reuben sandwich

one bright morning when this world is over, I'll fly away

2009-05-11T08:28:00.006-05:00

I am called Last Foot Crane.

multiple bags satelliting around her

2009-03-25T20:05:00.006-05:00

I wanted to look grown up for my first job after college. So, of course I consulted the back of Glamour magazine for the Dos and Don'ts. I had always enjoyed them and found them to be very informative. Don't wear cut off denim shorts with your undies or butt hanging out. Do wear chic sunglasses. Don't wear baggy shapeless jumpers. Do wear a smart belt. Anyway, one Don't that made a lasting impression on me was one that showed pictures of women with black bars over their eyes toting any number of bags hanging off their arms - work bag, lunch bag, gym bag, shopping bag. It said, "Don't be a bag lady." Pictured next to them was a slim, put together lady with a single bag that could do-it-all. Ever since, every morning when I leave for work I think about how to get all my stuff there without looking like a bag lady. One answer was a stupid backpack, but as someone who once dressed as the Fashion Police for Halloween and actually handed out tickets to offenders, that wasn't what I had in mind.

If you recall, last year I bought the ultimate do-it-all bag. I also paid the price when I overloaded said bag and suffered a serious backache. Sure can you can carry one bag to work when your job is posing with a purse for the back of Glamour magazine. But, come on, in real life, a career woman has a lot of stuff to carry around. Lately, I find myself cringing when I leave for work with my fabulous bag, a cheesy canvas tote bag from a conference that I use as a gym bag, my laptop bag, a small paper bag with my lunch in it, a Target bag with something I need to return on my way home from work, and a half-caff coffee. It's ridiculous, and embarrassing. I never wanted to grow up and be a Don't.

om

2009-03-07T10:48:00.005-06:00

This is what it looks like when I breathe deep.

winter wonderland

2009-03-02T20:55:00.002-06:00

Me on Lake Superior, in between Wisconsin and Basswood Island

Mike and I just returned from a perfect weekend in Bayfield, Wisconsin. There was a big snow storm Thursday night so when we got there on Friday afternoon everything was blanketed in fresh, powdery snow. Saturday we cross country skied all day on frozen Lake Superior. Nobody had been out there yet - it was so cool, the snow was undisturbed and pristine. It was awesome!!

she's having a blizzard

2009-02-26T20:59:00.001-06:00

This is a special news bulletin......

Hundreds Attend Global Warming Protest In Minnesota

confirm or ignore

2009-01-10T10:14:00.002-06:00

Thank you, Jennifer, my facebook friend for sharing this with me.

one of a kind

2009-01-08T08:05:00.001-06:00

My sister pointed me to this quiz. 0% of 48000+ people who took this quiz are like me.

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm an

Organized Spiritual Tree Hugger

emily is....

2009-01-06T19:16:00.002-06:00

.... on facebook. Maureen had been encouraging me to join for a long time but I resisted. I thought I was too old for these social networking websites. Then I ran into a long lost high school friend at Target over the summer. It was so fun to see her, when I got home, I thought to myself, "I'm going to join facebook to see if she's on there!" Well, she wasn't. However, I did find other people from high school, some girls I went camping with in junior high school, someone I played kickball with as a kid, an old co-worker, far flung friends and all of my cousins, even a few aunts and uncles. Then we recruited the rest of the bookclub girls to join facebook and we created a group. Now that friend that I saw at Target over the summer joined facebook so I feel nearly complete as far as friends go. Facebook is addictive. It's like eating potato chips. I love the pictures, and status updates, I love writing on my sister's wall. But, I have been neglecting my blog. Actually, the Drama Queen post inspired my return to my blog. When I got Sharra Frank's e-newsletter, my first impulse was to post Drama Queen on my facebook page. This brought me pause, because before facebook, this was the kind of thing I would put on my blog. So, here I am coming clean. I think I am addicted to facebook.

this is incredible

2009-01-06T19:09:00.002-06:00

Drama Queen by Sharra Frank

It is a mosaic by artist Sharra Frank. I love the tiny pieces and found objects and her use of groutlines is exquisite. I would love to take one of her classes! So much to do in 2009!

random

2008-11-30T20:09:00.003-06:00

I don't like this "healthy chocolate" trend. I like milk chocolate.

because i can

2008-11-30T19:32:00.002-06:00

When I am feeling lazy and the couch is calling my name, sometimes I can motivate myself to put on my running shoes and get out the door by using my running mantra. Other times, Mike makes me go. When I don't feel like running, or I'm in the middle of a hard workout, or I'm 5 miles from home and I feel like stopping, I keep going by saying to myself, "because I can." It's my running mantra because it keeps me pushing ahead. It's also sort of my way of expressing gratitude. I can breathe. I can run. I'm here.

obligatory race report

2008-11-24T22:02:00.003-06:00

A week ago Mike and I went to run the Inaugural Rock n Roll marathon and 1/2 marathon in San Antonio. Mike ran the full marathon and his sister and I ran the 1/2 marathon. We all started training in August and updated each other on our progress over the course of the last few months. We got to SAT on Friday afternoon and went for a short run, then had big ol' spaghetti dinner with the whole family. Saturday, we just stayed off our feet and ate more pasta. The race was on Sunday and you couldn't ask for more perfect marathon weather. It was crisp and cool, about 34 at the start. After some serious logistical hiccups and a whole lot of stress getting to the start (50 minutes to drive one mile!), we got there just in time to shed our warm-ups and get to the starting area. I don't know about the other runners, but once I started running I was totally over the pre-race choas. Sure, I felt like I forgot how to run having taken that last 3 weeks pretty easy due to an injury, but the course was great, I enjoyed the rock n roll atmosphere and music and I hoped to pick up the pace after the first 3 miles. I always take a long time to feel warmed up - 3 miles to be exact - but I didn't want to do any jogging prior to the half marathon nor did I have time to do so..... anyway, my hip was really stiff and I just had a lot of trouble getting my legs to turnover any faster. Up until my injury, training was going pretty well for me, but I have to admit by the time the race approached I had kind of lost my mental focus. I had given myself permission not to try in the race and it's a reuben. I trained "very hard" according my training plan from Runner's World Smart Coach and I had it in me physically to go a lot faster, but mentally I gave up. I know there are lots of excuses, like it just wasn't my day, I had an injury, blah, blah, blah, but I ran it anyway and I should have tried a little harder. Oh well. Despite my disappointment in well, myself, I still managed to enjoy the race and the day overall. I liked the course and as I said the weather couldn't be beat. The family affair aspect was fun too. We all got to hang out at the finish together and my nieces and nephew were so excited. They wanted to wear our space blankets and race numbers. Mike burned up the course with his speediness so we had lots to celebrate at the finish line.

alert

2008-11-24T19:53:00.003-06:00

So, it's pretty hard to top that picture of my nephew in his lion suit as far as cute kid alerts go. However, I think these post-its are up to the task. These are checklists that my niece, Sophia, made for our recent trip to San Antonio. I think it is a nice summary.

I like how mine says "read" at the bottom

and Mike's says eat at the top.

this is awesome

2008-11-23T11:57:00.003-06:00

We had a fresh coating of snow yesterday morning and my nephew went for a walk. In his Halloween costume. He looks like a mini-mascot.

out of date

2008-11-03T19:10:00.005-06:00

Today at work I got an email with a red exclamation point - that means urgent. It said that corporate communications needed a picture of me today for a dinner on Thursday to recognize new researchers and doctors. Obviously I don't have pictures of myself in my office. I looked through my blog archives and all the pictures I am with someone and/or doing something silly or drinking. Probably not what corporate communications is looking for. You may not know this about me, but I am hyper-critical of myself. I hate almost all photos taken of me. So when I have to make an avatar or something it is usually a picture from 5 years ago. It doesn't matter that much, because I look pretty much the same forever. My sister and her husband take tons of photos, so I emailed my sister to see if she had any photos of me by myself. This is what she sent me

This is from when Jess was on bedrest last winter and we did puzzles every Friday night. Posing with a puzzle piece. The other picture she sent me I am posing like it is a mug shot with a menu in my hands. No wonder I hate all pictures of myself. So, I really need some new pictures of myself.

xanthan gum

2008-10-15T21:13:00.004-05:00

I offered to make Nora pumpkin bars for her birthday. Her mom said, "can you make them wheat- and sugar-free?" Well, Nora lives a wheat-free lifestyle and she deserves a healthy and delicious special birthday treat, honestly, who doesn't? So, I set forth to do some research on the interwebs and figure it out. I learned about the importance of xanthan gum in gluten-free baking. I also learned that most gluten-free baking mixes do not contain xanthan gum and you have to add it separately, so I reached for the gluten-free pancake mix, it already has xanthan gum in it. Then I bought some extra fancy grade pure maple syrup for sweetening and got out my favorite pumpkin gingerbread cake recipe and altered it. Having never ventured into the world of gluten-free baking, I was nervous. I made the cake in a 9x13 pan, but also made one cupcake that I could eat for "quality control" purposes. It actually turned out really good! Good enough to share the recipe:

Wheat-free, Sugar-free Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups gluten-free pancake mix
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Combine pumpkin, butter, syrup, molasses, and eggs and beat at low speed 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well mixed. Pour cake batter into greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

girls weekend

2008-10-13T22:38:00.005-05:00

This weekend Mike went to Chicago to cheer some friends in the Chicago marathon. I stayed home to take care of Poncho and enjoy my single girl rituals. Friday night I went to Target after work to procure the 30 Rock Season 2 DVD for my weekend entertainment (along with some Rolos for my weekend sustenance). The new Super Target by my work was sold out of the 30 Rock DVD! So, I actually went to a second Target to get it. That's how bad I wanted it. I also bought the Sex and the City Movie on DVD.

Typically when I am home alone I have chips and dip or make ramen for dinner, just like the old days, and then watch some good girly movies. This weekend was a little different. Friday night I had leftovers and Rolos for dinner and watched SATC. Saturday night I had Rolos and wine for dinner. Then I went out with Maureen, who had Candy Corn and beer for dinner. I brought what was left of the Rolos. We went to four different bars! This is par for the course for Maureen because she makes it a priority to do new things, but for me that's just plain crazy. We started our evening at Max, the new bar in the Minneapolis Hotel. It was nice, but there was an extremely drunk man sitting next to us and we found his singing aloud to himself rather annoying so Maureen had this idea that we should just check out all the new bars in fancy hotels. We left and went to Bank, the bar in the new Westin hotel. Bank was fabulous - we had their signature drink, the blueberry mojito, which was awesome, and some deviled eggs. Next we went to the Foshay Tower to check out Prohibition. Prohibition was cool, had amazing views, but was pretty small and there was no where to sit. So, our tour of bars in hotels came to and end and we went to The Local to end our night out. We also finished off the Rolos in the car.

Sunday was just a regular day - sat around reading the newspaper, went running, cleaned, did some ironing while watching 30 Rock episodes. Then Mike came home and we went for a walk with Poncho together.

lovely day

2008-10-05T20:17:00.008-05:00

This was a great fall weekend. We went to the marathon expo on Friday night, got some running gear, went out to dinner. Saturday Mike, my sister and nephew, and my aunt Deb ran the Twin Cities marathon 5k. Well, my nephew didn't run the 5k, he ran in the toddler trot, which was pretty much the cutest thing ever. Well, actually the cutest thing ever was my nephew cheering for the mascots in the mascot footrace. He said, "go animals, go!" Everyone had fun, see for yourself:

Look at those happy faces.

That's Harry and Shelley, the mascots of Twin Cities Marathon. You gotta love a marathon with mascots.

Yes, that is Mike and me with Petey P.Cup, the mascot of HealthPartners. Pretty awesome.

Today was the marathon. The course goes near our house. In fact, this morning while I was sitting around reading the paper, I could hear people cheering and music coming from the race course. Usually, I get up at 0:dark hundred and watch the 10 mile and the marathon, but this year I had to get ready for Julie's baby shower! It was a very special day and a lot of fun. I am completely stuffed full of baby shower snacks and cheesecake!

that's what she said

2008-09-15T20:55:00.001-05:00

We just got back from a fabulous weekend in Milwaukee. My sister summed it up nicely.

emily is.... making something lovely

2008-09-10T20:13:00.004-05:00

Long-time readers of this blog might remember this. Today I received the following delightful email:

From: amy krouse rosenthal To: Emily hello emily, a) i save all my nice emails b) yours falls into that category c) i do not send out formal/official/mass updates or newsletters about my work d) however, every once in a blue moon, i stumble into something that i might feel is worth letting you (someone who expressed interest in my work) personally know about e) this is one of those moons f) so here it is. it just launched a few days ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVQSZA9zSk g) PLEASE...if you want to be taken out of my "saved forever" email folder, just say the word in a reply email and consider it done. and accept my apology now. h) if you do like the above, please feel free to pass it along to friends. the more people who see it and participate, the better... (this will make sense after viewing) all my very best today and beyond, amy k.r. who is amy amy krouse rosenthal is a writer www.whoisamy.wordpress.com

I am taking this email as in invitation, and inspiration, to make something lovely.

check this out

2008-09-07T15:49:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite people, my cousin Nora, has started her own blog. She has a way with words, yo.

Nora and me at my wedding rehearsal.

the state fair in 4000 scenes

2008-08-30T09:57:00.002-05:00

Check out this awesome video my brother-in-law, Ben Garvin made of the Minnesota State Fair:

I love the mini-donuts part! And the pronto pups! And the rides! I love it all!

state fair preview

2008-08-18T20:00:00.007-05:00

Well, the Minnesota State Fair starts in just a few days and I haven't even blogged about it yet! There are some interesting new foods this year: bacon on a stick with dipping sauces; foot long pizza on a stick; pickle pop (frozen pickle juice on a stick, no dipping sauce); leprachan legs (fried green beans with dipping sauce, no stick). I can't find reviews of these foods, but none of them really interest me. I am, however, interested in the Midtown Global Market at the fair - I never get tired of Holy Land Deli or those meat pockets at West Indies Soul. I'll probably just stick to the classics this year - Grandstand mini-donuts, honey lemonade, maybe some walleye cake and of course, the world's greatest turkey sandwich!!

Right now, I have three trips to the fair planned. Sunday, Mike and I are running the State Fair 5k with my BFF Rachel. After the race we'll have breakfast at the fair, which may include a trip to one of the dining halls or a helping of Cini Minis. Then Friday we are going to take the day off and do the fair like it's our job (i.e. get there at 8 am) and we have Prairie Home Companion tickets with Rachel and her sis. Then there will be a short trip to the fair with my mom, sister, Ben, Art and Lewis.

Art on machinery hill, what a cutie

Mike and I always like to have a date night at the fair where we go after work and have dinner and enjoy some music at the Leinie Lodge bandshell or catch the talent show. And to continue my streak of unflattering photos, here's one of me eating (those are never flattering) a dark chocolate covered marshmellow on a stick with a large lemonade (my favorite and one of the best deals at the Fair).

chinese pizza

2008-08-09T09:36:00.004-05:00

Mike and I love the Olympics. We'll watch pretty much any Olympic sport that is on. Four years ago, we went to watch some Olympics at my mom's house (she has cable) and we had the infamous Greek pizza debacle. Last night we went to my sister's for some Beijing Magic. This morning my mom called to ask if I had any Chinese pizza last night. My mom is so funny. My mom still does not believe me that Greek pizza exists. It does and evidently, so does Chinese pizza.

in case you didn't know

2008-08-06T17:32:00.001-05:00

My husband is hilarious.

sisters are doin' it

2008-08-06T17:14:00.005-05:00

Lately my sister has been lamenting my lack of free time. She longs for the days when I would come over and watch daytime TV all afternoon and eat her white cheddar Cheeze-Its while she nursed Art. She even said, "I want you to do another PhD so we can hang out more." This morning she sent me this (unflattering) photo (seriously, why are my glasses so crooked? Who looks good from that angle anyway? And look at my hair! That is so my grad school look - unwashed, unhighlighted hair. I much prefer my hair when it is restored to its natural beauty, and clean), circa 2006, with the following message:

Look! You have a halo! Remember when you procrastinated all the time and wasted every Friday playing with Art's toes at my house? And going to Walgreens!?!?! Good times...

Well, I would love to have more free time to hang with my sis and her kids, but I would rather eat rusty nails than do another PhD. I suppose I will have to come up with some alternative solutions. Some of which will involve more flattering photos.

summertime, oooh summertime

2008-07-22T21:54:00.008-05:00

In the past month I have been to Kansas, Chicago, Wisconsin, Northern California, and Arkansas. I toured the Midwest with a side trip to California. I also decided that I never want to fly anywhere again. It's very grouchilicious. I think I was actually at work at in the office for about 9 1/2 days total (two trips were work trips, so I was working in Kansas and Chicago). Wisconsin was 4th of July with my sis and her family and Zander and Julie, then California and Arkansas were vacation for me and Mike. My brother-in-law, Ben, took the above photo of some authentic Wisconsin fireworks (i.e., yahoos across the lake setting them off).

Our vacation was nice. The wedding in CA was beautiful. It was on an organic farm and looked a lot like how I pictured the scenery in East of Eden. We swam in the creek during the day and hung out with friends at night. Then we flew home and drove to Arkansas to meet up with Mike's family. There we enjoyed many more water sports - swimming, fishing, and some canoeing. The area we were staying in was very hilly and the valleys were filled with mist in the morning. One morning we went canoeing in the mist.

We visited ThornCrown Chapel which was so beautiful I got a little teary. I could have gone there everyday. We also went to a couple of Civil War battlefields, which I am sure Mike will blog about in greater detail. Now we are back and I have to work for 5 days in a row for the first time in weeks! At least we are having some perfect Minnesota summer weather.

catching up

2008-06-22T20:55:00.004-05:00

Things that happened during my blogging sabbatical:

1. I joined Twitter over Memorial Day. Unfortunately, I had many cocktails prior to joining and I have no idea what my password is.

me Twittering with David de Young providing support/instruction

2. Maureen, charter Reuben Sandwich Day participant, started blogging.

3. We joined a new farm this year and it rocks.

4. We finally went to Brasa and it was out of this world.

5. Mike and I have been riding bikes everywhere.

one time at stats camp...

2008-06-22T20:38:00.004-05:00

If anyone still reads this blog.... I'm posting again! It's been a while. What can I say? I've been really busy. After my Boston Sandwich, I had a grant due on June 13. I worked every weekend and nights too on that thing, it kind of felt like I was in grad school again. After I sent that off, I left for a week long statistics workshop, aptly named "Stats Camp." I got back from Stats Camp on Friday and I'm leaving Tuesday for an epidemiology conference, at which I am presenting a research project that I am doing with Chel. We spent the day at the coffee shop working on our posters. I can't wait until next weekend when I can finally have a little break. Breathe.

Stats Camp was awesome. I highly recommend it. I took a course in multi-level modeling and the instructor was phenomenal. I learned a lot and I also realized that I already know a lot. At the end of the week we had the opportunity for one-on-one consultations and I got help on two projects. Staying in a hotel by myself all week was OK, I missed Mike and Poncho, and I had to eat a lot of take out. I also watched a ridiculous amount of Law and Order. Most nights I went running, then sat in my room and worked while I half-watched Law and Order episodes. In fact, now I am kind of having L & O withdrawl. I just finished my poster and sent it to Chel (she is printing it for me tomorrow) and I thought, phew, I'm ready to watch some Law and Order! And then I was totally surprised/bummed that it wasn't on. We have got to get cable!

sandwich day!!!!!

2008-05-03T15:04:00.004-05:00

Mike is so sweet. He taped my favorite show, 30 Rock, for me on Thursday. Even though I could just watch it for free on the interwebs. I just watched it and it was so f-ing good. First of all, the episode title is "Sandwich Day." A plot about sandwiches! Then, like any story about sandwiches, the story has multiple layers. Jack says, "Lemon, life is about minimizing regrets....." and Liz had to go to the airport and they wouldn't let her bring her sandwich dipping sauce through the security line because it more than 3 oz and she has to choose between love and sandwiches. So much awesome. And with sandwiches!!

in case you were wondering

2008-05-03T15:01:00.002-05:00

I didn't get home until today. My flight ended up being canceled because the crew (when they finally arrived) went "illegal." Of course, they didn't tell us this until after we boarded the plane, so we deplaned at like 10:30pm and went to a stupid hotel and flew out this morning.

I forgot to mention that I spend some of my idle time yesterday writing a letter of complaint to the airline.

wah fuckin wah

2008-05-02T18:28:00.004-05:00

I am having the top half of a Boston sandwich and it tastes stale. I was just here to support Mike in the marathon and visit with friends and now I am here again for work. I got here Wednesday and had some frozen yogurt at Angora Cafe with my friend. We had it delivered when we were here for the bottom half of my sandwich and it was awesome. Frozen yogurt delivered - it's a dream come true! Then I went to my hotel and had a meeting from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm on Thursday and then dinner after with people. Uff da, that is a long day for me. There was more meeting this morning and then I headed to the airport. I have been here for 8 hours. Talk about a long day! At this time my plane is scheduled to leave at 9:15 so I will have been here for over 9 hours. This is how I passed the time:

1. bought one Shape magazine and some gum
2. ate one slice of pizza at Sbarro
3. got a shaken iced tea at Starbucks, half green-half passion (this is one of my favorite things)
4. bought a water
5. finsihed some work that I brought with me
6. bought a day pass for WiFi
7. surfed the internet, caught up on some correspondance, checked status of flight several times
8. got in line to see if I could switch to the other flight to Minneapolis, waited in line for an hour for nothing
9. talked to Rachel on the phone while waiting in line
10. more internet, looking for a cute new skirt and a swimsuit to go with that Shape magazine
11. got hungry again, ate another slice of Sbarro pizza, talk about disappointment (they were out of salads at McDonalds)
12. disappointed with dinner, want something that I can enjoy eating for a long time so got a hot fudge sundae at McDonalds and it was really good, counteracting Shape magazine
13. bought another magazine, of the gossip variety, I need to know which celebrities are pregnant or getting married
14. more internet, realized that this time could be well-spent blogging and voila!

this is my comeback

2008-04-09T21:41:00.003-05:00

What a reuben! You may have noticed that my blog has been "unavailable" recently. I accidentally deleted my blog. I didn't even know I could delete 5 years of my life on the internet. And it isn't even a good story, like I got really drunk and accidentally deleted my blog, or Mike dared me to do it, or I'm going to start a new career as a spy and I need to erase my identity. All I wanted to do was switch my blog from one google account to another and in the process I screwed up and ended up deleting my blog. It turns out that many people have made a similar mistake. I feel very fortunate that I was able to restore my blog. When I first realized what I had done, I almost started to cry. I love my blog. When I was writing my dissertation, one of my favorite procrastination techniques (aside from cleaning and cooking and um, the occasional episode of daytime television) was to read my archives for that month 1, 2 or 3 years ago. Personal milestones were recorded on my blog, as well as lots of minutia. Rachel pointed out that I am experiencing kind of a phase of new beginnings lately, so maybe losing my blog could be part of that. But, I think my blog can grow with me.

a reuben

2008-03-20T16:50:00.003-05:00

I bought this fabulous bag a couple weeks ago. It is gorgeous. It is very grown up to go with my new post-graduate school lifestyle. It is also very large. Last week I was like, "Isn't this great? I've got my lunch, my gym clothes, and some work stuff in here!" Well, I think I was a little overzealous in seeing how much I could carry in my fabulous bag and now I have a backache. Every couple of years, I do something where my back muscles go into a spasm and I feel like I can't move and then I spend several days hobbling around. The first time this happened to me was in college after a track meet. Little known fact about me: I ran track and threw the javelin in college. I know, isn't that weird? Anyway, as you can imagine, javelin throwing is kind of hard on your back. It was also really fun! So, I always think of my back pain as a residual problem from my track and field days. I am also just naturally kind of out of alignment - one leg slightly longer than the other, resulting in one hip slightly higher than the other, resulting in one shoulder slightly higher than the other - and when I neglect to do my exercises, this gets pronounced and leads to some kind of injury. Tonight I am going to a get a massage to relieve my pain.

My reuben is not that I bought the bag, but that I proudly carried too much stuff around in it.

it's that time of year

2008-03-16T13:30:00.006-05:00

upon discovering that we have run out of tequila and on the brink of inventing the Reubentini - they say necessity is the mother of invention

Every year around St Patrick's Day my stats go up because of all the people doing searches for reuben sandwich recipes. I haven't blogged for a month and my average hits per day is 18 right now. For a recreational blogger, that's pretty good. Anyway, St Patty's Day doesn't usually happen the same week as Reuben Sandwich Day, so I feel like I should do a my annual Reuben blog a few days early so all the corned beef lovers can read it.

Reuben Sandwich Day FAQs

1. What is Reuben Sandwich Day?
Reuben Sandwich Day is my very own personal holiday. For the full story, read this. For a shorter version, you're out of luck, there is no short version.

2. When was the first Reuben Sandwich Day?
Good question! The first Reuben Sandwich Day was Good Friday, 1998. We have celebrated every year since, usually with a party at Mannings or our house.

3. Why is Reuben Sandwich Day on Good Friday?
Because the first one was on Good Friday and it is an easy day to remember. Also because eating corned beef on Good Friday might be a Reuben for some people.

4. What's not to like about reuben sandwiches?
Two words. Corned beef.

5. What kind of sandwiches do you like?
Rachels, tuna melts, turkey sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, ice cream sandwiches. A few years back I blogged about my favorite sandwiches, but the list is out date as some of the sandwiches are no longer available.

6. What are some of your favorite reuben moments?
That would have to be the year that I invented the Reubentini - margarita mix with vodka and a splash of beer. Also the time when Reuben Sandwich Day came up in a job interview.

7. What is the biggest reuben you can think of?
I am still suffering from some post traumatic stress disorder from graduate school, so I think getting a PhD still ranks pretty high. However, ask me again next year because I have a new job that I love and I couldn't have this job without a PhD. Otherwise, I mostly have mini-reubens.

8. To whom do you credit Reuben Sandwich Day's success?
Well, obviously, my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Brown because she gave me the assignment to make a mistake everyday for the rest of my life. But the real genius behind Reuben Sandwich Day is my mom. She says that when I came to her, crying hysterically over my messed up homework, she saw my life flash before her eyes and, in her own words, "it wasn't good." She knew that she had to nip the problem in the bud and that she couldn't do it alone - hence going to see Mrs. Brown. My mom has really good instincts.

9. How will you celebrate Reuben Sandwich Day this year?
This year will be a little different than previous years. We are combining the Reuben Sandwich Day celebration with a party for my extended family. We have a family listserv and we are celebrating a message getting over 50 replies. My husband, Mike is making a pub quiz for the occasion. I might also invite my friends and family to my last improv class, which will undoubtedly turn into a reuben for a) me, because it will be embarrassing and b) them, when they realize that they are wasting their evening watching a bunch of amateurs.

10. What advice do you have for other people who want to have their own personal holiday?
Be consistent, especially in the early years. It's important to establish some rituals with your holiday. The first 6 or 7 Reuben Sandwich Days always took place at Mannings, it wasn't until 2005 that we had a house party to celebrate. I also try to make sure the charter members attend if possible.

vintage

2008-03-16T10:53:00.003-05:00

Way back in junior high, I had this classic Swatch. I don't know why, but I have fond memories of my Swatch watch. I really wanted the one that smelled like raspberries too so I could wear them both at the same time. Yesterday, I went shopping with Chel (who never updates her blog anymore so I can't really link to her - wah) and we stopped in at the Swatch store at Mall of America. They were having a sale and I bought this ridiculous Swatch watch:

If I still had my first Swatch, I could live the dream of wearing multiple Swatches at once. I bet that raspberry one didn't smell like raspberries. It's probably one of those things that I am remember totally wrong.

what are you doing?

2008-02-25T22:10:00.004-06:00

prose * running on a treadmill * running outside * Cadbury Mini Eggs * bookclub * scrapbook * Poncho * wine * going to the movies * watching TV * 30 Rock * Tina Fey *sleeping * flat tire * taking light rail to work * work party * cleaning * ironing * with starch * clothing swap party * Feist* Lance Armstrong Foundation * grant proposal * statistics * freezing cold * taxes * green tea with mint * assfat * puzzles * flesh belt * saturated colors * dance * spinning * core class * mosaics * symbolics * I hate my cats

zip zap zop

2008-01-28T21:30:00.000-06:00

I know, I know! I haven't blogged in forever, but believe, me it was totally worth it!! So, a summary of events since I last blogged

1. I quit my job. Well, I quit my job in December, but I never really blogged about it. To summarize I took that job and shoved it. 2. I started my new job and I have an office and free parking and they have frozen yogurt in the cafeteria. 3. I joined a new gym, and when it was -20 below zero, Mike decided to join too. 4. Over the weekend, I went to fitness yoga, but it turned out the schedule of classes was rearranged and I found myself at cardio kickboxing - uffda, I'm still sore. 5. Made another stop on the Jucy Lucy tour with Angie. Good times. 6. Mike and I started watching "Weeds" season 1. 7. Mike bought a gigantic new paper shredder. 8. I signed up for an improv class.

Shitballs, did I really sign up for an improv class? Damn straight. My friend Beth has been taking improv classes and she said I would love it. She said it's really for everyone because you learn things like how to think on your feet. Who doesn't want to be better at coming up with the right thing to say on the spot? I thought this would be a good way for me to push myself and step outside my comfort zone. I found an improv class through Minneapolis Community Ed. I've had much success with community ed classes over the years - mosaic art, Swedish, yoga-pilates-powersculpt (I took that one 4 times), drawing. I also signed up for beginning crochet in February, but I digress. Improv class started tonight. Despite the fact that I was voted class clown in high school and I am, in fact, a very silly person, I have never done any type of performing and have probably not actually been on a stage since my last piano recital in, like, 6th grade. I learned that there are rules to improv. The rules of imrov are: 1) always accept an offer; 2) don't ask questions; and 3) um, I think that one was like always make the other players look good or something. I should've taken notes. What did we do? So, we played zip, zap, zop. We told some improvised stories, many of which involved robots for some reason. We practiced our mad skills at miming. I am terrible at miming. We had to make something out of imaginary clay and hand it to someone. I made a cell phone and the dude I handed it to took a mimed shower with it. Also, I learned that it is ok to make mistakes. In fact, when someone messes up we all applaud. How reuben sandwich-like. So far, it is fun.

merry new year

2008-01-01T16:29:00.000-06:00

What better way to start off the year than to take care of some overdue paper shredding!

oh no

2008-01-01T09:09:00.000-06:00

After a week of eating out way too much while visiting Mike's family, I was ready for some serious detox. I love tacos, but I feel like I never want to eat cheese, or tortillas, or chocolate covered things again. Or at least not for a very long time. While we flew home, I was dreaming of days spent drinking tea and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. So, yesterday afternoon I went to Lunds to rustle up some grub for a quiet New Year's Eve dinner. I got some broccoli, a red pepper, scallions, and swiss chard. I also got some clementines, grapefruit and a pommegranate. While walking toward the checkout I spotted these:

Well, crap. Spicy Thai Kettle chips are not part of my plan to reintroduce healthy foods to my diet. I bought them anyway figuring I would eat them another day. Well, after our fabulous dinner of steamed vegetables and tofu with spicy sesame sauce, we sat down to watch some movies and opened the chips. Oh man, they were so good! I really like plain kettle chips, but these were like flavored chip perfection. They are my new favorite chip. I better be off to eat some grapefruit with pommegranate seeds sprinkled on top and read about Top 10 Workout DVDs in Fitness magazine.

you go girl!

2007-12-19T10:17:00.000-06:00

Do you ever find yourself in need of a pep talk? I do. So I made myself a playlist for my ipod that has all of my "I'm awesome" songs. I listen to them to get my game face on, so to speak. Before I defended my dissertation last spring, I had a dress rehearsal for my family where I wore my suit and practiced my talk and everything. Before I gave my presentation, I played my "I'm awesome" music and when Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" came on my sister was like, um, why are we listening to this music? I'm not gonna lie, sometimes songs are C to the O to the R to the N to the Y! But as Cheryl Lynn says, it's got to be real! I recently interviewed for jobs and I updated my "I'm awesome" mix. Here is a sample:

Work That, Mary J. Blige
Got to be Real, Cheryl Lynn
Praise You, Fat Boy Slim
Jump, Madonna
Brass in Pocket, The Pretenders

By the time I've listened to these songs I am ready to bring it. What's in your I'm Awesome mix?

hearty

2007-12-18T12:37:00.001-06:00

I've found myself with some free time on my hands this week. That means more time for blogging! And more time for cooking! Today, while I tackle piles of laundry and bills, I am making one of our new favorite crock pot meals:

Hearty Beef Chili

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato or vegetable juice
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, in cubes
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 green pepper, diced
2 onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups celery chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano

Cook on high for 4-5 hours then turn down to low. Serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese. YUM! Also good with some corn bread.

ice cream

2007-12-16T09:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It's so much pressure to have your birthday on a Saturday. Jeez. I wasn't up for planning anything big this year, so I just kept it simple and had some family over. My aunts, cousins, and sister came over and we had a Crafternoon. Everyone brought their own project and we sat around and worked on our crafts and drank wine. It was delightful. I should have taken some pictures of the projects! I actually took apart a project that I wasn't happy with. I have been working on a mosaic clock for the cottage, and the cats have been messing with it and it just wasn't turning out the way I wanted so I pried all the tile of it so I can start over. I also did some prep work for a future project with Angie. We are going make some mosaic birdhouses and my aunt and cousin gave me the birdhouses for my birthday! I put a coat of sealant on them so they will be more weather proof. Finding those birdhouses has been on my to do list for so long, but I have been otherwise occupied. After an afternoon of crafting the uncles/boyfriends/husbands came over for dinner. The best part of my birthday was the food - we ordered some Chinese food and had it delivered and after dinner we had an ice cream pie from my favorite place, Izzy's! It was sooooo good!! I also got lots of nice presents. Mike got me a couple of cool books, Seed Queen, by Colleen Sheehy and Transit Maps of the World, by Mark Ovendon.

My sister and her family got me a gift card to a yoga studio! I'm going to do the hot yoga. They also gave me The Produce Bible, by Leanne Kitchen, which will prove to be very useful in the kitchen.

i smashed the fax machine

2007-12-14T11:09:00.001-06:00

Happy birthday to me!

snickerdoodles

2007-12-05T20:30:00.000-06:00

I just made six dozen snickerdoodles. Snickerdoodles are really nice looking cookies. They turned out good, but not as good as Jocelyn's. She's an awesome baker. Tomorrow, we are having a bookclub cookie exchange, sans book. We're just having dinner and exchaning holiday cookies, and not talking about a book at all. It's going to be fun!

peanut peanut butter

2007-11-26T19:03:00.000-06:00

I haven't done a recipe post in a while. To be honest, I haven't been cooking much lately. Well, not like I used to cook back when I was in grad school, that is! Since it is fall, I have been really into making soups. I've been making this super easy spinach and lentil soup: 1 1/2 cups red lentils, 4 cups water, 3 slices fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspon tumeric, 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (you know I LOVE the Muir Glen Organic fire roasted tomatoes), cook about 20 minutes until lentils are soft and stir in 1 bag of baby spinach. Delish. Mike is already getting sick of that recipe since I discovered it. So, just to stir things up a bit, I made this crazy peanut butter soup. It is a soup that The Anginator made for bookclub a long time ago. Actually, it was from a bookclub that I did not attend, but thanks to my handy Bookclub Cookbook, I have the recipe (Yes, my bookclub has a cookbook. We also have a bookclub journal and a bookclub scrapbook, which I am in charge of). Of course, I also made some modifications, because this soup is screaming for Sriracha!

African Peanut Soup

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 clove garlic
2 medium leaks, sliced
1 carrot, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 hot pepper, diced (I used a jalepeno, but I think a serrano pepper might be better?)
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 little can tomato paste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups chicken broth (if you're a veg, you could use vegetable broth)
drizzle with Sriracha for garnish

In a saucepan, heat oil over moderate hear until hot but not smoking and cook garlic, leaks, and vegetables until soft, a couple minutes. Add tomato paste, peanut butter, broth, and cayenne. Stir until smooth. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Simmer soup, uncovered for 10 minutes, or until oil floats to surface. Skim off oil. I used my hand blender to puree the soup at the end.

Serve with rice.

this is good

2007-11-12T21:44:00.000-06:00

Apparently, my anti-cat rant did not go over well. What can I say? I am going to try to be a more positive person.... starting now. Recently, Mike and I had dinner at Victor's 1959 Cafe. It was so good!! A few years ago, I went to a conference in Miami and it was so much fun. Part of the fun was all the good food in Miami, including some damn good Cuban food. Victor's might be my new favorite restaurant.

reasons not have a cat

2007-11-10T12:50:00.000-06:00

I just realized that we probably can't get a Christmas tree this year because our crazy cats will just destroy it and all my precious ornaments. Growing up we did not have a tree every year, we actually decorated our piano with pine boughs. I always thought it was because my mom thought it was sad to cut down a tree, but maybe the real reason is that our cats would jump in the tree. However, I only remember those cats as being old and lazy, not young and crazy like Toonces and Nacho. Nevertheless, I give you the top reasons not to have cats!

1. Kitty litter.
2. Claws. It is cruel to remove the claws, but if you don't then the cats scratch stuff. Nacho likes to scratch the wall.
3. They will jump/climb your Christmas tree and knock ornaments off.
4. Did I mention kitty litter?
5. At night they like to get under the covers and bite you or make biscuts on your face.
6. They also like to climb up the curtains or up the clothes in my closet.
7. Your friends who are allergic to cats can't come over.

MN 150

2007-10-27T22:25:00.000-05:00

Today Mike and I went to the Minnesota Historical Society MN 150 exhibit. It was pretty cool. They had Prince's outfit from Purple Rain, and it was much smaller than I imagined. There was a lot of interesting political stuff too, including a nice Wellstone thing. There was a booth where people recorded what they thought should have made the cut. I was astonished that Dairy Queen, a Minnesota company, was not included in the MN 150. I considered making a video in the booth, but instead created a list with my favorite Minnesota things. I made the list off the top of my head, and I'm ashamed to say, somehow left Prince off my personal list. Major oversight, especially considering how well Prince and Dairy Queen go together (I'm talking about driving around the lakes with Rachel B - word!). I guess that was my reuben of the day.

some people wonder why i haven't been blogging

2007-10-25T18:50:00.000-05:00

I don't know, I don't have much to say. I don't even have any new rants. I'm still adjusting to my post-grad school life, and I'm not going to lie, it involves a lot less procrastination.

Since I last blogged:

1. Mike and I went to Lake Tahoe. It was awesome. See Mike's blog for some highlights.
2. I went to New Orleans for a conference. I got back last night. New Orleans was OK, a little deserted feeling. I didn't go out much at night, I was mostly a working machine while I was there. I did have one fabulous dinner at Bayona and I had beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. And I connected with a lot of people professionally and got to hang out with frequent commentor on this blog, Kate, a lot.
3. Season premeire of 30 Rock aired. It was good, but not as good as the second episode where Tina Fey's tooth fell out. It only made my special bond with Liz Lemon stronger.
4. I ate at Korea Restaurant often.

Me and Mike at Snowflake Lodge

speaking of crisp

2007-09-15T11:27:00.001-05:00

I am obsessed lately with Bi Bim Bap at Korea Restaurant. You have to get it in the hot pot so that you can press spoonfuls of rice against the sides of the pot to make a deliciouis "overcooked rice crust." It's so fun to eat and so yummy. Maybe Mike will go there for dinner tonight....

crisp

2007-09-15T11:23:00.000-05:00

Reasons why fall is so awesome:

1. Crisp weather
2. Snug in bed with all the covers
3. Fashions - I love sweaters and boots
4. Halloween candy
5. Squash, one of my other favorite foods
6. Garden mums
7. Honey crisp apples

i love 30 rock so much i want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant

2007-08-23T20:49:00.000-05:00

I love 30 Rock. It is my favorite show. I've been wanting to blog about it for a while, but it's hard to express my love for this show in words y'all. First, I love Tina Fey. She is so F-ing cool. As a blogger who is wont to rant, I can't help but love her rants. Second, Alec Baldwin is hilarious on this show. Third, Tracy Morgan is crazy and hilarious. The other night I went to see 1776 at the Guthrie, which was excellent and very funny, but I kept thinking about this (and also how the John Adams character was just like George on Seinfeld - weird but true). Even The Office loves 30 Rock! I could go on and on about my love for 30 Rock, I even tried to find the theme song as a ringtone, but you should watch for yourself. You can watch full episodes on nbc.com! While I was finishing my dissertation, after I finished a chapeter, I would watch an episode as a break.

i'm melting

2007-08-14T19:11:00.001-05:00

edited to add: These gummi bears are from the marathon training class that Mike is coaching. There was a story about MDRA marathon training in the Star Tribune today, there was a picture of Mike in the hardcopy.

hollow vegetable red fire

2007-08-11T11:50:00.000-05:00

I just received this email from a friend who was Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand. Thanks to her, I discovered many tasty treats, but she never introduce me to hollow vegetable.

To: Emily From: Missy #1 Subject: re: laughs You had pak boong! That is a veggie we were always promoting in Thailand because it was high in vitamin A (like most greens). Try stir-frying it with a little oil and garlic, a little fish sauce, hoisin sauce, and one very hot pepper. Serve over rice. Whenever I was feeling unhealthy (pretty much anytime I hung out with other PCVs in Bangkok because the whiskey was a-flowin'), I would order "pak boong fai dang." That is "hollow vegetable red fire." Yum!

Missy #1 is the same friend who said that fish sauce smells like wash yourself.... twice".

pssst

2007-08-10T09:35:00.001-05:00

Since I am not receiving any vegetables from the de-funct CSA, I visited the farmers market at the U the other day. One of the benefits of my new job is that I get to be near all the action on campus. I bought some strawberries that were picked that morning and they were incredible. I also picked up some hollow vegetable. Last night I made a stir fry with the hollow vegetable, mushrooms and tofu. It was delicious. It's like spinach, or other greens, but there is no bitterness, in fact it's kind of sweet. Hollow vegetable is new to me, so I had to look it up after I discovered how good it is. Apparently, it is banned in the US because it is a "noxious" weed, which I think just means it is an invasive species in some regions. Now I feel really luck to have snuck some home from the farmer's market. If you ever find it, give it a try.

on the lighter side

2007-08-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce a new blog! Angie, my favorite commenter, has started her own blog, Anginator. Wahoo!

courie bishop is a thief!

2007-08-06T20:08:00.000-05:00

Loyal readers of my blog will know that we have been participating in community supported agriculture for a number of years. It has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. That is, until this year. This year we decided to try a new farm. One reason we decided to try a new farm was because it was hard to find people with whom to split a full share, so we wanted to find a farm that sold half-shares. When we heard Double Rabbit Farm sold half-shares, we decided to check it out. Their website had a testimonial about the minimelons. Watermelon is one of my favorite foods, so I was easily sold. I should have known something was up because the testimonial was from someone named Magenta. Double Rabbit said they would deliver heirloom vegetables May through October. Well, their greenhouse collapsed, so May was canceled. Then their seedlings failed, and the dog died, and this is what we got in June:

Seriously, I have grown more lettuce in a pot on my deck, and I am by no means a green thumb. Then they canceled deliveries in July, but claimed that they would make up for beginning August 4. I know it has been a hard growing season, but my friends are still getting veggies from their CSA's. I don't know what is worse, getting nothing for my $$, or getting these shitty emails from Courie (the so-called farmer) about how, "thanks to your contributions we don't have to work odd jobs this summer!" Wow, I didn't know I signed up to make a donation to your farm, beyotch. Well, August 4th, I headed down to the Midtown Farmer's market to pick up my share and there was no Double Rabbit booth and no explanation. WTF!! I go home and check their website, and it has been taken down. So, I email the listserv, and someone replies that their email to Courie bounced back. Another person replies that they heard Courie left the farm. It turns out that all their crops failed and we will be getting nothing this season. Of course, we had to figure this out on our own because there was no forthright communication from Double Rabbit Farm. Well, Miss Courie Bishop, the internet is a powerful thing. I googled her, and found all kinds of websites associated with her and her bullshit "magick" art. Ugh. I've been had. That witch took my money and ran. I didn't want it to come to this. I didn't want to use my blog to disparage someone, but I just needed to get this rant off my chest.

working for a living

2007-08-03T10:56:00.000-05:00

Wow. I am a working woman again. I had to iron some clothes and not wear flip flops for the first time all summer. I've been riding my bike to work, and it is oddly similar to my routine at my first job out of college, when I worked in Moos Tower as a scientist. I park my bike in the same place, and yesterday I ate at Big Ten (my favorite sandwich on campus). I don't have a computer yet so I'm not really hitting the ground running as I expected. I brought my laptop from home so I can at least do some lit searches and look at coverage of the bridge collapse (note the byline of my brother-in-law, Ben, who kicks ass because he flew over the site in a helicopter yesterday). The bridge collapse really takes my breath away. It is an area that I know so intimately, having spent the last six years of my life looking out at that very stretch of 35W from the West Bank Office Building. I can't stop thinking about all of the people who work there that might have been traveling that way, or all of the time I traveled that way to head out to Rosedale for some retail therapy after a crappy day, or rode my bike home along West River Road, where part of the bridge landed. The WBOB is closed until Monday because police and rescue crews have taken over the parking ramp as a staging area. I don't even want to think about what they are doing there.

how's my driving?

2007-07-26T17:00:00.001-05:00

I just noticed that at the beginning of the summer I posted this list of things I wanted to do this summer. Here is my progress thus far:

1. Drive around Lake Superior with Mike
~~2. Work on some mosaic projects~~
3. Take a mosaic class
~~4. Go to Cross Lake, word~~
~~5. Visit friends~~
~~6. Do some painting around the house~~
7. Build a patio in the back yard
8. Get rid of Mike's old car
.... and more! Maybe I will blog more often ....

Hmmm. I can only cross off half of them. We drove to the cabin instead of driving around Lake Superior, so that's like a subsitution. I didn't build a patio, or take a mosaic class and we still have the '88 parked next to the garage. I also didn't work on sending my dissertation papers to journals, but I did start organizing my photos, I read a lot, and I spent a lot of quality time with Poncho. Perhaps I will take a mosaic class in the winter. It's really an indoor activity, better for winter time.

my summer vacation

2007-07-25T11:16:00.000-05:00

My summer vacation is drawing to a close. Sigh. It's been a really nice, relaxing summer. I've had plenty of time to decompose, as I like to say. One of my greatest accomplishments this summer, other than decomposing, is that I finally finished this masterpiece:

I am entering it in the Minnesota State Fair this year.

My close friend, Erin, is on maternity leave this summer, which has been a real treat. It's just like high school. We sit around together a lot, but now she has a baby and we have wine on the deck in the afternoon. Instead of watching teen movies like we did in high school, we practice our embroidery or watch Rachel Ray with the volume turned down.

Erin's masterpiece

Today I'm even babysitting! It's totally just like high school. Except, instead of a neighbor's baby, it's my friend's baby (actually, she is a neighbor too). And after I'm done babysitting, instead of going back-to-school shopping Erin and I are going back-to-work shopping because we both go back to work next week.

the maybes

2007-07-24T11:27:00.000-05:00

my mom, she rocks

guests at my rockin graduation party

kids playing in my rock garden

After visiting my cabin, and my friend's cabin, and generally sitting around, I have never been more relaxed. Even getting ready for my graduation party was not too stressful, and I tend to stress out about stuff like that. I love to clean and I have my new vacuum cleaner so pet fur is no longer a problem. Mike's family was visiting, and they cut up all the fruit for fruit salad, and helped set up and clean up. We had the perfect backyard party weather, warm and not humid. It was all just the way I wanted. We had a lot of leftover food, made possible by the maybes and no-shows. We made the leftovers into a picnic and went hiking at Taylors Falls for the day with Mike's family and Poncho. It was a really great day of picnicing, pothole viewing, and hiking.

a tethered Poncho

a heart shaped pothole at Taylors Falls

just relax

2007-07-13T14:29:00.000-05:00

The last couple of weeks I have been away. First, Mike and I went to my family cottage in Wisconsin for a week. It was really hot there. So hot that we drove down to Wisconsin Dells to cool off at America's largest water park, Noah's Ark. I had never been to a water park before. I was worried we would be the only adults there. Actually, it was mostly adults and teenagers. I was also worried that we would slide out of the ride. Some of the water rides were too scary for me. Despite my lameness, we had a lot of fun. I think Mike had a lot of fun laughing at me as I screamed on the rides. We also went on a tour of the Steven's Point brewery which was cool. They were all jazzed because they are celebrating their sesquicentennial this year. Big whoop. We celebrated our sesquicentennial at the cottage 6 years ago. You see, the land where our cabin sits is where my great-great-grandparents homesteaded. We returned from Wisconsin and spent 4th of July in town. Then I left for the popular Brainerd Lakes area to visit a cabin with my friends. It was great fun. We played board games, swam, ate some good food, and celebrated my PhD. Many laughs and cocktails made with Thai whiskey were had. Aside from seeing my friends and being more relaxed than I have ever been, the best part was essentially looting the cabin. My friends are selling the cabin that was once their grandfather's home. He had a lot of chotchkies and I got to take them home to make some sweet mosaic projects out of them.

Yes, that's me smoking a cigarette and drinking metamucil. Don't ask.

another day, another milestone

2007-06-04T10:02:00.001-05:00

In case you didn't know, I pulled my calf muscle a little over 2 months ago. I actually heard it "pop" - eeeewww! That meant that I couldn't run at all for about 6 weeks. My number one way to releive stress and I couldn't do it during the most stressful time of my life. Well, I've been going to physical therapy and was given the green light to ease back into running a few weeks ago. This morning I graduated from physical therapy! Seriously, I'm just knocking 'em out of the park lately.

schools out forever

2007-06-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

This was my first weekend without grad school on my back in years. Not only that, this was the first weekend that I didn't work, or worry about how I should be working, in years. So, what did I do to make the most of my new station in life? I cleaned. I washed the windows, and they look magnificent. Actually, they look invisible. I washed the walls in the bathroom. I did lots of laundry, including the curtains. I swept and swiffered (well, I do this ALL THE TIME because we live in a freaking zoo now that we have two cats and a dog). I stopped myself before I went out to wash the windows in the garage, that just seemed excessive.

the view through the kitchen window of my rock garden

who knew

2007-06-01T12:33:00.000-05:00

It's National Doughnut Day! I just read a story on the interwebs about it. If I had known this morning, I would have celebrated by stopping at Minnehaha Coffee to get my favorite donut. They come from The Baker's Wife and they are awesome. In fact, I've blogged about them before.

i'm done

2007-05-31T17:34:00.000-05:00

dissertations, waiting to be distributed to committee members

Well folks, a major reuben sandwich milestone has been achieved. I have defended my disseration and graduated. On Tuesday night, I had a "dress rehearsal" and gave my presentation to my family, which was sort of fun. I even got dressed up in my suit and pearls. The real presentation went well and the exam portion wasn't too bad. It's hard to believe. I sort of feel like a big phony and someone is going to call me up say they made a mistake.

Now I can do all that stuff that has been on my to-do list forever. This summer I've got big plans, BIG! In fact, I don't think I can get it all done. Here's a sample:

1. Drive around Lake Superior with Mike
2. Work on some mosaic projects
3. Take a mosaic class
4. Go to Cross Lake, word
5. Visit friends
6. Do some painting around the house
7. Build a patio in the back yard
8. Get rid of Mike's old car
.... and more! Maybe I will blog more often ....

what it do

2007-05-01T17:06:00.000-05:00

In case you are wondering what I've been doing lately, here is a snippet. I'm finishing my dissertation - I'm defending May 30 - Woot! And Yikes! My dissertation is basically 6 chapters - an introduction, a methods chapter, then three chapters that are each a manuscript I intend to publish, and then a final chapter to wrap it all up. I know, it's like I'm writing a book. A very boring book. So, I have been agonizing over one of the manuscript chapters. I hate the discussion section, it sucks. Today I printed it out and cut out each paragraph and spent the afternoon rearranging the paragraphs on the floor in my cube. I pretty much want to throw them all in the garbage. I think I will throw one in the garbage. Hopefully, it sucks less now. Back to work!

happy reuben sandwich day, the 10th

2007-04-06T15:19:00.000-05:00

Reuben Sandwich Day is upon us. This year, I am having an intimate gathering of true reuben loyalists. We will be dining at Manning's, of course. I'll be having a tuna melt, not a reuben sandwich.

Regrets off the top of my head... we got two cats and they annoy me. Sometimes I want to give them back. Sometimes they're cute and I like them. What to do? I decided to call one of them, "Toonces." The problem is I keep forgetting to call her Toonces and instead call her "Stupido" because she is such a spaz.

2007-03-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

ifashion

Well, I got some reading glasses. I figured, if you're going to have reading glasses, you might as well get the craziest ones you can find. I bought these at the Coffman bookstore:

I love them so much, when I got home I looked up the ICU Eyewear website to see what other designs were available. A second pair would be great for mosaic-ing given all the close-up work. Plus, they would protect my eyes from flying shards of glass. Lo and behold, I learned that I chose Oprah's favorite too.

2007-03-01T12:47:00.000-06:00

what the hex?

Where have I been? I've just been busy not blogging. Sometimes you just get out of the blogging groove and all your blog ideas don't seem worth writing about. Things I have wanted to blog about but didn't:

Women will get the same prize money as men at Wimbledon (it's about freakin time! I've been ranting about this for years. The women are aguably more exciting to watch so they should get equal prize money.) I've been spending too much time in front of the computer at school (not blogging). I've had a headache everyday for a month. I went to the eye doctor today and the eye doctor said I should use reading glasses when I'm working at the computer and reading. READING GLASSES! I'm officially ancient. My love for Cadbury mini-eggs Easter candy. Easter has the best candy. I love Cadbury mini eggs - not the creme eggs, those are OK, but the mini eggs are where it's at. I also love jelly beans. My favorites are Jelly Belly jelly beans and Starburst jelly beans.

2007-02-06T20:33:00.000-06:00

classic em

Jocelyn "tagged" me with a meme. I am instructed to tell you six unusual things that have happened to me. Normally, I would not participate in such a thing, but it's Jocelyn and the more of her blogging fabulosity that rubs off on me the better. So, here goes.

Six unusal things that have happened to me in no particular order

1. I blogged about this when it happened, but I can't post a link because my archives are broken (help). A couple years ago, I took Poncho to the dog park and when I returned to my car, there was an old man sitting in my car, asleep, wearing Depends. I reached in and honked the horn to wake him up to no avail. It was the only time ever that I didn't have my cell phone with me so I just waved down the first car that came by. A couple of girls stopped and I used their phone to call the police. The old man was somebody who wandered off from the Veterans Hospital and got in my car. As it happened, it was also the only time ever that I didn't lock my car. The weirdest part, was when the police came they asked me if I was sure that was my car. I was like, come on

2. One time when I was little, I was down the street playing with my friend Zachary. For some reason I was wearing my figure skating outfit, I think because I was pretending to be Wonder Woman and he was Superman. Anyway, while we were playing, Zachary decided to put his finger in the electrical socket. I told him it wasn't a good idea but he did it anyway. He was stunned, no serious injuries.

3. This is more an unusual thing that I did. When we were kids, in the winter we used to climb up on the neighbors garage and slide off into a pile of snow. Not even our own garage. Needless to say, our parents were not happy about this. Neither was our neighbor. I remember him saying he would get out his shotgun if we didn't get off his roof.

4. Mike hates it when stuff like this happens. I have a way of inuiting really weird things. Example A: We were driving to Rachel's wedding and I said, "What if we saw Rehana right now." And sure enough, when we looked over in the next lane there she was!. I swear I did not see her before I said that. We were just near her house so I thought we might see her on her way to the wedding too. Example B: We were driving home from some errands and I knew that George Bush was in town for something and I said, "what if we saw Air Force One today." Then when we passed the airport, there it was.

Man, is the quality of these stories any indicator that this is really hard?

5. This is what is known as "Classic Em." In college, we had a friend who was legally blind. At night after dinner, someone would always walk with her wherever she was going. We'd stand around and she'd ask where everyone was going so that she wouldn't have to walk in the dark alone. Everyone shouted out where they were going, the library, my house, Langan, the Forum. I was like, "hey! Who said Langan? I'm going to Langan [my dorm]. I'll walk with whoever said that." My friends just looked at me, silent. Then someone said, Em, you said Langan! Apparently, I heard my own voice and thought it was someone else.

6. When I was little, my mom worked at Especially For Children day care. I would go there after school. One time, there was a teenager wandering the halls. He appoached me and said, "Hey little girl. Do you know the D word?" And I replied, "Yes. Diarrhea."

2007-01-28T21:29:00.000-06:00

you like to think that your shit don't stink

This morning in the Source section of the Star Tribune, there was a story about norovirus. It was buried inside, but it should have appeared on the front page of the Source section. I think it is one of the most useful and informative health related stories they have published in a while. Of course, I already know about foodborne disease because of my schooling in epidemiology. Unfortunately, most people do not understand the "stomach flu" is not the flu! It is a foodborne infection, often times norovirus, and always from poor hand washing habits. As the story states, if people would take more care washing their hands after using the bathroom, norovirus could be virtually eliminated.

2007-01-28T10:57:00.000-06:00

welcome

My friend Anne has started her own blog, TV snacks. I've added it to my links. Check it out and leave her a comment!

Last night we went to the Nook with Kirk and Anne for Juicy Nookies, much like Jucy Lucies but with more cheese. Mine actually exploded. Much of our conversation went like this, "I already posted about this on my blog..." And we talked about what makes blogging fun. For me, it's the comments. I love reading the comments. I also love going back and reading my archives to see what nonsense I was ranting about a year ago.

2007-01-26T10:05:00.000-06:00

why you gotta break my flow?

This morning got off to a nice start. Mike had the morning off so we could meet with a dog behaviorist about Poncho's dislike of toddlers. She gave us lots of helpful information. Poncho thanked her by stretching out and farting loudly in her face. Of course, I could barely contain my laughter. I'm not gonna lie, I think that farts are funnier than they are gross. I always laugh - especially at Poncho's farts. I know I'm so grown up.

The second phase of my morning was more my usual routine. There is no good way to take public transportation to the U from our house. I either have to transfer and wait a minimum of 9 minutes, but usually 20, for the 2nd bus or walk more than two miles total to take light rail. It really annoys me that it takes an hour to get to my office that is 6 miles away! In the summer, I ride my bike. In the winter, I drive a lot. Sometimes, I drive to Cupcake and get coffee then catch the bus from there. This is one of the fastest ways to get to work, and it involves getting coffee. I take the 16, which comes like every 5 minutes and I only have to walk about 4 blocks - with my coffee. So this morning, I stepped out of Cupcake all happy listening to Nelly Furtado on my iPod. I noticed that the bus was at the bus stop across the street. I also noticed that the light was turning red. I crossed the street and approached the bus, which was stopped because the light was red. When I boarded the bus the driver asked me to turn off my music. I was worried that iPods were no longer allowed on the bus, or worse, that coffee was no longer allowed on the bus. But no, he wanted to scold me for not running toward the bus like a crazy woman. He said, "if you see a bus and you want it, you have to act like it. You can't just take your time." How rude. I neither wanted to explain to him that well, the light was solidly red so I saw no need to break into a run, nor that I actually didn't really care if I didn't make it to the bus because I knew that another would come in 5 minutes. I didn't want to explain all this because, as Miss Manners would say, you don't need to top rudeness with more rudeness. Anyway, that was so lame.

2007-01-25T21:32:00.000-06:00

i love salad

I know, boring, another food post. For Christmas, Mike really went overboard. In addition to everything on my list, he got me a gift certificate to a spa and a box of meat. Isn't he sweet? Not just any box of meat, a fancy gift box of boneless meat from Von Hanson's. Four steaks, four pork chops an four chicken breasts. I really hate meat with bones in it. In fact, I'm pretty picky about meat altogether. Menu planning with the box of meat has been kind of fun. It has forced me to try some new recipes that incorporate meat. Last night I made this amazing steak, watercress and orange salad, from Everyday Food. It was so good, I might use the remaining two steaks to make it again. I love big salads and I love watercress. Lately, I have been really into oranges too so this salad satisfied all my salad needs.

2007-01-14T18:47:00.000-06:00

38 special

I did it. I ran 38 miles this week! So far, I'm on schedule for my goal of 2007 miles in 2007. This is what 38 miles looks like. It's not pretty. I was so tired I had to use a tool to open this bottle of Gatorade.

2007-01-11T18:10:00.000-06:00

silly

Last night I pulled the turtle of my turtleneck over my head. Mike stuck his glasses on me and said I looked like the scientist from the Muppets (Dr. Bunsen Honeydew). Interestingly, a while back I did one of the blogthings that said the muppet I was most like was Gonzo.

2007-01-02T19:24:00.000-06:00

fa la la la la
07

Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to 2007. It's going to be a little intense for the next few months but I am so ready to finish my PhD and get a job. To keep me sane, one of my favorite ways to de-stress is running. I especially like running alone on the parkways. It's so peaceful, you can just totally let go and tune out. You don't have to worry about traffic, or curbs or anything - just breathing and emptying my head. So, for the new year, I am making a running goal. I am going to try to run 2007 miles in 2007. That's an average of 38 miles per week. It's a little more than I have been running, but it's not crazy.

After Christmas in Texas ( See Mike's blog for a nice summary of our visit) and a week of not exercising and eating refried beans with lard, I'm ready for some vegetables. So, today I made minestrone in the crock pot. It's really F-ing good, so I have to share the recipe. I used the basic recipe from The Best Soups from Cook's Illustrated. Knowing me, I had to modify it somehow. Fortunately, the cooking nerds at Cook's Illustrated test EVERYTHING so I had a lot of guidance. For instance, instead of white potatoes, I used turnips. I also made it in a crock pot instead of on the stove (not tested by Cook's Illustrated cooking nerds but it gets my seal of approval).

Crock Pot Minestrone

2 onions, chopped
3 small leeks, sliced and rinsed
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 turnips, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 bunch kale, stems and ribs removed
8 cups water
rind from parmesan cheese wedge
2 cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup fusili

Put everything in the crock pot and cook on low heat for 6 hours or so (it could go longer if you start it before work). Before serving, add 1 cup of small pasta shape (I used fusili) and cook for 8-10 minutes more. Serve with a swirl of pesto as a garnish and crusty bread.

Interestingly, the this recipe is made with 8 cups of water instead of stock. The parmesan rind gives the broth flavor and fullness. I served the soup with a swirl of pesto (store bought, I know it's lame, but it's winter) and some of that awesome New French bakery bread that you warm in the oven.

A special sidenote to Julie, I think I figured out how to get store bought low fat pesto. I pored off all the oil sitting on top when I opened the jar. It still tastes awesome.

2006-12-21T12:11:00.000-06:00

yuck

It's utterly disgusting out today. We are not just having a brown Christmas here in the Cities, but a mucky, sloppy, wet, brown Christmas. It is raining! GROSS! I hate the splatters (those stains that get all over the bottom of your pants when it's sloppy out, especially a problem in parking lots).

2006-12-19T18:24:00.000-06:00

it's going to be a robot christmas

Years ago, Mike got me a robot calculator for Christmas and I got him this little robot ornament and a larger version of the same robot. The funny part was that we were each worried that the other would think it was a stupid gift. Of course we loved our robot gifts. Ever since, we always give each other robot stuff as a joke. Thank you Old Navy for this kick ass wrapping paper. They had a ton, so I might go back and stock up after the holidays. I guess robots aren't how everyone else celebrates Christmas.

They also had a robot dog toy which I bought for Poncho. While I was wrapping my other presents, he snuck it out of the bag and has already decapitated it. Not as bad as last year, when I bought him two bags of Pupperoni and he got into those. The aroma of Pupperoni was coming out of his skin he smelled so bad.

In other news, last week was my birthday. That's right. I'm 34 years young. Ugh. To celebrate, we went out with family and friends and had a great time. Mike got me lots of nice presents. Including some cute Converse sneakers that I am going to wear everyday. Over the weekend, Mike's dad was in town. He gave me these beautiful flowers for my birthday.

Sunday, my mom came over and made a childhood favorite for dinner, spaghetti soup. My sister and I remembered how as kids we would eat spaghetti soup to the point of discomfort because it is so good. My mom calls it pizza in a bowl, seriously, it's so good you can't stop eating it.

2006-12-05T12:11:00.000-06:00

hearty

I haven't done a recipe post in a while. Of course, lately, I have been enjoying my favorite winter squash recipes. This week I decided to mix it up a bit. Last night I made this white bean and vegetable gratin. It was really good. We hardly had any leftovers!

White Bean and Vegetable Gratin

1 bunch kale, ribs removed and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup chopped potatoes (I am lazy and use frozen hashbrown potatoes)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook the kale. I boil some water and then just throw the kale in the pot and turn off the heat. When the kale turns bright green (less than a minute), drain the water. Set aside.
3. Saute onions and garlic. Once golden and fragrant, add broth, beans, tomatoes, kale and potatoes. Stir around for a while until everything gets a little cooked, like 3-5 minutes.
4. Grease a casserole dish. Pour vegetable mixture into dish. Spread cheeses over the top. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let cool and serve.

This recipe is the result of many modifications to a recipe my mom cut out of a magazine for me. First, the magazine version used dried beans, which I replaced with canned because I am lazy. Second, I subsituted the cheese, the original recipe called for swiss cheese which I don't like all that much so I knew I wouldn't use the leftover cheese. Third, I replaced spinach with kale for variety because we eat spinach a lot. Lastly, I added the potatoes to make it more of a meal. I think it would be great with some zuccini thrown in too.

2006-11-29T18:54:00.000-06:00

florida fun

I just got back from Naples, Florida. One of my cousins got married there over the weekend. I have a lot of cousins and they are all a lot of fun. The entire family went down for Thanksgiving and the wedding. My sister, Art and I went on Friday for the wedding and a little vacation. Here are some funny pictures of our trip.

Us in front of our rental car, the yellow PT Cruiser. We took this with my phone on our way to the beach.

My cousin had wedding cake AND a dessert bufffet AND a table full of candy with bags to fill up and take home. Sweet!

Our last night, we ate out with my cousins at the Fish House and we couldn't resist the photo op. Check out Art!

2006-11-21T13:26:00.000-06:00

sweet

Let us hope that each of us is preceded in this world by a love story

That is how the movie Sweet Land began. It was wonderful. I didn't want it to end. Makes me feel so lucky to be in love. It's just magical.

2006-11-20T19:44:00.000-06:00

laughing gas

is awesome.

2006-11-15T19:23:00.000-06:00

my tooth

Today I went for a consultation with an endodontist for my tooth. When I asked what they do for people with anxiety about the dentist, she gave me a referrel to another clinic. I scheduled my root canal for Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I hope my temporary crown is up to the task of overeating. Anyway, if you want to know what I've been thinking about today, just read Jocelyn's blog today minus the Dallas references. Perhaps replace the Dallas references with 90210 references, which just came out on DVD by the way.

2006-11-06T17:06:00.000-06:00

keepin it real

I love Minneapolis. This city is a work of art. I love the lakes, I love winter, I love running along the parkway, I love the sculpture garden, I love eating out at all the great restaurants. I love it the way that I love quinoa and dental floss and kicking car chunks. The only thing I have to complain about is that I wish we could get something besides pizza and hot sandwiches delivered to our door. I would just love to have some Chinese or Thai food delivered tonight. That would kick ass. The other thing I could complain about is that we don't have instant run off voting; at least that might change tomorrow. Who knows how long I will have to wait to get some pad se ew and spring rolls delivered to my doorstep!

2006-11-05T21:17:00.000-06:00

busy weekend

This weekend I was a little busier than I normally like to be. Friday, I went to Bar Abilene for happy hour with some friends from grad school and four margaritas later had dinner with some friends from college. Saturday morning I took Poncho running before I met some friends for coffee in Uptown. Then I snuck over to my sister's house to borrow the Framed Art piece for the the Mosaic on a Stick birthday party. It's on display there for one week. Then Julie and I went to see the studio of another mosaic artist, Sharra Frank. It was very inspirational. All her work is with very tiny pieces. After being inspired, we had to get more coffee. What a busy day. I went home and made pasta with squash and ricotta for dinner. Then, Mike and I played Go and watched Frida. The perfect pre-race evening since today I ran a 10 mile race in White Bear Lake with the friends from dinner at Bar Abiline on Friday. It was the perfect day to run 10 miles - 50's and sunny. After the race, I had to debrief with Mike about my race and also the New York City marathon, which he watched on TV. Then I showered and went to bookclub, where we had an amazing meal of pork roast, potato souffle, salad with apple crisp a la mode for dessert. There are two pregnant women in my bookclub, both of whom are due in early December. The hostess, one of the moms to be, has a doppler so she got it out and we listened to the baby's heartbeat. It was so cool. Whoa, that was a lot of excitement for one weekend.

PS - my tooth is still broken. I'm going to the dentist on Tuesday.

PPS - the book we read was Custom of the Country, by Edith Wharton. Thumbs up, it was really good, incredibly timeless.

PPPS - I also recently read Waiting for Snow in Havana, by Carlos Eire. It was awesome.

2006-10-31T13:56:00.000-06:00

vom

The scariest possible thing happened to me today. I ate a Tootsie Roll. Then I flossed and a piece of tooth came out of my mouth. Oh shit. It's possible that it is a filling. The last time I had a cavity it was filled with porcelain or something that is white, but the piece is very toothy looking. I have extreme dental anxiety. Thinking about the tooth piece and going to the dentist and the things they will do .... I think I'm going to faint right now .... or throw up. My extreme dental anxiety is why I was flossing. Flossing is the key to dental health, if you floss regularly the horror of going to the dentist can be minimized. I haven't had a cavity in more than 10 years. The scraping (ugh, I'm going to vom just thinking about it!) doesn't last so long if you floss a lot. As a graduate student, we used to get services at the dental school, which totally freaked me out. So, gasp, I have only gone once during my tenure as a graduate student. I know, it's awful, and disgusting, but there was nothing wrong with my teeth so it only reinforced for me that I don't need to go that often. Starting this year, graduate students can use the regular dental clinic. So, I just called there but I can't be seen until my record is transferred over there, thus prolonging my dental emergency and my anxiety. I don't know why I have such extreme dental anxiety, I've always had good teeth. I think I got it from my parents, both of whom hated the dentist. Or maybe it's because I have bad dreams about my teeth falling out. Although, in my dream I am usually in a restaurant when my teeth fall out, not at work.

2006-10-29T08:52:00.000-06:00

trick or treat

Mike and I like Halloween. We have had some great costumes over the years. Four years ago we were rock stars, inspired by the movie Spinal Tap. We had wigs and inflatable guitars and fake snakeskin pants. This year, Mike was a cross country coach and I was a modern Japanese woman (not a Geisha). Julie gave me this kimono when she lived in Japan. It came with instructions, which I lost so I had to look up how to wear a kimono on the internets. It's very complicated. For instance, you should put your socks on first because it will not be easy to bend once you have the whole thing on and always wrap the left side over the right side - right side on top is for burials. The kimono also comes with many belts. It took me three attempts to get the butterfly obi to look nice. It was a cool costume, I stored candy in the giant sleeves. However, it was hard to get in and out of the car! I might wear it to hand out candy on Tuesday.

2006-10-23T20:09:00.000-05:00

spectacular spectacular

I climbed a F-ing mountain today. Not just any mountain, a volcano! That's right. Rachel B. and I climbed Mount Saint Helens. That's me at the top with Mount Ranier in the background. We climbed the Monitor Ridge Route to the highest point, which is 8,365 feet. To people who climb mountains, this probably sounds lame, but I don't think any of those people read my blog. Let me tell you, it was hard. There were times when we were probably both muttering to ourselves about turning around. Climbing up the boulder field seemed to go on FOREVER. Everytime we thought we could see the last marker there would be six more after it. Then we had to traverse the very steep ash field to reach the crater rim. It was really hard but I loved it. I can see how people get into mountain climbing. It is very satisfying. Going down we were laughing and talking about how now we are mountaineers.

2006-10-22T22:48:00.000-05:00

another update

It's amazing what being a little mini-vacation will do for a blog. Here I am updating again. I just checked Mike's blog and learned about a couple of new blogs that I needed to add to my links. First, our friend Jocelyn of Duluth has started a blog. Jocelyn is a fabulous writer. I mean, even her Christmas letters kick ass. In fact, I usually read them more than once because they are so enjoyable. Her emails are quite funny too. And now I can get a regular dose of J-dawg here. The other good news is that Kirk has a blog now too. Apparently, his blog is about how to enjoy Jucy Lucys in every season. Blogs and hamburgers with cheese pouring out like hot lava - try it you'll like it. Now if only Rachel B. would start a dang blog....

As promised, here is my newest reuben story.

Recently, I had a job interview. At end of the interview, after I had a chance to ask my questions. One of the interviewers (there were 5) said he had one more question for me. He asked, "What is reuben sandwich day?" I was like, OH NOOOOOOOO! You see, the signature on my personal email says, "Celebrating Reuben Sandwich Day since 1998!" When I sent my cover letter and job application I forgot to turn off my signature so the link was still at the bottom. ARG! In an instant, I decided there was no harm in just being myself. So, I shared the most abbreviated version of the story of reuben sandwich day (I can here my husband groaing right now at the thought of my idea of the "abbreviated" version). At the end of the story, I said that my mistake that day was that I forgot to turn off my signature. They all laughed. One of the interviewers said that I should never turn it off.

2006-10-22T22:31:00.000-05:00

they're horses!

The climate in Portland is relatively mild. The elements don't take as much of a toll as in Minneapolis. As a result, things like sidewalks last a lot longer. All over the place are these ancient metal rings on the curbs. They's horse rings, once used to tie up your horse and "park" it more or less. Another result of the mild climate is that it is conducive to sustaining public displays of art. Here someone parked a little plastic briar horse downtown, along with a poem. I took this picture with my phone while Rachel B and I were out walking around today.

2006-10-20T18:12:00.000-05:00

vacation

Hey y'all. I'm in Portland, OR right now visiting my friend, Rachel B. One day she will have a blog so I can link to her, until then she is just Rachel B. This is my first trip in like two years that is NOT a conference. It's good to get away once in a while. It would be better to get away more often. Today, Rachel B. and I had lunch and then split a chocolate croissant. She had to go back to work so I walked around her neighborhood. Always practical, I decided to get some Christmas gift shopping out of the way. Also, I'm always on the lookout for odds and ends to mosaic. I found a nice little ceramic rooster at the Salvation Army. They had a couple of ceramic turkeys that were really cool, but I decided that I was too lazy to carry them around all afternoon. Maybe I will go back for them another day. I also bought a couple of books that might be good bookclub books. It's a luxury to have time to browse books. It is also a luxury to do so in an independently owned bookstore, of which Portland has several and Minneapolis has few. I can't write about any of the other things that I bought because they are gifts for some people who read this blog. Tonight Rachel B. and I are going out with a couple of friends for reubens. They are reuben novices so I will have to explain to them how I don't actaully like reubens blah blah blah. I have an AWESOME new reuben story to share with them tonight too. I have been saving it so that Rachel B. doesn't have to hear it twice.

2006-10-05T21:41:00.000-05:00

chemistry

Today I was telling Mike that one of the things I liked about chemistry is that it is so organized. So, I decied to reorganize my links. I added a few blogs to the got time section. These are blogs that I enjoy but I don't actually know the authors.

We are going to the cottage this weekend for a big family birthday party. There is only one bedroom and the rest is just sort of open space that's all connected. Usually, us "kids" sleep in the loft and the grown ups sleep in the bedroom or porch. I am sharing the bedroom with my sister and Art and Mike. The cottage can be pretty loud when everyone is there so I always bring earplugs.

2006-09-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

cutie

Mike and I live in a great neighborhood. We live near the magnificent Mississippi River and we can walk to 3 different neighborhood coffee shops. They are all nice, but the one with the best coffee is not the closest one so we usually only walk there on the weekends. More often we go to the closest coffee shop. The coffee is fine, but the atmosphere is not ideal. It has a play area for kids. There are always kids crawling around, making noise. It's very family friendly. I love kids, but I prefer to relax with my coffee not watch a toddler pee on the floor or meet families that Mike knows from work. Last week the tables were turned. My sister and Art wanted to have an outing and she thought it would be fun to go there so he could play with the toys. I was torn. Meet some friends for happy hour at Grumpy's or go hang out in the play area at the neighborhood coffee shop with Art. Art won. I played with him at the coffee shop. He crawled all over the place and we chased after him. Look at him. He's so cute and happy, I just don't see how he could possibly annoy anyone.

2006-09-20T10:06:00.000-05:00

yum and yum

I just made two really good recipes. Monday I made this,

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake 1 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 1/2 cups flour 1 can pumpkin 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup molasses, preferably blackstrap* 2 eggs 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice* 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1. Heat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar. 2. Add other "wet" ingredients (pumpkin, milk, molasses, eggs). 3. Add remaining ingredients. 4. Pour into greased 9" x 13" baking pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. *A note about ingredients. I like to use blackstrap molasses. It is more flavorful and it actually has nutritional value. That's right. It is an OK source of iron. For the pumpkin pie spice, I am a big fan of the Golden Fig spice blends. I use the pumpkin pie spice for this recipe. I also love the turkey herbs and use them in stuffing recipes. They also sell pickling spices and infused sugars all made locally.

Last night I made this "You won't be single for long vodka cream pasta". Granted, I am blissfully married, but don't us married homebodies deserve a little romance too? So, I made this dish last night. I forgot that Mike was going to be home late because he was giving a presentation about marathon preparation to the running club. Sadly, I ended up eating the vodka cream pasta alone, while watching Law and Order. The pasta was kind of addictive, I was tempted to have thirds. Instead, I opted for a piece of the pumpkin gingerbread cake.

2006-09-14T11:17:00.000-05:00

mascots

In the spirit of mascot love, here is a picture of some mascot plush toys.

back row: The DQ Curly Q, the 2006 World Cup Soccer mascot (Mike bought this for me as a souvenir from his trip to Germany), The HEB Buddy (a grocery store in San Antonio), and the Gedney pickle.
front row: the Oscar Mayer Weinermoble, of course!

2006-09-13T17:15:00.000-05:00

it's official

I am ABD. No, that does mean A Big Dork. Well, maybe that depends on who you ask! It means that I am now All But Dissertation. Outside of the academic world, this doesn't really mean anything other than now I can say I am almost done and start looking for a job while I finish my dissertation. Oh, I also can say that I am a PhD candidate now, and even put that on my resume or business card should I so desire. The exam lasted about two hours. It was similar to my master's defense, but with harder questions and a lot scarier. Needless to say, it feels good to be done.

My friend and classmate, Kari, left this card on my desk. Kari and I have been cube neighbors throughout grad school. I like to think of her as my office wife. I LOVE the card! I love mascots, in fact I have a collection of mascot plush toys. Despite my mascot love, I never imagined my very own mascot. Of course, it would be a puffy reuben sandwich. The puffy reuben sandwich would have some trouble running and swinging a bat, much like the Subway Sandwich. And if you ever see the puffy reuben sandwich on ice skates, look out! I am going to hang this card in my cube next to the picture of me and Goldy Gopher.

2006-09-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

uff da

I know, I know. I vowed not to blog until after my exam, but I couldn't resist! I just found this Minnesota Purity test on www.mnspeak.com. I am 69% Minnesotan. I particularly liked the question about the correct pronunciation of Wayzata. It always bugged me when Brenda and Brandon could not pronounce it right on Beverly Hills 90210!