A Valentine Wish

I'm watching You've Got Mail, because I'm a total sap who can watch this film a million times. Anyway, in addition to to the romance and the architecture, it's a tale about the loss of small local business due to the big boxes.

Jeff and I always celebrate our birthdays with a fancy meal out, birthday boy/girl choice. This year, Jeff selected Portage, after considering other newer, trendier, hipper spots. His reason: it's amazing and local, and did we really want to bemoan the loss of that wonderful local treasure that we complain about losing due to low sales (what were they thinking?), but that we didn't frequent.

So, if you are celebrating Valentine's Day (or President's Day, or your birthday, or just a night you don't want to cook), please eat local, even if the cuisine is global.

(Note: we normally avoid restaurants on Valentine's Day at all costs, but we'll be in Vancouver this weekend for a race, so it's inevitable. We've got reservations here.)

Tri-Training Update

It's been over 2 months since we've officially been "training" for our upcoming Ironman triathlon. Fortunately for my career, but unfortunate for said training, the beginning of my training period coincided with the beginning of my new job. I've taken over my former supervisor's role, which has lead to a very busy work schedule and associated stress. I'm still doing the old job and we have another vacancy on the team, which has meant trying to learn a new job, doing an old job, and trying to train a temporary employee. This, combined with a few non-Seattle-like weeks of snow and freezing temps, has not been great for the training.

What's going well:
Swimming: I've been swimming twice a week consistently since December, and am already swimming more than twice as much as I ever trained for my two half-iron-distance tri's.
Running: I'm running three times a week consistently, and I've gotten up to 12 miles for my long run. I still need to up the shorter runs in distance, but this is feeling pretty good.

What's not on track:
Cycling: I have a hard time making it to early morning (need sleep!) or post-work spin classes (leave the office at 5 pm?!?) and I also have a hard time getting out for long weekend rides in the cold (early darkness and drippy days don't help). I'm commuting regularly and have done some weekend rides, but the time-in-saddle is not where it should be by now.
Strength and core work: I just haven't gotten into a good routine. No good or lame excuses for this one.
Weight loss: I've held pretty steady with my weight, but I should be losing about a pound a week to be where I'd like to be for the race. I need to eat like I'm in training and cut out the junk. Again, no excuses, just a need to shift my attitude and do the difficult work of changing habits. Post dinner snacking is my downfall.

I can see my body changing with the training. I'm building muscle mass in my arms, back, thighs, and calves. I guess it's a tri-thing when jeans are tightest around the calves and you have a hard time zipping up boots that extend past the ankle.

I've had to adjust my expectations for the race and now am aiming for a finish without injury or too much pain. Technically, this was my expectation all along, but I must admit I had fantasies of finishing in 12 hours. Unfortunately, this just encourages thoughts of the next Ironman...

Welcome 2009!

New Year's Eve was great: dinner at the Steelhead Diner (finally tried poutine) and then the DeVotchka show at the Showbox.

New Year's Day was appropriately quiet. We ate lots of roasted meat and watched Dr. Zhivago. I didn't realize that the DVD was a 2-sided disc, however, until we finished watching the second half of the movie. I couldn't figure out why the movie didn't make any sense. We then watched the first half, throughout which I kept saying, "oh, now I get it..."

Goal for 2009: get it done. I've signed up for the Coeur d'Alene Ironman, so I just want to train enough to finish with as minimal suffering as possible. I have a new job at work (still doing the old job while in the process of hiring the backfill), so just getting through the work week is a challenge. We have a backlog of house projects that Jeff is heading up, but I need to step up my support. Finally, and most significantly, I'll become an aunt late next spring, so will look forward to that adventure.

Despite the challenges we're all facing right now, I'm excited and hopeful about what will happen in 2009.

Happy New Year!

Snow!

We've gotten about 3 inches so far, with more falling. Thank goodness for the internet, so I can work from home. KEXP playing, snow falling, hot coffee at hand; it's pretty good. Poor Jeff left his laptop at work, so he is mountain biking in to his office.

"Everyone Celebrates Thanksgiving by Eating Turkeys..."

If you enjoyed the Sarah Palin turkey pardon video, you should check out the Woodland Park Zoo turkey toss. Fun for the whole family!

As I was considering what book to read next, I happened upon the Yeti's NaNoReMo08 post, so decided to join in the fun that is reading about a pedophile. I saw the Kubrick movie version years ago and remember being surprised by how good it was, so had some hopes for the book. So far, it's very well written, although it's getting a bit tedious. Since I'm still early on, I'm not positive I'm going to make it through, but we'll see.

Happy reading!

Note to Self

When feeling a bit blah and in need of a pick-me-up, remember that a beautifully pulled latte served in a real mug with a small piece of high-quality chocolate sipped in a charming cafe that has reading material like the New Yorker can be just the ticket.

November Notes

First, I must say that I can't believe that we're firmly into November. Fall is my favorite season and it just flies by faster than I can manage. The weather, however, is confirming the season. Last Monday, the first weekday of the month, dawned dark and very rainy. It was a bit of a shock for the bike-commuter who had become accustomed to dry and mostly light rides in what turned out to be an amazing October weather-wise.
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Hungry Like a Wolf

Last Monday we finally dined at How to Cook a Wolf. We had been meaning to dine there for a very long time, but between the restaurant's crowds and our infrequent meals out, it just hadn't happened. What finally drove us there was that one of Jeff's co-workers visiting from Ohio had eaten at the amazingly reviewed place in our neighborhood, but we had not. Anyway, it did not disappoint. The atmosphere was cosy, casual, and romantic. The service was friendly and professional. The food was delicious. The wine was perfectly paired. Highlights of the meal include the seared venison and the porcini soup.
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Clowns + Economy = Scary

We had our annual Falloween festivities on Halloween this year. This is the last time that we'll host on a Friday night (too hard to prepare for; guests and hosts are too tired on Friday) and on Halloween Actual (too many other things going on). Our party, despite the small numbers, was fun, however, with good treats and tricks and fun costumes. Our theme was batman-esque with bats and clowns. I was "batgirl" with plastic baseball bats, a ball cap, baseball t-shirt, batman emblems on hat on shirt and hat, utility belt, etc. and Jeff was a very colorful and slightly frightening clown. One of my favorite costumes was worn by a friend who is currently working for WAMU, who wore a business suit and a sign around his neck "Will Bank for Food." Fits with the scary theme.
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Food = Love

Uninspired in the kitchen this week, I remembered the meal that my cousin made for us when we visited her in San Francisco last February: paprika chicken from the original Joy of Cooking. It was simple and delicious, a perfect meal for a chilly Bay evening. Since this was from the Joy that I remember from childhood, as I was making this meal, I imagined my cousin eating this recipe that her mom, my dad's sister, would make when she was a kid, and I felt a great connection to family, especially my paternal grandmother, who was a terrific cook and amazing hostess. My cousin has inherited her grace and talent for entertaining. While the dish didn't turn out quite as perfectly tonight, it will become a winter staple, and renewed family favorite.