the cooking?

A mixed bag.

First, I made lentil soup:



I followed this recipe but with a few modifications:

--sauteed three cloves garlic with the onion and olive oil
--added 8 ounces of baby carrots (when I added the lentils)
--added a couple massive handfuls of spinach with about five left on the lentils simmering
--used tomato paste (6 ounce can of Contadina) instead of tomato sauce, but waited until the lentils were nearly done cooking, to follow the advice on the original recipe site that said lentils don't cook as well with a tomato product

I also added the remnants (about 3 ounces) of some acini de pepe pasta that I had in the cupboard just to use it up. I would *not* recommend this. It was my first time making lentil soup and I didn't realize the lentils were basically the starchy item in the soup. D'oh.

I froze a container and there's lots leftover. YUM.

Next up was an apple pie. This recipe. Put it in the oven and turned my attention to a London broil in the crockpot. When it came time to get the pie out of the oven, I skimmed my forearm on the oven and promptly dropped my beautiful, streusel-y pie all over the oven floor and door (and the crack in between). I think I've removed all of the pie remnants from the broiler below, but man, I'm pissed. And my arm majorly hurts.

I called my mom in a blubbering mess and she made me feel better.

race day approaches!

Well it's been a few weeks since my horrible 5K, and I have to say, I'm much more psyched for tomorrow's race - the Komen Tidewater Race for the Cure. I feel much more prepared than I was three weeks ago. The forecast is in the high 50s with a chance of rain. Perfect. I won't be wearing my white cotton race shirt, that's for sure! This race is about saving boobs, not seeing them.

I've been a knitting machine - I cast on for a third October-birthday Gloria cowl a week ago yesterday and I'm nearly done. All three will need to be blocked but I'm just really pleased that they'll all be done in time for the girls' birthdays!

I also planned out my Christmas knitting:



From left to right: gray Encore worsted for a hat for my dad, black Patons Classic Merino for a hat for my brother, burgundy Cherry Tree Hill Supersock for a cowl for a friend/co-worker, and STR Mediumweight in Faulty Dyer for a cowl for my dear friend Jamie.

So, four items, but I have lots of time to get them done. I'm not too worried about it. You will notice no gift for my mom on that list - because it's already done! - and no gift for my boyfriend, who is freakishly warm all the time.

That's a little update from me. I have some major cooking plans for today but don't want to jinx myself by listing everything I hope to accomplish. I'll report back if it's successful!

knitting update

I got a *lot* of knitting done on my vacation but unfortunately have no pictures to prove it.

I am nearly to the seed-stitch edge of Stephanie's cowl. I'm knitting with SWTC Karaoke and I can't reiterate how much I dislike this yarn. It's not spun well and is *very* splitty. I'm going to have way too many ends to weave in from all the new pieces I had to start. I am a little afraid the finished cowl is going to fall apart like a delicate flower, that's how much I distrust this yarn! I'm hoping to finish this today or tonight at SnB (my local group moved it to Thursdays, so now I can go since it's my night off work! yay!).

I knit part of the leg and started the heel flap of the mate to this sock. And I'm several inches into this sock for my brother. I started its first incarnation at Christmas, but had to frog it after I realized I just did not want to knit a pattern. So I cast on again for a stockinette sock when he visited in August. It's a stockinette sock on size 1 needles, for his size 12 feet. Oof. My brother is leaving for basic training in less than two weeks (he's joining the National Guard), and my good luck mail will *not* include any knitting presents, that's for sure.

Speaking of knitting presents ... I am planning quite a few in the next few months, all of which seem very manageable now, of course, that Christmas is several months away:
three cowls for friends with October birthdays (1.9 are done!)
Christmas gift for my mom (done)
hat for my dad
hat for my brother
three cowls for three dear friends, two of whom don't live near me anymore, so the immediate pressure to have it done before Dec. 25 is not as strong

All of this doesn't change the fact that I woke up this morning and wanted to cast on *immediately* for a Clapotis in some Silk Garden Lite that's marinating in my stash. Maybe once I finish the October gifts ...

I'm off to dive through my stash for some gift knitting ...

back from PSU

Whew what a fun trip!

We spent our first day in D.C., wandering around the mall and stopping in whichever museums we felt like. The Jim Henson exhibit was in its closing days, so we went there first. They had lots of sketches of his early work, which was so neat! And of course, some puppets - Bert and Ernie, and Rowlf, and some others.

We didn't eat lunch until about 3:30 - we were starrrrrving. My friend Judy had recommended the cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian. Let me tell you, you should go there now! We each had a pulled buffalo sandwich and fry bread (basically fried bread-dough sprinkled with a little cinnamon, honey and powdered sugar). And Josh had some white sage peppermint tea that he said was really good. Even for the big portions, it's a little bit pricey, and cash only, which is kind of annoying (especially when each of our meals was $16!).



The weather was perfect - mid 60s and super sunny. And that night, we had a nice dinner at the Italian restaurant next to our hotel.

We headed to PSU the next day; it was a nice day for a drive. We stayed at a Sleep Inn north of campus on Atherton Street - I had booked it ages ago, so I got a good rate before PSU changed parents' weekend to the weekend of Laura's wedding - and, as of last week, rooms were going for $400+. They know they can get the parents to pay those kind of rates ... we were the only non-parents in our hotel, I think. I didn't like that our room was on the smoking floor, but at least our room wasn't too smelly.

We got to visit my old stomping grounds at the student newspaper - and best of all, the adviser was in! We chatted for about an hour about the state of the industry, what people are up to, etc., even though our stomachs were dying for food - it was 4:00 and we hadn't eaten lunch yet! So we wandered over to Mad Mex, stuffed ourselves with delicious happy-hour-priced wings and beverages, as well as a yum-o spinach and mushroom quesadilla (me) and enchiladas (Josh). Perhaps best of all, there was a beer promoter there, and she gave us these awesome, huge Hoegaarden glasses with a sample of beer in it. They are great glasses. Thanks, beer girl!

I showed Josh around - JoePa's house, the statue outside the stadium, the Creamery, my dorms, Family Clothesline to stock up on PSU gear, etc. And then we collapsed at our hotel room thanks to our tiredness from all the walking around the past couple days.



Saturday was Laura's wedding, but first, I was on a mission for a zip-up PSU hoodie (that wasn't $55), which I couldn't find the day before. We had lunch at the Corner Room, my favorite restaurant in State College. My mission was a success, we got ready for the wedding, and took a few pics at the Lion Shrine, the most famous (or most photographed) spot on campus.



Josh was a good sport with all my reminscing and tales of what happened here, or there, and let's take a photo here, etc. =)

The wedding was really lovely. I cried (of course) when I saw how beautiful Laura looked walking down the aisle. She told me later that when she saw me she wanted to stop walking and give me a hug and to say hello! When it was over we all tossed lavender into the air as they left church - man did it smell nice!



The reception was held at a family friends' home - well, it was the most beautiful house I had ever been to. It is the family who started the honors college at Penn State (which I attended) - in our four years there I had never known that Laura's family was friends with them! It was so beautiful - and big (I think the kitchen and dining room was bigger than my whole apartment).



Laura and I got to chat for a little, which was wonderful. She lives in Seattle, and I've only seen her once since graduation.



It was a really lovely night. We headed back to Virginia the next day. Yeah, I miss Pennsylvania a lot ...



But I always get a little thrill crossing the water so close to home.



My next post will be about all the knitting I got to do on this trip!

road trip!

I'm headed to Washington, D.C. tomorrow where I will say to my love: "I am glad we were here together in our nation's capital" like Forrest Gump says to Jenny in one of my favorite sequences in the movie. We are going to check out the Jim Henson exhibit and the new ocean exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. The weather should be lovely, I'm really looking forward to it.

And Friday it's on to Penn State! One of my dearest friends is getting married. Josh hasn't been to Penn State, so I'm looking forward to showing him around (and dragging him to Mad Mex for a delicious margarita).

I'm hoping to get some knitting done amid all the car rides!

Race Report: oof.

Larchmont R.A.T. Race
Time: 44:29.2
Pace: 14:21/mile
Rank (only mentioned for emphasis): 139/139

It was a hot, humid night, so I knew it was going to be difficult running conditions. The air horn went off, I started running, I was feeling fine - till I looked behind me and saw *no one* there. No walkers. The cop on the motorcycle pulled up beside me about three minutes in, I turned to him and said "am I the last person?" He said very seriously, "I'm with you the whole way."

While I'm a slow runner, I've *never* been the last person in a race. I could see the pack of runners almost a football field's length ahead of me and I knew the distance between us was only going to grow. My face got hot (well, warmer than it was) and I knew a tear or two slipped out. I just felt so schlumpy and embarrassed - and totally pressured to run the whole thing even though my calves were already burning.

I realized I couldn't be down on myself the whole way or I might actually abandon the race. And I couldn't do that, no way. I was in a neighborhood I didn't know, and I didn't want to be even more embarrassed in front of the cop. So I did a little running, a little walking. And it was hard, but I got it done. The worst part was when it was a long straightaway, and cones down the middle of the road signaled that the front of the pack would be heading my way. So I had to pass a bunch of my co-workers (a married couple was throwing a party afterward since they lived within walking distance) as I huffed and puffed my way through it. The cop would vroom past me to the next intersection and either circle back or hang out and talk to cops there.

But I finished. 10 minutes back from the previous finisher, but I did it. It was a race I don't think I will ever forget - and even though it was just a training run for the Komen 5K in two weeks, it was a swift kick in the pants that I have a lot of work ahead of me.

checking in

At my job, I write a lot of double-edits - little breakout boxes that go with the stories I design . They're kind of a two-second summary of the story (in addition to the headline) or an interesting fact that gets a little more display.

So, I'm writing this blog post as a series of double-edits. =)

Running: I've run three times this week, 30-45 minutes and between 2.5 and 3.5 miles each time. It's felt so, so, great - mostly because the weather has been in the high 60s/low 70s when I've run. I really think the cooler weather helps me go farther. It's amazing how much happier I feel. Gracie's come with me each time - she's a great running buddy. =)

I'm feeling a little better prepared for the RAT Race 5K that's six days away (RAT = Race At Twilight). I don't really care about my time, I just want to finish it and not pass out - I'm going to a party immediately afterward (co-workers live within walking distance of the race, and they're throwing a party afterward). I'm registered for the Komen Race for the Cure, which is about a month away - that's the race I hope to do pretty well in because I'll have been training for some time.

Knitting: I've got four rows and binding off to do on the jade cowl. I haven't been in much of a knitting mood the past few days, sadly, so it's languishing. Next on the needles is another cowl - I found some orange yarn for my friend Stephanie:



I got two balls of it - SWTC Karaoke. I got some pretties for myself, too.



Scarlet Fleece sock yarn in Pacific. It's a lovely teal shade - and it's nice and thick (should make some thicker, faster-to-knit socks).



This is my favorite. Pagewood Farm sock yarn in Golden. It's so bright and happy.

Books: I finished "Eclipse" - the third book in the "Twilight" series. I'm waiting till payday on Friday to do an order with Amazon. I've really enjoyed these books, I don't want them to end! I'm totally going to see "Twilight" when it comes out in November, but I have a feeling I'll wait a week or two from its release date so the storm of all the crazed teenage fans passes. =)

off work!

Today's my only day off this week, and I'm spending it wisely - lunch with my aunt, drop-off at Salvation Army (seriously, these clothes have been in my trunk way too long), shopping for a dress for a wedding at Penn State in a few weeks (my first trip back since graduation three years ago!), and a stop at KnitWits for the ever elusive orange yarn for my friend Stephanie's cowl. This is the third shopping trip for her cowl! I bought some orange yarn but returned it - I didn't like the loud, variegated look of it, and I didn't think she would, either. I then brought some pinky purple Malabrigo, but I'm feeling regretful because it's not the color she wanted. But I'm not returning it ... maybe it will become a cowl for myself! I hope I can find *something* in the right shade of orange soon ...

I'm still hard at work on the jade cowl. It's about 5 inches deep right now. I'm using US 7 needles, but I'm getting some intense laddering between the needles. The metal needles are really frakking heavy. I think I might go down a needle size on the next cowl I make.

Oh yeah ... I ran this morning - just 1.5 miles or so. It was about 85 degrees and kind of humid. I don't recommend drinking two glasses of milk before running, though, just to satisfy a craving. Oof.

Hanna = a total bust

I bought loads of bottled water, a cooler and everything ... all for a few strong wind gusts and five minutes of rain. What a bummer! Oh well. I'd rather we didn't get walloped, of course. But I was hoping for a little excitement.

I spent *all day* yesterday (seriously) knitting ... this is the progress:



A Gloria cowl! I love it so. It's not for me, it's for a friend. I've been stocking up on Malabrigo to make these cowls for three friends' birthdays coming up. In other news of advance preparation, I finished a knitted gift for my mom - but no pics until Christmas time, cuz she reads this! The only other Christmas knitting I'm planning are hats for my dad and brother.

Today's my return to work after a three-day weekend. Yesterday was two years for Josh and me; I can't believe it. (We celebrated Thursday with a trip to P.F. Chang's.) I'm in a bit of a funk today, though; I don't know if it's the return to work or general funkiness or what. I'm just cranky with the dog, with Josh, and I just want to curl up in a ball in a silent house. I woke up with a headache yesterday and fell asleep with one, so I'm thinking it's PMS. Meh. Feh. Bleh.

bring it on, Hanna

I'm hunkering down for Tropical Storm Hanna with my knitting (and flashlights and bottled water, just in case). I'll be back with a report later!