Jen Lancaster vs. Marie Claire (Give 'Em Hell, Jen!)

Over the past few days I've been somewhat aware that some shit went down online over at Marie Claire & that it had to do with "fatties", but I didn't really know the whole story. Today, as I was cleaning out my Reader, I came across a blog post on Jennsylvania that put it all into perspective. Granted, I'm biased because of my unabashed love for Jen Lancaster, but I think her response is AMAZING.

I've Got Your Counterpoint Right Here, Marie Claire

For those of you who haven't read the original Marie Claire post, you can read it here.

My two cents: yes, obviously obesity is an issue in our country, but since when did Marie Claire &/or Maura Kelly become experts on this topic? Could she have been more condescending? Hey Maura, I believe the average woman in America is either a size 12 or 14. Way to alienate & insult what I'm assuming is also the majority of Marie Claire's demographic. Furthermore, if she had spoken this way in reference to race/religion/gender, she'd be fired. Hello, Rick Sanchez & Juan Williams. Let's rein it in, people.

Discuss.

EDITED TO ADD:
The Sassy Curmudgeon weighs in, albeit more eloquently than I did. Read her post here.

Thursday iPod Musings

Heard while driving to work this morning, courtesy of My Top Rated playlist:

The Rosebuds, "Leaves Do Fall"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Kiss Kiss"
Pearl Jam, "State of Love & Trust"
Ghostfinger, "Content"
Gwen Stefani, "What You Waiting For?"
Billy Joel, "Only the Good Die Young"

Totally random. Totally awesome.

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday:
5:30am Pancake Run = 9:00pm bedtime. I did manage to watch a movie before I fell asleep: State of Play, with Russell Crowe & Ben Affleck. It was actually really good.

Saturday:
Lululemon has opened a store in Green Hills & their grand opening was on Saturday. East Nasty hosted a 4 mile run, so me, Jessica & Heidi did that. Then I went to Trim for a bang trim. My stylist disappeared into the night, as stylists tend to do, so someone new trimmed my bangs. Meh. I didn't love her, but it was a free bang trim, so whatever.

That afternoon I finally accepted the Roku & Netflix Instant Streaming into my life & started watching Season One of Friday Night Lights. OMG! Tiffany has been telling me to watch this forever, but I haven't had time. I love it! It's so not what I thought it was. I essentially thought it would be a sitcom version of The Blind Side. It's so not. I'm hooked!

John had been working on the deck all afternoon, so when he suggested Logan's for dinner, I acquiesced. Then we came back home & watched The Evil Dead on Netflix Instant Streaming.

Sunday:
I got up, met Jessica & ran 2 miles at Long Hunter State Park. Then we met our study group for our last Sunday study session before the Comps next Friday. John stained the deck while I cleaned the house, painted my nails & continued watching Friday Night Lights. Seriously, I'm addicted to this show.

In related news, between Wednesday & Sunday, I ran about 13 miles. I'm taking today off to let my knees rest, but when I got dressed this morning, a pair of pants that fit a few weeks ago are now visibly too big. Yeah!

Book Review: Food Rules: An Eater's Manual

Last week I read Michael Pollan's Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. It takes about an hour to read. It's 64 simple rules for healthy, smart eating, one rule per page. In the introduction, Pollan says, "I realized that the answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated question of what we should eat wasn't so complicated after all, and in fact could be boiled down to just seven words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He then breaks the book/rules into the following three categories:

Part I:

What should I eat?

(Eat food.)

Part II:

What kind of food should I eat?

(Mostly plants.)

Part III:

How should I eat?

(Not too much.)

Here are a few of my favorites:

Rule 9: Avoid food products with the wordoid "lite" or the terms "low-fat" or "nonfat" in their names.

"Since the low-fat campaign began in the late 1970s, Americans actually have been eating more than 500 additional calories per day, most of them in the form of refined carbohydrates like sugar."

Rule 39: Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

"... fried chicken, chips, cakes, pies, & ice cream. Enjoy these treats as often as you're willing to prepare them, chances are good it won't be every day."

Rule 46: Stop eating before you're full.

"Ask yourself not, Am I full? but, Is my hunger gone? That moment will arrive several bites sooner."

Rule 47: Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored.

"If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you're not hungry."

As I'm starting to run more & lose weight, I'm also eating less. I'm bad about coming home from work, sitting down in front of the TV & mindlessly snacking until dinner. I'm working on both that & the 'stop eating before you're full' thing. I'm trying to eat slower & less. It's a work in progress, but this book definitely drove the point home. Highly recommend it for anyone familiar with Michael Pollan &/or interested in eating better.

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

Brown the beef; drain

Add onion & garlic

Cook until softened

Stir in flour, pepper, salt & thyme

Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf & carrots

Cover loosely & simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally

Cook potatoes & garlic in boiling, salted water until tender

Stir in peas & remove bay leaf

Drain well & mash

Beat in milk, butter, salt & pepper

Spread mixture in 10x13 baking dish. Let cool slightly.

Beat all but 1 tbsp of egg into potatoes

Spread potatoes over meat mixture

Brush with reserved egg

Sprinkle cheese on top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbling

Voila!

This is Katie's recipe, well pre-vegetarian Katie. It's definitely a labor of love as it takes a good while to make, but it's so worth it, especially if you're married to a carnivore who's been outside staining the deck all day & who, prior to dinner, has ingested nothing but countless bottles of Mexican Coke all day.

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme (or ½ tablespoon fresh thyme)

2 cups organic beef broth

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup finely diced carrots

1/2 cup canned peas

Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

10-12 small/medium red potatoes, cut in half

6 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

3/4 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

In large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef until brown. Drain the fat.
Add onions and garlic; cook until softened.
Stir in flour, pepper, salt, thyme.
Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf and carrots.
Cover loosely and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until quite thick and carrots are tender.
Stir in peas.
Add salt to taste.
Remove bay leaf.
Spread mixture in 10 x 13 baking dish.
Let cool slightly.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

In boiling salted water, cook potatoes with garlic until tender.
Drain well and mash.
Beat in milk, butter, salt and pepper.
Reserve 1 tbsp. of beaten egg; beat remainder into potatoes.
Spread over meat mixture; brush with reserved egg.
Sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake in 400 oven for 25 minutes or until bubbling.

Book Review: Something Blue

After spending two months killing myself trying to read Homicide, I finally put it down & picked up something light. And by "something light", I mean Something Blue, the second book by Emily Giffin. I read her first book, Something Borrowed, back in July & loved it, so I was anxious to read the second book. It didn't disappoint. I loved it just as much as the first one.

These two books are about the friendship between Darcy & Rachel, childhood best friends from the Mid-West, who now live & work in NYC. Darcy is the pretty, popular one who always gets the guy, while Rachel is the smart, hard-working, perpetually single one. The first book focuses on Rachel, but this second book is primarily about Darcy, which I didn't like at first, because after reading the first book, you kind of hate Darcy. But I quickly found myself just as enthralled with this book as I was with the first one.

You find out at the end of the first book that Darcy is pregnant. The second book finds her pregnant, alone & flying to England to escape it all; staying with her & Rachel's shared friend, Ethan. This book is the story of Darcy & Ethan & it is sooooo good! I read it in two days. I couldn't put it down.

Highly recommend these two books. Light, quick reading, but surprisingly satisfying. Now I just need to get my hands on the third book, Baby Proof......

All Nilsson, All Day

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)

Last night we met Katie & Rollum in Hillsboro Village to see Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) at The Belcourt. It was a one night only screening & man, was it the place to be. Music Row must have been dark last night because, I swear, every musician, producer & engineer in town was at that screening.

Of the four of us, I knew the least about Harry Nilsson. Obviously, I'm familiar with a lot of his songs, but I knew little to nothing about him personally. This is one of the better documentaries that I've seen. It does a good job telling Harry's story & conveying what he was going through at various points in his life. It was very emotional, especially at the end. Most people walked out wiping their eyes.

Here's the blurb from Netflix:

Brilliant, mysterious singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson cut an indefinable path across the 1960s pop-cultural landscape, garnering such fans as John Lennon and Randy Newman. This discerning documentary lays bare the vast extent of Nilsson's influence. Along with rare archival material -- including home movies and audio clips -- anecdotes from Jon Voight, Van Dyke Parks and other scene makers spotlight the highs and lows of a mercurial career.

This documentary is from 2006, but for some reason, it's been really hard to find/watch. I overheard numerous, "I've been trying to see this for years," from the crowd.

According to Netflix, it releases on DVD 10/26/10. I loved it & highly recommend it. Here's the official trailer:

Weekend Wrap Up

Working 9 to 5... Dolly Parton & Lily Tomlin, pre-race

Dolly (sans costume) & Lily crossing the finish line

Friday:

My Aunt Becky, her daughter/my cousin Caitlin & Becky's BFF, Dana were in town from Oklahoma, so they stopped by on Friday afternoon to visit & see our house (see above).

Saturday:
Carolyn & I headed to Gap to use our Groupons. We both needed new jeans & Gap was running a 40% off denim sale, so we hit big. We essentially spent a good hour trying on every style of jeans they have. It was ridiculous, but we both left with a new pair of jeans. And I went down a size! Go, me!

Later in the day, John & I drove to the Gulch to meet Jessica & Brian for the Halloween in the Gulch 5K. Jessica & I went with our 9 to 5 theme. I was Dolly Parton & she was Lily Tomlin. We also met our friend Ashlee there, who was Slave Leia from Return of the Jedi. The course kind of sucked. The beginning of the race was running down Charlotte Pk from 12th to 6th, which was an almost un-run-up-able hill. Then it immediately went into another huge, blocks-long hill. The whole first half of the race was uphill. It kind of sucked. But whatever, we just did it for the costumes anyway. I finished 30th (out of 62) in my age group & 142nd (out of 448) overall at an 11.43 minute mile. Not bad, not awesome.

Post-race, we all went to Las Maracas where Jessica & I devoured margaritas & nachos. I was supposed to go to Family Wash with John, but by the time we got back home & I de-Dollyed, I was exhausted. So I went to bed & John went back to East Nashville sans Dolly.

Sunday:
Since I went to bed at like 8:30 on Sat night, I was up bright & early on Sun, so I decided to watch a movie while I drank my coffee. I put in I Am Love. OMG, ya'll. Seriously, omg. This movie is so good! I loved it. I think a lot of you saw it when it was at The Belcourt recently. Ladies, watch this movie. Guys, meh, probably not so much.

Later, we stopped by Mike & Chrissi's & hung out for awhile. John tried to teach their dogs how to howl. Little Annie almost had it. Big Ike, not so much.

Halloween in the Gulch 5K photostream here.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Ingredients (x 2)

Shred chicken with fork

Mix sour cream & soup

Place chicken in casserole dish

Pour sour cream/soup mixture over chicken

Chicken covered in sour cream/soup mixture

Crush Ritz crackers

Sprinkle crushed Ritz over sour cream/soup mixture

Melt butter

Ritz over sour cream/soup mixture

Melted butter

Pour melted butter over Ritz crackers

Sprinkle with poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes

Voila!

Dieters, take heed, this recipe is probably not for you. On the other hand, those seeking warmth & comfort from a down-home Southern casserole, you're welcome. The healthy thing to do, would be to serve this with a side salad, or some kind of vegetable, but I usually serve it with Velveeta shells & cheese. That's how I roll.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

(my grandmother's recipe)

Ingredients:

*2 cups shredded chicken

1 cup sour cream

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 stick butter

2 tbsp poppy seeds

1 1/2 stacks of Ritz crackers

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Shred chicken & place in bottom of 8x8 (square) casserole dish

Mix sour cream & soup in a bowl & pour over chicken

Crush Ritz crackers & sprinkle over sour cream/soup mixture

Melt butter, then pour over Ritz crackers

Sprinkle poppy seeds on top of everything

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes

*I got lazy & bought canned chicken (GASP!). I used the 12.5 oz can of Tyson Premium White Chunk Chicken, FYI.

You'll notice there are double the amount of ingredients in the picture than listed in the recipe. That's because I doubled this today - half for us, half for Mister Cathope. Delish!

An Open Letter To Comcast

Dear Comcast,

I hate you. I have always hated you. I have allowed you into my home over the years out of a basic necessity for national news & an unabashed love of reality tv. No more. When your bastard child, Digital Switch, hit West Nashville last night & rendered my beloved TiVo box useless, I cried, I yelled, I threw the remote. You see, for years I have enjoyed the happy marriage of cable tv & TiVo. I've bathed in the glory of being to able to record and watch multiple channels simultaneously (I watch A LOT of tv), but no longer. As of last night, I can only watch the channel that TiVo is recording. So when TiVo, just trying to do his job, tried to record Project Runway, The Office & The Real Housewives of DC Reunion, you & your aforementioned bastard child, Digital Switch, stepped in & shit all over it. Hell hath no fury like a woman denied her Thursday night reality tv. Comcast, consider yourself cancelled. Hulu, mama's coming.

Sincerely,
TBM

Homicide, The Book I Wish I Could Kill

John & I have never seen The Wire, which is ridiculous since John is from right outside of Baltimore. We were talking about watching it when John's friend Jon insisted that we read Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets first. So John read it, loved it & passed it to me. I sat on it for months, but finally picked it up. I've been reading it for about a month & a half & am only on page 216, which is incredibly slow for me.

I just can't get into it. For one thing, it's the mass market paperback version. I hate books this size. Hate! Every time I complain about it (which is often), John mocks me by shouting, "It's just too small!" But seriously, it is too small. Against John's better judgment, he concurred that it's probably not a "girl's book," which of course pissed me off & fueled me to keep reading it, which in hindsight, may have been his plan all along. Touche.

But I can't keep reading it. It's so slow! And there are too many characters. And cases. It's impossible to keep up. John insists that I'm not supposed to try & keep the characters or the cases straight, that it's about the camaraderie between the detectives, but my brain doesn't work this way. My brain wants to retain all of the details. In an effort to drive my point home, I went to Amazon to see if anyone else had trouble reading this book.

Here are snippets of my favorite reviews:

• Oh, I'll finish it on some night when I've read & reread all the other books in the house.
• Incredibly boring, I only read 2/3 of it.
• The book was something of a chore to read.
• Book is verbose & meandering at times.

It's rare that I give up on a book, but I think I'm going to set this one down & just start watching the series. I can't keep reading it, especially when I have so many other books at home that I'd rather be reading. Sorry Homicide, better luck next time.

Weekend Wrap Up

Note John's addition to Monday night.....

Busted! Caught Linda sleeping on her new dog bed.

Friday:

Nada. Stayed home, cleaned, made meal plan/shopping list (see above) & worked on clearing out my Tivo, which is at maximum capacity due to my ridiculous lack of spare time right now.

Saturday:
Had my ladyscaping tended to at The Wax Pot Studio, hit the holy trinity of grocery stores (Whole Foods, Trader Joe's & Publix), came home & made pesto chicken meatballs for book swap. A few months ago, I didn't think we'd be able to have our annual Halloween party, so I offered to host the October book swap as an excuse to pull out all of my Halloween decorations, etc. Since then, two things happened: 1) the Halloween obligation went away, meaning we could have our Halloween party afterall & 2) I found out the comps (the test I have to take to graduate) is on November 5th, which means in addition to the class I'm in, I'm also in a study group that meets three times a week. I have no life/spare time this month. But I powered through, cleaned my house within an inch of it's life, decorated & cooked.

Sunday:
Typical Sunday for the most part. Met Jessica, ran 4 miles through Long Hunter State Park, then we went to Panera to meet our classmate Emily & study for the comps. Post marathon study session, ran to Target, made hot corn dip & drove to Smyrna, where Katie was hosting a surprise birthday party for Rollum. We all parked down the street, so when he walked in from work, talking away on his cell phone, we all jumped out & yelled "Surprise!" & he was actually surprised. It was awesome.

Halloween Costume Quandary

2009: Ghoulia Child (& "Tape Monster")

2007: Lana Clarkson (& Phil Spector)

2006: Babe-raham Lincoln


2005: Alien Bride (& astronaut husband)

2004: Murder Victim (obvi)

I'm having a hard time thinking of a Halloween costume this year. Jessica & I are running the Halloween in the Gulch 5K next Saturday & we're going as Dolly Parton & Lily Tomlin from Nine to Five (see above).

But I still need a costume for our Halloween party later in the month. I have a long history of being scary/dead on Halloween. I can't explain it. I think it's due to my combined love of horror movies & make-up. As a child, I went with whatever would scare my sister & it just carried over into adulthood.

My favorite thing is to take a celebrity & zombie-fy their name, i.e., Ghoulia Child. I thought about keeping with the Dolly Parton/Nine to Five theme, but changing it to Zombie Parton. I don't know though. I also thought about Sorority Ghoul (instead of girl), but I feel like there's something better out there. I just have to apply myself.

I'll report back. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the costume parade of Halloweens past....