Earth Day 5k

I signed up to participate in an Earth Day 5k with a friend.  I really waffled on whether I was going to go or not since I really wasn't able to train for it at all.  We had agreed to walk the race and I was glad.  It turned out to be a perfect spring morning and we walked the race.  S-l-o-w.

We walked and chatted and literally everyone else participating passed us.  Old people, a really pregnant woman, a couple with a stroller, and an eight-year-old girl passed us.  I did not care.  No matter how slow we walked, we were still faster than everyone on the couch.  I did find it unnecessary when the winner passed us twice.  According to the official statistics, I came in second to last (by one second) so my slowest pace still stands.  It was my first race since before I got pregnant with Babyface and I felt good when it was over. 

Crockless

When trying new recipes in the slow cooker, I've found they are either terrible, boring, or awesome.  Last weekend My Heart's Desire made orange chicken in the slow cooker that was so bad it was inedible.  He followed the recipe exactly (he is a very precise cook, unlike me) but it was just blech.  I soaked the crock and then put it in the dishwasher, as usual. 

When he pulled the crock out of the dishwasher, he found the inside finish is buckling and peeling.  We joked that the orange chicken was so bad it revolted even the crock.

I just got the slow cooker for Christmas so it can't be worn out.  I called the manufacturer and they are sending me a new one for the cost of shipping.  I'm really missing it. 

In the meantime, I'm making quick dinners like frozen ravioli with Trader Joe's marinara jazzed up with onions, garlic, and mushrooms.  I'm going to make some white chili this weekend and freeze it to eat later in the week. 

UPDATE: The manufacturer sent me a new slow cooker (the whole thing, not just the crock) in exchange for shipping costs and the plug of the old machine.

2012 Goals: Second Quarter

What did I learn from my first quarter goals? Well, they were not as easily achievable as I thought. And that it only takes one thing to go awry (illness, business trip) to throw a wrench in the routine. My second quarter goals are to accomplish the things I've had in mind this year.
Here are my goals for April—June:

Writing
1) My goal for this quarter is to update a personal essay that I wrote last year, polish it, and send it out for submission to Washingtonian and The New York Times.
2) Blog at least twice a week. I'm lowering the bar here since I think two posts is more realistic. If I can get in three (or more) that'll be great but I won't feel like a slacker if I don't.

Healthy
3) The shared plan with a friend and Google document did not work out as I had hoped. I have a home workout plan that was created with the help of a wonderful personal trainer. I am following the plan four times a week. I am committing to working out four times a week and writing it all down on paper. I see the trainer once or twice a month and have real accountability. I have had to economize in several areas in order to afford it and find it's worth it.

Romance
4) My Heart's Desire and I will continue to go on dates at least once a month. We leave Babyface with a sitter and go out together. Having established this routine is something that I really look forward to. Sometimes it also works out that we can have lunch during the week and that's really nice too. It also allows us to have adult conversation that is not about baby poop.

Parenting
5) The parenting classes that I have been taking with Babyface have been terrific. They are partly group led and partly instructor led, really the best of both. Classes are only through the school year, so after May we are off for the summer. I belong to a few parenting and mom organizations that I haven't been participating in much. My goals are to attend at least three events.

Next Stop

I rarely buy hardbacks.  Rarely.  If you came to my house and peeked at my hardbacks, you would find most of them would have Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas scrawled across the title page. 

Glen Finland's Next Stop is a hardback that I pre-ordered and then eagerly awaited its delivery.  I've known Glen since the first day of graduate school, we were in the MFA program together.  I really like her writing, her fiction and nonfiction.  I've read this book in various stages, as essays, as thinly veiled fiction, and as a collection. 

When the final version arrived on my doorstep from Amazon, I was so excited!  I read while Babyface slept.  It was more polished than the earlier work that I'd read.  I found Next Stop to be brutally honest and well written. 

Glen doesn't just tell you what it's like to raise a family with three sons, the youngest of whom has autism.  She shows you moments big and small and her family's struggles.  She also pulls the curtain back on motherhood and goes beyond the sweet to the smelly and the real experiences.

It's the best kind of nonfiction, the kind that has you thinking for weeks after.

Slow Cooker Homestyle Roast Chicken

I made this roast chicken last week and it was a big hit!  My Heart's Desire liked it even more than I did.  I served it with rice and steamed vegetables.  I found the recipe online (but can't remember where, if this is your recipe, send me a link) and increased the spices since I find so many slow cooker recipes really boring.

Slow Cooker Homestyle Roast Chicken
Ingredients:
1 Whole chicken, neck and gizzards (and anything else in the chicken) thrown away

Seasonings:
1 T kosher salt
1 T paprika
1 T onion powder
1 T Italian seasoning
1 t thyme
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t black pepper

2 T crushed garlic
1 quartered onion

Mix the spices together and rub it all over the chicken, inside and out.  Add the garlic and onion and put it in the chicken.  Put the chicken in the slow cooker, breast side up.  Do not add liquid!  Put the lid on and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8.  I always use the thermometer to make sure the chicken is fully cooked.  5 hours on high and it was amazing!

The chicken fell apart when we took it out of the slow cooker.  It was so good!  It was also good as leftovers (or as my mom says, it's so good we're having it twice) and as chicken salad.

Carry the One

Carol Anshaw's Carry the One was a book that I saw mentioned in several places.  Sometimes when a book has a lot of hype it makes me not want to read it or I'm disappointed when it's not good.  I read a sample on my Kindle and was hooked.  The less you know about the story, the more you will enjoy the book.

 

 

Also, I recently learned how to download books from the library onto my Kindle and I've been reading on it a lot more. Nothing a thrifty girl like me enjoys more than library books.

2012 Goals: March Update

March was all lion, no lamb.  In the middle of the month, I got sick.  Just as I was starting to get better I got sick from something else.  I did not even manage to do the bare minimum this month.  Babyface and My Heart's Desire also got sick.  It was not fun at our house.

Writing
1) I did not do a submissions mailing this month. I had an essay in mind to revise and submit and didn't manage. 

2) My goals was to blog at least three times a week. With one post in March, I didn't even come close.  

Healthy
3) I did not log my workouts and frankly, there wasn't much to log.  I was unable to workout for almost three weeks and it really did not feel good.  My body felt stiff and I didn't sleep as well as I usually do.  Also, the person that I was sharing the Google document with hasn't logged anything (best laid plans and all that). 

I'm still planning on participating in the Earth Day 5k even though my training took a hit.  There are serious runners as well as families with strollers.  I really might be last.  And I don't care if I am. 

Romance

4) My Heart's Desire and I went out on two dates.  The first one was right before I got sick.  A friend gave My Heart's Desire tickets to a hockey game so we went.  The seats were terrific and it was a fun night.  My Heart's Desire's birthday is in March and I had arranged a sitter way in advance so that we could go out.  I still wasn't feeling well so we went to a barbeque restaurant that he likes.

Community Service

5) Finally!  I took the bags of nonperishable food I've been driving around and dropped it off.

Parenting

6) We made it to two of the three parenting classes in March. Most of the babies are older than Babyface so I get a preview of what he's going to be doing.