Saturday, January 24, 2009

Rock Solid


Ok, so I need to quit my whining - the climbing gym was great. They have an auto-locking system for belaying which meant there was no chance that DH could fall and I would shoot up 10 feet from the ground as a counter-balance. Not that that has *cough* ever happened. Nooo.

Anywho, we went for 90 minutes and now I can't move my arms. Oh my, I am *exhausted.* It's not the same exhausted as on the treadmill. I'm bone-tired. Bone. Tired.

Let's put it this way - at our old gym in DC the very best climb I ever did was a 5.8. Rock Solid here in San Diego starts at 5.7. Oh Lord. Needless to say - we will be back.

-----------------------
Ok, this is a compete change of topic. One of DH's very best friends' son's first birthday is next week. We wanted to send a Padres sweatshirt to the little tyke. As that DH and I have very little (or no) experience buying childrens clothing, it was very confusing.

What the heck is a "T" size? Toddler? How old is a toddler? What the heck? The clothes were like "12 months," "18 months," "2T," "4T," etc... We didn't want to get him the 12 months size because he'll outgrow it very fast. Is a 2T for a two year old? Who knows...

We ended up buying a 2T sweatshirt because it was the same size as the 18 month old tshirts. Did we make a strategic mistake? Will it be ginormous on the kiddo? Honestly...between the two of us, we have a BA, an MSSc, a BS, and a PhD and we couldn't figure out a simple shopping trip. Oi veh... How parents do this stuff, I'll never know...

OMFG

DH pretty much hates any sort of traditional American furniture. Luckily, I agree with him. I heart Corbusier and Eames and pretty much anything at DWR. So right now Inmod is having a HUGE sale. I am *HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE* oh hell *LUST* with the two following pieces:



Why, why, why, why do we have to save money right now? BAH! We currently do not have a coffee table and it drives me nuts. I want a glass and chrome coffee table so that it looks like it floats above our rug. Seriously - how perfect is that table?? And I LOVE the chandelier for right above our kitchen bar. WHY ARE WE IN A RECESSION - ARGH!

Anywho...we're off to the climbing wall for the first time in San Diego. I totally hate belaying DH because I'm terrified I'm going to freak out and drop him. However he really loves it and I want him to get some exercise so here we go! Get psyched, Elliott!! Woo!!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Nooooodles

Since Christmas I've been slowly transitioning to a vegan/vegetarian diet 90% of the time. I have a problem with the animal industry but mmm...I love steak. Anywho, I figured a good compromise would be to eat vegan 9 days out of 10. Then when I eat meat, I make sure to know its providence.

One of the things that has been hardest to get past has been my overwhelming love of noodles.

I loooove noodles. I should be sponsored by:
Call me pasta girl.

So I'm sure you've heard about Shirataki tofu noodles on Hungry Girl. The noodles are a translucent, gelatinous noodle that's made from the starch of a yam-like tuber called Kansas. To all of you who love pasta, it's a decent substitute: a cup and a half serving has something like 20 calories, 0 g fat, and 4 g fiber.

Puttin' on the GRITS had an absolutely hilarious review of Shirataki that almost put me off of trying them. Then I remembered that I made it through some pretty grody sushi in my day (octopus tentacle, anyone?). I had to get through it.

Word to the wise: the noodles come in a bag full of water and they smell TERRIBLE. Like, totally gag worthy fishiness. I rinsed them twice, par boiled for three minutes, rinsed again, and then microwaved for a minute. I tossed them with one of my favorite recipes: zucchini in a brown faux-butter sauce. And you know what? They're awesome. Slightly different texture and mouthfeel, but totally edible.

If only I didn't gag when I open a package.

Monday, January 19, 2009


Happy Inauguration Day, America!

I will be secretly listening while at work tomorrow. Shh.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Valentine's Day

Yes, Singleness Awareness Day is upon us. Time to find some Valentine's Day cards! I'm particularly fond of letterpress cards so off to etsy we go:






Personally, I'm leaning towards the PB&J cards. I'm quite the peanut butter fiend. :)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Oo, another fun post

The Rules:
*Grab the nearest book.
*Open the book to page 56.
*Find the FIFTH sentence.
*Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your blog along with these instructions.
*Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one; pick the CLOSEST.
*Tag five other people to do the same.

Here we go:
"After researching the Klan's corporate charter, Kennedy wrote to the governor of Georgia suggesting the grounds upon which the charter should be revoked: the Klan had been designated a non-profit, non-political organization, but Kennedy had proof that it was clearly devoted to both profits and politics. The problem was that most of Kennedy's efforts weren't producing the desired effect. The Klan was so entrenched and broad-based that Kennedy felt as if he were tossing pebbles at a giant. And even if he could somehow damage the Klan in Atlanta, the hundreds of other chapters around the country would go untouched." - Freakonomics (Given to me by my in-laws. TOTALLY excellent read, btw.)

I tag:
A Dozen Eggs
.:*why, hello darling!*:.
Running Just as Fast as I Can
Preppy Pink Crocodile
The Wasatch Report

Chugga chugga chugga...

...that's the sound I make in my head when I have to get through another C25K workout. As you may notice, I have a new widget on the sidebar - my Mini-Elliott! I decided that I needed some accountability in my desire to become a runner. I designed Mini-Elliott at Nike+ and it tracks my workouts through the sensor in my shoe. For all you cardio people, please don't laugh at how slow I am; I'm really proud that I can jog that far in the first place! I figure I can work on speed when I'm not tired at the end of 30 min. :)

So now workin' on my fitness is out in public. Guess who is going to the gym tomorrow instead of happy hour? Woop!

If anyone has any suggestions for a "power song" please let me know. (A "power song" on Nike+ is a song you can access with one button at any time to help you get through a stitch or a desire to quit.) Right now these are my candidates:





Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Thanks for all the nice comments on my hair, y'all! *blush* I'm very happy with it. Let's hope I can straighten it as well as Diana did!

I've had two grrrreat days. Yesterday my pub quiz team came in second after I beat out two other teams in a sudden death match. I didn't want to go up to break the tie (I *hate* being in front of a crowd) but my whole team laughed out loud when they heard the question - "Where is the largest US embassy?" Could a question have been more tailored to me? I think not. ;) (The answer, btw, is Baghdad. It's in a freaking palace!)

Then today I got a really really important report off my desk. It has taken me months so I'm psyched that it's in to edit. Woop!

To finish it off, I've finally hit the point in C25K where nothing hurts and it's easy to run. I even decided to skip the walking sections and just run the entire 30min. Go me. Woo!

Oh, oh, AND we have Little Britain USA on Netflix for tonight. I LOVE Little Britain so I'm hoping they did HBO justice when they created a cast of American characters.

Kisses to all,
Elliott

Monday, January 12, 2009

Hair today...

Gone tomorrow...I loved my long hair but I have to remind myself: "Healthy hair is better than long hair. Healthy hair is better than long hair."

Sunday, January 11, 2009

100 North American Foods

Similar to the book meme. Bold if you've tried it, italics if you would never eat it.

1. New York pizza
2. Hoppin' John
3. New Mexico green chile
4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
5. Tasso
6. Whole Maine lobster
7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies
8. Kansas City barbecue ribs
9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme (be still, my heart)
10. San Diego fish tacos
11. Cheese curds
12. Key lime pie
13. Philly cheese steak
14. Memphis pork barbeque sandwich (Holla Rendezvous!)
15. Lowcountry boil
16. Huckleberry pie
17. New England clam chowder
18. Boiled peanuts
19. Buffalo burger
20. Eggs Benedict
21. Pastrami on rye
22. Corned beef and cabbage
23. Pancakes with maple syrup
24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato (add a little smoked salmon and that's my favorite breakfast/sandwich)
25. Thin Mints
26. Frito pie
27. Potato knish with mustard
28. Silver Queen corn on the cob
29. Soft pretzel from a street cart (I DO NOT trust street carts. I don't care if I'm missing the greatest food - they totally bug me out.)
30. Fresh-picked blueberries
31. Sourwood honey
32. State fair funnel cake
33. Chesapeake crab cakes
34. Candied yams
35. Oyster dressing
36. Snow cone or snowball
37. Wild Alaskan salmon
38. Sautéed more (?)
39. Persimmon pudding
40. General Tso's Chicken
41. Frozen custard
42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun
43. Chili dogs (Like Obama, I believe the best ones come from Ben's)
44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese
45. Spam musubi
46. Saltwater taffy (I *hate* taffy. It's a texture thing.)
47. Fluffernutter sandwich
48. Black and white cookie
49. Frybread (quite possibly the worst thing for you in the world)
50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon
51. Baked beans
52. Pumpkin pie
53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sauteed peppers
55. Fried green tomatoes
56. Succotash
57. Shrimp and grits
58. Hot water cornbread
59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions
60. Chicken fried steak
61. Carnitas burrito
62. Apple butter
63. Geoduck
64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell
65. Pecan pie
66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station
67. Oysters Rockefeller
68. Homemade cranberry sauce
69. Pimento cheese
70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola
71. Pickled watermelon rind
72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game
73. Smithfield ham
74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at a diner
75. Chicken and waffles
76. Po'Boy with many napkins
77. Green bean casserole with French's fried onions
78. Stuffed sopaipillas
79. Turducken
80. Shad roe on toast
81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
82. Cioppino
83. New York cheesecake
84. Pan-fried river trout
85. Jambalaya
86. North Carolina pig pickin'
87. California rolls
88. Burgoo
89. Penuche fudge
90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich
91. Scrapple
92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction
93. Muscadine grapes
94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue
95. Open-face turkey sandwich
96. Chicago deep dish pizza
97. Cobb salad
98. Peach pie a la mode
99. Macaroni and cheese
100. Root beer float (add Jack Daniels for an adult treat!)

TOTAL
Eaten: 68
Won't Try: 3
Left to try: 29

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Aww.

$29 at West Elm

There's an elephant too!

Monday, January 5, 2009

New Year's Resolution #1:

Replenish the bank account.

Moving cross country and then buying a place totally decimated the ol' savings. We (meaning: me) decided to save at least 6 months living expenses and then invest the rest. We have saved a TON in the last two months and I'm determined to get to XXXXX by June.

Which is why there are tons and tons of unbelievable sales at the moment.

Witness Kate Spade:
I swoon.
$395 now $198


I pine.
$325 now $163


I burn.
$295 now $224

Le sigh.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Hello from 2009 my lovelies!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Years. DH and I stayed in, mostly because we couldn't get our act together to do anything outside the house. Buuuut...we're taking a long weekend and heading to Big Bear to go snowboarding. Yes!! I'm very excited to head out on the slopes. Caveat: I'm also freaked out about the altitude. You see, I've only every skied on the East Coast, land of the tiny mountains. And I get wicked, wicked headaches when at altitude. Perhaps I'll take Friday to acclimate and then snowboard the rest of the weekend. We shall see.

Anywho, I never told y'all about my fabulous trip home for Christmas! Yes, DH and I flew home for three days to DH. Yes, three days. We practically spent longer in the air. Buuut...it was awesome to go home. My Dad had some surgery the Friday before so I was glad we were there to cook and help out. New Years Eve we had the following:

Roasted leg of lamb with mint sauce (so outrageous, I still can't believe how yummy it was)
Homemade tomato linguini alfredo with snowpeas
Roasted broccoli with chili and garlic
Pecan rum cake with caramel (O. M. G.)

Christmas dinner:
Walnut, goat cheese, and beetroot salad
Roasted turkey with red wine gravy
Roasted veg (parsnips, potatoes, carrots, leeks, onions)
Green beans with lemon and garlic
Trifle (My family was totally scared of trifle. Let's just say DH and I ate more than our fair share.)

We received lots and lots of fabulous presents. Wustof kitchen shears, cookbooks, the most amazing collapsible colanders for our teeeeny kitchen, lots of cds and books (the complete Sookie Stackhouse series!), piles of British chocolates, and clothes. My favorite present? Tie between the handtowels DH had embroidered with our pet names for each other and my Nike+.

Word on the Nike+: I FREAKING LOVE IT!!! It's a little sensor you put into your shoe that connects to your Ipod. It then keeps track of your running. I've got a neato chart now that plots speed, distance, calories burned, etc. Perfect for my resolution to keep up with my running!

Ok, DH is dragging me out the door. More later ladies, I feel like I've only brushed the surface of the last couple weeks!