A Work in Progress

Unlike many bloggers, I haven't dedicated alot of space to an extensive "About Me" or "FAQ" tab. It's not because I don't love talking about myself (you're lying if you don't, too - especially if you have a blog of your own!)...It's because:

1). I don't actually know how to create new a new tab
2). I'm avoiding posting a picture of myself on the blog (and "About Me" sections always seem to be prefaced by a candid of the author's smiling face)
3). I'm convinced that my sub par pictures of food, flowers, clothes, etc. hold your attention better than my ramblings do
4). I have confidence that my posts give you more than enough ammunition to piece together an accurate portrayal of me
5). Let's be honest - I don't receive enough questions to warrant a Q&A page
6). My real-life "About Me" is a work in progress and I'm not wild about all the bullet points that falls under that category at the moment (case in point)
7). I've been cautioned against sharing too many specifics about where I live, how old I am, where I go to college, which running routes I favor, etc. (paranoia at its finest)

But I love lists! And somehow, making a list about life-as-it-is-right-now feels significantly less intimidating than attempting to sum up all of my good parts and bad parts into something coherent that won't have you clicking "delete this file from favorites."

Life From Where I'm Sitting:

• Hardest workout this summer: Quite possibly the circuit I'll be doing today...(also known as Brother #2 induced agony, the circuit is an utterly exhausting combination of burpees, squat thrusts, lunges, high knees, frog jumps, suicides, push-ups, sideways jumps, etc. with "5 laps jog" in between each set)  

• Last snack: Peaches and raspberries 

90% of My Diet = Produce

• Listening to: Runaround Sue by Dion and the Belmonts

• Just played: California King Bed by Rihanna

• On deck: Take A Back Road by Rodney Atkins

• In my vase: White peonies 

Peonies, Dining Room Table

• Best lunch this week: Dry garden salad, fruit salad, a turkey+yellow pepper+pea shoots+salsa wrap

Colorful Post-Run Lunch

Toasted Joseph's 90 Cal Organic Flax and Whole Wheat Flour Wrap

• Current book: Skimming What to Eat by Marion Nestle (bye bye Light n' Fit yogurts...I knew that was coming), reading Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers  

• Favorite dinner menu of late: Grammy's cajun chicken kabobs, grilled veggies, baked stuffed shells with low fat low fat mozzarella and broccoli, more salad

Summertime Grilling

Spicy Cajun Chicken & Grilled Veggies

          Recipe for Grammy's cajun marinade (for 2 1/2 lbs of chicken):
          4 tablespoons of chili sauce
          2 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce
          2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
          1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic
          1/4 teaspoon of red hot pepper
          Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
          Dash of cayenne

• #1 worry: A 3-way tie between the possibility of a rain shower soaking all my laundry hanging outside, the realization that I'm about due for an increase in my tempo runs, and the thought of not getting all my French papers off of my laptop and onto a zip drive before I get the black screen of death  

• On the coffee table: A few issues of "Bon Appetit", a copy of Every Day with Rachel Ray (with an incredible looking hamburger on the cover), The 10 Best of Everything National Parks book, the Bose remote

Easy Reads

Coffee Table Staples

• Weekend plans: The 22nd Annual Bethel Art Fair (artisan jewelry, anyone?), possibly a 4th of July party in CT

• Recent new foods I've loved: Cabot's hot habanero cheddar cheese, Swiss chard (sauteed with garlic & onion), jicama (sliced up thin in salad), kiwi, garlic scapes, cherry tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, blueberry scone 

Jicama! (A Homely Root Vegetable With Lots of Vitamin C)

• Recent new foods I have hated haven't been wild about: Mustard, shrimp, arugula, Goji berries, mushrooms, Stonyfield organic 0 fat yogurt with no artificial sweeteners (I think I'm destined to give up yogurts since the sugary ones are bad news and I just can't make myself convert to Greek)  

Failed Compromise Between Light n' Fits and Greek Yogurt



• What I'm craving: Chocolate chip cookie dough brownies

• What's out the window: Momma Fox and Baby Fox!

• Coming up soon: A visit to Bradbury Mountain to scope out the 9 mile trail race course for the Breaker in August, a lunch out at The Green Elephant (a vegetarian bistro with rave reviews)