Moved

I'm still a little behind, but I've decided to move this blog to a more convenient site.

Visit here for future posts.

An away day

N and I felt the need to getaway this weekend. Sometimes we just have to get away.

We took the bus (not Neil's favourite mode of transport) to London Embankment and started to wander. It felt like such a long time since we'd been to certain places in London. Like our favourite Thai restaurant Busaba, or walking through Covent Garden. It surprised me how easily I remembered the route from one place to the next. We walked from The Strand through backstreets to Covent Garden, through the most annoying pedestrians to Neal Street and Neal's Yard. From there it was like my feet knew the route to Soho better than my eyes.

There were a few downsides to the day:

1. It was humid, but not unbearable especially when it rained slightly to cool us off.

2. The worst part of the day was arriving at Busaba for the world's best calamari (or at least it is the best on my search so far), only to discover they weren't serving any due to a fryer problem... oh, and they'd run out of jasmine tea!

3. There was also a lack of decent looking cake and coffee places on our route, and since Google was being outdated we never found somewhere to just sit and relax.

4. Finally, the aquarium seemed overrun with noisy and impatient foreign children which forced Neil to learn how to say "Look, it's Nemo!" in at least 5 different languages.*

There were also good parts to the day:

1. Being away from obligations and all the things we "should be doing".

2. Finding decent cocktails for only £4 each at a bar near the bus stop.

3. Some of the tropical freshwater aquariums were very inspiring.

4. Eating Phad Thai (me) and a tasty green curry (N) in the window seat at Busaba.

5. Discovering a Mexican restaurant (Wahaca) to try next time we're in London.

6. And yes - I'm cheesy enough to say it - the best part was spending a day just enjoying sunny London with N... but next time we're stopping for cake.

*Spanish: "¡La mirada, es Nemo!"; Italian: "Lo sguardo, è Nemo!"; Portuguese: "O olhar, é Nemo!"; Russian: "Слушайте, это - Прямой репортаж!"; and Japanese: "見てください、Nemoです！".

Picky

I think I have become too picky when it comes to food. Last night N and I had a perfectly lovely evening to celebrate out 8th wedding anniversary a day early, but we had very few good things to say about the meal. We opted to try somewhere new although we were headed in the direction of our favourite Cambridge restaurant (Teri-Aki). Instead we stopped for tapas at a place that has always seemed busy when ever we wandered by in the past. There was a pleasant enough atmosphere and the menu seemed enticing, but when the food arrived we felt quite disappointed. The spinach, avacado and pinenut salad was watery and tasteless. The langostines were over-cooked and tasteless. The chicken croquettes were a strange spongey texture, and the calamari was average. The potatoes were the most tasty, but not very impressive. There wasn't enough oil for the bread and the olives were strangely bitter. The service staff eventually forgot about us. There is nothing about the experience that makes us want to go back.

But it leaves me wondering why the place always seems so busy. Have I just become too picky about my food? Knowing what I like is a good thing, but I wish I could be happier with not-exactly-terrible food. At least none of the food was off-putting. I can't help but want more from my restaurant choice. I want to enjoy eating. Is that too much to ask?

Goat and strawberry

It was Strawberry Fair last Saturday. This is most likely (since I haven't taken the time to look up the facts) the biggest fair in the Cambridge calendar. It fills Midsummer Common with people, food, music, stalls and fun. It the one day out of the year that no one will look at you twice if you walk around in a pink tutu and top hat (or something similarly bizarre). There wasn't a food culture missing representation. Neil and I tried a goat curry with rice and peas (beans). It was fabulous! So juicy and flavourful! It contained a few too many bones, but that wouldn't keep me from getting one again.
The best part of the day is that it brings out the hippies in full force. There are fair trade, free clothing (yes, someone put up a washing line with clothes and said, free to take), charity shops and look-what-I-made stalls a plenty. Unfortunately there weren't as many stalls as I would have liked. I could have gone wander shopping for much longer. I bought a birthday gift for a friend though, which made me happy. Neil and I stopped at a wraps and sandwiches stand for a bottle of water which made us so very happy. The label said that 100% of the profits from the sale of the water would be given to water projects for communities in need. 100%!!
We finished off our trip to the fair with a bag of donuts and a sit down by one of the stages. The music was rubbish unfortunately, so we didn't stay longer. Plus Christopher was visiting and didn't fancy braving the crowds. So we went home and danced the night away.

Toronto

It was a great 5 day get away, but I'm not sure what we would have done if we'd stayed much longer. We're not museum people; I get bored incredibly quickly in a museum. So the many museums were not an option. We thought about going to the zoo, but it seemed incredibly complicated to get there by public transport (we didn't rent a car and the subway train only traveled so far out of town, then we couldn't find bus information and our hotel was going to charge us $5 for 2 minutes of Internet time). There were a couple of restaurants that would have probably been intriguing if our stomachs ever knew what time zone they were in.

I supposed if we'd stayed for the weekend there would have been a festival on the harbourfront which would have been fun.

What we did do in Toronto was enough for a great 5 day break. By Friday we were ready to go home. We hadn't stayed too long, we didn't need more time, it was perfect!

The things we did in Toronto include:
1. Walking all over town.
2. Visiting the harbourfront on a very windy morning (discovering a Canadian pirate ship, and if you don't believe me then check out this close up the ship's flags).
3. Wandering through Chinatown, admiring the many many markets and bakeries.4. Finding a relaxed fairtrade coffee shop.
5. Walking all over town.
6. Walking across town for a beautiful breakfast.7. Attending a show at one of the many theatres. (We saw Doubt by John Patrick Shanley.)
8. Walking across town again in search of Portugal Village.9. Finding Village by the Grange and choosing between so many world cuisines.9. Discovering Kensington Market feels remarkably like home.
10. Walking and walking and walking but still never find Portugal Village.
11. Stopping to eat a DQ strawberry cheesecake blizzard. :-)
12. Wander shopping in the Eaton Centre and admiring the very pretty and expensive table design at Pottery Barn.
13. Eating supper at the suprisingly small and cozy Fisherman's Warf... where the seafood platter is tasty but so very filling!
14. Watching Up in 3D.

When we took refuge from walking in our hotel room I watched the Food Network which was inspiring. (Which reminds me that I want to look up a couple of recipes I saw.)

I am so happy we went and I'm so happy to be home. I like a holiday that encourages me to appreciate the moment.

Contributing factors

There are several factors that have helped in my achieving progress with assignments today:

1. The sun was out long enough to keep me warm while sitting in the garden.
2. Counting the frogs in the pond is a very peaceful and relatively quick study break.
3. Neil was able to sit outside with me while enjoying the sun so we weren't in seperate rooms feeling like we were neglecting each other.
4. Owen is much quieter when he sits outside with us.
5. A laptop is a student's best friend on a sunny day.
6. We're leaving in less than 48 hours and I have definite goals to accomplish before then. Just say no to holiday guilt.
   

Hurray! Study weekend has arrived!

In an attempt to release me from guilt I have planned three days of studying before N and I leave on our quick trip to Toronto. I do not want to take any computer or study books with me, so I will be staying up all hours if necessary to finish the rough draft, 2nd draft and final draft of my digital resources report. I will also be finishing the final draft of my cataloguing report. Then on Sunday evening N and I will have fish and chips (deamed digestively acceptable food the day before an 8 hour flight), pack, print travel documents and get very little sleep as our bus to the airport leaves at 4am.

Bring on productivity and a holiday!

Getting to know you

I found this quiz on one of my favourite food blogs the other day and thought it would be fun to answer it here.

• metal or non-stick? I usually prefer non-stick
  
• cast iron or stainless? cast iron
  
• cutting board: silicon or wood? wood
  
• knife: carbon steel or stainless? either as long as it is sharp
  
• Kitchen Aide or hand mixer? Kitchen Aide
  
• cooktop: gas, electric, induction? gas if it weren't so complicated to add into my kitchen, induction if I could afford
  
• side-by-side, freezer on top, fridge on top? fridge on top
  
• apron or whoops? whoops
  
• mashed potatoes: by hand, ricer, or mixer? Never mixer!!!!
  
• sandwich or wrap? wrap
  
• pb & _________ ? jelly... I'm liking a morello cherry conserve at the moment
  
• pancakes: syrup or applesauce? syrup
  
• cake: scratch or mix? mix, just like Mommy always makes
  
• chili: beans or no? beans
  
• napkin: cloth or paper? cloth
  
• BBQ: takes the whole weekend to make or take out? I like a spontaneous bbq
  
• chicken: white or dark? dark
  
• ice cream: cone or dish? cone
  

For Andrea

Some lilacs for you...




... because you seem to need a smile, and because they remind of that day you and I took a lilac walk at St. Ben's. I'm so thankful for that memory and happy to share it with you.

Failed

So my list was not achieved. I failed. But I was productive in so many other ways.

First thing in the morning, even before changing out of my pajamas I set about transplanting (which was on my list). The grass was still too short to handle but I could move the rest. They're now sitting on the top shelf of the green house attempting to grow even bigger (hopefully).

Straight after that I planted some more pea seeds. This is where my productivity went astray, but in my defense I have been saying I need to do this for weeks.

As it was getting nicer and nicer outside I decided to keep gardening. So I filled the potato bags (more soil hopefully means more roots which means more potatoes!).

Then it was on to planting more lettuce leaves so we have successive crops for good salads this summer.

After all this I started on the dishes. I'm the type of person that leaves the dishes until I have enough to warrant an entire sink full of water. Which is usually just three times a week. While doing the dishes Neil arose, made us breakfast burritos and then we began a productive day together. It revolved around the drilling jobs we've been accumulating. First we put up the key safe which was easier than expected. Then we took down the small monitor in the living room and hung it on the wall in my study. I now am such a geek that I have two monitors to use at the same time (and I love it!).Then we moved on to hanging the new television in the living room. As you can see we still need to work on hiding the many cables connected to the television (this is the thing I hate about appliances). After all this we relaxed a little, had dinner and then Neil finished off the day by planting some more corn and climbing beans.

It was a very productive day. All of it needed to be done. So now I'm wondering if it's my list writing skills that I should be working on instead of my ability to stick to a plan. I think I learned that I should feel prouder of what I do get done than I feel guilty about what I don't achieve. Ah, those life lessons.

Achievement update

My dedication to achievement has not been strong recently. I've been much more focused on enjoying the here and now. Normally this isn't a good thing, but I have some projects (namely a Masters degree) to finish so I can actually enjoy the here and now without lingering guilt. So it's time to make a list, a public list, and stick to it.

Things to be done this weekend:

1. Final draft of collection management essay.
2. Rough draft of digital collection report.
3. move Echinacea, grass and pepper plants into small pots for greenhouse.
4. take bike to be fixed and choose new back fender, rear and front baskets.

That's it. Those are the things that have to be done. Anything else needs to go on a list of bonus weekend activities. Check in on Monday/Tuesday to view the productivity report.

lunch

My recent lunch experience is worth a chuckle (I think).

I ordered a coronation chicken filled baguette and a can of diet coke to eat in (as opposed to taking it away) at a local sandwich/noodle shop. The kind man serving me cut my sandwich in half and placed it on a square plate (just like home), then he opened a can of original flavoured Pringles and reached deep inside with a pair of tongs. He carefully pulled out one crisp and placed it on my sandwich. He reached into the can a second time, carefully pulling out one more crisp to place next to the first. He grabbed a can of diet Coke from the fridge behind him and handed it all to me.

I guess that's what you call a Pringles garnish -- much more practical and tasty than a bit of curly leafed parsley.

My new shoes

Feeling totally helpless

My home, Fargo, is flooding. I currently live 4,000 miles from Fargo in my other home, but I'm so longing to be there, to help. In 1997, my senior year of high school, the Red River flooded to a record 39.5 feet in Fargo. I learned then that every decimal point counts. This year is worse. This year the flood is at 40.82 feet so far and not expected to crest until 42 feet is reached. This year is also better. The city is so much more prepared and better organized. However, every year relies on the unfaling community spirit, which abounds in Fargo, and the ability to overcome a somewhat unpredictable north flowing river.

All I can do is watch the websites (valleyfloodwatch.com is the most frequently updated) and try to refrain from panicking. I'm so proud of everyone in Fargo. They step up and help each other in times like this. My friends Andi and Em have driven 400 miles to be there and help (thank you so much for your detailed update, it means a lot to me). Other friends have done similar, lots of them. All the people who live there that are just amazing. They've spent weeks finishing work, sometimes early, to go sandbag for hours. Many who have recently been evacuated from their homes moved to a safer part of Fargo and continued sandbagging day and night. My parents, especially my Dad, are frustrated by their ill health which doesn't allow them to get involved. I understand how they feel. It's agony just watching. My Mom plans to go to the Fargodome to help sign in volunteers at 4 this morning, my Dad has to stay home and make sure the sump pump pipe doesn't freeze.

This youtube video keeps making me cry... and yet I keep watching it.

Fargo, I'm proud of you. Responding to Red Alerts in the wee hours of the morning to help save communities around you. Forever-Fargoans travelling home to help people you love and people you no longer know. You can hold the river back! I will keep watching and waiting for my chance to help. Although money is all I can give, it will be given with all my heart.

the cupcake debate

I seem to be hearing lots and lots about cupcakes lately. They are all the rage. My friend Andrea seems to be particularly creative in her attempts (I only wish I lived closer to enjoy the spoils). The latest reference to them was an email from a colleague that her niece has started a cupcake making business.

Over coffee with some friends yesterday I discovered I missed a debate at work discussing the differences between fairy cakes and cupcakes. When I told Neil about the debate he defined the difference with very little hesitation. His definition: a fairy cake is a version of cupcake where the top is removed so the center can be filled with whipped cream, the top is then replaced in two halves, which are arranged to look like wings.

A bit of research on Wikipedia tells me that fairy cakes are just another name for cupcakes, whereas what Neil described are actually Butterfly cakes.

In a final attempt at meaningful procrastination, I used my reliable Google define search (I placed "define: fairy cake" into the google search box), and I rather liked the two definitions that popped up:

1. A small cake baked in a small paper cup, in multi-compartment pan; a cupcake en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_cake

2. Fairy cakes are cakes made of fairy juice.The faeries can usually be found in Neverland.Faerie cakes have bean outlawed since Tinkerbell was used in one. People such as GamerGod351 often attempt to steal them. This is most rude.
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fairy_cake

Although I plan to eat a cupcake when offered, and I admire the creativity behind most I've seen (Cake Wrecks publicises cakes that are not to be admired), in this house we make muffins. We're too lazy to bother with the paper cases or the impressive decoration. Our level of complication is making sure we have a container of creme fraiche before we make cinnamon sugar muffins... which I may just have to do after all this cupcake talk.

my birthday bash

So I turned 30 on the 13th... and I celebrated! There's nothing I can do about being older so I enjoy the excuse to have fun. Neil spoiled me with a trip to London. We went to Yo Sushi! in Victoria train station for lunch then walked to our hotel to check in and relax until going to a show. My big treat was tickets (good tickets) to see Wicked.

It was a very good show. The story was clever and very thorough. The songs were wonderfully written (I was a little put off by the nasal voices of both the main parts). But the most spectacular was the stage design. It was innovative, clever, engaging and inspiring. There was lots of flying and the entire stage space was well used from top to bottom! It couldn't have been better!
The next day we woke up late and enjoyed a lie-in before wandering out to the shops. The hotel had a computer in the room to help us choose our lunch destination... but it was a Mac! Before leaving London we had a late lunch at Mango Tree which was really lovely. I ordered the wrong thing, it tasted really nice and was full of my favorite things (such as razor clams and mushrooms) but there was more chili than I had planned on which meant my mouth was in pain after just a few bites. Luckily, Neil thought it was very tasty, so he finished it while I finished his lobster tempura. The trade was not disappointing.

When we arrived back in Cambridge we wandered home to meet up with our friend Christopher. He'd decorated the kitchen in streamers and balloons. We went to a late dinner together at Asia which was a great surprise. Christopher brought gifts to unwrap at the restaurant (a parsley shredder and fabulous orange teaspoons), but the big gift was back at home. It was an orange tea tray laid out on our bed, impressively wrapped and decorated with Happy Birthday confetti. So much fun!

We finished the celebration with hours of fun playing Rayman's Raving Rabids TV. Who knew dancing, playing music and driving with your bum could be so entertaining?!

The next morning I discovered I'd missed cleaning up all the confetti the night before. Oops!

Tools required week

These were the tools required for Saturday the 21st through Tuesday the 24th of February.
They were required for two projects. The first began that Saturday. Neil and removed the bed and wardrobe from the spare room (they're currently in pieces in the loft, except the mattress which is in the other spare room now). Then we moved my computer and desk into the "study." This room was originally intended to be my study when we bought the house, it was decorated to be the study even... but in one of our fits of "wouldn't it work better this way" we made it a spare room and moved my desk into the room with television. This wasn't good for my concentration during study hours. This is what my desk space looks like now (and no, my desktop will never be tidy no matter how hard I try).

This project is still ongoing, but it's nice to have my own space again.

The second reason for the tools was because Maegan is curious like a cat, but lacks the useful grace of most cats. We had to dismantle a part of the kitchen, as seen below:
While making my morning cup of coffee (second thing that happens after I get out of bed) I heard Maegan meowing. I knew it was Maegan because it actually sounded like a cat (Maegan rarely makes more than a squeak), but it was the muffled sound of a cat behind a cupboard door. After looking in lots of our cupboards it occured to me that Maegs was possibly in her favorite corner above the kitchen cupboards. As I looked in the corner from the top of my step ladder I discovered a gap between the wall and the tallest cupboard we have; a gap that was just wide enough for a cat to fall down. See this picture for the height:
After about 40 minutes we managed to remove enough wood from the wall and saw through enough nails to pry a bit of wood disquising the gap between cupboard and wall forward. After removing a broken rod with cafe curtain attached, Maegan scrambled out of her kitchen prison and ran straight outside. Apart from incredibly being dusty she was fine, but refused to come back into the house and seemingly marvelling at her lack of confinement. The trauma didn't last long and she's even been venturing to that corner recently. As we haven't repaired the kitchen yet, at least the next rescue won't take long.

Can I help?

Apparently there's something about me that says "I know where you want to be." Something about me that isn't even visible.

About a year ago, a friend asked me in an email if, because I work in the information profession, I end up with many people asking me for directions frequently. I said no because it didn't seem to me that I was asked often enough to make it unusual; afterall, I live in Cambridge which is a tourist trap in the summer. Something strange has happened in the last year. It's possible that I'm just more observant of my direction giving, but I think there's something more to it.

Twice in a little over three months I have given directions to someone that has rung my doorbell because he/she/they have somehow made it to Ekin Road but that's not where he/she/they want to be. The first time was when students that I recognized as frequenters of my library (and they recognized me as library staff) had been dropped off by a taxi to the completely wrong road. Tonight, an Italian language school student had wandered off the beaten path in search of the home he is staying in. The first time, I directed them using a map and hoped they made it to their destination; tonight it was just easier to put on my shoes and coat and walk him to the correct road since he had no understanding of where he was. I have also encountered numerous other language students in need of directions to the right road or the nearest bus stop. And it seems that a lot more people have come to my centrally located library to get directions to other places on campus.

I like giving directions. It makes me feel useful and helpful. It does seem frustrating, though, that I can't get delivery people to find my home but strays have no trouble. What is it about me and my home that says "I can help."?

50th

Apparently there is a tradition to post 100 things about yourself for your 100th blog post. I don't like to break with tradition, but I do like to bend it a bit. So to keep the 100th post from being too long (and because I'm such a slow blogger), I will post 50 things about myself for the 50th blog post and 50 more for the 100th.

Here goes...

1. I have a BA in English from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN, USA.
2. In high school I decided to go to college to be an English teacher because I thought it was the most practical way to take creative writing classes while finishing with qualifications for a paying job after 4 years.
3. I was wrong. I took only one creative writing class at college, and that was after I gave up on my education minor.
4. I wanted to be a novelist... still do.
   
5. I used to write poetry.
6. I still write letters to people using paper, ink, and a stamp.
7. I have a creative desire that usually means I make art which follows a pattern or is heavily influenced by another artist's designs.
   
8. I like to design cards using computer graphics.
9. Digital scrapbooking is my newest hobby, but I have been creating pages for a few years now.
10. My best friend's kids are my favorite scrapbooking subjects.
    
11. I also dabble at calligraphy, knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, card making, photography and writing.
12. I'm on the verge of being 30, but I feel older thinking about being married for nearly 8 years than thinking about turning 30.
13. I've always wanted to go to Norway in the wintertime.
14. I like to play memory and trivia games.
15. I was voted most likely to become a nun in high school.
16. My favorite month is November, although October comes a close second.
17. My favorite color is orange; however, most bright colors make me happy.
18. People often ask what I miss the most from my American home, apart from specific people I miss the Dairy Queen and lefse most.
19. My little brother and I were so jealous when our older brother started taking piano lessons that we used to pull our mom's piano music out and pretend to play until she told us to stop, which was pretty quick.
    
20. I took piano lessons for 12 years but don't like to let anyone hear me play.
21. I've also learned to play the trumpet, the recorder and acoustic guitar.
22. I've been thinking of taking piano lessons again when I finish my Masters.
23. I share responsibility for two cats with my husband.
24. Both our cats are rescue cats and had different names when we adopted them which we changed.
25. Owen, about 9 years old and male, was called Dirty Den at the shelter. Dirty Den was the name of a character on the popular East Enders who was returning to the show when Owen arrived at the shelter.
26. Maegan, a 4 year old female, was previously called Janice.
27. We chose Welsh names for the cats because we thought it was a suitable theme, and we hated their given names.
28. My Mom had to find lots of ways to cook zucchini when I was growing up because we grew it in our family vegetable garden but never picked it when it was small.
29. Because of this my favorite ways to eat zucchini are still in muffins or in chocolate cake.
30. Neil and I now grow our own zucchini, but we pick it small as it is much tastier like that.
31. I grow one fruit large so we can make a chocolate cake or some muffins.
    
32. I grow pumpkins every year.
33. I insist on growing peas in our garden just so I can eat them straight from the pod. Neil doesn't really like peas so he doesn't mind if I don't pick them to share.
    
34. I don't eat these home-grown pumpkins, instead we carve them and set them on fire.
35. I have nearly as many containers of decorations for Halloween as I do for Christmas.
36. I have a silly addiction to 80s films, those starring Molly Ringwald in particular.
37. I have a huge problem suspending my disbelief in order to watch action films, some sci-fi, and dramas/comedies that are set in the "real world" but disregard the laws of science.
38. I've noticed that I cry more when watching TV than I ever used to, especially when watching Extreme make-over home edition.
39. I'm apparently a sucker for happy endings.
40. When it comes to alcohol I'm a light weight.
41. I've never been more than lightly drunk. I despise the idea of being so drunk I can't remember what I've done.
42. I spend too much time on the computer.
43. I don't spend enough time cleaning my house.
44. I'd like to find a recommended recipe for broccoli and Stilton soup.
45. A part of me wishes that I'd kept my maiden name instead of taking my husband's.
46. I am extremely out of practice at cooking because Neil does most of it.
47. I am a foodie and not ashamed to admit it. There's nothing wrong with enjoying something you have to do often (ie. eat).
48. I used to have a principle that I would try anything (as far as food is concerned) once, but recently I've adopted a theory that I should try things three times just in case it was the circumstances that were the problem instead of the ingredients.
49. I did not enjoy the last book I read all the way through, it was "Walking on glass" by Ian Banks and I do not recommend it.
50. If I were to buy a car it would be an orange Mini, a Smart Roadster, or a Nissan Figaro. But I don't want to own car for reasons that will be explained in future post.

Now, if you want to know more you need to ask or wait for post 100.

Do it right, do it hard

The title of this post is the mantra of my new workout coach. I can't say that I appreciate the mantra, but I can appreciate that Nintendo has tried to make her, Maya, as real as possible.

That's right, my new workout coach isn't real, she's part of a Wii "game". About a year ago Neil and I purchased the Wii Fit package to encourage our desires to lose weight and get fit. It's fun and challenging at times, but it's not enough of a workout for me. It's too clunky by making you choose each exercise, and although it makes me sweat, I don't feel like it's doing enough. So recently I purchased My Fitness Coach for the Wii... I finally started the program yesterday... I'm soar today. I think this is good although painful.

I promised my Mom and sister-in-law a review once I finally used it, so here goes: I give it 4 stars for now. This "game" is envigorating and asks regularly if the workout is actually challenging, too much or not enough so that it can adjust future workouts. You can set a schedule and choose different types of workouts depending on what you want to work on. It also incorporates equipment like a workout ball or weights if you have them, and more importantly leaves them out if you don't. I have nothing more than a yoga matt so I don't know how well Maya works the equipment into a workout. I've tried a 15 minute flexibility workout and a 30 minute core workout so far, which have both been good... but the music sucks. I seem to need more space than I have for bouncing around in the warmup, but that's because I have awkardly shaped rooms. It's not gentle exercise, which is what I prefer in a workout. The yoga workout might be a little more gentle though.

Unlike the Wii Fit this game doesn't take statistics (like weight) with every use, so I'll have to wait a little before I know what improvements it's helped me make. I think this is a good thing because weight fluctuates a lot within a day, which means daily readings can be a somewhat inaccurate picture. My Fitness coach also takes more statistics, such as bicep, chest, waist, hip and thigh measurements. Watch this space because I'll get back to you about the improvements.

If you're interested, I found a couple of these reviews helpful when I was deciding about my purchase:
IGN
Journey Fitness Online
viewpoints
metacritic
And don't forget the reviews at Amazon which are pretty useful too.

Thank you

I know I've been hit in the face by this before, but this is one of those things in life that I forget about until it smacks me in the face again. One of those things that I wish I'd remember sooner or just never forget. I was reminded today that while I'm learning something I need a lot of reassurance. That can be very annoying for the people around me, lately that's the ones that I trust enough to share my burden with. Sorry Neil and thank you.

Unfortunately I realized this a little late today. One of the people I respect and admire most in my job/workplace/library has taken the brunt of my desperate-need-for-reassurance. She manages one of the teams I work in at the library, and because I started in this team last September but have been left on my own lately I've been feeling a little out of my depth. Today involved being the only team member to be given time to do our work (one was sick, another is on a job secondment, another was off today because she worked Saturday, and the last just wasn't given time because he was needed elsewhere and is even newer to the team than me). It also involved a string of not-so-straight-forward queries and problems which I worked through as quickly as possible (I only had 1.5 hours to do the whole day's work). I left two problems unfinished, but both I understand and am prepared for the next step. I feel like I did good work today, and Jenny (my team leader) didn't get grumpy or short with my continual "just checking I'm doing this right." She finished my work day by congratulating me and saying it was all good practice. Thank-you Jenny.

I won't go into how wonderful Neil has been during my neediness-fest. I am being kicked in the ass by my coursework at the moment and lack classmates that I can discuss the topics with to give each other mutual reassurance. Today I reached out to a couple colleagues who were wonderful (Thank you Andrea and Thelma). Maybe the trick is to reach out to lots of people so as not to annoy any one individual. I'll work on my self-reliance too, but I know reaching out will always be a part of me. I hope that it makes me more approachable when someone in my life would like reassuring.

Fusion burrito

Yesterday I procrastinated in a useful way by feeding myself with a fridge dump. It would have been much faster to eat a packet of soup (which I just steam fro 15 minutes, pour in a bowl and add crunch factor), but I had half a wedge of brie to use up and a chicken thigh as well. So using a few other opened ingredients in the fridge I made this:


The list of ingredients:
a herby flour tortilla
some brie
cranberry sauce
small handful of rocket
a skinless chicken thigh fillet
a spring onion
Japanese soy sauce
minced garlic
button mushrooms

Despite the list of ingredients it was very tasty. Lacked a bit of zing and crunch, but for an experiment I was quite impressed. Technically it wasn't a burrito because I didn't fry it once wrapped, but it would have been better if I had.

All work and no play

I found myself on schedule with time to get ahead last night. Which is an amazing feeling!

Instead of working ahead I redid the blog banner, what do you think?

I've been researching furiously in the last week so as to write an essay this week. It's gone well, although you can see that the blog has suffered a bit.

I have been thinking about this blog in my spare moments and wondering if it needs more of a purpose as my life is not prone to anecdote. I don't want to continuously rant by commenting on the state of feminism in Cambridge or green issues and products (although I realize I haven't commented on many green issues, I keep toying with the idea of praising the wonder that is the Moon Cup which would not be of interest to any male readers if there are any out there). I'd love to have the time and money to review green products though, I really think that would be lots of fun.

One thing I'm learning in my quest for achievement is to have clearly defined goals. Not only does this blog need a new look it's in need of a rethink. Any suggestions welcome, but you can be sure I'll be thinking when I'm not essay writing this week.

Pasta & cheese

The other day a friend of mine mentioned she had mac & cheese for her birthday, and since then I've been craving mac & cheese with a hotdog. I could have ordered Kraft's box kit online, waited for it to arrive cooked it with a not very nice hotdog from a jar I bought at the grocery store since the only way you can buy mac and cheese here is in a can and not the same. I was impatient though and trying to be more organic in my food selection (for the planet, not because I think my body can't handle ingesting chemicals)... so today I came up with this:


I used: organic spinach pasta twirls, organic Cumberland sausages, some shredded organic cheddar cheese, and, because I thought it would be good for me to eat some more vegetables with, some quartered organic cherry tomatoes. It was tasty, but nothing like mac & cheese with hotdogs. Does Kraft make an organic version of their cheese and macaroni?

Monday

On Monday I took a photo along my walk to work because I was so happy to be walking to work in crisp and crunchy snow - even if it was dark and chilly.The photo isn't much but I'd like to use the photo in my first digital scrapbooking layout for an album I'm thinking of creating. The project is a scrapbook of one layout for each week of 2009 - or whatever year I get around to the album. I'm afraid of not seeing the project through though, thus causing guilt and frustration with a lack of achievement. Is this a lesson for me in knowing when to say no? What's the harm in such a creative and fun project? It could help me to remember that things happen in my life (did anyone else feel like 2008 went by in a blur or was it just me?). It could also be yet another subconscious procrastination tool to keep me from my studying. This is a complicated decision.

the rest of the story

I'm feeling guilt over not blogging more regularly. I hope to fix that soon, but until I have a regular writing schedule that I can stick to I will just have to try harder to get here more regularly. Over the Christmas break I brainstormed some new blog post ideas to help me write more here. I categorized these blog ideas and under the ethics category I have written that I should update you on the conclusion to my haircut drama. It's probably a good idea to start the year with a finished story, but I'm not very happy with what has turned out to be the end.

I stood my ground. I wrote a letter which I let Andy, my faithful stylist, read before I gave it to his boss (the owner and manager of the salon). Andy went straight to the boss-man and explained that he was willing to cut my hair for only £18 and that he didn't want to lose me as a client. Boss-man begrudgingly let me have my £18 haircuts, but it appears he's not prepared to make this a standard practice for female customers with short hair. I feel as though I have fallen short of my goal by accepting my price cut despite his insistence that he doesn't have time to decide who gets a short, medium, or long cut. Surely that's what he hires stylists for, as well as cutting hair they could decide just how much to charge.

It seems that because I am a long standing client of Andy's he is willing to bend the rules, but not change them. He, this boss-man, also felt a need to explain that there are all sorts of women who begrudge paying full price because they have short hair or because they have a trim around their single length of long hair. Boss-man also pointed out that he owns a men-only barber shop as well but he allows women there because they are seeking a decently priced short haircut. Neil thinks he's just reasonably widening his customer base, but I'm not exactly comfortable with how he's going about it. He'd have every woman in Cambridge flocking to his salon for a reasonable priced haircut if he could see to change his pricing, while having a salon with good business and ethical practices.

I will keep going there because that is where Andy, my trusted stylist, cuts hair. But I am not surprised that the salon has opposition to their pricing scheme. I hope that other women stand up to it. And I only hope that my stand has made boss-man think. A disappointing result, although I got what I was after..

the word

So it's 2009. This will be the year I turn 30. The year I lose at least 50 pounds. The year I attend my final study school. The year I start my dissertation.

I've read a few blogs where the author cjose a word for the year - a word to explore and understand in a very personal way over the course of a year. If I were to choose a word for 2009 I'd like it to be achievement. I'm terrible at setting goals and sticking to them. Although I realize some goals are meant to be altered for true success. But I rarely feel a sense of achievement. I often feel there's at least 20 more things I should be getting through. This is always the time of year that people set goals which normally never get finished, I'd like to do something different - explre the way to undertstand, se and achieve. I'm sure I can squeeze that into 2009.

I think sometime I subcontiously sabotage my achievement because I'm fighting agains predictability. Or is that just an elaborate excuse for being lazy?

Lastly, choosing achievement as my word for the year sounds like a good occaision for a little redecoration around here. It also may sound like a procrastination techniqye but sometime goals can be purely for the fun of the journey. I can see achievement may be quite an adventure for my brian. I hope that journey towards understanding throws up more answers than questions.