Saturday Run Report

I decided to be adventurous today and run the Brays Bayou trail from my home to Hillcroft, which is 10.6 miles and roughly halfway to my parents’ house on the west side of town.

It was cool when I started out, but very humid. It’s a strange feeling to be covered in sweat yet not hot, but that’s Houston for you. Although most of the Brays Bayou trail is unshaded, this isn’t a problem in the early morning when the low angle of the sun and the fact that much of the trail in the Med Center is below street level work in one’s favor, creating shade. There were a lot of cyclists on the trail and a number of runners and dog-walkers in certain popular sections, so I felt safe even though once I was past Buffalo Speedway I was in unfamiliar territory and wasn’t sure how safe the trail would be to my turnaround point.

Some stretches of the trail have water fountains at well-spaced intervals, but there were places where you could easily run several miles without finding water, so it’s a good thing to always take some along. Here’s the most unusual water fountain I saw today.













By the time I reached my turnaround, the sun was fully out and I had begun to realize that running a straight out and back route of this length presented some psychological challenges. The route as a whole was no longer than most of my Saturday morning runs, but running looped routes close to home puts you in a very different mental space from being more than ten miles from home with only your own feet to get you back. And did I mention it was very hot out by now?

I spent much of the way back fighting my own brain, which was at least a distraction from the heat. Once I got to the Med Center I was in need of some cold water, not the outdoor water fountains which run cool at best and are often hot in the summer. I went up to street level and went into the nearest medical facility, figuring they’re in the business of caring for people so of course they’ll let me use a water fountain. Not only that, but the very kind folks at Texas Orthopedic offered me a cup of ice in their lunch room. Maybe I looked pathetic. I hope not.

Refreshed, I finished my run with no difficulties and was greeted by my lovely Tid when I got home. Sure, I was hot and stinky and my calves wanted to cramp up, but when someone like this runs out into the hall to say hello, you just have to take a minute for an ear rub, right?















I’m making carrot cookies tonight. Dan and I decided that we like the way they came out last weekend when I doubled the recipe and made it moister by adding applesauce. The end result is actually more like carrot blondies than carrot cookies, so maybe that’s what I should call them.

Sunday Doings

I got a late start on my cooking today because I had to take some pictures to use on my Steal Tomorrow fiction blog. For those of you who only visit this blog, check it out. I’m posting preview content while I clean up the draft and I hope to start posting the story itself later this summer. There will be an option to download the story as a pdf and to buy a print version as well. There is also an email subscription option in the sidebar, which sends new posts directly to your email. I and a few of my friends have tried it and it's pretty nifty.

But for now, it was just one more thing I had to do. I got my pictures, then came home and started cooking.

I started by putting some rice in the rice cooker, then got out the leftover rice from last week and made a banana/rice dish, based on the Apple Cinnamon Rice dish from last week. I used two overripe bananas and I skipped the butter just to see what would happen. It tasted great-- you can’t even tell there was supposed to be butter in the recipe, so I saved a few empty calories there.

Next I made some curried zucchini and yellow squash, but forgot I wanted yellow onions in there, too. Not a big deal, but I was a little annoyed with myself. I had extra of both the zucchini and yellow squash, so it went in the dehydrator to use when it’s out of season.

As an aside to the commenter who asked about the dried spinach, I dehydrated it last spring when locally grown organic spinach was at a good price. I’m finding that I like it better than fresh spinach for including in recipes because there’s no tedious chopping involved. Just crumble it into whatever it is you’re cooking!

After the squash was done, I started mixing the ingredients for rice balls, which Dan asked me to make again. I got a little more aggressive with the flavors this time, adding some cheddar to the mix, more spinach, and more pepper.

While the rice balls cooked, I made chickpeas with pumpkin-curry sauce. I’ve done this before and it’s a nice way to use the excess canned pumpkin when I do pumpkin bread. The canned pumpkin goes into a saucepan with drained chickpeas, cubed cooked potatoes, spinach, and a generous addition of curry, coriander, cumin, white pepper, garlic, and whatever else strikes my fancy. Heat and stir just enough that everything blends together, then set it aside to cool for mid-week dinners.

The pumpkin bread needed an hour for baking, so since it was late in the afternoon and I needed to work out, I mixed all the dry ingredients and staged everything else for quick prep later. After my spin workout, I blended everything together, put the two loaves in the oven, and by the time I had showered and had dinner, the pumpkin loaves were done.

Summary:

Today's Cooking
Plain Rice
Banana Rice
Curry Zucchini and Yellow Squash
Chickpeas in Pumpkin Curry
Rice Balls
Pumpkin Bread

Today's Workout
90 minute spin

Not bad for a day’s work!

Have a great week, everyone!

Work, Running, and Cookies!

I’m enjoying the new job, although projects seem to be piling up at a rapid rate. I feel like I should be able to get through them faster, but I still spend a lot of time hunting around the computer files for the right templates, the right databases, the right reports, etc. It’s the sort of problem that will resolve itself in another few weeks, but in the meantime I keep having to remind myself that it’s okay to be slow. I’ve spent 2.5 of my first 10 days in training and conferences, so I need to back off some of my expectations for myself.

In general though, the work is pleasant and straightforward. I’m nobody’s boss, but I do make decisions and have a lot of autonomy. And I get to go home for lunch! I wouldn’t have thought it would be such a big factor in my personal happiness, but it is. I can eat, get caught up on housework, play around on the computer, or even take a nap. There's no putting a price tag on something like that.

I’m going to have to do some schedule-juggling with regard to my workouts, and I’m still debating the best way to do this. I might experiment with working 8:30-5:30 on some days so I can do a longer workout in the morning. One thing is for sure—I’m sleeping more and feel a lot more rested, now that I don’t spend most of my home time working, leaving me to cram all my “me” time into the hours after midnight. I’m getting too old for that!

Today’s long run was a fun one. I explored the Brays Bayou trail a little farther, enjoying the fish and waterfowl along the way and making mental notes about safety and the availability of water and restrooms. I feel pretty good about this new route and will go farther next week to see where it takes me. I had a strong run overall and felt pretty good, except for my hip bothering me in the last few miles. So annoying.

At Dan’s request, I baked some carrot cookies tonight. I’ve had problems with this recipe being dry in the past, but tonight I added applesauce at the end, blending it in until the cookie dough was no longer crumbly. Also, I doubled the recipe and cooked it in a 9 x 13 pan. The end result was a thicker cookie that held together much better, although I still could’ve made it a little more moist. I’ve got plenty of carrots, so I’ll try again soon.

Finally, Tidbit wishes good luck to all the racers at Ironman Coeur d’Alene tomorrow. You can do it!















Recent Workouts:
Monday: 30 minute elliptical
Tuesday: 4.5 mile run
Wednesday: 40 minute spin
Thursday: 30 minute elliptical
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run

Weekend Recipe Share

I’ve got two new recipes for you today. I had more leftover rice this weekend than usual, so I wanted to do something new with it. Here are the two recipes I tried:

Rice Balls. Okay, it needs a better name, but it’s basically cheese, rice and spices, baked in balls or little cakes like crab cakes. I added extra garlic, red pepper flakes and crumbled dry spinach to mine and they’re very tasty. They go great with a side of steamed or sautéed summer vegetables!

Cinnamon Apple Rice. This tasty baked rice dish is similar in consistency to bread pudding, so if you like bread pudding, you’ll love this. I used a Granny Smith and a Golden Delicious for the apples, and I added a little ginger, since it’s hard to go wrong with ginger and apples. Delish!

Other Weekend Cooking:

• Steamed rice
  
• Chickpea and potato curry
  
• Curry zucchini and yellow squash
  
• Dehydrated zucchini and yellow squash (to store for when they aren’t in season)

Happy Eating, Friends!

This n’ That

I think I’m going to like my new job. Everyone is very nice, and although I’m sure the quirks will show up soon enough, I don’t have a sense that the culture encourages blaming, dumping, and complaining—all of which were typical in my last department. I also haven’t seen a lot of crisis-oriented behavior. In my last job, everything was a crisis, but now even things that are, aren’t, somehow.

They keep me busy though, and I can already see I’ll have a lot to do. It’s great to be able to be useful from the beginning. All instructions are well-documented and people are very nice about sitting with me while I do things for the first time, even though so far nothing I’ve been given is much different from what I’ve done before. I update database files, do compensation analyses for new hires and reclassifications, create positions and job descriptions, and create ad hoc reports on salary matters. The work itself is easy and the instinct about which of my customers are priorities, problem children, etc, will follow in due time.

One cool thing is that I’m just five minutes from home (as opposed to 15 before), so I can walk home for lunch. Everyone at my new job takes an hour for lunch, which in my last job was something only the lower-level staff had time for. Here, everyone goes to lunch and expects me to do the same. So I’ve been going home for an hour during the day and it’s very nice. I can start a load of laundry, read blogs, have something to eat and work on a creative project before heading back and finishing the day.

The only thing I don’t like is that a lot of things seem to happen in the last hour of the day, so I’m considering how to best arrange my work hours so this isn’t a problem. I figure I’ll give 8-5 another week and then discuss with my boss. Maybe I’ll ask to work 8:30-5:30 or even 9-6.

And did I mention that I’m totally loving not being a manager? I loved my staff in my last two management positions, and unless they’re all liars, they liked me too. But management takes a lot out of me, and it’s a nice treat to be responsible only to people above me and to no one below.

Just think—all this, and I get paid more than I did before! Have I been missing the boat, or what?

Today was long run day, and it was a mixed bag. I was less than enthused about the run and my body was in sluggish agreement that this was not one of my better ideas. Nevertheless, I started my pre-plotted route while my brain and body argued about the matter until I decided to try a new-to-me trail that follows Brays Bayou through the Med Center and to points southwest of town. It’s a route that has been popular with cyclists and runners for a long time, but this was my first time to follow it as far as I did. I like it and I plan to explore it further and add it to my regular routes.

The distraction of a new running route helped a lot and I finished my twenty miles without any more than the usual problems of a long run in summer. I don’t feel completely acclimated yet to the heat, but I will be soon. And I told Dan that when he buys a sprinkler for the front lawn, he can turn it on for me while I’m out running on Saturdays so I can cool off before coming in. I reminded him that such a plan would be to his advantage, since I would come in the house smelling better. We’ll see now if he gets the sprinkler.

Recent Baking:
Thursday: Banana-Blueberry bread (made with the last of my Pagosa Springs blueberries)
Saturday: Carrot-Apple bread

Recent Workouts:
Monday: missed workout—got home too late from conference
Tuesday: 4 mile run, ten minute elliptical
Wednesday: 3 mile run
Thursday: 30 minute spin
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run

The Conference

My first two days back at work have been at a conference in Galveston. On the whole, it was pretty good. I got to meet my peers from other state universities, I heard some good speakers, got some very useful handouts I wish I’d had years ago, and I got to hang out at a nice hotel.

My only big frustration was Monday afternoon, when out last session was supposed to end at 4:00, then at 4:15, and ended up not ending until nearly 5:00. I had planned to go for a run along the seawall, but the late end to the day nixed that idea, since I still had to drive home and do various household things. Then I thought maybe I could do it today, since we would end at noon. But once we were finished with the conference, one of my new bosses wanted to take us all out for lunch, and even though I ate light, a storm was moving in by the time we were done so I had to head straight home.

No running on the seawall for me. Bummer. With Galveston an hour away, I won’t be running the seawall anytime soon, unless I’m down there for some other reason in the near future.

Tomorrow is the big day—the day I actually get to move into my new office and start seeing what kind of work they have for me. My boss is excited because she says this is the first time she’s brought someone in who didn’t require training. I’m just relieved I’ll soon have keys, an office, and projects. This has been a nice interlude, but it’s time to get back to work!

Return to Normalcy

It’s great to be home and getting settled again. Even though this was my easiest vacation yet in terms of quickly being able to find the stuff I needed and always having my own pillow, it’s still fantastic to be home.

Tidbit is doing great. She still wasn’t 100% before we left, but she’s there now! When we brought her home Thursday, she went exploring just like she used to, she did some binkies for us and this morning she came bopping down the hall soon after I got up to run. She poked her head in the bedroom door like she used to, with that look on her face like, “Where’s my breakfast, biped?” Every time I get on the computer, she settles at my feet like a little dog. It’s so great to have her back!

The only thing I need now is for my work situation to stabilize. Although my new boss said I could move some things into my office on Friday if I wanted, I had a lot of errands to catch up on, so I didn’t take her up on it. And with the conference on Monday and Tuesday, it looks like I’ll be “homeless” until Wednesday. It’s a very strange feeling to have no office and no university keys. I realize it makes me rather dull, but I am very work-oriented and this sort of thing leaves me unsettled. But I already have a meeting to go to—on Friday. So I really do have a job. Just not an office, keys, a computer, or anything else that makes it feel real. But this will be remedied soon. I’m trying to remember to enjoy this little interlude of being employed but with no responsibilities, since it’s likely the last I can expect before retirement.

I went for a long run this morning, and let’s just say I wasn’t in Pagosa Springs any more! I didn’t miss the hills much, but I started out the door with temps and humidity in the high 80s and was dripping before I’d finished the first mile. I did eighteen miles—a little short of what I would’ve liked, but my body was craving the dry air of the west and my heat tolerance was a little off. I suppose it didn’t help that it was 90 when I got home, with a heat index of 97. Pretty brutal when the humidity keeps your sweat from cooling you. I’ll get my tolerance back quickly, though. The conditions around here are never fun, but one can learn to tolerate them.

But overall, it’s nice to be back, especially with my two furry friends so healthy and happy.

Be it ever so humid, there’s no place like home!

On Vacation

My first day of vacation and my first day between jobs! And I was insanely busy all day, running last-minute errands, preparing road food, packing and staging things we’re taking, and cleaning the house so we don’t look like total slobs to our friend who will be feeding the cat while we’re away.

Tid will be boarding with her vet while we’re gone. I know it’s going to be very confusing to her and I feel bad because she’s almost 100% again. I think it will be for the best though, and they do like her over there. Tidbit is a very sweet and friendly girl. Pixel will miss her, especially since he’ll be stuck here all alone, but he’ll enjoy watching birds out the windows and taking long naps, or whatever it is he does all day.

I hope to be able to blog from the road. We want to do more camping this year, so that would cut into my blogging time. During my absence, I’ll be posting my adventures to my Vacation Blog. Updates will be nightly when I’m at a place where I can log on. And since our first stop is San Angelo, where we’ll be staying at a hotel, the first vacation blog post will be Saturday night!

Have a great two weeks, friends. Thanks for all the support during our Tidbit Trials, and I look forward to catching up with everyone upon my return.

University Ducks

Updates

Tidbit is slowly coming around. She still doesn’t come to my bedroom door in the morning if I’m too slow with her breakfast, but she eats on her own and tonight she settled beside my chair in loaf position—something she hasn’t done since becoming ill.

I’ve found a way to get her antibiotics in her. They’re supposed to be administered orally via syringe and I found that if I rub the tip of the syringe with the inside of a raisin, I can get the antibiotic into her before she realizes I’ve tricked her.

We’ve decided to board her at the vet while we’re on vacation. I hate to do that to the poor girl, but she’s still on twice-daily meds and I have more confidence that the vet techs can administer them than a petsitter. Also, the vet is cheaper and if she relapses, she’ll get the care she needs right away. She won’t be too happy about the arrangement, but no other solutions make much sense.

Earlier this week I saw a duck and ten itty-bitty striped ducklings paddling around the university’s big fountains (the jets were turned off for cleaning). I took pictures and I’ll try to post them tomorrow.

Finally, today (Thursday) is my last work day in my current department. They’re going to have a party for me, which I don’t really want but since they’re using one of my favorite caterers I’m not complaining. There’s a lot that I’m going to miss, but if I have even ten percent less stress in my new job, it will have been so worth it.

Tidbit Update

Thanks again to all who have stopped by to wish my bunny well!

I brought her home today and she was certainly much more alert than before. She had to "tour" her room and check that everything was in its proper place, and then she settled in for a little alone-time, which is typical behavior when she returns home from a vet visit.

Since coming home she has yet to use her litter box, which has me concerned, although they said at the vet she was generating a lot of "output," so perhaps there just isn't much in there right now.

She's still off her feed. Normally she would spend most of the evening with her face buried in her hay, but instead she only nibbles the occasional little bit and does her best eating when Dan is on the floor with her, feeding her strand by strand. She did drink a lot of water, though, which is encouraging. And although she grunted and ran away from me when I tried to give her the mineral oil, I was able to dip her favorite greens in it and fed it to her that way.

Salad dressing and hand-feeding. Someone thinks she's royalty!










We'll be monitoring the situation closely. We were hoping to leave town on Friday but if she's not aggressively eating on her own, we'll just have to find other things to do with our vacation. We're willing to vacation locally if we must.

As Tid's health improves, she'll be hopping by to visit all the kind humans, felines, bunnies, and other folks who have wished her well. But for tonight, no computer for Princess. Next thing you know, she'll expect us to peel her a grape!

At Home

Whew! What an ordeal! I'm home and resting now and my biped will be back later with the details. Thanks for all your love and support!

Sunday Round-Up

Since we still hope to go out of town at the end of the coming week, today was a Big Shopping and Baking Day.

I started my morning by doing a little writing while sipping Sumatran coffee. I suspect I’ll be going down to the wire on my draft, but I do think I can make my target of finishing before Thursday.

Then I went out and ran a few errands, came home and started cooking:

• cornbread with cheese and black pepper
  
• pumpkin bread (2 loaves)
  
• hard-boiled eggs
  
• curry zucchini
  
• curry chickpeas and potatoes (using remainder of pumpkin from the pumpkin bread)
  
• fried rice
  
• steamed rice (mix of brown and jasmine rice)
  
• humza bread
  

For anyone curious, the humza bread was at one time touted as some sort of miracle diet food. I don’t believe in “miracle foods” and my weight is just fine, thank you. But any sort of food that travels well and packs a lot of hunger-reduction in a small package is good road trip food, especially for the long stretches of West Texas, where you can drive all day without finding anything better than a gas station convenience store selling hours-old fried chicken from under a heat lamp. So rather than take a chance of starving, I’m giving the humza bread a try. It’s quite tasty in its own right, so I may make this a regular thing.

I now have a refrigerator packed to the gills! Later this week I’ll be making some more cornbread and some carrot or zucchini bread. I also want to try my hand at spinach frittatas. I saw a recipe for some that are quite small and I think they would make good road trip food. One of the great things about hours and hours of driving in the western sun is that if you wrap a food item in foil and set it on the dashboard for a couple hours, it gets nice and hot. Try it yourself if you don’t believe me! You’ll never think of travel food the same way again.

So I’m envisioning stopping for picnics that consist of frittatas and grape tomatoes or curry chickpeas and zucchini. And in between stops, well, there’s that humza bread.

After I did all that cooking, there wasn't much time left in the afternoon and since this is my last week on the job, I did the performance appraisals on my staff instead of a bike workout. I'm running out of time to do all the projects that need doing and it doesn't help that I've got short-timer syndrome pretty bad. But not in regard to my staff. I'm trying to do everything I can for them before I go.

I’ll be getting an update on Tidbit tomorrow. For those who have asked, Tidbit is about five years old. She was a shelter rabbit, so I don’t know much about her history before I got her four years ago. She’s under the care of a vet who specializes in exotics. She has been checked for issues with her teeth and she’s had an x-ray. The diagnosis is hypomotility, likely due to hair ingestion (although we suspect her love of chewing on sheets is also a factor). She has been alert and responsive throughout her ordeal, so hopefully this is just a simple hairball situation and not symptomatic of some obscure and expensive rabbit disease.

Her situation as of last week was considered urgent but not immediately life-threatening, but going without an update all weekend is nerve-wracking. She went from doing binkies on the bed and begging for food to refusing all food within twenty-four hours, so my mind comes up with awful scenarios of what could be happening over the weekend! I hope they call with good news on Monday!

And finally, tonight we mourn the passing of one of our dear little blog-bunnies, Archi Ann. I will so miss “your” posts and visits, sweetie.

A Zoo of Their Own

This morning I took my camera on my run. I need more pictures for the not-yet-released blog associated with my new novel in progress. What better way to get moody urban pics than by running through urban areas on an overcast morning?

When I was almost home, running up my street, I came upon something really cool-- a mini petting zoo in someone's front yard!












The zoo was for a children's birthday party and was provided by Marsha's Zoo. They provided animals, an awning for them, and they gave pony rides up and down the street to the children. The workers were very friendly and told me that their operation is a family business providing animals all over the city. I was ready to hire them to set up in my back yard, but instead, I contented myself with petting a friendly fawn.














In other news of the day, Dan and I had lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant and since it was raining when we were done and we hadn't brought umbrellas, I suggested we cut through the Pier One store to get a little time out of the rain. Dan said we should at least pretend like we're looking at merchandise, so I obliged.

And dammit, I bought.















Getting wet would've been cheaper.















I miss my Tid.

No News

No change with Tidbit. She went back to the vet this morning and although they said she was "active," she wasn't eating or drinking on her own, so they're keeping her through the weekend.

It's starting to scare me that this hasn't resolved itself yet. Tid has always been a good eater, almost never without a mouthful of timothy hay. It's hard to imagine what could've caused this, except that rabbits are rabbits and it happens.

Pixel misses his friend. He keeps wandering into her room and checking all the spots she should be. Funny boy, he's always too busy being a cool cat when Tid wants to snuggle and we're in the vicinity, but at times like this, his true colors show.

Thanks again to all who have posted their kind thoughts for Tidbit's recovery.

Tidbit Update

Well, we were told she was eating hay and throwing fits about being cooped up, so I went to pick Tidbit up today. Upon arriving home, she went into a corner and has refused to eat, drink, or use her litterbox since.

It looks like she pulled a fast one at the vet's in order to get sprung. She's not fooling us, though. Unless she makes some progress with either input, output, or both, it's back to the vet for her in the morning.

With our vacation starting in just one week, we're starting to have to think about contingency plans. Once I start my new job, I can't take vacation for six months, and Dan won't have another opportunity until December. If this rabbit doesn't start eating, we are so screwed.

On the Mend

Tidbit is still at the bunny hospital, but as of this afternoon she was doing much better and was even starting to cop an attitude about having to be in a cage. Go, Tid!



















Her friend Pixel misses her and we catch him looking for her and meowing, but he's trying to be cool and not look too concerned.

We hope Tidbit will be sprung on Thursday, but we haven't been promised anything yet.

Thanks, everyone, for your good wishes. It's great to see so much support for one little bunny!

In Hospital

The Tid is sick, but she is under the very excellent care of her pal, Dan Jordan, at Animal Avian Hospital of the Village and will likely make a full recovery.

The kind thoughts and good wishes of her friends in the blogsphere are appreciated.

Under the Weather?

The Tid is antisocial today. We leave a pet carrier in the room with the door off so she can go in and out and play in it without associating it with the V.E.T. She's spent all day in there, which is totally not like her.

She's also been ignoring her hay, but she used her litterbox and comes out for treats and greens, so maybe she's just spooked by something. I hope it's nothing more than that. Dan is going to try to take her to the vet in the morning if she's not more like herself.

Be well, Tidbit!

Art Cars and Other Cool Things

Part of today's run took me up Allen Parkway where I got to see the art cars lining up for the annual Art Car Parade. We have one of the best art car parades in the country, and people bring entries from all over.

I tried to find a permalink for the Houston Chronicle's coverage of the parade, but no luck. Anyone who goes to the Chronicle's website this weekend can pick up some of the photo galleries and videos. It's pretty amazing how elaborate some of the cars are.

I once had a "retired" car that I wanted to convert into an art car. I was going to make it into a giant rabbit. Seriously. But I lacked the time and resources for it, so I never got into that particular project.

One of the things I'm looking forward to in my new job is having a little more time for myself. From all appearances, I'll be working forty-hour weeks most of the time instead of fifty. And what's probably even more significant is that it won't be such a pressure cooker environment. Oh, sure, there will be crunch times like in any line of work, but the whole stupid year won't be a crunch time.

The head of my new department is very into her Myers-Briggs. She said when she interviewed me that she knew I was an introvert (we knew each other before she began recruiting me) and she's big on respecting the work styles of both introverts and extroverts. I so hope it's true! I've always tried to do that with my own staff because when a person has to spend half the work day fighting their own personality, it has a negative impact on attitude, work quality, and even personal life (which bleeds back into work performance).

Maybe soon I'll have evenings and weekends where I won't have to turn into a hermit just to keep from going crazy. There are a lot of things I'd like to do with my life that get put on hold when I need every free moment as down time so I can re-charge and be "on" again for everyone the next day. People, even when I love them, bleed me dry. Here's a good explanation of Extroversion vs Introversion, for anyone who is unclear on what the terms really mean, and not just the pop culture meaning.

Recent Baking
Friday: banana bread
Saturday: carrot-apple bread (2 loaves)

Recent Workouts
Monday: 35 minute elliptical
Tuesday: worked late - no workout
Wednesday: 40 minute spin
Thursday: worked late - no workout
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run
Note: My job interviews and resignation really took a toll on my workday and ate into my workout time. I had thought to carve out a little workout time on Friday, but that got nixed by all the people calling and dropping by to congratulate me, further impacting my ability to actually work. If this sort of thing keeps up I'm going to have to stay home to get anything done!

Neato!

I haven't even started my new job and already they've registered me for a conference.

It's been ten years since my last paid professional development and they're sending me to a two-day function in Galveston on my very first day on the job.

How cool is that?

New Horizons

I quit my job today.

Two weeks where I am now, two weeks vacation, then return and start my new job.

I'm very sad about this. I feel like I'm letting a lot of people down. But I've made some other people very happy and I have reason to believe that in the end it will be good for everyone concerned. Even my old department will benefit because I'll be in a position to do a lot of things for them that university administration has always blocked.

It's just hard to move on when you've been someplace for so long. I cried. My boss cried. She tried to counter-offer but I refused. Because in the end, it wasn't the money (although the internal equity was always a pisser), and it was certainly never about grade or title (I've never given a damn about such things). In the end, it was about what I needed for me, and after nearly twelve years moving up the ranks in the same university department, I was way overdue for a change.

So here's to new horizons, once I quit grieving over leaving my safe harbor.

Monday Bunday

Enjoy this "Classic Tidbit" pic! She really knows how to relax!

Warning!

Do not make this extremely dangerous bread!

If you feel compelled to make it, don't use whole wheat flour, pecan meal, and organic butter. And for the love of God, don't eat it!

Eating this bread, especially warm from the oven, has been known to create strong urges to keep on eating, regardless of one’s actual state of hunger, to the exclusion of needful daily activities, such as exercise and housework.

This bread is a hazard to waistlines and balanced diets everywhere. If you must make some, it is strongly recommended that you give it away immediately!

In fact, just send it here.

Perspective

I had a nice run this morning that included stopping by the vet’s office to get flea medicine for the pets. As I was leaving the vet’s office, some fast-moving dark clouds moved in. They were dramatic and scary-looking but I suspected they were moving too quickly to drop any rain and I was correct. They did cool the morning temps, though, and added a nice breeze to the stuffy air as I ran to my favorite cemetery. I needed a dose of perspective.

I’ve been aggressively courted by another department for a couple of months now and recently had an interview that went very well. I suspect I’ll have a firm offer this week and will have to make a decision. I love the department I’m currently with, I’ve worked hard to build my team and I feel like I’ve finally gotten things to a stage where I can start focusing on the want-to-dos instead of just the have-tos. I want to move to things to the next level in my current role and would rather not leave.

But I’m getting tired of the promises never fulfilled. I’m underpaid and under-graded for what I do. I have co-workers right in the same office who are not managers, have less responsibility, work fewer hours, and make within $1,000 of what I do. For nearly two years my boss has talked a good game about how she’s going to do right by me, while doing nothing. She can fix the problem with a signature on a piece of paper, but she’s always got an excuse. This saddens me because we go back a long way together and when she first came to our department, it was I who welcomed her and made myself her right-hand gal. I championed her causes for years and thought we were friends.

Yeah, I feel betrayed. Screwed. This other department could never tempt me away otherwise with what little they’ll be able to offer. What they are offering me instead is a very clear message that they want me and value me. Hell, they restructured the position just for me, after talking to me in informal interviews. They value me even if my current boss does not. So why am I so sad about all this?

So I needed perspective today and of course I got it. Cemeteries do that for me. They remind me that life is short and most of what we think are really big and important problems, aren’t. Not by a long shot. I need to be reminded of that sometimes. It’s so easy to get caught up in minutiae and lose sight of the fact that most of what we do just isn’t going to have that big an impact on where we end up. We need to follow our bliss in the here and now, not only for our own peace of mind but because we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to do so and there are many who came before us and never had the chance to choose a wedding dress, much less between two jobs that will lead to the same retirement package in the end.

I’m making raisin bread tonight— I’m letting the dough rise overnight and I’ll finish it in the morning. I’ll post the results here tomorrow!

Recent Baking
1 loaf banana bread
2 loaves carrot-apple bread
2 loaves raisin bread (in progress)

Recent Workouts
Monday: 2 mile run, 10 minute elliptical, 10 minute row
Tuesday: too damn tired
Wednesday: 4 mile run
Thursday: 45 minute spin, weights
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run

Recipe Share

Take a slice of the spinach bread we made last week (you did make some, right?), spread pesto on it and sprinkle grated parmesan or romano. Toast in the toaster oven (or microwave for one minute if you're lazy). Top with a poached egg, freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.

You're welcome.

You Never Know...

So here I was sitting in my office feeling grumpy. I had a headache, I was short-staffed, over-tasked, and even the temp didn't show up. Grrr....

And then an ex-employee of mine walked in the door. I fought hard to keep her job for her while she struggled with personal issues and although she ultimately chose to move on, I always believed I had done the right thing.

She's much improved now and brought me flowers, little gifts and a card.

Totally not necessary, but damn-- here I was thinking my day sucked and I ended up with a very nice surprise.

You just never know.

Another Basic Sunday

Well, somehow 80% chance of rain turned into no rain at all for today. Not that I’m complaining, and I’m sure everyone doing the March of Dimes walk this morning was relieved. It’s a big event on my campus and draws walkers from all over the city. From our new digs we were able to see the walkers out our back windows. Why did we not walk? Speaking for myself, it’s only six miles, so what’s the point after running twenty yesterday?

I promised a spinach bread update, and it came out pretty good, although if I make it again I’ll probably double the amount of pepper in the recipe and maybe try parmesan instead of cheddar cheese. I just can’t leave well enough alone!

Here’s the basic recipe.

And if you don’t have a bread machine, it’s still pretty simple to make.

1. Heat the water to about 110 degrees or so and mix with the yeast and sugar.
2. Go do something else for about 10-15 minutes so the yeast can get bubbly.
3. Add in all the other ingredients except the spinach and cheese. Be sure to add the flour slowly, by half-cups or so. This makes it easier to blend everything together.
4. Cover and set aside, preferably in a warm place. Let the dough rise at least a few hours. I recommend letting it rise overnight so you don’t have to worry about whether or not it doubled in size or whatever.
5. Punch down the dough and mix in the spinach and cheese. Once everything is blended nicely, form a loaf and put it in an oiled bread pan.
6. Go find something else to do for at least half an hour. I took this opportunity to go run some errands.
7. Bake for about 30 minutes at 375, or until done.

This bread is very tasty toasted and with butter. Yum!

Today’s Cooking
Spinach-Cheese Bread
Pumpkin Bread (recipe makes 2 loaves)
Rice
Pumpkin-Chickpea Curry (using the pumpkin left over from the pumpkin bread)
Curry Zucchini and Onions
Fried Rice (using last week’s leftover rice)
Zucchini Chips (dehydrated zucchini with salt and spices—road snacks for upcoming vacation)

Today’s Workout
2 hour spin
Abs and weights

Today’s Link
Mine is the Featured Story in the May issue of Word Catalyst Magazine! It's flash fiction, less than 1,000 words. Go read!

Runnin’ in the Rain

It wasn’t my plan to run in the rain this morning, but since it was only a light shower and worse was predicted for Sunday, I put on one of my fancy vented running jackets and headed out. I stayed close to home, doing campus loops. After six miles I was hot and the rain had become a sprinkle, so I went home and dropped off the jacket. The rest of the run went okay but was painful at the end. I run on harder surfaces with less variety when I stay on campus, and many of the sidewalks have smooth pebbles embedded in their surface which makes them slippery in the rain. I have to alter my stride, which I think contributes to the sore muscles at the end.

Or maybe it was just one of those days. It happens.

I’ve got a new recipe I’m trying, for spinach-cheese bread. The recipe only gives bread machine instructions, and I don’t have a bread machine. But (scary realization) I do know how to make bread without a machine, so I’ve got the dough rising overnight and in the morning I can add the spinach and cheese, set it for a final rise in the bread pan, and bake. I’ll be sure to post the results, along with instructions, if it turns out well.

I also made carrot-apple loaves tonight and will do pumpkin bread tomorrow. No banana bread this week because Dan ate all the bananas.

Speaking of Dan, he’s finally going to graduate this December. It feels like he’s been on the fifty-year degree plan, so at this point I’m more relieved than excited for him. It's going to be great to be able to go on vacation sometime other than late May. And even better, I won’t get emails from him at 11:00 at night asking me to proof his paper that’s due in the morning. (Yeah, he’s lucky he’s still alive, forget graduating.)

For Dan, graduating will be quite an accomplishment, since he was one of those barrio boys tracked into woodshop and told to learn a trade. His stepfather told him college was only for “rich white kids” and it took Dan until his thirties to realize his stepfather was full of it. For me, college was a given. My father has a doctorate and I used to tag along to campus with him when he was a professor. A college campus felt as welcoming as a shopping mall to me, and far more interesting. But for Dan, this has been a big journey and a chance to prove to himself that he’s good enough, and always was. Now he’s even making noises about grad school. All I have to say is he better not expect me to proof his papers at 11:00 at night!

This Week's Workouts
Monday: no workout-stuck in late meeting at work
Tuesday: 8 mile run
Wednesday: 45 minute spin, abs and weights
Thursday: 35 minute elliptical
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run

Just Ducky

For today's run, I repeated last week's run to Hermann Park to see the ducks, taking my camera this time.













It was a warm day, but it's never too early to start building my summer heat tolerance. Of course, these guys had the perfect solution for staying cool.














Nothing like a duck run on a spring afternoon!

Book Meme - Tidbit

Tidbit has always loved to read, either alone:










Or with a friend:











So it was no surprise when Lola tagged Tidbit for the ever-popular book meme, to which the rules are as follows:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Unfortunately, the book she was reading, Bunnicula had less than 123 pages, so she was forced to select from the bookcase in her room. At bunny-eye level, the pickings were grim: mostly stuff about computers, strategic planning and the like. But then her gaze fell upon Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants, which sounded like a very fine book-- so good she took a nibble off the spine just to be sure.

All seemed well, so without further ado, she chewed to page 123, where she found the following about cherry leaves:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opposed this alternative therapy, claiming it didn't work and that there was a risk of cyanide poisoning. They took it off the market and took legal action against any doctors using it.

Yikes! Tid will not be eating cherry leaves anytime soon and strongly recommends her bunny buddies exercise similar caution!

Since so many have done this meme already, Tidbit tags whoever hasn't played yet and says to stay far away from cherry leaves!

Sunday Check-In

Well, the stress of the last three weeks must’ve caught up to me. I have a very nasty crick in my neck. It's so bad that it was hard to back the car out of my long, narrow driveway today because I couldn't turn my head.

The funny thing is that I haven’t felt particularly stressed during this year’s budget cycle—it’s just been a constant daily overload of things that needed doing. But now I’ve got a backlog both at the office and at home, and I’m not looking forward to digging out. I carry my stress in my neck and shoulders, which is probably why I’ve got this problem now.

Since it’s Administrative Professionals week, I picked up some potted flowers, candy, and cool little pocket notepads for my staff. I took everything to the office today, since it would be a hassle to walk to work with it in the morning, along with everything else I carry. I’m always wary of doing anything for this particular holiday, since it evolved out of Secretary’s Day and some professionals are a little offended by it, not wanting to be seen as mere secretaries. But it was the efforts of my staff that enabled me to put in my three weeks in the budget trenches and I would’ve done something nice for them even if there wasn’t a Hallmark holiday this week. So there.

Not much else is happening here. I'm just trying not to worry too much about all the things I need to get done before we go on vacation in a few weeks. Vacation is so stressful that I swear if it was up to me I'd probably spend most of my vacations right here at home getting caught up on things and then getting deliciously bored so that returning to work would be a relief!

I'm all ready for the week now, though. I spent a couple hours in the kitchen today, so at least I won't be worrying about what to eat!

Today’s Cooking
• Carrot Bread
• Carrot Cookies (again)
• Penne Casserole (using pasta from a previous meal)
• Fried Rice (using leftover rice from the week)
• Black Beans with Garlic and Tomato
• Curried Zucchini
• Steamed Rice
• Hard Boiled Eggs

Today’s Workout
2 hour spin

Running and Yogurt

The budget cycle at work is nearly over—yay! Friday evening was the first time since the start of the month that I didn’t have to bring work home and although I made myself available for this weekend’s final push to closure, I haven’t been needed. Thank goodness! I’ve done my part and the final tradeoffs are in our budget goddess’s hands, which suits me fine.

I celebrated another lovely Saturday by running to Memorial Park today. It’s a little scary how easy these twenty mile runs are getting to be, but that’s the range I need in order to enjoy some of my old running routes from before I moved last August. I don’t like driving somewhere so I can run. It makes no sense to me and adds anywhere from 30-60 minutes to my time budget, cutting into the time I could be doing some actual running. So in general, if I can’t get there on my own two feet, I don’t go.

But now Memorial Park and the Buffalo Bayou trails are doable again, and that makes me happy.

I’m managing so well in spite of my chronic hip pain that I’m even beginning to think about ultras and getting back into long course triathlons. I need to consider the time commitment, though, in addition to the possibility of making my hip worse and ruining a good thing. I’ll probably stew about it over vacation, along with some other matters I haven’t been able to ponder deeply due to the constant busy-ness of my daily life.

And now for a rhetorical question: Am I the last person on the planet to have discovered Greek yogurt?

I’ve never thought myself a yogurt philistine, and have tried runny yogurts, creamy yogurts, sour yogurts, mild yogurts, some from cows, some from goats, some from tiny Hill Country organic farms and some from far-flung places I don’t even know if I can pronounce correctly. I even went through a phase where I made my own. But I somehow missed out on firm Greek yogurt, so when I had some left over after using it in a recipe, I tried eating it plain. OMG! This is the first plain yogurt I can truly say I love! Of course, it’s even better with a little honey mixed in, but now I’m hooked, which is a shame, since it’s four times the price of my current favorite. I may be getting back into yogurt-making if I can find a good recipe for this stuff, price of milk be damned!

Friday’s Cooking
Banana Bread
Carrot Cookies

This Week’s Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical, 10 minute row
Tuesday: 6.5 mile run (went to Hermann Park to see the ducks)
Wednesday: 45 minute spin, abs and weights
Thursday: 35 minute elliptical
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run

Aren't You Done Yet?

Every night you work on that stupid office stuff, biped. You should work for me. Bunnies don't need budgets. ~ The Tid

Invasion!

Dan found four of those disgusting tree roaches in our house tonight. WTF? There's no way to avoid them altogether in Houston unless you live in a high-rise, but four in one evening is just way ridiculous.

I can't stand them and won't even go near the repulsive things. That's what I have a husband for. In fact, insect control was one of the main criteria I had for a spouse, since sex and money are pretty easily acquired. And to give him credit, Dan does a very fine job of insect control. Years ago, I knew he was the man for me when he removed a bee from my apartment by picking it up by its wings and setting it free outside.

Tonight he dispatched all four cockroaches entirely without assistance from the cat, who is supposed to be his assistant and backup roach-manager. I must think about replacing the cat.

The bunny, of course, has no insect-management duties. Nor do I. I do enough around here already.

Today's cooking

* Rice
* Black beans with tomato and garlic
* Curry zucchini
* Fried rice
* Carrot-apple ginger bread (2 loaves)

Today's Workout
2 hour spin

Bright Sunshiny Day

Fantastic weather here, after a lot of overcast days!

I had a good run this morning—nothing like heading out at dawn with the morning sun creating patterns of gold and shadow along the trails, birds singing in the trees, robins and squirrels going about their business, mulberries ripening and the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle in the air!

I followed Brays Bayou to Hermann Park and the zoo where I ran among the trees, then into Montrose and through some of my old neighborhoods to Buffalo Bayou where I enjoyed the company of other runners hitting the hills and trails. Then I ran through River Oaks (rich neighborhood) and into one of the business areas where I stopped at my bank to deposit a check. (Nothing like a run that adds a little money to your bank account, is there?) And from there I ran home, through another nice neighborhood where the trees meet overhead, past Rice University, back around the park and zoo, then home.

Near my house I noticed the bayou was running fairly clear and I could see a lot of fish in the water. They were bigger than I had thought bayou fish would be and explains why I’m always seeing cormorants and ospreys around.

Now that we have our vacation dates somewhat decided for the latter half of May, I’m scouting for fun things to do in New Mexico. The 10K I had thought I’d like to do in Santa Fe has been moved from late May to early June, so that’s out. And although I’m intrigued by “The World’s Toughest 10K,” the date is too soon for me to train to run up a 12% grade and I won’t be acclimated even a tiny bit to the altitude. So I think I had better pass on that one. I’ll keep looking and if nothing presents itself, it’s not like it will be the first time.

I made two loaves of banana bread yesterday, adding chopped dates to the recipe. Dan says this is the best version yet and has already gone through most of one of the loaves. I suspect the second one won’t last long, either.

Oh, and in case anyone is paying attention to these sorts of things, my favorite organic wheat flour went up 80 cents in the past week, from $3.69 to $4.49 for five pounds, and I noticed that conventional flour is up, too. It’s still cheaper than buying pre-made items (which I didn’t price, but probably went up, as well), but I’m regretting now that I didn’t buy more flour at the lower price. That’s’ what you get when you put fear of looking like a wild-eyed wacko survivalist ahead of the good old common sense that got humans out of the caves and into centrally-cooled homes. Oh well.

And finally, Ironman Arizona is Sunday! Good luck to all participants!

Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical
Tuesday: 6.5 mile run
Wednesday: 45 minute spin, abs
Thursday: too much work to do—missed workout
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run

Recipe Share

I made this pumpkin bread for the second time today and since it was just as good as the first time, I thought I’d share. What I like about this recipe is that it doesn’t come out too pumpkiny. Not that it would be bad if it did, but this time of year just seems wrong to be eating something that tastes like Thanksgiving.

When I make this pumpkin bread, I substitute one cup of unsweetened applesauce for the oil and six packets of stevia for half of the sugar. For the optional goodies, I use pecans and golden raisins, as recommended, and dried cranberries. The result is a moist, fruity bread that’s yummy for breakfast or anytime I want a snack.

There’s another reason I like this recipe. Once I’ve got the pumpkin bread in the oven, I make a curry with the remainder of the can of pumpkin. I just sort of throw it together, so I can’t give exact measurements (spice is a very individual thing, anyway), but the basic recipe is:

• whatever is left in can after making pumpkin bread
• half the pumpkin can of water (chicken or vegetable broth would also work)
• one can of garbanzo beans, drained
• sautéed yellow onions (or onion flakes to taste, if you’re lazy)
• salt, white pepper, coriander, cumin and lots of curry, to taste

This makes a very nice dish served over rice.

And finally, I tried these carrot cookies this weekend:

This isn’t the recipe that’s given me fits for the last two weeks. The resulting cookies are very tasty but quite different from the crumbly shortbread-like carrot cookies I’ve been trying to get right. These cookies are more like little carrot-cakes, which can be good or bad depending on how tempting you find a cookie jar full of mini-carrot cakes.

I did a lot of cooking this weekend, but I’m set for the week now with home-cooked meals and snacks for every day. From here ‘til Friday, it’s me and the microwave!

Have a tasty week, friends!

Weekend Update

I got an interesting start to my weekend when my toilet stopped flushing on Thursday night. The water swirled around but wouldn't actually go anywhere. I had already been thinking about taking Friday as a work-from-home day, so that pretty much nailed my decision. We do have the studio apartment we can use in a bathroom emergency, but this is not Little House on the Prairie. Traipsing across the yard to answer the call of nature is not acceptable as a long-term solution.

Friday ended up being super-productive. I started working at 6 am and finished the salary/benefits portion of next fiscal year’s budget just before 5 pm. I took about an hour in the middle of the day to wash the dishes, make banana bread and start the laundry, but other than that and opening the door so someone could come in and fix the toilet, I was head-down the whole day and by 5 pm I was hungry and brain-dead. But my portion of the budget is now done, I have clean clothes, tasty banana bread, AND my toilet is flushing normally—the problem was a partially clogged line. Apparently this isn’t an unusual problem in these older houses, where buildup accumulates in the pipes over the decades.

This morning I was up early and went for a run on approximately the same route as last week, starting with a loop around campus while waiting for the sun to come up before heading out toward Hermann Park, Rice University, and eventually Buffalo Bayou. At one point I encountered a group of runners, one of whom was running on one of those curved-blade prostheses that runners use. I’ve seen these in the running and triathlon magazines and of course there was the recent fuss over whether double-amputee athlete Oscar Pistorius was getting an unfair advantage from his prosthetic legs.

I had never seen anyone IRL with one of these, so my first instinct was to go chasing after the guy so I could tell him how cool his leg was and ask how it worked. Of course, I did no such thing. He might feel self-conscious about it. But it did get me thinking how far we’ve come in technology and as a society when the reaction to a prosthesis is: OMG! Cool alert! Lemme see, pleeeeez???

Oh, and did I mention the guy was nice to look at, too? Buff and blond, about half my age, but none of us is getting any younger, right? Right.

Moving right along, now.

My next-door neighbor, for reasons known only to her unemployed self, has decided to engage in home improvement projects. This would be good, except that they seem to always involve noisy power tools. I was very suspicious when we got back from having Indian food and there was a backhoe in front of her house and an assortment of lesser noisemakers in the yard. Nice. I was up at 6 am, ran 20 miles, and now I was going to be deprived of an afternoon nap? Luckily the noise didn’t start up right away and I was able to sleep for a couple hours, but if she’s fixing up the house to sell, I hope it gets purchased by Orthodox Jews. Then I can count on quiet Saturdays.

Just now, Tidbit managed to fall out of her litterbox. I have no idea how she accomplished this, since it’s a high-wall box and she fell out of the side. She lay on the floor for a few seconds with a surprised look on her face, until I put her back on her feet, watched her hop around, then gave her a treat and rubbed her ears. I love you, Tid. Even if you are a klutz.

Recent Workouts
Monday: 35 minute elliptical, abs
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: 40 minute spin, abs
Thursday: 30 minute elliptical
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run

A Book for Tid

One of Tidbit's friends gave her a copy of Bunnicula today. This will be her first read in the horror genre. She's still trying to understand why the humans think this book is funny.

Dumb Rabbit Update

I send all the way to Nebraska for special hay for this creature and instead she hops up on the bed and eats holes in the sheet.

Ingrate.

Saturday Check-In

When I stepped outside the door for my long run, it was overcast and had obviously rained during the night. The prediction was only 30% chance of rain, but it looked like more than that. Using the logic that if I left my sunglasses at home the sun would surely come out, I did just that. And it did. I got sprinkled on a little, but toward the end of my run, the sun did come out and it ended up being a very nice day to be running around town.

As an experiment this week I decided to see what would happen if I didn’t bring any work home from the office. Dumb idea. By Thursday I was behind on things and felt awful about it. I made significant progress catching up on Friday afternoon, working from home where I wouldn’t be interrupted all the time, but I’m still going to have to do some weekend work to be on track by Monday morning. It’s frustrating, although at least I work with people who seem okay on the concept that if someone has to work extra hours, they should at least be allowed to choose the venue and time of day for those hours. Especially when it’s all unpaid. You can bet if these management jobs were hourly and paid extra for everything after 40 hours a week, we’d suddenly have much saner workloads!

I finished my alteration project on the $2.50 capri pants I bought last week. They’re black with three bands of ribbon trim at the cuffs, and oh-so-cute! And now they don't balloon out at my hips. Joy! I wore them to go have Indian food today and I have a feeling these are going to become this summer’s favorite pants.

I have another alteration project going on, but it’s much more complicated and I don’t know how long it will take me, especially since I don’t have a sewing machine and have to do everything by hand. In addition, I have decided I should have an apron if I’m going to keep on with all my recent baking projects. The easiest thing (which I’ve seen on the Wardrobe Refashion website) is to convert an old sundress. I was pretty excited about that idea until I realized that: a) most of my summer clothes are still buried at the bottom of a huge wicker chest, and b) I think I gave all my unwanted sundresses to charity when I moved. So there’s a potential dilemma here. We’ll see what I find once I start changing out my closet for spring.

I baked some carrot cookies tonight. I tried adding a little molasses to see if that would make the end result a little less crumbly. It helped a little, but I’m going to have to keep tweaking this particular recipe. I used craisins (dried cranberries) instead of golden raisins and it added a nice little flavor punch. Highly recommended! Now if I can just get the moistness right, I’ll be in business.

Not much else is happening. The week went by unbelievably fast, even with me not working from home in the evenings. I hit all my workouts though, and things are coming along well with my new novel, so I’m happy.

Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical (intervals), weights and abs
Tuesday: 7 mile run
Wednesday: 45 minute spin
Thursday: 35 minute elliptical
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 19 mile run

My Not-So-Restful Weekend

What a weekend! Here’s the lowdown:

Errands:

• Got watch fixed
  
• Got hair cut (hate it, but that’s a separate issue)
  
• Donated a big ol’ stack of old magazines
  
• Bought new cookbook
  
• Went to cheap store to stock up on baking supplies
  
• Went to my usual organic stores for weekly groceries
  
• Went thrifting—bought cute capris for $2.50
  

Miscellaneous Projects:

• Colored my hair (nothing fancy, just covering the gray)
  
• Started altering the $2.50 capris (needed to be taken in at the hips; for $2.50 I don’t mind doing a small alteration)
  
• Tidbit’s Easter photo shoot
  

Baking:

• Banana-walnut bread
  
• Carrot-Apple bread
  
• Carrot cookies (came out dry, although I followed recipe exactly)
  

Other Cooking:

• Black beans with garlic
  
• Brown rice
  
• Wilted spinach with garlic
  
• Curry zucchini
  
• Curry rice
  
• Hard-boiled eggs (not for the Easter Bunny but for my lunches this week)
  

Other Food:

• Saturday lunch (Indian restaurant!) with Dan
  

Workouts:

• 17 mile run (including first-ever encounter with hostile canine)
  
• 90-minute spin
  
• Weights and abs
  

Writing:

• Posted Spring Flash Fiction Carnival
  
• 4,000 words on current WIP, bringing total word count to 31K+
  
• Flash fiction accepted for Word Catalyst Magazine’s May issue
  
• Nice review of my book on The Lulu Book Review site
  
• Five blog posts (including this one)
  
• Numerous comments on other blogs
  

I think that’s it. I’m tired now and I still have to feed the critters and iron some clothes for tomorrow. I swear sometimes I need a vacation from both my job and my weekends!

Hoppy Easter!

Tidbit apologizes for the late post, but she was exhausted after hiding all those eggs!

For those who celebrated, she hopes you had a happy one! For those who didn't, I hear there's lots of half-price chocolate in the stores starting tomorrow!

This Just In!

The fossilized remains of an ancient lagomorph have been found! (That's a bunny to you ordinary folks.)

Tidbit is impressed.

Tidbit's Bunspace Profile

Tidbit's Thoughts

All this blog blather about food is making me hungry. Hurry up with the greens, biped!

Food for Thought

I cooked up a storm this weekend! From Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, I made the following:

Baking:

1 loaf banana bread

1 loaf honey-wheat bread

2 loaves carrot-apple bread

Just Regular Eats (food for the coming week):

couscous with feta and diced grape tomatoes

wilted spinach with garlic

curry zucchini and onions

black beans with garlic

brown rice

curry fried rice (I always do a rice dish with the previous week’s leftover rice)

I also dehydrated some spinach. Central Market has been selling locally-grown triple-washed spinach for several weeks now and it occurred to me that I’m going to really miss it when the season for it is over. So I broke out the dehydrator and now have lots of dry, crunchy spinach leaves sealed in a freezer bag and residing in my freezer for some summer day when I want cheap spinach. Because it’s dehydrated and crumbles easily in this state, it would also be good for any sort of pasta Florentine dish—no chopping required, just crumble before rehydrating.

I don’t know how many of you out there have been paying attention to the value of the dollar, the state of the American (and by extension, the world’s) banking system, and oil/gas prices, but it looks like we're in a situation that’s going to get worse before it gets better. And if you haven’t read up on what’s happening in the grain markets, the short answer is that prices of most grains, especially wheat, are also going up due to a number of factors including drought and wheat rust. Add in the higher cost of shipping now that diesel is at $4/gallon in a lot of places, and you’d have to be blind not to see where all this is trending for summer.

If you don’t know how to cook cheap, now is a great time to start. With a rice cooker and a crock pot, you can have tasty meals for pennies, with about 5-10 minutes of actual time spent working in the kitchen. (Yeah, food takes longer than that to cook, but you don’t have to actually be present.) For the same amount of time a lot of folks spend at the drive-through breathing exhaust fumes, one can cook a cheap, healthy meal at home!

I hope all the economic indicators are wrong or that a deus ex machina is about to swoop down and save us from the crazy confluence of problems driving the dollar down and the cost of everything up. But I’m not betting on it. Right now, $2.54 buys me a 5-pound bag of organic wheat flour. How many loaves of wheat bread can you buy for that price? If our economy doesn't get straightened out fast, how many do you think you'll be able to buy this summer?

Food for thought, indeed.

Recent Workouts
Monday: 35 minutes elliptical, 10 minute row
Tuesday: 6.5 mile run
Wednesday: 45 minute spin, abs and weights
Thursday: 35 minute elliptical, abs and weights
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 18 mile run
Sunday: 2 hour spin, weights and abs

Recipe Share: Carrot-Apple Bread

This is the recipe I modified last week from a zucchini bread recipe. Other than the time spent chopping carrots for the food processor, this takes very little time to make and will produce two yummy loaves. Freeze one for later or bake them in disposable foil pans and take one to work.

BTW, your house will smell heavenly while this is baking!

Enjoy!

CARROT-APPLE BREAD

INGREDIENTS

• 3 eggs
  
• 1 cup vegetable oil (may substitute applesauce for oil)
  
• 2 cups white sugar (or 4 packets stevia and 1 cup sugar)
  
• 2 cups grated carrots
  
• 1 cup diced dried apples
  
• 3 cups flour
  
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
   
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil (or applesauce) and sugar. Stir in carrots and apples. In separate bowl, combine flour, spices, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
   
3. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.
   

Some notes on my ingredients. These are personal preferences and not required for this recipe to work:

• I use organic ingredients
  
• I substitute 1 cup organic applesauce for the 1 cup oil, but one could also do ½ cup oil and ½ cup applesauce
  
• I usually use 4 packets of stevia and one cup of brown sugar instead of all that white sugar. If you decide to reduce the sugar, you may want to add more of the spices.
  
• I use whole wheat flour, but white or a combination of white and wheat would also work
  
• When I have it, I use a little hazelnut or pecan flour in all my breads. These are very finely ground nuts that one can get in the bulk bins at an organic foods store.
  

Physics for Rabbits

Attention Small White Creature:

Two things cannot be in the same place at the same time.

This is a mandate from God/Nature/Science, not me. I obey the laws but I do not create them. Physics is not a democracy. I was given no vote.

What this means for you is that if you shove your face in the food bowl, I cannot put your morning kibble in. Really. This is why you sometimes end up with kibble on your head, and this is why you have no business looking at me like that when you do.

Read up on basic principles of physics and you'll understand. And check out Pauli's Exclusion Principle while you're at it.

We'll try this again tomorrow.

That is all.

Carrot Bread Update

The carrot bread came out pretty good! It's a little dense, so I may want to tweak the recipe for next time. I got a little too happy with adding stuff to the batter, like an extra cup of shredded carrots, hazelnut flour, and some dried apples and cranberries. It's all good, but I think the bread would've been lighter with not so much stuff in it. It could've used more nutmeg too, and maybe some ginger.

I love experimenting in the kitchen!

Lackluster Run and New Adventures in Cooking

Sometimes I go out for a run and I’m just not feeling it. Today was one of those days.

I’m always sleepy in the morning and the feeling usually passes, so I didn’t worry about that. And although I’m having a lot of asthma troubles with all the ash pollen these days, my lungs usually figure things out after about half an hour, so I didn’t worry too much about that, either. It was a little colder out than I would’ve liked—I had to wear my fleece headband to keep my ears warm and my hands got cold and stiff. I wasn’t happy about that at all. But I figured those things would resolve themselves with time and I’d end up enjoying my run.

Nope.

But since I hadn’t been able to work out for two days and had been doing a lot of eating, I forced myself through it. I had mapped out a route that would take me on the newly-refurbished part of the bayou trail, to the zoo, to Rice University, and eventually to my bank before coming home. The bank was kind of a priority since my father sent me a check to help with my student loan repayments.

It was a clear sunny day with bright blue skies, perfect for running. Flowers were in bloom, robins bopping around in the grass, ospreys soaring over the bayou looking for fish. Nice. There was some kind of event going on at my university and there was a run going on at the Rice campus—race bibs, timing mat and everything. In all, it was a really nice morning to be out seeing people and other wildlife, but I just wasn’t feeling it for some reason.

Oh well. I got my check deposited. And I earned lots of yummy Indian food for lunch.

I got a package today from my father. He has always been one to give random little gifts that aren’t necessarily very expensive or significant of themselves, but always carry a warm “thinking of you” message. Today’s box contained dried chiles, pecans from his tree, some Easter candy, and an over-engineered water bottle that tracks your hydration throughout the day. I offered Dan the bottle, telling him maybe it would help him keep from getting kidney stones again!

Tonight I’m working on a new culinary experiment. See, I have a carrot problem. Tidbit loves carrot tops but she can’t have a lot of carrots because of the sugar content. And although I like carrots just fine, I get tired of them. How many ways can you cook a carrot? So tonight I’m making carrot bread, using a zucchini bread recipe and substituting grated carrots. Results should be available for tasting in about half an hour!

Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical, weights
Tuesday: 5.5 mile run
Wednesday: 35 minute spin (intervals)
Thursday: no workout
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 19 mile run

Bread

Yes, peeps, I made bread. Whole wheat bread. With yeast. And I did it not with a fancy bread maker but by mixing things, letting the dough rise and putting the whole thing in the oven. I even put a honey glaze on top.

It turned out all right. Tasted like...bread.

I'm starting to scare myself.

My New Love

Couscous.

Boil a little water, dump in the couscous, cover, remove from heat, walk away. Five minutes later, dinner! It’s almost as easy as microwaving a frozen dinner, but much cheaper and with none of the nasty plastics and preservatives! I added herbs, sliced grape tomatoes and crumbled feta to my couscous and it was filling and delicious! How on earth did I not make this discovery years ago?

I hope to have a fun Tidpic soon. Dan has been coming home for lunch lately and took some pictures of Pixel and Tidbit napping on the bed in the study. I need him to send me the pics so I can post them. It’s funny to see them hanging out together because whenever we’re around, Pix makes a big deal of being too cool to hang out with a rabbit. But when we catch him unawares, it’s clear that the real story is quite different!

Speaking of cats, there’s a new one hanging around—a tortoiseshell. There was already a black cat, who often sleeps on our front porch, but now there’s this other cat who hangs out on our back deck. I haven’t fed any of these cats, since they already look well-fed. It’s fun to see them around, even though sometimes they get to looking in the windows and then Pixel gets upset.

I ran about 17.5 miles this morning and wanted to do more but got a late start. Somehow I managed to re-set my alarm clock in my sleep! There was a lot going on around campus today, so I had to change my route almost from the beginning. I was going to do the “diminishing loops” route I tried last weekend, where each loop was shorter than the last. Good psychology! But instead I was stuck with same-distance loops. Lucky for me, my brain was up for it and I didn’t try to talk myself out of it. It’s funny how often it’s the mind that sabotages the body and not the other way around.

In other running news, it looks like the south-side trail along the bayou is essentially done, which means I’ll feel more confident about leaving the neighborhood and going up to Hermann Park. Since moving here in August, the south side where the mansions are has been under renovation, leaving only the north side open. The north side abuts some highly questionable apartments and although I’ve only twice seen people who gave me cause for worry, that’s been enough for me to not feel comfortable running that trail with regularity. The other side is much safer and I’m excited that it’s open again. I might even go check it out this week.

Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical, 10 minute row
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: 45 minute spin
Thursday: no workout; got stuck late at the office
Friday: 30 minute elliptical
Saturday: 17.5 mile run