...even when you're unemployed! Who knew?
Today was a bit drab, and I just didn't give 100 percent to make it any better. It was basically a day of just functioning (and sometimes not even that). But I knew I needed to blog because it was a goal to blog on a daily basis. Guess that doesn't include the weekends, haha.
This past weekend was nice and quiet, even though I have still been recovering from my minor back injury. At least I am now able to roll out of bed without writhing in agony or wincing in pain. There is only a little tightness that should work itself out as I work the exercise back into the daily routine.
Speaking of that exercise, I am starting to get a bit concerned about being able to complete my 5K in November. I'm still confident that I can do it, I just have to start the training again and stop putting it off. Otherwise, I definitely won't be able to do it.
So nothing really quirky today, other than I was mildly amused by the dog eating Swedish fish. Life has been fairly quiet.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
A change will do you good
I recently made a decision that had two possible results: "fly high" or "fall flat." Well, I feel like a crepe. Okay, maybe more like a ploye, but either way, I did not get the results I desired. But these decisions and their consequences are all part of life, or at least they've been part of mine. Each decision I've made has taught me more than the last. This time around I realized that I was truly more afraid of changing from my "hold steady" position than I was to "fall flat." In fact, I was not nearly as upset as I thought I'd be. Sure, I'm going through an adjustment period right now, but I don't think it has sunk in that I am more free now than I was two weeks ago. And if I hadn't moved forward, I might never be able to fly high. I guess I just don't have my wings yet, so in the meantime, I am impatiently waiting for the next choice to come.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
This Old House
This one should be short, but it won't be too sweet. Didn't exercise today, didn't eat very well, and overall, not a lot of highlights. I did, however, have the chance to spend an entire day with my brother (the one that concentrates on work so much, most of my friends and acquaintances forget about him, so I dub him Other Brother). We drove 3 hours down to a house to view the contents he and two other guys would be hauling away on Tuesday. It was the first time either of us had laid eyes on the place.
The house was in a nice wooded area in eastern Massachusetts, surrounded by many historical and immaculate houses. The outside looked okay, but inside it appeared someone had thrown some sort of tantrum. I'm not sure of the entire backstory, but to me it was like someone had left semi-abruptly.
There was not a lot that was salvageable, but there was some decent furniture my brother would be able to sell, in addition to a few other items. Plus I found what I believe to be a gusli, plus a book and a cigar box I really liked.
In addition, we had a vigorous search for a row boat that was said to exist, but we could not locate. We checked the house at least twice, including closets. What, you can't hide a row boat in a closet? Have you never read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe? I rest my case. Nevertheless, we did not find a row boat. I did find a schooner. It's 8 inches long, and after painting the pieces, I can probably put it together in about five minutes.
After a few phone calls, it was soon discovered that one of the painting crew members had taken it, as his boss was under the impression it was garbage with a slew of other items. They're bringing it back and putting it in the garage so my brother will be able to take that as well. As Rob put it, he was not going to give up what he called "the highlight of the whole deal here." To which I responded by spraying my mouthful of Mountain Dew on the inside of the passenger side window.
We headed back north, and fully enjoyed the experience of a brilliant traffic pattern - twice - before finding the highway we needed and just as we breathed a sigh of relief, we came to a halt in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Eventually five lanes merged to two, and traffic let up considerably once we passed a slightly-more-than-minor fender bender. After a brief stop in NH, it was smoooooth sailing to the home base.
The house was in a nice wooded area in eastern Massachusetts, surrounded by many historical and immaculate houses. The outside looked okay, but inside it appeared someone had thrown some sort of tantrum. I'm not sure of the entire backstory, but to me it was like someone had left semi-abruptly.
There was not a lot that was salvageable, but there was some decent furniture my brother would be able to sell, in addition to a few other items. Plus I found what I believe to be a gusli, plus a book and a cigar box I really liked.
In addition, we had a vigorous search for a row boat that was said to exist, but we could not locate. We checked the house at least twice, including closets. What, you can't hide a row boat in a closet? Have you never read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe? I rest my case. Nevertheless, we did not find a row boat. I did find a schooner. It's 8 inches long, and after painting the pieces, I can probably put it together in about five minutes.
After a few phone calls, it was soon discovered that one of the painting crew members had taken it, as his boss was under the impression it was garbage with a slew of other items. They're bringing it back and putting it in the garage so my brother will be able to take that as well. As Rob put it, he was not going to give up what he called "the highlight of the whole deal here." To which I responded by spraying my mouthful of Mountain Dew on the inside of the passenger side window.
We headed back north, and fully enjoyed the experience of a brilliant traffic pattern - twice - before finding the highway we needed and just as we breathed a sigh of relief, we came to a halt in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Eventually five lanes merged to two, and traffic let up considerably once we passed a slightly-more-than-minor fender bender. After a brief stop in NH, it was smoooooth sailing to the home base.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Back out just when I was back in
I hit a minor bump in the road today...got out of the car after riding around for a few hours - instant back pain. So a muscle has been aggravated, and boy is it painful! But enough bitching. I'll get through it because I've had to do it plenty of times before. However, I was only able to walk 1/4 of a mile on the treadmill, and did not get nearly enough exercise. There is a bit more urgency to the fitness routine as I officially signed up for the Loco Moose 5K. On November 12, I will either complete my first 5K or be out $16.
Diet-wise, today was not bad at all. Oatmeal, OJ, and a piece of string cheese for breakfast; chicken teriyaki sandwich and shared fried mushrooms and curly fries with Mom for lunch; cherries as a snack, and grilled pork chop, beet greens and mashed potatoes for dinner. I followed it up with a "generous serving" of light ice cream for dessert. Mom and I had originally planned to stop at Big G's for lunch and split a sandwich after running some errands, but we were about 20 minutes too late or 45 minutes too early as the line to order sandwiches was out the door with local youth. Major bummer. But the meal at Snack Shack did suffice.
I'm hoping my back won't be in too rough of shape tomorrow since I am riding with the other brother to Massachusetts. Should be a fun a day!
Diet-wise, today was not bad at all. Oatmeal, OJ, and a piece of string cheese for breakfast; chicken teriyaki sandwich and shared fried mushrooms and curly fries with Mom for lunch; cherries as a snack, and grilled pork chop, beet greens and mashed potatoes for dinner. I followed it up with a "generous serving" of light ice cream for dessert. Mom and I had originally planned to stop at Big G's for lunch and split a sandwich after running some errands, but we were about 20 minutes too late or 45 minutes too early as the line to order sandwiches was out the door with local youth. Major bummer. But the meal at Snack Shack did suffice.
I'm hoping my back won't be in too rough of shape tomorrow since I am riding with the other brother to Massachusetts. Should be a fun a day!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Another attempt to blog regularly
Well, I have a new project that I've decided to try and keep me blogging. I recently read the book Women Food and God by Geneen Roth. It was endorsed by Oprah, but I picked it up because the guidelines it listed intrigued me. Roth's writing is great, and she definitely hits on some truths in the food-weight loss. So what I am doing now is attempting a 15 week program in rereading the book, and doing workbook questions. Furthermore, I am getting back on the exercise track after taking time off to vacation. Yes, I needed a vacation from...not working.
Maybe I am getting too ambitious with all of the health and fitness goals, on top of writing, but right now, I'm feeling confident. I've got a great "Writing Reader" book to use, plus I might find some other prompts for my blog, should I find myself stuck. I've accepted the fact that not all blogs are going to be gold, or even silver, but maybe one will be platinum once in a while.
Maybe I am getting too ambitious with all of the health and fitness goals, on top of writing, but right now, I'm feeling confident. I've got a great "Writing Reader" book to use, plus I might find some other prompts for my blog, should I find myself stuck. I've accepted the fact that not all blogs are going to be gold, or even silver, but maybe one will be platinum once in a while.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
A real bread-making beauty
The smell of fresh, homemade bread will always remind me of our farmhouse kitchen, with Mom pulling loaves or rolls out of the oven, spilling them out on cooling racks, and then rubbing copious amounts of butter on them. It wasn't an everyday occurrence, but it was often enough for me to expect other mothers to have such culinary inclinations. My full appreciation of Mom's bread didn't happen until I was in college, and heard more and more praise for it, not to mention the fact that I didn't get to enjoy it as much.
A few years ago, after my grandmother passed away, my mother acquired her electric bread maker. These machines are about twice the size of toaster ovens, and have a loaf pan into which you pour ingredients, press a few buttons, and - voila! - three and a half hours later - fresh, piping hot, "homemade" bread. Ancient Egyptians would be stunned.
Now, the process sounds easy and hard to mess up. But I can tell you, it's not. My first attempt with it involved my mother telling me to "follow the directions" and "you'll find that ingredient here" or "that's on this shelf" until I had the ingredients in the pan, pan in the machine, and the programming completed. Then Dad comes along and says "that's kneading rough, you need to add some water" which he proceeded to do. Apparently, the bread maker is not suppose to jump and thump around the counter. Oh, and the dough should less of a brick and more of a soft lump.
Dad added his pitcher of water to the mix, and the machine completed its cycle. We pulled out the loaf, cut off some chunks, and ate them as all fresh bread should be consumed - slathered up with butter. Not bad, not bad at all. The outside seems a little chewy, but the middle resembles homemade, and is better than store-bought sliced breads. Mom encouraged me to make some more bread, since my first loaf was edible, and I now knew where all the ingredients were located.
So, I embarked on another loaf a couple days later. I pulled the clean loaf pan out of the dish drainer, added extra water to the recipe, added dry ingredients according to the recipe, and placed it into the machine. I set the program and started it up. Ten minutes later, I checked it through its peephole on the top to make sure it was kneading well. No mixing had occurred. Hm. I stopped the machine, saw that it had been locked in, and consulted the "troubleshooting" section of the recipe and guidebook for other possible causes. When I found "ingredients do not mix" the possible cause was "kneading paddles are not in pan." I looked over at the dish drainer and there were the two kneading paddles. Okay, that was definitely the problem. Solution? Well, according to the book "Always make sure kneading paddles are in pan before adding ingredients." Um, okay, great advice for the NEXT loaf. What do I do to remedy the CURRENT situation??
I poured the ingredients into a bowl, put in the kneading paddles, and returned the mix back to the bowl. I began to wonder if I even needed the machine at this point, considering how much of the mixing and kneading process had already happened. But I put the loaf pan back in, pressed start, and began to watch it like a hawk. It still was not moving very much so I opened the door again. I hadn't locked the pan into place. So many details! After closing the door for the third time, I started the machine and hoped it would create a loaf. At least a loaf that would meet my increasingly lowering expectations.
When it finished, I pulled the loaf out and set it on the cooling rack. As I did, I noticed something was amiss in the loaf pan. Actually, something was missing: one of the kneading paddles had become dislodged from the pan and cooked into the loaf. Well, there was only one way to find it. Luckily, after two slices I found the paddle very close to the bottom of the loaf.
Overall, the bread making apprenticeship continues with the machine. I've learned more appreciation for Mom's preferred method of making goodies. I've learned that bread-making is a long, intricate process. I've learned that patience is indeed a virtue in baking, especially when you are trying to get honey out of a bottle. Sweet fancy Moses, that stuff is slow.
A few years ago, after my grandmother passed away, my mother acquired her electric bread maker. These machines are about twice the size of toaster ovens, and have a loaf pan into which you pour ingredients, press a few buttons, and - voila! - three and a half hours later - fresh, piping hot, "homemade" bread. Ancient Egyptians would be stunned.
Now, the process sounds easy and hard to mess up. But I can tell you, it's not. My first attempt with it involved my mother telling me to "follow the directions" and "you'll find that ingredient here" or "that's on this shelf" until I had the ingredients in the pan, pan in the machine, and the programming completed. Then Dad comes along and says "that's kneading rough, you need to add some water" which he proceeded to do. Apparently, the bread maker is not suppose to jump and thump around the counter. Oh, and the dough should less of a brick and more of a soft lump.
Dad added his pitcher of water to the mix, and the machine completed its cycle. We pulled out the loaf, cut off some chunks, and ate them as all fresh bread should be consumed - slathered up with butter. Not bad, not bad at all. The outside seems a little chewy, but the middle resembles homemade, and is better than store-bought sliced breads. Mom encouraged me to make some more bread, since my first loaf was edible, and I now knew where all the ingredients were located.
So, I embarked on another loaf a couple days later. I pulled the clean loaf pan out of the dish drainer, added extra water to the recipe, added dry ingredients according to the recipe, and placed it into the machine. I set the program and started it up. Ten minutes later, I checked it through its peephole on the top to make sure it was kneading well. No mixing had occurred. Hm. I stopped the machine, saw that it had been locked in, and consulted the "troubleshooting" section of the recipe and guidebook for other possible causes. When I found "ingredients do not mix" the possible cause was "kneading paddles are not in pan." I looked over at the dish drainer and there were the two kneading paddles. Okay, that was definitely the problem. Solution? Well, according to the book "Always make sure kneading paddles are in pan before adding ingredients." Um, okay, great advice for the NEXT loaf. What do I do to remedy the CURRENT situation??
I poured the ingredients into a bowl, put in the kneading paddles, and returned the mix back to the bowl. I began to wonder if I even needed the machine at this point, considering how much of the mixing and kneading process had already happened. But I put the loaf pan back in, pressed start, and began to watch it like a hawk. It still was not moving very much so I opened the door again. I hadn't locked the pan into place. So many details! After closing the door for the third time, I started the machine and hoped it would create a loaf. At least a loaf that would meet my increasingly lowering expectations.
When it finished, I pulled the loaf out and set it on the cooling rack. As I did, I noticed something was amiss in the loaf pan. Actually, something was missing: one of the kneading paddles had become dislodged from the pan and cooked into the loaf. Well, there was only one way to find it. Luckily, after two slices I found the paddle very close to the bottom of the loaf.
Overall, the bread making apprenticeship continues with the machine. I've learned more appreciation for Mom's preferred method of making goodies. I've learned that bread-making is a long, intricate process. I've learned that patience is indeed a virtue in baking, especially when you are trying to get honey out of a bottle. Sweet fancy Moses, that stuff is slow.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Right time for write time
As the Unemployment has progressed, I've become more and more convinced how important it is for me to write. So in order to improve my writing in an attempt to make a living from it, I am doing more of it. That makes sense, right? So far, I've noticed that writing in the late afternoon seems to work quite well for sticking to my schedule of at least one hour a day (yet the time commitment is growing). I suspect this is because I try to work out in the morning, there are generally fewer interruptions, and television is least appealing at this time.
Now the risk of me writing more is a greater amount of crap coming forth through the keyboard. Hopefully the ratio of crap to gold in this blog is not high. If it is, may my readers - should I have any - have the decency to steer me away from the internet.
By the way, in case anyone is keeping track, I have not done workouts for a few days now. Okay, fine. It's been almost a week. But I will get back into my routine, and probably go off-road to give my joints a bit of a reprieve from the Paved Punisher, also known as the West Ridge Road.
Now the risk of me writing more is a greater amount of crap coming forth through the keyboard. Hopefully the ratio of crap to gold in this blog is not high. If it is, may my readers - should I have any - have the decency to steer me away from the internet.
By the way, in case anyone is keeping track, I have not done workouts for a few days now. Okay, fine. It's been almost a week. But I will get back into my routine, and probably go off-road to give my joints a bit of a reprieve from the Paved Punisher, also known as the West Ridge Road.
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