anniemiz

Workout Wednesday: Busted. And I didn't even do anything.

And that was the whole point behind getting busted.  I worked out w/Mike the Trainer Guy tonight.  The last time I worked out with him was September 3rd -- 26 days ago.  In that time, I had the flu, I had a breast biopsy and Mike went to Italy.  So I was out of commission for a bit due to the flu and the biopsy, but I certainly wasn't out of commission for 26 days.  And Mike asks, what, pray tell, did I do workout-wise during those 26 days?

[cricket sounds]

Yup.  Nothing.  Zip.  Zero.  Zilch. Oh, sure, I went for a little walk here and there, e.g., to the carnival a couple of times over Labor Day weekend (where I ate zeppoles and funnel cakes), but that's about it.

So tonight we got back into the swing of things with (let's see what I can remember and these aren't in any particular order and most were multiple sets):

• shadow boxing - seems I do better when Mike wears the mitts and I hit them v. just swinging away at nothing; I think it just feels more natural actually hitting something (bc, you know, I do that kind of thing all the time)
• jumping jacks
• crunches w/weights
• dips
• lunges (oooooooooooh I feel this already)
• bicep curls w/the long bar
• presses w/the long bar
• something else w/the long bar that I forget the name
• on and off that damn bosu ball
• Superman!

So it was a good workout for getting back into things.  The weights did feel a little heavy tonight...hope to get past that soon.

Another thing I did not do for 26 whole days is write down what I eat.  I really find accountability is key.  I just stopped tracking it once I knew I wasn't going to see Mike for a couple of weeks...it's not like I'm going to read him two weeks worth of eats...so why bother tracking that whole time?  There is some logic to that...but it's subversive (as an aside, that's a really good word.  It sounds good: subsersive.  Say it with me: subverrrrrsive.). 

Sooooooo, back at it, working out with MtTG a couple of times/week and planning activity on at least 3 other days.  Of course, the eats journal.  I started another blog to track this stuff so that I can do it from anywhere in the world.   But it's a private blog bc I don't want my transgressions (miniature Reese's peanut butter cups anyone?) out there for all the world to see.  I'm self-critical enough for all of us...all 7 billion of us in the world.  The world can safely leave self-criticism to me.

DVD: A Bit of Fry & Laurie

There's not many things better than a good laugh and British comedies are some of the funniest and silliest things to watch.  I love Hugh Laurie.  He's funny, talented and attractive in a goofy/dorky kind of way.  With the huge popularity of House, I feel compelled to comment on the show.  Unfortunately, while House is an interesting character, I think the show as a whole is lame.  Every episode I've watched seems to be a variation on the 'Oh, House, you're such a maverick!' theme.

BTW, his scruffy look for House?  Meh.  But let's focus on what I do like.  I loved him and Stephen Fry in Jeeves & Wooster.

 

Now, J&W is humorous, but it's usually not ROFLMAO funny.  Still, I enjoyed it tremendously and wished there had been more seasons.

Now, Blackadder is hysterical.  If you're unfamiliar with it, here's a pretty good description from Wikipedia:

Although each series is set in a different time era, all follow the fortunes (or rather, misfortunes) of Edmund Blackadder (played by Atkinson), who in each is a member of a British family dynasty present at many significant periods and places in British history. Although the character is quite unintelligent in the first series, he is increasingly clever and perceptive in subsequent generations (while decreasing in social status). Each Blackadder though is a cynical, cowardly opportunist concerned with maintaining and increasing his own status and fortunes, regardless of his surroundings. In each series, Blackadder is usually a cynical (almost modern) voice puncturing the pretensions and stupidity of those around him, and what might — through modern eyes — be seen as the more ludicrous and insane follies of history (from the medieval religious witch-hunts and the petty whims and insanities of various British monarchs to the bloodshed and horror of World War I).

The lives of each of the Blackadders are also entwined with their servants, all from the Baldrick family line (played by Tony Robinson). Each generation acts as the dogsbody to their respective Blackadder. They decrease in intelligence (and in personal hygiene standards) just as their masters' intellect increases. Each Blackadder and Baldrick are also saddled with the company of a dim-witted aristocrat whose presence Blackadder must somehow tolerate. This role was taken in the first two series by Lord Percy Percy (Tim McInnerny), in the third series by Prince George, Prince Regent, and in the fourth by Lieutenant George, the latter two played by Hugh Laurie.

I laughed so much watching this show.  I especially like Laurie as the exceedingly foppish and foolish Prince Regent.

There's an episode with a sidestory of the prince being without his manservant and so he ends up having to put his pants on himself.  That's a favorite, along with the one where he learns how to give a speech.  Prolly my fave episode is the one about The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Besides all these laughfests, there was A Bit of Fry & Laurie, a comedy sketch show.  I've just started watching it (on DVDs borrowed through the oft-recommended-here inter-library loan system) and sometimes I'm still laughing at one joke only to miss the next one.  They dress up a lot, which is always fun.  (Seems like a career requirement for British actors to dress up in drag at least once.  Works for me.)

Laurie is actually an accomplished musician and he quite rightly wastes this talent by performing horrible yet funny, i.e., horribly funny, songs.  In one episode he gives us the Cliffs Notes version of my hero, Bruce Springsteen; there's so little to it, yet it's so funny.

So, if you like to laugh at silly stuff, I recommend A Bit of Fry & Laurie and Blackadder.  Happy giggling!

Mmm Mmm Monday: Beef Stock

Let's talk about beef stock today.  This recipe is a combination of this recipe (scroll down for the beef stock recipe; many stock and soup recipes on this site, plus soup lore and soup humor) and this recipe.  This recipe is also scaled down a little from those two recipes.  So recipe #1 + recipe #2 = something like the following.

Ingredients

• 4 lb. beef soup bones, some with meat
• 2-3 carrots, cut into chunks
• parsnip, cut into chunks
• 1 wilty celery stalk, cut into chunks (the whole thing)
• 1 large onion, quartered
• handful of fresh parsley
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 t. thyme
• 1 T. black peppercorns
• some kosher salt (I lightly salt stock or don't add salt at all bc I don't know what it will be used for and can always add salt later, but can't remove it)

Instructions (these mostly follow recipe #1)

1. In a 450 oF oven, roast everything in a roasting pan for an hour.
2. Move everything in a large stock pot.
3. Deglaze the roasting pan with 1/2 c. - 1 c. water and then add that deglazed goodness into the stock pot.
4. Fill the stockpot until ingredients are covered by a few inches, maybe 3"-4".
5. Bring slowly to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 2 hours.
6. Remove cover and simmer, uncovered, for at least another hour.
7. Strain and pour the stock into containers for freezing.
8. Let cool to room temperature, then freeze.
9. Do not remove the fat -- this will seal the stock while it's in the freezer.

Here it is after being refrigerated overnight and before freezing.

BTW, that bread thing in the plastic bag is the fabled nut roll of which I have most assuredly rapturously spoken.  Already I'm looking forward to having some tonight after work with a nice cuppa tea.

My buddy's new blog...

...is here.  Go ahead on over and give her a hard time...just don't call her 'meaty'.

Friday Cat Blogging: Backyard Boys

Longtime readers will recall that only the mature, staid and responsible NoseyCat goes outside...and only on supervised jaunts at that.

However, whenever Miles see Kevin and/or myself and/or Nosey outside, he yowls his head off.  That's pretty much the only time he uses what we call his big boy voice.  It's not so bad if the windows are closed, but if they're open the noise is pitiful.  And he's loud enough to disturb the neighbors.  So we either shut the window or bring him outside.

Thing is, we can't trust Miles not to run up a tree or crawl under the back porch so he goes out in his kitty stroller:

I'm sure he'd rather be let loose to be born free, free as the wind blows and all that, but I'm not going up the tree after him.  And although the volunteer dept. in town loves pretty much any excuse to take the rigs out, I really don't think they still respond to cat in distress calls.  Although maybe if I offered free beers all around at Johnny's afterward....

Anyway, Miles does well in the stroller.  He's a pretty mellow cat and he's been fine hanging out in the stroller and going for walks in it.  Lizzie isn't crazy about it, but will do okay if Miles is there, too.  The others really don't care for it...it stresses them out too much...so we don't take them out in it anymore.  Here's a close up of his handsome self in his ride:

Thursday Thrift: Your Local Library: CDs

Today's Thursday Thrift is pretty much a PSA for your local library.  So.  We all have ipods or mp3 players or the like now, nu?  You could buy CDs and then download them to your players.  Or you could buy the songs online.  Or you could get the CDs from your library, download them, return them and spend $0.00.

Let's face it: many, many CDs are not keepers.  It's the same with books: some are keepers and others, once read, are not the worth the paper they're printed on.  E.g., Pride & Prejudice is surely a keeper (like you didn't see that one coming).  Pride & Prejudice & Zombies might be a keeper...keepability is subjective.  I could be wrong about this, seeing as I haven't read it yet, but I'll venture a guess that Untamed Billionaire, Undressed Virgin is probably not a keeper (great title, though!  who thinks of these things? and how much do they get paid to do this? and how can I get that job?).  But what do I know?  I often wonder if my tastes are too parochial.

Anyhoo, you decide what you do and do not want for keeps.  And whatever you don't want, borrow it from the library.  Now, our library's CD collection is pathetic.  It's beyond small, limited or any other respectable word for 'meager'.  It's all the way to pathetic and then some.  But enough about us (btw, if you click that link you'll see the thoroughly unimpressive and sloppy website maintained by me, local library webmaster...*snort*...I still can't say that without laughing...I don't know wtf I'm doing).  The thing to note is that the library's website has a link to the online catalog.  That catalog covers what's called the MAIN consortium, i.e., all the libraries in Morris County.  Any library that is part of a consortium should have a link to their online catalog on their website.

Plenty of other larger and more metro libraries have big collections...some even still have LPs!  Your library prolly has inter-library loans (or some similarly-named arrangement) whereby you request that an item from another library be sent to your library for you to pick up there and borrow.  In our consortium, it usually takes 3-4 days for stuff to arrive, although it could take longer.  If the item is very popular, e.g., the newest James Patterson or Janet Evanovich book, it could take a while to get to you.  That can be frustrating when you're dying to read the new book by your favorite author, but I'm sure you can find something else to read until your book comes in.  Basically, it could take longer or shorter to get your requested item based on:

• if the item is something new from a popular author/artist/whatever; it can take weeks/a couple of months to get crazy-popular stuff
• if the item is not new, but a popular reading club selection, e.g., The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society has been out for over a year now, but reading clubs are still selecting it
• the item is not new, but something in the news sparks interest, e.g., the movie about Julie Child has resulted in a lot of requests for her books
• if the item can't be located right away (e.g., yesterday and still today I couldn't find a book another library's patron wanted so I marked it missing and now the request will go to another library)
• library closings, e.g., scheduled, holiday, weather, etc.

Now, what if your consortium doesn't have what you want?  You or your library may be able to search outside of your consortium.  I did this a bit when I was in school.  E.g., we have something called JerseyCat (love that name, obvs).  Patrons can search for and request the desired item from other consortiums (consortia?) and libraries throughout NJ.  JerseyCat's search feature seems a little less intuitive and user-friendly than the MAIN online catalog, so you can usually ask your friendly neighborhood librarian to help you search JerseyCat or search and request the item for you.  Most of our patrons' JerseyCat requests are placed by staff, but a few people use it regularly and place their own requests.

At least wrt JerseyCat:

• requests submitted by patrons need to be approved by their home library staff; e.g., if a Boonton patron submitted a request from home last night, a Boonton staff person will see it when they check our account with JerseyCat; most requests are approved, but...
• ...requests for wildly popular things that should be in every library, let alone every consortium, will most likely not be approved; e.g., every library has at least one copy of every Harry Potter movie and book, so Boonton would not approve a request for that in JerseyCat
• JerseyCat is supposed to be for things that are not available within your own consortium
• libraries are not required to provide requested items; e.g., the Trenton Public Library is not required to loan me their copy of Basic Data of Plasma Physics if doing so goes against their JerseyCat loan policy or, basically, if they just don't want to
• it will take longer to get an item through JerseyCat; it involves more processing on the part of the loaning and borrowing libraries; it jalso ust takes longer to get a book to Boonton from Cape May County than from Mountain Lakes, which is right next door to us; there is a van service that goes between the libraries, but not all libraries are connected; sometimes the material travels via old fashioned snail mail
• some libraries may charge for JerseyCat items, although we do not and I haven't heard of anybody doing so

The other neat thing about borrowing library CDs is that you never know when you'll come across something new or at least new to you.  E.g., one of our patrons recently borrowed an old David Bowie CD, Pin Ups, from another library.  So then I borrowed it and enjoyed it...I thought it was a lot of fun.  Now, I saw it bc I work at the library, but if you peruse your library's online catalog you'll be requesting stuff left and right.

Well, I'm off bc I have to go take care of something in the kitchen.  I'm working on an ingredient to try in another batch of chili this weekend.  It might just supply the certain je ne sais quoi that I felt the last batch was missing (although no one else seemed to think it was missing anything...I think so...but I don't know what!).

Mmm Mmm Monday: Huevos Rancheros with Black Beans

Today's recipe comes from the cookbook, The Daily Bean, by Suzanne Caciola White.  I borrowed this cookbook from another library via the interlibrary loan system.  I highly recommend that system.  I took some likely sounding recipes from it and am trying them out little by little in my quest to incorporate more beans into our meals.  No visuals bc I ate first and thought later.

4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 t. canola oil (I think we used olive oil bc that's what we had)
• 2 green peppers, cut into strips
• 1 c. thinly sliced red onion
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (normally, I would keep these out of at least my portion, but they weren't that hot; I couldn't even taste them; let someone w/a sturdy tongue taste them before you decide whether or not to include them)
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (we drained these bc it looked like it would be too liquidy with all the juice and I'm glad we did)
• 1 14.5 oz. black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 t. balsamic vinegar
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1 T. finely chopped cilantro (we used dried -- and therefore less of it -- bc we didn't have fresh)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 4 medium (8") tortillas
• 4 eggs
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (this is a lot of cheese; you could probably do with 1/2 c.)

Instructions

1. Heal oil in large nonstock skillet.  Add green pepper, onion and jalapenos; cook for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in tomatoes, bean, vinegar, cumin, cilantro and salt; cook 5 minutes or until it's heated through and veggies are soft.

3. Spray a nonstick skillet w/cooking spray and heat over medium heat.*  Add the tortillas one at a time and warm for 1 minute on each side.  Remove from skillet and cover to keep warm.  **

4. Remove the skillet from the heat and respray with cooking spray.  Heat again over medium heat.  Add whole eggs and cook until whites begin to set, about 2 minutes.  Gently flip the eggs***, leaving yolks intact.  Sprinkle with cheese, cover pan and cook for approximately 1 minute or until cheese is melted.

5. Place a corn tortilla on each plate, top with the bean mixture and place an egg, cheese side up, on top.

6. Optional: "A dollop of guacamole on the side is a good addition to this comfortable dish."  Comfortable.  I like that.

     * Or put in just a hint of oil.

 **  We microved each tortilla for a few seconds to avoid having to clean another skillet.

*** It's all in the wrist!  A gentle caress of the egg upon itself rather than a flip.

Thoughts

• We like this recipe; it's in the rotation now.
• It makes a lot of bean mixture; you could stretch it to make 6 servings (and then cook up 2 more eggs).
• We had leftovers of the bean mixture; it reheats well.
• Don't need to eat it in a tortilla; the next night we had it w/o the tortilla bc we'd run out.  A biscuit or toast on the side is yummy or no bread at all.
• Seems suitable to variations, e.g., different peppers, other vegels, maybe some corn, etc.

• Yummy as is, but a little sour cream on the side is not unwelcome (but then again, is it ever?).

Benign

I previously posted about maybe getting a breast biopsy done to check out a 'dense area' in my right breast.  It was spotted during a mammogram.  Had the biopsy done and got the results today: benign.  I asked what it was and it was a collection of calcified something-or-others and fatty tissue.  Sounds about right.  That's good.  I wasn't too worried bc so many things about the thing on the images pointed away from malignancy, but it's nice to know for certain.  Plus, I'd had one false alarm before so I was a little...oh, jaded is too strong...but I was less likely to freak out.

I didn't know what to expect around having a biopsy.  For anyone thinking about having one or about to have one and wondering, here's my experience:

• Everyone at Carol W. and Julius A. Rippel Breast Center was very kind and sought to be as helpful, informative and reassuring as possible.  I'm sure most, if not all, of the professionals who saw me and my previous images would judge the blob to very likely be benign, but they treated me with great care throughout.  I don't know that they would have been even more solicitous had my images suggested otherwise, but they certainly seemed excessively attentive.
• I wasn't to wear lotions, deodorant, etc.  I'm not sure that that had anything to do with the biopsy itself, but rather with the mammogram that followed immediately thereafter.
• I was also to avoid using certain pain relievers during a certain number of days before the procedure.
• The doctor performing the biopsy marked my right clavicle with a magic marker to indicate that it was the right breast to get biopsied.  Taking a biopsy out of the wrong breast is not in the same league as amputating the wrong limb, but I suppose the reasoning behind the practice is the same.
• I lay down on my stomach on a table with a hole for my right breast to fall through.
• I got a shot of lidocaine in the breast.  They said it might burn quite a bit, though instantaneously, but I didn't feel any burning.  I did feel something throughout part of my breast which I'll guess was the numbness setting it. 
• I had what's called a stereotactical breast biopsy.  Images are taken while I'm laying there, to guide the doctor to get the biopsy device (I'm not sure what kind I had, needle or vacuum assisted) to the right spot.
• So the images are scrolling away.  My breast is numb.  So numb that I had no idea where the device went in.  I was surprised afterward to find that they entered from underneath.  A small cut is made.  The device is inserted.  Samples are taken.  They said I should certainly feel pressure, but not pain.  If I felt pain, I should say so, they'll stop, give me more lidocaine, wait a bit, then start up again.  I feel I have to say that bc I did feel some pain, but didn't say anything.  I think the kind of device used was the kind that goes around clockwise, taking a sample roughly at each 'hour'.  I made it through 6 beeps, which I equated to scoops o' stuff, and figured we're halfway done and I could just suck it up for 6 more beeps.  It was a pain, but not even a grit your teeth kind of pain.  I want to be clear that it wasn't like getting teeth pulled w/o benefit of novocaine, i.e., it wasn't that level of pain.  Of course, everybody's reaction to pain is different so your mileage may vary and anyone reading this should certainly stop and ask for more pain medication if they want it.  If I were to do it again, I might stop and ask for more juice, I might not.  It only lasted maybe two minutes so it wasn't an interminable time.
• After samples are taken, a marker is placed at the site in question.
• The device is removed.
• The nurse assisting at the biopsy puts a couple of strips over the incision.
• I take a little time getting up...it's kinda funky laying like that through having some pictures taken, waiting for the numbness to set in, throughout the procedure, etc....and they say that getting up too quickly can be dizzying.  I don't need to be any dizzier than I am already, so I took my time.
• I get one of those cold packs to hold to the area and wait for another nurse.
• This nurse checks out the site and puts a bandage over the strips the previous nurse put there.  Then she wraps my breasts with an ace bandage such that I'm left feeling downright Elizabethan.  Then she puts on me a bra that I'm to wear for the next 48 hours, even while sleeping.  It's not crucial that I wear that particular bra, although they would prefer it, but that I wear some bra for continuous support for a couple of days.
• I'm not to get that general area wet for 48 hours.  I can shower after 48 hours. 
• After 72 hours, I can take the bandage off, which I did to great success.  There is some bruising there.  Whatever strips they put there seem to take care of getting the broken skin growing back together.
• I did feel some soreness in my right breast for the first 48 hours or so.  It was not comfortable sleeping on my stomach, like I often do, unless my right side was raised a bit.  Again, a little sore, not greatly sore.  If I wished, I could take Tylenol for pain, but was to avoid other pain relievers which I shall not list here bc I'm certain to get it wrong.
• I was also to avoid strenuous activity for 3 days.  Lifting anything heavier than 10 lbs. for 5 days.  Blah blah blah.
• They would telephone with results within 3-5 business days.  I got this done Thursday; they called at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning.  The woman calling with 'good news' said this was the best part of her job.  I didn't ask about the worst part; I reckon that's obvious.

I was coming down with something at this time, so was sick for the day after the biopsy and wasn't into showering anyway so all's well that ends well.  And that, dear readers, is the story of one person's breast biopsy.

Mmm Mmm Monday: Preparations Begin

Home sick today with a cold/flu/whatever (I never remember what the difference is).  Today we'll talk strategy.  Kevin now knows that he's been entered into the town's Chili Cook-Off next month.  He took it rather well and when I noted as much he said he was surprised I hadn't entered him earlier.  Well, I had thought of it, but was held back by all that nonsense about him being his own agent, me having no right to commit him to something w/o his knowledge and consent, he might have important and valid reasons for not entering himself in the past, etc. etc.  In other words, morality got in the way yet again, gamely assisted, as is often the case, by overthinking the issue.  Well, what's done is done; we must move forward in common cause.

The cook-off is on Saturday, October 24, beginning at 5:30 p.m., a mere 40 days away.  This affords him several weekends during which to practice his chili.  He doesn't make his chili often.  It's not a go-to meal and it's not something you whip up.  In fact, I can't remember the last time he made it.  Probably over last winter.  He'll make it a few times before the cook-off.  I'm sure I won't forget the next few weeks of chili-mania.

He made a double batch on Saturday.  As noted in the rules & regulations, entrants must provide a minimum of 3 half-size chafing dishes.  That will probably mean a triple batch for Kevin's recipe.  Chili, like so many soups and stews, are best no sooner than the day after they're made.  My take on this first batch is influenced, no doubt, by having a cold/flu/whatever, but here goes:

• nice heat level -- not too strong so as to blow out your nasal passages, not so wimpy as to be unnoticeable

• nice balance between meat and beans

• nice color

• could have a little more moisture to it for visual appeal, although this won't be problematic for the contest bc you get these Dixie cup type portions that don't allow a panoramic view of the chili

• interacted well with tortilla chips

• interacted fairly well with the cheese; I think the cheese might have been a bit wimpy for chili, but that's not the chili's problem; again, prolly not an issue for the contest bc you don't get enough chili to mix in much cheese, chips, cornbread, etc.

• I think it's missing a flavor independent of the heat-producing ingredients.  I'm not sure what I mean here.  Hmmmm, let me think on this.  No, I most definitely don't know what I'm talking about here, but that's never stopped me before.  Maybe it could use a heartier and/or more flavorful base.  Maybe it could use a little sweet to party with the heat.

• Visually,  I like the look of discrete red kidney beans against the meaty background.  I know some chili and bean dishes remove some of the beans during cooking, mash them and then add them back in.  This changes the consistency of the dish.  It also makes some of the beans not so discrete.  I don't know that that would add or detract anything from this recipe; it's a variable to consider, though.

This batch will get some additional feedback from my co-workers.  Co-worker Laura (she of the Thursday Thrift appearance) came by to pick it up a couple of hours ago.  Another co-worker, Joe, just finished his MLIS degree and the staff is having a little celebration (any excuse for Stephanie to make punch).  Kevin made the double batch with the idea that I would bring some in to work today to feed the revelers and get feedback, but I was sick so Laura very kindly came to pick it up.  In the meantime, I will research ways and means to add a flavor, that certain je ne sais quoi, to the chili w/o losing or detracting from the essential chili-ness of the chili.  You understand.

 

Sneaky

Heh.  Kevin doesn't know it yet, but he and his chili have been entered into theBoonton Parks and Recreation 4th annual Chili Cook-Off.  Nyuk nyuk nyuk.