Martha's So-Called Life

a holiday wish list

1. Reusable bags in fun colors/patterns (by Baggu)

2. Nest thermostat

3. Kindle Paperwhite

4. Stainless steel straws

5. Vitamix blender 

You know you're an adult when you start asking for kitchen appliances and household items for Christmas.  Seriously though...that thermostat looks awesome!

Any other day I can think of many more things that I would be excited to receive as gifts (really I'm not picky, I'm always excited to receive gifts no matter what they are)...but as always, when I sit down to make a list...crickets...

 

europe photos: wroclaw (poland)

These photos are all from Wroclaw (pronnounced "vrotz-wav"), Poland.  There are many tiny statues of gnomes all around the city.  You can read about the gnomes here.  

europe photos: prague

I'm finally done with the bulk of my photos!  I have a few that are meant to be HDRs that I need to do but it could be months before I get around to that!  If you are interested in seeing them all at once you can click on the link on the right that says "My Photos."

dog sitting and trying not to freeze to death

This week we are dog sitting Annie dog.  So far Kiva has enjoyed the company (she didn't enjoy her cousin Maggie's company so much because Maggie wouldn't leave her alone...even when she was trying to sleep).  Last night they traded beds, which is kind of shocking because Kiva (like me) does not like to share!  Then this morning she patiently waited in her kennel with her food until Annie got her food, and then they had breakfast together!

It has been kind of cold around here the last few weeks.  I'm over it.  I want snow, not single digit temps and clear skies.  

I had planned on just running from home this morning, but when I looked at the temperatures, I made a new plan.  I ended up driving to Hilltop and starting from there (it was advertised that it would be ~10 degrees warmer).

Who wants to start running in zero degree weather and then run through -5 degrees only to turn around and have to run back through -5 and end at 0?  Not me!  Especially since I could have near tropical temps (18+) if I just drove a few miles.  

Good thinking on my part...except it was slightly colder than advertised when I started (more like 5-7 degrees), but it quickly warmed up as I ran up.  I ran from Hilltop, up the multi-use trail and then up Birch road (for those of you that don't live in Anchorage...that's pretty much a giant uphill on the way out).  The first mile or so was horribly painfully cold.  I kept wondering why I was doing this to myself and hoping that I didn't lose a finger or a toe (meanwhile Kiva was completely oblivious to the fact that I was flirting with death).  It took at least 20 minutes for everything to be warm.  Under more normal winter circumstances it takes me 10 minutes to warm up.  Today, my hands warmed up after 10 minutes or so, but it took my feet way longer.  First my left foot got warm, then my right food got warm and my left foot got cold again, then they finally both got warm.

When I got to the top of the hill where Birch Rd and Huffman meet I could feel it getting warmer.  It was glorious.  

This was supposed to be a progression run with the last 10 minutes at a moderate pace.  I kind of failed miserably at that one since most of the last mile was not only uphill, but also the coldest part of the whole run (except for the beginning through the same part was colder).

 Mile 5 was super speedy (it was all downhill), but then I got a giant cramp and had to slow down...and then slow down some more.  

I'm going to stop over analyzing things that don't really matter right now.  I ran 7 miles in the frigid cold today...what did you do? 

what we're eating 11/26 - 12/2

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.  I had not one, not two, but three Thanksgiving meals!  We had a potluck at work, my dad made dinner for me after work, and then we had John's mom and brother over on Friday.  Not once did I eat turkey either!  

Here's my Thanksgiving chicken...

Here's what is on the menu for this week:

Monday: Flank Steak with Citrus Marinade

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Stir Fried Chicken with Cabbage (we ended up not eating this last week)

Thursday:  Turkey Meatloaf

Friday: Salmon with Sweet and Spicy Rub

Saturday: Italian Saute

Sunday: Potato and Artichoke Shaksouka

2013 disney princess half: week 2

Here's the nitty gritty,and it's not pretty (I did not mean for that to rhyme)!

Sunday:
6 miles, easy
rest 

I don't even remember why I didn't run this day...but I didn't.  Obviously if I can't remember why it wasn't a good enough reason not to, so I should have...but I didn't...

Monday:
3 miles, easy 
6 miles, easy 

Kiva was mad at me most of our run because I made her wear booties on her back paws since the last time we ran this same route she got snowballs in her feet.

Here's my frosty (and pissed off) beast...

And some pretty scenery.

6 miles/1:05/10:56 avg pace

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday:
7 miles, easy (double)
rest 

Friday was supposed to be my first double workout (or 7 miles all at once), but I managed to not make that happen either.  I'm going to have to be better about getting an early start, although that's hard when it's so cold outside.  I'm not against running in the cold, I'd just rather run when it's warmer so I don't have to freeze to death if I don't have to.  I guess I'll have to figure out how to get over that one...

Saturday:
6 miles, easy

 Another late start...because it was cold (are you sensing a theme?).  After two days of eating a lot (three Thanksgiving meals in two days), I was feeling pretty sluggish, although the numbers don't reflect that.  I was going to go longer but since I was feeling lame, I didn't. 

4.6miles/48:03/10:26 avg pace  

(48:03 was the time I was actually moving...I like using that number because it makes me appear faster...I doubt it actually matters in the scheme of things, but it's good for my confidence)

 

roast sweet potato wedges

These tasty taters are my current favorite side dish.  I bought at 10lb bag of yams at Costco a couple of weeks ago, and another one this week.  We are currently eating these at least three times a week!

The best part is that they are super simple!

Roast Sweet Potato (or Yam) Wedges

Sweet Potatoes (or Yams)
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Decide how many potatoes you need and peel them.

Cut up potatoes into wedges.

Put in a bowl and coat with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil (depending how how many potatoes you have) and spices.

Place in single layer on baking sheet (don't crowd them, if you have a lot, use two sheets) and roast for 30-40 minutes.  Turn them once early on during cooking (after 10-15 minutes) and then DO NOT MESS WITH THEM until they are done.  This is the key to getting them crispy on the outside.  

The last time I made them I don't think I turned them at all.  They get mushy and fall apart if you fiddle with them.  Just let them be!

Enjoy!!

chicken curry recipe

As promised, here's the chicken curry recipe that we made last week.  It's pretty much exactly as found in the Weight Watcher's Cookbook...but is not spicy as the recipe claims.

Spicy Chicken Curry

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 Tbsp curry powder
4 (1/2 lb) chicken breasts (I think we used thighs because we have a ton of them)
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I substituted coconut milk instead)
2 cups cooked rice

Heat 2 tsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened (about 5 minutes).  Add garlic, ginger, and curry, cook, stirring, until fragrant.  Transfer to a bowl.

Add reamining 1 tsp oil to skillet.  Add chicken and cook, turning until lightly browned, about 4 minutes per side.  Add broth and oinion mixutre; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes).  Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.

Bring the liquid in the pan to a boil over high heat; boil until reduced by half (about 8 minutes).  Remove skillet from heat and whisk in yogurt (or coconut milk) until blended.  Spoon sauce over chicken and serve over rice.  

If you want leftovers, I would definitely double the recipe!

shiny and new

While working on editing my photos from our trip, it became painfully obivous that I have both outgrown my computer and that it is old and slow (over four years old).  So I did the obvious thing and went out and bought a new one.

I have known this was coming for a little while now (like when the plastic starting cracking and breaking a couple of months ago)...

I was getting a little frustrated by the fact that every time I made an adjustment on a photo I had enough time to walk away and do something else (or knit a row on my socks) before it would let me move on to the next thing.  This is just a few months after wiping the hard drive and starting over again...it was definitely time for us to reevaluate our relationship. 

After looking at computers on the Apple website, I braved the 5th Avenue Mall (when I was there I realized I probably haven't set foot in that mall in over three years) Apple store and picked up my shiny new MacBook Pro!

It's fast and lovely!  My biggest complaint is that it is taking me a long time to get all of my things transferred over, but I am also using this as an opportunity to clean up my files.  I just dumped everything from my old computer onto our networked hard drive and I am downloading things to my new computer as I establish that I need to access them locally.  

The photo editing is still a little slow going (mostly because my photos are stored on the networked hard drive and I am editing them on a program that has a few known speed issues), but I have not yet had enough time to do any knitting in between edits!

what we're eating 11/19 - 11/25

Last week's menu turned out to be better than I expected...maybe it's because John did a lot of cooking since I was working...

I'll post some of the recipe highlights later this week. 

Here's what's in store for this week:

Sunday:  Beef Stew (I we had leftovers on Friday so Beef Stew got moved to Sunday)

Monday: Layered Taco Bake (I plan on using chicken instead of beef because we have a lot of it)

Tuesday: Fish and sweet potato wedges (I'll post the recipe for those too, they are super easy and delicious!)

Wednesday: Stir Fried Chicken and Cabbage (How to Cook Everything pg. 643)

Thursday: Roasted Shrimp with Herb Butter (How to Cook Everything pg. 577)

Friday: Thanksgiving Dinner

Saturday: Slow Cooker Indonesian Chicken