every walk is a sort of crusade
As I’ve mentioned in a few other posts, I’ve been having trouble getting back into the groove this winter. The cold and raging holidays and insane work and my growing waistline…it is not easy to resume/maintain a regular training schedule. Enter: the Runners World Holiday Running Streak (which I read about on Skinny Runner.)
Run at least one mile every day between Thanksgiving and New Years (I know, it’s late, but whatever, starting today it’s still a 25-day streak.)
Stay moving.
At 8:15 this morning one of my coworkers came bounding up to my desk, big box in hand, smile on face, and giddily told me, “Just FYI, we set up an advent calendar on this file cabinet here right by your desk every year, so for the next 24 days people will be gathering here every morning to watch it get opened.”
Sure enough, everyone and their mother came by my desk this morning to admire it and get REALLY EXCITED. The theme this year? Star Wars Legos. Because what says preparation for the Nativity of Christ more than that.
So every day has a little bag of lego pieces that build something. And because I’m the newest one in the office, and because this daily event happens just outside the door of my cube, I was chosen to build the first one:
I think it is some sort of ship (?)
I won’t lie, there were a lot of little pieces and with everyone watching me try to figure out how to put it together, I did experience some performance anxiety. But in the end, I prevailed.
Hello, December.
What is it with the French doing crazy things at crazy heights? Watching the guy at the end of this trailer with no shirt, no chute, no bungee is… nerve wracking.
I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.
Yeah, that’s right. Spike’s in his creampuff. He doesn’t want to get out of bed in the morning to go on his run. The days are getting shorter. I need to remember my gloves to scrape ice off the car at 5am before I can drive to practice. I am starting to get the dry coughs after my runs.
The cold. It’s coming.
Then, of course, there are the things that just plain make you glad to be alive. Aside from the smell of garlic simmering in olive oil, what and whom am I thankful for?
Things I have been particularly thankful for this weekend include:
Happy Thanksgiving weekend.
Side-note (but not totally off topic), great article by Mark Bittman in last week’s NYT that, in the midst of all the bad news about food today, finds the good (and a shout out to Alix who is one of those that has started a small farm in the past 5 years. Woot.)
And…we did. Another exciting Friday night at our house.
I came home from work a few weeks ago to veggies, jars, and vinegar on the counter, samurai movies on TV…
…and Paul having a great time.
When he was in Costa Rica this past July the mother of the house where he was staying made this special chili (I’m blanking on the name…basically some sort of pickled onions and peppers) to put on their gallo pinto. Paul was obsessed. So, of course, it was the first thing he tried to can.
A little history: Paul had attempted to make kimchi when we lived in San Francisco, and it was one of the more disgusting experiments I’ve ever had the opportunity to witness. So I was/am skeptical.
ANYWAY! How does it work?
First, get a magazine or book like above (I found that at Meijer) devoted to the art of canning and preserves. You will also need a big pot:
Some mason jars (which you can reuse):
Metal screw bands (which you can also reuse) and lids (which need to be new):
A jar funnel:
And a special pair of tongs to pick up the jars (note: all of this stuff, except for the lids, came in a canning kit I found at the local hardware store.)
Wash the jars and the lids, fill the big pot with water and bring it to a boil.
Fill the jars with whatever it is you’re canning (in this case, chopped carrots, onions, a few types of peppers, and vinegar…jams are a lot more complicated than just slicing and pouring), screw on the lids nice and tight and use the tongs to place the cans into the big pot of boiling water.
And let the jars sterilize:
After about 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of the jar), take them out of the pot and let them cool off for a few hours. This is where all the excitement happens: you can hear the jars suctioning shut as they cool. Paaar-tay.
After that, they’re done!
…and, in this case, ready to sit for a while while they ferment. Ta da! Some sort of chili to put on beans.
Update to follow on how it tastes.
New week, new song obsession.
Last week it was Robyn (I know, she’s weird). This week it’s Lana Del Rey. There’s a good chance you’ve already seen this video, it has almost 7 million views on YouTube, but I’m just discovering her and I am hooked.
I’m not sure what’s happening with her upper lip in the video, but her voice… Amazing. I was poking around and found a few of her other songs (here and here and here) and I can kind of listen to them all day long. That last song might be my favorite.
Yes.
About a year an a half ago one of our very best friends from college moved with her husband, who is a doctor, out to the middle of the Navajo Nation in Arizona so he could work at the local hospital. Last Thursday three of us met up in Albequerque and made the four hour drive out to Chinle (pronounced chin-lee) to visit the two of them along with their two year old daughter and brand new baby, who was born in September.
Our hosts were gracious enough to let us stay for three whole days (God knows why). Our weekend consisted of:
adorable babies
…and I’m back from the Rez!
Arizona/New Mexico/Utah was cool, got back in last night around midnight. So waking up this morning was fun. Pics from this weekend to follow shortly. But in the meantime, this is neat. Yesterday Twitter released a video visualizing all the tweets around the world mentioning 11.11.11 (each “1” signifies activity referencing the date, the size of the 1 correlates with the volume of tweets.)
Pretty cool to watch the 11:11 wave ride across the world (can you tell which countries don’t use the 24-hour clock?)
I have to thank Mindy Kaling for reuniting me with an old friend.
My diet in SF consisted of 4 basic staples:
While I have found (some sort of) placeholder for pho, Thai, and burritos here in Kentucky, I haven’t had a Vietnamese sandwich in over a year and a half. Until this weekend.
Following these simple instructions (namely what to pickle the carrots in) I was taken back to my post-swim Saturday mornings in the city. The basics:
It may not be Saigon Sandwich or Les Croissants, but it’s not too far off. And it could not be easier. Ingredients are simple, they last for a while and make great leftovers, and it takes about 3 minutes to prepare. And the whole part about heating up the chicken and letting it sit in aluminum foil is absolutely true. Oh my god so good.
So now I am back on the Banh Mi train. Like every day.
For more on how to find, make, and love the Banh Mi, go here.
Rambulatory Ambulatory 