Earlier this week…hubs and I found out we have to move this fall. 90 days to be exact – an 18.5% rent hike (as noted on my twitter feed) left me feeling stressed, overwhelmed and nervous. I mean…all I wanted this year was a little bit of stability and we’re almost there, but… hubs’s job isn’t guaranteed past 8/10/10 – keep your fingers crossed for this primary to not go the way of the polls. Couple that with having to find a new apartment, and us both working. A lot. This has not…been the easiest first year of marriage. But..on the bright side, I have a job I adore, coworkers who couldn’t be more fabulous and inspiring, an amazing husband and blogging is always making me happy. I’m surviving. And well…a friend of mine was surprised when i finally spilled all the beans about all this, how I stay so positive because, like in yoga, you have to live in the moment.

PS – are YOU going to BlogHer next week? Let’s meet up!!!

This week I had an extra special treat to look forward to that included trying lots of cute clothes.

{click the picture for details!}

So aside from working hard, doing tons of yoga, and living in the moment … I’ve got good things keeping the bad, worrisome thoughts at bay. Want to win a pair of free jeans? Check out the review blog for more details on that (and that slammin’ outfit above). Two words. Legging Jeans. FTW. (okay that was five words but who’s counting??)

Another good thing? Lots of yoga.. Breathing deeply and appreciating the moment(s). Running again/more. Going to Vermont this weekend for a whirlwind trip to visit the fam (and the brother!!). Getting happy amazon packages from the bestie. Planning visits. Reading. And friends moving back from overseas (one of hubs’s groomsmen/best dude pals just moved back from Japan with his bride to be! We’re so excited to see them soon!)

Anyhow, as I’ve said, it’s always helpful to find the positive. Look forward and live in the moment. When in doubt? Just breathe (even though that doesn’t always help in overwhelming situations. Just try.)

I’m a big fan of memoirs. As I learned in a seminar I went to last night about “writing and publishing a book” everyone has a story to tell.

It’s incredibly true. So I recently I finished Not that Kind of Girl: A Memoir by Carlene Bauer.

She tells her story of being raised by an Evangelical mother in New Jersey. Her mother, who endlessly wishes nothing more than for her two daughters to not become “that kind of girl” quite literally – and we all know exactly the type of girls she’s referring to. We’ve either seen them or been them. But that’s not it – she eventually explores her own beliefs, values and widens horizons both spiritual and intellectually. Turning down drugs and sex politely and never with judgment. She belatedly comes of age in New York City on her quest to be a writer (because those stories aren’t a dime a dozen in Manhattan) and makes up for lost time – finding a soul sister in alcohol and meeting men who she doesn’t end up falling in love with – but still holds her value of waiting for love to have sex near to her.

I enjoyed the storyline, sometimes it got a bit wordy for me, but the writing was good. Carlene has a compelling voice to captivate her audience and a unique story to tell. Falling in love, finding yourself in The City in your twenties is a story told often but with her unique voice and values, made it a very worthy read. I sometimes struggled with her wordy descriptions and sometimes too deep explanations but overall, it was an enjoyable read.

4 out of 5 stars

{This review is a part of the TLC Book Tour thus I did receive a copy of the book for free – however all opinions here are my own}

This morning , I went to yoga before work. I was so excited to get back into it, the class was a bit interesting but it was still a nice, much needed stretch. It was a Kripalu/vinyasa flow combo – the class at lululemon on Sundays is usually a vinyasa flow class (open level) which I like to hit up before I work on Sunday’s and it’s been a great way to get Hubs into yoga as well since he’s so often complaining about his muscles aching. Unfortunately, the class, while an interesting way to try something new was not quite what I had expected and I’m not sure I’m into trying Kripalu yoga anytime in the near future.

I enjoyed a breakfast of a luna bar (I hate eating before taking classes), and a lunch of half of a veggie wrap with a slice of chocolate cake left over in the fridge. We were lazy for dinner – I really do need to cook dinner one of these nights but I’ve been so lazy so I had two massive slices of mushroom pizza from my favorite place around the corner. I will NOT eat any more pizza this week.

My biggest challenge this week? Eating well. I’m going to try to bring my lunch 4 out of 5 days (1 for 1 so far!), and cook dinner – even if it’s just a salad – all five nights. Also get back to eating a good hearty breakfast. Breakfast burritos are my favorite -

{Yum.}

I want to look into registering for a half marathon this fall so that I have something to start training for since I’m not running marine corps – also I miss having a training plan and running distances – not quite marathon distances but I really enjoyed the half marathon and the second half of a marathon is always so much slower for me – I really think I can run a sub 2:00:00 half if I put my mind to it.

Anyone got any ideas for races?? Are you all running any races this fall? I was thinking either Atlantic City, Diva Half or one up in Shelburne, VT all in either early October/mid October or early November. Scratch that, I’m going to run the Newport Half Marathon on 10/17 in Newport RI. I’m pretty pumped, I went to Newport once in college to visit a gal pal of mine at Salve Regina – beautiful little beach town, {taken on my trip in 2004}

Unfortunately, that gal pal and I are no longer really pals, which is kind of sad to me – it’s always a little sad when friends break up with you or when you just lose touch. I think the last time I saw her was one of my trips home to Vermont but then she kind of broke up with me over myspace or something around when Hubs and I got engaged. I don’t even remember why really, I don’t know if I really read the message but it still stung. I wonder what she’s up to these days…I tried to send her an email a while ago but she never responded…c’est la vie?

I’m excited though. I’ll start my training next week, and it’ll give me a goal to focus on. Not to mention I’ve started writing again – not quite sure where it’s going but I’m using some of my favorite collegiate anecdotes to make it into the story (fictionalized of course), tomorrow night I’m going to seminar on how to write and publish your first book – it’s a lifetime goal of mine and maybe after tomorrow I’ll feel as if it’s really possible. We’ll see how it goes though!

Schedule this week

*Hot Yoga Monday AM
*Running Tuesday
*Anusara Yoga Tuesday PM (after work/before JLSN)
*Hot Yoga Thursday PM (or spinning)
*Hot Yoga Friday AM

Got any big plans this week freaders?

Since Hubs and I moved to Connecticut this past fall, I’ve found the adjustment much more easier than the one to DC just after college.

I got involved in the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk and have met dozens of amazing, and inspiring ladies who do amazing things in the community.

Not only that, but back when I was living in DC, I was eager to get started with an organization called Girls on the Run. The program I would have been able to assistant coach was in NoVa, we didn’t have a car and it would have made me late for work two days per week. It wasn’t going to fly and I was a little heart broken.

Low and behold, we move up here, and there’s no GOTR in CT. Wamp wamp. So I emailed them, got kicked to a group of women who were all interested and now, here I am helping to start one up – I just got back this week from the training for new council’s and this fall I’ll be one of two nationally trained coaches leading the program in New Canaan, CT. I am beyond excited.

I keep thinking how much I wish I had had this program back when I was younger. A program to teach me about a positive sense of self, and body image and how to combat bullies – can you even imagine? The program is for 8-11 year olds but think about it – by the time you’re 13 girls are just so effing mean. Everyone’s trying to fit in and be popular. I hated my adolescence. I always felt that I was an outsider, especially more so when I moved freshman year of high school.

But imagine if there was an organization committed to helping girls at a young age combat those demons, and struggles? Imagine if at the ripe age of 8 or 9 years old you had a sense of self and a passion for being healthy because of this program? That you had a connection with 14 other young girls because you all learned about it together?

I am so excited to teach these young girls. I’m so excited to see their bright young eyes eager to learn and eager to have fun.

The best part of the training was not just learning how to run this non-profit and learning about it but the best part was mostly about hearing from the founder – Molly Barker – her stories, and learning the lessons straight from the mastermind who created them. Hearing about all the lives the program has changed was so moving and inspiring and I left thinking “Wow. That’s going to be me. Making that kind of huge difference. Wow.” Molly is an amazing, gracious and brilliant woman – her story is beyond inspiring and I can only hope that in 20 years I’ll have made as much of a difference in the world that she has.

This is why I wanted to be a teacher – to make a difference in young lives. And this? Is so much better than that, it’s motivating and inspiring and all while teaching young girls about healthy living and being positive about oneself. I might never become a teacher but wow. Wow. Wow wow wow.

{myself, Molly Barker and my council director}

Thanks for the inspiration Molly and all the other amazing girls at GOTRI – you gals are INCREDIBLE and I look forward to learning more and taking all the information and stories you all shared with us and bringing it all to make a difference in my own community!

What types of community service do you? Are you eager to make a difference in YOUR community???

I’ve been out of town for half the week at a training for a non-profit I’m a part of. It was an amazing little trip down to NC, where I got to meet two dozen or so of the most amazing and inspiring women ever. Seriously. The whole two day trip deserves it’s own post but if you want to get a glimpse of it, go read this blog.

In the meantime, I’m regrouping.

I’ve doing way too much of this…

{Tuesday night at Howl at the Moon in Charlotte, Wednesday a margarita with dinner before my flight and Thursday night with some coworkers at a going away party…needless to say I’ll be detoxing for the next few days.}

BUT! That means I haven’t been doing nearly enough of this…

{After i attempted my first headstand in a class and was unsuccessful, I came home and showed hubs and pupski and wham bam thank you ma’am I made it!}

In short, I need to step away from the bottle – despite the fun I’ve been having – and regroup. Starting tomorrow I’m back to my resolutions (I’m not going to reach that tipping point if I keep eating out and keep acting like a boozehound now will I?) and will hit a yoga class in the AM, and Sunday before work and hopefully Monday I’ll be able to fit one in also or a run, definitely a run and definitely a run on Tuesday.

Thinking about all that makes me giddy and excited. I’ve been gone so my schedule has just been all kinds of whack though, I’ve gotta say I did enjoy getting a little time to do some of this in Charlotte…

{Catch some rays. Enjoy the pool and the view of Downtown Charlotte}

Time to regroup, make out my meal plans, and make a workout schedule for the next week! I’m excited to dive back in.

Tell me, did I miss anything new in the blogosphere? I’ve been so behind on my google reader, tell me what’s new with you all, and also, how do you regroup when you lose your healthy groove?

Ever have that one song?

The one song that takes you back to a very specific time in your life? I have a few, but one came on my iTunes tonight and I probably listened to it about five times in a row. Remembering everything memory that it brought back – email chains, the sound of a far away voice that I haven’t heard since I was about 21 maybe 22 – and the words that ultimately ended a summer, youthful, infatuation – one that went no where because it had nowhere to go. But the summer itself despite the pain it ended with, had so many smiles and goodness in it, that I couldn’t help but not smile when I heard it, despite the negativity once associated with the song.

And I don’t know where you went when you left me but
Says here in the water you must be gone by now
I can tell somehow
One hand on the trigger of a telephone
Wondering when the call comes
Where you say it’s alright
You got your heart right

I’m listening to that one song right now. It brings me back to a summer. A summer filled with love and growth and friends and sunshine and laughing and tears and more growth and more learning about myself and all that fun stuff that you do in college.

You know that summer love, the one that isn’t really love at all but teaches you so much about yourself in the mean time but never really amounts to anything but some boy playing his guitar over the phone to you while you wrote 15 page policy papers, making promises that would never be kept, wishing for something that wasn’t there. Phone calls walking to and fro classes, cities away from each other, and the heartbreak, oh my gawd the heartbreak when you finally have that one realization that it’s just…not meant to be and never would be. Years later, you’d be in the same place at the same time, having both long moved on, not even wondering what could have been but reminiscing longingly for those days of youthful infatuation.

Two wrongs make it all alright tonight
All you need is love is a lie cause
We had love but we still said goodbye
Now we’re tired, battered fighters
And it stings when it’s nobody’s fault
Cause there’s nothing to blame at the drop of your name
It’s only the air you took and the breath you left

Ahhh, youth. Remember that summer friends? The summer of kissing boys, and drinking rum that I still don’t know how we got because we were only 20 and barely old enough to know what love was. You know, the type of love where you give up your life for someone else, and someone else gives up theirs for you. The type of love that makes your toes curl in the morning when you wake up next to someone and realize that someone loves you for you. Not for who you were, or who you might be but for the you that’s laying there – bad morning breath and messy hair galore. Yeah, those boys, at 20, were not that kind of love. They were barely the type of love – nay, infatuation or lust – that would IM you in the AM. They were the ones you hoped would turn into that big love. But they didn’t. And so, I spent that summer tanning, taking the T to Revere Beach, watching way too much trashy television with my roommate and bestie (remember Sorority Life?) and breaking up with boys who made me feel bad about myself and being infatuated with ones who weren’t even around. Who I didn’t even know (my former forray into online dating was via livejournal dudes mostly. They’ve got their own set of issues which is a whole NOTHER blog post my friends).

But you know what, everything happens for a reason. And I keep telling myself, and telling myself that in hopes that I’ll feel better about this past year in all it’s ups and downs. You know, the whole leaving DC thing. I have to keep telling myself that we’re happier here. And we are. No really. We are. But a part of me wonders what if I had just worked harder, or found a better job. Or known what the hell I really wanted to do with my life (I still, really, have no idea, or I do but just lack how to get there). Maybe things would be easier. Maybe just maybe…

And I know it was me who called it over but
I still wish you’d fought me ’til your dying day
Don’t let me get away
Cause I can’t wait to figure out what’s wrong with me
So I can say this is the way that I used to be
There’s no substitute for time
Or for the sadness
Split screen sadness
We share the sadness

John Mayer, you have crooned through my speakers and spoken to me on many a summer night. And tonight, you were the perfect inspiration to remind me to live in the moment. Be present here and now. Just like yoga teaches us. Strength from within, not from the past, because the past is what brought us here to now. And if I wasn’t here, if I hadn’t gotten here, I wouldn’t have found my love of yoga, my inspiring coworkers, and I wouldn’t have my loving husband to experience all of it with. So even though some of those summer nights back in 2003 (and even the following years)hurt. A lot. And I cried, a lot, they made me stronger, and they brought me here. To the present.

I read an interesting article on Fitness Magazine online about “7 habits of Highly Motivated Exercisers”

I am not a motivated exerciser. I never really have been. But nowadays, I’d rather park my butt on the sofa and watch The Office.

The article has some tips to motivate yourself -

1. Don’t put away your gear
2. turning your commute into a workout
3. Invest in more workout clothes
4. Log your workouts online
5. Involve your causes
6. Make friends with class regulars
7. Create an exercise contest

I don’t know what motivates me. It really depends on the day (no seriously) but sometimes, I really, really struggle with motivation, but then again, who doesn’t?

Last month, work had a contest to see who could workout the most – going to classes and extra points for going with coworkers. That worked wonders for me! Last week, I did nothing but run a 10k. This week, I skimped early on in the week but went to hot yoga last night and went to yoga tonight (anusara based).

Almost every day, I walk to the train station. I then walk half a mile uphill to my store. Working requires me to stand on my feet for 5.5-7 hours running around, up and down stairs. It’s intense – and I love it – don’t get me wrong. But somedays, tacking on a 45 minute workout or an hour and a half class to that? Is too much.

But these are great tips. Maybe, instead of walking to the train, I’ll run (even if it means I have to buy my lunch because there’s no way I could carry my lunch with me). Maybe, I start making a few weekly dates with my runs – you know, instead of crapping out on my runs, I wouldn’t crap out on a pal, but I’d make sure to find the time. I need to go to classes with more of my coworkers, and perhaps I should start logging things on sparkpeople again – because I was doing that at one point, maybe I should do it again – they have a point system. I’m big on the points/rewards – can you tell? Maybe, just maybe, I’ll put myself on a point system, and each month based on my points, I’ll reward myself with a new dress or something from JCrew.

I do know, that I want to get into a habit. I’m so close to that “tipping point.”Where my healthy living is an actual lifestyle not just something I do when I feel like it, but I just can’t reach the edge. It’s one of the greatest things I’ve gotten from reading other healthy living bloggers like Caitlin for instance – who is such an inspiration to me – and had her own “healthy tipping point” (like her blog title). They say that habits take 3 weeks to form. So how about, starting today – 3 weeks from today I see if these following resolutions have come true…see if I can form habits, habits I’ve been TRYING to form for years now but have since been…unsuccessful.

1. I go to yoga 3 times per week
2. I run 3 days per week
3. I eat at home 5 nights per week (at least!)
4. I bring my lunch to work 4 out of 5 days

We’re going to give it til August 15. I’m traveling next week for to this organization’s training (so excited to be one of the lead coaches in CT!!!) so I know it’ll be a little difficult although if I can manage to eat healthy for my meals on the run, then I’ll count it. I’m going to log everything, starting tomorrow – meals, workouts on the tumblr blog and every other day or so here to track my progress. Tracking, I’ve found, is imperative in my own accountability.

I want to make habits. I want to be motivated 99% of the time instead of you know, 75% of the time. I don’t want to just be living healthily when it’s convenient I want it to be my lifestyle. And I’ll get there. By August 15. After all, summer is coming to an end quicker than we think and we all know what autumn and winter bring. Let’s all make summer resolutions. I’m going to hold myself accountable on my sidebar

What do you want to make into a habit in the next month? How do you hold yourself accountable for your goals?

Saturday I ran race number 5 of my 9+1 quest to run the NYC marathon next year. Technically it was #6 because the Race for Haiti back in February was a double qualifier.

It was…hot. Friday night, I got ridiculously ill thanks to a combo of too much food and too much wine and not enough lunch. The wine came before the food, and oh mah goodness. Bad, bad, bad. Bad Heidi.

I am not always the queen of bad decisions. The bad decisions ended with these.

{holy Italian cookies batman.}

But despite hugging the porcelain god that night, and then passing out curled up on our bathroom floor (it wasn’t just the wine! I swear!) I was in bed by 11pm and somehow managed to have Hubs set my alarm, checked the alarm at 3am, and woke up – only mildly hungover at 6am in time to throw my butt in the shower to get up.

Still managed to leave about 30 minutes later than i had hoped (we ended up leaving around 8, I wanted to leave at 7:30 but Hubs didn’t think I was going to wake up for it (i had questioned if I was going to run it on the ride home) but I did and was relatively perky when I got him up.

Hubs managed to see me right by the end. When we first parked, at about 8:45, we realized the spot we parked in was in a tow zone. So he moved the car while I ran over to the start line. He saw me right by mile 6.

Mile 1 was tough, miles 2 – 4 were okay, but mile 2 started out rough since there are a lot of hills on that side of the Park. Mile 5 was hot…and wet – there were a couple of misting stations as we got past the 5k mark so I was pretty drenched as I came into the final leg but I still felt like I was a lot slower during this mile. Mile 6 I picked up the pace – I was feeling pretty good by then and then went into near full sprint mode to finish it up just after I saw hubs.

I get all happy when I see him on race courses.

I did not splash afterwards, mostly because Hubs couldn’t splash with me (which I didn’t realize but whatevs I wasn’t just going to leave him on the side of the pool). But I was pretty stoked that my lululemon groovy run shorts were COMPLETELY dry by the time I got back to the car. The cool racerback tank? Not so much but it wasn’t a heavy wet, just damp.

My garmin seems to be off, I don’t know if this is normal but it was about .04 miles off from the mile markers, so by the time i turned it off which was a bit past the finish, it was at 6.3 miles but at least the time wasn’t too far off (it took me about two minutes to get down the chute. My splits were good – I kept the same 11:29/mi pace through the first 3 miles, mile 4 was 11:54; mile 5 was 12:29; mile 6 was 10:56; according to the garmin, the last .3 (stupid garmin. and stupid me for not getting the time right) was at a 11:30 pace (best 7:30?!?!). But since part of that was walking, that’s probably the slower pace.

Distance: 10k. (6.2 miles)
Time: 1:11:29 (garmin 1:12:19)
pace: 11:31/mi

Go me?

PS I redesigned the blog, the tumblr and the twitter. Click on through and check them out – I’m pretty pleased! I also designed myself some rockin’ lil b-cards for BlogHer 2010 NYC – are YOU going???

After my 27th birthday this past year, I reevaluated what I wanted to do before I turned the inevitable, and sometimes, daunting, big 3-0. Then I realized that I’ve done a lot…I graduated college, moved to a new city by myself, went overseas, traveled, had my heart broken, fell in love again, got a puppy, got engaged, got hitched, moved closer to home, lost a job (or two), quit a job, and found a path to my dream career (which is entirely unrelated to said degree).

But, I wanted to make sure I had fun in my 20′s.

So I started the list (inspired by various other lists).

Wellp. I finally knocked one of them off.

#13. Go to a Yankees Game

I am pleased to say that on July 3, Hubs and I went to the House that Jeter Built and saw the Bronx Bombers play Toronto. It was pretty awesome. They won. We saw Brett Gardner’s first career grand slam.

{‘sup Yankee Stadium}

We ate. Drank. And were merry. A lot. We drank a lot. Pretty much all morning (starting with the train ride), all day, and then into the night. When we went back to Stamford, hit up Tiernan’s where I pwned Hubs at Knock Off (an electronic version of Shuffleboard) and he pwned me at darts.

{Here batter, batter, batter}

The stadium itself was AHHHH-freakin’-MAZING. I can’t wait to go again, unfortunately, since we had known about the game for a while (the tickets were hubs’ birthday present from moi), we knew to budget for it but…

$40 – train to Yankee Stadium
$20 – two beers @ game
$14 – two dogs
$8.50 – nachos to share
$40 – tickets to game

Total for one day at Yankee Stadium:  ~$120

Love you hubs…

but furthermore, go Yankees!

What’s on your list of things to accomplish in life? Do you have a x before x list?

I keep telling my pals I’d be a vegetarian if I wasn’t married to a steak and potatoes kind of dude.

Thankfully, that steak and potatoes kind of dude is willing to try anything once and anything that I put in front of him. So I was pretty excited to try the Tempeh Sloppy Joe’s I saw over on Caitlin’s blog. Except the first time I wanted to cook them, I couldn’t find tempeh (or you know, I just didn’t know what it looks like or where to find it. I think they were out of it that weekend…) But then, last weekend I randomly stumbled upon it in my local Stop & Shop…and I thought I’d have to trek over to Whole Foods. Stop & Shop for the WIN!

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes {via Healthy Tipping Point}

Ingredients (for 2 burgers):

• 1/2 cup organic ketchup
• 1/4 cup organic yellow mustard
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Sprinkle of cinnamon, chili powder, and pepper
• 2/3 packet of organic tempeh, chopped and crumbled
• Spinach for garnish
• Bun of English Muffins

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Combine first 6 ingredients in a small pot on the stovetop.
• Turn on low and heat for five minutes, until it starts to bubble.  Stir thoroughly!
• Add in crumbled tempeh and stir.
• Pour into oven-safe casserole dish and place in oven.
• Cook at 350 for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Spoon onto bun and top with spinach

I didn’t realize we were out of honey until it was too late (I could have sworn we had some) so I added a little bit of molasses which seemed to work out well. I kind of winged the ingredients (doubled mostly) because I wanted to have some extras and/or have seconds because I’m a pig.

BUT! The awesome part about this meal (it’s kind of like, three or four days late. I think I made it Thursday night and have just been too lazy to update my pictures) was the side dish.

Sweet Potato Fries {via Country Living}

Ingredients

• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4t ground red pepper
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 2 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) sweet potatoes

Directions

1. Prepare the sweet potatoes: In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel potatoes, cut each in half lengthwise, and cut each half into 6 wedges. In a large bowl, combine the cut potatoes, oil, and spice mixture. Toss until potatoes are evenly coated.
2. Bake the fries: On a baking sheet, arrange potatoes in a single layer and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake until edges are crisp and potatoes are cooked through — about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

{Yum.}

The night before, I had gone over to a gal pal’s apartment late night after my staff meeting at work and she cooked an amazing meal of steak, grilled veggies and sweet potato fries so I was kind of craving them. Except I had two sweet potatoes on the counter and decided to make them myself.

Weekend was good – I’ll update more later with a race recap of the Dash & Splash 10k which I ran with a nasty case of the hangover nauseousness (that’s a whole SEPARATE story). Considering my last 10k didn’t freakin’ record my time (The 2009 Capitol Hill 10k – my D-Tag didn’t work but apparently that was common as a lot of the reviews on active.com complained about that but it sucks because I don’t have a record of my time for that). This was, regrettably, the ONLY working out I did this past week. Granted it was like 100 gazillion degrees and I HATE when Hubs has the car because it means I can’t get my sorry butt to yoga classes.

All in all though, back to the meal, it was INCREDIBLY easy  to make, the cook time was relatively fast, though it would have been easier if  you know, I had dualing ovens. Even a gas stove would be nice. I miss my gas stove from DC.