Hayley Daily

This is an Awkward Story

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:53:00 +0000

I have a funny (funny as in slightly different, not funny ha-ha) attitude towards professional recognition.

I believe that recognition comes when you do the right things. Work hard to improve your craft, be a continual learner, be committed to your organization and leadership, make your team shine - these things lead to the right kind of recognition. At least that's been true in my experience.

So it was a difficult thing for me to admit to myself that I hoped to become a Fellow in my industry's professional organization. Part of the Fellowship process is to complete a detailed application, illustrating the reasons you are qualified in a variety of categories.

Ack! Applying for Fellowship meant I'd have to toot my own horn, laud my accomplishments - even worse, brag on myself a bit.

That.Would.Be.Awkward.

And believe me, it was awkward - horribly, terribly so. Even worse was having to ask a group of individuals to write testimonial letters lauding my accomplishments.

I hated it.

But I did it, because I wanted to know if I had what it took to be a Fellow.

So after many angst-filled hours of writing, calling, emailing, revising, designing and revising some more, I sent this off to our national organization:

The interesting part of the application process was in the awkwardness. Sometimes when you avoid singing the "Aren't I great" song, you overlook what you actually have accomplished.

And even more surprising were the things that I learned from reading my recommendation letters. To me, helping others is what you do. I'm not about winning at all costs, hording information and crawling to the top at the expense of others. If I can help you win, then we all win. If I know and can help you learn, we're all better.

It's called being a professional.

But apparently that isn't normal - or at least it's unusual enough that I didn't realize how others perceived what I do and how I do things.

The 10 letters I sourced for my application are some of the most meaningful things I know count among my professional possessions. I learned a great deal about myself by looking through other's eyes.

However, an application process does mean that it continues beyond sending a packet off. For me, that meant six weeks of going on with my life, not thinking much about my application until I started hearing that individuals were receiving phone calls.

Then, one day two weeks ago, I received a phone call. I hid in a small room and cried a little. And my team sent me flowers. My boss sent an email to our firm's leadership and I received congratulatory emails back (another awkward moment). I cried some more.

Last week, a little packet arrived for me from our national organization.

Inside was my official Fellows notification letter and pin:

Despite the awkwardness, this was a journey worth taking.

(Coming soon...more on being a professional. I've been thinking about it lately.)

A Quicker Breakfast Smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:04:00 +0000

I can always tell when the seasons change by noting our typical breakfast.

Fall and winter? We're eating oatmeal, Malt-o-Meal and breakfast sandwiches.

Spring and summer? It's all about cereal, toast and smoothies.

I like to take advantage of the fruit growing season by stocking up on fresh fruit while it's cheap and freezing it for later use. What I hadn't considered doing was premixing smoothie ingredients into separate freezer packs to speed up the morning breakfast preparation.

That's why we have Pinterest, right?

After a recent shopping trip, I dutifully filled freezer bags with a mixture of fruit, using combinations that I already knew we liked. Each bag also included a 1/2 banana to increase the smoothie's texture when blended.

Then on breakfast morning, I pulled the bags out of the freezer before going for a run. This gave them the opportunity to thaw slightly, making blending a bit easier.

From there, it's a simple matter of selecting a juice or milk (or non-milk) base, perhaps some fresh yogurt and other add-ins (this photo shows some of the crazy things we add):

Blend, blend, blend, then pour and serve.

Delicious!

Salad Season

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:54:00 +0000

After enjoying a wonderful lunch with my friend S at Urban Eatz, I had to recreate my lunch salad for dinner.

It is summer in Texas (already) after all, y'all.

The salad is simple:

Mandarin oranges
Purple grapes
Granny Smith apple slices
Chopped pecans
Grilled chicken
Greens
Balsamic vinaigrette

Very spring/summer-y...and filling.

I Have a Friend Today

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:47:00 +0000

Some one's keeping an eye on my comings and goings today:

Going to run... (great time for a fast mile on a muggy morning!)
Coming back home...
Going to work on a project...
Coming back to the sofa for a bit of a rest...
Going out to dinner and Whose Line Is It Anyway...

An all around great Saturday!

Some Mornings

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:32:00 +0000

Some days you wake up raring to go.

Other mornings...

Turning the Other Whisker

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:55:00 +0000

Shhhh...come in here quickly, The Boy said. And bring a camera!!

So off to the bedroom I hurried. This is what I saw:

Unbelievable. A momentary, exhaustion-induced truce.

From the look on the Boo's face, I don't think this closeness will last.

Press On: A Tofu Secret

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:33:00 +0000

The Boy and I love Pei Wei's tofu stir-fries. We also love making stir-fries at home, but have never been able to duplicate the great firm texture of Pei Wei's tofu.

Until last week.

Maybe this isn't news to you, but it was news to The Boy and I: Great tofu starts with great tofu preparation.

Tofu - even "firm" tofu needs to be pressed.

Pressing removes the liquid, yielding a very firm and chewy tofu that will hold its shape when cooked.

To press, simply place paper towels on a plate. Add the tofu, more paper towels, then top with a weighted plate (or skip the plate and simply add something heavy, which is what I did for this test).

Let the tofu press in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or up to eight hours.

Yum!

Cowboy Up...to a Hot Cookie, That Is

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:52:00 +0000

Thank you, Pinterest, for introducing me to another yummy cookie. I don't know whether this is truly the Bush family recipe from their governorship years or not, but the cookie is mighty tasty either way.

Plus the dough freezes really well for cookies-on-demand.

Laura Bush's Texas Governor's Mansion Cowboy Cookies

3 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 T baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1 t salt
1 1/2 c butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1 T vanilla
3 c semisweet chocolate chips
3 c old-fashioned rolled oats
2 c sweetened coconut flakes
2 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In a second bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, blending until just combined. Add the chips, oats, coconut, and pecans and stir until fully incorporated. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased baking sheet, making sure to allow plenty of room between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are set and golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 1-2 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.

Mmmmmm

Original recipe source here.

Rest It Out

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:31:00 +0000

We need rest.

We need rest.

We need rest.

It's become serious business, this need for rest around our house. We're in that kind of mode where we fall asleep around 8:30 pm and barely drag ourselves out of bed at 5 am to start a new day. Weekend activity? Forgetaboutit.

It may be the back-to-back weeks of major races. It may be the back-to-back weeks of long work hour, spilling into normal home time.

Maybe it was a bit of both. Or all of the above.

In any case, last Friday when I headed to bed - just before 9 pm - The Boy mentioned he was getting up to run with the running club the next morning.

I announced that I had no intention of running (I actually haven't run in over a week now). I had one plan for the weekend:

Rest the exhaustion out.

I'd do a bit of cleaning around the house and rest if I felt like I needed it.

I'd run some errands - or not.

I'd sleep until I wanted to get up and go to bed early.

And, of course, it worked. I wouldn't say I'm 100% - it takes a long time to rest out exhaustion, after all. But I'm much, much better.

It's a start.

Foldy No More

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Sun, 12 May 2013 13:33:00 +0000

Remember when I treated myself to lovely new riding boots?

I still love those boots. They are a-ma-zing. But the way they've been living in my closet is a little less-than-amazing. Behold the foldy boots:

Bridget is way too curious

It was time to do something to prop those babies up, so I turned to Pinterest to find an affordable way to keep them in shape. It turns out the overwhelming recommendation was to use a pool noodle.

Less than $2 got me this:

I used an exacto knife to cut the noodle into smaller pieces (having measured the length that I needed for the boots) and, voila!, I had boot shapers:

Simple, easy and very very cheap. That's my kind of project!

A Different Kind of Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:44:00 +0000

Spotted in a hotel lobby during one of our marathon weekends away:

Life in Miniature

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:47:00 +0000

Parklets are fun.

Usually I only see them on PARK(ing) Day in Dallas. So it was a nice surprise to see this one that's popped up outside a cafe near my downtown train stop:

Contemplating Hermitdom

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:28:00 +0000

The Boy and I spent a lot of time talking last weekend about how busy life can get and how "busy," while energizing, can also do serious damage.

Consider how busy impacts your ability to:

Rest
Get "things" done
Find balance
Stay on top of normal chores
Influences desire and motivation

These are definite negative impacts - and we're both struggling with those issues right now.

The ideal solution seems to adopting a hermit lifestyle for a time. Work and home. Running and home. Necessary shopping and home. Visits with friends to stay sane and home.

But dashing here and there multiple nights a week? Gone.

Doing this and seeing that? On hold.

Hopefully at some point we'll be able to regain balance to the degree where we can feel in balance without the need to go to extremes.

In the meantime, we'll be home.

Journalists: We Still Need You

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Wed, 08 May 2013 11:12:00 +0000

A week ago, a hacker took over the AP Twitter account and posted a message about the US president being attacked. The stock market went on a nose dive.

A few weeks ago, hundreds of thousands of people watched the Boston Marathon "live" via Twitter. Millions then followed developments regarding the horrific bombings via Twitter.

The same can be said for nearly any recent story. We're getting news in a new way. Television news continues to warp into entertain-news to fill the 24/7 news cycle and attempt to capture the fickle interest of viewers. Meanwhile, anyone with an opinion can post a comment on Facebook or Twitter, claiming it is "fact."

The interesting thing is that it's easy to be led astray by the entertain-news and pseudo-factoids online.

Until it matters.

When a bombing happens. Or a fertilizer plant explosion. Or the attempted assassination of a world leader. Or the outster of a controversial CEO.

Entertain-news and pseudo-factoids can't address the real news that affects real life. Sources that are checked and double checked before being shared. Accurate information in real time.

And that's why I follow real journalists on Twitter.

Despite the decimation of news rooms and discouraging outlook facing J-school graduates, I want to reiterate one thing:

Journalists - we still need you.

We Saw Elvis

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:20:00 +0000

Really - we did. Last week, in fact.

My friend, J, and I were walking to the train and Elvis walked right past us. He was looking a little worse for wear, in a business suit with his tie askew. He also had on a string of Mardi Gras beads.

(I'm not really sure what the beads were about.)

In case you think I'm crazy, we weren't the only ones who saw him. When we got to the street corner, we stood with three other people who'd also seen Elvis.

They told us that Elvis had almost gotten hit while jaywalking through the intersection.

(Does that man live dangerously or what?)

Said one guy: Yep. Today Elvis almost died for the second time.

One thing's for certain - working downtown is never boring.

Fixing a Running Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:39:00 +0000

This isn't about running form or sore feet or chafing.

No, this is about another running problem: Rust stains.

Sometimes you're given bum safety pins to attach the race bib to your shirt. Unfortunately, you don't know that you have bum safety pins until after you remove the pins and find that your massive amounts of sweat have left this on your shirt:

Bummer.

That's what happened to The Boy. On a new running shirt. He asked me if I could figure out how to remove the stain.

Let me tell you, it's never a good thing when the first Google result tells you that "Rust stains are among the most difficult to remove from clothing."

Right then I was determined to conquer the rust - for The Boy and for my pride.

After the required "difficult" disclaimer, Google told me to try a combination of salt, lemon juice and sunshine.

First, sprinkle salt on the stains:

Then add lemon juice:

Set the garment in direct sunlight until the juice dries.

Then wash as normal. Before I tossed the shirt in the dryer (after which any remaining stain would have been set for-ev-er), I took a look.

What do you know? No stain.

VICTORY!!!

My required disclaimer: I would be nervous about trying this technique on a colored shirt, as the treatment would probably discolor the material.

Not Wait-Waiting Forever

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:01:00 +0000

The Boy and I love listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR each week. We both want to see the show during a live taping in Chicago - I've even put it on my 101 list.

When I found out that Wait Wait planned a live cinecast (satellite broadcast of the show's taping) nationwide, I tweeted some girlfriends and made plans to go.

Sure, it wasn't the same as sitting live in the theater in Chicago. But it was pretty awesome all the same.

Now on to Chicago for that elusive live in-person experience...

This is Not Happening Today

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:31:00 +0000

It seems rather odd to say this, but The Boy is not running a marathon today.

He has, after all, run a marathon each of the last three weekends. But this weekend is dedicated to rest. Neither of us even felt up to running a 5k race today.

Rest. It's important.

However, I did want to mention last week's marathon - a first-ever (of course).

The Inaugural Irving Marathon and Half Marathon has a bit of work to do on logistics (start time, lack of water/cups issues, a course that has 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon runners looping back on one another on narrow trails), but otherwise was a lot of fun. Great volunteers (extremely important), great sponsors (special shout out to la Madeleine for the masses of fruit, coffee and bread) and a convenient location.

And it had a very cool medal. That's a big plus in my book.

Can you believe the number of steps
I got that day from running?

Sad and Lonely

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:51:00 +0000

I'm not sad and lonely. At least not often.

But this is:

I just know that within days of throwing this poor sock away - a sock that has been matchless for several months - its mate will reappear, like the Rip Van Winkle of sockland to taunt me.

So there it sits. Sad and lonely on my dresser.

How long to hold out hope?

April

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:20:00 +0000

15 days

3 marathons

1 man

I Have Made a Terrible Mistake

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

The Boy is crazy. Certifiable.

Why do I say that? Because:

Last week he texted our little tribe and said he wished he could run another marathon this weekend. (Note: he just ran a marathon last week...and the week before.)

He said that he felt like "running like crazy." Of course, we all thought he was just plain crazy.

Or, as one of the tribe noted, he has a "permanent case of runner's brain."

I said that there weren't any marathons nearby and I didn't want to travel this weekend, so he'd just have to survive running like crazy outside of a race environment.

Coincidentally, later that day I received a local running club promotional email that highlighted this weekend's running events.

And that's when I made a terrible mistake.

One of the events was the Irving Inaugural Marathon.

[ Do you remember that I've mentioned The Boy likes first-evers? ]

I forwarded the email to The Boy with a "ha ha...look at this...there IS a local marathon and it's an inaugural event" note.

I will repeat: I made a terrible mistake.

Where do you think I'll be tomorrow morning? If you said "In Irving, cheering for The Boy as he runs the first-ever Irving Marathon," you would be right.

Of course, I'll cheer for him after I finish running the first-ever Irving Half-Marathon.

Birds of a feather and all.

Public Service Announcement for Pinterest Recipe Followers

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:05:00 +0000

The announcement is this: The following recipe is terrible. You should not waste your time pinning it, let alone making it.

I've been looking for a way to quickly make cinnamon rolls (outside of buying them, which is very fast indeed). I have an excellent never-fail cinnamon roll recipe that takes an extraordinary amount of time - truth be told, it just takes more time than I have to dedicate to the process most days.

That's why I've not made my famous cinnamon rolls for The Boy. He's a little bitter about that.

And that's why when I saw a tasty-looking recipe on Pinterest for "Quick Cinnamon Rolls," I pinned it and gave it a shot.

The result? They are terrible. The inside is good (but it's hard to go wrong with butter and sugar), but the rolls are a doughy mess.

Awful.

I'll give you the recipe, but please note that I only recommend the filling. Use another recipe for the rolls themselves.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

aka A Recipe to Ruin Your Breakfast

4 c flour
4 T white sugar
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t Kosher salt
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c buttermilk

In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients then cut in butter and mix until the dough is crumbly. Add buttermilk and mix until a nice dough forms. Place dough on a floured surface, knead a little, and roll into a big, big rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.

Filling

1/2 c butter, softened
2 c brown sugar
2 T cinnamon
1 c chopped nuts (optional)

Spread the dough with the butter and then sprinkle with the filling ingredients. Roll the dough length-wise and slice into 14 evenly sized buns. Place 7 buns each in two greased 8 inch cake pans. Bake for 16-18 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Top with icing of your choice.

Looks can be deceiving

A Storybook Bed

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:07:00 +0000

I didn't take my personal pillow to Killeen for our overnight stay - everyone else in our group did.

Often I do take my pillow because it's easier to sleep on a familiar pillow. (Seriously. At least three other people that I know will agree with me.)

But I didn't this time because, honestly, I just couldn't be bothered. I told our group I would just use everyone else's hotel-provided pillows if I felt my hotel-provided pillow was insufficient.

And that explains why I found this after I showered:

I felt very Princess and the Pea-ish.

Which just goes to prove that I am, in fact, a princess - just as I always knew.

The Boy Likes First-Evers

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:02:00 +0000

When our friend, J, asked The Boy if he wanted to run the Army Marathon with him over the weekend, The Boy said no.

He was running a marathon the week before, he hadn't budgeted for another marathon fee (you'd think torturing yourself for 26.2 miles would come at a slightly lower price tag) and it just seemed best to skip the race.

That was fine, replied J. He just thought The Boy might be interested in running it since it was the Inaugural Army Marathon.

Wow, does J know The Boy or what. He had him at "inaugural."

The Boy loves to run first-ever races - actually, he likes to run first-ever races and then continue running them so he can stay on a "has run every year" list. That's why he keeps running the Tyler Rose Marathon despite yearly epic failures by the race organizers.

And that's why money was found in the budget and the Hayleys found themselves in Killeen, Texas (next to Fort Hood) so The Boy could run his second marathon in an eight day stretch.

He decided it would be wiser to serve as J's pacer than to push himself for a possible fast race.

So he stuck with that plan, and J stuck with him, for the entire race.

They had a great race - for the second marathon in a row, The Boy paced J to a personal best. In my opinion, they both are pretty awesome.

And, of course, because it was the first ever you can be sure that we'll be in Killeen next year for the second annual Army Marathon.

Because that's how The Boy rolls...er, runs.

A Race in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Shannah) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 12:49:00 +0000

It's high time I wrote about our great race experience last weekend.

(Particularly since the crazy Boy is running another marathon today. Yes: today.)

We drove to Kansas to participate in the Eisenhower Half and Full Marathon. The Boy needed a redemption marathon after having to pull out of the Dallas Marathon because of his Devastating Injury (DI).

He suggested we stay with my parents for the weekend to squeeze in some family time. Since the race was just 40 minutes away (door-to-starting line), it was a great plan.

The fun thing about smaller races is that you really have a chance to experience what makes a community great.

For example, The Boy has run the Tyler Rose Marathon for the past three years. This is a fairly small event(usually around 200 marathoners and 1000 half-marathoners). The turnout from the city to watch the race is quite small as well - family will come and watch, but otherwise it's a race without much fanfare.

The Eisenhower - another small marathon with less than 200 marathoners and around 300 half-marathoners - on the other hand shows the very best of small town life. Everywhere we looked, businesses had signs up thanking runners and welcoming us to town.

Ranchers patrolled the course on horseback, encouraging runners. A local retirement home, the Brown Memorial Home for the Aged, rang song after song on its bell tower through the entire race. Boy Scouts and youth groups offered water, Gatorade, fruit and granola bars at every water stop.

It was an awesome, awesome race.

And can I just say that there's nothing like approaching the final mile and spotting your family members standing on the corner, shouting "GO AUNT SHANNAH!!" and getting the entire crowd standing with them to shout "GO AUNT SHANNAH!!" as well?

Awesome. I'm pretty sure that's why I finished in my fastest half marathon time ever - 2:29. That my friends is a full 11 minutes faster than my last half marathon.

Take that broken foot. I'm officially over you.

The Boy had a good race as well, though the strong Kansas spring sunshine came out and took some steam out of his racing engine around mile 20. Instead of hitting a new PR, he still finished in the top 20% of runners with a very respectable marathon time of 3:50.

It's also awesome, I might add, to have the race organizers feed you breakfast before the race and a huge pancake and sausage brunch afterwards. (Note to people who aren't from Kansas - it's the breadbasket of America and there's nothing like a Kansas wheat pancake.)

The only thing that makes it more awesome is to eat that great brunch with the best-ever cheer squad.

All in all, the Eisenhower Marathon gets four enthusiastic thumbs up - The Boy notes that he's pumped to be able to actually give a thumbs-up after the DI - from us. We would definitely make the seven-hour trip to Abilene to run it again.

And, since this is posting as The Boy is running a marathon today, I'd like to give him a special shout-out for a great race.

I really like him.

Thanks to my dad for the excellent snaps. The ones that look crisp and clear are his. The two that have funky color and are slightly blurred are courtesy of my iPhone.