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.