Dreams DO come true

I love to go in the temperature/humidity controlled rooms at the wine store and drool (figuratively) over all the expensive and lovely wine. I can spend a remarkable amount of time just looking at wines and I've always joked that being trapped in one of those rooms wouldn't be so bad.


Well, last night was the night. While at dinner with colleagues in Tucson at 58 Degrees and Holding, a couple of us took a quick tour of the storage room which has an attached private dining room. When we were done looking around, we discovered that the door had locked behind us. Every sitcom ever made has an episode where people get trapped--I had flashbacks to the Family Ties where Mallory and Skippy get stuck in the basement and end up wearing chipmunk suits. We didn't do the banging on the door thing. We didn't do the group bonding thing. We shrugged and went back to look more at the wine.


There are three reasons that I was happy that someone opened the door in a short time:

1. It was difficult to see what was stored in the cabinets--window shopping becomes less fun when you have to make an effort to see what's hiding in the window. I want to say something about the experience becoming a peep show, but I can't figure out how to do that gracefully.


2. All the cabinets were securely locked (see picture from the website below)


3. No corkscrew.

The evening's dinner was wonderful and the wine list offered a lot of variety and was very approachable. I learned that living a dream isn't always what it was cracked up to be and that I should always carry a corkscrew.

Funniest thing I've seen...

...for a while:


Heh. Funny kitty!

First Day

The first day of off-season found me very hungry and tired.
Tomorrow will be better.

Some of you will argue that yesterday was the first day of off season, but considering I was awake for a total of 8 hours yesterday, it doesn't count.

Bring on the off-season!

This weekend was the much-anticipated end to my fall triathlon season. I traveled with the Vandy Tri team to McCormick, South Carolina for an intermediate distance race. This is the first time since my sophomore year at Purdue that I've traveled with an organized club because the group trip thing about killed me. After getting over my team-travel complex, I will say that this is the most fun I've had traveling with a team. Ever.

Okay, on to the race...

Pre-race goals and plan: Relax on the swim, work on keeping my legs fresh for the bike and run. Spin on the bike, keep a comfortable cadence throughout. Run my ass off. Stay competitive. Don't give up.

It was nice to get to the race site early enough to not have to rush through setting up my transition area and getting a short warmup in. I was really glad for the extra time to put on my wetsuit. Wetsuit application is an art that I have not yet mastered. I am pleased to look around to see that others have as much trouble as I during this process (visualize the girl that has one of the guys on her team and jumps up and down while he holds the sides--entertaining). The Vandy team and I make our way down to the waterfront barefoot through a 45-degree pine-needle littered descent. Others doing the same are discussing the few places that such a spectacle can be beheld, that is, where else could you find hundreds of people walking through a forest, barefoot and in wetsuits. We approach the waterfront and have to fight through the crowd to make it to the water in time to do a short warmup and get out before the first wave starts.

The collegiate wave is the second group to go. It's a mass start with men and women. I am pushed to the front by Craig who just smiles and tells me that that's where I need to be. I shrug and go for it. It was the most physical swim I've ever had. The first third, I was mostly sandwiched in a group about six-across, all trying to get position. Somewhere in this jostling, I am smacked in the head repeatedly by some guy who obviously doesn't understand the etiquette and I decide that I don't want a concussion and deliver a sharp elbow to his ribs. He didn't bother me much after that. About this time, I realize that I'm expending much more energy than I should and I try to maneuver to the edge of the group and relax. Somewhere along the way in (last 1/3), I figure out that I've been navigating to the wrong buoy and have to alter my course. I don't know if I lost time on that or not. I'd love to see the path I swam.

When I stand up on shore, I realize what I have just done to my legs and eye the 45-degree slope with much hesitation. I start up the hill, pass a guy, am hoisted by another couple guys up a little ledge, start running towards the transition area, decide that running longer will result in my death, regroup, walk a bit, then jog the rest of the way. Fortunately, the wetsuit didn't hamper T1 much and I head out on the bike.

The first six miles on the bike were miserable. I keep thinking about my goal to spin my way through the bike to save my legs for the run. I am disappointed that I am not able to do so. My stomach briefly thinks about rebelling, my brain was strong enough at this point to override the stomach's thoughts. I found myself struggling through any sort of an incline and even found it difficult to gain speed on the downhills. I managed to pass two women in those early miles. I found out later that, at this point, I was leading the female collegiate race!! It didn't last long. A guy passed me, cheering on the Vandy women. I asked him if they were close. He said no. He was lying. Maria passed me at mile 8.5. I had hoped to hold her off until at least mile 10. Around mile 10, I started to feel better, but I honestly don't remember much about the rest of the ride. I was hurting, I was being passed by men from the next wave, I was considering taking a DNF. However, I was only passed by one more collegiate female. I took this as a good sign.

T2 felt lightening fast. I dropped the bike and helmet, changed shoes, grabbed the hat and race belt and I was out. My time doesn't reflect the speediness that I felt, but it may be progress.

The run: I mentally divided the run into three two-mile sections. The first section, I was finding my legs and they were happy that I wasn't biking any longer. They had not yet discovered what I was going to be asking them to do for the next 4-6 miles, which was to run up and down evil, evil hills. The second two miles, my legs caught on to the game and started rebelling. My brain was no longer strong enough to convince any part of me that what I was doing was a good idea. I see Maria, try to cheer her on, Mac catches me shortly after the turn around. I wave him on, tell him to kick some butt. I don't see Craig and I'm confused. My watch tells me that I'm keeping a good pace. The last two miles were a struggle. My legs decided that they were very angry and started to cramp, my brain decides that I don't want to lose any more spots (I was passed by three collegiate women during the run) and I dig in and try to disconnect all reality from what I am doing. The last hill, a killer, was taken with the idea that I wouldn't look at the top, just put one foot in front of the other. Fortunately, the finish was just over the hill and I didn't have to sprint when I got there. Mac was there rooting me on, which was fantastic because I might have walked in otherwise.

In all, the race was a success. I would have killed for a banana bag at the end. The good news is that I can't imagine making up time on the course. There would have been major trade offs for any changes. I think I went as smart as I could have.

I am so ready for the off-season!

Texas as Cat

Texas being slowly introduced into the world of Halloween. First it's a hat with a cat face, then they have you dressed in a sack and call you a pumpkin, then...a moose-huntin' senator?

Granny Annie smiles knowingly.

Belmont Debate

I was going to do mile repeats tonight, but with all the excitement over at Belmont, I figured that running around that area would be more interesting. I took a quick run around Vandy, then around Peabody, then over to Belmont.

I was surprised at how close I could get to the building. There were lots of security patrols. They were friendly and didn't seem overwhelmed. Everyone was being very polite and behaving like they were being monitored by the police until I tried to walk upstream through a march for McCain where people just looked forward and ignored that anything was in front of them. I'm still a little baffled about that.

There was a marked difference between the McCain and Obama supporters. First, the Obama supporters were in groups of 5 or 6 with a mix of printed and handmade signs while the McCain supporters were either walking alone or in the march with handmade signs. I didn't see a pre-printed McCain sign. Second, the Obama supporters were smiling and cheering for other supporters. The McCain supporters were mostly silent--even in the march. Those who were talking were talking at a conversational level to other McCain supporters. Finally, I walked down an alley where vendors could buy t-shirts and other election-related trinkets. The majority of these were anti-Obama rather than pro-McCain or pro-Obama. It was really interesting.

I may have picked the Republican alley to wander around, but I didn't see another place to go. I was also wandering about an hour and a half before the debate was starting. These things may have skewed my experience, but it was at least entertaining to be around all the excitement, until I remembered that I'm a recluse and avoid people and headed home.

As a side note, I evidently wasn't the only person that thought that my evening jog around the area seemed like a good excuse to show up on site. There were lots and lots of people out in running clothes. I caught the eye of at least one runner and received a knowing nod.

Side effects of snobbery

I've learned through my wine tasting habit that when identifying smells, it's often helpful to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind because there's often a good descriptor in that first impulse and if you think too long, that smell/concept will escape you. However, sometimes it's better to think about why you had that impulse before you speak and identify the cause of the impulse.

During the long ride today, we were sampling some energy products. I picked one, smelled it, and exclaimed, "Wow, it smells like a tanning bed!" The flavor was piña colada, which I didn't know before hand, so it sorta makes sense. Sorta.

It ended up tasting okay. Not great, but okay.

A (very) small plague of grasshoppers

As I was coming home from the grocery this evening with 5 heavy grocery bags in hand, I was attacked by a grasshopper as I was trying to get into my apartment building. He was sitting just outside the door and hopped to my bag, then off the bag, onto the door. I started to open the door while he was sitting there, but somehow, from the door, he went around, in front of my face to the brick facade just at eye level. He then jumped back down to the ground, ready to start again. He was very aggressive. I wonder what they feed the grasshoppers around here...

Boot Camp -- Final Day

Yesterday was the last day of triathlon boot camp. It was a choose-your-own-adventure bike ride. We had options for 28, 40, 56, 80, and 95 mile loops. You may assume that I'm crazy enough to do one of the long rides. You would be...wrong. I managed the 40 and even opted out of a "big climb" option. What this means is that boot camp successfully kicked my butt.

Today was a much needed rest day.

Boot Camp Update

It's almost October. I should not need sunscreen. However, I should also not be out three hours longer than I planned.

The triathlon boot camp session was great with some running form analysis. I hadn't planned to do the 22 mile ride to the marina, but, as they say, "everyone else was doing it." So I did. We did about a 1.5 mile swim, give or take, and then faced the ride back. It was a really nice day with perfect weather. I was really surprised at the amount of sun I got (and not necessarily in a good way). But I felt good the whole time and was really ready for some food and a nap when I got home.

Another lesson learned--the Power Bar Berry Blast Fruit Smoothie is really not bad when you're tired and need some energy. It tastes like the old Flintstone's vitamins at other times. The vanilla Power Bar goos always taste like cake batter. I still can't decide if that's good or bad.

Boot Camp

This weekend is triathlon boot camp. This evidently means that the tri club exercises more than usual. In large groups.

Tonight, this involved about 15 of us running around downtown Nashville drawing odd looks from the tourists. Great fun!

The Simpsons

The Simpsons have been on for 2/3 of my life.
That is all.

Easy week

I've been taking it easy this week--trying to let my body catch up on some rest, but it seems that the next few weeks should be good building weeks leading up to the last race of the season. I'm pretty excited.

I took a short trip (yesterday and today) to give a talk on the stuff I've presented at the last few conferences I've attended to a small group of people that have a lot of experience in the area. In the meantime, I got to visit with Kennet and his beautiful family. I even braved (and enjoyed) Mexican food for the evening (Mexican food--not something I've ever been really attached to, and I've had lots of mediocre to bad experiences).

Back to the grind tomorrow.

Shortage

Friday morning, before I left for Indiana this weekend, I heard there was a gas shortage in Middle Tennessee. I didn't think much about it because I had just under a half-tank of gas. However, I went for a run and started looking for an open station, I started to get worried. I passed 6 gas stations around my apartment and none had gas.

Jeremy did some searching and found that it was a Middle Tennessee problem and told me that if I could make it to Kentucky, I could find gas. I had just over a quarter tank which I conservatively estimated to give me a range of 60 miles. I kept an eye on the gauge and started taking every exit once I got out of Nashville. I didn't use air conditioning and I drove slow and got further than I expected before I decided that I needed to make a decision to keep going or go back to Nashville. Fortunately, a guy was filling his tank with a portable container and I was able to ask him how far away he went to find his prize. It was just 5 miles up the road in Kentucky.

So after waiting in line for about a half hour, I made it to Indiana safely with plenty of gas to spare. People waiting in line were generally very polite and patient--unusual for such circumstances. Also unusual is that the gas price wasn't gouged. I paid less than what was being charged in Indiana.

I don't know what the current gas situation in Nashville is. Rumors say that deliveries are on the way and that they aren't. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but the grocery stocks were low this evening when I went.

Needless to say, I'll be walking and biking when and where I can.

Realization

I didn't watch Beverly Hills 90210 the first time around, yet I was swamped with the overwhelming marketing of the show and tabloid exposure of the actors. I appropriately swooned at pictures of the cast. The guys were super-cool and the girls were beautiful--not just beautiful, but unattainably beautiful.

Fast-forward to the second round of 90210, which I refuse to watch on premise. Again, the cast, well, they're all beautiful. Also unattainably so, but in a different way. Jezebel posted these pictures and I was shocked at how "beauty" has changed in a relatively short time. Does the new cast look healthy? Ack!

And what happened to jeans and t-shirts??

Any day...

Any day with beautiful weather, a good run, and a giant cupcake cake is a good day.

**Note: not the actual cake, but it looked a lot like it...mmm...tons of icing and not so much cake. I should mention that the image is from Capital Cupcakes.

Missing Moosie

I'm not entirely sure when my cat turned into a pinhead, but it seems that he has. It doesn't stop me from missing him and his glorious belly.

Music City Tri Race Report

The short version: I've never been so miserable on a swim, a bike, or a run. Combine the three and you have a recipe for a really tired and achy Sarah.


The long version: The leftovers from Hurricane Ike came through Nashville in the last 24 hours. There were wind gusts for 35-40 mph. The lake was extremely choppy with 2-4 foot waves and the race was not wetsuit-legal. I saw this as a bonus for me, being the strong swimmer and all, and I was eager to get going. It turns out that the swim was really difficult. It was easily the worst conditions I've swam in. I've been in bigger waves, but they were in the ocean and came with some regularity so you could get a rhythm. There were two turn-around buoys. When I reached the first one, I looked up and it was further away than I expected, like I had swam past it. I looked up again and noticed it was even further away and I realized that it had become loose. About then, I noticed the mass of people behind me make the turn--their race just got cut really short. I kept swimming and fighting the water and finally managed to get close enough to shore that walking was going to be more effective and they announce that the swim was cancelled due to the runaway buoy. The good news is that, according to a team member on the beach, I finished with the first group of girls in the collegiate wave. The bad news is that I used a lot of energy to do so and all the work was for nothing.


The race was then changed to a bike-run with a swim transition start. We waited in the wind cooling off for about 30-45 minutes before starting. The bike was really windy and the headwinds and crosswinds were killer. My bike would swerve 2-3 feet with the gusts. I questioned my sanity while crossing the two bridges. Because of the mass start, most of the ride was really congested and I saw several wrecks on hills where people were passing 3-4 abreast. Hill wrecks are dangerous because of the potential for traffic coming over the top. Scary stuff. I also saw more flats on this course than I have in my years of racing combined. Fortunately, I managed to avoid disaster, but yet again, used much more energy than usual for that distance and felt the consequences in the run.


There's not a lot to say about the run. I think the course would have been a ton of fun if I wasn't beat going into it, but I was beat and it was still really windy (and felt like it was getting stronger). When the wind would whip up, it was strong enough to stir up debris and I was very happy for my sunglasses. My goal for the run was to not lose too many places, but keep comfortable. I'm not sure I managed either.


It was a really tough race. I don't know where I finished and, honestly, I'm not that concerned with it. Today is to be chalked up to a mental-toughness day. I'm just happy I finished the race.

List

I had a whole list of things that I wanted to get done today.
I managed very, very few.
I think I underestimated the amount of time and effort involved in "rest and prep for race".

Early morning tomorrow.

Extremes in Weather Reporting

First, the NOAA warning for Hurricane Ike - Harrison County

NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE AFFECTED BY THE STORM SURGE...AND POSSIBLY ENTIRE COASTAL COMMUNITIES... WILL BE INUNDATED DURING THE PERIOD OF PEAK STORM TIDE. PERSONS NOT HEEDING EVACUATION ORDERS IN SINGLE FAMILY ONE OR TWO STORY HOMES MAY FACE CERTAIN DEATH. MANY RESIDENCES OF AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION DIRECTLY ON THE COAST WILL BE DESTROYED. WIDESPREAD AND DEVASTATING PERSONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE IS LIKELY ELSEWHERE. VEHICLES LEFT BEHIND WILL LIKELY BE SWEPT AWAY. NUMEROUS ROADS WILL BE SWAMPED...SOME MAY BE WASHED AWAY BY THE WATER. ENTIRE FLOOD PRONE COASTAL COMMUNITIES WILL BE CUTOFF. WATER LEVELS MAY EXCEED 9 FEET FOR MORE THAN A MILE INLAND. COASTAL RESIDENTS IN MULTI-STORY FACILITIES RISK BEING CUTOFF. CONDITIONS WILL BE WORSENED BY BATTERING WAVES CLOSER TO THE COAST. SUCH WAVES WILL EXACERBATE PROPERTY DAMAGE...WITH MASSIVE DESTRUCTION OF HOMES...INCLUDING THOSE OF BLOCK CONSTRUCTION. DAMAGE FROM BEACH EROSION COULD TAKE YEARS TO REPAIR.

Scary. I really hope the best for all.

On the other hand, sometimes fears get out of hand and need to be quelled by the media. Fort Collins seems to be on top of this with the following headline and equally entertaining article:

"Hurricane Ike expected to have little impact in Fort Collins; weather set to improve next week"

Fantastic! We're thrilled for you, Colorado!

Signs from the Locker Room

No shaving in the sauna or steam rooms

Improvement

I put the workout bar on the left so I wouldn't constantly be blogging about my workouts and have people say, "I really like your blog. It sounds just like you, but you only talk about your workouts. You should blog about other things." So, I've been trying to not bore the public with workout details unless it's really necessary. It's necessary tonight.

I did the normal Strider's run, but ended up running most of it by myself because the others were doing 8 miles. I tried to stay relaxed and smooth and when it felt like I was being squeezed about the chest, I tried a visualization technique--I pictured a giant fireplace bellows puffing my lungs full of air. It worked! I don't know if it was visualization or the fact that I wasn't yapping away at someone while I was running, but I finished the course 4.5 minutes faster than I did the last two weeks. Yea!!

It doesn't change my running catchphrase:

I'm a puffin'!

Or my running mascot:

Photo from Wikipedia Atlantic Puffin photos.

Welcome Back!

Please, please, please make your comeback as open and graceful as Dara...

...and kick some ass.

Fame

A few outstanding Olympians are still in the news nearly a month after the games ended. This means that some less popular sports are getting a bit more time in the spotlight, which is a good thing. The thing that irks me is that it seems that the only way our society knows to show appreciation to people is by putting them on TV. This would be fantastic if it was simply interviews and endorsements, but scripted television gets hokey and seems to be an option for at least one athlete (I put SNL and The Simpsons in a slightly different category). It would also be nice to see endorsements from these athletes at some point between Olympic games.

Why can't we let these people go about their training and outstanding athletic endeavors and keep them in the news and spotlight with better coverage of these sports in non-Olympic years rather than let them slip into obscurity only to be rediscovered four years later? I'd much rather watch fencing, track and field, swimming, water polo, or even equestrian events than baseball anytime.

I'll try anything once...

The Omnivore's Hundred, which I first found via Fark, which linked to Foodproof, which has descriptions of all the items, making for a quick reference for things I had no idea what they were. I finally found it posted on Daily Pie and I thought I'd continue the fun.

"Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results."

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whiskey from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Quarterbacks!

My favorite quarterback, Drew Brees won his opening game against Tampa Bay today. Yay!

Kyle Orton, another Purdue alum, started for Chicago. Unfortunately, they're playing the Colts, so I have to root against him.

Go Boilers!!

Race Report -- Old Hickory

I did the Old Hickory Sprint Triathlon this weekend. The format for this race is a bit different from other tris because the swim is far away from the transition area and they split up the run into two 1.5 mile runs, so the order is swim, run, bike, run. It's actually an advantage for me because of my relatively poor running abilities. The weather was great for a race--overcast and not too hot. I had picked up my packet the night before the race so I knew were to go and I didn't have to get there as early and fight with a line at check-in. I felt really relaxed (after getting to the race--I'm always a little anxious on the way).

The swim start was time-trial style where one person starts at a time based on a seeding time provided by the racer. It's been a while since I've done a 400 yd open water swim and I was conservative when I registered and ended up starting around the middle of the pack. It was kinda nice to be able to watch others start and to not have the mass of people to fight through (though that has its perks!). The water was warm and I really felt good and passed a bunch of people. Jeremy was surprised to see me out when I got out.

I wish I had taken a towel to the swim-run transition.

The first run was uneventful except for the fact that I passed someone in my age group (and a few others), but yes, someone in my age group--I think that's a first for me!!

The bike was really good. I think I was passed by two guys--one of them from Vandy (Go Nick!!!). I alternated between trying relax and spin and being really competitive and passing folks. I was trying to remember that I still had a run but my logic was that it was a really short run and I could survive that. There were a couple momentum-killer hills and I managed on most of them to pick a good gear that didn't involve too much work on my part. It seems like most of the course was uphill, but I know that can't be the case. In the last two miles, I had a little battle with a 50-something guy. He really didn't want me to pass him. I finally managed to make my move on a little roller hill. Fun!

On the last run, one of my teammates was letting me know where others were on the course. It was nice to think that I could still chase people down and I took off with that in mind. Unfortunately, my lungs had almost had it. I sounded like the Little Engine That Might (Keel Over at any Time). I managed to pass a few women, though none in my age group, and finish strong. Jeremy and others were supporting me in the last quarter mile, giving me a little boost to finish.

Overall, it was a fun race and great to be out with the Vandy team again.

Back to it next week!

Happy Birthday Auntie Alex!

You Rock!

heh.

Book Review

I recently listened to Sarah Vowell's The Partly Cloudy Patriot on tape (MP3, rather). She manages to convey the importance of events and put into perspective why it is that we preserve historical locations and tolerate their innate campiness. Her descriptions of these locations almost make me want to go on pilgrimages as I did with the family years ago. I'm sure I could better tolerate the drive from Indiana to Yellowstone now than then. Yellowstone was the trip where I learned to sleep in the car.

So, remember all those bizarre facts the 8th grade history editors put in the preface of the book to make pre-teens think they wanted to learn about history?

"WTF? There are giant lobsters in Massachusetts Bay? They were how big? OMG! I think I want to learn about history!"

Do you remember getting to the page about the giant lobsters at the end of the year and not even noticing that there were giant lobsters discussed with all the really terrible writing that was going on that you quit reading months before? Yeah. I do. I actually marked the page, finally figured out why, and frankly, didn't give a rats ass.

What Sarah Vowell does in this book is provide a long, long string of those interesting tidbits into a story where you're distracted from the fact that you're learning something and just enjoying the narrative. It doesn't hurt that she has people like Conan O'Brien and Seth Green helping with the reading. It's definitely worth a read if you get a chance though I would recommend the audiobook over the text version for the same reason that I will only read David Sedaris on audiobook.

The Hermitage

Reminiscent of vacations of yore, while my family was visiting Nashville this weekend, we went to visit Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage. This trip was slightly different from the old vacations though--my sister and I had a say in where we visited. I've always been a little fascinated with General Jackson. As described in history class, his life seemed like a breath of fresh air after the stuffy profiles of the previous presidents. Maybe 'fresh air' isn't the right phrase, given his life, but at least the (woefully incorrect) description of the homesteading duellist was enough to catch the attention of a second-grader already disinterested in history.


Back to vacations: I remember hours of trudging around various historical sites as a child, bored, sunburnt, and tired. I remember later trips where we did more trudging around and I, as a teenager, was bored, sunburnt, tired, and absolutely horrified at the thought of being seen with my parents at a historical site. For this visit, I was just tired from walking around so much, but at least interested in the story being told.


The visit was good, in general. The price of admission gets you in to see a short film about Andrew Jackson's life and the land, an audio-guided tour complete with headsets, and free reign to walk around on the grounds and listen to the audio tour until your legs fall off or you start dancing to the questionable soundtrack of the audio tour. There's a lot to see and there's been considerable effort in preserving the home.


There are a number of pet peeves that I encountered during the visit:

1. Historical films neglecting to acknowledge the fact that the subject is dead by pretending that the film was made during the time period being discussed rather than 1983.
2. A glossing over of unpleasantness (in this case, the hardships of the slaves owned by Jackson--at least they acknowledged that he owned slaves).
3. Modern conveniences (air conditioning, electricity) installed in historical sites--after they were considered a historical locations.
4. No water conveniently available for visitors and vending machines charging $2 for a bottle of water. Unacceptable.
5. Period costumes. Wear matching polo shirts and ditch the air conditioning. Seriously.

The people were very friendly and very knowledgeable. While a little campy, the audio tour offered flexibility that couldn't be met with a guided tour. I got to cuddle with Texas while he flirted with the ladies in the historical costumes. I got to make/hear comments to/from Mom and Jenn about poor decorating choices made a long, long time ago. Mostly, I got to spend time with the family and I was very content (and tired) at the end of the day.

Texas in Tennessee

Texas and his mom and grandparents visited me this weekend. I don't think he really got a flavor of the city because he's still enjoying the flavor of his toes too much. We really tried to wear him out and mostly succeeded in wearing ourselves out. I was really happy to get some auntie time with him. We had lots of cuddles and noms. We also missed the other aunties very much!

Cuddles.

Noms.

Course Preview

Early this morning, I got the chance to preview the Music City Triathlon bike and run courses. It was a beautiful day. I've never bothered to preview a course before, but I'm really glad I did. There are a couple tricky hills on the bike that will be total momentum killers if they're not approached correctly. Also, I managed to miss a turn. I realized it just as I passed it, but there's a right turn in the middle of a descent. You come up over a not-small hill and you sit down in your drops and you see the bottom of the hill and fly by the turn. I'm sure they'll have people there on race day, but of the people that saw ride by there today, we all missed the turn.

The run is going to be tough. There are some long hills that will be uncomfortable. I felt pretty good today, but I didn't do the whole run and the run wasn't in order. I may pop out to the run site again before the race.

Changes

I'm in the process of making some tweaks to my blog. I've added a "Workouts" column to the left side, but I'm not sure if it's the most practical. I'll see how the list behaves after I reach the limit of the queue. What I'd really like is a rolling Sunday-Saturday gadget with archiving capabilities and a countdown to my next race.

Any smartypants out there got something like this?
Eh?

More Noms

Proud Auntie nomming Texas. Must. Share. Cuteness.
If we aunties do our jobs right, the boy won't have ears or toes left.

Dingbat

I've had a day full of dingbat moments.

1. I heated some water for my tea this morning and started to pour it over my already prepared cold cereal. I could chalk this up to lack of caffeine. I may still do that.
2. Some very poor driving decisions were made, mostly having to do with stop signs (not lights). Fortunately none of these resulted in anything resembling an accident or near-accident. I just realized about three times that I would have yelled and thrown hand gestures at someone who did the same things to me. Again, caffeine could be to blame. High oil prices could also be to blame.
3. While I suppose this dingbat moment happened when I was packing for the week, I just realized today that I left my running shoes behind in TN. I have a race this weekend and thought I had all the things I needed for that. Guess not.

Over my ringing earbuds

I was in an elevator the other day with my Bob Edwards show talking in my ears. I was using my earbuds. A guy got on the elevator and I could hear the music from his earbuds over the stuff I was listening to. I couldn't believe it.

A few floors later, another guy hopped on the elevator. He smelled of the back of the smoking room at the airport, where the glass has yellowed.

Fortunately, these guys weren't going to where I was going.

To complete the trilogy of extremes, the room I sat in for the next hour was frigid. Three out of five senses abused. Sigh.

Beer and Quiet

Why is it so difficult for people in semi-crowded places, such as a mall or an airport, to walk in a straight, predictable line?

I made my first trip (for shopping) to the big outlet mall nearby, Opry Mills. It's giant and obnoxious and right next door to the Grand Ole Opry. So, on your way to see the show, you go shopping and eat at the mall!! What could be more fun and American?

There wasn't an Opry show today but this was tax-free weekend in Tennessee so everyone and their many, many children were out in force, walking random lines through the mall and getting in my way.

I survived the experience, found a few things I needed and as a reward, I decided to have some ice cream. I stood in line at the ice cream place for about a minute before I gave up and went home where my reward was beer. And quiet. I think I chose wisely.

Repercussions of Extra Effort

After the extra-effort push-up marathon on Monday, the inability to lift my arms over my head became the inability to lift my arms by Wednesday. This made driving difficult but not impossible.

Yesterday, I got to visit with Texas and Ezra. I hadn't seen Ezra for a long time and we got some snuggles in as well as a short game of chase so I could see him run (hilarious and adorable!). During snuggles, he decided he was done with the snuggles and seemed to instinctively know that my arms and pecs were unhappy and when he was wiggling around manged to put all his weight on those areas. Owww! It was worth it though.

Running, Bunnies, and a Little Extra Effort

Jill decided that we hadn't been running enough in the last couple days and volunteered us to go on a group run with a bunch of med students. This was fine, it was only 4 miles and a little later in the day than what we had been running. My car said it was 96 out, but I don't think it was that warm. The group said they were slow. After the first mile at an 8 minute pace, Jill and I decided that they were giant sandbaggers and we took the rest of the route at our own pace. Three miles into the all-uphill extravaganza, we finally spotted the Athlete's House and their life-saving cooler of water out for runners like us. We took a few sips and walked for a bit, then finally made it back to the start. It was a tough run, but good. When we were getting ready to grab some water, the organizer mentioned the second part of the workout. Jill looked stunned, so did I.

We grabbed some water, we admired the little Scotty dog, then we quickly stopped admiring the little Scotty dog because he was trying to eat some bunnies. He had one in his mouth when the organizer yelled for help and we all went to corral the little bunnies (about the size of the bunnies in the picture below, which I stole from a baby bunny blog). We then tried to put the bunnies somewhere safe. They were very cute and not very happy. One was very wet from being in the dog's mouth, but seemed okay otherwise.

So, yeah, after we got over the cuteness and got the bunnies to safety, it was time to do push ups. Two sets of fifty. Yikes. I haven't abused my arms in that way for a long, long time. I took only a moment to decide that girlie push ups were going to be okay 'cuz 100 push ups is a lot and I haven't done more than 15 at a time since high school. I didn't quite make it through in two sets of 50, but I did manage to bang out 100 push ups overall. Now, I can't lift my arms above my head. We'll see how long that lasts.

Ladybug in Space

Also trapped on my camera--posted for another auntie I know:

Gratuitous Squishy Baby Picture

The picture is over a month old, but it's been trapped on my camera. It's entirely too cute to not post.

Dutch Apple Pie Flambé

My first attempt at a Dutch Apple Pie went a little awry. Everything went really well up until the crust, which split and cracked during it's pre-bake. I asked Jeremy if I should re-make the crust and finish the pie later or just use the pie crust as it was. We (I) decided that the crust was okay as it was and I evidently angered the pie gods.

When the first full bake cycle was done, the crumb topping hadn't browned as nicely as I would have liked and Jeremy suggested that I put it under the broiler. This seemed like a good idea. I set the timer for 3 minutes and continued my conversation. About a minute and a half into the time, I smelled something odd and decided that I should check the pie.

The pie was on fire.

I pulled it out of the oven and looked at it for a minute, then blew the flames out. I'm pretty sure that huffing and puffing is not in the manual for effectively putting out kitchen fires, but it quickly became Plan A and fortunately worked. Plan B involved moving the pie to the sink and dousing it with water.

The good thing about Plan A is that it left the pie mostly in tact. If you think of the crumb topping as a disposable outer shell, as you would with salt crusts, it's still a tasty pie. It's not going to win any beauty contests, but it will do.

Two years, two fires in my kitchen. I've now set a precedent.

Once in a lifetime

I ran the short loop at Percy Warner Park. All paved road, just over 5 miles. It was about as cool as Nashville gets at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon (read: low 80s) and the whole trail was shaded. It had rained earlier and added to the humidity, but it really wasn't bad. The longest run I've done in a while is 20-30 minutes, so after about 45 minutes of straight running, I took a 5 minute walk and we were done in less than an hour. It's not a fast time, but the hills are nothing to sneeze at. The first mile is uphill.

Jill has run this route a lot and she helped push me through the whole thing, but in the first quarter-mile she says, "You're going to hate me before this is over." I don't disagree, but keep going. While we're on the same hill, she says, "We're moving to part three of three!" as we turning a corner. I smile and think, "thankgod." Then I look up and think, "shit" and make some sort of noise that made Jill laugh.

Speaking of shit, about 3/5 of the way through, I need a pit stop and there was a convenient port-a-pot. I'm always apprehensive about park port-a-pots as they're usually neglected. However, in a once-in-a-lifetime chance, I believe I was the first person to use this one since it had been cleaned/replaced or whatever they do. There was a fresh roll of TP on the seat (which was down) and all but one of the other rolls were still wrapped. It smelled of urinal mint, fresh out of the package (as opposed to urine-covered urinal mint). The floor was clean and dry. The only thing that was missing was the hand cleaner dispenser. Sigh. I suppose I can't have everything.

Anyway, the run turned out to be really nice. Now, I'm off to sleep, only to get up in the morning for a 35 mile bike ride. Yea!

NomNom

Some tozies that Auntie Sarah can't wait to nom!

mmm...nomnom...

Argument

I'm still sticking to the workout thing this week. We'll see how next week goes. Today was the second straight day of running and the second straight day of realizing that my body does not like it when I run.

We've had arguments, my body and I, on long runs (and not so long runs) about who's idea the running thing was and how long we're going to stick with it. My lungs and legs are a convincing duo that try to trick my mind into thinking that they are going to collapse at any moment. My brain, on the other hand, tells them that it's going to be okay and we can keep going if we all work together. Just when I think I've won, my legs trip on something and we all have to walk for a bit. During the walk, I hear my lungs and legs laughing under their breath.

Update

Not that I'm promising any sort of posting regularity, but it seems that things have calmed down a bit for now. I got back from my big summer conference on Saturday, slept most of the day on Sunday, and tried (somewhat successfully) to face the world like a normal person today.

I decided that it was time to get back to regular workouts to prepare for the fall triathlon season. I took a swim -- 4000 yards in 8 sets of 500, then went for Johnny's spin class, which nearly killed me. I currently feel like I've been hit by a train, but happy.

Other good things: I got a letter from Granny Roop today, I've received lots of good feedback from the conference, and I had a good dinner (if a little late).

Dinner was "Easy Summer Casserole" from the Essential Vegetarian Cookbook by Diana Shaw. It consisted of layers of eggplant, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, hard boiled eggs, and a crumb topping that had bread crumbs, black olives, basil, parsley, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and more garlic. I wasn't quite sold on the eggs, but they added a nice flavor (and protein).

Teh Cute

I dare you to not click on this video. I saw it on Jezebel who linked to Cute Overload who linked to YouTube. LinkieLinkieLinkie!
Enjoy!

Attention Span

I played a lot of some Mario-based racing game when I was at Purdue over the summer of '97. I can't remember what version of what system or what whatever things were, but there was a level that was described as "difficult", not because of the high technical level, or the irritating cheat-for-computer mode, but because the track was long and people (especially children, evidently) would have a hard time keeping their concentration for the entire race. I thought the concept was really funny.

Now, the Iphone has a "productivity application" that is meant to improve your concentration. The concept? Hold down the button as long as you can. Lifehacker posted about it. Click on the screenshot link....if you can remember to do so when you get there.

First

Today, I trimmed a couple bothersome nails with an X-acto knife.
That is all. For now.

Speaking of...

Speaking of food, you know those claw games you see in grocery and discount stores where you use a mechanical claw to try to nab a stuffed animal? They have them for lobsters now. The lobster claw game may be coming to a store near you.

Pet store? Bait shop? Grocery store?
You pick.



The video was actually posted a year ago, so it may be old news to some of y'all.

Cupcakes (finally)

I said a while ago that I would be making cupcakes. I finally managed to do so after my last final of the semester--a result of therapeutic baking. I made Three-vanilla cupcakes, which I found on Tastespotting. The three vanillas were vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, and vanilla sugar (made from storing sugar with a vanilla bean for a week). The recipe is "woefully accurate" in that it makes exactly 20 cupcakes. This was all the batter I had left to lick from the bowl:

The naked cupcakes turned out pretty:It seemed almost a shame to cover them up, but the final outcome was tasty, but didn't match the gorgeous photos from the recipe. I needed a different piping tool and firmer frosting. The cupcakes were transported to Indiana in a hacked-up cereal box, which I thought was fairly clever. I should have remembered to pick up a pastry box from the grocery, but I didn't.

New Addition

On May 6, we welcomed Texas into the world.

He was 8 lb., 3 oz. and 20.5 inches tall.

He's beautiful and perfect. Proof below:

And perhaps my favorite:

The little guy has no idea what he got himself into.

Summary

In the last couple days I've managed to:

• Make a full dinner (complete with dessert) for one of my friends. The menu consisted of steak, leeks and bulgur wheat, roasted squash, salad, and chocolate-banana springrolls. We also split a fantastic bottle of wine--Moulin de La Lagune, 2003, which was garnet colored, had a beautiful, soft mouth feel, and tasted of dark berries. It was ready out of the bottle. I'd recommend it for anyone who can find it.
• Finish my classes. Just a final left for one. That'll be next Thursday.
• Nearly get hit by a car. It was close enough that I had to jump back a bit and very quickly change directions. I was in a crosswalk with right-of-way and the guy driving had the nerve to honk at me. Not okay.
• Fence twice. I haven't fenced for months. It was good to be back on the strip.
• Sleep for 10+ hours a night. And take naps. Silly sleep debt.

Anyway, it's been interesting. Just thought I would share.

Realization

I suppose it's not exactly a new revelation that I'm a stress-baker. When things get extra busy or stressful, I have a compulsion to bake. The last month, I've wanted, more than anything to make cupcakes. Very vanilla cupcakes. However, there simply hasn't been enough time.

This weekend, I managed to find enough time to make almond poppyseed muffins, which made me quite happy indeed. Maybe this weekend, I'll manage the cupcakes. :)

Race Report

I realized that it's been a month since I've posted. Busy, busy times...school's been a bear, but I've tried to have a little fun.

I did an Olympic-distance triathlon this weekend (1.5k swim, 40k bike, and 10k run). The water was cold enough to be wetsuit-legal (65 degrees F.), so I wore the wetsuit I got for Christmas. The bad part is that I had never worn the wetsuit anywhere near water. It's an odd feeling to be that buoyant.

One of the keys of triathlon is transitions and people devote entire practices to transitions from swim to bike (T1) and bike to run (T2). I wasn't able to practice any transitions other than T3 (run to beer) much in the last few weeks. Therefore, the new wetsuit experience and the stress of T1 put me in the situation where I was stuck fighting with the wetsuit, trying to not fall on my bum for nearly a full minute after the swim. Not exactly smooth.

Overall, the race went really well. I used my new aerobars on the bike (thanks, Baby!) and only walked through the water stations during the run. It seems that I still can't drink and run.

I'm kinda excited about the rest of the season...

I was wrong.

My usual spin instructor was out today and called in a sub. My usual spin instructor has a reputation of being a bad-ass teacher, going as far as to adjust students bike tension if he doesn't think you're working hard enough (I think he had to stop doing that for legal reasons). I was disappointed when I heard he wasn't coming in because I thought I wouldn't get a good workout in.

I was wrong.

At first glance, the sub seemed perky-perky and did things like make us indicate that we were ready for a workout by yelling "woo-hoo". I was ready to be irritated. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to be irritated. It's not that the workout was technically harder, but more endurance-intensive. There was no spin with spinups, there were sprints on hills. There were three hill songs in a row (or a very, very, very long hill). I had to concentrate hard on keeping my cookies for the second half of the workout.

All in all, thumbs up to the sub.
I will not underestimate her again.

Cute Sells. Sometimes.

Prelims are in 10 days. I should be up to my elbows in technical papers, but since Jeremy took off this afternoon, I've taken it upon myself to make sure I make the most of my Netflix streaming time, fix the front derailleur on my bike, drink some wine, eat some leftovers, and most importantly NOT read technical papers.

While similarly procrastinating earlier this week, I came upon this ad (linked from Jezebel) for ummm....feminine hygiene products. I'm not sure it makes me want to buy anything, but it's certainly...something...yeah.

The Lenten Series Continues: Flashback

When: Easter, 1987. I was in the third grade.

Where: The farm, back stairs before they were painted gray. Also, the stairs are slick as hell and surprisingly narrow.

On dressing to match the wallpaper: I was in third grade. I didn't know any better and probably didn't have a whole lot to say about what I was wearing anyway. I wish I knew what I was laughing at. Perhaps a subconscious realization that I do match the wallpaper and Mom spent way too much energy trying to make my hair do that. I'm certain there were hot rollers involved.

Update...I'm not really missing

Motivation is pretty low right now. I have several things to post, but no real motivation to do so right at this moment. A short list:

• Update on the Lenten Flashback series. I'll have to double-up, I think. Big question: Teenage years next, or continue with the cuteness?
• A playset found on Amazon that's making the rounds in the meta that I think I'm still obligated to post.
• A bartender with too much time on his hands. And a background in government contracting. What could go wrong? Or right?
• Feminine hygiene at its finest.
• Crazy triathlon workouts!
• Seems that there was something else....I'll have to reference my notes later.

Also, "Hi" to Logan who made his commenting debut recently. Glad to see you around!!

Found

When I came back to Nashville from the semester break (and Christmas and stuff), I had a few days before classes started to have nice, leisurely walks to the office. One day, I noticed a fantastic sculpture that was reasonably close to what I had in my head for what I wanted over my couch. I didn't have time to stop and look or any way to get it anywhere. Then, I forgot about it. A few days later, I saw it again and decided that it should be mine and that it would be mine if it was still there after fencing practice. Jenn offered suitable sister-encouragement and convinced me that it was the right thing to do.

Naturally, when it was time to do the grabbing, it was dark, cold, and raining. It was still there, sitting in the alley leaning against the fence, ready to be claimed. It barely fit in the cruiser. Here's a picture of it on the floor:

A couple closer pictures so you can see the detail:

Finally (after two months of it hiding in my bedroom), Jeremy helped me hang it this weekend. The results:

FF: Lenten Series: Week 3

When: Easter 1979

Where: Mamaw and Papaw's trailer (I think)

Crochet is hip, especially when your mamaw makes a rockin' cape and hat for you for Easter. Not much else to say about that.

A little late for a vent.

It's a little after midnight and I really ought to be heading to bed, but thought that I deserved that giant bowl of ice cream after reading 8 technical summaries today. I only have two more to go and I think I'm going to knock those out before I actually sleep tonight. Otherwise, they will knock me out as I go to sleep tonight. Either way, there's sleep in the not-too-distant future. Yea!

In other news, I ordered some shoes a couple weeks ago, which were promptly delivered (I think I posted and I would linkie here, but it's a boring post and I'm too lazy right now). Unfortunately, they didn't fit. So, I'm exchanging them. It's a painless process, I send them the shoes via a printed UPS label that I stick onto the original packaging and they send me new shoes. Next day air (from the phone call, not the receipt of the original shoes). I was supposed to receive them today. Unfortunately, FedEx (don't know why the shipping company changed) decided that my shoes were much too valuable to leave on my doorstep even though there was no signature required. They tried to deliver at 2:30 this afternoon. Who's home at 2:30??? Do they just pay drivers to attempt to deliver stuff while people aren't home and hope we'll pick it up at the distribution center so they don't have to try any more? It's absurd. Leave the package on the doorstep. People who don't live here can't figure out how to get into the building. People who live here sometimes have problems finding finding their way after a long night out. My package (sent overnight with no signature required) will be just fine sitting on my doorstep for 3 hours until I get home from the office.

That is, if I can figure out how to get into the building.

End rant.

Cleverness in Government

The city of Chattanooga sent the city of Atlanta a truck of water today along with a proclamation. Today is "Give our Georgia Friends a Drink Day." It's well-worth your time to read the article...even if you have to skip to the end to read the proclamation.

J'adore...

...en ewww!
C'est un poisson de gâteau!
Bon appétite!

One food

I've finally decided that if I was stuck eating only one food for the rest of my life, it would be french fries or otherwise fried potatoes. If I had to pick just one kind, Walter's fries from the Trojan Horse in Bloomington.

Friday Flashback: Lenten Theme: Week 2

Mom was kind enough to send along a continuation of the Easter theme. This week, we'll explore the suspicious cleanliness of the dresses.

When: Easter, 1983.

Where: The farm, before the wall-to-wall carpeting was installed.

Last on the Bunny's list: Somehow we all look reasonably happy to be wearing the pretty (itchy) Easter dresses. Jenn looks a little dubious. I asked Mom how she kept us clean. She reminded me that the Easter Bunny did not show up until after church. This way, if we misbehaved during church, one call could stop the bunny from showing. It, thankfully, never came to that.

I should mention that Mom made the lovely purses we're carrying. If I remember correctly, she later made different covers for them as well that weren't white (and could be carried after Labor Day--Thank God!).

So. Very. Sleepy.

I discovered that I was very tired this afternoon. Perhaps it was the smallish salad (with orzo and crab) that I had for lunch that didn't quite sustain me. Perhaps it was the papers I was reading. Perhaps it was the M&M's that should have perked me up, but put me in a sugar coma. Perhaps it was the class that covered in painstaking detail stuff that I've seen before for an hour and a half. I don't think my chin ever actually touched the desk, but only because of the strange sitting configuration of the desks.

I took a brisk walk home after class and tried to work for a while and decided that a nap was the best thing for me. I woke up an hour and a half later. Ugh.

Blacker is the new black

A blacker black has been developed.
Kinda cool.

There's how much sugar in that?

Tastespotting linked to Foodsel today, reminding me of the short discussion of Smarties on Daily Pie after last Halloween.

You can pick the food and it shows you the equivelant number of sugar cubes, sticks of butter, and batteries (calories?). It will also tell you how long you would need to work out for different activities to burn the calories you took in. Kinda interesting but kinda sad. Enjoy!!

Before you freak out with the numbers, the default serving (for M&M's, at least), seems quite large. I think it defaults to 1 cup of the food. I have eaten more than a cup of M&M's in a sitting, but it's not the norm.

Silly

I don't work well without motivation. I've decided to sign up for an olympic distance triathlon (1k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) in April which doesn't give me a lot of time to train. I'm especially concerned about the run. I've got a plan and I'm trying to be reasonable and not overdo things early. I've hooked up with the Vandy Tri Club for support. Today was my first two-a-day with them in a while. I spent about 50 minutes in the pool and got in about 2500 yards. Then, I had a spin session that lasted every darn minute of the 40 minute workout. I thought we were done after that. I was wrong. We still had ab work left. It was a great workout and I think I'll sleep well tonight--if I don't wake up with my legs cramping!

Wine Tasting

When Kristi and Dwayne were in town, we did a tasting of Chateau Paveil de Luze, a Margaux from 2003 and 2005. These were both very good, but didn't have the characteristic Margaux nose or taste. This was surprising but not disappointing.

The 2003 had a full, earthy flavor and a very nice mouth feel and had a lovely, clear light garnet appearance. With a while to open up, it was ready to drink and will be drinkable for a long time to come.

The 2005 was a little sharp and earthy but not as smooth. It was a nearly-clear dark garnet color. It wasn't quite ready, and persisted in remaining "closed", but should be very nice in a few more years. It was better the next day, perhaps because the '03 was gone and I couldn't directly compare.

Truism for the Day:

On NPR's The Splendid Table,

"There is a Midwestern love for big, thick, dense things."
--Jane Stern in reference to the pancakes at the Grove Cafe in Ames, IA

Friday Flashback

When: I have no earthly idea. The wee-one was around for this series of pics so I'm going to guess 1983. It was definitely Easter Sunday. That's the only way I can explain the hat.

Where: The living room at the farm.

The Face: I am accused of making this face even now. It's evidently my I'm-really-tense face. Other interpretations?

In other news: Mamaw and Papaw used to bring us Easter dresses home from Florida. It was a pretty big deal. I honestly don't remember much about it other than it was a big deal and we were forced to wear the hat and little white gloves on this occasion and the dresses (lace) were unbearably itchy. We had to wear the dresses until all the grandparents saw us after church. They seemed to delay their arrival just to torture us.

Exam Week

This was the first round of midterms for the semester. My professors seem to have conspired and put their exams on consecutive days, therefore making me a little crazy. Well, maybe not crazy, but definitely reclusive. So now it's Friday night and I have no responsibilities and a lot of tension to release. There's a bottle of wine open, steak and potatoes for dinner, and bad TV on the internet. What else does the internet have? Shopping--specifically, zappos.com. I bought shoes. Cute, brown Clarks with free delivery.

But wait. There's better news: they've already been shipped. Some person is standing around in a warehouse on Friday night making sure my shoes are in the mail right now. I suppose they're also making sure that I'll order from them in the future, but I'm really more interested in the fact that they were shipped within an hour of my ordering them. I'm doing a little happy dance. I'm just not sure if it's because of the week being over or the shoes. I'll blame the shoes.

Swim Workout

I didn't have a lot of time for a swim workout tonight, but really wanted to do something. I managed 2000 yards in about 45 minutes and a really challenging workout (for me).

• 200 SKPS (800 total yards)
• 4 x 100, descending (1:30, 1:25, 1:20, 1:15)
• 8 x 50, 25 sprint, 30 seconds tread legs-only or 30 water crunches, 25 sprint on 1:30
• 4 x 100, descending (1:30, 1:25, 1:20, 1:15)

Total 2000

I made it through the first descending set, killed myself on the 50s, and missed the last 100 on the last set. I'll get it next time.

WFA WTF?

All the news today seemed to be centered around the congressional baseball/steroid hearings and I got really frustrated at the fact that our lawmakers are spending time investigating something that really doesn't affect the general public and that there was so much media coverage of said hearings. I kept getting a mental image of the big, bad committee asking hard questions during the session, then scurrying around for autographs during breaks.

So, I decided to find out a little about the committee that's running the hearings, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to see how baseball fits with the plan. The charter, from the webpage:

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main
investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It has
jurisdiction to investigate any federal program and any matter with federal
policy implications.

Okay. This does not help with how baseball fits with the committee, unless baseball is suddenly a federal program. We'll move on to jurisdiction (again FTFW):

The legislative jurisdiction of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform includes the following areas, as set forth in House Rule X, clause 1:
• Federal civil service, including intergovernmental personnel; and the
status of officers and employees of the United States, including their
compensation, classification, and retirement;
• Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia in general (other than
appropriations);
• Federal paperwork reduction;
• Government management and accounting measures generally;
• Holidays and celebrations;
• Overall economy, efficiency, and management of government operations and
activities, including federal procurement;
• National archives;
• Population and demography generally, including the Census;
• Postal service generally, including transportation of the mails;
• Public information and records;
• Relationship of the federal government to the states and municipalities
generally; and
• Reorganizations in the executive branch of the government.

Okay, so I'll stretch things a bit and go with public information and records. It's a stretch, but I'm going to assume that's where they're coming from. However, if we're going to make this argument, I'll say that they need to be talking to individuals from all arenas wherein steroid abuse is an issue. These are probably primarily sports, but definitely not limited to baseball. The talks should be talking about the effects of steroids on the human body (for the use of public information) not the future hall-of-fame eligibility of the individual in question. Let that question go to the MLB governing body.

In the meantime, the 41 members of the committee have (so far) spent two sessions (this go-'round) in this investigation. Even conservative calculations would show astronomical billable hours. From there, we'll go back to the committee's homepage, on the right, under "Key Issues", and point out the "Waste, Fraud, and Abuse" (WFA) link. Yes, friends, this is the group that investigates WFA issues.

It's the very definition of irony.

Not quite a flying car, but close enough to impress me:

It took me a few minutes to figure out what they meant by "disappearing car door", but once I watched the video and had it spelled out for me, I drooled. Watch the whole video, enjoy the narrator's accent, struggle to imagine mainstream car companies adopting this.

The company is located in So. Cal. and the website seems a little slap-dash, but it seems like a viable idea.

Union Rules?

Henna

Having tried since before Christmas to schedule a time with Anu to play with henna, we finally managed to squeeze in about an hour on Saturday while Ladybug was taking her nap. It was a lot of fun and the results are great! The art will last about a week.

Spin Class

Just took my first spin class in years.

Primary accomplishment: I didn't puke.

Food!

It was a big week for food. My tasty, but failed attempt at a king cake last year made me a little dubious this year, but a very easy recipe came about on Tastespotting and there was success and yes, a plastic baby.

I finally had time and an occasion to make a baklava to take in to the starving grad students. The recipe is based on Martha Stewart's baklava recipe but modified to make it more reasonable.

It had to be sampled prior to release.

The weekend visitors inspired pancakes and sausage 'n gravy (made with Alan's pork sausage). The buttermilk biscuit (featuring cake flour) and buttermilk pancake recipes came from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, my current favorite general-purpose cookbook.

We also had good BBQ at Jim 'n Nick's. Kristi and I drooled over the collard greens. One of us, yes, the good auntie, shared with Ladybug.

I've got to get back to the gym this week!

Ladybug Goes to Nashville

Ladybug and her parents visited Jeremy and me in Nashville this weekend. We had great food, great talks, and great fun. We spent most of Ladybug's endless energy at the park with the dragon (Fannie Mae Dees Park). First, we had to get bundled up for the stroller ride:

Then, find the dragon:

Play on and around the dragon:

Help the dragon with some hygene:

And, elsewhere in the fantastic park, learn about climbing (great reach!):

Fun with tunnels (a video I hope):

Later, there was some fort-building--all fine and good until the bears took over: