, i can do it again. i've learned that the trick to health is to heal your body with foods, and use medicines to treat symptoms as needed in conjunction with superfoods.

2009 in review

2009-12-31T15:32:00.001-08:00

after much thought and consideration, here are my resolutions for 2010:

make my immune system stronger. why is it that every time i'm around a sick person, i get sick too? most people i know are able to avoid the plague with judicious applications of emergen-c and other vitamin-laden tinctures and tonics, but none of it works for me. at least, not that well. the only exception to the rule is that this past week, after being viciously exposed to leslie's christmas cold, i managed to stave off a fever with loads of spirulina, superfruit supplements, emergen-c, and oil of oregano. luckily, i'm working at a company that sells products to help me get healthier. i've started taking some of the high-quality products they sell at whole foods: superfruit juices so high in vitamin concentration you only need an ounce or two at a time to give you what you need. my fellow ~~health-nuts~~ co-workers have told me about other multi-vitamins and supplements good for vegetarians to keep my iron levels up as i train for marathons. i'm also going to try to sleep more and relax and learn to say no to commitments when i know it would be better for me to stay home and relax.

cook more efficiently. seriously. mothers of multiple children somehow manage to keep their house clean, take care of their children, and cook dinner every night. i have only my job to manage and i still can't manage to cook every night. it just takes too long. i need to squeeze in time with my new job to plan easy meals and get them fresh and hot on the table each week night.

continue to work on my relationship with bret. a contributor to real simple magazine said it best when she said that she needs to save her best self for her husband, not arrive home with whatever is left from workouts, 10-hour work days, and everything else that life throws in the way of marriage commitments. he is the most important person in my life and it is my goal to remember that every day.

continue to reduce my carbon footprint. this is going to be difficult with a busy, fast-paced life, but i'm determined to find new ways to help save the planet. i'm going to further reduce my consumption of cheese, yogurt, and eggs. i will brown bag to work to save the trash from ordering take-out. i can make a multitude of other changes, which i'll brainstorm over the coming months.

break five hours. on the marathon. i was very close when i ran the marine corps marathon, and i think i could have done it if i hadn't strained my periformis muscle. with dedication, proper diet, and lots of hard work, i plan to complete the boston marathon in under 5 hours. yes, 4:59:59 counts.

cultivate my career. i have a lot of growing to do, personally and professionally. i have changed a lot in the past couple of years, and i have to find who i am as a career mogul now. for a long time, i didn't have a real job, so i was on the fence about my life. should i start a family or find a career? and a career landed in my lap so hard it's taken my breath away. i have to give life to this new identity and opportunity. many times i feel like i'm in a dream, and will wake up to where i was before with no occupational future. tonight bret asked me if i was happy now compared with the job i had before. i can't compare the two. i don't even question my job or where i am with it, because it feels perfectly right. the last day at my last job seems like an eternity ago. it's time to take this chance i have for a future and make it absolutely amazing.

the emergence of technology

2009-12-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

this past weekend, i got an iphone as an early christmas gift. determined not to lose contact with the people in my world, i decided to get a device that would keep me connected with my loved ones as well as with my office. i have to run back and forth all day at work from one building to another, and if i don't need to schlep my lap top back and forth, that's an added bonus.

for a very long time, i resisted the iphone. i felt that it was unnecessary, a waste of money, and a silly distraction from the simpler things in life. however, i have discovered that this is one device that actually manages to make life simple. i purchased an app that lets me write down grocery lists in my phone. no longer am i digging for a post-it floating around the bowels of my handbag. plus, i never had to use the paper to begin with. the iphone syncs your outlook contacts directly to your phone contacts, so calling co-workers and vendors is as simple as knowing the first letter of their first name. i can listen to my itunes and pause to take a call on the hands-free headset that works better than any hands-free system i've used before. the speaker phone is flawless. and the best part is, i was eligible for an upgrade, so the phone was a lot less than retail.

ultimately, i recommend the iphone. it will chnage your life... just don't let it change you.

things i am thankful for

2009-11-28T06:51:00.000-08:00

1. i am thankful for my husband, who is so supportive of everything i want to do. he has endured my post-long run comatose afternoons, content to lay in bed next to me while i drift in and out of sleep. he listens to me rant about the various mental struggles i deal with - as petty as they usually are. i am thankful of his kindness, and that he has so much love in his heart he has extended it to both of our entire - and big - families. his patience and understanding has helped me grow into a more tolerant person. i am so glad that he decided to come to austin with me so that we could plan a life together.

2. i am thankful for my family. despite confusion and questions and raised eyebrows at my weird meat substitutes, they support my decision to stop eating meat and the efforts i make at home to reduce my carbon footprint. i'm thankful for the close relationship i have with my father, even though there were years when we lived far apart from one another. i'm thankful for my in-laws, who i feel very close with, even though we live a really far distance from one another. i talk often with my mother-in-law, and i have a fabulous sister-in-law who has showed me a lot of ways to save money and the environment. her example is also helping me build my home into what i want it to be. i am so proud of my nieces and nephews, who are all unique, intelligent, and destined for great futures.

3. i am thankful for my health, which i've worked hard for, but i appreciate how easily my body has responded. all the running and vegetables has bolstered my immune system so that when i get sick, i don't get as sick. i'm not overweight anymore, so i don't have to worry about the ill effects of extra weight. i can also step out the door and run for an hour and a half or longer and not be sore the next day. it's nice to say that i'm fit.

4. i'm thankful for my education and work history. it took a really long time to find a real job, but i've finally done it. i really appreciate the hard work my parents did to put me through wonderful schools. i tried my best to keep up with the homework loads, and it has, at long last, paid off. i was truly lucky to find this job, and i can't wait to see where my career goes from this point.

5. i am thankful for my house, that has grown beautiful and lived-in from the hard work bret and i have both put into making it our own.

6. i am thankful for my friends. it takes a while to build a life in a new place, but we have, with a big group of people we love to hang out with. i've grown really close with a few girls, who are my support group. i have also re-connected with friends from hockaday, which is so great! it's wonderful to hear where our lives are taking us.

holiday questions - to answer shanny's post

2009-11-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

two seemingly simple questions - the answers come slowly.

1. What one thing you would eliminate from your holiday schedule if you could?
2. What tradition or event would you add if you could?

answer #1: i would eliminate all the stressful shopping! this year, my father has told all of us that we have to make one another's christmas presents. so most of my christmas shopping is already finished, because i had to get supplies ahead of time. i've spent my time at home keeping my hands busy instead of wearing myself out at the mall. it's really nice. sure, i'm going to have to get out there and buy some gifts, but it seems much less hectic this year. maybe because thanksgiving isn't over yet and i'm in denial?

answer #2: if i could add a new tradition, it would be a vacation for just bret and i. i know that's selfish to want him all to myself during a family holiday, but there it is. we never get vacations to ourselves, because we devote all of our time off to our family. and aren't you supposed to spend the time before you have children doing things like going to india and back-packing through europe? i'd love just one christmas alone with my husband before we start having children and don't have a choice. hopefully i can convince him to sneak away to the tropics with his cute marathon running wife one year.

a shout-out to my ladies

2009-11-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

i was thinking about what i've been through over the past couple of weeks tonight, and, with the help of some fabulous belgian brew, i started to have epiphanies. after a day of job interview after job interview (so exhausting), i fed myself, resisted the urge to buy at least 3 wonderful sweaters at st. bernard's, washed dishes, did laundry, changed the sheets, and prepped the coffee maker for tomorrow. and i realized that a lot of my strength comes from the women i know.

one woman i know raised a girl everyone told her she shouldn't have. and then she went on to marry a wonderful man (and thanks to him i get to know and be family with her), have two boys, and build a clean, beautiful house filled with love and harmony.

another woman i know defeated thyroid cancer, ran a marathon, is raising 4 children, and proved herself worthy of my brother.

and yet another woman i know started to love herself enough that she found a man who respects her. together, against all the odds, they are expecting a precious little girl. i love this woman, and i feel strangely and wonderfully connected to her daughter. sometime between december 5th and 10th i'll be able to hold that tiny baby in my arms and see what true love makes.

there's a woman i know who survived the grief of being unable to bear her own children, and nurtured children close to her who needed her unconditional love.

one woman i know turned pain and frustration into art. because of that, she tapped into hidden talents that continue to amaze me every time i put on my turquoise and copper necklace and earrings.

and i know a woman who has lived in pain since she was a little girl. she fought against the pain, got through school, and has since blossomed into a fantastic artisan with a strong husband and two gorgeous little girls.

there are more, more lives, more stories, more inspiration. my ladies are an incredible bunch. the greatest gift is to call them my ladies.

ladies, i'm proud to know you. i'm honored to be a part of your lives. i only hope that i can be as extraordinary as you have been. i love you all.

how to apply for a job: part 2

2009-11-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

inevitably, i have come up with more tips along the way. the good news is, we definitely have enough resumes to select a good candidate for the job! hopefully we can have someone on board to start friday and train friday, monday, and tuesday. hopefully. that would be really good - there's a lot to my job.

don't put a picture of yourself on your resume, unless it's required (for an acting job or something). you're inviting your potential employer to profile you, and believe it or not, that's not actually a good thing. especially when you clearly think you're hot and in reality you have the crazy eyes and i had to hide your resume somewhere in the middle of the pile.

proofread your materials! geez!

don't waste your time applying for a job you're way over-qualified for. you will be underpaid from day one and bored silly after day 30. yes, you will. just hold out until the right opportunity comes along.

don't be silly. don't tell me how you're hilarious and a great cook. no one here cares, they only care if you can do the job or not.

improve your personal google-ability. google yourself and see what pops up for the first 7 or so pages. i guarantee, i will be doing the same if my boss asks me to call you to schedule an interview. when i googlized myself, i created a linked in profile and other things to make myself look impressive to potential employers. also, take off anything on your facebook profile that you don't want a potential boss to see. sorry, but all heavy party-ers will immediately be removed from consideration.

be succinct. i don't need to hear the paragraph-long story about your experience working for blah blah inc. please just summarize your duties with a couple of bullet points and move on. these aren't greeting cards, and your embellishment will not make a stupid job look pretty. it may also distract me from seeing the one key skill you got from said stupid job to make you a good candidate.

how to apply for a job

2009-11-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

i'm going through over 100 resumes applying for my job; what a sign of the bad times, that so many people are looking for simple office manager positions. it's good for us, though, because i can be extraordinarily picky. i've been throwing out resumes left and right, and realized that it would be helpful for job applicants to know what makes them stand out, and what makes them trash bin-worthy. so here are my tips:

follow the instructions on the job posting. i know this sounds obvious, but about half of the people applying for this job paid no attention to the specific questions we wanted answered on the listing. if you didn't answer the questions, your resume went into the trash.

make your cover letter unique. more than half of the people applying for this position clearly use the same cover letter over and over. don't you think it's worth it spending a little bit of time making your cover letter really shine? craft your cover letter to highlight what specifically you like about the job posting, and why you're a good candidate for that specific job. you might be able to get away with this for low-level jobs, but office managers need to be able to think outside of the box and create a unique cover letter. make us think you're worth hiring.

include a message in the body of the e-mail. most people provide their cover letter and resume as separate attachments. that's fine, but make sure to have something in the body of your e-mail, like "i would like to be considered for {job title}. please see the attachments provided for my cover letter and resume. thank you for your consideration. sincerely, jane/john doe." if you didn't do that, you're going in la basura.

i'm sure i will have more tips soon, and will provide them as they come to me.

relationships are hard

2009-11-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

i met my husband almost eight years ago, at the young age of 21. i was still a kid. i was irresponsible, spoiled, and, despite my still-adolescent angst, i really had it great. about six months before we met, 9/11 happened and it totally changed me. i dumped my then-boyfriend and his crude friends after i got yelled at for waking people up to tell them that the world trade center had just been attacked, and started hanging out with the "arty" crowd. we enjoyed going to all-night diners and going to west hollywood just because. i started partying for the first time, drinking because it was at last legal (i was too chicken to drink much before my 21st birthday, especially since i worked for campus safety).

after several months of crazy, come february, i met bret. he was the perfect formula for me then: older than a college student - because all college-age guys are worthless - arty, and oh-so-handsome. i was a little unsure of him at first, but it didn't take me long to fall for his charms and grow a following of college friends totally jealous of my hot older aspiring actor boyfriend with a roommate in a band. his roommate was hot too.

the thing that struck me about bret then - and it's still one of my favorite things about him - is how much i love to talk to him. he listens so intently, and we have such wonderful conversations. our los angeles dates were so fabulous. for the cost of one coffee bean and tea leaf beverage, we had hours of conversation. we would bring a scrabble board to the melrose coffee bean and spend the day talking, scrabbling, and people-watching. we told stories about our lives and fantasized about one day being able to afford one of the charming cottages in the melrose area.

bret gave me gifts of home-made mix cd's that i listened to over and over again. he introduced me to good music, football, and beer. i would act like a nut ball - because i was a huge nut ball back then, even more so than i am now - and he would sit and wait for me to come back to who i really was. i was so angry at the world back then; i would yell and scream at him over nothing and be in his arms begging forgiveness the next. i'm lucky no one decided to try to give me drugs for manic depression.

it was sometime after college that the magic ended. we still went for coffee. we got our hollywood apartment so we could walk to the chinese theatre, baja fresh, and a bar that jim morrison used to hang out at. we painted stripes on the walls of our apartment and, inevitably, the sparks that ignite a relationship in the beginning started to fade. the glue that held us together, despite ridiculous amounts of turmoil induced by my immature abandonment obsessions, was replaced by schedules and obligations and all the things that spoiled college kids don't have to worry about. life started happening. i got fed up with being impoverished in los angeles and moved back to texas where i could start school again and not be so lonely. i decided i was old enough to get married - and our love had grown steadily over the years - so we got married.

i've discovered that life can become overwhelming. it's this big empty box that you can fill with pretty much whatever you want. so, i started grabbing. i finally found a job that didn't make me miserable, and i started to grab grab grab. hobbies, family, friends, trips, blah blah blah. my life has gotten so busy that i've forgotten that relationships with your spouse take work. since i decided to grow up and stop being a drama queen, things with bret have been so easy. i put the relationship on auto-pilot and went on my merry way. i love him more than life itself, and i know he feels the same way. that's enough. now time to go to something else, like run a marathon.

i'm not saying i want to stop doing these things. but when i miss my husband who i see every day, that can't be a good sign. when those moments aren't there anymore, is it because they naturally go away, or because i haven't worked to make the moments happen? i think it's the latter. relationships really do take work. they're not supposed to be easy so that you can ignore them. when they're easy is when the work is easy. so, it's time to make some room in the life box for this wonderful man who makes me insanely happy.

thoughts on "the people's marathon"

2009-10-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

it's always a bit of a let-down after the marathon ends. my body hurts from all the effort, and all that intense training is over. at the same time, this will be the first november in two years that hasn't dissolved into a frenzy of driving back and forth to dallas to run training races. in fact, i anticipate a lovely, slow-paced november of shorter long runs, hikes, and lovely weather. november in austin is so great, because it isn't cold enough to stay inside yet, but there are a few subtly bitter days.

as i ran the marine corps marathon, i was prepared for any number of horrible things to happen:

my periformis to start screaming in agony

to not be able to finish, as my periformis injury slowed down my training significantly

to finish slower than i ever have before

to mentally lose it somewhere between miles 21 and 23, making it impossible to finish the marathon

i had such a huge network of support! my mom and carroll were ready to start planning our journey to dc on the metro, and make sure i was well taken care of. and was i ever! i had plenty of food, a wonderful carbo-load dinner of angel hair pasta with boca italian sausage, and yuengling waiting for me in the fridge. i was one pampered lady. it was such an honor to have carroll, a usmc vet, there watching me along the way.

that was at the front of my brain all of last week, until saturday night. then something shifted. as i lay there in bed, waiting for the hard-earned sleep so necessary the night before a marathon (i've learned that i have to get a good night of sleep two nights before the marathon in preparation for nerves), all that negativity started to dissolve. it moved behind a barrier sort of like frosted glass; it was still there, but i couldn't touch it, and i couldn't focus on it enough for it to really bother me. my heart raced as i started thinking about the run, the huge start line, the marine soldiers, and the splendor of washington, dc. i even relished how hard it was to sleep, because this was the night before a very special day. eventually, of course, after telling myself over and over again that everything would be ok, that i just needed rest, i slept.

in the morning, i was so excited. i scribbled my messages on my legs and got dressed. i gobbled down half a pb and banana sandwich and started gulping gatorade and coffee. never before have i been this ready for a marathon. i felt it in my bones, but wasn't yet ready to admit to myself that i was going to have a great run.

let me give you an idea here on the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the marine corps marathon. it's called "the people's marathon," because there's no prize money given. people run it simply for the joy of running a marathon. spectators crowd the entire course. us marine soldiers give you your water, power aid, and finisher's medal. at the beginning, they fire of a cannon. now imagine all of this in addition to running through the nation's capitol on a sunny, 60-degree day. all the stars were aligned for a great sunday run.

and so it happened. the first 8 miles were challenging and hilly, so i ran slow and refused to fatigue myself by making up time on the downhills. i took my time. i looked at the fall colors, the spectators, and the other runners. i talked with my stand-in coach and her group. i was silly and serious and grateful just to be in such a beautiful place on such a beautiful day. all worries were back in texas where i'd left them.

then i saw bret, mom, and carroll at their first spectator point and it made me giddy. fuel for another several miles.

did it get hard? hell yea! at the halfway point i started to hurt. i popped a bit of pain meds and walked for a bit. i relaxed, let my group pass me, and listened to a bit of wait wait don't tell me. then i started running again and caught up with the coach. apparently, the rest of the group had fallen back and her heel was starting to hurt. at 16, we passed the jefferson memorial and another glimpse of my fan base. we started to circle the monuments and i felt overwhelmed and tingly from the glorious architecture. i was surrounded by incredible color in all the leaves, runners' outfits, and spectators' signs. around mile 18, my friend kate from hockaday was standing, tall and pregnant, to cheer me on! she was splendid in a pink dress and black coat, waving her arms with all the enthusiasm of a kid. what a boost!

we passed the 30k mark, which for some reason was a huge milestone for me. probably because my last really long run was that distance and it was pure agony. this time, i was feeling pretty good. i felt confident and gave myself a little "whoop." when i started to feel tired, i looked at the soldiers and veterans, and thought that 26.2 is a whole less to fight for than what they fight/fought for on a daily basis.

i ran with stacey, my coach, until about mile 19, when she said that she wasn't going to be able to keep up. at that point i let her fall back and plugged in my ipod. time for some music. running through the monuments had been a tiring point in the marathon for me. i felt the fatigue in my feet. the bones spread apart; it's a bit overwhelming how uncomfortable that can get. my legs felt the strain from those early hills. i had to relax and let myself go. and so, i needed a bit of vida la vida.

passed mile 20 and started on the longest bridge ever. a lot of people were walking. i refused, because i was afraid that if i stopped running i wouldn't be able to start again.

"i discovered that my castles stand upon pillars of sand, pillars of sand." nothing like a little cello to lift the spirits. and then i was surprised to see my fans again, at mile 21! i could have hugged them all, but i didn't want to stop. my heart swelled, and full of new energy, i felt like i could conquer the world. mary j blige said, "gotta hold your head high cause you're a pretty woman."

my next big milestone was making my second pass of the pentagon, because that would be around mile 24. if i could make it to mile 24, i could finish. i needed some dave matthews at that point. i wonder how dave matthews would feel if he knew how many miles i've run with him crooning into my ears. i've listened to everything of his to pull strength from my gut, from satellite to ants marching to the pure raw angst of so right. at that point, it was so much to say. i texted my cousin john to tell him that "my hell is a closet and i'm stuck inside." i texted my friend debbie to say that marines were cute and see if she was interested in taking a turn running so i could rest. i let bret know that i was almost finished.

then i looked at my watch and almost fell over. i was going to have a pr! i looked around for someone to tell, but everyone looked pretty darn tired so i kept that information to myself. at that moment, i was sure that i could conquer the world. my mind separated from my body for a bit and i felt absolutely no pain. when i started to fall from the high, i pictured the finish line and started to get emotional. somewhere in the back of my head, i remembered my father's words to "calm my liver." i thought about my friends and family, who are all so supportive and loving, and grabbed a hold of myself. with renewed strength, i used their love to push myself to the end.

mile 26. yesss! any minute, the hill to iwo jima would arrive and i'd just have to run up that and be all finished. the hill started, and a man next to me almost fell over; his quad had seized up! poor guy! i stopped with him to make sure he wasn't going to faint or turn gray. he said he was ok, so i kept going. i finished running! i finished faster than ever before! i threw my arms up in the air and was giddy with excitement. a marine wrapped me tightly in a foil blanket and guided me towards the line for my medal. i hugged the marine who gave me my medal and grinned like a clown for the medal picture. about half an hour later, i finally connected with my family.

if there is a perfect marathon, it would be just like this one.

i can ice a cake!

2009-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

my big sister-in-law shannon has given me the courage to try many things i used to be too chicken for: composting, hang-drying laundry, and shampooing my own carpets. this time, i went for *gasp* something artistic: icing a cake. after watching shannon artfully decorate a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing, complete with pink and green flowers, i decided i could handle the challenge. with my in-laws in town, i had the perfect opportunity to create something fantastic! i baked a yellow cake from scratch (beats the socks off of the boxed mix), and made some buttercream vanilla frosting. i let the cakes sit overnight last night, and prepped them for stackage and frostage when i got up. after slicing off the top of the bottom layer to create a flat stacking surface, i applied a generous layer of frosting to glue the layers together.

then came the scary part: make the cake look pretty. shannon iced her red velvet cake twice: first, she applied a thin "crumb layer" to stop all those pesky crumbs in their tracks. she then applied a thicker, flawless layer of creamy white goodness over the cake. i did the same thing, and it came out well! my icing is a lovely ivory color, thanks to a generous application of mexican vanilla extract. the crumb layer is absolutely essential: it glues all the crumbs in place and creates a nice base, almost like spackle or primer. the top icing layer is thick and pearly.

finally, i needed to create some embellishments (you know me). i don't have any icing tools, so i followed some advice i heard years ago to use a ziplock bag. i clipped a small hole in the corner of the bag and used that to pipe out a lovely green vine along the edge of the cake, and wrote out "Happy" and "Jo!" in green. then i made some lovely pink flowers and wrote out "Birthday" in pink as well. it's so beautiful! i definitely need to take a picture. i was simply in too much of a hurry to get to work after cleaning up my mess this morning to property document the occasion. so, i created a little bit of waste, but far less than i would have using mixes or buying the cake at a store. besides that, there's so much love in a home-made cake!

methinks i will need a cake decorating kit!

seitan "brisket"

2009-10-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

so, i wanted us vegetarians to have something hearty and beefy to sink our teeth into, with the aroma of brisket floating all around. here's what i created, and even the non-veggies who tried it were impressed. i made 2 batches.

ingredients:
1.5 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
3/4 cup cold water
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 tbsp organic bbq sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 heaping tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 heaping tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp olive oil

pre-heat oven to 325

combine all dry ingredients in a bowl

whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl

pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and combine. i like to use the dough hook on my kitchenaid mixer, because it does all the work for me while i put everything away!

knead the mixed dough until it's no longer sticky, and gets an elastic texture. it's ready when it's kind of oily and stretchy

roll into a 6-8 inch log and place on a sheet of foil

pour about 1 extra tsp of bbq sauce on the log, and roll up the seitan tightly into the foil, turning up the ends like a candy wrapper

bake at 325 for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. seitan is done when it's slightly firm with a steaky texture

i also had to re-heat the seitan. i went ahead and sliced it up like brisket, topped it with bbq sauce, and heated it up in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes in a foil "packet" from the foil i used to bake the seitan.

per my friends' requests: the easiest brisket ever!

2009-10-18T06:08:00.000-07:00

so i'm a vegetarian, but most of my friends and family enjoy meat. fortunately, my father is on the board of snake river farms www.snakeriverfarms.com, so when it came time to get something really special for my dear friend's baby shower, i had a connection! i ordered some brisket from cows that had a fabulous life. it was fatty, marbled, and deep red.

so, when you make this brisket, unless you use fabulous beef like this to begin with, i guarantee it isn't going to be as good. but the recipe is very easy, no matter how much brisket you're making (i had a 12-pounder and 13-pounder on my hands!)

the ingredients and instructions are for a 4-pound brisket, so adjust accordingly.

ingredients:
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp kosher salt (note kosher! if you only have regular table salt, use a lot less, otherwise there will be a salt mine in your mouth and they're all at work (quote my cousin wesley).
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp dry mustard
1 bay leaf, crushed
4 lbs beef brisket (it says to trim, but i didn't trim much; i don't think i needed to, because on my cut most of the fat was on the fat layer)
1 1/2 cups beef stock (i used chicken stock; you can use any stock.)
1/2 cup red wine to add to stock

pre-heat oven to 350

make a dry rub combining all the herbs and spices. season the raw brisket on both sides with the rub. place in a roasting pan and roast, uncovered, for 1 hour.

add stock/wine mixture and enough water to yield about 1/2 inch of liquid in the roasting pan. lower oven to 300 degrees, cover pan tightly and continue cooking until meat is 180 degrees, or fork-tender. you should be able to shred it easily.

trim the fat and slice meat thinly across the grain. serve topped with juice from the pan.

i was shocked at how fast my brisket cooked. searching online, it said on most websites to allow 1 hour per pound of cooking time. with 25 pounds of brisket going into the oven, i started to panic and got the brisket in the oven around 12:30 at night. when i got up at 7am, it was finished! that gave me time to trim and slice the briskets. i returned the sliced brisket to one of my roasting pans and covered it again, then set it in my grill. about half an hour before the shower start time, i turned on the grill and poured a liberal amount of juice and some barbecue sauce on the brisket slices, re-covered the pan, and let the brisket re-heat at approx. 350 degrees for close to an hour. when it came out, it was bubbling and juicy, and everyone raved.

to follow: the vegetarian version!

the boysen-hoffman house is again open for company!

2009-10-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

Making: lots of yummy fall breads

Cooking: pumpkin loaves and 7-up pound cake

Drinking: water

Reading: the corrections by jonathan franzen after putting it down for a few months

Wanting: it to be an hour and a half earlier!

Looking: frazzled and poofey-eyed from dusting

Playing: ladderball on saturday i hope!

Wasting: time i could be resting for my run in the morning

Sewing: a lot, soon!

Wishing: for my sister-in-law and her family to win a free roof and furnace!

Enjoying: a firm mattress with soft sheets

Waiting: to see mom and dad tomorrow!

Liking: the clean carpets

Wondering: how early i can sneak out of work tomorrow

Loving: bret, who has worked really hard with me to get the house sparkling clean

Hoping: for the health care system to change soon

Marveling: over the fact that my dad qualified for the boston marathon!

Needing: more hours in the day

Smelling: our clean bathroom

Wearing: t-shirt and boxers, both bret's

Following: http://dairygodmother.blogspot.com

Noticing: that my hands are very dry!

Knowing: i love my family and they love me

Thinking: about the weekend ahead and how i will fit everything in

Bookmarking: lots of networking opportunities

Opening: aquaphor

Giggling: at lilly and seamus, who make funny noises at night

Feeling: wonderfully tired

r.i.p long run shoes :(

2009-10-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

even though i had to buy new long run shoes on sunday, it didn't really hit me until today that i won't be wearing my old long run pair during the marathon in ~~two weeks~~ 12 days. and so i gave my ~~old short run~~ gardening and ~~old long run~~ short run shoes a bath in hot water, seventh generation dish detergent, borax, and tea tree oil while giving my new shoes a 3.25-mile break-in.

before i went, i had to make the shoes mine. i do that by unlacing them and relacing them with the top set of holes left undone (my feet like to spread really wide after about 13 miles, which is unbearable if all of the holes are laced), and with the bottom two laces tied in such a way as to anchor my ankle in place for those early miles before my feet swell fully into the shoes. i never said running was pretty. i stood up and they felt weird, the way all new running shoes feel: i couldn't feel the ground, my arches didn't meet the arch supports, and my toes felt disoriented. ugg.

all of a sudden, i had an epiphany. i have spent months and months working: pounding out grueling mile after mile in the heat. battling fatigue, injuries, and dehydration to build my body up. i take my gps watch and micro-manage my pace, footfalls, breath, and periformis. it has been a marathon of hard work and very little play.

and so, i leashed seamus up and left my gps and ipod behind. i wouldn't have even taken water, but it was a weird 83 degrees outside, so i decided to err on the side of caution. for the first time that i can remember, i went on a run and didn't give a single thought or care to how fast i was going. i didn't even look to see what time i left the house. i just jogged along, looking at how green everything has become from the rain, watching seamus run in a state of utter glee. it's been so long since i noticed how graceful he is, and how much he appreciates exercising with me.

in short, i tried to remember all the reasons that i love to run. and i think i was successful! despite the heat, i just went along and watched the world as i passed it. i let my mind wander and my thoughts travel. i let seamus set the pace, and even get distracted a little bit. we splashed through puddles and chased birds away. i didn't even mind when a stranger at the stop light wanted to talk to me about how much he loves going to the gym.

at the same time, i tried to remember why i hate to run. because running is a love/hate relationship. don't let anyone tell you that every moment they run is absolute bliss, because it isn't. frankly, the majority of running is work. you get hot, you sweat, you run out of breath. you get dehydrated, you get hungry, you get injured. you spend months of your life unable to stay up late on weekends because friday night you have to rest from your run, and saturday night you're exhausted from said run. but then you cross a wall of resistance and you see yourself from other eyes: you're a running machine. you're lithe, sexy, a gazelle. your vision clears and you find this zen place where the breathing is perfect as adrenaline rushes through your veins and the world is your oyster. there is absolutely nothing in the world better than that moment. i think they call that the runner's high.

this past saturday morning, i ran a 30k distance. my injury was, of course, starting to bug me. i had taken my pace easy, hoping to finish strong. it wasn't going to happen. i decided to jeff galloway the last 4 miles: alternate walking and running. turns out my pace was pretty good despite the walking, but there were moments when i really wanted to quit. that long run didn't bring me a zen place; i had to bring it on my own. turns out my zen place is this spot on bret's collarbone where i can look at his neck and smell his skin. it's where i feel his fingers scratching my head and hear the sound of pages turning in his book. it's the soft sheets, the strong legs, that spot where nothing hurts for just a second.

how will this marathon turn out? i have no idea. i'm so afraid of the pain - or perhaps the pain is afraid of me, and i need to get over myself. if it weren't for the injury, i would be confident, cocky even. maybe these things happen to humble us. will i finish? i think so; i always manage to one way or another. in the meantime, there's the zen place. and my new shoes to ~~break in~~ bond with. i just want to wake up marathon morning and not have it be about the pain. it needs to be about something else. maybe i should make this marathon about the zen place. meditation is in order.

the ever-elusive nature of seo writing

2009-10-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

seo writing is apparently very valuable to companies, and it makes sense. essentially, you're getting similar services to pay-per-click campaigns for a lot less money. the writing itself seems easy - just gotta learn about google analytics and how to find keywords. good project for a slow, rainy day at the office!

vegan cornbread

2009-10-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

so all you vegan skeptics out there, who think you can't bake good vegan food: a plague upon your household! ok not a plague, but seriously, consider trying some vegan baking to mix up your routine. vegan food is cleansing and healthy. that being said, this cornbread is definitely caloric so have 1 serving at a time. no self-control? it makes great muffins. 1 muffin a day, my dearies. or 1 pizza-shaped slice from your fantastic cast-iron skillet.

ingredients:
4 cups yellow corn meal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
3 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) margarine or crisco
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup very finely shredded carrot
1 cup clabbered milk (buttermilk)
vegan buttermilk: 1 cup soy milk, 2 tsp lemon juice, and 3/4 tsp cream of tartar

pre-heat oven to 425

beat margarine and oil until creamy and smooth

in a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients

slowly add dry ingredients to the margarine and oil

add clabbered milk and water, mix thoroughly

add carrots, mix thoroughly

makes 2 9-inch pans, baked for approx. 30 minutes
makes 24 muffins

to prep your cast iron skillet:

make sure it's thoroughly seasoned (you can do that by applying a thin layer of oil to the pan and let sit in a 350-degree oven for about an hour)

coat the bottom of the skillet with dry corn meal before pouring in batter

after baking cornbread, clean out the skillet with more oil. vegetable or olive oil will work perfectly.

so much exhaustion

2009-10-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

what is it about weekends that make me feel like i have to force my whole self into them? especially now that it's officially really fall. fall is my favorite time of year. it feels like a time of new beginnings. texas breathes this sigh of relief from the heat, and plants start to grow again. i suppose fall is the "spring" of the south. it's been raining on and off now for a couple of weeks and the drought may actually end. all of this inspires me to do as much as possible during my free time.

saturday i ran 18.6 miles. my muscles are going to struggle through the marine corps marathon, but i know i can finish. as i ran on saturday, i remembered why i love to run and i can't wait for race day! it's going to be beautiful in washington, running through the monuments. after that, bret and i enjoyed a cleaning marathon before my friend sara came over to help me make dinner. we grilled different varieties of squash and ate it with eggplant, hummus, and pita chips. it was delicious, especially when followed by pumpkin pie and espresso!

today, i went grocery shopping in the morning and have decided that i'm always going to do my grocery shopping on sunday mornings - the store was practically empty! then i came home and started cooking. i made lentil-barley soup, vegetarian chili, 3 batches of seitan, applesauce, and squash! i have a fridge and freezer full of so many meals i don't know what to take for lunch tomorrow. aside from some corn bread and pumpkin loaf, i don't have to cook at all this week. that feels so wonderful! bret had fun helping me with the applesauce and kept a strong dish-washing pace so that every time i approached the sink with a project's dirty dishes it was empty again. we make a wonderful team.

and here it is, late on yet another sunday night that i'm exhausted. but i love it.

could someone please tell me how walmart is still in business?

2009-10-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

people just love walmart. could someone please tell me why?

i hate walmart. they are the devil. here are my reasons:

they treat their employees like doodoo, doing things like denying them benefits and taking advantage of elderly people.

their stores are filthy and stinky, veritable cesspools created by shamelessly drawing in the dredges of society. you'd think the crazies running that place would take pleasure in forcing their employees to make the floors "shine like the top of the chrysler building."

the employees are rude, which probably results from the effects of reason number 1. therefore, i blame the ~~dictatorship~~ corporation. besides, you can't take rudeness personally when you don't know the person. today i spent my lunch break researching carpet cleaners while working on my other blog post (multi-task). i found one and proceeded to see which store had it. target doesn't carry it in their stores, but walmart does. i called two stores to see who had it in stock, and they were extremely unhelpful. the one store that had it refused to hold it for me. the store that didn't have it refused to call any other stores to see if they had it. i guess walmart doesn't care about a measly $150.

they unabashedly contribute to the whole consumerist culture that is the united states with piles of junk/deep fried food, poorly crafted products people will have to return to the store for time and time again. they will ultimately spend more money, it drives me insane!

that crazy social networking stuff

2009-10-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

so it's time for me to start thinking long-term about what i can do with the skills i currently have. my skill list is definitely jabble-ass, but here we are:

good cookof course the first item on my list would have to do with food. what is my obsession with it? i love to eat. when i'm not eating i'm thinking about what i'm going to eat next. if i weren't a veggie and fruit fiend who runs 30+ miles a week i would be morbidly obese. speaking of all that running, marine corps is in 2 weeks now! i can't wait!

i'm one heck of an analytical writer. give me a theme and i'll research it until it's beat up, bruised, and potentially bleeding. that all depends on the skin thickness of said theme. i have about ten million research papers to prove said heckness.

i can social network like a seasoned pro. i am a facebook junkie and cannot help myself. but apparently now companies are all about social networking, so my addiction may actually come in handy.

i'm great with computers. those who i've had to contact about simple technical issues would probably think something else, but once i learn how to do something, it sticks. i learn how to apply it to other aspects of my computational life and have pretty much taught myself how to use photoshop (although my dad helped a lot), microsoft publisher, a bit of html, advanced microsoft excel functions, and how to create and edit videos with this nifty little program called camtasia. and while i might be a self-declared, complete and utter mac snob, i can even use pc's too.

apparently, i can scrapbook. people tell me, apparently, i have a good eye for creating paper products (albums, cards, and invitations). don't believe me? check out rockspaperscissors.net look at the "paper art." yea, that's my stuff. my writing too. two birds with one stone. this is a slightly embarrassing skill, as scrapbooking is reserved for housewives who live in the suburbs and have too much time, too many relatives, and too little to do. but hey, if the shoe fits...

i'm a social butterfly. i did a 14-mile run with my brother's marathon training group back in july. it was 4:30 on july 5th and i had been celebrating rather hard the previous day, but i was still friendly. in fact, i couldn't shut my mouth most of the way. meanwhile, my brother spends most of his run with his mouth closed and head down. why be around people if you can't chat? most vendors and clients seem to like this about me, so i won't question it.

i can multitask. i might think about food all the time, but i accomplish everything else in my life while thinking about food. and doing other things like writing grocery lists, checking e-mail, compiling reports, editing a sales letter...

i'm ridiculously organized. please don't come to my home because you will make assumptions to the contrary unless you start going through the cabinets that my husband hasn't gone through in a while.

what do i want to do with these skills? i like this internet marketing stuff. it's fun. i need to do more of it.

my friends are frugalistas too!

2009-10-08T12:51:00.001-07:00

so here's what some of my friends have offered up as frugal/eco-friendly additions to their lives:

I know this isn't particularly "green" or money-saving, but recently I've learned how much I love my Dymo label maker. I know it sounds silly, but it's made filing a breeze (actually makes it fun) and it has helped me make communications with my CityCraft employees, vendors, and contractors much more professional. I'm the kind of person that is ... Read Moresuper critical of my own handwriting, like, "Why is it curvier today than yesterday?" or "I hate this pen because my handwriting looks terrible using it..." So the label maker eliminates that "monkey brain" and let's me see what I need to see.

Ditto on the lawn care and the compost - they actually go hand in hand for me. I love coming home to a clean, organically fertilized lawn and then seeing the fresh grass clippings on top of the compost pile. (Compost is the secret to my beautiful tomato crop!)

Some additions I thought of as I read: 3) tea tree oil is one of the suggested ways to end a lice infestation; 5) to clean the mirrors and window I use newspaper sections. They don't leave streaks and even with a water solution the surfaces look crystal clear. Then the newspapers are REALLY read for the composter. The worms think of it as ... Read Morecavier...yummers. 6) a teaspoon of vinegar works as a great rinse aid in dishwashers 10) I've used a plain Rubbermaid trashcan with holes drilled all around as a composter. I let the kids roll it around the yard a bit, and that mixes up the goodies inside nicely. Lastly, I recently discovered that using last season's tomato vines to cover my garden between plantings keeps all the beneficial insects in and most of the weeds out. Then I just rolled up the branches and the garden was ready to plant again. Phew! Done.

I use Kirkland environment friendly laundry detergent scented with lavender, it's eco-friendly, cheaper than Tide and makes your clothes smell lovely. Among my other attempts to go green, I use "Ecover" dishwashing liquid, a gentle herbal formula with chamomile and marigold -its gentle on your hands and non toxic to the environment. :) Liquid-soap wise, I use Yves Rocher's "Avoine Agriculture Bio Organic Oats" liquid soap which is amazing.

I am a big fan of the Story of Stuff. If you haven't watched it, you really should check it out http://www.storyofstuff.com/

My thrust for eco-frugal living is not to buy anything that I can make do with using something I have already, shop used first if possible when I do shop, maintain things and repair them as needed before replacing and look for new homes for things I no longer need.

the 2010 boston marathon

2009-10-08T12:13:00.001-07:00

so it's looking like i'll be on the national ms society team to raise money for the boston marathon! it's going to be my dad's last full marathon - an emotional time for us both - and my first run in boston. i'm really excited to raise money for such a great cause, and get rewarded by running the most prestigious marathons out there.

so, this is a call to all of my friends and family to start helping me out! here's the sort of help i need, and if you can/want to contribute, that would be great!
-your christmas shopping: go to www.rockspaperscissors.net

and contact me to place an order! my share of the profits will go to the national ms society.
-your time: help me think of fund-raising ideas.
-your contacts: who do you know who might want to donate, and can i get in touch with them by e-mail? do you have high-profile contacts in the media, etc? bring them on!
-your old stuff: i'm going to have a fund-raising yard sale. if you have stuff you don't want anymore, bring it to my house and we will sell it. we will make sure to get you a receipt for your taxes.
-your goodies: are you great at making jams, baked goods, or other crafty items? if you're willing to make stuff to sell, that would be wonderful! same deal: you'll get a receipt.
-your obnoxiousness: tell everyone you know
-your stories: do you know someone who has ms? i'm going to start a blog, and i'd love to hear stories, see pictures, or get feedback to post.
-your moolah: those who i exchange christmas gifts with can donate to my cause for christmas this year. remember that you're giving people with ms the chance for a better life, and you're giving me a chance to run with my dad at his last marathon.
-your stomachs: i'm going to sell home-made fall and winter bundt cakes for $10 each. you can choose 7-up pound cake, pumpkin cake, or apple cake. yes, they are very good. yes, there will be discounts for orders of 3 cakes or more.

this might be preemptive, as i don't have the donation info yet. but i want to start stirring the pot, as it were.

confections of the "frugalista" - part 2

2009-10-08T12:12:00.005-07:00

as my fall to-do list starts drawing to a close, i look over the receipts and find that bret and i have spent a fair chunk of change on home improvements. that's always a great investment - a few hundred dollars fertilized and pesticided the lawn, gave our yard fall color, enabled me to start hang drying a lot of my laundry, and made the inside of our house look more like a home than a "little box made of ticky-tacky." however, with christmas coming, it's time to start thinking about our holiday travel/gift/party budget. i'm always looking for new ideas, of course, but here's my start...

1. soup! ahhh soup. i have a year-old bag filled with dried 7-bean and barley soup mix that i purchased for pennies in the bulk aisle of the health food store. between that and my spice rack, the only extra ingredients i need are carrots and leeks to make a really tasty soup. this weekend, i'm going to make a big batch and freeze them in glass jars. glass jars make so much sense - bret and i can just grab a jar from the freezer, bring it to work, and heat and eat it right in the jar. oh yes.

2. take advantage of the harvest in bulk. so honeycrisp apples aren't the least expensive apples out there. but i think they have crack or something in them, because every fall when they come out i have to have some honeycrisp every day. no matter that the orbs of love cost about $2 each... i seriously need to get over my honeycrisp obsession. this will be done with home-made applesauce. non honeycrisp varieties of apples are super cheap and yummy right now, and will make some faboosh dessert treats. once again, i have all the ingredients at home that i need for applesauce (unless i want to include some orange zest which sounds really fab). similar ingredients can make delicious pureed butternut and acorn squash. i'm pretty sure i can also roast and freeze cubed butternut squash to make butternut hash browns.

3. plant my lettuce and enjoy home-grown seasonings. my seed-started lettuce is growing! like crazy! lettuce plants are sitting happily in my office waiting to go into the ground. after a lot of thought, i've decided to do them in a large container. if i'm happy with the results, next year my greens will go into the ground. i don't want to tear up part of the yard for something i may or may not want to do next year. if bret and i can get just a few salads out of the harvest i'll be happy. the seeds were so cheap. i have rosemary, lavender, and basil growing at the speed of light right now and can use all of them to make my food delish. spraying my basil daily with a solution of dish soap and water seems to be keeping the pests at bay (knock on wood).

4. sewing machine - i really want to enjoy beautiful holiday napkins that don't get thrown in the trash. when my sewing machine arrives, i'm going to shop t.j. maxx for some holiday table cloths and cut them into luxurious cloth napkins. what's fancier? nothing, that's what!

5. home-made christmas presents - my father had the brilliant idea of giving everyone home-made christmas gifts this year. after getting the abundant fruits of my sister-in-law's fruit preserving labor for my birthday, i'm on board. this year, family and friends will enjoy a small gift accompanied by stationery, baked goods, and other stuff i'll make just for them.

confections of the "frugalista" part 1

2009-10-08T12:12:00.003-07:00

this morning, i was thinking about the various products i've gotten, mainly to save money or the environment. many of them have actually turned out to improve my quality of life, so i thought i'd share what i have.

1. my espresso machine: so, technically my husband got this for me so i didn't make the investment, but i love my francisfrancis! espresso machine. it's one of the very best brands out there, and has probably saved me at least $20 - not counting gas - from trips bret and i haven't taken to starbucks or the coffee bean and tea leaf. you don't have to get a top-of-the-line machine to make really great espresso. there are a lot of options out there. so, by spending a little more time, you can enjoy freshly-baked pumpkin loaf and a latte in the quiet serenity of your home or back yard at a fraction of coffee house prices.

2. good lawn care: i actually didn't do this to save money or the earth. i was lazy, bret was working lots of hours, and we finally decided to bite the bullet and start paying for lawn care. it has turned out to be fantastic! having someone mow our lawn has freed me up to grow other plants, trim and weed, and keep the house clean. in addition to that, the lawn company gave us an incredible discount on organic pest care and is keeping us fully stocked with more bags than we will ever use of free organic mulch. yes, this is a bit of a frivolity, and yes, the mowers use gas-powered machines. i figure that having ninja worms and compost fertilizer instead of poison and chemicals in our yard at least somewhat makes up for it.

3. tea tree oil: i originally bought tea tree oil to deal with zits. it heals blemishes beautifully. since then, i've discovered that tea tree oil also relieves pain and itching from bug bites and rashes. if i start to get a little toe funk (runner), i dab tea tree oil on my toe nails and it disappears within a day or two. tea tree oil gets rid of mold, germs, and bad smells. i add a couple of drops to my stinky laundry and it comes out smelling really fresh. it will also get stains like nail polish and paint off of tile and linoleum.

4. probiotics: medicine - especially anti-biotics, but cold meds can do this too - mess up my tummy. as do super long runs and nights of drinking too much. good-quality probiotics do just as good a job - better, really - than over-the-counter drugs to help tummy ailments. take two or three probiotic capsules in the morning and at night if you're having problems and you'll find your system back to normal soon. another great source of probiotics - and protein - is in fage greek yogurt. it's pricey, but the stuff is so nutritious. the fat free version is just as thick and creamy as the full fat version. i often have problems with dairy, but for some reason, greek yogurt doesn't bug me at all. in fact, i think it helps.

5. microfiber wipes: they are amazing for windows, glass, and dust. my old running shirts make fantastic cleaning wipes. i cut them into squares and voila: insta-clean! you will never use paper towels to clean your windows or kitchen table again once you try the micro fiber. i even attach microfiber rags to my swiffer for trash-free sweeping and mopping underneath furniture and kitchen appliances.

6. eco-friendly cleaers - castille soap, baking soda, borax, lemons, salt, and vinegar: it would never have occurred to me to dip half a lemon into baking soda or kosher salt and use it to scour my stove top and sink, but i gave it a try and it works! when you're done, throw the lemon into your disposal and grind it up to clean out your disposal and make your kitchen smell delish. if you have the above ingredients (and tea tree oil), you can get almost everything in your house clean and sparkling like new. if you need recipes, let me know. my two favorite home-made cleaners are my solution of borax and water to clean the kitchen counter tops, and white vinegar. vinegar can be used to descale your coffee maker, wash your windows, clean out your drains, and soften your laundry. all of the above cleaners are inexpensive and they make your house smell great.

7. plain ol non-clumping cat litter: my inner cheapskate got tired of paying for the crystal cat litter that, frankly, doesn't seem to control stank all that well, even with judicious applications of baking soda. the crystal stuff also leaves a pretty hefty carbon footprint. after a trip to my step-sister's house with her three cats and non-stinky litter boxes, i decided to give the plain stuff she uses a try. i'm talking about the very most basic cat litter; the clay gravel that doesn't clump. liberally sprinkle the bottom of your cat box with baking soda, then fill the box 2-3 inches deep with litter. try to scoop out the #2's every day to couple of days, and stir around the baking soda as you do. i can't smell a thing and i changed the litter boxes on saturday! it's great! i'm sure i will need to add some baking soda to the boxes today or tomorrow, but it's a vast improvement. cost difference? oh my goodness - i will save almost $10 every time i change the litter boxes (every 10 days).

8. sparkling water: since stopping the soda habit, i've craved something besides water and tea from time to time, and sparkling water fits the bill. it's helped me manage my weight, because i can make low-calorie cocktails with it, and i can dilute my fruit juice (sparkling lemonade anyone?) it also lifts stains out of the carpet.

9. seitan: my go-to meat substitute! bret doesn't like any other meat substitutes (although he did enjoy the tempeh i made last night). he loves seitan for its steaky mouth feel and great flavor. make it at home and it's super cheap, soy free, and can taste however you want it to (why i love it). i've made orange sriracha seitan, spicy seitan, and i will soon be making bbq sauce seitan and gyro seitan. you meat eaters out there looking to save money and lose weight, give seitan a chance! it's low-calorie, high-protein, freezes beautifully, and is approved by carnivores.

10. compost: compost is the best fertilizer out there. because two people don't make enough compost to fertilize an entire yard, i bought bags of organic compost from the hardware store and was thrilled with the results. think back to your school days when you would engage in such scientific experiments as growing mold on slices of bread. compost may not get moldy, but it does cook down; it definitely has a science experiment feel to it. worms like to live in it and you have to learn how to balance the browns against your scraps to achieve the perfect mix. it's fun! plus, it keeps old produce stank out of your trash can and bulk from the land fills. don't think you have room? pishaw! i make mine in rubbermaid boxes with holes drilled in the sides and bottoms. they hide behind the air conditioning compressor.

how to prepare for the plague

2009-10-08T12:12:00.001-07:00

it can strike at any time, especially at the most inconvenient of times: the plague. i think i probably had the flu, but my symptoms never got serious enough to warrant a trip to the doctor and i recovered pretty fast. here are my thoughts and ideas, which will hopefully make other people's flu seasons go a little better.

the best part was, bret had decided to start but not finish painting our bedroom over the weekend, so i had to recover from the flu on our futon in the tv room. good times. at least i was right next to the xbox (which includes xbox live and such wonderfulness as netflix). i was a zombie. i thought i could use my time at home to finish my cousin's scrapbook, but no. i did not feel like moving.

1. take airborne, emergen-c, zinc, or some other immune booster at least once a day the moment you start to feel run down - no, it will not substitute for medicine, but it will give your body a shot of vitamins. this will, in turn, give your immune system extra energy to help working on getting better faster. the last few times i've been sick, i've taken airborne twice a day (one of the few sources of zinc that doesn't make me sick to my tummy), and i don't stay sick as long as i used to.

2. stock up your pantry and freezer - right now, at least where i live, canned soup is on sale! i loaded up on a ton of organic soups that were on sale. i also treated myself to a few canned veggies that mom used to give me as a little girl (comfort food). get your favorite frozen tv dinners too, and maybe crackers. anything that will last a long time. also get some good tea, including spiced chai which has caffeine as well as herbs and spices.

3. buy flu meds - they're on sale too. go ahead and buy them, along with kleenex, fever reducers, lysol wipes, and a thermometer if you don't have one. you will not feel like going to the store once the plague falls upon your household.

4. eat your fruits and veggies, and hydrate - that's just obvious. try to go with organic where possible and make sure to wash everything thoroughly before nomming.

5. the most depressing thing about being sick, at least for me, is how nauseating coffee is. coffee, my comfort, my friend, my pre-long-run performance enhancer, makes me want to yarf right now. i recommend two non-sickening substitutes: regular coke (every once in a while the stuff is perfect to settle the tummy), and chai tea with agave nectar and lemon juice.

6. and please, don't go shakespearean on people's arses and wish a "plague upon their houses." seriously, that sucks.

recipe: sweet, hot, and garlicky seitan

2009-10-08T12:11:00.001-07:00

just to warn you all, this seitan is very hot. it may be hotter in leftover form. bret and i adore hot, so it's not a problem for us. if you don't like your food quite so hot, i recommend using ketchup in place of the sriracha sauce.

makes 8 servings

seitan "log":
1.5 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (no you can't use bread yeast, as jay and i discovered ;) )
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sriracha sauce
4 tbsp tomato paste
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp sesame or olive oil

glaze:
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 tbsp sriracha sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

pre-heat the oven to 350. in a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. in a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, garlic, and sesame seeds. pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix them together. the dough will become stiff; at that point, work with your hands until all the ingredients are mixed, then start kneading. the seitan will become very elastic, and will not stick to your hands when it's finished. roll it into a 8-inch tube and place on a sheet of foil. spoon the glaze over the top and wrap the seitan tightly in the foil, tying the ends like a piece of candy. it will probably be necessary to use a second foil wrapping. place the seitan on a cookie sheet and bake for approximately 75 minutes. remove; it is fully cooked and ready to eat.

this seitan recipe freezes flawlessly and is much less expensive than the store-bought variety. it's also much easier than boiled seitan recipes. it's the only vegetarian protein that bret will eat (besides tvp and beans), and cures my protein crazies on days when my body is struggling to recover from difficult workouts. enjoy!

summer runnin', july 2009

2009-10-08T12:10:00.003-07:00

i thought all you runners might get a kick out of this silly little note i thought up while on a very hot and steamy run this morning in the texas heat!

(to the tune of summer nights from greece)

summer runnin', hundred-degree blasts
summer runnin', how long can i last

took my dog, he loves to run...
we both panted beneath the sun

summer jogs in hellacious heat
so pr's can be beat

oh hell, oh hell, oh hell, it's hot!

one mile more, one mile more, how much more can i sweat?
one mile more, one mile more, aren't we finished yet?
no more! no more! no more! no more!

by mile three, i had a cramp
all my clothes were way more than damp

trying to breathe in humidity
is truly an impossibility!

summer jogs threaten my sanity...
but oh how i love to run...

one mile more, one mile more!

the horrid drama of july 8, 2009

2009-10-08T12:10:00.001-07:00

before work:
i took seamus for a 3-mile run through "warm soup" humidity... although it sprinkled a little bit, so that was really nice. however, when we got back, i discovered fire ants had started going after his food bowl on the kitchen floor! after flinging his food out the back door, i went on a search to discover how the ants were getting in. i thoroughly caulked the area and sprayed poison all over the wall and outside the back door. because of this ordeal, i was 45 minutes late to work.

during work:
i get a call from a nearby neighbor informing me that he has seamus in his backyard with his other dogs. turns out, yuengling taught seamus how to dig. i have to go get him (i work 17 miles from my house, it's a bit of a drive). so i decide to go ahead and arrange to pick up the grill (birthday present from mom! woot) i had purchased the previous evening, since their rental pickup truck is available and it's sort of on my way. after a hot and sweaty ordeal of grill unloading and dog picking up, i crate seamus, sponge bathe myself, change shirts, and head back to work. amazingly, i was only away from work for 2 hours. but i had to stay late.

evening:
i go to home depot to pick up extra pavers and stones to make a dig-proof area of the yard by the fence, and have extra house keys cut. house keys were cut incorrectly, so i will have to go back today and have them re-do it. i hate home depot, and would have gone to lowe's, but home depot has the pavers that are already in the back yard, and bret and i are anal and like things to match.

at home, i carry all the stones on the dolly to the dig spot and start filling in seamus's hole, only to find that a swarm of ants decided to make the digging area their new home (hence the infestation). i'm wearing birkenstocks, but nonetheless, i begin my revenge without thinking to change into boots or sneakers. i run to the garage for ant poison granules and douse the area, then start moving stones around. note my desperation to both murder fire ants and dig-block the yard. the ants, of course, bite me wherever they can all over my feet, so i have to keep running back and forth from the dig spot to deep grass to rub the stupid creatures off of my feet.

finally, i finish arranging the stones and douse the area more. in the rush to put ant poison away, i cut the skin off the tip of my toe, temporarily distracting me from the giant fireball that has become my feet. the adrenaline starts pumping at this point, so i start to shake. somehow, i manage to get everything put away and start filling the stoppered kitchen sink with ice, cold water, and vinegar. i sit a few moments, letting my feet soak. i try to turn on my lap top to whine about it on facebook, but the battery is out, so i keep soaking for a minute, then go take a benadryl and a shower.

after showering, i cover my feet in tea tree oil ointment and band-aids. bret makes a chicken-wire and patio chair barricade to keep seamus away from the dig spot and ant poison. i fall asleep before getting all the laundry put away, the only task on my to-do list for yesterday. the good news is, i got a really good night's sleep.

this morning:
alarm goes off early so that i can take seamus on a 5-miler. i'm refreshed and awake and excited for a good workout. i go out back to check the poisoned ant area - only a few stragglers left! lloyd is hanging out in the toad abode swimming pool, and a hummingbird is slamming down nectar from our new feeder. i shove my shoes over the band-aided ant bites, that scream in pain from the pressure, but i ignore it. i'm determined to have a better day today.

before heading out the door, i check to see that the cats have food, only to find that their bowl is now full of fire ants. fortunately, bret is awake at this point and helps me find the spot where the bastards were coming in and we caulk and spray more poison. if our cats make it through today alive, it will be a miracle. needless to say, i don't run. instead, i get a bunch of cleaning done and pack my gym bag for a run after work at the gym. i rush to get ready for work, and freshly tea tree salve and band-aid my ant bites.

right now, i'm itchy and goose-bumpy and terrified that i will come home to more ants. i honestly don't know what i'll do. i know... it's wrong for me to whine so much about some fire ants, when people actually have serious problems in their lives like no job, and possibly no job combined with their own fire ant infestation and no income with which to purchase ant poison... i guess it's time for me to put all of this out of my mind and concentrate on the work i'm lucky to have.

i am a slacker - 7/27/2009

2009-10-08T12:09:00.003-07:00

let me start with this note i was going to add at the end: all of this hedonism has been fabulous and absolutely worth it, and i wouldn't change it for the world.

i have gotten cocky. and now... i'm paying for it big-time.

two bad things happened: last week i got massively dehydrated, and over the weekend, i pinched a nerve. it is all because i'm not training like a runner; i'm training like a slacker who runs. running is a holistic sport that encompasses all levels of your life - you have to eat, work out, and sleep like a runner... in addition to running like a runner. the only thing i've been rocking lately is my mileage. other than that, i've been suckuardo and i'm going to *really* pay the price if i don't make some changes asap! after i finish this note, i will humbly be recording these problems in the "injuries" section of my running diary. stupid running diary, making me accountable for my epic fails.

my runner-ish arrogance convinced me that i could drink beer, slug wine, eat junk food, and be thin and run 30+ miles a week, all at the same time. go ahead and say what you're thinking: "retuardo." yep. not only did i hurt myself, but all my weight loss progress from the other week is GONE. and i have absolutely no excuse: i know that junk food and alcohol lead to dehydration, which led to my sluggishness/sickies last week. i've been slacking on every vitamin except for calcium - including my flax seed oil, which is essential for muscle recovery. enter pinched nerve. i'm usually this gigantic health nut who sticks to a mainly vegan diet consisting of veggies of every color of the rainbow, avocados, grains, and beans (with the occasional cheese fest). lately, i've od'd big-time on butter, eggs, 21+ libations, and cheese. i don't tolerate dairy well and have no business eating or drinking things that will inflame my system while i'm training for a marathon!

time to re-vamp my diet. last night i was craving mexican food (read: queso, guac, refried beans, and chips), but, determined to make myself better, i cooked at home, grilling tofu strips, squash, peppers, and onion, and having it with pico de gallo, brown rice, and corn tortillas. i was surprised at how crispy and delicious grilled tofu is! just spray with olive oil, season with a little salt and pepper, and throw it on at high heat, so you rotate it fast and it gets a nice crust on the edges. i chopped up the leftover tofu and put it in a spinach salad with the pico, some grape tomatoes, and baco's (they're vegan!) that's my lunch and it's so good! why have i been a food rebel, when i love the healthy stuff? i will say it again: i have on excuse.

i'm also going to record my food in my running diary. since my running performance depends on my diet, i should keep track of what i eat and drink. ugh. i'm also going to start meditating, like i did when i was fasting. i think this will help me get back in touch with my body, and start the inner cleansing process necessary to get ready for the marine corps marathon.

i will commit myself to getting at least 8 hours of sleep most nights (yes, i'm very lucky that's possible for me, i know... excuses are like buttholes).

the other thing i'm going to have to do is get rid of or stash the alcohol in the pantry. drinking is simply going to have to be a rarity until the marathon's over, and that's just fine. sure i love beer... but i also love tea, juice, coffee, and topo chico with fresh lime. sorry, guys, but i'm never giving up coffee again unless i get pregnant some day. i get the organic, free-trade variety... coffee is natural and helps prevent diseases.

and now... i feel like my legs are almost separate from the rest of me, these big heavy things that propel me forward and are right now hurting and angry at me. i'm actually intimidated by my legs: they do amazing things, they run so far, and i've disrespected them. i haven't treated them like legs that run over 30 miles a week; i've taken them for granted. they get no resistance training and very little stretching. as soon as i get home from work, i'm going to have to start exercising my core and my legs. i have all the equipment... this is, one again, a situation where i've had absolutely no excuse.

so all you new runners reading this note: take caution. or maybe you're made of hardier stuff than i am. lucky bastards!

waste

2009-10-08T12:09:00.001-07:00

in the name of progress
i walk towards your establishment
black building white columns
from some time in the 1950's
beckoning another cold war anxiety stirs all around
in the name of justice
you grow trees in plastic pots
stifling in globs of cedar mulch
rudely you tell me
look at me with thick black-lined eyes
"they'll be here when they get here"
in the name of security
you clip me to a numbered badge
i sign the notepad
sit hssssss on the plastic couch
and then you come to get me
polyester blue shirt uncombed slate hair
you pretend to care about my life
you are nice
because none of it affects you
then you plop me in a plastic chair
at a plastic table
in the name of the system
you three
hideous overbearing old
don't you want to be tired
instead of ruthless
the questions
clacking acrylic nails on the table
my blood blue ink on your
pristine white pad
my answers
acid of your depraved giggling
rotting my guts that sit
stewing in my mouth
forlorn anticipation of a scorned lover
in the name of me
...
use your system
your sticky tongues to devour
the two lost hours of my life

ode to coffee

2009-10-08T12:08:00.003-07:00

comatose horizontal in bed-ridden languor
head rowing through turbulent viscose air
dreaming of you warm and fragrant
filling a thirst only you can cure
the threatening thirst

for you are insalubrious, they say
they say, to have you every day
my heart combusts
my body fevers
my skin oily blemishes
affectations of the brain occur

alas, i spurn you
tell myself these dark mornings without you
will once again see the sunrise
until necessity demands your revisitation
steaming in a mug
instant bliss mere sips away
we share an affair
until again i must let you go
my body instantly mourning your loss
for days headache lethargy despondence

i love you
and i abhor you
columbian devil with soy milk
my divine drink
my cursed crutch

cacophony

2009-10-08T12:08:00.001-07:00

broken dried eggshells scattered
littering the landscape of my epiphanies
the air opaque from rot
radioactive world
threatened by your cacophony signified by nothing
carrion decaying reason
i fall to my knees beg to disappear into the sod
if only for an end to the meaninglessness
of the antic dispositions
and like sage plants beneath
the unrelenting heat
i could grow green and lush
blossoms mocking the blood-red clouds
i will create dreams
from your perpetual dessication
your path of destruction is my garden

love note to my feet - 5/11/2009

2009-10-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

dear feet,

yesterday, when i got back from running at town lake, i noticed a couple of blisters and toenails trying to come off. rather than ignoring your woes and hiding my feet beneath sneakers, i diligently scrubbed at the calluses, massaged the blisters, trimmed the nails, and cleaned out the funk. i removed week-old nail polish to allow your nails to breathe for a little bit.

as i labored away on both of you, i got to thinking. you two and i have been through a lot together. you have run hundreds and hundreds of miles, including three marathons and other countless races. most of which were run with shoes half a size too small. together we moaned and groaned, grew bunions, and soaked in ice baths. i popped and band-aided blisters, slathered you in soothing ointments, aquaphor, and anti-chafing creams. and i thought to myself of the days when i stuff you into lovely heels or gear up for another long run, you might go on strike. you might decide that, for example, my friend regina has much better-treated feet. they get manicured and polished often and look freshly cared for with lovely toenail colors and frequent deep moisture treatments. regina probably didn't need an angry shoe salesman at runtex to tell her that if she doesn't go a half size larger on her shoes that she won't run past 35.

i do try to baby you in my own way, though. i mostly only wear my smartwool socks while running, that allow you to breathe and stay dry despite gallons of sweat running down my legs. with bigger shoes, running 10.2 miles no longer makes it unbearable for us to walk. i keep your calluses scrubbed right now and spent last night with a judicious application of aquaphor and toeless socks on you. i keep you in sandals whenever possible for ventilation.

so please try not to go on strike, or to vacate my body and choose another one to live on, where it might be easier and less mile-ridden. remember that we're a team and these challenges make you stronger. because you are my feet, and i appreciate all the places you take me.

All About Watchmen - 3/10/2009

2009-10-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

i am all about notes today, but i promise this is the last one. who said lunch breaks aren't productive?

please do not read this if you haven't seen watchmen and don't want to know what happens during the movie, because it will ruin the plot totally!

and please do not take your children to see this movie unless they're over, say 16. there is a LOT of dr. manhattan blue penis wobbling about throughout. while dr. manhattan looks great naked (nothing like a cgi superhero body clad in absolutely nothing), apparently there is a such thing as too much of a good thing.

although i will say to those who haven't seen it and want to go, please do not expect this to be like batman or spiderman. this is a movie about the human condition, and it isn't happy and fuzzy. there are great moments in it, but it isn't the entertaining romp that a typical super hero movie is. watchmen was a graphic novel, not a series of superhero comics.

so i dispense with the notes, and now i will go on to the part that you should not read if you haven't seen the movie and don't want the plot explained.

most of you who know me relatively well know that i'm a fan of the epic. i'm also a fan of what i like to call heroic fiction. heroic fiction is about a very average being who saves the world. some good examples are pan's labyrinth, the road by cormac mccarthy, and lilith's brood by octavia butler (good reading if you're out of reading materials). watchmen fits right into that category: it's about a group of average people who band together to fight crime. none of them, except dr. manhattan, has any extraordinary abilities, but they put on their masks to combat injustice in society. somehow, in the movie, they have super-human strength and can do things like throw people through windows and break toilets, but i think that was to enhance the comic book aspect of the movie. so in that sense, watchmen was quite entertaining: the fight scenes were brilliantly choreographed, to the point of being gritty at moments.

i loved that the heroes all suffered from their human condition. even dr. manhattan, while being separated from humanity because he was invincible, had to deal with the human condition when the silk spectre left him. he showed no sign of pain, but inside he grieved for her. he realized how disconnected he was from the human condition, and that he no longer had a place on earth. when adrian framed him for bombing the world, dr. manhattan had an excuse to retreat to another galaxy where he would find purpose.

the other heroes had flaws: the silk spectre, in her lovely costume, showed slightly shaky thighs and was insecure because of a bad relationship with her mother. night owl, the optimist, just wanted to make everything right, and realized that sometimes it's impossible to save the world. rorschach, having been abused as a child, seemed to be as evil and depraved as the criminals he fought, but his character was ultimately good. the comedian was a pervert, but admitted to his flaws and displayed himself as a parody of the problems in society. ozymandias wanted to save the world as well, and had to kill millions of people to do so.

and what happened in the end? the sun came out and the entire world was united in peace. people drove cars fueled on renewable, free energy. there was nothing to write about in the news. and president nixon was still in office.

while i was disturbed by the gritty scenes and overwhelming (but gorgeous) visual effects, i loved the story. the acting was great - the guy who played rorschach was by far the best of them all. i think it might be time for a little bit of scholarly writing, and to read the novel. it's also time to join my local library (and find out where it is).

Portfolio: Copywriting work from 2004

2009-10-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, TableTools.com, a website I used to add products and copy to, has gone belly-up. I thought that my copy no longer existed. That's when I Googalized for the first half of my lunch break and found some slightly annotated versions of my copy on another website. The Internet is such an interesting thing - very few things posted on it can completely disappear. Once again, I am glad to be an optimist.

Go to: http://www.locateproduct.com/products/Tabletools-com---up-to-10--15.htm

I wrote the copy for item numbers 8, 17, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 31, 47, 56-58, 62, 63, 66, 99-103, 108, 109, 116-118, 121-126, 131-134, 137, 139, and 150.

Try not to be too disappointed; there are no pictures. So when you read about the William Bounds multi-colored pepper mill, it's hard to visualize its fabulousness. I promise, it is fab.

What a trip down memory lane - going through the catalogs to research products and prices, and putting them up on the site. I had so much fun with that, but was mad that I didn't get to write the FrancisFrancis! copy. You know it's me, because I sound oh so excited. You can take the website away from the former employee, but you can't take the former employee away from the website. I wasn't given any guidelines about adhering to a particular style, so I interjected my personality into my little blurbs. Writing is so very powerful! The scary thing is, I remember writing each product description.

I wrote a lot more copy than that, but that seems to have gone to the Bermuda Triangle of the "Interwebs." I am mentally kicking my 25 year-old self around the place. At 29, I am stupid about different things. I might pinch nerves while running, but darnit I'm saving everything!

Enjoy!