Quit Hasslin' Me, Pip

See that little girl down there, the one who's complaining about her sedentary lifestyle and trying to goad me into a run?

She's a bit of a pip.

She's also a liar! I have been running. I didn't while we were in California, but in the month since we returned, I've gotten back on the 'mill. It never fails to amaze me how much easier it is to build up my (modest, but important to me) mileage once I've established a foundation. Before we left, I was running 3+ miles 2-3 times a week. After almost four weeks off (2 weeks on vacation, followed by two bouts of sickness in quick succession), I could struggle through two and a half miles. But within 2 weeks, I'm now back up to 3+. It feels amazing!

Anyway, my little Nike+ girl (did I ever give her a name? How about Pip? Ok. Pip.) has been getting some bad information. Somewhere in California, I lost the receiver that my Nike+ transmitter talks to. It plugs into the bottom of my Nano, so it seems that'd be a logical place to keep it, but it drains the battery so I packed them separately (and used neither). Now I can't find it. I'm lucky, because my transmitter will also talk to my iPhone, but I don't want to run with the phone, and I have a spotty record of remembering to start the program when I'm on the treadmill. So Pip's a liar, I have been running.

Incidentally, it doesn't seem I can buy a new receiver, only a receiver and a transmitter, or just a transmitter. But not a receiver alone. What?

A weird thought to wrap up this ramble: Some mornings I work out before work, and use the toiletries (shampoo/conditioner/body wash/lotion) provided by my swanky gym. Then all day long, I feel like someone else is standing near me, just out of eyesight, because I don't smell like myself. It's bizarre.

Welcome To The Family, Robot!

Hello, lover! Or, more accurately, hello birthday gift from Cam. He's too much, I swear. This thing is freaking gorgeous. World, meet Robot (the "t" is silent), short for Robot Culinaire. Combined with this little beauty...


...We are in business! Maybe literally. But that's a story for another time. This is the story of our first dinner with Robot. Shrimp Cakes with Chili-Lime Cream Sauce, from Bon Appetit. I think it's supposed to be a first course, or appetizer, but did that stop us? Of course not. So, while Cam peeled and cleaned the shrimp (exceptionally grody ones - half of them had orange stuff lining their, um, tracks - roe? We'd never seen that before.), I mise'd the place.

Green onions and an egg, some butter, of course.


White wine, chopped ginger and shallots, and lime juice form the base for the sauce.


Those formerly icky shrimp.


The cakes! 12, as the recipe promised. Very simple, really - just 16 large shrimp, a green onion, some dijon mustard and Sriracha, salt, pepper and panko. We omitted the cilantro - I have the tastes-like-soap issue with it from time to time. Robot 'em up, form cakes, roll in more panko, and refrigerate for a bit to firm them up.

If you looked at the recipe, you may notice two more ingredients we "omitted." An egg, and some lemon juice. Oops!


Fry 'em up in peanut oil. I tried not to watch. One of Cam's favorite things to torture me with is the Fry Daddy. We do NOT have one, and I maintain we don't ever need one - fried food should rarely be consumed, and you should have to leave the house for it. Anyway...


Plated with the sauce, which I would've eaten over dirty socks, it's that good. Started with the above foundation, then made ridiculous with butter, cream, and about two tablespoons of Sriracha. I die!

So, yeah. Easy recipe, and delicious, even without the egg and lemon juice. My only real critique is that the cakes were a little dense, but I'm sure that's all about me forgetting the egg. I'd make them again, and serve them to anyone. You, if you're lucky.

More On Weddings

Two weekends ago, I saw another fabulous couple get hitched and ride off into the sunset together. It was pretty flipping amazing. Every wedding is unique, of course, but this one was special for a couple of reasons. For one, it was held at my aunt's house, where she married my uncle just about 5 years ago. That was an almost inexpressibly great event - she found the love of her life when she was more than 50, and she and her husband are so blissfully perfect for one another, then and now, that it's an inspiring story for everyone who's still hoping to find someone to love forever. So to have this more recent wedding echo that one set it up for greatness from the start. Secondly, the couple themselves, of course. They could not be more kind, more generous, more loving. My "new" cousin - a daughter from my "new" uncle's first marriage - and her now-husband only met my family about 2 years ago, and we all took to one another in an instant. And finally (of course there are a billion reasons the wedding was great - I haven't even mentioned the amazing Mexican food yet - but finally, for these purposes), the lovely couple is really dedicated to living consciously, and to that end, nearly everything was recyclable or compostable. Seriously - the day after the big event, the groom and about 5 of us helpers went through all the refuse from the weekend, and came away with just one small garbage bag of actual garbage. Incredible!

Now, a related complaint, sort-of. I'm going to a bridal shower for my boyfriend's sister on Saturday, and like many couples, she and her beloved are registered at Target. Have you ever gone to a Target to buy off a registry? I did, today, and it's stupid. I looked up the registry from home, made mental notes about a couple of items, found one, and took it to guest services so they could check it off. But they can't just look up the registry - you have to go to a kiosk and print out the entire thing so they can scan the barcode on the first page. This was a reasonable registry, 5 pages long. So I printed 5 pages... And so will every other guest who goes to Target to shop for them. There's no "print first page" option, and if there's a way to get the item checked off the registry without printing the whole thing, the employee I dealt with didn't know it. Ridiculous. Spending nearly two weeks in California made a definite live-with-less/be greener impression on me, and the thought of 50 guests each printing 5 pages... Times a billion weddings... Grr.

Quittin' It

Yet another of my less-than-chewy tv show favorites is Run's House, the MTV "reality" show about Rev. Run's (of Run-DMC fame, Mom and Dad) family. It's actually incredibly wholesome, and he has the cutest kids imaginable. Diggy seems a little like the lost middle child sometimes -- inevitable in a family of superstars, where his two older sisters have a sneaker empire, his older brother is trying to start up a rap career, and his younger brother Russy steals the show with dimples and antics (says Mom, Justine: "He aces everything he tries."). It's the only scenario imaginable where Diggy might get overshadowed -- in any other family, he'd outshine everyone. Well, it turns out Diggy has a blog, "Life of the Jet Setter." It looks, well, surprisingly real, for a reality show project. He mostly posts stills from fashion shows showcasing looks and designers he likes, and occasionally, he writes.

Also wanted to say thank you everyone for the feedback on the blog and for subscribing I see that almost everyone started a blog and that's great it's a good way to be creative and do something with you time. I enjoy it a whole lot and I hope you all enjoy it as well! Aight I'm out. God Bless. Peace.

He's better than Stephanie Meyer, that's for sure. So, yeah. Diggy's blog is better than mine, what's the point? I'm out.

Kidding. Just expressing my unnatural pride in a kid I'll never know.

Of Fruits And Flies

One of the things I considered essential when condo-shopping was a window over the kitchen sink. If not essential, well, incredibly desirable. So we've got one, and it's big enough to grow a nice respectable tangle of herbs -- tall basil stalks, thyme, oregano, sage and a rosemary tumbleweed. They're beautiful and bring a little of the outside in.

Somewhere along the way, on one of our produce runs, we too brought a little of the outside in -- fruit flies. They took to the oregano in a flash, and soon I was swatting them away from my face in every room of the house. Not a major infestation, but an annoyance. Cam said the way to solve the problem is to break off a section of banana and drop it in a jar, then cover the jar with plastic wrap pierced with holes. The fruit flies zoom in to chow the banana, then can't escape.

The other day I had a nectarine with a little ding in it I need to cut out, so I dropped the bruised bit into a jar, covered it with plastic, popped it with holes and snapped a rubber band around it. It worked like a champ, See all those little guys?



Here's my question. Now what? What am I supposed to do with all the buggies?

And while we're asking questions...



I bought a lime a couple days ago. Where did it go?

Cake Is Real Food

Ok! So as promised, some good food I made myself. I'm still a little embarrassed about my Lean Cuisine revelation, but hey, no one's perfect. Anyway!

So after making a three-layer 9" round strawberry cake for my sister, and 3 6" round 3-layer cakes for the lovely psmee's bridal shower*, I asked Cam what kind of cake he wanted. He wanted the chocolate whiskey and beer cupcakes (aka "Irish Car Bomb" cupcakes) I made once before, in cake form.

I've certainly been learning from all the Smitten Kitchen reading I do, because I knew the batter for a standard batch of cupcakes should nicely fill 2 9" rounds. So I whipped it up as written, then poured it into the round pans, docked the temperature to 325 to ensure flat tops, and baked them till the toothpick came out clean. Then I cooled them, wrapped them in foil and plastic wrap, and froze them. When your man's on the road constantly and unpredictably, cakes in the freezer make it easy to pounce on a window when he's home.

The day after his actual birthday (which he spent outside Columbus, Ohio. Magical, he'll tell you) I got my opportunity to finish the cake. I used the cupcake ganache recipe too, but either I did something wrong, or it was just too runny to go in the middle layer of the cake. So I added in some more melted chocolate, froze and stirred, froze and stirred, and finally got something that would stay in the center without squishing out the sides.

Finally, the Bailey's icing. I remembered that the original recipe made a small amount, which was ideal because it was incredibly sweet. I'm so infatuated with Swiss buttercream after making it for psmee that I decided to hack SK's recipe by replacing the vanilla with Bailey's. It's the craziest icing - for what feels like forever, the KitchenAid swirls away at this gloppy lumpy white mess, and then suddenly, it takes. Worth the wait, and there is no other frosting, to my experience, that's more delicious, easier to work with, or more durable. Success!

As you can see, Cam's cake came out pretty great. He loved it. The only thing he worried about was the leftovers, significant for a household of 2. But! I threw him a tiny surprise party the following night, and the 8 of us managed to make short work of it.

*Banana cake with cream cheese icing, chocolate with chocolate ganache, and vanilla cake with Swiss buttercream and layers of strawberries. And yes, I'm asking for Sky High for my birthday!

I Love A Wedding

It's a good thing, since I've got quite a few to attend this year! This weekend's going to be standout no matter what goes down at the next ones, though. One of my very best friends got married to a great guy, and I'm so excited for them to build a long future together. The newlyweds are off to Europe tomorrow, and I wish them a great trip! Here are a few of the things I won't soon forget about their nuptials and celebration.

1. There is a video of me twisting - from behind, with Cam, in my Lilly Pulitzer bridesmaid's dress - posted to Facebook. And I don't hate it - rather, I find it hilarious. My posture is tragic, as usual, though.
2. Wedding bands can actually be good! Bravo, "The New Monopoly." Bravo. I never thought I'd hear a band cover OutKast, "Scotty Doesn't Know," and Chubby Checker. And so much more. I'm not sure I've ever danced that much at a wedding!
3. The bride wrote a poem for the groom, which her cousin read at the ceremony. And it didn't suck, not even a little bit.
4. Sea Scallops rolled in shredded phyllo, fried crisp, and served on a bed of wilted spinach, lump crab and proscuitto ham. And Choptank Sweets. And carrot cake. And grade one tuna tartare with sushi rice, seaweed salad, pickled ginger and wasabi vinaigrette. Thank you so much for renting out the best restaurant in town!
5. Dancing with Cam. He's somewhat reluctant, generally, unless the music is old country or bluegrass. But every time a girlfriend grabbed my hand and hauled me back to the dancefloor, he was right behind me. And we had so much fun!

Next wedding is about 3 weeks away, my fabulous new cousin and her beloved are tying the knot in California and I can't wait. Let me back up and explain "new cousin." My aunt, my mom's only sister, got married for the first time when she was about 50, to an amazing man who has 4 daughters from his previous marriage. They all seem really nice, but one in particular is at a similar age and place in her life to my sister and me, and she and her fiancee couldn't have meshed more easily with my family if they tried. They're the coolest. Should be a very different event - much less preppy, much more granola, but equally lovely.

Embarassing Revelation #1

I actually think this meal is pretty good. Like, I look forward to it as it spins in the microwave. I don't dream about it, or even crave it, but yeah. I like it.

Full disclosure, I only resort to the ol' LC's when I'm too lazy or uninspired to pack something better. I'm a die-hard lunch-packer, and sometimes I just get burned out. Stay tuned for future confessions of this sort. There are a handful that aren't too bad. See the "Twice the Veggies" bit on the top corner? Key.

Please don't hate me! I still love good food! I promise! Let me tell you about the cake I baked for Cam, OK? I will. I mean it.

Mission Accomplished!

Good golly. It seems we are the proud owners of iPhone 3Gs's! Today has been too much fun. We got to the AT&T store around 6, as planned, and settled into a tiny line. An hour later, the pre-order folks went in, and by 7:30 they were letting us regular people in. We had the nicest woman help us - Chelsea - she made short work of transferring our two separate accounts, on different carriers, into one lovely little family plan bundle. Birthday plan #1, a total success, with no hassle and just enough of a "remember-that-time-we" memory to make it stick. Click on the picture, if you're so inclined - my little beauty takes quite a nice mobile photo!

Crazeballs

Yup, we're nuts. You may know that already, but do you know the extent to which Cam and I have lost our minds?

About a year ago, Cam mentioned to me that he'd really like an iPhone. I was having none of it. "You're crazy," I said. "You constantly drop things, and your job is dangerous, and you'll lose it. No way. Bad idea." Of course, I don't have any authority over whether or not he buys one, but he took my concerns and thought some more.

Six months ago. "I want an iPhone." "You'll drop it or lose it."

Four months ago. "I want an iPhone." "Bad idea..."

...But secretly? I kind of wanted him to have it. See, last year, on his birthday, I was a reallllly bad girlfriend. How bad? I went away for the weekend with my girlfriends to celebrate all of us turning 30 that year. On his birthday. More than a month before I actually did turn 30.

He had a good birthday anyway, and I tried to make it up to him, but ever since then I've known I really have to hit it out of the park this year. So I started to think, "What if I did get him an iPhone? He'd never expect it, since I've been dead-set against it for all this time..."

Once I decided to go for it, and did the research, I realized 2 is better than one, money-wise. The service plan's a lot more reasonable. And my contract was up. So I decided we'd get two. So I just needed to try to delay him till his birthday. My awesome bro-il helped, sending me an article filled with rumors about a new model being released in June, just weeks before Cam's birthday. So I sent him that, and he was excited, but it was all just rumors. And when he came back from a big trip abroad, he broke the news to me: "I think I'm buying an iPhone."

I took a deep breath, then confessed my plan. So ever since then, it hasn't been a secret, and we've been having fun trading Apple rumors. Sadly, I never learned there was a pre-sale option, that one could order the phones and have them delivered to the AT&T store for pickup on the release date, June 19th. So here's how it's going to go down. AT&T stores will open at 7 for pre-sale lucky ducks, 9am for the massses. We are the masses. So we're planning to get in line at 6 tomorrow morning. Best believe I'll be bringing my camera, and the sweet camp chair Cam made an REI run for today. Wish us luck!

Please Mom May I Have Another?

Because we're classy and have an enormous condo, Cam and I eat at the coffee table. We could eat in the breakfast nook, or the formal dining room, but that's absurd (and also more flat out lies. We have neither.). The coffee table's got shelves - a 2x3 grid of cubbies. Winston likes to lie in the one below my plate, per the above picture.


Then, at some point during the meal, he creeps out. Mom? Food? Me? Aren't I cute?


He then spends a lot of time staring at my plate, hoping. This is actually really polite behavior for him - he thinks nothing of standing up on his hind legs and fishing around on the counters for goodies. I'll try for a picture of that next.

Dinner, by the way, was rigatoni in a roasted red pepper & parmesan cream sauce, topped with windowsill basil, zucchini on the side. With homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Not too shabby!

Yummy Jonathan Adler Wishlist

I've recently come out of my cave a little bit by entering contests on a few of my favorite websites. What could it hurt, right? The Pioneer Woman has frequent, insanely awesome giveaways, which I love. Any excuse to visit her site, really. Tangentially, she also has a really simple philosophy about updating her blog: Do it daily, so people never waste their time visiting. Food for thought.

Anyway, it's the giveaway going on over at Decor8 today that sent me straight to my Blogger account. Holly Becker's giving away two Jonathan Adler gift certificates, and to enter the contest, you had to list 2-4 items you'd love to buy there. My typing wrists are resting in a puddle of drool after making my list. Here are my choices.

Pie-in-the-sky selection: chain rug

Slightly closer to earth: meurice mirror

And finally, affordable: helix bath jar


Of course, the likelihood I'll win contests on these fabulously popular sites is slim, but it's so fun to enter!

Who Feels Like Chicken Tonight?

Me, for one. I've got that ridiculous bird in the oven right now. Ridiculous because he weighs 5lbs. I wanted a nice yummy organic birdie in the 3-4lb range, but ye olde Perdue was my only option. I think it'll be fantastic anyway. It's destined for the belly of my friend who could use some comfort food. We'll let you know how it turns out, because you need to know.

So, the many many wall-ready pictures aren't up yet. I'm weirdly indecisive about this particular decorating decision. Just about every piece of furniture we've got I've loved and felt sure about, and I know I want all those pics up, but I'm having a hard time with it. I need some opinions, but I think that'll be hard to do electronically. So would you please come over and help me with that? I'll feed you chicken!

On Deck

So, the framing saga continues. While I was waiting on my custom frame job for that little zebra, I headed over to American Frame on my bro-il's recommendation. There, I picked out frames and mats for just about everything else we needed framed. I have to say - easy to use website, much less expensive than in a brick & mortar shop, and everything arrived quickly and with all the pieces. Some might see it as a drawback that they're covered in plexi, not actual glass, but it looks great and these aren't priceless heirlooms. I'm pretty pleased, I have to say.

Cam and I (OK, mostly Cam) assembled everything Monday night. Now the fun part - where are we going to hang all these beauties? Speaking of beauties, here are the credits, from L-R:

-A print of a tern we picked up on a daytrip to Ellicott City, MD
-A signed, numbered Jay Ryan print from the Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs tour. This one's called "opposite day." Jay toured with Andrew and sold his prints, especially a collection of 14 based on Andrew's songs. And when Andrew came by work, Jay came along. He gave me a stack of his work - seriously, about a dozen different prints. They are each amazing. I gave some away, hung two in my cubicle, framed these 2, and have a few more. He's incredibly talented.
-A papyrus from Cairo Cam brought back. It's of a big black cat.
-"black and white and read all over" by Melissa Bryant, also known as mywireempire on Etsy. That's the one I got framed for $70.
-Gingko leaves in a wreath from Bold&Noble, also available on Etsy.
-Another Jay Ryan. I'm a lucky girl. This one's for "masterfade."
-And another papyrus from Cairo. This one's my favorite of the stack Cam brought home.

Now we just have to figure out where to hang everything. That's the sort of project I enjoy!

45.79 Miles!

Hi there! Check out my little runner girl, down there on the left - she's so pleased! Just synced some new runs. Post to come tomorrow night, a follow-up to the framing post - we now have 6 framed beauties in need of wallspace, and I had a top-secret project that turned out well, so details soon. Sleep well, my friends!

Frames And Layers

This evening I headed over to Capitol Hill to get a mat for an Etsy print I needed framed. It was a great experience - the gentleman helping me, DJ, was quiet and intelligent, but also enthusiastic about the choices I made. He loved the frame, which was clearly inexpensive and from Target (and yeah, me and my big mouth, I totally told him that's where it was from in a weird confessional way), and thought it looked great with the mat color I picked. It was such a good experience, and so inexpensive, that I decided to get another print framed. This one was small, but such an odd shape that I hadn't had any luck finding a frame that could work. So I selected a simple white, wood frame, and a mat that complimented the image, and plain glass.

$70, and I'm assembling it myself.

I knew framing was expensive, but wow! But, also wow - what a great trade to learn. You need space, and specialized equipment, but if I could learn how to do that, that would make a great Plan B. Have you seen this article that's making the rounds right now, from the New York Times? It's called "The Case For Working With Your Hands." I like to think that's not something I've ever needed convincing about, that I've always valued work, and trades[wo]men. If it was ever something I was elitist about, all traces of snobbery have disappeared since dating Cam. He's always made his living as a mechanic of sorts - he's worked on cars, motorcycles, and boats, and now, on hydrogen generators. He's got more career mobility than I'll ever have, and I really admire the knowledge he picks up along the way and how he's constantly building upon that base, and using it to solve new problems. Everyone does that to a degree, of course, but nothing I do gets our DirecTV wired through the air ducts*. Cam took one look at where the TV needed to be mounted, and where the cables came through, and made it happen.

I have said for a long time that building and decorating cakes for Baskin-Robbins was quite possibly my favorite job. I learned a ton, and I've recently been chipping the rust off those old skills, baking cakes for friends. So far, so good, and I'd be lying if I said I'd never entertained the idea of chucking my career (after much more practice, of course) and hanging out my shingle as a baker.

Dipping my baby toe into the world of framing, though, gave me another idea (a fantasy, really). How cool would it be to apprentice with a framer, then open up a shop? I love the design aspect, of picking the right mat and frame and detail for a picture. But as appealing as that all sounds, I'm equally intrigued by the tools of the trade, necessary for cutting wood and fitting corners and sizing glass.

I'm not really someone who has dreams about what I'm going to be when I grow up. Gross as it sounds, I already got what I wanted. I got - and have - my dream job. But lately, I'm starting to get glimpses of what my next life could be like. It's a relief, really, because between getting said dream job and now, I've been a little worried about the "what next," about how to have goals and dreams when I got what I really wanted at 25. How exciting to see there's still a path ahead of me.

*On a side note, there was one home problem I should have been well-equipped to solve, and I failed miserably: wiring my record player to play through my stereo. I carefully plugged everything in, from turntable to preamp and out of the preamp into the stereo... And it sounded AWFUL. Distorted and loud and just dirty. I should have realized hey, it sounds like this is double-amplified, a problem I know how to solve when dealing with my recording equipment for work, but nope. I got a new stylus, Cam and I grounded the crap out of every stage of the setup even though it didn't sound like a grounding issue, and I even got a new, fancier preamp in case that was the issue. And then I turned to my genius friends, the audio engineers. They all thought of the same question instantly: "Hey, is there a preamp already built in to the record player?" Duh. Yes. So now I have not one, but two useless preamps. But hey, I can listen to my vinyl again!

Ricki Hits Rock Bottom

Oh man. I've never hidden my love of trashy shows of all stripes. Rock of Love, the Hills, Rob & Big, if it's vaguely reality based and on MTV or VH1, I'll probably watch it. For whatever reason, Charm School never made the list... Until today. I blame the gym! The dumbest show in the world looks downright appealing compared to staring out the window while I pant on my hamster wheel. First of all, it's got one of my favorite Brett Michaels rejects, Ashley. She's a total trainwreck, and she and her partner in crime, Farrah, are a trip. What the French! But, seriously? This show is godawful, and RICKI LAKE is hosting! Now that's the real What the French! I mean, it's a paycheck, but she just uttered the following sentence:

It makes me uncomfortable because Charm School is supposed to be the kind of environment that fosters respect.

Ohhhh Ricki. I know it's a paycheck. But... Just... NO.

Shake My Taters

First of all, is there anything quite like a Mom? Cam and I are lucky to have two of the best, and so Mother's Day was an incredibly fun holiday this year. But, really, we celebrated moms all weekend.

Saturday, after a quick perusal of some local yard sales, we headed to Annapolis to meet the newest mom I know: My friend, Susan. She had a baby boy about 6 weeks ago, and we had yet to meet him. As anticipated, he's adorable. He's got her coloring and her husband's red hair, and he screamed up a storm while we there. I have that effect on infants, for some reason. Then we went to my "nephew", Evan's, second birthday party. It was a really fun afternoon with old family friends, most of all, Evan's mom, my best friend. She's pregnant again and so cute. That night we caroused with one of Cam's buddies, then the next morning, mom celebrations began anew.

My mom is super cool so for Mother's Day, she went to the bagel place and got bagels for everyone, and when we woke up we gave her her present: tickets for the 6 of us (mom, dad, sister, bro-il, cam, and me) to go see Star Trek. It. Was. AWESOME. Seriously. I mean, exceeded-expectations good-times-for-fans-and-non-fans AWESOME. I was really worried there would be a "heh heh check us out we're in a Star Trek movie heh heh" mentality from the cast, and there was none of that. This was a rockin' good time.

After the movie, Cam and I took off to make an early dinner (is that what "supper" is? The meal after church, but not in the evening?) for another awesome mom in our lives - his. She requested bulgogi and kimchi, so after a grocery shopping trip, we spent an hour and a half buzzing around her awesome, newly renovated kitchen. We chopped, diced, mashed, blended, massaged, sliced and squeezed our way to a pretty incredible meal, and she was thrilled. It was so fun to take the time to make something new, and Cam and I are a great team in the kitchen. It's pretty rad to be with someone who enjoys feeding people as much as I do.

After supper (and cleaning the kitchen), we swung back by my parents' to bring them the leftovers for their dinner, and joined them for beers on the deck. Nice finish.

Oh, and tonight? Tonight I ran, and came home to a delicious dinner a'la Cam. That's where the title comes from - he made skillet potatoes, and jumped off the couch at one point, exclaiming, "Ooh I gotta shake my taters!" Perfect.

Loudmouths

I'm not sure exactly what it is about me, and I think a lot of women feel this way, but I think I really do receive more unwelcome commentary on my appearance on the street than the average woman. It's bizarre, because I'm incredibly average - 9 out of 10 times I'm in jeans and sneakers, I'm neither fat nor thin, I have light brown hair, etc.

The thing about me is my hips/derriere are, well, not average. My waist is small and my hips are wide, and my booty's round, and that's where the vast number of loudmouths get their inspiration. I'm incredibly lucky to be with a man who loves that about me, who feels about my shape like other men feel about large breasts, so in the past couple of years I've definitely gotten a bit less hate-y about my shape.

Often the comments are appreciative (but still gross and unwanted), sometimes they're downright mean, or sound that way on the receiving end. I think I'm going to keep track, see if it takes the sting out a little. I'm not giving them any power or fame by doing this here on my little page, and it might make me feel better. We'll see.

Of course, this morning was no exception. I was walking to the bus stop, and passed two men. Said one,

"Mmm hips is wide like a horse!"

On a scale of 1-5 of hurty-ness, I give this one a 3. Could be worse, but still sucks. As for accuracy, he actually did pretty well. Horses to get wide in the back, and they're strong, just like me. If he said I was built like a horse he'd be wrong - my legs aren't skinny, I have much better calves (haha) - but he just called out my hips. So I give him a 4 for accuracy.

Fleet(ish) Feet

I know I have a ridiculous number of blogs listed on the left here, but if you scroll all the way to the bottom, you'll see a new addition. See her, down there, my little Nike running girl? I love her. Or, more accurately, I love my Nike+. If you don't know what that is, it's basically a little kit with a sensor that sits on my shoe and a receiver that plugs into the bottom of my Nano. It tracks the distance and speed of my runs, but even better, it's a little electronic trainer. My Nike+ trainer has a woman's voice (I really need a name for her, don't I? Hmmm.), and she is the best. She tells me how far I've gone, a half-km at a time, and anytime I ask her, she tells me how fast I'm running and my exact distance. After a run in the rain last week, a new lady congratulated me - I'd PR'ed on my mile time, dodging drops. Sweet! I'm not sure how accurate she is - I'll have to test it out at a 5K sometime, or on a track (unlikely) - but I can tell you she's a great motivator.

I've only recently taken up running again, after more than a year off. It's more enjoyable than it's ever been. When I'm running, whether on sidewalks downtown or trails in Rock Creek Park, there's rarely a run where I don't feel, for at least a kilometer, like a runner. I should explain, I run very slowly. Not quite as slowly as my little runner girl on this page would have you believe - that time includes some walking after I finish my run - but slowly. And every time I catch a glimpse of myself in a plate glass window, I'm shocked. I lumber. I plod. I'm hunched over and monster-y. But I feel like an athlete. I feel like I'm standing up straighter and my legs are moving faster than they actually are. But a kid on a swing feels like she's flying, and so do I. I guess that's what really matters.