Ryan's Shows

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For the most part Ryan and I watch the same TV shows, but there are a few shows that are just mine or just his. For example, I watch Say Yes to the Dress, 90210 and Cake Boss. Ryan watches Barrett Jackson car auctions (that go on for eons), Sports Center, Around the Horn and PTI. We often groan when the other's show starts up. (These groans are seriously lessened thanks to DVR.) Then, one watches TV and the other usually gets on a computer or finds something else to do... sort of.

I fight it, but I actually like some of Ryan's shows. I find myself wondering how much that car is really worth and laughing along with Tony and Wilbon. I really like PTI - it's hilarious. My favorite of Ryan's shows is definitely Top Gear. He downloads the episodes on the day it airs in Britain and watches them on his computer. I can't help but lean over his shoulder to watch too. Yesterday's episode was hilarious - a must see. SPOILER ALERT: Rupert Grint was on, and Jeremy Clarkson actually used the phrase "nursing a semi." Gotta love British TV.

I like Ryan's shows, but I act like I'm doing him a favor when he watches them. I don't do it completely on purpose, but I must be doing it to gain some points toward watching some of my shows. I realize I've revealed myself to Ryan in this blog, but maybe it's about time that I own up to actually liking his shows.

This is not a one way street though. When I watch some sort of wedding/model/Heidi Klum/cake decorating show, Ryan sighs, comments on my show's ridiculousness and retreats to his desk to go on the computer, which faces away from the TV. I start to watch my show, and before I know it I hear comments like, 'Why do the ugliest girls become models?' or 'How could someone wear such a slutty dress at their wedding!?!'

He may not like my shows as much as I like his, but he is at least mildly entertained by them. I think I have more "my shows" than Ryan does, but this is all evened out by one thing...football! Even when it is not football season, I am forfeiting the TV to football! Today Ryan is expecting to receive NCAA Football 11. When Ryan and I first started dating in 2005, he warned me that I should make plans by myself for about two weeks in the summer when that years game came out. I am currently thinking about where I should go when the UPS man gets here.

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As I'm writing this I am reminding myself of my nephews, who are 3.5 years apart - they used to beg for "my show, my show" when one wanted Pokemon and the other wanted Bob the Builder, little boy v. baby show for those of you not in tune with children's television. (Now I think they both want Pokemon.) Much like Ryan and me, when Kal won and the TV was flipped to Thomas or Mickey or Oswald, after the groaning was over, Aden would happily watch the "baby" show, or at least sneak peaks.

Oh no, the UPS man just called and is almost  here. That's right, Ryan made friends with him, so he calls Ryan when he is about 5 minutes away because our buzzers don't work. His name is Vince.

Boys will be boys

For privacy purposes, these are my nephews Miis.

My nephews came to Philadelphia to visit last week.  Aden is 7 (and 3/4) and Kalan is 4 (and 1/4). I quickly came to realize that little boys and little girls can be very different from each other. For 4 straight days I heard fart jokes, butt jokes and poop jokes NONSTOP. And, they explained a game - no more like a tradition - that apparently all little boys take part in, the Safety Game. The rules are very easy - when you fart, you say 'safety' before someone else calls 'doorknob.' (My nephews use 'pancake' instead of 'doorknob.') This is as far as the boys take the game, probably because they are not supposed to hit. But, I did a little research and found out on Urban Dictionary that if someone says 'doorknob' before the farter says 'safety,' everyone can punch the farter until he touches a doorknob. 

(They also play a variation of this game - when you burp you say the color of your shirt. I don't know what happens after that.)

My initial reaction to this was GROSS! I do not like to talk about poop or farts, and really think all that ought to stay in the restroom. Upon figuring out why they were saying safety so often, I immediately encouraged the boys to say 'excuse me' before they say 'safety.' (I mean, I didn't want to ruin the fun.) Of course they just ignored me, but I went on wondering why they played this gross game. Then, my brother-in-law Mike heard them playing it (so gross because that means they were farting - I think they try to fart just to play the game), and he said he used to play this game when he was a kid. When Ryan heard about it, he said that he also used to play this game. They told me this is a game that all little boys play.

Eww! I realized then that little boys and little girls are so so different. I have never even heard of this game. I'm pretty sure that boys have probably never had 'personal friend days' either. For those of you that don't know, it is an evil thing that some little girls do where one girl says that another girl is only her friend for the day and can't play with the other little girls. I never took part in this, but I am pretty sure this was used against me when I was in 1st or 2nd grade. (This one girl was jealous my of friendship with another girl, so then she made that girl stop playing with me and called it a game.) I'm pretty sure boys don't get Miss Mary Mack and similar hand clapping games.

Boys and girls are just so different sometimes. We experience and learn different things. The other day I was singing 'I Am Woman,' and I was flabbergasted when Ryan said he had never heard the song before. Flabbergasted!!! It feels a little wrong to be generalizing differences between boys and girls and then talk about the song which was the theme for International Women's Year. But, I don't really feel bad about it because I believe in women being equal, empowered and on a level playing field. I also believe in embracing out differences, and I'm not blind to see that overall, there are some differences in how boys and girls act, even if it is society's fault. Well, I guess I feel a little bad because I am perpetuating these generalization about boys and girls. I can live with feeling a little bad.

Road Trip! ...so snap in to a slim jim

So obviously I lied - I did not blog last week, but I'm back now.  Anyway, I have a variety blog topics on deck, so expect regular blogging at least for a while.  I have noticed though that many of my last posts (and today's) are about food.  When I started to write this blog, I meant to write about trying new things, which includes food, but I never meant it to be all about food.  But, as I find myself trying to shift careers, I also find myself with a lack of funds to buy new things to try.  I have to eat though, so trying new recipes and new brands is something I can still do and write about.  So sorry if you hate food - eventually I will be in a better financial place so I can spend my money willy nilly on all sorts of gadgets. 

So not too long ago I went with two of my sisters and Ryan on a ride from Philadelphia to East Hampton to hang out for a weekend.  Although it's only about 200 miles, it can take a long time and sometimes feels like a real road trip full with rest stops. We stopped at some random gas station (actually, we pulled into one, decided it didn't have a big enough food mart building and then went to another). For some reason, when you are riding in a car for a long time, you allow yourself to eat things you wouldn't usually eat.  Why do we do this? Because driving/traveling can be so stressful? Perhaps the amazing assortment of junk food available and the many signs advertising them are to much to resist? Maybe we just think it doesn't count when you are cruising at 70mph. I don't know why, but regular eating rules are off when you're in the car for a long trip.

When is the last time that you ate combos, slim jims, corn nuts, pork rinds, bugles, big league chew or a slurpee in your regular life (not including when you are drunk)? Gas stations stock all sorts of snacks that you don't usually see at the grocery store or deli, so not only are you ready to eat whatever you want, you see all sorts of exciting snacks, including NEW snacks! And, don't forget about plethora of fast food.

My sisters and I are at times, what you could call food enablers.  Trying to decide between combos or bugles - 'let's get both.' I used to ride with one of my sisters from Philadelphia to East Hampton pretty often, and we ALWAYS stopped at this one Burger King really early in the morning. This is totally weird because I would never go to Burger King (or basically any fast food place) except on those trips. We would get those tater tot like things, eat them quickly, feel ill and then miss the entrance to the NJ Turnpike. Those tater tots that I think they call hash browns are maybe the greasiest thing in the world. So bad, you only eat them on road trips.

This is what my sisters, Ryan and I bought on our recent trip to East Hampton and back: Hot Buffalo Bugles, Big League Chew (grape and watermelon), peanuts, almonds, Jalepeno Cheddar Combos, Werthers, and I think there might have been more, but I can't remember. Now, we didn't eat all of it (I never got any of the watermelon Big League Chew that I picked).  Oh yeah, I ate chicken nuggets and french fries for lunch on our way back. Nothing was especially good btw in case you were looking for some suggestions on car snacks.

Here are my favorite road trip eats: Popeyes spicy chicken strips, Chile Picante Corn Nuts, Nantucket Nector Half and Half (unless there is green box iced tea to be had - aka bonic tonic or hampton dairy iced tea), Gummy Lifesavers and Starbursts. Thankfully for my health's sake, I don't go on many road trips and don't often eat like that when I am, but that is probably because Ryan is a rest stop minimalist. I should note though, that there is one rule that won't even be broken for a road trip.  It's not a rule for me because they do not tempt me, but it is one of the two rules I have for Ryan (not that I really like to impose rules on others, and it's not like anything would happen if he broke this rule) - NO HOSTESS FRUIT PIES!!! They are so bad for you. One of those little things has about 500 calories, about 70g of carbs, over 20g of fat (some of which is from lard) and a zillion preservations. I'm no health nut, but these things have no redeeming qualities. So, NO hostess fruit pies, well at least while I'm in the car.

I will be back

Things have been crazy lately, but I promise to be back to blogging this week.

10 Food Network Things that Rub Me the Wrong Way

In no particular order:

1. Guy Fieri and his female clone Anne Burrell.  As if one ridiculous, white blonde, spiky, gel-filled, Sonic the Hedgehog hair style wasn't enough for us all.

2. Alton Brown's horrible jokes. He was once the host of a dorky, science-filled show where he would tell you the best ways to make certain dishes and most importantly WHY. It was perfect for a chemistry major like me, who likes to tweak and create recipes (where it really helps to know the science behind a dish). NOW, as a host of Iron Chef America, he constantly tells completely unfunny jokes that are forced, plentiful and beyond corny. On top of it, Good Eats has become unbearable - completely over-the-top.

3. The Food Network's uncanny ability to find the least likeable people to host and judge their shows. See my last post for a little elaboration, to name a few: Sunny Anderson, Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Aaron Sanchez, Guy Fieri, Chris Cosentino, Melissa d'Arabian, Aida Mollenkamp, Anne Burrell, Cat Cora, Mario Batali, Clair Robinson, Ted Allen

4. The complete waste, which is Food Detectives with Ted Allen. I have only seen a few episodes (or really snippets of episodes because I couldn't bear to watch whole episodes.), but it is such a waste of time. Some of the myths they are busting are so stupid and not issues anyone really cares about. Is the 5 second rule true? Of course it's not - your food fell on the floor, so if your floor is dirty, so is the food that fell on it. Do you really need a food scientist to conduct a study and goofy Ted Allen to tell you the results? Here's another one - does celery really have negative calories? Of course not!!!

5. The firing and rehiring of Robert Irvine from Dinner Impossible

6. They way Kevin Brauch pronounces konbanwa ("good evening" in Japanese). He says Kon (pause) BEN (pause) Wa. Now I don't speak Japanese, but I know this is wrong. Ryan lived in Tokyo for years and certainly knows how to say things like good evening, so he is my source. Look at how it is spelled. There is no E. You would think that this guy could learn how to say the one Japanese word he has to say.

7. The completely useless addition of Clair Robinson as the host of Challenge

8. Chefs v. City. Aaron Sanchez and Chris Cosentino are just unbearable. They are so cocky, and I'm not sure what they have to be cocky about. The whole time they talk about how great they are. The set up is like an awful, boring version of Amazing Race. Dumb hosts. Dumb concept. It doesn't even really have that much to do with food.

9. The English dubbing of Morimoto on Iron Chef America even though he is speaking English. It's easy to understand what he is saying. He is speaking English!!! WHY!?!?! I love Morimoto. His restaurant in Philadelphia is my favorite restaurant. I have an autographed copy of his book. I want to hear what he has to say in his own voice. If they really think people can't understand his accent, wouldn't subtitles (captions really because it's English to English) be more appropriate?

10. The Crazy-Eyed women of Food Network. I learned all about crazy-eyed girls on How I Met Your Mother, and if I've learned anything from Swarley, it's to steer clear of this women. If I had more time and patience, I could find more pictures and better pictures, but if you watch these women, you know what I'm talking about. Sometimes they look possessed. They may look normal sometimes, but if you get a glimpse of the crazy eye, you should run.

Unlikeable Judges

As promised, here is a mini-rant about my dislike of many Food Network stars. The other day when I was making banana bread, I flipped on Food Network. Chopped was on. Now this is a perfectly good concept for a show, BUT the judges and host are horrible. (I'll elaborate in a minute.) Other shows on this channel share this same problem - good concept, annoying "talent." Now I still watch Food Network, and I even like some shows. I even watch some shows in which I don't like the "talent" because I have this awful addiction to cooking related entertainment that many seem to have these days (I LOVE Top Chef and America's Test Kitchen the most, closely followed by all shows about decorating cakes), and Food Network is the perfect in the background tv when you are cooking or baking.  But sometimes, the hosts or judges are so horrible, it makes me want to pull my hair out.

Chopped is the biggest let down for me. I heard the concept before I saw the show - 4 chefs compete in 3 rounds, appetizer, entree and dessert round. They get a basket with mystery ingredients that don't seem to fit together for each course and have to use all of them in the respective course. The 3 judge panel then decide which dish is the worst each round, and that chef is "chopped" and cannot compete in the next round. After the dessert round, when one dessert is "chopped," one chef remains and he or she wins $10,000 or so. Now I think this concept is great. It is like a longer version of a quickfire challenge from Top Chef. Unfortunately, the judges are the most unlikable people they could have found.

Let's start with the host though, Ted Allen. He used to be beloved by Queer Eye fans (not me) and a fine judge on Top Chef. Then he came to the Food Network for his likeability to die. He must think he is funny, but he really isn't, and that's just the worst. He is always telling awful jokes that lead to sort of awkward moments void of laughter. I don't care for him when he is a judge on Iron Chef America either. He is not the worst on Chopped though.

On to the judges. I don't watch this show often, so I haven't seen all the judges. These are the only 4 judges I've seen or at least remember. Every judge I've seen though, has been soooo annoying. They just all lack charisma and come off douchey, which is hard to explain in words, but here's my rundown.

• Alexandra Guarnashelli - What a witch! She is so condescending to the contestants. She also has a permanent look on her face like she is driving by a dump. The only thing she accomplishes on this show is making the audience hate her. Also, I remember seeing her as a competitor on some sort of cooking contest where she failed to make mashed potatoes or something. Ugh, looking at her just offends me.
• Aaron Sanchez - This guy is totally horrible. He thinks he is suave, but he is ugly and acts like a butthead (that is actually the best word to describe him). The worst part about him is that he is always promoting himself in one way or another. He is often on The Best Thing I Evere Ate, a show where Food Network chefs disclose their favorite places to eat. One time he said something from his own restaurant. Another show he said something from his mother's restaurant. What a loser.
• Scott Conant - He is not that bad, but comes off as most people's definition of douchebag.
• Amanda Freitag - I have nothing bad to say about her as a person. But she has a permanent scowl on her face. The crazy thing is that she is not ugly, but she is actively always scowling. The picture I found isn't a good representation of her face on Chopped, but you can imagine.

This is tv. There are a million people in the food business that I would accept as a person with enough experience and skill to judge food. Why oh why did Food Network choose ugly, mean people that are not likeable? You don't have to be beautiful, nice and likeable, BUT you should be at least one of those things. All of these judges also come off as overly pretentious. Do you think you are so important and special because you are on Food Network??? Maybe you are, but nobody likes a person show acts like they are better than everyone else.

A lot of people hate Food Network stars, Paula Deen and Rachael Ray. They are made fun of all the time, but they are also very popular. It's like after their popularity, Food Network thought, hey why don't we find more people that are even more annoying, and to top it off let's make them pretentious and butt-ugly to boot. I have more to say about Food Network, but I have to go. Expect more shortly.

MMM, Banana Bread!

I really like bananas, but ONLY if they are near green. (I actually really like a cold banana - something I tried after Ceaser did it on Gilmore Girls when Luke was away.) Yellow with a hint of green on the top. Maybe a 4.5 to a 5 on the picture above would be perfect. If there is a single spot of brown on them, I can't touch them. Unfortunately, I don't always feel like a banana during the short time frame when my bananas reach my personal perfection. So, I don't buy bananas too often because I'm afraid I'll waste them, but this week I noticed a spot of brown on a banana and decided to wait until they all went brown and make some banana bread. I love to have a piece after a long (or short) run, and a little bite after dinner is the perfect dessert. Banana bread is great because in my experience, it is always moist, and since bananas are so sweet, you don't need to add much sugar. You can also use whole wheat flour, and it doesn't have that whole-wheaty sort of flavor that turns people off. Actually, I think it might be that the taste of the whole wheat might just go well with bananas because I like whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a banana too.

Okay, I know some of you are having some serious EWWWWW moments right now, and I understand the hatred of bananas that many people have. It has a strong flavor and smell and the texture is mushy. But, I'm happy I like bananas because they are awesome. They are full of potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, fiber, magnesium. They help your muscles work correctly during exercise so they don't cramp. Good for your blood pressure, reduces your risk of kidney stones and apparently helps you get be in a good mood. They are delicious. They have a sort of satisfying texture that feels like you are eating something fatty, without actually eating something fatty. (Sidenote, apparently if you smash up ripe bananas and freeze them, the texture becomes like ice cream. I have not yet tried this, but definitely will.) The only problem I really have with bananas is that they seem to offend people. I try not to eat bananas around Ryan because he hates the smell, and I think a lot of people agree with him.

I actually meant to write about how Food Network finds the most unlikable people ever to be on their shows OR they turn people that are okay into complete annoying idiots (Alton Brown?). I turned on the tv to Food Network while I was baking today, and it was infuriating because of the hosts and judges. I will save this topic for next time though or else this post will become seriously long.

A Family Alliance

I just made the yummiest pizza bread! I made a white bread dough, rolled it out, built a pizza and rolled it up into a loaf and baked it. It was like a jelly roll except it's a pizza! I got the recipe from my friend Caitlin's blog, and you can find it there too. I don't think I have ever made bread before, but this was pretty easy. Kneading kind of took forever. The whole time I was wishing I had solar hands (or at least solar gauntlets) like Azuma Kazuma from Yakitate!! Japan.  It's a manga about Japan's finest bread bakers and a gifted boy's quest to make a uniquely Japanese bread - "Ja-pan." It was adapted into an anime series, and I highly recommend it. But, I'm going a little too dorky, so I'll get back on track now.

I made the sauce for my pizza bread too - my own simple tomato sauce recipe with a spicy edge. I've never had a taste for sauce from a jar and try to steer clear of it when I can. Actually, I have a pretty good sense of taste/smell, and something about processed foods has always turned me off (besides potato buds). I used to rely on my mom's sauce which she makes in vats during the peak of hamptons tomato season and generously gives her children! It doesn't last very long because I eat it, so I started making my own in small batches as I need it.

So as I mentioned before, this pizza bread recipe is from my friend Caitlin's blog. She got the idea from her mother. Cait and her mom make the yummiest baked goods! I've been a fan basically forever. A fan of the whole family actually. If the world we live in was a game of survivor, our families would be in an alliance. And really, I value Cait's family in many ways much like Survivor contestants value the others in their alliance - you can trust them unconditionally and you just like them better than most of the other players.

There are 3 kids in Cait's family, each one matching up in age with one of the kids in my family. My older siblings were very good friends with Caitlin's older brother and sister, and they were always hanging around our house. Our families have played tennis together forever. Played games and watched movies into the wee hours of the night. Cait's amazing grandmother has accompanied me on piano while I played the oboe and sang (and probably my older sisters too). Cait's older brother Kevin and his family took part in my family's Christmas white elephant. And her older sister, Kirsten even taught me how to get rid of hiccups - a cure that has never failed me and one that I use often. (Drinking big gulps of water from the opposite side of the glass.) And when I was just 9 years old, Kevin assured me that I would have a friend in Caitlin when I matriculated into EHMS.

Caitlin and I didn't go to the same school in 1st-4th grade, so I actually knew her entire family before I met her. I went to a one room schoolhouse, and before matriculating into the much bigger middle school in 5th grade, we spent a few days visiting during 4th grade. I was placed into Cait's class, and I think I spent like every second talking to her. It was like we already knew each other because we both knew all the members of the other's family. Since then, our families have grown up together.  We live all over the place now, but when I see any one of them, it feels like a little bit of home.

My family has had "additions" over the years, and I see many close friends more like family than anything else. Cait's family isn't exactly, but they are truly an allied family. I like to think about it like that because in case the world goes bonkers, I like to know that we have another family on our side. Plus it plays into my weird fantasy that my family takes over the world, which is so so far from what could ever be. AND, it's kind of bad-ass in a mafia sort of way. So cheers to you Cait's family. Ryan and I thank you dearly for this pizza bread! (I didn't know if you all wanted your last name out there all over the place, but I realize now that almost everyone who is reading this already knows that their last name rhymes with shmaringer.)

And for the Shmaringers reading this, and Shmarabines (another family in our alliance), there have been talks about as many of us as possible participating in the Hamptons Marathon/Half Marathon/5K on October 2, including trying to get all our parents to walk the 5K.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! I myself am not a mother but am very appreciative of all the mothers out there, and especially my own. This is picture is of my mom and her mom. So, yay for moms!

Running in Luxury

So I've been away for a little bit because I went to NYC for few days and left my computer at home! My dad was attending some doctor conference at the Hilton in NY where he literally went to every session, like 5:30 am to 10 pm. Crazy. So my mom called me, and asked me to come and keep her company for a few days, and I jumped at the chance to go since my parents are Hilton Club members at some high level and get all sorts of perks that I am far far away from being able to afford myself. So I got the call around 10:30 on Sunday and was on a train by 11:45.

It's great "vacationing" in a place where you live or have lived. You can lounge around without feeling guilty about not taking in the sites or trying the food. I went to college in the city, was born in Brooklyn and have lived within 100 miles of the city my whole life. I feel no need to visit Times Square or see the Empire State Building. In fact, I prefer to steer clear of touristy places in Manhattan. My friend Kristin in college used to say that she hated going around Times Square because there are so many tourists walking around that you just want to push them out of the way and yell at them to go home. I completely agree.

Anyway, I LOVE staying in hotels. I just find it relaxing. My mom and I stayed in the hotel and played Scrabble most of the time and it was awesome. We were on the 38th floor and just had to pop down one floor to the Hilton Club Members Lounge to get something good to eat or drink, and if you are really lazy, someone checks in at your room around 4pm to see if you need a tea or coffee pick me up. My mom made fun of me because while we were in the room I put on the robe over my clothes to feel more luxurious. But seriously, there is not a lot of luxurious things in my life right now. I feel dumb for being so happy about staying at a nice hotel, but I have very rarely gone on vacation in my life because I've more or less been in school for my whole life and during my college spring breaks, I was practicing archery in the snow. I just always fill my free time with stuff other than vacations, or I go to East Hampton and just stay at my parent's house. So not a lot of luxurious hotel stays.

My mom and I did go out a little bit. We had a really yummy lunch in Ktown and went on a brief shopping trip. Mostly we played Scrabble though and ate free food. It was awesome! Seriously though, it makes so much more sense to stay in a nice hotel in a place you don't want to visit so you make the most of the hotel. If you're not going to be in your hotel except to sleep and take a quick shower, the big luxury suite with all the amenities will go to waste! I'm thinking at some point that I will ask my parents for some Hilton points and stay at the Doubletree in Philly. Maybe a birthday present...

Besides playing Scrabble and hanging out in the members lounge, I did have to fit in my long run that I skipped on Sunday. I run in the heat and rain and snow and cold, so it was a great feeling to be able to run inside on a treadmill with air conditioning, sort of. I had 5 miles to do, and of course I brought my VFFs. (That's another great benefit of the VFFs - they are small, light and easy to pack.) The fitness room was really nice and big, but I HATE running on treadmills. I don't know why, but I can't bear the thought of not going anywhere. From the second I click up the speed, all I can think about is getting off.  Usually on a long run, I zone out, listen to the music and just push through without a thought in my mind. But I can't deal with a treadmill. I constantly watch the time. If I try to cover the time, I constantly peek at the time. I fidget with the speed and incline constantly. Seriously, I don't know what my problem is. Actually, maybe it is because I have an idea of how far I've gone (and how far I have to go) while running outside, but on a treadmill, you don't know unless you look or have a great sense of time, which I don't. I'm also kind of uncoordinated sometimes, and I let my ipod fall, and it shot off the back of the treadmill, and this wasn't the first time I've made this embarrassing mistake.

There was a plus side though - it felt really good on my feet, and it is easier to land lightly on a treadmill than the ground because if you don't, you land really loudly. The landing felt nice and soft though, and I didn't really get tired, and my legs didn't hurt. AND, when I finished, I went upstairs, took a shower in the awesome shower and went down the the members lounge for happy hour. :-)

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

They said that on Modern Family tonight, and I kind of laughed out loud. Gets me every time. I was in fact working hard tonight. I just finished a p90x workout, Plyometrics.  A lot of my friends have been doing p90x for a while now, and my sister and our friend Renee recently asked me to burn them copies of the workouts onto dvds, so I figured maybe I would give some of the workouts a try. For over a year the only physical activity I've done regularly is running.  I used to be in the gym all the time, but I don't have a gym membership and just haven't gotten into anything besides running for a while. I don't think this is the right time for me to start the program 100%, but maybe at some point when I am not training for a race and am a little stronger I will go for it. In the meantime, I think I'll try the different workouts and see what they are about.

Plyometrics is a high intensity workout with A LOT of jumping and squats.  It is used to increase speed and explosiveness. It was an hour long and about 10 minutes in, my heart was pumping! I went at about 75% intensity through the whole thing so I could get the hang of the moves and because my ankle is bothering me a little since my VFF run yesterday. There is one move, "hot feet," which I couldn't really do with my ankle and soreness. You go on one foot and hop in a cross pattern for 30 seconds and then switch feet. It was definitely tough, and if you really go for it on every move, it could be killer.

I really liked it though. You do different moves for 30 second intervals and then move onto something else. I liked the sports sequence where you do moves like you are pitching a baseball, shooting a jumpshot and some sort of football thing. The interval set up is great and Tony Horton keeps reminding you that you can do anything for 30 seconds, and he made me believe it. I can't wait to try to other workouts, BUT maybe not until Friday because tomorrow's run might be a killer.

Mmmm Cookies

So I'm really craving a cookie from Levain Bakery. These are seriously delicious cookies and one of my favorite things to eat in the world, even if I don't get them often. Unfortunately, I live in Philadelphia, and Levain cookies live in the Upper West Side in Levain Bakery (and during the summer my beloved Wainscott in East Hampton). They are huge and soft and rich and delicious. For those of you familiar with Tates cookies (another favorite from Southampton), they are the opposite of the crunchy thin Tates that you could easily eat a few of.

Tates are on the left and a Levain cookie on the right. They are both seriously delicious, but serve different purposes in my opinion, or at least they feed different cravings.

Anyway, I have no idea why I was craving these particular cookies. I haven't had that many of them in my life, and the last one I had was probably in June, so why did they pop into my head? I also don't often have serious cravings. I have ideas, like, 'oooh I think I'll make Thai curry tonight!' But, not too many cravings. Although, I always seem to want something yummy once a week during the Biggest Loser. Does this happen to anyone else? It's weird because you would think you would want to skip the cookies and do jumping jacks while chewing Extra gum during Biggest Loser. But season after season, I watch this show, cry with contestants, am happy and proud for them, and crave cookies.

Today's craving was random and serious though. I had just come back from a run and was hungry for dinner. I had cereal. Maybe it's a good thing that Levain cookies don't live in Philadelphia, but if anyone wants to send me some, please do! My favorites are Chocolate Chip Walnut and Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip. Yum!

VFF Update

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've had one of those weeks where you always feel busy, but you're not actually being productive. But don't you worry, I'm back and ready to blog.

It's been exactly one month and a day since I first got my VFFs, and since my last update, there is a lot to tell. Even though I tried to judge running in VFFs with a critical eye, I couldn't help myself and drank the kool aid early on. I sang the praises and convinced myself that I would make a quick transition and change my life. Unfortunately, since week 2 of running in minimalist shoes and blissful runs, it hasn't been that easy. I don't really have bad things to say about VFFs (the kool aid is still pulsing through my veins) - it's more so that the woes of the transition are catching up with me. So my VFF saga continues...

Early On
I wrote about a great run a had a in VFFs a few weeks ago.  Early on, it was quick to notice the positives:

1. They're light weight - You wouldn't think it makes a huge difference, but it really does. I originally bought my Nike Lunar Trainers (which aren't manufactured anymore) because they were so lightweight. My feet felt light and fast so I bought two pairs. Those weigh 7.1 ounces in my size. My KSOs weigh in at 4.7 ounces. I felt more free and like I'm gliding in these light-weight shoes, especially when I'm sprinting.
2. Uphills feel a thousand percent better
3. The burn in all the right places - I felt the burn, and I liked it. My calves felt like they were awakened after years of lazy running.
4. And best of all - it wasn't hurting as much as I thought it would. All I read was how much it would hurt at first and how hard the transition is, but in the beginning it felt better than I thought it would. Ryan hobbled around the apt in pain the first week, which further highlighted my relative lack of pain.

The PAIN!
Many differences were very noticible in the beginning, but at some point, many of the benefits stop being novel. I got used to the weight of them, so although it strikes me now and then how light and unencumbered my feet feel, it is my norm. Similarly, hills don't feel as easy as they used to. My biggest problem is number 4 on my positive list. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would in the beginning, so I jumped right in and after about a week and ran in my VFFs 100% of the time for 100% of the distance. Big No-No! Week 3 hit me hard with some serious pains.

I started getting some top of the foot pain every now and then. (Apparently I need to keep up with my pose drills better to get rid of this problem.) It was annoying, but I could work through the pain because it was not often and not too intense. But last week, I was running and somewhere around mile 2, it felt like something clamped down on my left calf and ankle. My KSO also felt too tight on the top of my left foot. I loosened the strap, adjusted my leggings, stretched out a bit and kept going. I finished my run (probably should not have), but my leg felt tight and uncomfortable the rest of the way, and after I finished I limped home and hobbled up to my 3rd floor walk-up. I felt better after some stretching, icing and a hot shower. So I gave myself an extra day of rest and went back out for a run in VFFs again. I set my Nike+ to 45 minutes and took off as usual, but again, about 20 minutes in my left calf tightened. I kept going (because I had already run a couple miles away from my house), but had to take it very easy to avoid that tightening feeling in my muscles. I was starting to realize at that point, that maybe the woes of transitioning to a minimalist shoe were not over and maybe were just begining for me. Many VFF experts suggest 4-6 months for your transition to VFFs from modern running shoes.

Shod (that's right, it means I wore shoes)
After admitting that I would still have to work on this transition, I went on my next run in my Nikes. No foot pain, no calf pain, but I actually had a little shin pain. I was relatively pain-free, but I felt a little clunky and weighted down. My feet also felt bound. My toes missed the freedom of individual sockets and felt a little smushed. It also didn't feel as good in my legs and feet, like my muscles weren't all working. But for that day, it was worth it to avoid the calf pain.

An article in Runner's World suggested that you use VFFs only as a training tool and not all the time. If the pain continues in VFFs over some time, I might have to use them in conjunction with modern running shoes. But, for the next few months I plan on doing everything I can to make VFFs work for me and become the best runner I can be.

Barefoot!!! 
So after a shod run, I went back to VFFs for a run. Inbetween, I did a little research on minimalist and barefoot running blogs and forums, and many people expressed similar pains. Beyond giving it time and transitioning more slowly, most people seemed to say working on your form would help get rid of the pain. And the best way to perfect your form in foot gloves? Run barefoot.

BAREFOOT!?!?! I live in a city. A dirty city. I thought the whole reason I bought these things was to avoid actually being barefoot. But, I understand it - the sensory feedback you get from running barefoot tells you quickly how you are landing, and this will lead to a good natural form. Seriously though, I scoff at drunk girls who walk on the sidewalks at night, heels in hand, so could I really put my bare, naked foot on the filth that is Center City Philadelphia? YES - because if there is one thing that competitive sports has taught me over the years, it is that you can't get better without leaving your comfort zone sometimes.

So I went out for a VFF run on the Schuykill River Trail, a paved path which is generally clean of debris, much less walked on than the sidewalks and clear of car sludge. I figured I would do a VFF run this time and maybe next time I would go barefoot. I felt okay, good even. And after 40 minutes with only about a half mile to get back to the starting point, I felt compelled to shed my ugly gorilla feet and  go bare. I took off with VFFs in hand and ended my Nike+ workout (obviously there is no place to put the sensor). I thought it would hurt, but it didn't. The smooth path felt cool on my feet, and I found it surprisingly easy to run light and easy. No pain. 5 minutes later I was at the beginning of the path and felt fine. This is something I could do again, and I honestly think it will help with my form. I don't know how to explain why I think that based on my few minutes of running barefoot, but it felt good and I'm willing to try it.

The Unforseen Problem
I got back to the starting point and ran up to Ryan, who was stretching and waiting for me, and proudly held out my VFFs to show that I ran barefoot. I was pretty happy with myself, but wanted to go home immediately to get in the shower and get the city off my feet. BUT, there was a problem. I didn't think of it. I start running a few blocks away from my apartment. I still had to walk home over gravel, a train track, on real city sidewalk and across a few streets. When I bravely decided to go barefoot, I thought I could just immediately wash my feet and it would be okay. But I had to get home, and I wasn't about to put my dirty feet back into my shoes to preserve the city grime forever. I had to walk home barefoot. I was that drunken girl walking home barefoot, only I was sober, which only makes it worse. I totally grossed myself out.

On top of it, I got even dirtier looks than I did when I first started wearing VFFs. I felt like every other person on the street and every person driving by in their cars were looking at my bare feet and being disgusted. As a matter of fact, I felt that way while I was running on the path too. In the future, I will run barefoot again, but I think I will bring an old pair of flip flops with me so I can walk home in them.

Since then, I think I've done one shod and one VFF run, both uneventful. For the future, a mix of bare, VFF and shod, but most importantly, a conscious effort to improve my form.

AIM made all the difference

Last week my boyfriend Ryan blogged about how our 3 years one day age difference makes for some interesting differences in our memories growing up, especially relating to technology. I thought I'd like to give my thoughts on it as well. I am 26, and Ryan is 29.

The TV shows we watched and loved were more or less similar, but there are a few of his favorites that I just barely missed out on. Most notably is GI Joe. I have no recollection of ever watching it, but it was one of Ryan's childhood favorites.  He-man and Transformers are a couple others. We had a lot of cartoon crossover though, running from Thundercats to Tiny Toons to Doug. But at some point, he probably started hanging out with friends and watching preteen/teenager shows when I was still stuck in kiddie land. I don't think he watched Are You Afraid of the Dark or All That. And since I have a younger sister, I watched shows Ryan has never heard of, Gullah Gullah Island and Eureka's Castle to name a couple.

Just for kicks, here are some of my favorite shows as a child. (Vote for your childhood favorite on the poll on the right)

So TV was not too too different, but our technology growing up seems to be worlds apart. I don't recall records, and Ryan got records as presents. We both had computers at a fairly young age, but how we used them was definitely different. I used the internet to write research papers in high school. I had the benefit of sparknotes and went online daily both at school and home.  I would pop into the computer lab at school every chance I had to check my email. This was totally not the case for Ryan, who hardly used the internet while he was in high scool.

Ryan mentioned in his blog that he took typing class in middle school on a typewriter. That literally makes me LOL. I didn't just use a computer for my typing classes... I started in 1st grade!!! (Now this is just obviously a difference in schools and location because I was in 1st grade before Ryan was in middle school.) I can't hardly remember a time without typing. I typed papers in middle school and occassionally before that. To this day, Ryan and I type at completely different speeds. I of course touch type and if I'm typing from my head, I easily type well over 100 wpm. I just took one of those typing tests online where you type a passage about tigers and I typed 94 wpm. I'm pretty fast, and I owe it all to one thing, AIM. I started using it around when it came into existance in homes. I spent many many nights typing away to friends I had seen all day at school and friends who lived in different parts of the country. Ryan did not, and despite the typing classes we both took as kids, I still see him glancing down at the keyboard now and then, and I never hear the rapid clicking of keys coming from his computer that I hear all the time from my own. This makes for a real difference in school.  I was able to knock out 10, 20 page papers like they were nothing - my limiting factor was my brain, not my fingers. My blog posts are also about 10 times as long as his.

Ryan and I feel pretty different in age sometimes. Some pretty big things happened while we were young, so the 3 years does make a difference. Of all the things that were different, when we adopted AIM into our lives seems to be the biggest and most impactful difference. I wonder if there is a similar difference in people based on when they joined facebook or when they got their first cell phones or first e-reader.

On a slighly related note, as you might have noticed earlier on, Ryan's and my birthdays are one day apart (9/2 and 9/3), and despite our massive 3 year age difference, our labor day birthdays give us a fair bit of relatability, and I'm not talking about astrology. We share the disappointment of school starting around our birthdays - buying school supplies and being sad about the end of summer overshadowed our birthdays. Never getting to celebrate our birthdays at school with cupcakes because they fall just a hair too early. Always amongst the youngest in our grade, last to turn 13, 16, 18 and the all-important 21. For those of you Superfreakonomics readers out there, you know our birthdays have prevented us from becoming professional hockey players. Our friends' son Julien is 2 years old and was born on September 4, one day after my birthday. Maybe one day we will all bond over our birthdays. Julien is the youngest reader of my blog. Hi Julien!!!