A New Hope, (not starring Carrie Fisher)

I want you to want me, I need you to need me... You all know that song. My sermon today is not about love or begging, it is about a new life. I want, I need, I love. I want to enjoy more of my day. I need to leave my work problems, or work life, at work when I leave. I love- I love many things and I just need to remember to love them in moderation. For example, I love ice cream. This is not a fling, or a short affair- this is a committed relationship. Yet, I don't want the butter pecan to be driven away by my over-zealous attachment to it, nor do I want it to become any more comfortable hanging around when it is unneeded (hanging around my love handles I mean.).

I am also having the same feeling with running/biking. I love them, yet I do not wish to over do it and injure myself.

Other non-profound thoughts.
I baked sourdough bread this weekend. It is delicious, and no, I won't bake you any. Pickled beets and cheese make a great sandwich. Perkin's is an awful restaurant, and they make bad muffins. I watched the Godfather this weekend...again. I went for a couple mid length runs this week (5-10 miles). They no longer feel like 3-5 miles and once again feel like 5-10 miles. That is all.

Vocation Vacation.

Ugh, It is Friday afternoon, and I just want to leave. I want to take a vacation from work, from my cat, who is very hungry these days, and feels the need to tell me about it, and I want to take a vacation from being an adult. Having said all of that, tonight, after my run, and the weights/core workout at the gym, I have to go get some cat food, because a hungry kitty needs it.

I have been thinking about the whole Julie/Julia movie (which I haven't seen). I think it would be great fun to cook my way through an entire cookbook, but which one? I have "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" but that has been done. My most frequently used cookbook is "The Joy of Cooking" and that is not really attainable. I have a Vegan cookbook that I like, but the thought of making everything in that turns my stomach, and even though I love Indian food, cooking every recipe in "Classic Indian Cooking" by Julie Sahni is too much. So, what should I do? Should I purchase a new cookbook? should I cook everything in one of the Weight Watchers cookbooks I have? Should I break down and by a new cookbook? I have always wanted to get the Marcella Hazan Italian book, or the "Enchanted Broccoli Forest" by Mollie Katzen.

Does Anyone own Mad Men?
I really want to watch it, and I am too cheap to rent each disc from blockbuster. I guess the real answer is to rejoin Netflix, but as I have mentioned earlier, I am sick of commitments, adult, or juvenile.

Have a Happy Weekend. I promise to blog next week!

Biking is Dangerous

So last night I went for a bike ride with Ben after a short speed workout with a quick meal in between. Good thing that I shoved food down my throat before I left, because I was hungry when I got home, almost 3 hours later. If I hadn't eaten, I wouldn't have gotten home.

So, I rode to Ben's house and then we did the rest of Gateway Trail from N St Paul towards Stillwater. When we got to the end, I decided to ride up this sand hill, and fell over, it was kind of funny. If you ever ride to the end of the trail, here is a warning. There is nothing at the end- There is a parking lot, with a bathroom and a drinking fountain.

Anyway, On the way bike I saw these crab apple trees. I bit open one of the larger apples, and it was was the most beautiful color. A dark purpley red all of the way through. I am tempted in a week or too, to ride down the trail with a bucket, and to do a little harvesting.

But on to the dangerous part. It was around 9:05 pm, and I was just coming up to Gervais Lake, on my bicycle. The Sun has set. All of the sudden, this giant buck jumps out in front of me. I squeezed my brakes so hard I nearly flipped over my bike. The deer just stood there and stared at me; he was sprting some pretty wicked furry antlers. Finally I shut of my light and rang the Cheeseburger bell on my bike a few times, and he ran away. I turned my light back on, and rang my Cheeseburger bell around the remainder of the lake, just to be carefull. Deer are scary in a car, they are even scarier when they almost hit you on a bicycle!

Ragnar Relay

I am always scheming things- always. Today the ridiculous plan is the Ragnar Relay 2010 (assuming that they have it). I think it would be loads of fun. I actually think that it would be more fun doing it with a team of 6 instead of a team of 12, that might be a bit ridiculous, but who knows. If you are too lazy to look at the link, the Ragnar Relays, are series of running relays of about 200 miles around the US. Teams of 4-12 people are assigned lengths of route, and the rest of the team drive around in vans and cheer each other on, eat, sleep, be silly. The Midwest one is from LaCrosse WI, to Minneapolis, MN. I am hoping that the boys are interested next year, and maybe a certain irongirl will want on, I mean, want in.

ALSO, each team has to find 3 volunteers to help at a rest point for some of the day. Non-running types beware, I know who you are. I know where you live.

I hung up a Ramadan Prayer Schedule outside my cube yesterday (received gratis with the falafel combination sandwich at Holy Land Deli), and have now moved it to the inside wall of the cubicle. At first, I thought the odd looks from people were funny, then, after talking to certain bitter coworker about how he thinks that Islam is a bunch of BS, and he had no idea so many millions of people bought in to that terrorism, I got angry. Mind you, I am not a Muslim, in fact, I no longer know what my beliefs are, but ranting about something you know nothing about is not cool, and I support people in their spiritual beliefs- be they Judeo-Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, a follower of Ceiling Cat or whether they have a belief in candles and crystals- we all need something. I recognize we all have a spiritual need, but violence or ignorance in the name of something, or for no reason is idiocy.

Let me know if y'all are interested in Ragnar. It is way early but I thought I would throw it out there.

hiatus

I have been on hiatus for a while, and sadly, I have little to report.

I think I am having a nervous breakdown dealing with fall singing and scheduling.

I am out of shape, and running 5 miles seems like running 5 miles. It should feel like 3 miles.

I checked Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion from the Library on my 40 mile ride yesterday.

I ate ice cream twice yesterday, hence I am out of shape.

I finished watching Twin Peaks. WTF.

Stupid coworkers are having their stupid conversations and I wish for bad things to happen to them.

I ate more meat this weekend than I have in a long time. I imagine that when I sweat, I smell like a gyro.