The Lull

I've finished my Certified Nurse Assistant training class and I am now a CNA, pending my state license exam which will be in 2 weeks.  I've had a very promising set of interviews at the local children's hospital and am waiting (fingers crossed) to hear back from them.  Kiddo's school is out, but summer camp has started 3 days a week.  So, today I find myself at the start of the Lull time where I have a whole great list of things that need to be taken care, but am stuck between the end of one thing and the beginning of another.

Plow garden....check!!  The box contains a sunflower and two Cosmos that randomly sprouted from last year's garden.

Today, I don't have to go anywhere.  It's kind of nice.  I woke up early, stained one side of our workshop, went for a run, made some of my mad crazy good Hippie Runner Granola, made a batch of my friend Sami's Granola Crack Bars, and am now contemplating cleaning the porch, putting away laundry and generally straightening out my craft/ office area upstairs. 

Granola Crack Bars.........you can see where I taste tested.....

But all I want to do is lay on the porch swing and read the book that my awesome Fella got me last week.   (Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind)

This is my Fella....... he's pretty awesome.  :)

I will clean of course, because that's what responisble grown-ups do.  But when I was a kid, summer days were spent on the back porch reading and rereading Trixie Belden mysteries, Saddle Club books, and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede.  Those were the good days of The Lull between school ending and school starting again. 

Summer.......the ultimate Lull.  I will enjoy my unexpected summer Lull while I have it because soon I will be a working stiff again and wishing for days of nothing but time to put away laundry in.   

"Vegetarians can't grill..........."

.......or so they say..........

No, really- they do.  It's summertime- I talk about how much I love to grill.  Most people who actually know me are a little ........whaaa???.........you?  grill?........but aren't you mostly vegetarian?  What can you possibly GRILL?!  Grills are for MEAT!  Grills are for MEN!  ((insert man grunts))

Um....no.  My ex-husband actually set the grill on fire and made the worst hamburgers EVERY single time he started the grill. (*snickers*)

I'm a bit more gifted with the flames of wonder and might.

And I do it with veggies.

RAAAAH!

But seriously.........it's easy.  Vidalia sweet onions, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini......whatever you have on hand.  I toss it in olive oil, sprinkle it with a little salt, a little pepper, maybe a dash of cajun seasoning for a little kick and toss it on a hot grill.   Be careful- the potatoes will try to fall between the slats of the grill. 

SHAZAM!!

And then........I drizzle it with some Balsamic Vinegar Reduction.  It's like a magic potion.  It's easy.  Take about a cup of balsamic vinegar, pour it into a saucepan and bring it to a low boil- add about 1 tsp of sugar (raw if you have it) and let it simmer until it reduces by about half.  It's so good- you've got to make some.  You will be drizzling it on salad, raw veggies, grilled veggies, pizza, bread.....pretty much anything.

But wait.......I also make the bread on the grill.  Yeah- grilled bread.  Trust me. 

You make a pretty basic ball of dough, divide it, flatten it, cover it with olive oil and grill it.............

Oooooooo........yeah.

Take 1/2 tsp of Active Dry yeast and add it to 1/2 cup of really warm water- mix it in until it dissolves and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Now......add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tsp of salt, and 1 1/3 cups of flour.  Mix it up into a dough ball and knead on a floured surface for about 2 minutes.  Let it rise for 30 minutes.  (Turn on the grill- let it get hot- grill veggies- by then, you will be ready for the bread.)

Take your dough ball and divide it into 4 hunks and flatten them out into discs (or roll them out- your choice).  They will look like little naked pizzas.  Brush them with olive oil and toss them on the hot grill.  See what they look like in the picture above?  Yup- that's the goal.  It doesn't take long.  Maybe 3-5 minutes per side, depending on how well done you like your bread.  Be sure to shut the lid and hold all the heat in to bake them.  Be sure to brush them with olive oil before you flip them.  You can also sprinkle them with Italian seasoning, or whatever you like.  (Again- they are good with a little balsamic reduction........)

There you go- how to be a Bad Mother Griller......without meat (or any animal anything.)

Yeah- I don't post often enough, but when I do- it's totally worth it.  :)

Hippie Runner Granola

Granola.  Gotta love it, right?

But not the store bought kind.  They put stuff in there.  Preservatives and junk, you know?

Blech.

Let me tell you about homemade granola and how easy it is.  My Gramma always made us homemade granola bars.  I like to make homemade loose granola cereal.  I do a cinnamon chocolate pecan almond granola.  That's what I'm about to show you how to make.  BUT, it is really simple to play around with this recipe.  I did- that's how I came up with this variation.  I looked on Pinterest for granola recipes, tried one, and then dinked with it until I created my perfect granola.  (Which is absolutely delicious mixed in with some vanilla yogurt!)

My *very* official recipe  (Vegans can substitute coconut oil for the butter!)

Here's my very secret and official recipe.  Intense, right?  First things first- gather your stuff!!

The line up.

I'm not fancy, as you can see by my containers.  I use local raw honey.  The bag in the middle contains the raw pecans that I picked up at Kroger.  The bag on the right has Trader Joe's Cinnamon Almonds in it.  They are so good.........so I use those instead of raw almonds.  But raw almonds are awesome too!  The bottom right is coconut- it's totally optional.  If you look back up at the post-it, there is nary a shred of coconut listed, but I threw it in to see what would happen.  Not much- the cocoa and cinnamon over-ruled it.  Oh well.

Everyone needs a good heavy-duty spatula!!

You know what you DON'T see?  Raisins!

I love raisins.  My first batch of granola had raisins in it.  But.........put raisins in the oven for 30 minutes and they actually turn into little pieces of gravel and you will end up picking them ALL out of your granola.  Trust me.

Cinnamon Almonds--Chop 'em up!

Now- chop up them nuts!  You don't want big old hunks of nuts in your granola, so chop them up.  They don't have to be chopped into oblivion, just chunked up so they can mix with the oats, etc.

Raw Pecans--Chop some more!

Nuts actually chop up really easily and nicely.  Even the roasted cinnamon almonds.  And if you like walnuts, add those too.  I don't like walnuts and my sister is allergic, so I don't like to run the risk of setting her into anaphylatic shock.  I keep a walnut free house.

Mix the dry.

Once you've mixed all the dry stuff together so that everything is coated and the cinnamon and cocoa smell is making you hungry, add the honey and melted butter!  (Vegan??  Use coconut oil instead!)

Add the honey and mix some more

Really mix the honey in, so that it coats everything!  Add a little extra if you want to.  This isn't an exact science.  Recipes are like the Pirate Code- they're really just guidelines.  You can taste it too.  It's nummy.  You could probably add chocolate chips to this shindig too.  Or maybe cinnamon chips.

Put it on a baking sheet

Now that you have a gooey mass of deliciousness, dump it all on a baking sheet.  Then throw it in the oven at 315 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.  Be sure you reach in a stir it around every 8 minutes or so.  It ensures that everything will brown nice and evenly. 

NOM NOM NOM

When it's done, pull it out, and try it.  It should be wonderfully crunchy and tasty.  Once it cools off completely, put it in an airtight canister or container.  I don't know how long it keeps because we never have it around that long.  I've put it in yogurt (sometimes with bananas), mixed it into my oatmeal, had it straight with milk, eaten it dry for a snack, sprinkled it on ice cream.......the possibilities are endless.

If you try it and like it, let me know.  If you try it and add something new, let me know.  If you try it and it comes out wonky, tell me that too.   But don't say I didn't warn you about the raisins!!!

Front Porch Barbershop

I try to be frugal.  It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does.

Haircuts.

Why would I pay $10-$15 for my kiddo to have a haircut?

I did it.  Once.  ONCE!

Fortunately, I've spent the last 10+ years around military types, so I love short short hair on men.
Fortunately, I have a little boy who loves the Army and Navy.
Fortunately, I know how to do a military fade or straight buzz.

I bought a Wahl clipper kit when Kiddo was 4.  It was $50.  I have more than gotten my money back.

The only trick I've discovered is a certain little boy's aversion to sitting on a stool on the front porch and having his hair buzzed off.  He likes it once it's shorn, but hates the buzzing and cutting aspect of it all. 

Last weekend, I figured it out.  Give the kid the iPad with the camera on and let him take pictures of the haircut in process.  He can see what's going on and be distracted!  Bam!  Success!  (Except that I've been picking hairs off the screen and cover for days...........)

I use the number 4 guard for winter with #3 for blending on the sides and backs.  I honestly hate it because it's too "long" and looks shaggy to me.  In the spring and fall, I use the #3 and as it warms up, I go to the #2.

Last summer, it was 112 degrees almost every day.  I used the #1 guard, which is an 1/8th of an inch.  I did it by accident.  I didn't check the guard that was already on the clippers- I assumed that it was the #2, when it turned out to be the #1.  Oh well- we both loved the outcome!

Fried Eggs Cure The Funk

Sometimes my writing gets into a funk.  I want to write about stuff.  I have ideas about things to write.

But when I sit down in front of this lovely white and grey and orange blogger screen, my motivation just kind of .........fizzles.........

Sometimes I get halfway through a post, just to abandon it to the drafts pile.

I am mentally drained, not from overuse, but from underuse.  My classes don't start for another week and a half, so I've been a stay-at-home whatever, stuck in that weird place where nothing ever seems to happen, even though it really is.

I have, fortunately, avoided the trap that is daytime television.

I have this stellar idea for a project- the Great Fried Egg Experiment.  I stumbled across a "recipe" for plain oatmeal, topped with a fried egg, chives, and cheddar cheese.

*WEIRD!*

But it was actually pretty delicious.  Surprisingly so.

Thus I began to search for "Fried Egg" on Pinterest and found a whole slew of ideas for what to do with a fried egg.

No longer will my delicious, fresh, homegrown, free-range, organic eggs be relegated simply to a slice of fresh bread, perhaps with a smear of mustard.  NO!

My eggs will go on culinary adventures!  My eggs will be topped with marvelous items, like AVOCADO and CILANTRO!

And with any luck........I will post about my fried eggs.
You lucky lucky readers you.

(Wait- is anyone even out there?)

Stay tuned...........

The 50K that Almost Was......

Back in October, I attempted to run a 50K.  I didn't finish the entire course, and I haven't wanted to blog about it because it was a failure.  And I was mad- a little at the guy who rudely kicked us off the trail, a little at the sponsoring company who declared this a "perfect first 50K", and a whole lot at myself for "failing."

Here's the story.

I quietly signed up for the Stump Jump 50K in the spring of last year without telling anyone about it.  I then posted a link and mentioned casually to a friend that it seemed like an awesome race.  Once I admitted that I had already signed up, she signed up, and then our other friend signed up, and then one of her friends signed up.........and we all sat on our Facebooks (because we all live in different places) and metaphorically stared at each other and thought "wait.....what did we just do?"

Mushroom Rock

 
Over the (long and hot) summer, we trained.  We battled shoe issues, muscle gripes, IT Band flare ups, and our own self-doubt.  We bolstered eachother's spirits with powerful images, quotes, youtube videos, and songs.  We were all incredibly brave to one another, but then sat quietly in the corner with a jar of nutella and fretted about it all.  Our seasoned ultra-runner friends came to our aid, offering advice, support, and general "go get 'em tiger!" support.

This was not simply training, this was a pilgrimage, made daily on our local roads and trails, beginning and ending at our front doors, where we would smile and revel in our 5 minutes of invincibility before hunger, thirst, or exhaustion could set in.

Before

In October, the time had come.  I met Pellmell, EJ, and EJ's affable husband (and our lone crew member) Big T, at our hotel.  We drove to packet pick up, where through a series of "What do you see now? Where are you in reference to the giant yellow umbrella?"conversations over our cell phones, Mad and I ran across a pavestone courtyard where we crashed into a huge hug like long lost friends.  We picked up our packets, checked out the small expo, and made some plans for dinner, where conversation was held that could only be held by four runners and two cyclists.  In other words, we may have unintentionally grossed out the table next to us.  That night, we laid out our gear, dashing between hotel rooms to talk about the weather, did we need jackets, what socks are you going to wear, shorts or capris, gu or hammer, who has the first aid kit, which hydration pack are you going to use..............eventually we were organized and went to bed.


In the morning, we woke up at O'dark-thirty, which is to say, extremely early and got ready in near silence.  Last minute weather checks were done, trail fuel (food) was packed, and I received a text from Mad.  She was in the lobby having toast.  Down we came, one by one, to the lobby, where we sat in the half lit room and drank coffee and munched on bananas and toast until one of us finally said we should probably get going.

There's something about early morning car rides, especially when it's cold and a little rainy.  You're just sitting there in the total silence when it starts to dawn on you just what exactly it is you are about to do.  We all hit that moment at roughly the same time and we all said it and laughed and eased the tension in the car, so by the time we hit the start, we were jittery but laughing, wholly focused on what the day would be.

I'm not going to get into a blow-by-blow of the 20 miles of trail we covered that day or about how we were asked to leave the trail all together mid-race.  We had surpassed what we had thought was a 'soft' time limit and it turned out that it wasn't so soft after all.

EJ, PellMell, and Mad on the trail.

Tennessee River Gorge

Either way, the trail itself was beautiful, and very technical.  Much more technical than we had expected.  Each of us discovered strengths and weaknesses along the way.

Technical!  ROCKS!

It turns out- I love rocks.  There were a lot of 'rock gardens' that we got to scrabble over, which I bounded over like a mountain goat.  But, when it came to hydration, I sucked- I dealt with the repercussions of dehydration for 2-3 days after the race.  Meanwhile, we all dealt with different muscle and pain issues- at least one IT band, one knee, and one very ticked piriformis that I can currently think of.  And the blisters- there were definitely some beauties that night.  And Mad heard WAY more about my family history than she probably ever wanted to know, but it kept our minds off our aches or misgivings and kept us going.  At one point I told her that I would never ask how she felt or how she was doing and she returned the favor.  Sometimes assuming everything is alright is a good thing.

I *love* downhill and rocks!

The crazy shaky bouncy bridge at Suck Creek.

After the race, we shuffled back to our hotel where we ate waffles, showered, and then (all of us rather grumpily) decided on pizza for supper.  We stayed fairly crabby all the way to the pizza place where we ordered pizza (and I got a beer.)  Mad's hubby and EJ's hubby were very patient with all of us.  Once we were carbed back up, the good times started to roll again. 

Do you see the face?

I left the next day for home with a ton of good memories and stories, but the race itself left a bitter taste in my mouth for quite awhile.  And it jacked with the confidence I had in my own ability.  Worse still, I chose to focus on that- to focus on the negative.  I even said that I would never run another event sponsored by that particular company again because I felt that it was handled so poorly- not just the race official's attitude when we were asked to leave the trail, but the way the race had been advertised as the "perfect first 50K" which it most definitely is not.  It is a beautiful course, the volunteers at the aid stations were fantastic, the set-up was pretty flawless and we never once got lost on the trail.  I think one day I will go back to Stump Jump and run it just to prove to myself that I can do it.  It's all good.  After all, the distance will be there when I start and after I finish.  The only thing that will change is me.

After

FALAMTTOB!!

Missing my Dad

It's the stupid things.  The little things.  The things that don't seem to mean anything until they really really do.  Those are the things that make you miss someone the most.

After I moved back home with my then infant son, my Dad and I became closer than we had been when I had "run away" from home to follow in his footsteps and join the Navy.  I am almost the spitting image of my Dad, except I have blonde wavy hair, not black.  We were lucky enough to share very similar personalities- the storytelling, the wit, the analytical mind, the ability to think spatially.  It made for a lively friendship and sometimes some heated arguments.

We also loved the same kind of movies.  Westerns, wars, "make your feet sweat" action flicks.  He raised me on John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Randolph Scott and later we watched Mel Gibson, Robert Duvall, Sam Elliot, and Tommy Lee Jones.  If the movie was especially good, we would reenact our favorite scenes for my Mom (who would have left the room within the first 5 minutes of any grittiness).

My priest, Father Aaron, worked "Band of Brothers" into one of his homilies recently.  It was one of my Dad's favorite series to watch.  So much so that I got him the entire series on DVD for a birthday present when it came out.  He loved it.  We never sat together to watch the whole thing, but we did watch some episodes together.

Tonight, I tucked in the Kiddo and looked at the DVD shelf to choose a good Saturday night flick.  Mom wasn't here, so I had my pick.  I pulled Band of Brothers off the shelf and opened the case for the first time in over 3 years.  I looked at the discs, read the episode titles, and closed it all back up.  I'm not ready yet to watch "Band of Brothers" yet.  Because it really is the little things that can hurt the most sometimes.