Sunrise Musings

This morning, I had resolved to sleep in. This past week had been incredibly exhausting and it was all I could do to keep my head from dropping onto my plate at dinner every night. I was shooting for staying in bed until 7:30ish (about 2 hours past my usual wake up), which is Parker's normal wake up time. In preparation for this marathon sleep session, I silenced my phone and turned off the alarm clock. Yup, I was cruising for 11 hours of sleep (minus the number of times that Parker woke up in the middle of the night). Surely, one as sleep deprived as I could manage to sleep in, right?

Wrong. At exactly 5:58am, my eyes sprung open and I frantically searched my brain for the proper date. Once I settled on the right one and remembered my quest to sleep in, I snuggled deeper under the covers and firmly shut my eyes, resolved to drift back to sleep. Unfortunately, my body wasn't fooled. The sun may not be up, but a lifetime early riser such as myself is truly and honestly incapable of sleeping in. I felt a momentary pang of disappointment that I had failed in my quest.

So, I changed my expectations of how the morning was going to go and I dragged by bleary-eyed self out into the living room so that my boys wouldn't be infected by the sole morning person in the house. Of course, within 5 minutes of being up, I knew that I had been fooling myself. I love 6am almost as much as I love the smell of my morning coffee. We were made for each other so I decided to make the most of my 90 minutes of alone time.

I got the coffee going and fed the cats (the dogs would have to wait since they would have woken the whole house if I had let them out of the bedroom) and I settled in with a book to wait for the sun to rise. If it hadn't been 25 degrees outside, I would have preferred sitting on the back deck, but since it was indeed frigid, I settled for staying wrapped up in my favorite hole-y sweater and got comfortable in the dining room to watch the sunrise out of our panoramic window.

I am obsessed with sunrises and sunsets. I love the colors and the peacefulness. There's something soothing in the transition from day to night and night to day. Given my preferences, I would have been suited for life before electricity. As it is, I generally live my life during the daylight hours and my preference is always for the predawn as opposed to the night.

As I watched the day dawn from gray to pink to vivid blue, I polished off my second cup of coffee and got in about 3 chapters of my book before I heard the shuffle of little feet coming out to join me. Awake and refreshed, I welcomed Parker's company and got some tea going for the Irishman, a not-so-morning person. As the dogs came tearing around the corner and my house returned to it's normal level of noise and chaos, I mentally thanked my internal alarm clock for not allowing me to squander the beauty of the morning.

Starbucks Instant Coffee

Last year, I shared with you this confession about my new love for instant coffee. At the time, I was buying the NesCafe jar of instant coffee for about $7 for the large canister. Well, Starbucks heard about my confession and realized that if a self proclaimed coffee freak like me was into instant, then perhaps there was a corner of the market that they could tap into. Okay, not really, but it soothes my ego to think that I was ahead of the curve. You know, a trail blazer, a risk taker...

Anyways, last weekend, in addition to showing up with my favorite pizza, the Irishman brought 2 boxes of Starbucks instant coffee. Unlike my ginormous canister of NesCafe, these are dainty little boxes with 12 individual servings each. And, Starbucks being Starbucks, they're selling them for $10 a box. Holy moly, but is that expensive! Particularly since I need 1.5 packets of coffee per mug, which works out to roughly, 8 mugs of coffee, or $1.25 per mug. So essentially, since I'm providing my own cream and sugar, I'm paying just as much as I would be if I dropped into a Starbucks store to buy the fresh brewed stuff.

Aside from my gripe about how they're fleecing my crazy coffee loving self, the instant coffee itself is good. Very good. It is virtually indistinguishable from the fresh brewed coffee that they serve in-house. In fact, I think it actually tastes better since it hasn't been sitting around waiting for you to purchase it. Come to think of it, maybe the cost isn't that outrageous. I mean, I didn't have to spend any gas money to go get it. I didn't need to change out of my PJs or slap on some under-eye concealer for my chronically sleep-deprived self. No waiting in line and fighting for parking.

So, now that I've talked myself in circles, I think that the Starbucks instant coffee will be a nice purse staple (along with some of the no refrigeration needed creamers) for when I simply must have more caffeine, but I can't be bothered with going to a coffee shop to find it. All I would need to find is a microwave and some water and voila, coffee is ready to go. But for my at-home massive consumption of java, I think I'll stick with my NesCafe sweetened with a tablespoon of International Delights Hershey's chocolate caramel creamer. At 23 cents per giant mug, it definitely gets the job done without giving me indigestion over the cost.

Campus From Above

Last week, I was invited to a colleagues house for a faculty reception. Her house is about two miles from campus - straight up the mountain side. The drive to her house reminded me an awful lot of our house in Greece. It also reminded me why we don't "winter" at our summer home - it was two miles of driving on a sheet of ice! Definitely not for the faint of heart or owners of a 2-wheel drive.

Her house was lovely. I have such an affection for log cabins. Just look how warm and inviting it seems inside.

She also had a huge deck that overlooked campus.

As you can see here, our campus is nested in the valley right up against the Tuckaseegee River.

Here's a closer look. That large black building is our basketball arena.

Just look at those gorgeous mountains...and this is considered the "ugly" time of year! Imagine this view in the summer and the fall!

Don't worry, I already invited myself up so I'll share the pictures with you as the seasons change.

While I think that a view like this would be phenomenal to live with, the drive down off of the mountain would definitely get burdensome, especially at this time of year. Knowing myself as I do, it's probably wise that I don't pick a house that is difficult to come down from - I may never leave home.

Running Into Oblivion

Yesterday was one of those days. You know the ones I'm talking about - when it seems like everyone is trying to make your job more difficult. Of course, my walking obstacles come in the form of disrespectful students. They're usually seniors who thing that they know everything there is to know at the ripe old age of 21. I know what they're thinking because I too was one of "those" students about a decade ago. Unfortunately, that doesn't endear them to me when they turn the know-it-all-attitude in my direction. I had so much pent up aggression by 2pm, that I knew my options were gym or bust.

I chose the gym. I knew that I had to work off this mood before I went home or it would follow me well into the evening as I chewed over each frustrating conversation that I had earlier. So, I did what I do best. I cranked up the iPod, cranked up the speed on the treadmill until I could barely keep up and I kick my own...well, you know the rest.

For me, running is completely cathartic. I can literally run myself into oblivion until my legs are no longer willing to go the distance. When I'm going as fast as I can for any sustained period of time, there is no thought to what's stressing me out. The only thought in my head is to keep one foot in front of the other and to keep moving at all costs. Truth be told, I ran all out for about 60 minutes. I think I crammed in about 6.5 miles (one full mile more than my standard 60 minute run). I ran until I literally couldn't feel my legs.

And then I went to the free weights. I piled on about 10-30 lbs. more than usual and I did as many reps as I could manage until the burn overwhelmed me. I'm certain I grunted, but I didn't care. I was on the warpath. I barely noticed that anyone else was there. I was just doing my damnedest to stay one step ahead of my fatigue until it was all I could do to stand up and walk out of there.

You know what? It worked. I had literally run and lifted my way into oblivion. It was as if I had hopped in my car and driven for hundreds of miles with the pedal to the medal. I left the gym victorious and feeling more than a little smug. The little boogers could get under my skin, but they couldn't stay there for long. It may take have taken me a good 20 minutes of grunting and groaning to heave my tired muscles out of bed this morning, but at least I slept well.

The Best Pizza.

The Irishman went to Tallahassee on a solo trip this weekend. His trip included sleeping, beer drinking and general merriment with his friends. While I wished him well on his trip, it's always taxing on the single parent who is left behind to care for and entertain the munchkin. So, even though he was only gone for 2 days and 6 hours, I heaved a sigh of relief when I heard his key in the door. Reinforcements had arrived.

And when I looked down at what he was carrying in his arms, it nearly brought tears of joy to my eyes. He brought pizza, but not just any pizza. Momo's Pizza. Momo's is a Tallahassee staple. It's New York style pizza that has melty, stringy cheese and a thin, crisp crust. Add in just the right amount of lightly spiced tomato sauce and you have virtual pizza perfection.

They simply don't have a good New York style pizza here and I'm incredibly impressed that the Irishman drove 400 miles with that pizza sitting next to him without consuming the entire thing (he did have two slices, bless his heart). Now, I don't like cold pizza. In fact, I pretty much only like pizza when it's fresh out of the oven. If you do too, then I have a trick to share with you.

It's something that I picked up years ago watching a random Rachel Ray episode. She claimed that the best way to reheat pizza was to put it in a large skillet and heat it over medium heat until the cheese melted. I had always been a toaster oven or microwave kind of re-heater, so I tested her skillet method the first chance I got...and I'll be damned if I could tell the difference between my skillet heated pizza and the fresh-out-of-the-oven version that it had been a mere 24 hours before.

So as I sit here typing this, I'm enjoying my second slice of heaven. It's a caloric nightmare, but in case I needed yet another reason to love running, I have 22 miles slated for this weeks training plan - translation: guilt-free pizza consumption. Life, my friends, is good.

Small Towns

Well, our first 6 months in our small town (population 2500) is behind us. The Irishman and I were talking about the pros and cons of small town life and we came up with the following list.

PROS:

1. You never have to wait. Not in traffic, not at the doctor's office, not to get into a movie on opening night and not even to make an appointment to have your teeth cleaned. It's amazing - whatever services you need, you get right away. For a South Floridian who used to dread driving to the grocery store because it was guaranteed to be a 1 hour trip, this is phenomenal.

2. The quality of service is great. When we first made an appointment to see our local dentist, I was imagining something a kin to the dentist's office that I visited in Greece (a story to be told at another time) - small, older, etc... Imagine my surprise when I saw that the facility here had more sophisticated machinery and tools than our dentist in Tallahassee. That's consistently been what we've found here. Similarly, our pharmacist knows who we are and is amazingly helpful. I'm used to just being a nameless person waiting in line to pick up a prescription.

3. When you support local businesses, you know exactly who you're supporting. In a community this size, you become friends with small business owners and there's a whole network of support out there to keep their little businesses up and running. I feel invested in this community and try my best to buy locally whenever possible.

4. Because there isn't a lot to do here, we spend a lot of time at parks, playgrounds and driving around to visit neighboring towns. Also, the university hosts a ton of events - from plays to sporting events, there isn't a lack of options if you look.

5. People go out of their way to help you. We buy an organic dog food that is supplied by the boarding facility that we use (also a top notch facility). If we can't make it out to them to pick it up, they are more than happy to drop it off at our house and bill us later. Isn't that amazing?!

CONS:

1. Everything you want isn't available locally. For example, I went to every supermarket in town and I could not find red curry paste or coconut milk. In one place, they didn't even know what I was talking about. I finally found it at a tiny market that specializes in organic and ethnic canned goods.

2. Similarly, we don't have a mall, or even a department store. The closest Best Buy or Office Depot is 15 miles away and our only large retailer here is Wal-Mart. As a plus, this means that I don't spend nearly as much money on a regular basis as I did in Tallahassee.

3. A lot of the locals have never lived anywhere but here. While I'm not prone to making sweeping generalizations, there is much less cultural diversity here than what I'm used to. Fortunately, Asheville is less than an hour away and is quite diverse and culturally-oriented.

4. We're at least an hour away from even the smallest airport and 2.5 hours away from an international airport (Atlanta or Charlotte). Honestly, this isn't that big of a deal, but it's something to consider if you're planning to catch a morning flight.

5. This hasn't happened to us yet, but in the event that you have a disagreement with someone or you don't want to run in the same circles as someone, it's sometimes hard to avoid them. For a hermit like me, that isn't really a big deal since I'd rather be left alone anyway, but the rest of my social family may have an issue with this.

Overall, I'm loving small town life, but that's mainly because I don't much care for a lot of human interaction. The scenery is gorgeous and I love driving, so I don't mind going to Asheville for groceries or Atlanta for flights. Our 4 month old Subaru, however, DOES mind since we've already put 9000 miles on the car! Oh well, good thing we bought and didn't lease. Now, please excuse me while I look into purchasing an extended warranty...which will require a trip into Asheville.

Group Exercise Classes

I've been a certified group exercise instructor for about 5 years now. While I haven't taught any classes since we moved to North Carolina, I still believe that group ex classes definitely have a place in a well-rounded exercise routine. There are a number of different types of classes out there and they each serve a unique purpose. For this post, I've broken them down into three groups.

The first group includes the classes that are cardio-heavy: spinning, kick boxing, step, etc... These classes will get your heart rate up for 40-60 minutes and allow you to mindlessly follow someone else's lead. You have the benefit of a personal trainer while sharing your pain with a host of others - misery loves company, right?

Of course, like with everything else in life, what you get out of these classes is a direct result of the effort that you put in. I always asked my classes the following questions.

1. Are you comfortable?
2. Could you do this all day?
3. Could you speak more than 3 or 4 words before needing to take a breath?

If you answer yes to any or all of these questions, you aren't working hard enough! Ultimately, no matter how great and motivating your instructor is, you have to put in the effort to get the results. Don't be afraid to push yourself - you can always pull back the effort if you start to get breathless. However, I think you will surprise yourself with what you're really capable of. Don't over think it, just go for it.

The second group of classes are meant to get your heart rate up while encouraging you to have fun. The emphasis here isn't on the workout, but on the camaraderie created in class and on distracting you from the fact that you're burning calories. This group includes dance classes like Zumba, hip hop and belly dancing. The important thing here is to keep moving. If you have a hard time staying focused on the treadmill or the elliptical, a great idea is to do 30 minutes on the treadmill right before the class starts. That way, you'll get to do the class that you enjoy while still burning an extra 200-300 calories beforehand.

The third group of classes are those that focus on a mind-body connection like yoga and pilates. These classes are a great supplement to any workout because (1) they help you calm and focus your mind, which is imperative to staying on track with your goals; (2) they focus on strength and stretching, which are two neglected areas of most people's cardio-heavy exercise regimen; and (3) they include a number of modifications that make the moves possible for most people to do. With these classes, it's important to listen to exactly what the instructor is telling you - form is paramount here. Also, don't quit if it starts to burn. Hold the pose or move for the entire duration that you're told. Don't underestimate the strength component of these classes. If you listen to your instructor and do the moves correctly, you will notice that within a month or two, you can do more advanced moves and hold the poses for longer.

Regardless of which classes you decide to incorporate into your regimen, remember that variety is good! Different machines and classes work different muscles and you want to make sure to switch up your workout about every 6 months or so to make sure that you are making the most efficient use of your time at the gym (or on the pavement or in the pool...). I go through cycles where I run diligently for 6 months (which usually culminates in a couple of races) and then I ease back on the running and hit the pool for the spring and summer months. Not only does it keep me from getting bored, but it keeps my metabolism up.

Remember, the perfect exercise routine is the one that you're doing consistently and giving your best effort to. Always check your PRE (perceived rate of exertion) and ask yourself the questions that I listed above - as long as you're pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, you are making strides towards a new, healthier you.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I'm not sure where the myth originated that portrays brussel sprouts as an unsavory vegetable. I happen to love them and I think that they're so tasty. Roasting the brussel sprouts brings out their natural sweetness and gives them an interesting texture. My favorite part is the crunchy outer leaves that get nice and caramelized during the roasting process. Yum!

Anyway, roasted brussel sprouts are one of the simplest side dishes to make. While they don't cook as quickly as some sides, you can just throw them in the oven and forget them for an hour. Plus, they use all of 3 ingredients (okay, 4 if you include salt).

Throwing this dish together is a sinch. Simply wash the brussel sprouts and slice them in half. Throw them on a cookie sheet and add a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Throw them into a pre-heated 400 degree oven and let them toast for an hour. When they're done, I like to throw them in a bowl and add a splash of balsamic vinegar, but a squeeze of fresh lemon juice would be great here as well. So if you haven't given brussel sprouts a whirl recently, try making this - you might be pleasantly surprised!

Family of Cardinals

Truth be told, I can only recognize a handful of birds by name - flamingos, parrots, toucans, egrets, cardinals and blue jays. Oh and woodpeckers (but that's cheating since I only know what they sound like). Pretty much everything else falls into the category of "bird." That's particularly sad since the town that we live in is a protected bird sanctuary. Who knew, right?

Anyway, I'm delighted that a family of birds that I actually do recognize live in the trees around our house. While there are both male and female cardinals in our trees, only the males would let me photograph them (yes, I had to look up to see who was who - it's embarrassing, really). I guess the men of the bunch were eager to show off their bright red plumage. I don't blame them - what beauties! Here are the gentle-cardinals living in our trees.

Check out this guy. He was two seconds away from taking off - he knew I was looking at him. But, like all elusive stars, he let me take one quick picture before he flew away. Cardinals are such teases.



And check out this guy showing me his good side.



Pardon the blur on this photo, but it was taken through the screen. He was probably three feet outside of my kitchen window (in a snow storm!) and took flight right after I snapped this.



Let's just add "Book of Regional Birds" to the list of things that I need to get up to speed on. Perhaps once I convince the Boy Scouts to let me be a geriatric, honorary wrong-sexed member, I can bring my bird book along on my survival trips. Or, perhaps I can just buy a bird feeder and see who comes along to visit. It will be like Dances With Wolves, only we can call it Sits With The Birds....from the comfort of a house with central-heat.

Open-Faced Tuna and Artichoke Melt

This delicious sandwich is courtesy of my friend, Jude. It originated as a Weight Watchers recipe and she and her family have been making it for years. When I first looked at the ingredients, I was intrigued (and slightly alarmed) that it didn't call for mayonnaise. I did, however, trust Jude's judgment so onward I went with the mayo-free tuna melt. Thank the Lord above that I did - it was so delightfully tasty! Big thanks to my buddy Jude for passing it along. I don't think that I'll ever use mayonnaise in my tuna again.

Okay folks, here's what you need:

1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts (packed in water, not oil), drained and chopped
1 Tb lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 tsp for more of a kick)
6 oz albacore tuna (packed in water), drained and flaked
2 large slices of wheat bread (I used a hoagie roll)
3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (I only used 1 Tbsp)
1/4 cup sliced green onions

First, preheat the broiler. I used the one in my toaster oven and it worked great. Next, place the bread on a baking sheet.

Now, mix everything (except the cheese together in a bowl. Pile however much of the mixture you want onto each half of the bread. Since I used an open hoagie roll, I have enough tuna leftover to make another half of a sandwich.

Once your bread is loaded up, sprinkle on the parmesan cheese. Broil the sandwich for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Seriously, please go and make this. I want you all to join me in my tuna melt revolution. I just can't believe that I was this late to the game!

Valentine's Day

So, I have to admit, I'm kind of a Debbie Downer about Valentine's Day. I've just never cared much for the holiday. I think my V-Day aversion started in first grade. Yup, it all starts when you're just a little kid and you wait with ridiculous amounts of anticipation to see who got you a Valentine. Then, when you get older and you start dating, there's this one day out of the year where each of you are supposed to pull out all of the stops, fight to get the best reservations to overpriced restaurants (who, by the way, are switching to a fixed menu in honor of the hoards of people rolling through their doors) and profess your undying romanticism for all of the world to see. Talk about pressure!

Besides the flashbacks of awkward high school moments, I think that my current problem is that I'm just not one for romance. Oh sure, when I was a kid, I completely bought into the idea of visual expressions of love, but once I hit my 20s, I realized that most romantic notions were mainly smoke and mirrors, particularly on Valentine's Day. Truly, I don't even like flowers and cards. They kind of just sit there for a while and then I have to figure out what to do with them. I know that sounds horrible, but it's just the way things are around here.

To be honest, I'm kind of envious of the people who can appreciate the holiday for what it is. Personally, I try my best to act like it doesn't exist and I doubly hope that the Irishman listens to my heartfelt pleas for no cards, no flowers and please please please no chocolate!! So to all of you out there who can take pleasure in today - I hope that you have a lovely Valentine's Day and to my cohorts who are equally averse to today, I wish you a speedy passing of today's mush. Just make sure that you don't turn on Lifetime.

Random Musings

With the end of the week at hand, I've having trouble bringing my thoughts together on a single topic so I thought that I would write a post that is random stream of consciousness. While I can't promise that the following post will follow any cohesive thought process, I can promise that it might contain traces of useful information interspersed throughout the randomness. Let's begin with the ADD post, shall we?

Random Point #1: Due to the age of the house that we're living in, we have no vent in the bathroom. As a result, when we first moved here, I had serious issues with shower curtain mold. Yuck! Well, I mentioned it to the Irishman and one day, he came home with this:



It's called Damp Rid and as its name implies, it gets rid of the moisture in whatever room you put it in. You simply take the lid off and set it on a shelf. I kid you not, we put this in our bathroom in October and there has not been a single spot of mold on my shower curtain since (I had gone through 3 curtains between July and October because I can't stand to clean them). I can say unequivocally that this stuff really works!

Random Point #2: When I send the Irishman to the grocery store, he comes home with the most random assortment of things. He has an affinity for stuff that I consider junk like Dinty Moore beef stew, deviled ham and Ramen Noodles in a cup. One day, he arrived home with this:



Taco Bell taco sauce. Now, when I usually think of Taco Bell, I think of gastronomical discomfort. Of course, that's probably because I would consume an entire 12 pack of crunchy tacos after swim practice in high school, but that's another story entirely. I gave the Irishman serious grief about this purchase. I harassed and taunted him about his junk food ways and put this offensive item on the very back shelf of the pantry. Well, one day, I was making a batch of Breakfast Burritos and I decided to whip out this random jar of taco sauce. To my incredible surprise, it was awesome! It was better than all of the other brands that we had previously purchased. I am now a believer. Consider me officially knocked off of my high horse.

Random Point #3: Since I decided to change my hair color to a chocolate cherry hue, I've been trying to be more mindful of washing it every other day instead of every single morning (red fades faster than other colors). Well, a little trick for when you're trying to extend the time between hair washes is to put the tiniest amount of baby powder on your fingers and then rub it onto the roots of your hair. The talcum powder absorbs the oil and gives it a freshly blow-dried look. Some high-end hair companies have started marketing tinted baby powder (brown for brown hair, yellow for blond hair) and selling it for $20 a bottle. Don't bother with that stuff - the white powder works just fine and as long as you use just a small amount, the color completely blends in with your own.

Random Point #4: I am currently obsessed with peppermint tea. I drink huge mugs of it unsweetened and I probably go through 4 or 5 mugs a day. I think it makes me feel more sophisticated in a British kind of way. I also think that the fact that it's been quite frigid out makes me want to hold something warm. Since it's a decaf tea, I'm simultaneously staying warm and getting my water quota for the day. Double bonus. Oh, and let's not forget that I'm now oozing sophistication while tromping around the house in my three layers of sweats, carrying a mug of tea in one hand and my space heater in the other.

Random Point #5: These Merrell shoes are the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned.



I bought them in October when it became too cold to slip on my flip flops to walk the dogs in the morning and I have quite literally worn them every single day since. As soon as I get home from campus, I put them on and they stay on my feet until bed time. I then slip them back on again first thing in the morning and wear them until I change into something more professional...or on the days that I throw professionalism out the window, I just happily wear them to campus with jeans and a ball cap.

Random Point #6: Speaking of jeans, I own more pairs of designer jeans than any one person not named Lindsay Lohan should have. I wear them every single day of my life. That's partly why I'm a professor - so I can wear jeans to work. And have summers off. And boss students around. And take them to death row. Yup, my job rocks (and so do my jeans.)

Finding the Balance and Tracking Your Calories

So, it’s no secret around here that I love to watch The Biggest Loser. I probably tuned in for the first time around season 2 and haven’t looked back since. One of the reoccurring themes that I noticed on the show is that the contestants have often gone to one of two extremes with food: binging or starvation. The way that they explain it, after eating way too much at dinner or at a party, they lapse into severe calorie restriction to compensate. This is not only unhealthy, but additionally, it confuses your body. If it doesn’t know when the next meal is coming, your system will start to hoard calories (instead of burning them) to prepare for a possible caloric drought. Result – no weight loss and potentially, you could actually gain weight by going through the calorie yo-yo.

I have two important points to share about calories.

1) Not all calories are created equal. While an avocado and a Hershey’s chocolate bar may have virtually identical counts of fat and calories, the avocado is loaded with healthy fats while the chocolate bar, regardless of how tasty, is not. In other words, it isn’t all about the numbers. You can stick to an 1800 calorie a day diet by eating nothing but crap. This will not serve you well. Focus on consuming whole foods (apples vs. apple juice, whole nuts vs. sweetened peanut butter, etc…) and remember to eat every couple of hours to prevent you from getting ravenous. This also lets you body know to chill out and burn those calories because more are on the horizon.

2) G.I. Joe once shared a sage piece of advice – “Knowing is half the battle.” Now, while I’m pretty sure he wasn’t referring to calories, he is right – knowledge is power. A couple of weeks ago, I downloaded an application for my iPhone created by the folks over at SparkPeople.com. With this app, you can enter in your target weight, your goal date and it will tell you how many calories (and associated grams of fat, carbs and protein) that you should be consuming daily. I use it as a way to make sure that I’m getting my target protein. Being a vegetarian, it’s difficult to hit my personal goal of 75-100 grams a day, so this helps take some of the guess work out of that.

Well, over the last few weeks, I realized that I definitely consume more calories than I thought I did. I had no clue exactly how many calories were in most foods, so while I was hitting the right balance of fruits, veggies, protein, etc., I certainly was not an informed consumer about my calories. SparkPeople lets you put in exactly what you’re eating and then updates your total calorie intake for the date. Their database has literally thousands and thousands of food items already entered into the system, so all you have to do is type in the food (ex. bread) and then it will pull up a list of dozens of options for you to pick the type and quantity that you’re eating.

So, keep a food journal, write down every little bite you put in your mouth and get a good idea of exactly how many calories you’re consuming. The results may surprise you and help you understand how to better reach your target goals. Now, please excuse me while I enjoy my cup of peppermint tea, which weighs in at a whopping 4 calories a mug.

Tandoori Chicken

Back in Tallahassee, we used to frequent an Indian restaurant that was wonderful. They served delectable naan and various chutneys; mango lassi drinks and Indian beer. I would always order their vegetarian sampler (eating way too much and having to subsequently unbutton my jeans) and the Irishman invariably ordered the tandoori chicken, which was served with white rice and grilled onions.

When I was at Greenlife, the organic grocery store we frequent, I found this tandoori seasoning.



Better yet, it had the recipe for the tandoori marinade on the back of the jar. Here's what you'll need:

3 Tbs. tandoori seasoning mix
3 Tbs. plain yogurt
3 Tbs. vinegar
3 Tbs. lemon juice
3 Tbs. oil

Just as an FYI, this is what it says is in my tandoori spice mix: salt, ginger, garlic, red pepper, paprika, tumeric, nutmeg, coriander, cimmanon, mace, anise, cloves, fenugreek, fennel seed. I bet the quantities of each is readily available on the Internet.

Now, throw all of the ingredients into a large ziploc bag and squish and squeeze the bag until they're combined. Next, take out your chicken - traditional tandoori uses legs and thighs, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand. I generally get a 6 pack of drumsticks. Take the skin off the chicken if it's on there and make nice, deep slits into the meat on all sides so that the marinade penetrates the meat.

When that's done, throw your chicken into the plastic bag containing the marinade, give it a good rub so that the chicken is fully coated and then toss it into your fridge for 24 hours.

*Fast forward 24 hours*

Now, tandoori chicken is usually baked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay pot, but since I don't happen to own one, I just crank my oven up to 400 degrees. Then, I line a baking sheet with a piece of foil and using tongs, lift the chicken out of the marinade and put it on the baking sheet. Since I can't stand letting marinades go to waste, I usually pour some of the leftovers on top of the chicken.

Now let it bake! Drumsticks usually take about 25 minutes to cook, but judge the time accordingly if you're using a different cut of meat.

While the chicken is cooking, I'll get some basmati rice going and then when there's only 10 minutes left, I'll throw some sliced onions onto a hot, dry non-stick skillet. This mimics the grilling process without having to whip out your grill or the George Foreman, which I have a serious aversion to cleaning.

And that's it. Dish it up and have at it. The Irishman said that this comes pretty close to our favorite little Indian place, but as I don't eat poultry, you'll have to take his word for it. For what it's worth, he didn't leave a drop of rice, chicken or onions.

Lifting Weights

After faithfully doing my Med Ball 400 workout for about a year now, I've decided to hit the weights at the gym for a more traditional workout. Truth be told, I missed the "big boys area" of the gym (as I like to call it). Most gyms are comprised of 3 sections - cardio, circuit training and free weights. Not surprisingly, most girls stick to cardio, most boys stick to free weights and the circuit training is a mix of both.

Honestly, I think that boys are just as intimidated of cardio as girls are of free weights. I have a number of theories on this:

1. They don't want to seem weak and in a gym, strength is translated into the bench press and the squat rack.
2. Guys travel in packs and a lone male considers walking over to the estrogen-packed elipticals something akin to walking into Sephora. It ain't going to happen.
3. While the treadmill is considered less of a girl machine than the eliptical, it's damn hard to run if you spend all of your time lifting and the last thing you want is to be gasping for air while the gazelle next to you is effortlessly knocking out 5 miles. Very emasculating.
4. Generally, you can't stare at yourself in a mirror while you're on a cardio machine and grunting while on the stationary bike is gross, not masculine.

Please see exhibit A. I snapped a pic of these boys on the upstairs spinner bikes. Notice how they found an area where they could all ride together. Safety in numbers!



I almost went over to provide assistance because the bikes were not set up appropriately for their size and they were riding with zero resistance, but I knew that one word from me would have sent them fleeing for the nearest dumbbell. Those boys on cardio machines sure are skittish...

Anyways, enough about the gym habits of the young males of our species, let's talk about lifting weights. Weight-lifting is a necessary and useful component of building a well-rounded physique. The more muscle you have on your frame, the more efficiently your metabolism functions. In other words, you will burn more calories in your sleep with a more muscular body. Contrary to the popular myth, it is extremely difficult for women to get bulky. You need to be lifting very heavy weights to get anywhere near bulky and most women simply are not capable of it.

A great place to start with lifting is the aforementioned circuit training machines.



Circuit training is a series of machines grouped together that, combined, give you a total body workout. This is the fool proof way to make sure that you're hitting all of the major muscle groups. Also, the machines in this area almost always have someone on them, so you can observe them on a particular machine to see how it works before you try it out.

In my opinion, that's the scariest part of free weights for most women - not having a clue as to where to start. Of course, this is compounded by the hoard of sweating, grunting men trying their best to kill themselves in an effort to out-lift their friends. It's silly, but it's the way that it is. There is nothing wrong with sticking to the circuit and you will indeed get a good workout, but in the event that you want to step up your game and take full advantage of the available equipment, check out the free weights.

If you want to do that but you don't know where to start, this is my advice to you.

1) Talk to someone who works there. Ask them if they wouldn't mind showing you around the free weight area. Most of the gym employees are bored out of their minds and are sick of wiping down machines - they would gladly walk you around.

2) Go at a time that has the fewest number of people. Most of the sweaty, grunting males start trickling in around noon and the testosterone reaches its apex between 5-8pm. Every gym I've ever been a member of has been virtually dead around 9am. The early birds have headed off to work and the lunch crowd hasn't made it in yet. If you can make this work with your schedule, I highly recommend it.

3) Do what the guys do and recruit some of your female friends to check things out with you. If you're chatting with someone while scoping out the dumb bells, you're less likely to be approached. This avenue of entry into the world of free weights is greatly enhanced if you happen to know a girl who already frequents this area.

4) Hire a personal trainer, even if it's only for a month. You'll have someone to show you how everything works, keep the males at bay and help you build your confidence while you get comfortable with the new environment. Besides, I don't know about you, but I tend to work harder if there is someone watching me.

As for me, well, I generally just walk over there like I own the place and do my business. Mind you, I have been doing this for a very long time and I already scoped out all of the available machines and weights last semester, so I'm now familiar with where everything is. So ladies and gentlemen, don't be afraid! Take full advantage of your gym and make friends with the locals. If you don't want to be bothered, just put on your headphones and crank up that music. I promise, you'll be left alone.

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp

After all of the Irishman-lovin' comfort food that I've been making in recent weeks (and years!), I decided that this week was going to be all about what I wanted to eat. Naturally, I'll make enough for the Irishman to eat as well, but if I know him, he'll be sneaking hot dogs and chili before the week is out. But you know what? Who cares! I'm making Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp.

Seriously, this recipe has my name written all over it. It's spicy, exotic and bovine-free. Oh, and it comes together in about 8 minutes. Perfect. Since this dish is served with rice, it really takes only as long as the rice takes to cook. I am all about weeknight meals that feel like Saturday dinners.

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. of peeled, deveined shrimp
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup choppen green onions
1/3 cup light coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon Red Curry Paste (if you want it mild - I put 2 teaspoons in mine)
1 Tablespoon fresh basil (I did 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce (I didn't have this, but I'll buy it next time)

If you're serving this with rice, go ahead and get that started first. Okay, now don't blink or you'll miss this recipe coming together! Add about a tablespoon of oil to your pan. Heat it over medium-high heat and throw in the chopped white onion. Add the curry paste and saute a couple of minutes. Add in the sugar, saute another minute. Now, add in the shrimp (I cut each shrimp in half) and cook for about 3 minutes. Finally, add in the coconut milk, fish sauce, basil and green onions - cook about minute.

Aaaaaaaaand viola! Yup, that's it. I dish this up with the rice on the bottom and the curry shrimp (and sauce) ladled on top. This was G-O-O-D! The sauce is a great blend of spicy and sweet and the shrimp are perfectly complemented by it. I love how the rice soaks up all of the leftover goodness so that you don't leave any on your plate. And the Irishman? Well, he thought that it was, "Alright." I smote him with my eyes and then I disregarded him entirely as I curled my toes in anticipation of the next bite. Chick food rules!

Vistas

This is the view from our local pizza place. It's been 6 months since we've moved here and I still can't get over the sweeping mountain views that greet you from every direction. I looked at the other diners in puzzlement - was I the only one overwhelmed by the vista outside of the windows?

And this...



...was taken in a friend's driveway. The curvy (icy!) road, the tall, bare trees and the blanket of snow made for such a beautiful scene. I walk around like a permanent tourist, with my camera in hand and my eyes to the horizon. I may look slightly foolish or aloof to the locals, but I hope that no matter how many years we have the pleasure of calling this place home, I never lose the wonderment that I've felt this first year. Regardless of the temperature or the season, western North Carolina is simply breathtaking.

The Irishman Cooks

There are a couple of days a week this semester where the Irishman is left to *gasp* fend for himself in the kitchen. He always has the option of leftovers, but since he's not entirely useless in the kitchen, he'll take it upon himself to whip a little something up. Take, for example, this artfully presented meal.



In this original Irishman creation, he grilled kielbasa sausage, put together some instant mashed potatoes and paired it with the beer-cheese bread that I made last week. He was so proud of his presentation and that he took the time to cook the instant mashed potatoes (it involved measuring milk and stirring). Worthy of Top Chef? Probably not. But, it made him happy and it was warm and filling. Well done, Irishman. Well done.

Siblings

Yesterday, I caught Payton and Luna laying nicely together. This is quite the rare occurrence around here. Usually, Payton is following Luna around the house terrorizing her in one way or another. It reminded me of my own early relationship with my brother.

As you probably already know, Brother Dean is currently one of my best friends. We chat several times a week, try not to go more than a month or two without seeing each other and of course, run races together whenever possible. This, however, wasn't always the case. You see, Brother Dean and I have near polar opposite personalities. He's a gregarious, social, musically inclined individual with a heavy dose of ADHD tendencies. I'm introverted, introspective, logical to a fault and I could easily spend two weeks locked in a mountain cabin reading an engrossing book.

As children, these two personality types didn't mesh well. Dean wanted me to play interactive games with him and I just wanted to climb into a cubby hole and play alone. He wanted to have big parties with lots of friends (both of us have September birthdays) and I wanted to climb into a cubby hole and play alone. He wanted us to race around Disney world and I wanted to climb into a cubby hole... Okay, I think you get the point.

The great news is that the tie that binds us is motivation. We each have completely different areas of interest, degrees and fields, but we are movers. We don't talk about things, we do them. For us, the separation between dreams and reality are in the details. We've decided that it's likely a genetic mutation that allows us to feel no fear when we should probably be terrified, but action is addictive. Plus, it helps to know that there's always someone there who will push you onward and support you even when what you're saying seems improbable.



If I were to call Brother Dean up tomorrow and say that I wanted to climb Mt. Everest, he would listen, process and then help me start formulating a game plan. So, to my dear Brother Dean, thanks for having my back.

Poached Salmon with Dill-Mustard Sauce

Now that all of the storm related delays have passed, I'm continuing on my Cooking Light recipe adventure. I saw a very appetizing recipe for poached salmon with a dill-mustard sauce, so I quickly scanned the ingredients to make sure that (1) they weren't too many and (2) they weren't hard to come by. Thankfully, this one was easy as pie and as an added bonus, the sauce was seriously awesome!



I've already made this recipe twice (on consecutive days) and the only reason that I'm not making it a third day in a row is because you have to be careful to vary your seafood consumption. Oh yeah, and did I mention that it comes together in less than 20 minutes? Okay, here are our ingredients.

For the sauce:

2 Tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1.5 teaspoons fresh dill
1.5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1.5 teaspoons Dijon mustard

For the salmon:

2 cups dry white wine
2 cups water
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 dill sprig

(this is for 2 6-ounce salmon fillets. Double the poaching ingredients for 4 fillets.)

To prepare the sauce, throw it all in a bowl, mix well to combine and throw it in the fridge while your salmon cooks.

For the salmon, add the wine, water, lemon juice, dill and onions to a deep, wide skillet. Bring up to a light simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. Add your fish and cook for about 12 minutes (until it lightly flakes with a fork).

Transfer your salmon to plates and then liberally spoon the dill-mustard sauce on top. Oh and if you don't feel like poaching the salmon, just bake it in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or so.

The sauce perfectly complements the salmon. I don't like when fish have any kind of fishy or oily taste and this dish certainly doesn't. Seriously, you have to try this one. It is delish!

Snow Day!

After the harrowing adventure of Friday's drive, we decided to head outside on Saturday and enjoy the snow. There's a 2 acre empty lot across from our house that conveniently, made for a nice sledding hill. Since we don't own a sled, we decided to put Parker in a plastic bin and hurl him down the hill. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Here are pictures from Parker's first sledding adventure. And yes, one of us was waiting at the bottom of the hill to play catcher.

Parker and the Irishman at the top of the hill (that's our house behind them). Ready, set, sled!



Aaaaand he's off!



And going...



And going...



Still going...



(Man, it's a tall hill...)



And wipe out!



Talk about a good time - we sent Parker careening down the hill over a dozen times. Once he was over it, we decided to build the first ever family snowman. Awesome.

Here's are the boys working on the base.



And then the middle...



And finally, Ta da! (I was responsible for his face.)



We had to coax Parker to get closer to the snowman (after having watched Frosty the Snowman too many times last fall, he was convinced that the snowman was going to push him down from behind), but you can see that they're just about the same size.



In conclusion, snow days can be all kinds of fun...as long as you aren't driving in them.