Mappage

We saved our maps from Rome and and Venice for framing purposes, though our trip was five months ago and I’ve just now gotten around to popping one of the maps in a frame. I really love the idea of framing maps – I think it’s such a cute (and cheap) way to decorate, especially if the maps mean something to you. Even if they don’t, they still look great!

I found this image on Pinterest and like the idea but I didn’t want to use one of our Italy maps since I’d have to cut out part of the map. I’m pretty commitment-phobic when it comes to cutting anything… what if I don’t like it? I can’t hit “undo” in real life!

I put our map of Rome in a 5”x7” frame and hung it in our hallway.

 

 

Now every time we pass it I can remember the Colosseum and that rainy, rainy day.

 

Weekending

I hope everyone else also has the day off! I must say, three day weekends should be standard, don't you think? I for one feel very relaxed! Though that might have more to do with my girl's day in on Saturday. Two of Mark's friends from Portland drove up for the weekend and had a guy's day out while I spent a much needed day inside resting. I came down with a slight cold last week so I knew I didn't want to be out and about in the elements on Saturday.

So I slept in until 10:30 and then caught up on six episodes of my favorite show at the moment, Gossip Girl. My sister-in-law got me into it and I'm so glad she did. I never knew I could care so much about catty rich girls in New York City. :) Watching it is a great escape for me and I'm over halfway done with the series thanks to my binge-watching. I also gave myself a manicure and a pedicure on Saturday, and felt completely guiltless about ignoring any and all housework. Basically... it was amazing. Then the guys came back and we watched a documentary on a sushi chef in Japan, went to dinner at Cactus in South Lake Union, and then watched the first half of a miniseries called "Treasure Island," which I'd totally recommend though I fell asleep through most of it (how is that possible... I did nothing on Saturday!) Mark and I actually finished the miniseries last night (there's only two episodes) and I thought it was very well done.

The added benefit to a day of complete relaxation? After Mark's friends left on Sunday, I totally powered through a bunch of housework and had energy to spare. Give yourself the time off you need and you'll come back full throttle! I had been planning on making ribs for Sunday dinner but the recipe I was planning on using called for stewing them in the crockpot for 11-12 hours and I completely forgot to prepare. I guess my day off cleared my mind so much I forgot I had a plan for Sunday. So I found a new ribs recipe -- Ina Garten's beef short ribs -- and set off to the store for a leek and a fennel bulb. I'd never bought fennel before so I didn't really know what it looked like, but I'd heard of it so I thought it would be easy enough to find. Two passes down the produce line later, I was convinced that maybe Safeway didn't have fennel. I'd seen something called anise that I thought could have been fennel (it came in a bulb, like fennel), but wouldn't they have just called it fennel? So I asked for help but the worker didn't know what fennel looked like either. She went to the produce manager who came out to tell me that they in fact didn't have fennel. Argh. So I drove down the road to Haggen's, a different grocery store, because I still needed this darn fennel. There I found the same vegetable that had been labeled just as anise at Safeway, only at Haggen's it was labeled "anise fennel bulb." I asked the produce guy if that was indeed fennel (I'm sure he thought I couldn't read) and he answered affirmatively. Well, if I'd have KNOWN that's what fennel was also called, I would've just gotten it at Safeway!

I guess the moral of the story is to not trust the Safeway produce manager? Anyway, bulb of fennel finally in hand, I went home and prepared what turned out to be some truly delicious ribs (I called it Mark's Valentine's Day dinner). That Ina Garten knows what she's talking about. I also learned that when the recipe tells you to tie up the fresh herbs with kitchen twine, you should probably use kitchen twine. I didn't have any so I used a long sprig of thyme to tie them up (and yes, I thought I was a genius) but it didn't keep the herbs together in the end. So I had to fish most of them out by hand. Lesson learned.

Hanging out with da 'mill

Remember when I said that I wanted to make friends with my nemesis, the treadmill? While we aren’t besties by any means, I think we’ve reached a truce of sorts. I lasted 45 stinkin’ (no really, I was gross) minutes on that thing (first time ever making it that long) and didn’t once slow to a walk, which was my goal. I came up with some changes to my thinking that, I think, got me through it.

1. It’s all in my head. For me, the treadmill is all mental. Win the battle in your head, win the battle on the treadmill. I convinced myself that my brain was telling me that I was too hot and too tired but that my body was, in reality, doing just fine.  Studies show that despite what your brain tells you, it’s physically easier to run on a treadmill rather than outside. Since I have no problem running outside, the treadmill shouldn’t feel so hard. I’m not saying you shouldn’t listen to your body though – I’ll touch on that later.

2. Do what it takes to make it happen. I used to think that if I couldn’t sustain my goal pace then I might as well just take a break and walk. This runs counter to my jogs outside, where my motto is NEVER WALK UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, from which I rarely deviate. If I can do it outside (and for much longer), which the experts say is technically harder, why can’t I do it on the machine? For me, the solution was swallowing my pride and slowing to a more relaxed pace (10:20 min/mile) in order to keep myself from walking. It drives me a little nuts to intentionally slow but I have to ask myself the question, what is my goal here? If my goal here is to just keep running for 45 minutes, then there’s no shame in taking steps to meet that goal, even if it means my pace is slower.

3. Chunk it. I started out for 15 minutes at a 10:00/mile pace and spent 10 minutes in the middle at a 9:30 pace, intending to spend the remaining 20 minutes back at 10:00/mile. But with 10 minutes to go, I decided I could no longer sustain a 10:00/mile pace and slowed to 10:20/mile. And then I took it minute by minute. A minute would go by and I’d reassess. Do I need to slow down? How can I focus better to get through this next minute? One minute is easier to tackle than 10!

And before I knew it (not really… I was very aware) I was done. And I felt a kinship with the treadmill, like we’d found a mutual respect for each other. Plus I always love being the one who’s been on the treadmill the longest. Or is that just me being competitive? Whatever works!

Productivity

I was in a mood last night. A productive mood!

First up was the almond butter. Seriously people, I don’t know why I don’t make this all the time. It’s so easy. Just pour in some raw almonds into a food processor and press ON. Then wait about 12 minutes; the almonds go through stages of releasing their oils so patience is key. In the first few minutes you start to think that maybe processing isn’t going to work because the almonds get crumbly for a while, but then it starts getting creamy and oily and all is right with the world. THEN the butter starts to get crumbly again and you wonder where you went wrong and if you should’ve quit while you were ahead. And just when you think the processor might just up and die on you (mine starts to get hot), the butter turns creamy again. So there you go: make it and love it.

Then I decided that I needed to do something with the leftover quinoa and brown rice I made earlier in the week. I thought maybe something Greek inspired that I could eat on top of a salad for lunch this week. So I chopped up half a red bell pepper, halved some cherry tomatoes, and tossed in a spoonful of herbed feta and mixed everything along with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. The result is a flavorful salad that I can’t wait to enjoy for lunch today. I thought after the fact that chopped red onion would’ve been a nice add – next time!

That salad was inspired by a trip to Pasta and Co., a local joint I can only describe as a type of deli (actually the website calls it gourmet take-out, a good description), though whatever you buy they can plate and serve to you in-store if you would like, as they have some seating for customers. They have all kinds of salads: pasta salads, vegetable salads, rice salads, you name it! Plus, there are free samples everywhere: yesterday we sampled two different cheeses, a house-made granola, and the best white chocolate raspberry cheesecake I’ve ever had. Really, if you’re in Seattle (or Bellevue), you’ve got to go!

Running resolutions

This March will mark my four-year anniversary of the month I started running recreationally to prepare for my first half-marathon. After that race, I told anyone who would listen that I would NEVER EVER do that again.

I ate my words last year and logged a second half-marathon, and even shaved off 26 minutes from my time. I also enjoyed it a heck of a lot more, and upped my running days from twice a week in 2009 to three times a week to prep for the race.

2013: I’m signed up for not one but TWO half-marathons, within a month of each other! The race in June is the Rock n’ Roll, the same one I’ve done twice before. The race in May is the Rock n’ Roll in Portland, which I’m especially excited for since it’ll be a new course and location. And I have a goal: I want 2013 to be the year I break two hours in my half-marathon time. It’s a lofty goal. My first half-marathon time was 2:43 and my second was 2:17. So if I aim for a repeat of 2012 and shave off another 26 minutes, I’d for sure break two hours. Never mind the fact that breaking two hours will require running near 9-minute miles, which I’ve never actually accomplished before (well, once… for only one mile). So I’ve got my work cut out for me.

Since the addition of a third day of running helped greatly last year, I’ve decided to add a fourth after listening to advice from my running co-workers and searching online for tips on breaking the two-hour barrier. I also want to utilize the high school track near our house for speed work and make friends with my nemesis, the treadmill. We’ll see how THAT goes.

Monday Monday

So… I feel like Mondays are like an eyebrow wax. Just when you get all comfy and relaxed, you’re forced BACK TO REALITY when someone rips off half your face. And as if it isn’t bad enough to have someone armed with hot wax tearing out those stragglers, THEN they have to go back over and tweeze. Just like those Monday morning projects. It’s bad enough that you get dragged out of bed at an absurd hour but then you get slammed with all the little things that cropped up over the weekend.

At least an eyebrow wax cleans up my face.

An upside to Mondays: I get back to my healthy lunches! We continued our Sunday afternoon football tradition of ordering wings and fries with our friends during the Seahawks game, so I was ready for some healthy food today. Today’s lunch was a black bean burger (Morningstar), brown rice topped with some sriracha hot sauce, and steamed green beans. Lunch got healthified.

On my bookshelf

I’ve been a library fanatic lately! Soon they’ll know me by name. At least, they would if I didn’t scan out my items myself since I know my library card number by heart. Nerd.

“Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card

This is a science fiction novel about a boy in a military school in a future where the human race has successfully fought against an alien race for survival. This is a much different type of book than I usually read – according to Wikipedia, this book is suggested reading for the United States Marine Corps. But I read it because the movie will be coming out in November and I wanted to be able to compare the two (nerd). I hate to make this distinction but it’s undoubtedly a “boy” book – lots of military strategy and violence. I’d recommend it if you like science fiction but if you don’t, you might want to wait for the movie. Perhaps my imagination isn’t as geared toward science fiction but I had a hard time imagining some of the scenes in the book so I’m curious how the movie will do. It will star Asa Butterfield (“Hugo”) and Harrison Ford, so hopes are high!

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo

What a gem of a book. I LOVED it. This novel is short and reads like a parable. It’s about a shepherd in Spain but it’s really about YOU. The boy learns throughout the book to pursue his personal dream, overcoming obstacles with the help of a mentor, a man known as the alchemist. I definitely recommend this book and think everyone should read it. It’s inspiring.

“White Jacket Required” by Jenna Weber

Jenna is one of my favorite bloggers and runs the site Eat Live Run. I’ve tried a few of her recipes including this white chicken chili, chicken and biscuits to fix your life, and chicken parmesan with a twist and I’ve loved them all! Jenna seems so genuine and wonderful that I knew I had to read her memoir. I loved the behind-the-scenes look at her culinary school experience – I’ve always wondered what culinary school was like. Believe me, this girl knows her way around food! It makes me trust her recipes even more.

What is everyone else reading? I love hearing suggestions!