The New Me

Because Pinning > Planning

2012-01-25T07:10:00.001-06:00

Our wedding is less than ten months away. I keep telling myself that ten months is plenty of time to plan a wedding, but whenever I make the mistake of saying this out loud, people universally look at me like I'm crazy. I decided that I should probably start planning for real, and emailed a few more venues on Long Island - most of which were already booked for November 10, 2012. What?! I thought for sure our date was non-traditional enough that we would have the pick of all the best things at all the best prices, but I guess not. I guess, also, that I better start planning for real.

And so last week, I started. We still don't have a venue, a photographer, a DJ, a bridal party, a caterer, centerpieces, favors, decor, invitations, a suit for Nathan, or wedding rings. What do we have? I'm glad you asked. So far, I have a dress and a fiancee. Since those are the two most important things when it comes to a wedding, I feel like I'm not completely hopeless.

I also have a Pinterest account, and this past week I have been pinning like a mad-lady. My hands are pretty much tied until we get the venue settled (photographer, DJ, bridal party, caterer, etc, will all depend upon where the wedding will be) so in the meantime I am gathering ideas and inspiration like it's my part time internship. And so, in lieu of an actual wedding update, here are some current favorite pins.

Right now, I am leaning towards red as a the primary color for the wedding. I wanted to choose a color that had an autumnal feel (to honor the November-ness of the wedding) and red seems a good choice. Plus, if I choose orange or brown my potential bridesmaids would go on strike. (I have a shameful history with the color brown, dating back to monochromatic outfits in undergrad. It was a sad time for my wardrobe.) The dresses above are the opposite of shameful, and I really like the patterned look. It's whimsical and a little unexpected.

This dress is a little more traditional, but no less lovely. The rich red gives it some life, the capped sleeves are adorable, and I could imagine any lady wearing this dress again, which I think is important. Reduce, reuse, recycle! Plus my sisters (who are definitely in the bridal party) have already approved this one.

Here is a secret: I have pinned a million ideas for table settings and not one wedding dress. This is partly I already have a wedding dress, but mostly because I LOVE TABLE SETTINGS. There's something about an artfully decorated table, with neatly folded napkins and gorgeous centerpieces, that makes me swoon. I love the paper lanterns in this one and will definitely figure out a cheap way to do table runners. I also like the way big balloons look when they are strung along the ceiling, but the amount of plastic that would require makes me uncomfortable.

I'm not exactly sure what is going on with this centerpiece, but I like it. I want to incorporate touches of the natural world into our decor, not because rustic is trendy, but because for us, it's real. We work in the yard, we camp all the time, we care about the environment, we are getting chickens and bees and built a worm hotel. I demand a nature-off with other faux-rustic brides and grooms. Whoever wins gets the bird cake.

Pinerest is full of ideas for food-related favors, and I could not be more pleased. I especially like the idea of jam, because I could make it myself this summer and it would be adorable and delicious. (This is probably a terrible idea as far as my sanity goes, but let me dream for a moment.)

The cake is the other thing we've got figured out. One of my best ladies from undergrad, Ella, has become a very accomplished cake decorator these last few years. You can visit her blog to see some of her creations. She did Scott and Mel's cake two years ago and it was gorgeous. Oh, and we're totally doing cupcakes. I don't care if it's trendy. Cupcakes are the best.

Flowers. Because wedding ~~planning~~ pinning requires one to think about more than just food and centerpieces. Unfortunately.

Starving Artist's Garlic Ginger Peanut Sauce

2012-01-24T09:23:00.000-06:00

I have another cheap and fast recipe for you today, perfect for the starving artists out there. I am calling this one, "Garlic Ginger Peanut Sauce," because the longer the name, the better the recipe. Amirite?

Over the weekend I wanted to make something fast and tasty. We had two half empty jars of store bought peanut sauce in the fridge and, while convenient, they are full of chemicals, preservatives, and various other things I cannot pronounce and hope are, at the very least, not derived from animals. After some searching with my trusty Google, I learned that homemade peanut sauces take minimal time and effort. Best of all, I had all the ingredients on hand - which is what makes this sauce a starving artist's dream. Listen, when you're busy writing/painting/singing/dancing/CREATING, there is no time left to run to the store for a last minute ingredient. The starving artist must learn to make do.

I served the sauce on udon noodles, with sauteed tofu, broccoli, and a few shallots that had seen better days. The whole meal came together in about twenty minutes, but only because I chose to saute the broccoli instead of steaming it. I like tender broccoli.

Starving Artist's Garlic Ginger Peanut Sauce
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

You will need:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup of non-dairy milk (I like almond best)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
a few drops of hot sauce (to taste)

Directions:
Saute the garlic and ginger in a little oil for about two minutes, or until fragrant.

Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk so they are thoroughly combined. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more milk. Heat on medium-low until warmed through.

Oh, and if you ever wondered where I take my foodie photos, wonder no more. Edge of my counter, next to the kitchen door, with my cooking mess pushed to one side. I'm such a professional.

Cleaning, Cooking, and Karaoke

2012-01-23T08:39:00.002-06:00

The birthday girl gets her groove on.

This past weekend was all about three things, and if you read the title of this post you may have already guessed what they were. If not, here is a hint: cleaning, cooking, and karaoke. First, the karaoke.

I don't know this guy, but I wish I did.

On Saturday night, we celebrated my friend Sally's birthday. She is the youngest person in our whole MFA program and it seemed the whole program came out in honor of her hitting the big 2-3. There was a pre-party at a friend's apartment, followed by mass migration to the bars of downtown Wilmington. We ended the night at the karaoke bar, where many people sang loudly and passionately (oh, the passion!). If you're wondering what my signature karaoke song is, I hope you're prepared for disappointment: I don't sing karaoke. I lack both musical talent and stage presence, and you have to have one or the other (but preferably not both) in order to entertain a karaoke crowd. I like to think I make up for my lack of performance by being an enthusiastic/drunk audience member.

We were at the bars until 2am (I KNOW!) and woke late on Sunday, only mild hungover, to a cold, wet, and gray morning. After our usual routine of coffee-dog park-pancakes, Nathan and I each settled in to our respective computers. I had a bunch of writing to do (I'm working on an essay about roller derby AND a short story about - what else? - love) and Nathan had homework for his EMT course. He's taking EMT classes at the local community college because medical skills are vital to apocalypse training, and because he's considering going all the way and becoming a paramedic. And because, let's face it, we are a couple addicted to education. More degrees now, please!

In between writing and revising and writing some more, I did a ton of cooking and baking. I would write for an hour or two, then recover in the kitchen, then return to the desk, then back to the kitchen. It was a nice way to break up my writing time and a good way to let my creative powers rejuvenate. I ended up making: a batch of high protein blueberry muffins (secret ingredient - brown rice protein powder), a double batch of cherry sage vegan sausages, and twice baked potatoes with butternut squash (recipe coming soon). It was all delicious and now I have lots of food in my fridge as well as lots of words on the page.

As soon as I post this, I'm going to pour myself another cup of coffee and settle in for two hours of writing. I rarely write for such a long, unbroken period of time, but I think it'll be good for me. I'm going to look at it as endurance training for the brain. And after that, I'm going for a tempo run. Today's writing will be broken up by exercise, which is probably smart considering all that food in my fridge.

Hope you all had a great weekend and are gearing up for a productive and fulfilling week. And we're off!

(I just realized I didn't tell you about the cleaning part of my weekend, but that's really no great loss. In a nutshell: our house was a wreck and now it's not, but it will surely be a wreck again soon. This is, of course, how things go.)

Tracking Your Workouts with RunningAhead

2012-01-20T07:30:00.001-06:00

When I was marathon training, before my ITB troubles began, I was posting running recaps each Monday morning. I liked the system but felt a little silly doing it when my runs went from "Awesome six mile tempo workout!" to "Three slow and painful and depressing miles." Plus I like to post about my weekends on Monday, and running was taking up that slot. (I know, I know. My love of schedules gets out of hand sometimes.) Even though I'm no longer training for something huge, I do like blogging about running and yoga and kettlebell. Therefore, I've decided to write some exercise posts on Fridays for a few weeks and see how it goes. ("Fitness Fridays!" Too much?)

This week, I wanted to let you know about my running progress and also tell you about the tool I've been using to track my running and workouts. Once upon a time I was a dailymile devotee, logging countless miles on the site, talking to other runners about training, and gleaning advice that helped guide me through my first half and full marathons. It was a very helpful tool and I highly recommend it.

However, it got to the point where I was spread too thin in the social network department and realized I needed to make some cuts. Dailymile was the first to go. Instead, I started using RunningAhead, which my friend Chip recommended.

Click to enlarge.

RunningAhead lets you keep track of a variety of exercises, but it really shines when it comes to running. You can enter different kinds of workouts (tempo, long run, intervals) as well as race results, and it will keep a handy tally of your cumulative miles for the week, month, and year, as well as a list of personal records. You can also look at your training laid out on a calendar (see screenshot above) which is helpful.

Charts! My favorite!

There is an option to make your account public so you can share it with others, but since I was trying to limit my social networking I opted to keep mine private. I've been using RunningAhead for about a year and have found it suits my needs (keep track of everything! no funny people distracting me from work! pretty charts and graphs!) very nicely indeed. It's also free, so check it out!

As for my workouts this week, here's the run down beginning with last Friday:

Friday: Five miles around the lake with Lucy. It was my long, slow distance for the week and I felt pretty good. Having company helped distract me from the cold and my bum knee. Average pace: 10:46

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: Another five mile run, this time with Nathan. This run was longer and faster than I've been running and I struggled a bit, especially around mile two. My endurance is not what it was. C'est la vie. Average pace: 9:46

Monday: Kettlebell/Spin at the YMCA. That's 30 minutes of kettlebell followed by 30 minutes of spin. Does anyone else hate spin as much as I do? It's so brutal and I feel like my heart is going to explode out of my chest, fly across the room, and knock the instructor off her bike. Sometimes - especially during hill repeats - I sort of wish it would.

Tuesday: Vinyasa flow at the YMCA. My shoulders and chest were killing me from kettlebell and all those chataraungas did not help.

Wednesday: Long, slow run for the week. I moved it up to Wednesday because I was still too sore for kettlebell and wanted to give my upper body a break. I covered six miles at an average pace of 9:56.

Thursday: Rest. Thursdays are my busiest day of the week and I think they will often be rest days. Might be a good idea to continue doing long runs on Wednesday, if that's the case.

DIY Worm Hotel in Six Simple Steps

2012-01-19T06:56:00.002-06:00

Our raised beds have been built. Our compost is happily rotting away. But we still don't techincally have soil yet. You see, the soil in Wilmington is mostly sand, and we needed something more nutritious for our garden. Worm castings (basically worm poop) are a nutrient-rich source of organic fertilizer, so we bought some worms and put them in our raised beds. Worms, however, can be expensive and we needed a lot. Enter: the worm hotel.

With a worm hotel, we could colonize our own creepy crawlers and keep our garden stocked and healthy, with the added bonus of having some new friends. And this is exactly what I did last Saturday.

DIY Worm Hotel in Six Simple Steps
(We basically followed the instructions found here, with a few alterations)

You will need:
Two 8-10 gallon dark colored plastic storage bins
A drill with 1/4" and 1/16" drill bits
Shredded newspaper
A few handfuls of leaves, dirt and finely chopped kitchen compost
One pound of redworms

Directions:

1. Using the 1/4" drill bit, drill 30 evenly spaced holes into the bottom of both bins. These holes will provide drainage and allow the worms to crawl to the second bin when you are ready to harvest the castings. I drilled from both ends to get rid of the jagged bits of plastic, as I didn't want my worms to injure themselves.

2. Using the 1/16" drill bit, drill ventilation holes at one inch intervals along the upper perimeter of each bin. Using the same drill bit, drill about 50 small holes in only one of the lids. The bins are done! Now it's time to prepare the bedding.

3. Begin by shredding newspaper into one inch strips. I used my paper shredder for this step, which was very convenient. Next, briefly soak the newspaper in water, then squeeze the excess water out before placing it in the bin. You (and the worms!) want bedding that is moist but not soggy. Cover the bottom of the bin with 3-4 inches of moist newspaper, fluffed up. Next, add the leaves, soil, and kitchen compost, so the worms have something to snack on while they enjoy their hotel stay. Finally, add the worms to the mix and watch as they immediately begin burrowing away from the light and into their new home.

4. Cut a piece of cardboard so it will fit snugly in the bin, over the worms and their bedding. Run water over the cardboard so it's wet, then place it in the bin. The worms love cardboard and it will break down within a few months.

Worm hotel: phase one

5. Place your worm hotel in a well-ventilated area. We're keeping ours in the kitchen, next to the trashcan, so we can easily add our kitchen compost as we create it. Elevate the bin by placing it on blocks or bricks to allow for drainage, and use the lid of the second bin to catch whatever drips down. This "worm tea" is a great liquid fertilzer.

6. Feed the worms! Start slowly - as the worms multiply, you can add more food. Gently bury the food (we're using kitchen compost) in different sections of the bin each week - burying it will help keep fruit flies away. Also, from what I've read worms are pretty much vegan, so give them things like vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds, bread and grains, and fruit. Avoid meat, dairy, oils, and feces.

Worm hotel: phase two

Here's the part that confused me slightly, but after reading it a few times it makes more sense. At first, you will be filling up one bin. When that bin is full, you'll start using the second bin. To get the worms to crawl from the first bin into the second, place new bedding material in the second bin and place it directly on the compost surface of the first bin. Begin burying food scraps in the second bin and, in one to two months, the worms will have migrated to the second bin through the holes you drilled in the bottom. Once the worms have taken up residence in their new hotel, the bottom bin will contain worm free vermicompost that you can put directly into your garden. (You may have a few stragglers, but that's okay.) Obviously I am not yet at this step (the above photo was just for demonstration) but I will let you know if it works, when it works.

And that, my friends, is how you build a worm hotel. Happy composting!

No worms or dogs were harmed in the taking of this photo.

The Importance of Schedules

2012-01-18T08:18:00.000-06:00

I am reading Annie Dillard's The Writing Life for a class, and I find myself dog-earring every chapter, reading passages aloud to Nathan, and highlighting 3/4 of every page. My favorite section thus far is Dillard's thoughts on schedules. It is well documented that I thrive on habits and traditions - that daily goals, weekly calendars, and long term plans make me productive which, in turn, makes me happy. Often I feel this is a flaw in personality - what about adventure, spontaneity, whimsical adventures? Sure, those lead to memorable days but, as Annie says in another part of her book, good days don't necessarily add up to a good life. And friends, I am interested in a good life. Which means I welcome adventure. I just need to pencil it in a week beforehand.

But enough about me. Let's hear from Ms. Dillard.

I have been looking into schedules. Even when we read physics, we inquire of each least particle, What then shall I do this morning? How we spend our days, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order - willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living. Each day is the same, so you remember the series afterward as a blurred and powerful pattern.

Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

"A blurred and powerful pattern." Now that's a life I can get behind.

Starving Artist's Red Lentil Dahl

2012-01-17T14:14:00.002-06:00

I'm thinking of starting a new series, wherein I cook, eat, and then post about recipes which are easy, fast, delicious, and most of all CHEAP. This may or may not have something to do with my paltry teaching assistant stipend, my credit card debt, my shrinking savings account, and paying for a wedding. Really, though, do you need a good reason to save some money at the grocery store? I didn't think so.

Consider, then, this recipe first in the Starving Artist series. On Saturday night, I was planning to make a vegetable pot pie from scratch, but after a long day working in the yard, something simpler and faster sounded better. I remembered reading somewhere that red lentil dahl is made mostly from pantry staples, so I did some Googling and quickly found a recipe. Sure enough I had all the ingredients on hand, plus a bag of rice and some frozen peas to round out the meal. Thirty minutes later, dinner was on the table and it was AMAZING. This combination of Indian spices, velvety red lentils, and fluffy basmati rice is a verifiable winner. Nathan swore he would learn to make it himself, and cook it himself every week. I don't know if I'd want to eat it that often, but it's nice to know I could certainly afford to.

Starving Artist's Red Lentil Dahl
(adapted from about.com)

1 Tsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp red pepper
1 tsp salt, or to taste
cilantro for garnish (optional)

1. In medium sized pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.

2. Stirring constantly, add the broth, lentils, spices and salt. Bring to a low boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are very tender.

3. If the dahl is too thick, add water, but don't let it get too soupy. Thicker is better. I spooned mine over basmati rice, topped it with liberal amounts of cilantro, and served it with green peas.

Weekend Adventures

2012-01-16T06:13:00.002-06:00

Brownies make every party better.

This past weekend was a good mix of busy and not-so-busy, productive and sit-on-the-couch. In other words, my kind of weekend.

We started our adventures on Friday, but heading over to the house of two friends who also happened to be recently engaged. It's been fun having a friend here in town to discuss wedding planning with. They got engaged over the Christmas holiday and are planning a May wedding. On the one hand, I think they are crazy. On the other, they're getting it over and done with so quickly - I'm maybe a little jealous. At any rate, they invited a small group over for homemade pizza, wine, and a small fire in the backyard. It was a cold night, but we huddled around the flames and sipped our beverages to stay warm. My favorite my kind of night.

Pizza topped with roasted sweet potato. Carb love.

Backyard bonfire.

Saturdays is becoming our dedicated yard and garden day. This week we tilled the raised beds, turning over the leaves and compost so they will decompose and transform themselves into healthy soil faster. We also took a trip to Progressive Gardens, our new favorite gardening store, where we bought a pound of earthworms and received a free gallon of compost tea. Delicious!

Progressive Gardens.

The compost tea was actually for the gardens (gotcha!) and the earthworms were for our worm hotel. Well, our future worm hotel. That was my project for the day. I found some simple directions online, bought the materials and the worms, armed myself with the drill, and spent the afternoon constructing a home for our new wiggly friends. Building a worm hotel has actually been on my life list for an absurdly long time, so it felt good to finally cross that item off. Plus, the worms seem to like their new digs (har, har). Everyone's a winner!

Artsy drill bits.

Hello, friend!

I documented the construction of the worm hotel thoroughly and plan to write a separate post about it. For now, just know it was very easy and very cheap and I did the whole thing by myself. I'm really growing up.

On Sunday, I didn't do much of anything. Wait, that's not true. I just didn't do anything worth photographing. There was some writing in the morning (I'm working on a creative nonfiction piece about roller derby that gets clunkier every time I touch it - sigh), some reading (The Writing Life by Annie Dillard - amazing), some running (another five miler, for a grand total of 13 last week - don't call it a comeback), and tea + toast (I was inexplicably nauseous after my run and lounged on the couch for a few hours, which seemed to fix things). A good Sunday and a great weekend, and now I'm ready for a productive week. Hope you all feel the same!

PS - Raquelita alerted me to the fact that Blogger now has a reply feature on it's commenting system. Since replies were the main reason I was using Disqus, I've decided to go back to Blogger comments. Which means the order of some of my older comments are a little mixed up, but everything should look okay from here on out. If you notice anything weird, let me know!

How the NYT Can Wreck Yoga

2012-01-11T06:15:00.000-06:00

Objective reporting at it's finest.

If you practice yoga even casually, then I'm sure ten people have already forwarded you the recent New York Times article, "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body." If you haven't read it, allow me to summarize: it turns out, yoga can hurt you. Especially if you allow your ego to take over and push yourself to do poses that you are not ready for. In very rare cases, people who practice yoga have suffered strokes, needed spinal surgery, and/or required extensive rehabilitation after yoga-related injuries. Yoga can cause more harm than good, and only a select section of the population should even attempt it.

A few things.

1. The article is an excerpt from a book by William J. Broad, titled The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards, due out next month. It's only fair to note that this excerpt focuses solely on the risks, without even touching on the rewards. This leads me to think the NYT chose the most controversial section of the book in order to drum up interest and increase their page clicks. People love reading about how things commonly believed to be good for you (yoga, running, spinach) can actually kill you. It helps them rationalize their unhealthy habits and sedentary lifestyles.

2. OF COURSE YOGA CAN CAUSE INJURIES. Especially if you have a bad instructor (they're definitely out there), if you turn yoga into a competition, and if you force yourself into poses you have no business being in. I have been practicing for years and in downward dog, my heels still don't touch the floor. My hips are always tight and I can't hold Warrior II for as long as the rest of the class. So you know what I do? I come out of it. I make adjustments. It's not rocket science.

3. And then there's this quote from Glenn Black, a yoga instructor who is interviewed extensively for the piece: “My message was that ‘Asana is not a panacea or a cure-all. In fact, if you do it with ego or obsession, you’ll end up causing problems.’ A lot of people don’t like to hear that.” Those people, who don't like to hear that? Those are (mostly) the people getting injured. The majority of people who practice yoga, who have found solace on their mat, mental clarity from the poses, relaxation in savasana, compassion for themselves and others in their practice? Those are the people who have been healed by yoga, in ways that go beyond the mere physical.

Plow pose. Not my friend.

This is not to say that I have never hurt myself in yoga. Plow pose in particular is one that I know my body doesn't like. Even though I can get into it, my lower back is sore for hours after and my muscles seize up in a way that makes it hard to lie flat on the ground or bend forward at the waist. When the rest of the class flips into Plow, I have to remind myself that it's not my pose and do something that is kinder to my body. Sometimes it's a struggle to stay put, but that's part of yoga - knowing your limits and respecting them.

Last year, I went to an Ashtanga workshop with Ricky Tran, a fairly well known yoga instructor in Texas. He said, over and over, to the point where it was nearly a mantra: "Yoga can cure anything, except injuries caused by yoga." I'm paraphrasing, but not by much. While there are some people out there for whom yoga is not the right exercise, I am of the belief that the majority of people would benefit from some time on the mat, under the guidance of a well-trained and knowledgeable instructor.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this - do you practice yoga? Have you been injured on the mat? Has yoga helped you get over any physical ailments? How many times have you been forwarded this article? Personally, I credit a regular yoga practice with keeping me injury-free through two marathon training cycles. It was only when I stopped practicing as often that my ITB began acting up. For me, yoga cures, and I trust my own experience more than a slanted article in the New York Times.

Where to Wed? That is the Question.

2012-01-10T09:53:00.000-06:00

It makes sense that the item on our Wedding-To-Do-List currently causing us the biggest headache is, physically, the biggest thing. That's right: the venue.

We could go the easy route and rent a banquet hall, reserve a church, or call up the closest country club and be done with it. But Nathan and I are not most people. We are determined to get hitched in a place that is different. Unique. Personal. Unfortunately we've decided to get married on Long Island, which is probably the least unique (and most expensive!) place on the planet. Still, there are some interesting venues to be found. I did some preliminary searching while I was home for the holidays and ended up visiting three places - two of which we decided against, one of which is a definite maybe.

Venue #1: The Long Island Museum

PROS: The Long Island Museum has a great exhibit of carriages, which is strange enough to spark interesting small talk, but not so bizarre that our families will disown us. I liked the dark wood paneling in the carriage museum and the strangeness of the carriages themselves. Also, the site fee was right within our budget. CONS: The best place to hold the ceremony was outdoors, which just won't do for a November wedding. The alternate room we could use instead looked like a school cafeteria. And the largest room, which we could use for the reception, was not big enough for dinner and a dance floor, and I must have dancing at my wedding. VERDICT: If we were having a smaller, summertime wedding, it would be a strong contender. But we're not, so it isn't.

Venue #2: The Barn

PROS: I love the idea of getting married in a barn - if that's not Nathan and Chrissy, then I don't know what is. The area where it's located is beautiful, there are cows in a nearby field, and the barn itself has a lovely rustic charm. CONS: The barn isn't heated, so we'd have to figure that out. The barn is also kind of small, so we'd have to rent a tent and tables and chairs for dinner. Which would be okay, except the site fee (for what is essentially an unheated, bare bones barn) is $4,000. I don't care how cute your barn is - that is just way too high. Also the bathrooms are located in a trailer outside (it's actually a really nice trailer, but still) and there's no where for me to hang out with the bridal party prior to the actual marriage. VERDICT: If the site fee were cheaper, I would find a way to make it work. As it is, they are charging too much for too little. Bye, bye barn.

Venue #3: The Science Museum of Long Island

PROS: The "museum" is actually a science activity center that offers educational workshops for children, and it's located inside a gorgeous old house on a nature preserve with a beautiful view of the bay. The site fee is pricey but not ridiculous ($2,000) and there are a few different spots for dinner, dancing, drinking, and - if the weather is nice - wandering around the beautiful grounds. There is a full kitchen for the caterers, a room upstairs where I could get ready before the ceremony, an old-timey staircase for photos, and multiple bathrooms. CONS: We'd still have to rent a tent, in which we would have the ceremony and then, after dinner, the dancing. If it's a cold or rainy day (which is a strong possibility in November) a lot of the things I love about this place wouldn't be so lovely (the grounds and the big front porch, mostly). I would prefer the dining and dancing were in the same room, so that people who don't want to dance could at least watch the young people making fools of themselves, but I guess we could put some chairs in the tent. VERDICT: We're keeping this one on the maybe list, unless we find something better. The house is unique while still being functional, the price is right, and there's a lot of room for creativity. It could definitely work.

I'm planning to visit Long Island again in March for a few days during spring break, and by then I hope to have a few more options to look at. My goal is to have a venue secured before I come back to North Carolina. Wish me luck! (And if you know of any cool, weird, and awesome places on Long Island that I've overlooked, please share!)

Pain, Progress, and Starting Over

2012-01-09T07:41:00.003-06:00

Over a month ago, I set the goal to run a four hour marathon on March 18, 2012. I began training and documenting my progress here, but right before Christmas I started experiencing pain on the outside of my left knee. After consulting Dr. Google and a few running friends, it was pretty clear that the problem was my IT band - a common running injury that can usually be blamed on over training. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what I did.

I got really excited about marathon training. I used a plan that was more demanding than any I had followed in the past. I was running more miles and doing less yoga and cross training. I was running too fast on most of my workouts. I got injured. I couldn't run. It sucked.

Last week, I ran a grand total of ten miles. My long run was four miles and at the end of it, my knee felt a little tight, but nothing like before. I think those two weeks of rest and recovery paid off, but that doesn't mean I'm jumping right back into my training plan. If I pick up where I left off, I'll probably re-injure myself and I don't want to risk that. I love running too much. So it's time for a new plan.

I've decided to drop down to the half marathon for the Wrightsville Beach race. I only run one marathon a year and I only want to tackle that distance if and only if I am 100% healthy, strong, and prepared. I don't think I'll feel that way in nine weeks. The year is still young and there are a ton of marathons out there. I'll get my 2012 medal before the year is up - just not at Wrightsville Beach. And I'm okay with that.

As for my week's worth of workouts: I took it easy, since I'm coming back from an injury and a vacation. Even though I worked out every day this week, nearly everything was done at a less intense level.

Monday: Three easy miles with Nathan, and the first run of the New Year. I wanted to run five but my ITB started to act up at mile 2.5 so I cut it short. This was when I knew a spring marathon was not in the cards for me. (Pace: 9:28)

Tuesday: Vinyasa Flow. There was a substitute instructor, who I liked better than the usual instructor.

Wednesday: First, an easy three mile run at a 9:35 pace. Then, my beloved 30 minute kettlebell class at the YMCA. Because it is January and there are a ton of new members at the Y, the class was geared toward beginners. I didn't mind - it was nice to ease back into strength training.

Thursday: Vinyasa Flow, with lots of twists and hamstring stretches. I felt really strong in this class and enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Friday: Kettlebell class, followed by 30 minutes of spin. I usually skip the spin portion of kettlebell - it's optional and I like to run before or after class instead. But since I'm giving my knee a break, I spun. Spinning is so hard. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest!

Saturday: Yoga at the YMCA. I really liked the instructor - she's a retired ballerina and offers just the right balance of mindfulness through the moves. I made Nathan come with me and even he liked the instructor, which is rare for him. (He is very picky about yoga instructors.)

Sunday: A long run of four miles at a 9:35 pace. A little soreness, but since this was the longest I've run in a while, I was downright thrilled. It's funny how an injury can make you appreciate distances in a whole new way.

Total miles: 10

Yoga classes: 3

Strength training: 2

Dog walks: a million

Final thoughts: Even though I'm still recovering, 2012 is off to a good start.

Friday +/-

2012-01-06T07:34:00.003-06:00

This dog has had a long week.

First, the not-so-good from the last few days:

- My ITB is still giving me some trouble. I've been running three miles every other day and that seems to be as far as I can go before the outside of my knee begins to feel sore and pained. I've been good about stretching and yoga, making sure to ease myself back into running (avoiding hills, no speed work, etc), and letting my body recover as it needs. Still: it's a frustrating situation.

- I'm taking a creative nonfiction workshop next semester and so I've been playing around with potential essays, hoping to be somewhat prepared when classes start. All this has resulted in is me feeling like a terrible writer and a fraud. Which are feelings that every writer has to work through, but knowing that doesn't make me despair any less.

- This past week it was so cold my scooter wouldn't start, so I worked from home for three days straight and was reminded how hard it is to focus at home because the damn dogs bark so damn much. People with kids: I don't know how you do it.

And now, for the so-so-good!

+ Classes start next week, which means my classmates and friends have been trickling back into Wilmington these last few days. It's been exciting to watch everyone come home.

+ I've had a really productive week, thanks to my goals and intentions for 2012. Chatting with friends who are far away, cooking awesome dinners at home, working on my writing every day, spending less time with the internet and more time with print. I hope I can keep this up for the next twelve months!

+ I've been to the YMCA almost every day, and I am so glad and grateful to have an awesome gym just a mile from my house. I have a feeling that place will be the thing that keeps me sane for the next few years.

+ I just started reading Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro, an author who specializes in the short story and who I really, really love. While books this good don't make me feel less like a fraudulent hack, they do give me something tangible to which I might aspire.

Overall, it's been a quiet and restorative week. Which is nice, considering the semester is about to start and I probably won't see "quiet" and "restorative" until, oh, May. Hope you all had a great week and are looking forward to a lovely weekend!

The Dress

2012-01-04T07:16:00.001-06:00

This is NOT my dress.

I'm not one of those girls who has been dreaming about her wedding day since she was five years old. I have never purchased a wedding magazine in my life. I do enjoy the blog A Practical Wedding, but only because it is sensible and sane, and also has a lot of pretty pictures. So it should come as no surprise that when my mother offered to take me shopping for wedding dresses while I was visiting for the holidays, I had a list of things I did not want in a dress, but no idea of what I did want.

Things I did not want in a wedding dress:
No tulle.
Nothing too poofy.
No Disney-esque, Cinderella gowns.
Nothing gaudy - IE, excessive bead work, rhinestones, weird stitching, etc.
No long trains. I am easily tripped.
No veil.

Things I did want in a wedding dress:
Something sort of vintage looking.

Yeah. We had our work cut out for us.

So many dresses.

A few days after Christmas, my mom, my two younger sisters, my best friend from high school, and myself headed to David's Bridal, which we knew to possess a wide variety of affordable dresses. (Hello, budget wedding!) Even though my mother very generously offered to buy me my dress, I still wanted to be reasonable. The idea of spending ridiculous amounts of money on a dress I will only wear once (unless, of course, I can pull a Young House Love and transform it post-wedding, which I am definitely considering) is appalling to me. This is also the main reason I did not want an engagement ring - I'd rather save the money and just wait until our wedding day, when we will both get rings. One piece of jewelry is enough for this lady. But I digress.

We made an appointment at David's Bridal for 11:00 AM and arrived mostly on time. As this was my first time going wedding dress shopping, I didn't know what to expect and was surprisingly nervous. The first thing I did was take a catalog and fold down the corners of all the dresses that struck my fancy. Then I was whisked away to a dressing room on a long, low stage, surrounded by mirrors. My family and friend sat in a row of chairs at the edge of the stage and waited for me to put on the first dress and come out to model for them. To say it was surreal would be an understatement.

The woman helping me try on dresses decided that, even though I said I didn't want a poofy dress, I should try on some poofy dresses anyway. "Just to be sure!" Okay. Why not? She handed me poofy dress after poofy dress, zipping me up and cinching the back of each one so tightly that I could barely breathe, then leading me to teeter around the stage while my small audience voiced their many opinions. While all the dresses looked fine and were very pretty, they just didn't seem very me. My family agreed, especially my youngest sister, who would often start shaking her head hell, no before the dress was even off the hanger. Tough crowd.

Meanwhile, my middle sister was paging through the catalog I had looked at when I first arrived and showed a dress that had caught her eye to our mother. "This one is pretty," she said.

"It is," my mother agreed. Then she noticed that it was one of the dresses I had folded over. "And she liked this one. Do you have this dress in stock?" she asked the woman who was still ferrying poofy gowns back and forth to my dressing room. "Can she try it on?"

They did. I did. And that was it. I had found my wedding dress.

No, really. 90 minutes after we arrived, my mother was handing over her credit card and signing her name on the dotted line. Best of all? The dress was on sale. It was still a ridiculous amount of money, but everyone told me that it was not at all ridiculous for a wedding dress. ($599, because I like to keep it real. The dress was originally $799! Crazy!) As for buying a dress the first time I went out looking, let me say this: after ten or fifteen dresses, all that ivory fabric begins to bleed together and you start to forget what you liked and what you hated. It's sort of like going snowblind. I was lucky enough to find a dress I loved on the first try, and I wasn't about to risk second-guessing myself. Also, having one less thing to think about is awesome.

I don't have a photo of the dress and I don't plan on posting one until after the wedding. I don't consider myself very traditional (hello, waiting nine years to get engaged!) but I like the idea of surprising Nathan on our wedding day. I will say that the dress is not poofy, there is no tulle, and no one will confuse me for a Disney princess. I will also say that, while it is not vintage, it does have a sort of 1940's feel to it. Most importantly: it looks awesome on me. If I learned one thing from this dress shopping experience, it is that wedding dresses are almost universally flattering. This is perhaps the wedding industry's singular act of kindness, and for that I am grateful.

Building Our Raised Garden Beds

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we spent most of New Year's Eve and Day hanging out and working on our raised garden beds. We wanted to build them as early in the year as possible, so the soil would have time to get good and healthy before we start planting. We have a long and narrow backyard, only half of which is fenced in. We decided to build the beds in the rear half of the backyard, outside of the fence. The dogs play inside the fence, and we didn't want to 1. risk them digging in the garden, and 2. take up too much of their play space.

First, we raked all the leaves in both ends of the yard and made three rows, approximately the length and width of our planned beds - so we could visualize them. We decided to make beds that were fifteen feet long and four feet wide (60 sqaure feet of surface area per bed) - this seemed the best use of the space and will allow us to easily reach into the beds from both sides for planting, weeding, and harvesting.

Our lumber were 8ft 2x8's (pine) from a big box hardware store.

Calvin, begging me to open the fence. I gave in.

We ended up spending about $150 on wood and $25 on screws (2 1/2"). Kind of expensive, considering we'll only be gardening here for three years, but hopefully the garden will end up paying for itself. Plus, I like the idea of leaving behind ready-to-go raised beds for the next people who rent this place. Pay it forward!

Showing the compound miter saw who's in charge.


Drill baby drill!

We spent a lot of time cutting the lumber for the beds and the bracing pieces. Then there was much pre-drilling and screwing as we put the pieces together. I learned how to use a miter saw, a circular saw, and the drill. Later, I taught Nathan how to use the rice cooker. Equality for all!

Sides joined and laid out!

Detail of how we got 15ft lengths out of 8ft boards. Nathan calls this method "scabbing." Ew.

Pre-drilling prevents cracked ends. Better safe than sorry.

On Sunday, we spent two hours raking leaves and about five hours cutting wood and drilling pieces together. On Monday, it only took us another two or three hours to assemble the finished boxes. Not bad for a weekend project!

Boxes. More complicated than I thought.

These vertical 2x4's allow us to sink many more screws into the corners.

YES.

It will be a few months before we can get serious about planting. In the meantime, we're figuring out what we want to plant and where in the boxes each delicious vegetable will go, while admiring our handiwork every time we walk up the driveway.

Next week: how to make soil. Also more complicated than I thought (hint: it involves climbing a small mountain of horse manure and saw dust. Consider yourself warned.)

New Year's Day

2012-01-03T07:13:00.003-06:00

This year was our first New Year's in Wilmington, and it was... okay. Nathan and I stayed home sipping wine until 10pm, then went to a friend's house until 11:15, then headed downtown to a bar to meet some other people before the ball dropped. The chosen bar had a cover charge ($20 for guys, $10 for girls) so we did the sensible thing and went down the street to another bar that didn't charge anything. This bar was having problems with their cash register, so it took forever to get a beer. We played foosball. I learned that I am terrible at foosball, but still had fun. At midnight, people started hollering but there was no countdown (I KNOW. A travesty!). On the bright side, Nathan and I kissed close enough to midnight, for the tenth year in a row. Adorable. We were home and in bed by 2am and fell asleep watching a movie. Next year, we plan to ditch the bars all together and throw a party at our house. We were famous for our New Year's Eve parties in Nacogdoches (famous I tell you!) so why should Wilmington be any different?

To sum: New Year's Eve was all right. But New Year's Day? Now that was special.

We slept in, made coffee, and took the dogs to the park. Once they were worn out, we came home and made a huge brunch. We wanted to have mimosas with our breakfast (to make up for the previous night's lack of champagne) but forgot that you can't buy booze before noon on Sundays. A disappointment to be sure, but we managed to have a delicious meal anyway.

Blueberry pancakes, hash browns, veggie bacon, and bottomless cups of coffee. So good.

We played Scrabble while we ate. (I won.) We used to play board games over dinner/brunch all the time but fell out of the habit. When we moved to NC we didn't have a kitchen table for a few months and started eating our meals at the coffee table, in front of the television. I much prefer eating in the kitchen - we talk more and it's nice to focus on the food and each other. Starting the year with Scrabble (which I won) and brunch set just the right tone for 2012.

After breakfast and our game (which I won) we headed out back to do some serious yard work. First, we raked the whole yard until it was clear of leaves and sticks, with the hope that some grass might actually grow back there.

We raked the debris into the second half of our backyard, behind the gate, into three long piles. You see, phase two of yard work involved finally building raised beds for our planned garden. The leaves will make great compost, once mixed with soil and horse manure. Sounds gross, but it works.

We made a lot of progress and actually finished the beds the next day, but I'll post a photo-heavy recap of that process tomorrow. (Teaser: I used power tools!) As for the rest of New Year's Day, we cleaned up, I made a batch of vegan cornbread, and we headed to the home of a fellow MFA student for black-eyed peas and greens, which one must eat on the first of the year for luck and money, respectively. It was a nice gathering of people I didn't know very well, but I'm making an effort to be more social in 2012 (an unofficial resolution) so this was a good first step.

How did you spend the first day of 2012? I've found the right mix of good food, good company, and good work can make any afternoon one to remember. Happy New Year!

Marathon Training: Weeks 6 and 7

2012-01-02T18:06:00.002-06:00

To aid in my quest to run a four hour marathon on March 18, 2012, I'll be writing training recaps each Monday, documenting the previous week. This is week six and seven!

I bet you thought I forgot about marathon training, what with the lack of updates, the holidays, the traveling, and all this silly marriage business. You'll be pleased to know that running has been on my mind - even if I haven't been in my sneakers.

In the past two weeks, I have run exactly 6.5 miles. A far cry from the 25-30 a week I was running, but I have a good excuse. My troublesome IT Band was not getting any better and so I decided that visiting my family in New York was the perfect time to give it a rest. I had grand plans to go to a hot yoga studio every day while I was home and really stretch my leg out, but I only ended up going once. The studio was a half an hour from my parents' house and I was exhausted from trying to squeeze in all the wedding planning I could while home. I also decided it was more important to spend time with my family (who I hadn't seen in over a year, except for a brief weekend trip last May for a wedding) then to spend time working out. I regret nothing. Well, except for all the junk food. I kind of regret that.

Today, after resting and healing for over a week, I set out to run five easy miles and only made it to three. My knee, while not as pained as it had been, still felt a little sore and I didn't want to push it. The Wrightsville Beach Marathon is now only 11 weeks away and I haven't been able to run anything over 12 since I started training. I want to give my knee time to heal properly, but I also want to run a four hour marathon on March 18. I've decided to ease back into running this week, go to as much yoga as I can, and see how I feel next Monday. Worst case scenario: I drop down to the half and find a late spring or early fall marathon to run. Which would be disappointing and frustrating, but certainly not the end of the world. You know I'll keep y'all updated.

Monday (Dec 19): Kettlebell at the YMCA.

Tuesday (Dec 20): My flight to New York was at 11:00 AM, but that didn't stop me from squeezing in a 6:00 AM Ashtanga yoga class that thoroughly kicked my ass.

Wednesday (Dec 21): Rest. Also, hangover. Honesty is the best policy.

Thursday (Dec 22): Rest.

Friday (Dec 23): An easy 3.5 mile run around my parents' neighborhood. I finished it off with 200 crunches and 25 pushups and felt very proud of myself. Unfortunately, my knee proceeded to ache for the next three days. This is when I decided not to run again until I got back to North Carolina.

Saturday (Dec 24): Rest.

Sunday (Dec 25): Rest.

Monday (Dec 26): Rest.

Tuesday (Dec 27): Rest.

Wednesday (Dec 28): Rest.

Thursday (Dec 29): Yoga at Sayville Hot Yoga, where my friend Allie is a member. It was a mix of Bikram, Ashtanga, and Vinyasa Flow and I enjoyed it.

Friday (Dec 30): Spent all day flying home to NC. Also, hungover. Again: honesty.

Saturday (Dec 31): Rest.

Sunday (Jan 1): Rest.

Year in Review: A 2011 Survey

2011-12-30T17:21:00.001-06:00

I'm ~~stealing~~ borrowing this survey from the lovely Kate at Effing the Ineffable. One of my secret delights in life is filling out forms (seriously!). Combine that with my fondness of nostalgia for a too-recent past and it's like these end of the year memes were made especially for me. Let's get to it, shall we?

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
There were a number of firsts this year, but I think the top three are as follows, and in no particular order: Drove a car from Texas to North Carolina. Taught a class of undergraduate students the fine art of creative writing. Went to a Korean Bath House and spent time, naked, with a bunch of naked strangers.

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did okay with my 2011 resolutions, and I'm feeling pretty good about my goals for 2012.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My good friend Scott and his wife Melanie welcomed a lovely new person into the world just a few weeks ago. I think that was it for this year. A far cry from 2010, aka Year of the Baby!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Three of my dearest friends lost parents this past year. It was a heartbreaking thing to watch and I did my best to be there for each of them.

5. What places did you visit?
I went all over Texas, as usual, mostly for races, camping trips, and yoga workshops/classes. I also moved to a new place, which was exciting, and spent a weekend camping in West Virginia, which was brand new to me. And I just got back from New York, after spending a long ten days visiting my family for the holidays.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
This is a hard one. I didn't really lack anything in 2011. Maybe a new 5K PR?

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched in your memory, and why?
April 5: UNCW offered me a teaching assistantship and I accepted.
July 31: The morning we left Texas for North Carolina, and the way I cried until Arkansas.
November 11: Nathan asked if I wanted to get married; I said yes.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting accepted to a bunch of MFA programs, especially UNCW. Runner up: opening an IRA. Less exciting, but one of the most grown up things I've ever done.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Project 365. I think I started it three or four times before deciding daily photos just aren't for me. This is actually a small failure, so I consider myself quite lucky in 2011!

10: Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope. I have a hearty immune system and, despite being very clumsy, escaped the year with no real injuries to speak of. (Knock on wood.)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our new-to-us canoe. We haven't used it yet, and I hemmed and hawed because it was an impulse purchase, but I do believe it will serve us well.

12. Who's behavior merited celebration?
Nathan. I'm lucky to have a partner that would quit his job to move half way across the country with me, who supports my dreams of being a writer, and who wants to actually marry me, even though I am stubborn and roll my eyes too often.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Most everyone I know was on good behavior this year, so I guess I'll just say the Tea Party.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Paying off my credit card debt claimed most of my money. I also put a lot in savings, but then I spent almost all of it during our move and subsequent settling in. Moving is really, really expensive.

15. What did you get really excited about?
Graduate school. Writing. My classes and amazing professors.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
I'm a very passive music listener. Mostly whatever comes on Pandora. That said, I really like the song "Home," by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I first heard it in a car full of yoga friends, driving to an out-of-town Ashtanga workshop, after I had to decided to go to UNCW and move away. It was a bittersweet listening.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a. happier or sadder? About the same, but in different ways. I'm happier with what I'm doing, but sadder because I miss more people.
b. thinner or fatter? Same. My weight has been the same since high school. Sometimes things shift, but that's about it. I am very lucky.
c. richer or poorer? Oh, god. So much poorer. So much.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I always wish I had written more and read more. Now that I'm broke, I wish I had saved more money.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Mindless internet surfing. I have a real problem with letting hours slip away while I click links that add absolutely nothing to my life.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
At my parents' house on Long Island, eating frozen veggie burgers and canned soup while my dad chain-smoked. It was... okay.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
I fell more in love with the same person. (Aw...)

22. What was your favorite TV program?
2011 was the year of the television for me. Here's a secret: I prefer good television over film. It's an issue of time commitment - sitting still and focusing for two+ hours is difficult for me. That said, I really love Parks and Rec, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Glee, and The Office. Mad Men is my favorite show (the writing! the costumes! the underlying feminism! the way I want to punch Don Draper!) but nothing brings me quite as much joy as a new episode of Parks and Rec. The characters are just so damn likeable.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate at this time last year?
No. I can usually find something redeeming about most people. And also I've hated Rick Perry for a long time.

24. What was the best book you read?
I JUST reached my goal of 15 books in 2011 (go, me!) and my favorite was The Invisible Bridge, by Julie Orringer. I reviewed in on the blog, if you're interested. It's a perfect January book.

25. What music did you get excited about?
See question 16. Also, if you ever wanted to accuse me of being a hipster, my indifference to music would be my number one defense. I like music, of course. Who doesn't? But I do not feel compelled to seek it out. It comes to me (mostly via Nathan).

26. What did you want and get?
I got a new marathon PR (4:20!), a teaching assistantship, a wedding dress (yes! more on that later), and a house in Wilmington (to rent).

27. What did you want and not get?
A sub-25 minute 5K, a wireless printer, a wedding venue (but there's still plenty of time to find one).

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
We mostly watch things on Netflix Instant, though I did see the last Harry Potter in theaters, and now we have a theater in Wilmington that shows artsy documentaries and movies, which is nice. But I can't really think of a stand-out favorite.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 29 on August 9th. We had been in Wilmington for just over a week and I missed my friends in Texas, but Nathan and I ended up having a great day anyway. He gave me presents, we went to the beach, we ate delicious Thai food, and we watched a movie in our barely furnished home. It ended up being one of my best birthdays yet.

30. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?
This is a tough one to answer, which is a good problem to have. I guess if North Carolina and Texas were a lot closer, I'd be happier. I'm not kidding when I say I miss my friends in Nacogdoches and I wish, every day, that I could spend an evening sipping wine on Amy's porch, or going out for coffee after Saturday morning yoga at Morning Glory. C'est la vie.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
"Concept? What concept?" Just kidding. Kind of. I am working on being fashionable, as always. But it's so easy to fall back on jeans and sneakers (in the fall) and skirts and sandals (in the summer/spring). I will say I'm a lot cuter when the weather is warm. Something to look forward to once winter ends!

32. What kept you sane?
Running and yoga.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
The kid who plays Blaine in Glee. I know his character is gay and I know that in real life, he was born in 1987. But there is something about choreographed dancing that makes me weak in the knees.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
This was probably my most politically unaware year ever, which is sort of shameful. Reproductive rights always get me going though.

35. Whom did you miss?
Missing people is what I do best, as you can tell from the rest of my answers. To sum up: Texas friends and my family in New York.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I met so many new people when I started my program that it's hard to choose just one, but I'll go with Erica. She's my writing friend, my kettlebelling friend, we're the same age, and she loves my dogs. A match made in heaven!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
It's okay to stay home on a Tuesday night when you know a bunch of fun and friendly people are going out to the bar, especially when you want to have a productive Wednesday. You're 29 now. If being boring makes you happy, then by all means: be boring!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I'm going to cheat and go with "Home" once more. I did a lot of thinking about the concept of home this year, and I love these lyrics because they're simple and true:

Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is whenever I’m with you
Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is when I’m alone with you

2012 Plan of Attack!

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-06:00

Photo credit.

Last year I made a long list of detailed goals for the new year, breaking them down into mini-goals and various steps. It was a good plan and, at the time, suited my life. This year, however, is different. My focus has narrowed, my values have shifted, and I've reached a unique point in my life - a lady's MFA program and her wedding come around but once in a lifetime. Therefore, my goals for the next twelve months are going to be simple and straightforward - write, read, submit, move, and love. I want to think of these five goals less as a list of resolutions and more of a mantra to carry me through what will surely be a crazy, exciting, and memorable year. And just in case those words don't carry the same power for you as they do for me, here's what I'm talking about.

1. Write. Because if I don't write loads of things while I'm in an MFA program, then how do I expect to call myself a writer? No daily goals at this point, because my writing habits shift depending on the project and where I am in the process, but I want to do something for my writing every day (whether it's writing, revising, researching, or just outlining an idea).

2 Read. In past years I've struggled to read 15 books between January and December. Now that part of my job is to read, it's only right I up this number to 25 for 2012.

3. Submit. Send out AT LEAST one story EACH MONTH to a minimum of FIVE JOURNALS. No dicking around.

4. Move. Run my third marathon. Cross my fingers (and train!) for a new PR. Rededicate myself to my yoga practice and complete a month long yoga streak (one hour a day, for at least 30 consecutive days). Continue to be healthy and strong - the older I get, the more it matters.

5. Love. Host a super fun, low stress, and completely memorable wedding (11-10-12!). Be a better friend (call people on the phone, host more parties, show my far-flung friends how often I think of them, instead of just thinking). Volunteer for a charitable organization. I no longer have the money to donate to the issues that matter to me, but that doesn't mean I can't give my time.

Write, read, submit, move and love. Oh'twelve, it's on.

Do you have goals for 2012? If you've blogged them, comment with the link. If you don't have a blog, leave them in the comments. Goals and resolutions are the guiding force of my life and I seriously love to hear other people's Plans of Attack. Happy New Year and here's to an amazing 2012!

The Proposal

2011-12-26T16:22:00.003-06:00

Living in sin... but not for much longer!

Contrary to popular belief, Nathan and I did not get engaged for Christmas. We actually decided to get married on 11-11-11, which was our nine year anniversary. Looking back, I wish we had just told everyone right away. At the time, the idea of orchestrating a big holiday reveal seemed exciting, when in reality it ended up being a bit of a headache. But let me back up for a minute and tell you how it all came to be.

For the last few years, Nathan and I had talked here and there about celebrating our ten year anniversary in 2012 by getting married. The closer it got to year nine, however, the less it came up in conversation. I wondered if I should bring it up - the one thing I know for sure about wedding planning is that it takes a lot of time, and the one thing I know for sure about me is that I like to make spreadsheets as soon as possible. And even though I am a feminist lady who has no problem asking my dude if he wants to marry me, I decided to hold off. It ended up being a good decision!

Our anniversary was a Friday and we went out to dinner at Yosake, a fancy (for us) sushi restaurant in Wilmington. We sat down at a little table in the middle of the room, ordered half priced wine (happy hour is the most romantic hour of all), and then exchanged cards, because we're broke and had opted to forgo anniversary gifts. Nathan opened my card first. It was a cute card from Target that suited us perfectly, but in a generic, Target sort of way. I had written sweet things inside, but nothing truly memorable.

Then Nathan slide an envelope across the table. I picked it up and opened it. It was a handwritten letter, on a piece of paper torn from a notebook. On it, he had written beautiful and loving things about me and us and our relationship, and at the bottom was a simple question.

"Will you marry me? Circle Yes or No."

"I don't have a pen," I said.

"You can just say it outloud," he said.

"Okay," I said. "I mean, Yes. Yes!"

And that did it. We ordered second glasses of wine, stuffed ourselves on veggie sushi and Thai curry, and talked giddily about the fact that we were engaged, which seemed so weird and strange and real. There was no big public proposal (not our style) and no engagement ring (I was adamant about not wanting one). It was simple and sweet and perfectly us.

For the next few days we didn't tell anyone about our plans. We finally called our parents, because they would kill us if they found out any other way, but we swore them to secrecy. We wanted to come up with a way to tell everyone that was different, fun, and exciting - a simple change of our relationship statuses on Facebook, or a mass text message, just wouldn't do. We finally decided to have our super talented graphic designer friend, Elma, create a Save the Date for us, and include it with our Christmas cards. We wouldn't get to see the surprise on the faces of our loved ones when the opened the cards, but we would have lots of fun imagining their surprise.

As it turns out, collecting addresses, writing cards to 60+ people, and cutting out as many postcards (I printed them at Office Depot, six to a page) takes a really long time. We didn't get the cards out until last Monday and quickly learned that snail mail the week before Christmas is extra snail-like. Some people had received their cards by Wednesday but others didn't arrive until the weekend. A few friends started congratulating us on Facebook, while other friends were asking what was going on. Finally, we couldn't wait anymore. We became "engaged" on Facebook, I told my blog, and now pretty much everyone knows. (An aside: it's so interesting to see how social networking has changed the way we reveal the big moments in our lives. I will admit - I was counting the "likes" our announcement received and took way too much pleasure in watching the number rise.)

As for the wedding planning: I still have no idea what I'm doing, but I asked for and received the book A Practical Wedding for Christmas and I'll be reading it cover to cover as soon as I get back to North Carolina. We know we want to get married on November 10, 2012 (technically a day before our anniversary, but it's a Saturday, which makes for a better party) and we know we want to get married on Long Island (I have a large family here and we have a lot of friends in New York). It will be a little hard planning a New York wedding from North Carolina, while going to graduate school full time, but at least I'll have the summer to do things like DIY my heart out. I'm also glad we're having a fall wedding - because it will be out of season, we'll be able to save quite a bit of money, and this will most definitely be a budget wedding.

As for blogging while engaged: I'm not going to be a bridezilla. In fact, I probably won't have much time to even think of the wedding once the semester starts. I'll update here and there, mostly with decisions we've made, as we've made them (like a venue, whether I'll change my name [hint: I won't], if the dogs will be in the wedding party, if we'll have a vegetarian wedding, etc) but otherwise you can expect the usual from The New Me. Running, writing, recipes, and dogs, with a few wedding updates thrown in here and there.

And, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for the well wishes and the congratulations. Marriage is something I never expected to do, so getting excited about it is still a little surreal. But we're definitely excited, and we hope to throw a hell of a party. After ten years together, I'd say we've earned one.

The Rumors Are True!

2011-12-24T10:47:00.000-06:00

We included a little surprise in our holiday cards this year. Tis the season for love!

2011 Plan of Attack: A Not So Brief Recap

2011-12-23T16:24:00.000-06:00

photo credi

I just realized that the new year is less than a week away, which leaves little time to complete all the goals I set back in January. I know I said I would check in every few months, but I only provided a progress report once. C'est la vie. This past year was one of huge changes and I'm happy with where I am, even if I had to cut some corners to get there. And because I can't plot my goals for 2012 without holding myself accountable to 2011, here's a little recap of how I did.

As you probably don't recall (because I sure didn't) I split my goals into three categories - creative, health and financial - with a broad goal (listed in bold) followed by small steps to achieve that goal (italicized below). Damn, I'm organized. But did it help?

Creative Goals

Establish a writing routine in order to be productive and get published.
1. Write and/or revise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. I did this in spurts, but not consistently. However, since I got into the groove of my MFA program I have been writing for at least an hour a day, most days. I've produced more these last three months than I have the last three years, and that's pretty awesome. Goal: accomplished!
2. Submit at least one story per month to literary journals. I did submit a bunch of stuff in the early part of the year, but then I stopped. Now I'm writing new things that won't be ready for submission by the end of the year. I will probably move this goal to my 2012 list. Goal: not quite.
3. Enter at least five short story contests. I did, I did! I haven't won any of them (yet!) but entering is the first step. Goal: accomplished!

Read more than 15 books for the year. I'm reading my 14th book right now, and I will certainly try to read one more before the calendar flips to 2012. Anyone know a really good, really short book? :) Goal: maybe!

Improve photography skills. The only thing I did to improve my photos was to download iPhone apps that make your photos look fancier. Goal: not quite.

Health Goals
1. Diversify workout routine with cross training. I have gotten better about cross-training and the YMCA certainly helps with that. Hello, kettlebells! I also spent most of the year really dedicated to my yoga practice, which has done wonders for my health, fitness level, and life in general. Goal: accomplished!
2. Run three times a week. Work on speed and set new PR’s. Three is my magic number, it seems. I set a marathon PR but that was it - my half and 5K records still stand, but I do know that I'm faster than I used to be. If I could afford those race fees, I could prove it. Goal: close enough.
3. Take better care of my skin. I am moisturizing with a SPF 15 brand. I also got a hang of a super simple make up routine (eye shadow and mascara, but only at night) with which I'm pleased. Goal: accomplished.

Financial Goals
1. Pay off credit card. Then, begin making double payments on student loan debt. I successfully paid off my credit card and then... I moved to NC and slashed my income. Oops. Back in the red but not as bad as before. And my student loan debt has been deferred for the next three years, so that's nice! Goal: accomplished, despite my new debt.
2. Aggressively contribute every spare penny to savings account. Again, I was doing really well with this goal until we moved to North Carolina and I went back to school full time, thus slashing my income and racking up the debt. Now that Nathan is working full time and we've settled in, I think 2012 will be a lot better for our wallets. I'm sure I'll blog more about this later. Goal: in flux.
3. Figure out how my retirement plan works and whether it’s optimal. When I quit my job, I closed my retirement plan (it was Texas only) and opened an IRA instead. This feels extremely grown up. Goal: accomplished!

Home for the Holidays

2011-12-22T07:39:00.001-06:00

When I last posted, I was in the Wilmington airport, blogging and waiting for my flight. After a long day of unexciting travel (which is actually the best kind of travel - excitement while flying is not a good thing) I landed safely in LaGuardia. First step: meeting my middle sister, Susan, getting a bottle of wine, and drinking the whole thing before we met some friends for dinner. Oops.

We had dinner at an awesome Indian restaurant called Polash, and the food was delicious. No photos because did I mention the first bottle of wine and the second we ordered at dinner? We Hennesseys take our wine drinkin' seriously. At the restaurant, we me met two dear college friends from Purchase and two friends from my new college life in Wilmington. Worlds collided, but it worked wonderfully. I love when the universe conspires in weird ways.

The next morning I woke up in Susan's bed, still wearing last night's clothes, and feeling less than stellar. I was meeting my youngest sister at noon. Ally was taking a final in the city and when she was done we planned to ride the train back to Long Island together. Because I had hours to kill, I accompanied Susan on a photo shoot for the magazine where she works as a photo editor. The day's shoot was for clothing and motorcycle helmets, and I got to see first hand how many shots of a pile of shoes in a nest of sticks are required to get the right one. Answer: so, so many.

Because I have been watching Ugly Betty on Netflix Instant, I felt right at home and pretended that I was Betty, out of place and trying hard to fit in at Mode Magazine. It made the raging hangover slightly easier to bear. Finally, Ally called. We reunited, had a terrible lunch at a Chinese place near Penn Station, and then caught a train home.

Now I'm on Long Island, at "home." I haven't lived in New York for eight years. I have never lived full time in my parents' current home or town (they moved when I was in college). I find myself observing their weird habits and then am startled to remember a time when I did the same things. For example: my parents keep their peanut butter in the refrigerator. I thought this was bizarre until I remembered doing the same thing, even after I moved out. I don't know when I moved the peanut butter to the cupboard, or why. It seems significant, but then again - it's just peanut butter. (And after I told my mom the existential dilemma that cold peanut butter was causing me, she took it out of the refrigerator and moved it to the cabinet. My mom is awesome, even if she rolled her eyes while she did it.)

In other words: I'm home. My dad has gone overboard with the Christmas decorations (as usual), I'm sleeping on a lumpy foldout couch, eating frozen veggie burgers for every meal, and the air is thick with cigarette smoke that makes me feel like I'm on the cusp of a sinus infection at all times. But there is also a whole season of Glee to watch with Ally, the opportunity to talk my mom's ear off for hours on end, CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, and the fact that home, despite all it's drawbacks and weirdness and absence of comfortable routines, is home. Deep down, I'll always love it.

MTW5: Woes and Worries

2011-12-20T08:16:00.001-06:00

To aid in my quest to run a four hour marathon on March 18, 2012, I'll be writing training recaps each Monday, documenting the previous week. This is week five!

I'm a day late on this - if you were waiting with bated breath for my weekly training recap, please accept my sincere apologies. I may have put off writing this post because this week was not the best - in fact, it was pretty disappointing. Read on to find out why (hint - it happens on Sunday, during my long run.)

Monday: Rest and recovery from Sunday's long run.

Tuesday: I started my day with an 8:30am yoga class at the YMCA - Vinyasa Flow, which was great. I like this class, but am not quite sold on the instructor. Still: good yoga is good yoga! After my class I went on a quick three mile run. I ended up running a progressive, which is a fun workout where you run each mile faster than the last. (Splits: Mile 1: 9:46, Mile 2: 9:26, Mile 3: 8:38)

Wednesday: Ran three easy miles to the YMCA; went to a 30 minute kettlebell class (we focused on shoulders and arms) and then ran one mile home. Average pace for run: 9:31.

Thursday: Vinyasa Flow Yoga at the YMCA. We did a million hip openers which was great, as I have the world's tightest hips.

Friday: Big day of exercise! I started with a hard run - a six mile tempo run, with the goal of the middle four miles at 8:55. My splits:

1 mile warm up: 9:42
Tempo mile 1: 8:31
Tempo mile 2: 8:45
Tempo mile 3: 8:38
Tempo mile 4: 8:41
1 mile cool down: 10:59

This was a really hard workout! It was warm and humid and my legs were tired from the start. I really had to push it to make my goal pace and even though I ran a little faster than necessary, it was not much faster. I'm starting to understand why my plan gave me such conservative paces: because running 30 miles a week makes you SLOW.

After my run, I slogged through kettlebell. Luckily we focused on chest, back and abs, and left my poor legs alone.

Saturday: An extra rest day - I was really sore from kettlebell and the tempo run.

Sunday: Long run day. I was supposed to run 16 miles but was willing to settle for 14, since last week's long run fell short. Unfortunately, I only made it eight miles (at an average pace of 10:46 - should have been closer to 10:30). Once again, my ITB was giving me serious problems - so much so that I could barely walk at the end, never mind run. Going to brunch after the run helped my mood a little, but I was pretty down for the rest of the day.

Total miles: 21

Final thoughts: While I haven't been to a doctor, I have consulted my personal physican (Dr. Google) and I'm 99% sure that it's my IT Band. The pain is in the same place (outside of the knee - in my case, my left knee) and it's considered the most common injury that plagues runners. What's interesting is that I've run two marathons and a handful of half marathons, and this is the first time I've ever experienced this kind of pain. Looking back, I can see two big differences between how I trained then and how I'm training now. In the past, I ran three days a week and practiced yoga an equal number of times. Now, I am running four times a week and only practicing yoga twice. I'm also doing strength training twice a week. Basically, the culprit of my ITB issues is most likely over training and under stretching. Which is actually good, because both those issues are easy to fix.

Since I'm about to fly to New York for the holidays (I'm actually blogging from the airport right now!) I'm going to take it easy on the running front for the next ten days. I'm also going to try to go to some yoga classes while I'm on Long Island, or at least do yoga on my own as much as I can. When I get back to North Carolina, I'm going to scale back my running to three times a week and cross train on the fourth day - probably by swimming. I used to swim and I enjoyed it, and the pool at the YMCA is nice and big and located under a large skylight. A skylight!

Despite these setbacks, I'm still going to shoot for a four hour marathon. The race is just under three months away, and I think that should be plenty of time to resolve my ITB issues and still complete a decent training cycle. Every quest requires challenges - if this is as hard as mine get, I'll consider myself lucky.

Weekend Adventures

2011-12-17T17:37:00.001-06:00

I haven't really blogged anything besides school and running in a while, which makes sense, since that's all I've been up to. But it's winter break and if I'm going to get back in the habit of having adventures, now's the time to do it. First step: buy a canoe.

I know, I know. We're broke, our savings are slowly slipping away, and the credit card debt has been piling up. But, as past posts prove, we enjoy canoeing and camping. We rented canoes fairly regularly when we lived in Texas. And once you have a canoe, the opportunity for adventures that are both fun and free become abundant. Plus, Nathan finally got his first paycheck on the same day he found an amazing deal on a canoe via Craigslist. We got this canoe at a steal, because it had been left in the sun for too long and the color had faded, and because the man who made it (a local boat builder) was in a hurry to free up space in his shop. Cosmetic imperfections + impatience = a suddenly affordable canoe for Nathan and Chrissy. I can't wait to break a bottle of (really cheap) champagne on it's mast and take it for it's maiden voyage on the Cape Fear River.

In other adventures, Saturday night featured a Last Minute Slap-Dash Dress Your Best Christmas Cocktail Party, which was attended by all the MFA students who had yet to flee Wilmington for the holidays.

Table, dressed to the nines.

Nathan looks good in this photo. I do not. One out of two ain't bad.

For a last minute party, it was a downright classy affair. Everyone got dressed up (I'm talking ties and tights), the house had a glowing tree, stockings on the mantle, and twinkling lights in every room, and our lovely host, Anna, threw together a gorgeous table of gourmet snacks. I drank two mugs of hot whiskey apple cider and then switched to red wine, and ate many vegan cookies, which I baked and brought to the party. (I made my no frills vegan chocolate chip cookies, but with a few frills.)

It was an excellent party and a nice way to end the semester once and for all.

On Sunday morning Nathan and I met our friends Lucy and Matt for a run around Greenfield Lake. I had high hopes of running 16 miles but my IT Band started acting up again, so I only made it eight. Very disappointing, but I'll talk more about that in my weekly marathon training post. To soothe my frustration and depression we went out to brunch instead, which helped.

We also had high hopes of brewing beer yesterday, but by the time we got back from brunch, took the dogs to the park, and ran to the grocery store it was already 4pm. So it looks like we're putting that off until next year.

Speaking of tomorrow (not really, but it's too early to come up with elegant transitions), I fly to New York in the morning and I'm so excited to see my family (and eat New York bagels). I haven't been home since July 2010, with the exception of a two day visit last May for a wedding, and it will be great to spend ten whole days with them. (Definitely one of the perks of being a student again!) Which means today I absolutely MUST: wrap Christmas presents; mail holiday cards; pack for the trip; go to kettlebell AND yoga (I will miss the YMCA very much); finish the laundry; and purchase two or three more books for my Kindle. The Kindle is perhaps the hardest part, because every time I think of a book I want to read I have an internal struggle about whether I want a hard copy or the e-version. First world problems, my friends. Oh, how I suffer.

I hope you all had a good weekend and are gearing up for a great week. Until next time!

Scenes from Winter Break

2011-12-13T14:11:00.001-06:00

Back when I was a full time employee, reporting to my desk Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, I spent a lot of time staring out my window and dreaming about life on the other side. Of having the freedom to do what I want, when I wanted. Of dedicating my time to things that directly benefit me and my values. Of going for a walk in the middle of the day, just because the weather is gorgeous and the dogs look lonely.

Now that I am officially on winter break for the next four weeks, that life has arrived. And to be entirely honest: it's pretty awesome. Don't get me wrong - I love school, but in some ways being a full time student is more demanding then being a full time employee. When I worked at SFA, my day ended at 5pm. I didn't think about work once between Friday evening and Monday morning. I gave them 40 hours of my time (okay, a little less - someone had to read all those blogs!) and everything else was mine.

Now, things are not so cut and dry. Business and pleasure bleed together. I have lots of things to do and I can do them pretty much whenever I want, which is great (flexibility! the best!). The other side of that coin, however, is that I could always be doing something - especially when I'm not doing anything. Hello, guilt. Goodbye, relaxation. And thank god for winter break!

That said: I am still finding ways to be productive during these four blissful and stress-free weeks. My new routine goes something like this: wake up around 7AM. Internet and blog for a bit. Walk the dogs. Exercise (running + kettlebell or yoga). Shower, eat lunch, complete tasks I would normally procrastinate. (Hello, bill paying and dish washing!) After lunch, I ride my scooter to the coffee shop with my laptop and work on writing-related tasks for about three hours. Revising, mostly, but also identifying journals to which I will submit and contests I plan to enter. Come home, walk the dogs again, and start making dinner (with a big old glass of wine in hand). The next day, I do it all again.

It's pretty great and I'm starting to feel like I'm making some actual progress on my writing - making it better, stronger, instead of just producing words aimlessly and then moving on to the next story or essay. Revision makes me feel more like a writer than writing does. Funny how that works.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to fold some laundry and finish my grading. Duty calls.