I suck at camping

We went camping overnight at Mueller State Park. This is the view from our campsite. This was one thing we did right.


The things we did wrong: forgetting to bring pillows, tongs, warm jackets, coffee. It's been a long time since I slept in a tent. The sleeping pads are fine, but without a pillow to give a little comfort, I didn't sleep well at all. Now, I'm cranky and have to go off to a test drive and tutoring without a good night's sleep. As I said, Mueller is beautiful, and dinner was good. But we're chalking this camping trip up to a live-and-learn experience.

Playing tour guide

I haven't had much time to post lately because I've been playing tour guide to my niece. We went to Garden of the Gods. She took some really nice pictures. I took some pictures of her.

We also went to the zoo to feed the giraffes and laugh at parents who tell their children that emus are "ostriches" and gorillas are "monkeys." (Yes, I judge.)

I think I look sufficiently touristy in that photo.

Ever wonder who's really on display?

I'm a Mac

After many years of being a PC person, I have purchased a shiny new Mac Book. Does that make me pretentious? Probably. Does it make me materialistic because I love the fact that it's my very own and not a hand-me-down? I don't care.

After almost as many years with Windows, I am learning how to navigate the Mac. It's different but not like learning a new language. And the Mac Book is actually portable, as opposed to my previous lap top, which was a 17-inch wide-screen monster. It was great for some things but far from truly portable.

Add to that the awesome iPod Touch and printer I'm getting rebates for, and I am truly now an Apple person... and I'm not sure how I feel about that. But I love my new techy stuff.

My Big Backyard

A little columbine makes a valiant effort to survive in my backyard, springing up next to our tiny aspen grove. It's like I live in Colorado or something.

Thinking of you

It doesn't get any easier.

Happy Birthday, Mom.

I'm doing this from now on

So busy

You know what sucks? My part-time job taking up so much of my time. I barely have time to get in a game of solitaire, let alone write on my blog!

Here, let me distract you with a picture of the dog and the S.O.

The cuteness has made you forget there is no true substance to this post.

That's not my name

I've been listening to the Ting Tings, and they have me be-bopping in the car:



Thanks, Kate!

Hail! Hail!

This is my backyard after the storm today:

This is my dog during the storm:

Who doesn't love a pillow fort?

More kitchen fun

We got a new refrigerator yesterday. It's shiny and black and 6 cubic feet larger than the old one. It actually fits in the space allotted for a fridge in our kitchen (the old one kind of floated in the spot). The freezer in the old fridge was pretty much packed to the gills, while this one is mostly empty. Time to stock up on chicken breasts, frozen pizzas and gelato.

And it has ice and water in the door! I know not everyone is a fan of the ice/water-in-the-door feature (and yes, I know it makes them less efficient), but I've wanted that since I was a kid. It was my first major sin -- I coveted my friend's refrigerator because it had chilled water and ice. Right. In. The. Door!

I tried to take some pictures, but it's so reflective, they didn't really turn out. The pic to the right is from BestBuy.com.

The S.O. said he was going to leave me and marry the new refrigerator, but I think he got the idea of marrying ourselves off to inanimate objects from me. And there's no way he's getting rid of me that easily. Especially not after having this fridge installed.

It's so nice to be able to get so much in it and to be able to find things without pulling everything out. And it's clean. Wouldn't it be nice if I could keep it that way forever?

I didn't die

As I mentioned last week, the S.O. and I rode our bicycles 25-miles Sunday as part of the Elephant Rock Cycling Festival. It was a great day for a ride (we finished well before any tornadoes spun through the area). Cool in the morning, warming to a sunny day.

I'm not going to say it was easy. It wasn't. It was 25 miles, and I swear at least 90 percent of it was uphill. It was tough. But I never had to get off and push the bike up a hill. I made it the whole way. I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment. Sure, there were people who rode 34, 62 and 100 miles, but I can't compare myself to those folks. This is the longest bike ride I've ever done, and that's cool. I honestly don't think I could have made it if I wasn't doing the boot camp workouts. My endurance has definitely improved.

The route passes through Castlewood Canyon. There was some very pretty scenery along the way.

We had a rest and aid stop at 12.3 miles. They gave us plenty of carb-loaded snacks and refills for our water bottles. Plus, they had port-a-potties. Here we are at half-way, after refueling.

Because this stop was at about the halfway point, I thought the second half would be a breeze. I was sorely mistaken. The second half was more on-road, and my little mountain bike just isn't built for such climbs on the road -- neither are my knees, apparently.

Here I am at the top of one of many climbs. This one was just after the second aid and rest station -- about 19 miles from the start.

As I said, I made it -- and with hardly any complaints.

An interesting read

This article from Newsweek is quite enlightening (if a bit long). It talks about how Oprah is promoting some misleading -- and maybe even dangerous -- health practices on her show.

An excerpt that made me laugh:

But (Dr. Christiane) Northrup believes thyroid problems can also be the result of something else. As she explains in her book, "in many women, thyroid dysfunction develops because of an energy blockage in the throat region, the result of a lifetime of 'swallowing' words one is aching to say."

I have thyroid problems, and as the S.O. will attest, and most of you reading this already know, I don't really hold back when I want to say something. As the article's writer says, "An interesting theory—but is there anyone who believes that what Oprah suffers from is an inability to express herself?"

Another funny little bit:

On one of the Secret shows, Oprah gave an example of the scientific power of the concept. She said that once, while she was hosting an episode about a man who could blow really big soap bubbles, she was thinking to herself, "Gee, that looks fun. I would like to blow some bubbles." When she returned to her office after the show, there, on her desk, was a silver Tiffany bubble blower. "So I call my assistant," Oprah told the audience. "I say, 'Did you just run out and get me some bubbles? 'Cause I got bubbles by my desk.' And she says, 'No, the bubbles were always there. I bought you bubbles for your birthday and you didn't notice them until today'."

There are many lessons that might be drawn from this anecdote. One is that if you give Oprah a thoughtful gift, she may not bother to notice it or thank you for it. This is not the lesson Oprah took away from her story. Because the way she sees it, her assistant hadn't really given her the gift at all. She gave it to herself. Using the power of The Secret, she said, "I had called in some bubbles."

As I said, it's a fairly long article, but worth the read. I admire Oprah and -- as the article points out -- she worked hard to get where she is. But it just goes to show you can't believe everything you see on TV.

[crosses self and prays for Oprah's mercy]

The Elephant in the room

The S.O. and I are going to ride the 25-mile off-road ride at the Elephant Rock Cycling Festival this Sunday. To prepare (perhaps a bit belatedly) we took our bicycles out this morning for the first time in many, many moons.
We rode about 7 1/2 miles, with plenty of climbs thrown in. It felt pretty good. (Thanks, Boot Camp!) The shortest ride you can do at Elephant Rock is the 7-mile ride. I'm pretty sure that would be way too easy for us. The 25-mile ride will probably be a bit of a challenge, but I'm confident I'll do fine.

This morning was perfect for a bike ride. It was a little cool but not chilly. The sun was shining, and all the people we passed who were riding or jogging were smiling. That's a good ride.

I'm looking forward to this Sunday. There will be refreshment stations along the way, so I won't have to worry about crashing -- figuratively or literally. And there will be a great crowd of people, all enthusiastic about getting out on their bikes. All, that is, except the ones who who rather be sipping lattes and watching "Meet the Press" but were dragged there by a spouse, parent or significant other all gung ho about a long bike ride.

Goodbye, Earl

So, another show bites the dust. NBC has canceled "My Name is Earl." Ok, sure the show didn't live up to its first-season greatness (I blame the bleeping writers' strike that put a kink in most scripted shows) but it was still better than the reality-show dreck we're being fed. Wasn't Stephen Baldwin on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" before? Do we really need to see more of Stephen Baldwin or they-who-shall-not-be-named from The Hills?

And it's true that I had to take Jason Lee off "the list" for his parts in "Underdog" and "Alvin and the (effing) Chipmunks," but I still had a soft spot in my heart for his portrayal of Earl -- so cute, so sweet, so dumb.

I guess I'm just tired of reading about all the scripted shows (my love for "Pushing Daisies" is well documented) that have been canceled and all the new reality shows. I get enough reality every day. Television is my escape. Thank goodness for USA Network. Although I don't want to say anything too loudly. If they find out how much I love "Burn Notice" and "Psych," they may cancel those shows, too.

Here's a nice little tribute to "Earl" from Gael Fashingbauer Cooper of Pop Culture Junk Mail.

Overwhelmed

I'm not sure why but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. Maybe it's something in the water. Maybe it's trying to keep a food journal and becoming a bit obsessive about that. Maybe it's that I have to train tutors this week (standing up in front of a group!). Maybe it's the dreary, rainy weather. Whatever it is it's got me suffering angst and I don't like it.

It's quite the vicious circle. I'm feeling anxious. Then I feel anxious about why I'm feeling anxious. Then I think maybe I'm crazy for feeling this way and I get down on myself for being so down on myself. You get the idea.

Whatever the reason, my heart or my shoes, I'm just sitting here, hating the blues.*


*With apologies to Dr. Seuss

What I watched: "Star Trek"

After hearing really good things about the new Star Trek movie, from some reliable sources, the S.O. and I slipped out of "work" early to catch a matinee today. This isn't a review of the movie. I enjoyed it -- a lot, but not nearly as much as the guy who sat to my left (the S.O. was on my right). In fact, I'm not sure if anyone has ever enjoyed a movie quite as much as this late-40-something fanboy.

He was giggling like a schoolgirl from the moment Kirk appeared on screen until the credits rolled -- possibly beyond, but we left at that point.


This guy bounced in his seat. He pumped his fist and said, "Yesssss" whenever a line from the original series was spoken or something mildly cool happened. The only way he could have been geekier is if he'd come in costume and shouted, "I love you, Captain Kirk!" Seriously, he was like a pre-teen girl at a Jonas Brothers concert.

I could also hear him whispering to his friend -- which is normally annoying, but I was so fascinated by the geekitude, it didn't really bother me too much. I have to wonder if the friend was as giddy as my neighbor.

We probably should have waited for the end of the credits. Now that I'm thinking about it, I bet they gave each other the Vulcan sign and said, "Live long and prosper." That would have been awesome.

My T-Shirt Love

My dear friend turned me on to this T-shirt site and a sale code that got me 15 percent off my order. Today, my T-shirt came, and I love it.

Cute cuddly panda bear with crossbones. Love! I have wanted this shirt ever since I saw John Sheppard sporting one (in a men's version naturally).

I bought this one for the S.O. He didn't get as excited as I did about the shirts. (I think he has his own little crush on John Sheppard and wanted the panda shirt so he could be like his hero. Shhh.) But I'm pretty sure he likes it, and if he doesn't wear it, it's a great night shirt for me. Bonus.

Yeah, I'm not as trim as the model here, but the shirt is pretty damn flattering on me anyway -- and will be more so as I continue my boot camp fitness.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to wear this four days out of the week when tutoring starts back up. It not offensive or anything. We're just not supposed to wear T-shirts. Bummer.

He knows more than you do!*

The S.O. received his Masters of Electrical Engineering today. Our seats weren't very close to the stage. But they projected everything on to the big screen. Here he is accepting his diploma ...

cover. The actual degree is sent by mail late this summer.

I'm quite proud of him. He's the only one in his immediate family to attend college, let alone receive an advanced degree. I think he's allowed to be smug* for a while.

*Just ask Dr. Science!

More healthy, yummy food

Because I'm still a lazy cook, but trying to actually be a cook and to also eat and serve good, healthful meals, here's another kitchen-tested recipe from "Healthy in a Hurry." Or you can find the recipe at the Eating Well Web site (they include all the nutrition info over there).

Adobo Pork & Potato Packets

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 small sweet potato, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 medium yellow-fleshed potato, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 bone-in pork loin chops (1 1/2-1 3/4 pounds), trimmed of fat
Preparation

1. Preheat grill to high.

2. Combine oil, vinegar, paprika, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender; process until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Place sweet potato, potato and onion in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons of the sauce; toss well to coat. Rub both sides of pork chops with the remaining sauce.

3. To make a packet, lay two 24-inch sheets of foil on top of each other (the double layers will help protect the contents from burning); generously coat the top piece with cooking spray. Spread half the potato mixture in the center of the foil in a thin layer. Bring the short ends of foil together, fold over and pinch to seal. Pinch the seams together along the sides to seal the packet. Make a second packet in the same fashion with the remaining potato mixture.

4. Place the packets on the hottest part of the grill and the pork chops in the front or back. Cook the pork for 3 to 4 minutes per side and the packets for 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and let rest while the packets finish cooking. Open the packets (be careful of steam) and serve the pork chops with the vegetables.

Makes 4 servings

I don't consider potatoes to be a vegetable, so I served this with candied carrots -- which probably aren't all that healthy, what with the 4 tablespoons of butter, but are delicious and, I'm told, can be made with less butter -- but I think a tossed green salad would go well with this dish.

In with the new

We took out the old ceiling fan in our living room. It was shiny brass and very ornate. It also hung only about 6 feet off the floor.

I think this room was meant to be a dining room. But it's carpeted and sits at the front of the house. It's weird. Instead, we use it as our "music room." The piano is there, and my guitar rests there when I'm not jamming out.

The picture to the right -- action shot! -- is the new fan. It sports a more modern design and finish. I like it so much I want to totally redecorate the room around this one piece.

Here's the S.O. working away. He reads instructions! He installs fans! And yes, his hand is still partially immobilized.













Here's the old fan, already removed. You can see how shiny it is. But, as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. So we're planning to donate it. Just because I think it's hideous, someone else may love it.