The National

I just got tickets for The National at Ryman Auditorium on Oct. 3rd. I'm so excited! Even more so now that I've looked at the seating chart & saw how AWESOME our seats are. We're in Row D, Seats 1 & 2. Driving to the Ryman & standing in line for 45 minutes? Totally worth it.

Spinning For God

Until I find out what's wrong with my ankle, I've been taking a break from running & going to Spin instead. I usually go at lunch, but I saw a friend a week or so ago & she said the after work classes are a lot harder & she's lost 20 lbs just by going to Spin 3-4 times a week. Ding, ding, ding! Sold!

So I went yesterday after work. The instructor was a man named Gerry, who I've never seen before. Gerry was totally working the room. He knew most people by name & was going around saying hi to everyone & adjusting bikes as he saw fit. There was an older lady in front of me & she asked why she hasn't seen him at St. Henry's lately & he said that they've changed where they sit.... That they now sit on the far left. Got it. Still go to church. Duly noted.

Gerry starts the music & we begin warming up. It's a Christian song, it's kind of slow, whatever, it's a warm-up song. Then the second song starts & it's a faster tempo, but it's still Christian. Okay, Gerry. I get it, you're into God. You go to St. Henry's; you've got some kind of Jesus tattoo on my your bicep; you work at the Y; & you Spin to hard rock Christian music. I've been to classes at the Y before where the instructor played Christian music during the warm-up, but I don't think I've ever blogged about it, probably out of fear of being struck by lightning.

The class is getting going pretty good & the third song starts. It's the newish Madonna/Justin Timberlake song. Okay Gerry, now we're talking. Let's do this! But no. Madonna was merely a tease. Madonna segued into Santana, which segued into Journey, finally ending at Def Leopard. Cool down provided by Seal, naturally.

Gerry got pretty excited about Journey & found a way to relate the lyrics to the task at hand. Journey, "Don't stop believing..." Gerry, shouting breathlessly, "... you can do it; don't stop believing you can climb that hill!" I don't know how funny this is without the visual. Picture a petite, middle-aged man, fully grey, inappropriately large tattoo on his arm, fist pumping in the air, shouting Journey into a headset in a room 90% full of hip, young black people.

Gerry really hit his stride as Def Leopard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" came on. In fact, he prefaced it by telling us to get ready to "put some sugar on it" because the next song is America's rock anthem. Hmm, okay Gerry. So when the song started & I realized what it was, I laughed as hard as someone with diminished lung capacity can in a 110 degree Spin room. The two girls beside me just smiled & looked down.

We start climbing. This was our last work song so it was hard as shit. I was soaking wet & had lost feeling in my quadriceps a good 15 minutes prior. Pour some sugar on me? Indeed. Again, Gerry, who is clearly not a man who lets opportunity pass him by, decides to relate the lyrics to the class. We were essentially going up & down in our seat for 6 minutes & every time we had to stand & turn our resistance up, Gerry would say, & by say, I mean shout, "Put some sugar on that resistance! Turn it up until it's sticky, sweet!" I'm 100% serious. This happened.

I'm giving Gerry a lot of flack, but truth be told, it's the hardest Spin class I've taken to date, so I'll probably go back. Plus, I mean, who doesn't love Journey? And God?

Sayonara Speed Session. It's Been Real.

I quit the Speed Session. No. 1: I can't do the work-outs. No. 2: I'm hurt. I'm not knocking Fleet Feet. I think it's great that they offer all the various training that they offer. But.... it may behoove them to launch a more honest marketing campaign when it comes to these speed sessions. The description says the class is open to beginners, as long as you can run at least two miles, which is kind of not the case. I'm not a beginner-beginner, I've been running since January, & I can run up to four miles, but I'm a beginner in comparison to the other 149 people who signed up for the class.

In the second week, we ran a total of six miles. I couldn't do it. It was more than I've ever run, not to mention, I'm not used to running in this kind of heat. The thing is, the work-outs increase every week, so if I couldn't do the six miles last week, there was a 99% chance I wouldn't be able to do the even harder/longer work-out this week. So I quit.

This makes it sound like I quit because it's hard, which is mostly true, but I also quit because I'm injured. In the first week, I thought I sprained my ankle, only to find out the second week that it's probably tendinitis. I've essentially taken two weeks off & my ankle isn't getting better. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get referred to a sports doctor. I just want to know what's actually wrong with my ankle & how long I need to stay off of it. The last time I got hurt, I kept running & ended up in physical therapy for 3 months. I'm hoping to avoid that this time.

So yeah, I quit the Speed Session, but I'm not going to quit running. Once my ankle heals, I'm going to go back to my normal routine of running 3 miles 3 times a week, plus a long run once a week. That was working for me. I'm not going to win any races by any means, but that was never my goal. I just want to run, like Forrest.

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday Night:
I stayed in & watched Nine. Meh. I was a little let down. Astoundingly, Daniel Day-Lewis didn't do it for me like he usually does. However, I did love Penelope Cruz in this movie. Fergie I could have lived without. She just doesn't have a face that belongs in the movies. The music was good, but the storyline was hard to follow & you didn't connect with any of the characters. Ehh, two stars.

Saturday:
Book Club! MK & I are in a book club where you meet once a month, eat/drink, & talk about what you've been reading. Everyone brings a few books & you put them all in a pile & take what you want. I love it! BTW, the chocolate ricotta pound cake was a huge hit. Highly recommend that one as a go-to summer dessert.

Saturday Night:
MK & I had dinner & drinks at PM, then headed over to Mercy Lounge for The Smiths Tribute: The Queen Has Risen show. John, aka Johnny Marr, was in the all-star band that played The Queen is Dead all the way through. It was AWESOME. There were so many people there, albeit all wearing white t-shirts & pompadours. It was amazing. The show was so good! The crowd ate it up. They were shouting & singing along like it was really The Smiths. It's the most fun I've had at a show in a long time.

Photostream here.

Sunday:
We went to lunch with my parents for Father's Day, then went to Home Depot. My dad & John bought matching Dremels, then proceeded to joke about they just bought them to trim their toenails. Seriously. It was too hot to do anything yesterday. John cut the grass & I laid around inside, fanning myself & eating leftover chocolate ricotta pound cake.

Last night we made basil chicken & watched Avatar. OMG, Avatar..... I believe this statement, made about halfway through the film, sums it up accurately, "This movie is like one, big Led Zeppelin song." We didn't hate it, but we didn't love it either. We laughed a lot. So much so that I'm pretty sure, had we seen it in the theater, we would have been asked to leave. I don't understand how you spend, allegedly, your whole life dreaming up a movie, creating the planet, creating the species, creating the language, et cetera & then apparently throw your hands up in the air & let Larry the Cable Guy write your script. It's mind boggling. All of that aside, I'm glad we finally watched it. It's a really neat movie, if you can get past the horrible dialogue.

Basil Chicken (Gai Pad Krapow)

John is obsessed with this basil chicken he gets at Thai Kitchen on Thompson Lane, so when I saw the recipe for it on TasteSpotting, I printed it out for us to try.

Kim's Notes:
I didn't catch the "ground" in the description of what kind of meat to buy. I just bought 1/2 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Whoops. Two of the ingredients were hard to find: thai bird chilies & thai basil. I found the chilies at Whole Foods, but we never found the basil. We finally just bought what K&S had, which wasn't labeled, so who knows what it was.

When John was cooking this, it smelled really bad. Like dirty lady parts bad. But it tasted so good! The egg really makes this dish. John says Thai Kitchen breads their chicken, so he wants to try that next time. He also wants to add green bell pepper. I'll report back. Highly, highly recommend this recipe.

Basil Chicken (Gai Pad Krapow)

Adapted from No Recipes

Serves 2 hungry Baldwins

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1-5 thai "bird" chilies, minced with seeds

1/2 small onion, sliced

1/2 lb ground chicken thigh meat

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

Pinch of white pepper

3 sprigs of Thai Holy Basil, stems removed

2 eggs

Jasmine rice

Heat a small frying pan over medium heat until hot. Add a splash of oil and crack two eggs into the pan and fry until the white part is set, but the yolk is still soft. Transfer the eggs to a plate to keep them from overcooking.

Heat a wok or a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Add the oil, garlic and chilies and stir fry until until the garlic is very fragrant. Add the onions and continue stir frying until the onions have wilted. Add the ground chicken and fry until the chicken is cooked.

Season with the fish sauce, sugar and white pepper. If your pan was hot enough you should not have any liquid at the bottom of the pan, but if you do, continue cooking until the liquid is gone. Add the basil and toss a couple of time until the leaves are wilted and bright green.

Serve the basil chicken with jasmine rice and an egg on top of each plate.

Chocolate Ricotta Pound Cake

On TasteSpotting this week, I saw a recipe that caught my eye. I printed it & decided to make it for book club today. I made it last night, but I haven't tasted it yet. It smelled so good! And it was easy. I wasn't sure I had the right cake pan because the recipe calls for a 6 cup fluted cake mold & the one I have doesn't say how many cups it holds. Mine is a 9.75 x 3.38 in. It worked great, so maybe it is the right size.

Chocolate Ricotta Pound Cake

From Desserts for Breakfast

4 1/2 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
4 Tbsp boiling water
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
13 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 cup ricotta
1 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the cake mold. Set aside.

2. In a bowl, mix together the cocoa powder and boiling water until thoroughly combined. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Set aside.

4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

5. In a mixer bowl, cream together on medium to medium high the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the wet and dry ingredients in three stages, alternating wet and dry. Mix until combined.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes total. About twenty minutes into baking, cover the cake with a lightly oiled piece of aluminum foil. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

7. Remove from oven and let cool, turning the cake out onto a wire rack after about ten minutes. Let cool completely. Top with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Kim's Notes: My Publix didn't have fancy cocoa powder, so I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa. The box says, "A blend of natural & Dutched cocoas," so I figured it would work. I missed the part in # 7 where it says 20 minutes in, you should cover the cake. I'm not sure what I messed up by not doing that. Maybe it's crispier? I don't know. I'll report back after I eat it. Based on how easy this was to make & how good it smells, I highly recommend this recipe. I'll let you know how it tastes after book club.

Full cake photostream here.

Speed Session, Part Deux

Today was my second Fleet Feet Speed Session. It went better than last week in that there was no timed mile or other obvious way for me to stand out as the worst runner out there. The class has grown to 150 people, which is A LOT of people to be on a track at one time, but again, it makes it easier for us slow pokes to get lost in the crowd, so I'm not complaining.

We get an email on Monday telling us what Tuesday's work-out is going to be. Luckily for me, I don't know the metric system, so getting an email about having to run four 1,000 meters didn't scare me like it should have. I thought 1,000 meters was one lap. Wrong! It's 2 & 1/2 laps. So four of those with a "rest jog" in between. And that's just the work-out, that's not counting the one mile warm-up, the drills, the two 200 meter sprints & the one mile cool down. When I got there, my friend Angie asked me if I read the email & saw that we'll be running six miles today. No, no I did not realize that. Note to self: learn the metric system.

Today was possibly the most I've exerted myself in my entire life. I'm serious. For those of you who don't live in Tennessee, it was already 80 degrees outside at 6:00 this morning. It's the hottest I've ever been & it's the most I've ever sweat. I've been dryer in the shower. Seriously. I was soaked. Also, I kind of think I almost died.

When it was time to run the four 1,000 meters, I ran the first 2 & 1/2 laps & did fine. I even passed a few people. Not bad. I opted to walk my rest lap instead of jogging it. When I stopped to walk, my stomach knotted up & I was pretty sure I was going to throw up. I didn't, but I also didn't run another 2 & 1/2 laps like I was supposed to three more times. I tried to run as much as I could, but the most I could do was run a lap, walk a lap or 1/2 lap. It was rough.

As I was walking, I kept thinking, 'Am I walking because I'm quitting or because my body is telling me to?' I kept thinking of all those Biggest Loser episodes where in the beginning the people are saying it's too hard & falling off the treadmill, etc. Today I realized I might not know the difference between stopping because I'm quitting or stopping because my heart's going to explode.

In other news, I asked one of the instructors today about my ankle & if it's common to sprain your ankle doing these speed sessions. He said it isn't, then he asked what happened & had me show him where it hurts. He said it didn't sound like a sprain, it sounds like tendinitis. Of course it does. Because it wouldn't be a paid-for, group training activity if I didn't develop something that ends in "itis".

I think new, better shoes will help a lot, but I paid $50 for this class, $50 for a Timex Ironman stopwatch & a good $30-$40 worth of outdoor (read: non-cotton) running clothes, so $130 for new shoes aren't really in my budget right now. If I can make it two more weeks, I'll buy some when I get paid again. God, this hobby is getting expensive......

Pasta with Garlic & Oil

I saw this recipe awhile back on TasteSpotting & have been meaning to make it on a night when John wasn't home for dinner. He doesn't love non-meat entrees. Tonight was the night.

Pasta with Garlic & Oil

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated via CookBrooke

Makes 4-6 servings

1 lb linguine

Kosher salt

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup minced garlic

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp chopped parsley

Grated Parmesan

1 tbsp butter

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta & salt liberally. Cook to al dente, about 9 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain.

While water is heating, add olive oil, garlic & 1/2 tsp kosher salt to a large skillet. Cook over low heat.

Once it starts to sizzle, stir constantly until garlic foams & becomes sticky & straw-colored, about 10-12 minutes.

Remove from heat & add cayenne pepper, lemon juice, parsley & half of the reserved cooking water.

Pour this over the pasta, add 1 tbsp butter & combine. If it's too dry, add more of the reserved cooking water.

Sprinkle with Parmesan & serve.

Kim's Notes: I loved this! Seriously, so good. John walked in as I was about to eat & asked if he could have some. I pointed out that it was just pasta with garlic & olive oil, translation: no meat. He said it smelled so good, he had to have some. We both ate a big bowl of this & there's easily 2 big bowls leftover for lunch tomorrow. Highly, highly recommend this recipe.

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday Night:
My Friday night was a 24 year old's worst nightmare. I made Pasta-Roni, watched 3 hours of So You Think You Can Dance & went bed at 8:45pm.

Saturday:
Saturday morning, I dropped Linda off for her summer haircut. Then I went over to my friend Jaime's to help her decide where to hang all of the pictures in her new house. It surprisingly didn't take us very long, so we went to Local Taco for lunch, then I went home to cool off & get ready for my cousin's wedding.

Saturday Night:
My cousin Carli got married at the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna at 5:30pm. I knew the ceremony would be outside, but I assumed the reception would be indoors, like mine was. Wrong. It was all outside. And it was the hottest day of the year so far. Well into the nineties. It was unbearably hot & we were outside for about 4-5 hours total. It was fun & it was a nice wedding, but my god was it hot.

Sunday:
John went to Bonnaroo with How I Became the Bomb & I headed East to hang with Carolyn & see the progress on their kitchen reno. Carolyn made watermelon basil martinis & I ended up staying over there most of the day. I eventually made my way back to the West Side & did some laundry, cooked dinner & watched a good 3-4 hours of Tori & Dean Home Sweet Hollywood. It's a sickness. I can't help it.

New Headboard

This is our new West Elm Window Headboard. Love! Our bedroom has been pretty neglected since we moved in because it's seemed like such a hurdle. We needed a bed & I felt like I couldn't do anything to the room until we got the bed.

Well, we got the bed, or at least the headboard. It never occurred to me that I could just buy a headboard. I had it in my head that I needed to save up $700-ish for a whole bed -frame & headboard. As I started talking to John about it, he pointed out that if I found a headboard I liked, he could attach it to the existing frame & then he could either make a new frame or we could buy one later.

Back in January, I bought a new Macbook & no longer needed my 100 year old Mac Mini, so I put it on Craigslist & shockingly got $300 for it. $300 that I quickly turned around & gave to West Elm for our new headboard. And! It was on sale from $299 to $254. Score!

I'm pretty happy with it. I don't think it looks bad without the matching frame. I may save up & buy it later, or I may not. We'll see. I would like to take the rest of my Craigslist money & buy some new bedding. I'm so over that brown. I also need to paint our dresser & hang some stuff on the walls. It's a work in progress, but the headboard is a HUGE start. I'll report back.

Master bedroom photostream here & here.

Book Review: Born Round

Tiffany, aka my book supplier, gave me a copy of Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater when I was in NYC in November, but I just got around to reading it. Here's the blurb from the book's website:

"Originally released in hardcover in August 2009, “Born Round” describes my eccentric and sometimes difficult relationship with food, from my childhood through my five and a half years as the restaurant critic of the New York Times. It’s about eating—publicly, privately, as a job, as a compulsion, with joy, with shame—and it’s about the role that food plays in families, in romantic relationships and in a person’s self-image. My eating yielded no shortage of drama and comedy, all of which is present in this story, told in a manner that I hope you’ll find entertaining and moving."

I was hesitant to read it because A) I didn't know who Frank Bruni was & B) it honestly just didn't interest me (because I didn't know what it was about). I doubt I would have ever read it if Tiffany hadn't given it to me, but I'm so glad I did.

I'm almost embarrassed at how much I identified with it. I've never been bulimic (I wish), but I've definitely flirted with the binge/purge scenario, well, at least the binge part. I have a bad habit of coming home from work at 4:45/5:00pm & snacking for an hour or so before I eat dinner. I'm usually full by the time we eat dinner, but I still eat lest I let on that I've been stuffing my face for an hour in front of the tv. I'm working on it.

I digress. Anyway, I identified with this book. I know what it's like to always feel like the biggest person in the room & to measure your self worth by what size jeans you wear. Also, this book touches on politics &, obviously, New York City, which I can relate to, as well.

The part of the book that details his time as the New York Times restaurant critic is fascinating. I had never put a lot of thought into what goes into being a NYT restaurant critic & the covert ops involved, but now that I know, it makes total sense. I loved reading about all the ridiculous antics he had to go through to dine undetected & the inevitable feuds he got into with some of NY's best chefs. It's so much more involved than I ever realized.

I loved this book! I highly recommend to anyone, but especially those of you with weight/eating issues. It's good reads.

Mucho Exhausto

Well, the hard part of my year is over. Session ended around 1am this morning. I'm exhausted, but it's over. This was probably my last Session as I'll have graduated & hopefully landed a new job before they reconvene in January. Last night was a shit show, so I can't really say I'm shedding any tears about not going through this again next year, but I'll probably be singing a different tune when & if I ever do leave this godforsaken place. Anyway...

I'm tired. And I have a three hour class to sit through tonight. And my father-in-law is in town. And my house is filthy. And I think I hurt my ankle & will thus probably not do the 5:30am Pancake Run tomorrow. Wah wah.

Movie Review: It's Complicated

I recently watched It's Complicated on DVD. It's the movie with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin. Meryl Streep & Alec Baldwin have been divorced for 10 years, have 3 grown children & start having an affair at their son's out of town graduation. Steve Martin is an architect working on an expansion to Meryl's house. They try to date, but the affair with the ex-husband complicates things.

I LOVED this movie! All of the characters are good, the storyline is good, the set is good. OMG, I covet Meryl's house in this movie. I wanted to move right in & never leave.

It's reminiscent of Something's Gotta Give, which makes sense because Nancy Meyers wrote & directed both movies.

I highly recommend watching this movie if you haven't already, but don't read the plot summary on Wikipedia. They give the ending away.

Book Review: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Yesterday I finished reading Stephenie Meyer's latest book in the Twilight Saga, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella. It's super short. All in all, I'd say I read it in about 2 hours. It took me a couple of pages to get into it & to quit trying to figure out who everyone is, but once I got into it, I got into it.

If you remember from Eclipse, there is a coven of newborn vampires wreaking havoc on Seattle. Bree is one of those vampires & she falls in love with one of the other vampires in her coven. It has that same young love feel that Twilight has.

For the most part, it's a completely separate storyline than the rest of the Twilight Saga. Until the end. I won't ruin anything for you, but the ending sheds some light on how Eclipse ended....

I liked it. It's not going to change your life by any means, but it's worth reading if you're a Twilight fan.

Read it for free online here from June 7th to July 5th (thanks, Stephenie Meyer!).

P.S. Click on the book, or the arrow beside the book, to read it online. It took me a minute to figure that out.

Speed Session FAIL

I completed my first Fleet Feet Speed Session this morning & I SUCKED. Out of about 110 people, I was the last one to finish the timed mile (at 11:32, thank you very much). I timed myself on Sunday & ran a 10 minute mile. I don't know what happened this morning.

Well, I do know what happened, I was exhausted by the time I had to run the timed mile. Our warm-up was five times around the track (4 times around is a mile). The first two laps were supposed to be super slow, 'like you just rolled out of bed', they said, but of course, trying to keep up with everyone, I did the first two laps too fast, then struggled through the last three, which were supposed to be faster. After the "warm up" they had us do all these crazy exercises, two sprints around the track & then the timed mile. No breaks in between any of this. I'm surprised I could even do it honestly.

When I got there, there were a lot of women my size & bigger & a lot of women older than me, so I thought I'd probably be back in their group, but those fat, old bitches totally smoked me. Thankfully my friend Angie was there, otherwise I probably would have left in tears. I was so embarrassed. Once you finished your timed mile, you were supposed to walk a lap to cool down, so everyone was walking while I was pushing through my last lap. One guy patted me on the shoulder as he walked past me & said, "You're doing good." He probably thought I was a Jerry's Kid. I mentally flipped him off as I crawled across the finish line.

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday Night:

I got my hair cut after work on Friday. I went short for the summer. I usually do this every year, but last year I let it keep growing, so it feels a little weird to have short hair again, but I like it. Plus, Gio, as usual, gave me the best blonde highlights money can buy. Color me pleased.

Saturday:

Jaime treated me to a belated birthday *pedicure (much needed), then we shopped a little & I coerced her into taking me to West Elm to pick up the headboard I've been trying to buy for weeks now. She has a car big enough to hold it, so she graciously went with me to pick it up & helped me get it home.

*Pedicure color: A Good Man-darin Is Hard To Find. It's from the OPI Hong Kong collection. It's an orange-y/red. Very bright & summery & looks good with my fair skin. I love it!

Saturday Night:

We went to dinner with Aaron & Ashley. Carolyn & David had dinner Friday night at Thai Phoo Ket & they said it was really good, so we decided to go there. I had been wanting to try it for awhile now anyway. They recommended the massaman curry, which me, Ashley & Aaron all three ordered. It was soooo good! And it's cheaper than our regular Thai haunt, Siam Cuisine, on White Bridge Road. Thai Phoo Ket, you've made yourself a friend.

Sunday:

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day. I got up & ran (see previous post), went to the grocery store(s), made lemon bars & started reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer.

It started raining in the middle of John cutting the grass, so we went down the street to McKays. Score! I found 2 cookbooks that I've been meaning to buy. I love when that happens. I also bought this hilarious Cooking For Special Occasions cookbook because John swears his mom had it & used to make them pear church mice (see above). Add this to the ever-growing list of things I love about a woman I so wish I had had the opportunity to meet.

I also bought John kind of a joke cookbook about steaks, but it quickly turned into, "Can I make something out of this cookbook for dinner tonight?" Twenty-four dollars worth of steak later.... What can I say? The man loves steak. After dinner, we drove out to CPA so I'd know where to go tomorrow morning for my first 6am speed session. Man, it's far. Oh well. No pain, no gain.

Later last night, we finally took down the heinous cowhide/rawhide/faux suede roman shade that's been in our bedroom since we bought the house. Neither of us have any idea why we kept it up so long. But once we got the new headboard in there on Saturday, the cowhide had to go. It looks so much better in there! Pics forthcoming.

Park Man

This morning I got up early & decided to run since it looked like it was going to rain. I've never been to Centennial Park at 6:30am & I wondered what I would find & if anyone else would be there. Oh, people where there alright, specifically, Park Man.

As soon as I got going, I heard fast-approaching foot steps & moved aside. What ran past me was Park Man. Park Man was slight of build; wearing an undershirt, boxer shorts & house slippers. And he blew right past me. If any of you remember Ira from Mad About You, that's exactly what he looked like.

As I rounded the duck pond, I saw a camp of sorts set up on the bank, under the trees. There was an unfurled sleeping bag, pillows & a newspaper. I had a sneaking suspicion this was where Park Man hung his hat. And it was. As I was finishing my last lap, I saw him laying down, reading the paper, tapping that house-shoed foot to beat the band.

People, don't get me wrong. I'm not mocking or ridiculing the homeless. I'm in awe. If I'm ever so unfortunate as to find myself destitute & living with the ducks in Centennial Park, you can bet your sweet ass that the first thing to go will by my exercise regimen. Park Man was not only running the one mile loop, he was doing it in house shoes. Come on!

Reading Room

Last weekend I turned one of the upstairs bedrooms into a reading room. Initially it was kind of an office, except that no one ever went up there or used it, especially since I bought a Macbook a few months ago & sold my old Mac Mini. I've had these two pieces of furniture for years, a matching loveseat & chaise. I put them both up on Craigslist, but was only able to sell the chaise. Even though the loveseat totally isn't our style, I decided to move it upstairs so I'd have somewhere comfortable to sit & read. I moved the crappy, old desk out & moved the loveseat in. Even though I don't love the loveseat, I kind of love my new room.

It still needs work, obviously. Number one, I need a rug. But at least the room has a purpose now.

Full photostream here.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Tuna, Artichoke & Roasted Red Pepper Salad w/ Feta Pita Crisps

I made this to eat for lunch this week. It's from my new Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals cookbook. I can't wait to eat it tomorrow (& Thursday)!

Tuna, Artichoke & Roasted Red Pepper Salad

4 Servings

1 12-ounce jar marinated quartered artichoke hearts

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

1 tbsp EVOO

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chopped bagged fresh baby spinach

2 5-ounce cans albacore tuna in water, drained & flaked

1 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained & chopped

1. Drain artichokes, reserving 2 tbsp marinade. Coarsely chop artichokes. Combine artichokes, reserved marinade, dill & next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add spinach, tuna & roasted peppers, tossing well.

Feta Pita Crisps

4 Servings. Makes 9 pita crisps.

3 6-inch pitas (I used whole wheat)

1 3.5-ounce package crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese, finely chopped

Olive oil-flavored cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Split pitas; cut each into 6 wedges. Arrange pita wedges in a single layer on a large baking sheet; sprinkle with cheese & lightly coat with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until crisp & golden.

It looks & smells good. I'll report back after I eat it tomorrow.

EDITED TO ADD: I just had this for lunch with my friend Claudia & we both really liked it. Very healthy & very tasty. Claudia heated up the pita crisps in the microwave, they're much better (less chewy) that way. Yay, Cooking Light!

Weekend Wrap Up: 4 Day Memorial Day Edition

Friday:
I took Friday off to spend the day with Mary Katherine, celebrating our birthdays. We did the 5:30am Pancake Run, went home, showered, then met at Starbucks to get recaffeinated before the SATC 2 matinee. We both loved the movie. I covet everything in Carrie & Big's apartment. After the movie, we did lunch, a little shopping & then *manicures. A perfect day!

*Tiffany recently told me her new favorite manicure color is OPI No Room For the Blues, so I tried it. OMG, I love it! It's my new signature color. I promptly went online & bought it on Amazon.

Saturday:
I did yard/house stuff all day. Our yard desperately needed some TLC. I trimmed all the hedges, which takes me forever because of my self-diagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder.... Then I pulled weeds. I had planned to plant flowers & re-mulch, but when John woke up, he didn't feel well, so we didn't get that far. I moved my operation inside & spent the rest of the day rearranging furniture & hanging pictures. I finally got the entryway set up & moved the loveseat upstairs into my newly redesigned 'reading room'. Pics forthcoming.

Saturday Night:
We were supposed to go to a friend's cancer benefit at Exit/In, but John still felt like crap, so we ended up not going. At some point, John decided Prince's Hot Chicken would make him feel better, so we trekked out to Dickerson Pike & got take-out. I haven't had it in years, so it was fun to go there again, plus the chicken really is good. Post hot chicken, we watched TV & went to bad. Lame.

Sunday:
I woke up & went to Centennial Park to run before it got too hot. I'm toying with the idea of running a half in Sept, so my friend Jaime suggested I start making my Sun runs longer, to see if I can do it. Well, I totally did it. I ran 4 miles instead of my usual 3. Now granted, I walked some of it, but I ran the whole 1st mile & the last 2, so not bad. I think the previous night's hot chicken fueled me.

John woke up feeling back to normal, so he cut the grass while I went to Trader Joe's, Publix, Target, etc. I don't remember what else I did, which probably means I spent the rest of the day watching TV & obsessively rearranging/straightening knick knacks.

Monday:
I got up early because my uncle was supposed to come over at 8am to inspect our flooded ductwork & I was supposed to meet my friend Katy (who was in town from Denver) for an early lunch. Well, my uncle didn't show up until around 11am & Katy couldn't meet up afterall, so I ended up babysitting my uncle's 5 year old step-granddaughter for 2 hours while he sat outside shooting the shit with John about who knows what, presumably his *"farm".

*When we finally called my uncle to find out where the f he was, he apologized & told John he's been up since 7am, working on his farm. His farm? My uncle lives in Metro Davidson County & last time I checked, there are no farms in Lower Antioch. Whatever. So when he finally shows up, albeit with his 5 year old step-granddaughter in tow, I ask her what they've been doing all morning & she says "Grandaddy's been on Facebook all morning playing Farmville." Farmville! Mystery solved.

Post crazy uncle/Farmville enthusiast, we spent the afternoon at our friends' Mike & Amanda's cooking out. They have 2 pugs, so we decided to take Linda. It went mostly okay. The female pug (Elvira) & Linda got along really well, but the older, male pug - ehh, not so much. But it was fine. Good time had by all!