Oh look. Green Gifts for Outdoor Athletes.

I don't know any of those.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/green-gifts-outdoor-athletes.php

Some thoughts from my bike commute

On the way to work.

• Damn it, I'm late
• Hey - that pain that I felt under my right breast *isn't* a tumor (I was all worried last night that I had breast cancer). That's just exactly where my Timbuk2 messenger bag sits and I've been carrying around a bunch of crap with me, like my LEED AP New Construction Reference Book, swimming gear, running gear, my lunch, etc.
  
• I better make this light (I have a nice gradual downhill at the very start, but there's a stop light just one block into it)
• My goodness, you must be cold. Didn't you read the weather on your iPhone this morning like I did? Get some pants!
  
• Crap. I have a lot of stuff to do today.
• My calf effing hurts (I got a ginormous cramp yesterday while at the pool. G$ was over and helped me work it out, but even my physical therapist said I needed to take the day off because it was so bad and *still* cramped this afternoon)
• Will I ever make this light (Market at Hyde/Grove)? I don't think I've ever made this light.
• Thank you tour bus, for hanging out in my bike lane. I'm going to just hope the cars thank me for jumping over into their lane. Oh wait, they don't.
  
• Ahhhh, the smell of oatmeal in the morning. I love that industrial oatmeal smell. I used to love the oatmeal in the dorm at college. My current breakfast, various mixed grains - quinoa, pearl barley & bulgur - isn't quite the same.
  
• Just another block down, I pass the John Mitchell Salon School. I don't smell it, but I imagine that I'm smelling hairspray.
• Seriously dude, why did you just get in front of me?
• Will I ever ride up this hill fast enough to get that light? Do I care?
  
• I hope I have my badge.
• My back hurts. Stupid book.
• I'm hungry.
  

On the way home.

• Dude. My calf is busted.
  
• That was a bad-ass move. You've got to be careful. This badassery is going to get you in trouble. Maybe you should start mixing up your routes sometimes to keep on your toes.
  
• Thanks mail truck! You blocked the traffic lane instead of my lane. Way to keep me safe!
• Since when do homeless looking dudes smell like Ambercrombie & Fitch cologne?
• I dated a guy who wore A&F cologne. I loved it. It was a long distance relationship and he gave me one of his nearly empty bottles. Ahhh, romance.
  
• Ahhh, the smell of Subway. Mediocre sandwiches, but I love the smell of the freshly baked breads.
• Ew. Pee smell.
  
• I'm so happy they repaved this stretch of Howard. Then I turned... Oh, back to bumps again.
• Girl, get a helmet. Mine is awesome.
• Why on earth are you trying to start ahead of me AGAIN? Did I not JUST pass you after the last intersection that you and your wobbly, no-helmet self tried that sh!t?
• I need to finish up the answer key for my finance class (I'm a TA), study for LEED, do my laundry and cook some of the veggies I got in my CSA.
  
• Oh honey. You and your skinny legs are not starting this again. I am going to run your ass over if you do not get out of my way.
• I need to practice putting my right foot down. I always unclip (on my road and mountain bikes, I'm not clipped in on my commuter) my left foot. This seems like a good way to get some ambidexterity.
• Dude, my calf hurts. This hill sucks.
  

K____ needs

I saw this in AM's FB notes and thought it was funny. You just Google your name followed by the word needs in quotes - e.g. "Kirby needs" and see what you get.

Yeah, I'm supposed to be working, but I'm tired and trying to fill out this form for my 2009 Development Plan and it seems like a bunch of BS. So you get... what I need:

1. needs a little man to get him off
2. needs to keep the drama going on
3. needs a quivering antenna
4. needs Halloween help
5. needs her brother backstage
6. needs help
7. needs patience right now
8. needs to be in my life, always
9. needs a new attitude
10. needs airbrushing
    

Method cleaning products!

I do occasionally use my own cleaning mixtures. Baking soda is great for getting grime off the stovetop. A mixture of vinegar, water & tea tree oil in a spray bottle is a good all-purpose cleaner. But...Method cleaning products. Love them. Non-toxic, biodegradable, new packaging that's made of recycled material, good scents, based in San Francisco, functional. At least one of my readers was the recipient of my new favorite baby shower/new mom gift - Method baby products!

And, they are one of the few consumer goods to get a Cradle to Cradle designation...
"The C2C certification process, administered by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), looks for environmentally safe materials, design for material reutilization (recycling, composting, etc.), use of renewable energy, water and energy efficiency, and company social responsibility practices."

You can read the article here, or just get their dish soap, spray cleaner or laundry soap next time you need that kind of stuff. Trust me. (Cleaning wipes, on the other hand, I think are kind of stupid - just use a reusable rag and wash it. Though if you live in an area that has municipal composting, they are biodegradable.)

Wine... and dinner

Went out for glass of wine with sugar daddy. And, after joking here about it, I decided to pay for the wine while he was in the bathroom. He was too busy to get dinner after the glass of wine, but I'm trying not to take it personally. Good conversation and we'll see if he calls.

On to more important things -

I just made (and ate!) made this (with a few mods - some celery because I only had one carrot and some tofu to augment the garbanzos, only one onion since two seemed extreme, ginger powder, did use light coconut milk, no shredded coconut or cilantro) and thought you might enjoy it too -

Coconut Cauliflower Chana

Makes 6-8 servings

2 T non-hydrogenated coconut oil or olive oil
2 medium-large onions, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
3 large or 5 medium cloves of garlic
1 T grated fresh ginger root
1-2 T curry powder (or to taste)
1/4 t cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 t sea salt
2 fist-sized orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (may sub with regular potatoes), diced
3 c diced cauliflower
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 1/2 c cooked chickpeas
1 can good quality coconut milk (do not use light version)
1/4-1/2 c (or more to thin sauce as desired)
1/4 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1 handful of chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish)

Heat the oil in a soup pot on medium. Add the onions and sautee for about 5 minutes.

Add the carrots, garlic, ginger, curry powder, cayenne and salt and saute for another 5 minutes. Stir in the sweet potatoes, cauliflower, red pepper, chickpeas, coconut milk, water and shredded coconut, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are soft.

Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Bobcat follow-up and the next guy...

Since so many of you (okay, like three... but I think I have five readers, so that's over half) seemed to enjoy (that's what I think when you comment) my Bobcat/Cougar post, I'll take this opportunity to update you. He never called me back. He rescheduled our Wednesday plans, then I texted to say that I couldn't make those... and that's that. Ah well.

And, because you seem to be amused by stories of boy interaction...
On the other side of the age spectrum - internet reserach shows that a guy who just asked me out for drinks (after meeting at the same physical therapy place) is 43 years old. I was tempted to just write "the guy who asked me out for drinks is a potential sugar daddy," but you know, didn't want to be stereotyping. Because that's not funny. Not at all. ;) And the market's down and he's an investment banker. So maybe not so much with the sugar part.

Edit/update - I've emailed the banker.

And the age stuff is pretty much my poor attempts to make you laugh (Sue and I have reconciled the fact that neither of us have humor that translates *that* well to blogs/blog comments, but I'm going to keep trying anyway, dammit). While I may have some ideals for a guy I'd date, age isn't exactly one of them. It *is*, in that there's a minimum level of maturity/shit-togetheritive-ness/actually ready for a relationship/openness to compromises that are associated with relationship sort of thing... which does tend to translate to age. But if the 25 year old had all that, he'd be a better candidate than the 43 year old who doesn't.

Also, writing about dudes is somewhat new to this blog. I'll probably just stick to the funny stuff, because I'm still mildly paranoid that this will eventually come back to bite me in the ass. In an unpleasant way. But provoking laughter > paranoia.

Cars. Sometimes nice.

Bike commuting in the rain isn't great. It's kind of scary in the dark and, well, wet. Fenders, a rain jacket and rain pants keep me fairly dry though and it's still generally faster than the bus.

However, tonight I rode my bike to track... to run in the rain. I think my fingers and toes are still thawing out.

Needless to say, I was really happy to get a ride home in a dry car.

(Also nice to hang out more with CP.)

Some things I ate today

(Un)fortunately, this is not a comprehensive look at what I've eaten today, but I'm having fun with my iPhone, the integration of Picasa/iPhone/Blogger and with (mostly) homemade food. (and feeling inspired by KERF) And I'm apparently stupid at posting pictures. Help!

Breakfast - coffee, mixed grains (pearl barley, millet & quinoa) with almond milk & berries










Lunch - out at Pasta Paridisio - I got their garlic pasta special. So not vegan day. Meatballs, tomatoes, spinach with garlic olive oil. I tend to bring my lunch, but some tri club friends and I planned to eat together today.


















Trader Joe's Sipping Chocolate with hot water
















Grapefruit - yay for citrus season (even if this lovely came from Texas, instead of California). And my ever-present veggies! Carrots, celery and red peppers. Best work snack ever (especially with a little sunflower seed butter).Dinner - Romaine lettuce, pea shoots & hard-boiled egg salad. Homemade sweet potato, kale, collard greens, coconut milk, garam masala, vanilla, red pepper flakes and mixed peppers soup with some plain yogurt and walnuts on top.

(followed by my addiction - rice cakes with peanut butter AND a vegan pumpkin chocolate chip muffin I made... but I was over pictures by then)

The Bunny Project, II

Alisha and I decided on a plan for TBP. We wrote up a little contract and signed it. Of course, I've already violated it, since I forgot to do my sit-ups yesterday. I guess that means I should do double today, but we haven't really figured out how to punish forgetfulness.

1. 40 pushups on days when you don't otherwise get an upper body workout (regular, girly, wide-arm, close arm, split up in sets of 10, 20, etc)
2. abs daily - upper, lower & obliques (you choose how you want to do this)
3. no cheese. includes soy cheese & cream cheese. cottage cheese is okay. we each get four cheat days over the course of the project. (I used one yesterday at a wine tasting festival)

Since the no-cheese thing isn't such a huge sacrifice for me (Alisha's a pescaterian *and* loves cheese), I've also decided that I'm not purchasing any processed foods to eat at home. I can finish up whatever I already have in my apartment, eat whatever I want when I'm out, but the only new foods that are coming into my kitchen are going to be whole -> *ingredients*, rather than pre-made whatever. This one will require more planning and cooking, but hopefully it'll save money and I'll eat even more vegetables than I already do - and I'm hoping for more proteins too!

On the agenda for today: soup! Like maybe this recipe for Nutty Vanilla Sweet Potato Soup from Kath Eats Real Food.

Edit:
Note that since this whole no-processed thing is of my own creation, I decide what qualifies. Yogurt, for example, while "processed" (and yeah, I could make it myself), will be purchased. Tofu, peanut butter (though more likely almond butter, since I'm on a big almond butter kick), jam, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables, wine, beer - all okay. Veggie burgers, canned soup, Tofurky sausage, cookies (I can make homemade though!) , rice cakes (this is going to be hard, since I'm a total rice cake + PB addict)-> all off limits. I'm still on the fence about Kombucha and hummus. I know I can make my own hummus... *sigh*

Interview with Audrey

I decided to play an interview game with my friend, Audrey. (She blogs about running here and make-up and pop-culture here - but also a real-life friend, yo. ) Audrey had gotten interviewed by a few friends and said that she'd send questions out for folks to answer on their blogs. It may take me a while to get answers out to all of these, but here goes -

1. What is your craziest "girl meets boy" story? The kind that make your friends yell out, "NO WAY!!!"

I actually have very few random guy meetings. Most guys I've dated, or even just gone on *a* date went, I've met through other friends, work, out at a bar, or online. However, if I *had* been single...

I was working in Ireland. Pretty awesome. Two weeks, outside of Dublin. Naturally, I stuck around for the weekend after my work trip was done to check out the city. Friday night, I'm wandering around, getting a shawarma for dinner and end up chatting with this group of guys from England who are there for a Stag Night (bachelor party) weekend. Cool. I ended up hanging out with them for the night, which was pretty great because I didn't actually know anyone in town and Dublin's got quite the night life. Saturday night, I'm wandering around kind of the same area and... run into the same group AGAIN! Hung out with them - they insisted I was only adding to the Stag Night - and exchanged info with one of the guys who was planning to come to the States for work fairly soon. We emailed a few times, but never got together. I can't help but think that if I *had* been single, we would have made an effort to hang out again since we got along really well, and it was just totally random that I ran into them both nights that weekend.

2. How would you describe your fashion style?
I wouldn't. Really - sometimes I dress like a college student - or like I did when I was a college student - jeans, tshirts, hoodie or fleece, super casual, really young (perhaps this adds to why I do not have a great boy-meets-girl story). Sometimes I rock some sort-of skinny jeans and tshirts with bicycle-y graphics, mini-brimmed hats and look like an old wannabe hipster. Actually, I wear a LOT of tshirts. I have some "fancy" ones that I wear out (lower neckline, interesting fabric, etc), some that get put under blazers & cardigans for work and then my weekend casual Ts. Sometimes I'm sporty. My work wardrobe is fairly dull and unfashionable, due to the fact that I'm still wearing a lot of stuff that I wore in Silicon Valley. I wouldn't say that I'm polished and tailored, that's for sure. I'm mildly trendy and do enjoy a good fingerless glove. I don't mind slightly uncomfortable heels when I go out, as long as I've added a padded insole and whatever else I need to avoid blisters and excessive pain. I like to wear non-black cocktail dresses that are a little funky, edgy or different.

Really, I focus on wearing clothing that is flattering. A lot of people tell me that I'm small - and I think that I just do a decent job of dressing my shape. If I go shopping with someone, I tend to ask "how does this look on me" instead of "do you like this" - sure, that dress may be super cute, but if it makes my ass look like a lumpy 50 pound sack of potatoes and my chest look inverted, I'm not going to wear it.

3. If you could redo one moment of your life - what would it be and why?
Oh jeez. I'm going to have to come back to this one. I have quite a few regrets - but I'm generally pretty good at pushing them out of my mind because I can't actually go back in time.

4. What is your ultimate endurance sport goal? Explain why it is important to you.
Something to do with speed - not just distance. I like going fast. Or about longevity. Recovering from the marathon-induced injuries is teaching me how important endurance sports are to my overall well-being. I'd like to be running, biking & swimming -> or some combination of the three - for the rest of my life.

Right now it's *not* about qualifying for Boston or completing an Ironman, though I imagine both of those have been on my list at some point. I need to think about this one.

5. If 30-something-year-old Kelly could give one piece of advice to 13-year-old Kelly, what would that be and why?

Ok, there's obviously quite a few things here. Thinking specifically about age 13...
1. You are an athlete. Go out for track.
2. Remember that your sister looks up to you. Be good to her.
3. Be thankful that you're good at math.
4. Don't be so self-conscious.
5. Continue to go to the dermatologist.
6. You're going to be okay.
7. Talk about your feelings. Really, it's healthy.
8. Tell mom you love her every day.


To play along:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.