Pervis Kicked our Butts

This week marks a new 6-week period of classes at the Y. Last time we took a step class, and this time we decided upon step & sculpt.

And, it's just what I needed.

Not for the exercise value so much, but the entertainment value. However, we definitely got a bigger workout than we bargained for!

Our instructor, Pervis, is a total hard ass.

She's very particular about how you do things, and she'll work with you until you get it right (which is great). And she expects people to count, but you have to do it the right way. Our last instructor was totally laid back and didn't care what the heck we did.

And, dang, Pervis has muscles. We were doing bicep curls with a resistance band, and I could barely stretch it up past my elbows. Pervis could pull it up to her shoulders! She totally showed us up. My arms already feel like concrete, but I bet Pervis doesn't feel a thing.

At the end of class, she asked our names and shook our hands.

So now there's no turning back. We can't not go! We shook hands! She knows our names!

Falling like a Brick

Our neighborhood is never boring. Whether it's collisions at the intersection by our house (at least two every month), people crashing stolen cars and then helicopters looking for the fleeing driver (last week), or someone being arrested for pooping in front of Save-a-Lot (a couple months ago), there is always something happening to keep things interesting.

This evening as we drove home, we saw this scene on our block:


A crap ton of bricks fell off the top of this building! When we drove by, the police tape wasn't up, so we think it had just happened. I hope no one was hurt! There are always at least a dozen people hanging out in front of the Family Dollar/Nails 2000/Rent-A-Center strip.

Also, what you don't see is the vehicle that was damaged from a fender bender in front of Save-a-Lot. Oh my gosh! Two accidents at once!

Two Thumbs Down on Three Monkeys
I've always been interested in trying Three Monkeys on Morganford, and I had my chance on Saturday. Porkchop didn't want to go to Local Harvest, and I didn't want to go to St. Louis Bread, so we compromised on Three Monkeys.

But we wish we hadn't. While it's true that we ordered items that the restaurant isn't exactly known for, we still shouldn't have felt sick afterwards. Three Monkeys is supposed to have good pizza, but we went for wraps. Porkchop had a Turkey Club, and I had a Crab Cake. We both had french fries.

Despite the "light" description, the wraps were heavy. And the french fries tasted like they had been marinated in grease and then fried in grease and then drizzled in grease. French fries don't have to taste like that!

Ugh! We both felt siiiiiiiick right after eating (and we only ate half of our wraps).

Eye Update
Thanks to everyone for your concern and kind thoughts! It is still twitching....boo!

So, I don't know if I've written this before, but my lower eyelid spasms every second, sometimes more. It never stops. It's there right when I wake up, and it goes until I go to sleep (I think it probably happens during my sleep too). Also, something I haven't mentioned before...sometimes my mouth twitches as well.

Based on this information, the eye specialist I saw this morning said I probably have right hemifacial spasm. If you looked at the link, you'll see that I might (or probably: most likely) be looking at a lifetime of this spasm.

This afternoon I had an MRI to see if there is something pressing on my facial nerve. Most often, it's a blood vessel. Unfortunately, the vessel is often so small, you can't even see it on imaging.

This is all very hard to take. I really don't want to have this forever, nor do I want it to get worse. I have Botox scheduled for March 18, and I hope it works. However, I don't want to have Botox forever! I just want my non-twitching face back.

There is a support group for people with hemifacial spasms. Reading the welcome message was comforting, but also disturbing. It has played havoc with my emotional well being. It has started to control my life, my emotions, and my thoughts. My vibrant smile has turned to a frown.

Murrr....

Self Study

Besides knitting on a secret project, watching the Olympics, and working on school work, Porkchop and I fit some fun things into the past weekend.

We kicked it off with dinner Friday at Thai Basil Spice, followed by enjoying some wine and the Olympics opening ceremony. The ceremony pretty much sealed our desire to move to Canada. Plaid-clad punk fiddlers? kd lang performing the closing song? Slam poetry celebrating diversity? I want to move there!

Saturday was full of grocery shopping and watching Porkchop's hockey game. Oh, and people watching from our house! The Mardi Gras parade was Saturday, and people in our neighborhood (about a mile from the parade) really got into it. It was great to see people walking around decked out in beads and fun hats. Quite a few floats went down our street on the way to the parade, so we got to enjoy some of the parade without being crushed by drunken revelers.

While I normally stay home for Porkchop's Sunday morning hockey game, I went this time. I'm glad I did because Porkchop had the most awesome goal! She was on the goal line - so parallel to the net - and was able to launch it in the top corner as she spun around! Everyone was super impressed.

After the game we lunched at La Dolce Via. Even though they were out of the tortas and I had to settle for an egg scramble, it was super delicious. Here I am living it up with a cup of decaf coffee and a slice of their zabione. Yum!


Sunday evening, we made jumbalaya using Emeril's recipe. We increased the amount of vegetables (1 onion, 1 green pepper, 1 celery stalk, and a can of diced tomatoes) and give it two thumbs way up. It tasted much better than it looks here:


So...my eye is still twitching. I'm trying to accept it without letting it control me. It's very svadhyaya (self study). The twitch has made me become self aware of my efforts and limitations. While I can't control the twitch, I can control my feelings about it. In short, I'm trying to not get stressed out because of it and waste energy on it. The hardest part is going to work. Work makes my eye twitch, and the twitch gives me a headache, and the headache makes it hard to work...and then it's an endless downward spiral from there. Ah well, I'm still trying to remain hopeful that it stops soon.

Strange Offerings

While taking out the trash this past weekend, I found this little collection by our back gate:

Kind of weird, right? It's a little skillet and a basket of three ornamental gourds. Our back gate is recessed from the alley, and you really have to look to notice the walkway by the garage. My possible explanations are:

• Someone knows I dabble in in situ composting and that I cook, so they left these as presents.
• Someone found these by a dumpster and stashed them in our walkway, and they plan to pick them up later.
• We have a super strong squirrel residing in the area that has a penchant for fall decorations and cookery items.
  

This afternoon, I saw this post on 101 Cookbooks about chocolate puddle cookies. Not wanting to do classwork tonight, but wanting to do something productive, I made them:

In real life, they look much more like the photo on the 101 Cookbooks blog. I substituted pecans for walnuts, and wow, are these cookies delicious. Rather brownie-like and super tasty. This recipe is a keeper.

On Monday of this week, I had an acupuncture appointment in an attempt to relieve my eye twitch. After the appointment, I had a mini-breakdown and called in sick for the day (the great thing about working in a School of Social Work is that most people are super empathetic and understanding). I was able to schedule a massage for the afternoon, and generally tried to de-stress and stop thinking about my eye. The massage was incredible. I was so lucky to hear about Garden Walk Massage off of Lafayette Square; my therapist saved my day. I feel so much better, but unfortunately, my eye twitch is still with me.

This morning I had an eye exam and found that I can rule out eye strain. My vision is still just fine. However, I do have some sort of eyelid margin disease in which my eyelids are coated with oily particles and bacteria. This explains why my eyelids always feel irritated and itchy, so it's good to get that taken care of with antibiotic drops and eyelid scrubbing. But, it doesn't explain the twitching.

Alas...

A Case of the Twitchies

My right eye has been twitching for more than a week.

The day it started, it was big jerking twitches. Now it has settled into a subtle twitch-twitch, twitch-twitch.

If I didn't know me, I'd think I was shifty-eyed and up to no good. A louse, a rat.

It's driving me to my breaking point. Last night I went to bed at 9:30, and while I awoke fully refreshed, the twitching was still there.

It slowly wears me down. By this afternoon, I will have a headache and my eyes will hurt.

I made an appointment with an eye doctor person, but it isn't until February 17. Two weeks! In two weeks, I will have pulled out all of my hair and started hitting myself as a distraction from the twitchies.

Anyway....

Here I am last Friday, getting ready to enjoy the Fountain on Locust's brownie in a cup (thanks to a gift certificate from Suzi and Dale!). For comparison, I'm also pictured with Porkchop's dessert: the world's smallest ice cream cone (in butter pecan). (P.S. This picture also shows my tilted duster in action. Unfortunately, it's too dark to see my clapotis in action, but it's there too.)

People can keep their semifreddoes and panna cottas and tortes and whathaveyou because the brownie in a cup is perfection. It's a made-from-scratch brownie topped with vanilla ice cream (imported from Wisconsin), made-from-scratch hot fudge sauce, real whipped cream, and homemade candied orange peel. So, it's essentially something I would make at home. The brownie is blissfully free from that icky industrial-brownie taste, the hot fudge is delightfully fudgy, and everything else is just plain-and-simple delicious.

I would like to eat one everyday. And if my eye continues to twitch, maybe I will.

Give us the Cookies!

Here in the Midwest, Girl Scout cookie time has hit. We've ordered from a faculty member's daughter, the daughter of someone who has an office near me, and the daughter of Porkchop's boss.

I'm a pretty easy target for Girl Scout cookies because I went through the travails of cookie-selling myself. Well, I should amend that statement because if a Girl Scout has already sold a hundred boxes, she doesn't really need our help. Nope, I have a dear place in my heart for those Girl Scouts who are having a hard time selling. They're the ones who need our help.

You see, when I was a Scout, depending on the number of boxes you sold, you received a cookie badge sized accordingly. With the exception of one year, I always had the smallest badge. And, I was always the only one in my troop to have the smallest badge.

Do you know how that feels? I didn't really care about the number of boxes I sold because I knew my parents donated money to my troop throughout the year to cover costs. But I still hated feeling like the cookie outcast. And since you put the badge on your sash or vest, every other Scout knew that I was a cookie loser.

I had a hard time selling for the following reasons:

1. We didn't have any relatives in my town. Our relatives in Oklahoma weren't really the cookie-buying type. Well, they probably would have ordered a lavish amount of boxes, but they wouldn't have paid up when the cookies were delivered.
2. My mom worked from home and my dad's workplace was small. I could count on the library staff for 15-20 boxes, top.
3. My parents didn't have many friends. The friends they did have all had kids in Scouts.
4. I was shy and suffered social anxiety, and it was really hard for me to go door-to-door in our neighborhood and have people say No, I don't want your stinking cookies.

There was only one year in which I achieved the 50+ boxes sold cookie badge. However, it was only because my dad put us down for about 30 boxes. Still, I felt pretty proud to sew that badge on my sash.

I told all of this to a co-worker who said she wasn't ordering from our faculty members' daughter because she (the co-worker) tends to eat an entire box of Thin Mints in one sitting. The faculty member in question is from Korea, is very quiet, and probably won't send her daughter door-to-door. I told my co-worker, look, XXX probably isn't going to sell any boxes outside of our office, that's the reality, and I don't want her to feel bad.

I think my co-worker is reconsidering.

I love the Girl Scouts, but I do wish they would reconsider the cookie incentive stuff (I think the incentives are a bit more complex these days). I mean, come on, the organization is supposed to help build girls' self-esteem, not make them feel bad because no one wanted to buy cookies from them.

School Days

Start tomorrow for Porkchop and me!

For me, I'm taking another online class. This time, it's Summative and Formative Evaluations. Judging from the textbook, it's about evaluating online learning systems. The textbook cracks me up because the illustrations look like something that an ironic comic artist would do...it's all clip art with word balloons inserted. The only difference is that I think the textbook author is serious with her illustrations.

More excitingly, Porkchop starts teaching a printmaking class at a local community college! But, I think she is more irritated than excited because the art department at said college seems to be run by the two most scatterbrained people around. Porkchop gave them a completed application twice, told them which sections she could teach multiple times, and has yet to receive her employee number, ID card, and keys to the building where her class will be. Oh, also, the printshop is full of woodshop materials that were supposed to be moved before classes, but the saws and planers are still by the printing presses.

Since today was my last day off for quite some time, I took it kind of easy. After taking Porkchop to work, I went to the Y and swam laps. This was my first time lap swimming for about six years! It went pretty well, considering my long absence from the pool, and I decided a half mile was okay for today. I finished my Y trip with some whirlpool and sauna action.

Swimmers need to eat, so when I came home, I made a bacon and cheese omelet, which was eggs-cellent (I've been waiting all day to type that!). With our new little Calphalon skillet, I can make perfect omelets. Look:


I was so impressed with the omelet-making, and I think the skillet might work well with crepes.

I was still hungry after the omelet, so I made this strawberry-banana bread using frozen berries that we picked over the summer. The only change I made was to substitute 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for white flour, which is enough to fool you into thinking that the bread is healthy. Oh, and I didn't have pecans, so no nuts for us. The bread is delicious, and I totally recommend the recipe.

In other cooking news, I made a yummy chicken curry tonight using the Splendid Table cookbook. I'm also on a spaghetti kick lately, and I can't wait to try this tomato sauce recipe (only three magical ingredients!).

All for now. Have a great week!

In These Cold Times

I look at Madison weather to make me feel better. But, it's currently about the same temperature there as it is in St. Louis, so I had to expand my weather search to Minneapolis.

Yeah, it's a lot colder in Minneapolis. Compared to there, it's downright warm in St. Louis.

Only, it doesn't feel warm.

This morning was a long, bitterly cold walk from the Metro to my office. It was one of those cold walks during which your nose first freezes, and then your snot unfreezes and leaks out your nose onto your face.

Tomorrow, I think I'll carry a tissue with me. Because it isn't cool to arrive at work with snot frozen on your face.

Yesterday afternoon, we hit the hot tub at the Y. It was delightfully warm and relaxing, and not too crowded.

Some people go to the Caribbean for a break from the cold. Us, we'll go to the Y and ride the lazy river a few times.

Well, Hello 2010!

We ended 2009 with a big food bang at the new Brasserie by Niche. Porkchop and I agreed that it was the best meal we've had in a long time. I can't say enough how perfect it was!

We started with an order of gougeres, which were addictively cheesy and warm and yummy. I went the 3-courses-for-$30 route and shared my small plate of seared sea scallops and roasted beets with Porkchop. Also perfectly done and super tasty.

But, the stars were our main courses. Porkchop had a well-done New York strip with pommes frites. The steak was tasty (even though I'm not a big steak fan), but the fries were out-of-this-world delightful. Next time, we'll order a big plate of those.

Before I write about my entree, I want to preface by saying that, since I started eating meat again over three years ago, I've only ordered beef at a restaurant once (and it was a burger that I totally regretted ordering). So, it was a bit of character for me to order the braised short ribs, but I'm so glad I did! The meat totally fell off the bone and melted in my mouth. The accompanying pureed potatoes and roasted carrots were also perfect. I didn't even need to season my potatoes.

For dessert, I went with the profiteroles, and Porkchop ordered the lemon tart. Again, perfect. For drinks, I had a glass of Riesling, and Porkchop had the Duchesse de Bourgogne (Flemish red ale! Yum!).

So, I definitely recommend Gerard Craft's latest venture!

After stuffing ourselves and changing into pajama pants when we came home, we made new goals for the new year. But first, here's how I did on last year's goals:

• Plant my own vegetable garden! CHECK.
  
• Can my own food! CHECK.
• Figure out my career. WORKING ON IT. I started a Masters program, which counts for something.
  
• House maintenance: paint inside, paint the foundation, finish the drylocking in the basement, put up that additional downspout, fix up the backyard.... NEEDS WORK. We only painted downstairs; the rest of the items still need to be done.
  
• Learn how to knit Fair Isle-style. INCOMPLETE.
  
• Do more baking! SORT OF.
  
• Secret project with Porkchop. STILL IN PROGRESS.

I'm okay with my progress on last year's goals. I'm not going to beat myself up for not taking up stranded knitting or not drylocking the basement.

Here are this year's goals:

• Be more flexible and less controlling. I'm working on being more open to others' ideas about how to do things. And I'm trying to not let things like slightly open drawers and cabinet doors bother me (But I still can't stop closing Porkchop's dresser drawers! Open drawers drive me crazy!).
• Do more neighborhood things. I'm secretary of our neighborhood association, but I want to do even more and meet more area residents.
• More regular exercise. I started the ball rolling today with joining the local Y! Porkchop and I even signed up for a step class together! I'm looking forward to swimming regularly again and taking advantage of the hot tub, sauna, and steamroom.
• Bake more with whole grains. Yeah, I need to cut back on the white flour.
• Stranded knitting! See last year's goal.
• Practice Spanish. This will be the hardest goal for me to accomplish, I think, especially since I remember more French than Spanish.
• Save for trips and a new computer.
• Be more positive at work. This past year, I gave into some negativity, and I want to kick that in the ass.
• Be better with house maintenance. See last year's goals.

Finally and most importantly, I want to spend more time like this with my family:



Okay, time to start working on things!

Have a great 2010!

Working from Home is the Best

I'm working from home for most of this week, which is awesome. There isn't a lot to do at the moment so I take breaks to do things like mop the floors and update my blog. I might also handwash some sweaters.

Yes, it is an exciting life.

Our Christmas trip to Arkansas went well, considering that my sister is still living with my parents and is self-medicating with Klonopin. There is some tension there. And, while I want to help all parties involved, I also don't want to touch that situation with a 300-mile-long pole.

Present-wise, it was a great Christmas. My mom limited my sister to just a few new, purchased gifts for everyone. If you remember last year's presents, you know this is a Good Thing.

Porkchop surprised me with all of my presents, but particularly this set of new cookware:

The full set is from Porkchop, and the bonus soup pot is from my parents (which I had asked for). You know what this means? We get to retire our set of pots, which Porkchop's mom received on her wedding day 30+ years ago. Those pots still have a lot of life left in them, but I am happy to have our own adult pots. I've already used some pieces of the new set, and they are fabulous.

However, when we were gathering up the old ones out of the cabinet, we became a little sad. Retrieving the small one-quart pot, Porkchop said, "Oh, little pot, I'm going to miss you!" And I said, "I'm going to miss it, too!"

It is hard times when you get teary-eyed about a little one-quart pot. Oh, but that pot has cooked many a Ramen noodle for Porkchop, and we made many a simple syrup in it for sweet iced tea.

My other super-surprise gift from Porkchop was this little tea-brewing cup:

Under the cat's chapeau is a strainer for loose tea. It is perfect! I first saw it in an art museum gift shop in Minneapolis, but didn't want to buy it there. Sadly, when we came home, we couldn't find it online. Porkchop persevered, though, and it was eventually posted on a Japanese market site. I love my little tea cup and can't wait to brew some tea in it.

On my end, I surprised Porkchop with this hat (the shoes are from my parents):

The hat is loose because Porkchop doesn't like tight hats. It is lined with baby alpaca so that the Cascade doesn't scratch her ears. I used this pattern.

The past couple of weeks were a hat marathon. I made Porkchop's hat, and then hats for her older brother, sister-in-law, and niece.

The brother's was a basic watchman cap using this pattern:

The sister-in-law's was a star-crossed slouchy beret (Ravelry link):


The niece's hat is my favorite, and I really want to make another for myself. I used the basic Kim's Hat pattern (Ravelry link) in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. It's a great pattern because you can make all sorts of variations and add your own touches.

I made the garter brim variation with earflaps, I-cords, and tassels. I added some purl rows for ridges on the hat, and I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out.

Here I am modeling it:

It's a little small on me, but it fits the niece well. It's a bit loose, so hopefully she can use it for 2 or 3 winters.

All for now! I should probably go "work" some before I pick up lunch at Pappy's for Porkchop and me.

It's That Time Again...

Keetah says Happy Holidays to you!

The other day, I was looking through my posts from three years ago for a recipe, and I noticed that at this time in December 2006, we were baking orange-almond shortbread, orange-chocolate biscotti, chocolate crinkle cookies, and pretzel rods.

Guess what we baked last night? Orange-almond shortbread, orange-chocolate biscotti, and chocolate crinkle cookies. We're taking the pretzel rod supplies to my parents' house and will make them there.

Last night's baking extravangza was exhausting, and I burnt half of the shortbread. Sadness.

This evening we leave for Arkansas, and I'm sure good times will ensue.

I've been knitting things, but they're secrets for now. All I can say is that I'm not finished yet!! Knitting stress!

On Being a Non-Traditional Student

I took five and a half years to complete my undergraduate degrees. Then I worked for a few years while Porkchop earned her MFA and MA. When I felt it was a good time, I applied for Feminist Studies PhD programs and was accepted to one (out of four to which I applied). I went for it, and it ended up being the worst 9 months of my life. So I quit, and we moved to St. Louis, where I started working as an office person again.

After a few years of working, feeling like I wasn't doing anything to improve myself, I found an online Master's degree program via Mizzou that sounded interesting. It has real-world applications, won't take too long to complete even as I work full-time, and won't put me too much in debt.

I never would have thought that this online program would be so much more difficult than the PhD program that I was in, but it is!

As a PhD student, I could read some books and articles and then piece shit together and call it a paper. And I generally received As. For, um, theorizing and making arguments that had no impact on the real world.

In my first class in my online program, I've done more real world work than I did in all my other classes combined. I've designed and conducted interviews, observations, and surveys. And since I built most of my assignments around my neighborhood association, I've talked to many area residents about what they want out of the association and their concerns about our neighborhood. I feel like I'm actually doing something!

With my final project done and graded, I just need to package my report in a more user-friendly format and present it to our association members. (The final project I submitted for class had to be in a very specific format, and I think I can improve upon it for public distribution.) I think my findings can help the association board (which includes me) to improve our membership numbers, as well as participation and volunteer rates.

Yes, I'm much prouder of my final grade of a 98 in my online class than I am of any of the As I received in my PhD seminar classes.

I see myself completing the degree in a few years. And then maybe when I'm 50 I'll start working on a PhD again. At the rate I work, I might be able to finish it before I'm 70.

Knitters Shut it Down

Last month, the much-anticipated coffee/beer joint Foam opened after more than a year of waiting. Last night was billed as "craft night," so Porkchop and I went with projects in hand (knitting for me, card folding for her). Including us, the crafters totaled a mere five, but it was still enjoyable. The other three were also knitters, and one lives only a few blocks away. It was great to meet some new knitters, even if they are in their early 20s and made me feel rather aged. Anyway, we shut down Foam in awesome knitterly fashion, and I hope Foam continues the craft nights.

This Foam thing might be dangerous. It is only a block away and open until 10 on weeknights. Soooo easy to take the short walk and spend money on yummy drinks.

A Life Changing Event

This is me before my life changed today:


I'm at the Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis, sipping on Assam tea and awaiting my order.

And this is what changed my life:


The Savory Waffle.

Or, the most perfect piece of food ever.

This is what it is... The waffle is made of ginger, sweet potato, and chevre. It's topped with cranberry quince, sage butter, an egg, bits of bacon, and pecans, and the plate is dusted with powdered sugar. Maple syrup is served on the side. Oh, and everything is local food.

I ate this waffle sloooooowly because I didn't want the perfect taste sensation to end.

P.S. We're in the Minneapolis area for Porkchop's hockey tournament. But who cares about hockey when there is the Savory Waffle?

Introducing Patricia Pettymeyer

Patricia enjoys lounging on unmade beds, especially if the electric blanket is still on. She also likes sitting in open windows, eating the occasional blade of grass, and chasing catnip toys.

Her dislikes include dogs, small children, and loud noises.

(Porkchop likes to call Keetah different names, but Patricia Pettymeyer has stuck. Sometimes I like to change the last name to Prettymeyer.)

(PS I edited the spelling of Patricia's last name because I realized the original spelling - Pettymire - is probably an invention of my southern-tinged accent.)

It's Scary, Really

How quickly October has passed! It seems like I was just feeling better from my little virus, and then I was sick again for a week with stupid allergies, and now it is today and less than a week left in this month. I know it's always the same old lament, oh woe, there isn't enough time, but really, WTF?

Besides being down with allergies, I've also been working away on my class stuff. In October alone I conducted two interviews, did two observation procedures, and conducted a survey, as well as wrote all of these up in reports. In November, I get to do more of the same for my final project. It's actually rather fun!

Other things in October....

Apples! We didn't pick any more, but we purchased a big bag from Eckert's and canned apple butter and apple preserves:


The apple preserves (on the right) are nice and lemony and nutmeg-y. The apple butter (on the left) is very fall-like with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, but it didn't get super thick. If you like applesauce, you would like our apple butter. I do, but next year I might try a crockpot recipe to see if it gets thicker.

Porkchop also made the most delicious apple pie using this recipe:

This is totally my favorite apple pie ever. I'm not a big apple pie fan because I think most are too sugary and rely on cinnamon too much. But this one doesn't use cinnamon, uses a lot less sugar, and has strong lemon notes in it. And raisins! Love! I've requested it for Thanksgiving. By the way, I reserved our turkey today, even put down a deposit on it. Which felt kind of weird.

When we went to Eckert's for apples, we also picked up a few mums, two pumpkins, and ornamental corn. We also purchased ornamental gourds at the farmers' market.
I love our little gourd buddies:



Over the weekend, I made these pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese icing:


I made them mini size, which is a good thing because the icing is really powerful. I took these to our neighborhood meeting last night. After having to rig up this contraption to protect the sweet little cakes, I see why people buy those cake carrier things:


How many times will I have to construct this sort of thing out of foil and plastic wrap before I break down and purchase an honest-to-goodness carrier?

Have a great week!

What a Feeling...

To have the pain and pressure relieved from my lower back for at least a few hours!!!!! I have not felt this for years...at least a dozen.

While I've always accepted the uncomfortableness in my lower back as just the way things are, I finally saw someone about it when it started to hurt when I walked. I'm too young to be in pain while out for a stroll!

It turns out that I have instability in my lower back due to a vertebra in my sacrum not fusing completely (also known as spina bifida occulta, which isn't uncommon). My L-5 vertebra (the one right above my partially fused S-1) also sits up quite a bit higher than one normally should. And I have some curvature in there, and my poor L-2 vertebra has borne the brunt of all of this. While most of my lumbar vertebrae look like happy puffy marshmallows, L-2 is kind of crumpled and sad looking.

This morning I saw the sports medicine guy again, and he did some lovely massage (as opposed to the painful deep tissue acupressure last week). But, the best part is the stretching table that he uses. He's able to do a circular motion with my lower body while my upper body stays flat, with the flexion point exactly where my lower back is tightest.

It's awesome. I would like to feel like this forever.

This is What Happens When You've Been Together for 9 Years

You wear the same socks and don't discover it until you're in line at the DMV:

(For the record, my Adidas-clad feet are the larger ones. Porkchop wanted to make clear that hers look bigger due to the perspective. Porkchop's feet are wee little things, while mine are giants. Also, you might ask why we even own the same socks. I don't have an answer for that one.)

We took yesterday off work because it was the day after our anniversary (yay, nine years!), and we wanted to do fun things. Porkchop's definition of "fun" meant making me get my Missouri driver's license. I had delayed this task because I usually have a big problem with the vision tests. My eyesight is 20/20, but one of my eyes is placed a bit wonkily, which makes the vision machines a pain in the ass to use. I usually have to close one eye and read half the line, and then switch eyes for the next half. And the DMV employee is usually trying to rush me and won't let me take my time, and then I get flustered and embarrassed.

Getting a license in a new state makes me nervous because I dread the vision tests so much. On the way to the DMV, I wanted to throw up.

But, what do you know! The vision machine at the DMV location we went to didn't give me any problems! I even warned the employee that it would take me a moment because of my eye, and then I didn't have any problems! YAY!

The DMV branch was in an awesome mid-century modern building that is round and shaped like an upside-down funnel. There's also a rockin' mural inside. Here I am at the vision machine with part of the mural:

After the DMV and a few other errands, we went to lunch at Onesto. Yum! We've tried a few new-to-us places recently:

• Sen Thai Asian Bistro: Located downtown, this was a great place for dinner before the Blues home opener. While the Blues lost, dinner was a winner. Okay, Porkchop's yellow curry was a winner. My BBQ pork could have used a lot more flavor.
• OR Smoothie and Cafe: I grabbed lunch at the Central West End location one day while I was still fighting my virus. With ginger-apple-beet-carrot juice and a tofu wrap, OR Smoothie and Cafe was exactly what I needed.
• The Shaved Duck: The curlicue frites fried in duck fat are awesome, as is the pulled pork sandwich. The flamenco guitar action going on made things a little loud, but otherwise everything was most enjoyable. We will definitely be going back!

However, my favorite meal of the past couple of weeks was one we cooked a few days ago. Cranberry-almond pilaf, cider-braised butternut and delicata squash, and baked tofu. Yum:

Tonight I'm cooking chorizo and black bean soup. Yum, yum, yum. I began today early with a few hours of planting new plants in a median not far from our house. It's good to get out with neighbors and work on things! The median had housed rose bushes, but they fell prey to disease. The new plantings will look great next year: coneflowers, black-eyed susans, butterfly milkweed, prairie clover, and few other plants. I'm looking forward to a hearty soup tonight after so much hard labor.

Have a great weekend!

Getting my Mojo Back

Finally, finally, I feel close to normal. I actually want to do things and get out of bed! Yay!

The change happened late yesterday afternoon after I did a lot of breath of fire in a kundalini mini-set. Coincidence? Maybe not. Breath of fire makes my teeth tingle, so who knows its potential.

Yesterday morning, I barely even wanted to go to the farmers' market! But we pushed on, and I picked up a couple of pumpkins. Later in the afternoon I cooked them and made some pumpkin puree.

So, when I awoke refreshed and ready to go this morning, I made this pumpkin bread recipe. Yum! I came out with 6 muffins and 3 mini loaves:


After Porkchop came home from hockey practice, we roasted the pumpkin seeds. Triple yum! We kept the seasoning simple with salt, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. I could eat these pepitas all day. Here are the seeds ready to be seasoned and roasted:


Since I was home for two and a half days, I made some knitting headway. Last week, I ripped out the Icarus shawl that had been sitting around unfinished for over a year. Now I'm using the yarn for a Clapotis. Yep, I've finally jumped on the Clapotis bandwagon!


This afternoon I finished the increase section and dropped my first stitch! Here's a close-up, which shows the yarn color better too:


Have a good week! Stay well!

I'm Bad at Being Sick

After two days of exhaustion, an early morning session of sweaty chills yesterday, and a day of a low-grade fever, I found out that I have a little upper respiratory infection going on.

It sucks. I don't like the feeling of being tired when I haven't done anything. I'm at home from work for the second day, and I wish I could do things to capitalize on being here. But instead it's nearly 11 am, and I'm sitting on the couch, unshowered and umotivated.

Blah.