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Showing posts from December, 2010

First Attempt at Buckwheat Pancakes

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Writing about pancakes in my post yesterday spurred me to research how I can make pancakes and eat them too. I stumbled upon The Pancake Recipe . Here I found many recipes for pancakes made of flours other than the white flour I'm used to using. After browsing for awhile, I felt armed with enough information to make a trip to the grocery store and buy what I needed. The first store, just up the street, didn't carry any buckwheat flour. In fact, the store didn't stock any flours other than the standard all purpose and whole wheat. As I didn't have any other evening spectacular I had to be off to, I asked Hubby to ferry me to the one store I knew would have what I was looking for. I dashed through the aisles, knowing exactly where this store shelved their specialty flours. Standing in front of the many packages lined neatly side by side, I scanned the labels. On the second to bottom shelf, all the way to the right side, an empty space caught my eye. I bent down and read

Stepping Away from Yummy White Flour Products

Part of my eating lifestyle change is to move away from white flour products, such as white breads, white flour pancakes (which will be terribly difficult; I love, love, love pancakes), and anything else that contains the standard white flour as one of its main ingredient. This move has been easier than I thought it would be as I'm good with whole grains bread. So many different varieties exist, and right now, I'm enjoying a flax seed whole grains bread. I especially like it for breakfast, toasted with vegan "butter" and dipped into my hot decaf coffee. This evening, for dinner, I tried Ezekiel spaghetti noodles topped with an organic sauce full of veggies and soy crumbles. The sauce rocked, thick and tasty. The noodles, well, they didn't rock so much. They were downright gluey (which makes me think I overcooked them), and it was only because of the sauce that I was able to finish my meal. I might give them another try, but as of right now, I'm really thinking

Getting the Eating Under Control

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My brother-in-law invited us to join his family and my hubby's other siblings, their spouses, and children for brunch on Christmas day at a very nice hotel in Chicago. When we walked in, the kids and I ohhed and ahhed over the chandeliers, the mirrors, and the Christmas decor throughout the lobby. We'd eaten a light breakfast, so all of us were ready for brunch. At noon, we were told we could follow one of the servers to our seats in the dining hall. On the way, we passed tables bearing turkey, salmon, ham, roast beef, shrimp, lamb and other meats. We passed tables with tiered plates of deviled eggs, crab cakes, oysters Rockefeller, and many other delicacies. A part of me filled with anticipation at being able to eat foods I don't normally get an opportunity to eat. A larger part of me filled with disgust at the amount of food available for this one meal. While I totally appreciated my brother-in-law arranging this get together and footing the bill for the entire family

Best Christmas Gift

After much consideration, if I were to give the award to something tangible, it would go to The Walking Dead Compendium , given to me by Hubby. Coming in a close second would be the Blackbush Irish Whiskey my Lovely Daughter's boyfriend gave to me. I have two other gifts I haven't tried out yet, a waterproof mp3 player and a lap counter for swimming, and I'm eager to see how both work out. Who knows--perhaps after their inaugural use, both of these just might surpass The Walking Dead Compendium as the best tangible Christmas present. However, contemplating this further, perhaps the best Christmas gift isn't the tangible one but rather the intangible, like the one I received over the course of several days. It started Wednesday, when I met a friend at the coffeehouse, where we chatted, wrote, and drank coffee or tea for several hours. That same day, I met another friend for lunch, and we talked until late into the afternoon. Then came Christmas Eve spent at home, all

I Believe . . .

in Christmas.

Working on Speed

I ran a sub10 minute mile this evening. I should qualify this by saying I did it by switching to the trainer and cycling for five minutes after each quarter mile. For one quarter I ran a 5.5 mph pace, then the trainer. The next quarter mile I ran at a 6 mph pace, followed by 5 minutes on the trainer. I continued this until I had one full mile at 9:44. While on the trainer, I did one-minute intervals to increase my heart rate. By the end, I'd worked up a good sweat, which is saying something since it's only 36 degrees in the garage. After not working out for all of November, and only sporadically at best during the last two weeks, this was a good workout for me. I'm realizing I really need to do some kind of workout on a daily basis. Having that time to focus on improving an area I'm weak in helps me in every other aspect of my life. During the last two weeks when I let myself slip out of my routine, away from the working out, the writing, the reading, just the structu

Angels Among Us

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The streetlamp illuminated the snow angel, and it made me think of the friend I had just parted ways with after spending a couple of hours talking, sharing, laughing. I can't think of any better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Clearing the Fog

I braved the cold garage and walked for an hour, getting four miles in. Just moving felt so good, and while I was walking it occurred to me that my inconsistent exercise regime for the past two weeks has significantly contributed to my lack of feeling the Christmas spirit. I got out of my daily routine which is necessary during the semester in order to stay ahead of the paper load. Part of my semester routine included working out at the same time most days. To keep my sanity through the holidays, that routine needs to be put back into place, along with the rest of my usual routine, including getting up early, before everyone else, to write. I guess I truly am in need of structure. Without it, I don't get things done which equates to not feeling the accomplishment associated with getting things done. The lack of accomplishment leads to feeling blah in general, and the vicious cycle continues. Today, the cycle ends. I've walked. I've made two mostly-healthy meals so far. No

Not Feeling the Christmas Spirit

For the first time in my life, I'm not looking forward to Christmas. I'm dragging my feet with the Christmas shopping, baking, and decorating. A couple of days ago, I finally brought home a tree, but I didn't decorate it. My Amazing Daughter spent the evening turning the little, Charlie Brown-esque tree into a sparkling beauty. I have baking materials cluttering up the kitchen counter, and am in the middle of making chocolate covered pretzels. I sort of just abandoned the project. And I haven't bought anything for Hubby that can be wrapped and put under the tree. I see no joy in the whole Christmas thing. In fact, I can't wait for the next few weeks to just be over with. Okay, enough whining. Time to make good use of the daylight hours and be productive. Maybe I'll go in search of the Christmas spirit.

Lingerie Football League--Really?

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In all of my reading and researching as prep for the sports lit class I'll be teaching in the spring, I happened upon the Lingerie Football League , or LFL. Initially I thought it was a joke, but after an hour of reading the website, I realized the "True Fantasy Football" league is no joke at all. While reading and making my usual snarky comments, Hubby started perusing the same site. His reaction was much different than mine. While I see sexism and inequality, he sees scantily clad women, which brightens up his day. While I get angrier the more I see, he doesn't see what the problem is. At one point, he said, "Why are you getting so upset over this?" Why? Really? Show me a men's team of any sport where the athletes are required to wear scanty briefs (even in swimming, most swimmers don't wear a speedo any longer). Show me a men's team of any sport where the number one requirement is to be beautiful. I'm pretty sure the number one require

A Snake With a Head at Each End

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from The Phoenixian Book of Creatures That's what I dreamed about two nights ago--a really, really big snake with a head at each end. I wasn't really scared of it while dreaming about it. Well, maybe just a little. But I woke up wondering what in the world a snake with a head at each end meant. I've never read about one. I've never seen one in all of the lit that I read. I had to find out what meaning lies behind this kind of snake. In my searching I found out the snake comes from Greek mythology and is called Amphisbaena. It is an ant-eating snake borne out of the blood that dripped from Medusa's head. Okay then. Glad to know a creature from my dream is the spawn of a woman who enjoyed turning men to stone. Is this some kind of unconscious desire of my own? Further searching unearthed that this kind of snake means being pulled into two different directions. Now that I can buy into. Personal issues have had me in a bit of a funk lately. Some of my unhappiness

It's the Thought that Counts, Right?

I've thought every single day about going out to the garage and running or cycling on the trainer. And actually, I thought about it many times each day. Added up, I'd say I ran anywhere between 5 and 10 miles a day, cycled perhaps 25 miles a day. If only this truly worked. I started out good when December began, but then came Monday. Since then, nothing. I have absolutely no motivation. After the beautiful snow over the weekend, the temps dropped to single digits, never getting over 20 during the daytime hours. The cold smacks you in the face as soon as you walk outside. Usually I'm okay with this. I love cold, snow, winter in general. I do have some snowshoes in the closet. I've only used them once. Maybe this afternoon I'll pull them out, fasten them on, and take a spin around the neighborhood. I also have crampons somewhere around here. Maybe putting those on my shoes and walking outside is what  need. Now I've got some ideas. Now I'm getting enthusia

Finally, Snow

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The forecast called for an inch, maybe two. At this point, I think we're around 4, maybe a little more. And the landscape is absolutely beautiful. With no wind, the snow fell virtually straight down, didn't drift or blow away. It's like a giant, white, goose-down comforter covering everything. Snow on the Pumpkin I shoveled our walk, our neighbor's walk, and our back deck. The upper body definitely got the workout, and I'm feeling it in my lower back. Like I said yesterday, core work is a must if I'm going to improve with the running and swimming. At one point, I stopped and had to wipe sweat from my face. Even though the temperature is only 30, with no wind and all the movement, I broke a nice sweat. Later I'm going to add to the sweat factor when I run. This morning, as I was searching for an event to do that's somewhat close to home, I ran across this . Amazing. Puts lots of things into perspective, like my whining about not being faster. I'

Change of Plans

Well, the Bike the US for MS isn't going to happen. Hubby just isn't on board for it, and I can't go ahead with something that he isn't in favor of. I could be petty and snarky and say he does things I'm not on board with, but I won't. Maybe when all the kids are grown and gone, he and I both can do this ride. The upside is not having a two-month ride on the calendar means the summer is wide open for whatever I can dream up. And I like to dream big. First dream: seeking a PR at the Sullivan Sprint Tri. This was my first sprint tri ever, where I got behind some s l o w swimmers and couldn't get around them. The plan is I'm going to start swimming in January and really work on my form and speed. Most of my problem at the tri was my own fault, not having an accurate 400 meter swim time. If I had timed myself prior to the tri, I would have been put into a faster slot, thus avoiding being roadblocked by slower swimmers. Second dream: an event every week