Week 33: Aug 12th-18th-My 1st PIE!

It is 9pm and I just now realized it is Monday.
Ok, that is not entirely true. I was at work today, so I obviously knew which day of the week it was, but it was not until this moment that I realized today is the day I write. Initially I thought "oh well, I'll just write tomorrow and be a day late" but then the other part of my brain yelled back "what kind of attitude is that?!". Again, that may not be entirely true but... true enough.

So here it is, my 5 things:

1. I went running yesterday! Finally! I just checked back and I haven't gone on a run since mid July. Wow, thinking about that bums me out a little. Granted, I did a lot of hiking in Hawaii and I did a 2 mile walk the other day, but I haven't ran in a month? Shame on me. Needless to say, I am incredibly thankful I did. I'm sore in the best way (still able to move but sore enough to know my body accomplished something). I've been lacking energy MAJORLY lately, as in constantly falling asleep while sitting, reading, etc. I know it is from my lack of movement, but feeling that lethargic makes it that much more difficult to get up and get going. I need to put in more effort here. How many times do I have to write that each week before I actually DO IT?!?

2. Finished reading my book. It was an awesome read! Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I recommend it for anyone looking for a quick and entertaining book. I finished just in time too because I got my dissertation proposal edits back the same day. Whomp whomp!

3. I baked my 1st ever pie! Strawberry Rhubarb. It just so happens to be mine and J's favorite pie. I think it turned out pretty well actually. J had some critiques about it but that was because he's basing it off his grandma's perfected recipe. I'd say for a 1st timer I did pretty dang swell. (Ok, ok...I used a pre-made crust, so I am somewhat of a cheat but, I'm still learning!)

4. I made homemade coleslaw. Not that this is some super difficult task, it was actually quite simple, but still. It is something I had never ventured into and therefore knew nothing about. We had the 2nd portion of our humongous pork butt (... I can't help but giggle at that sentence) left and J said it was time to make a million pounds of pulled pork again. I decided to make a more general version in order to make it easier to do more things with the pulled pork (and not have to have BBQ everything). So I decided to also make some coleslaw to accompany our 1st of many pork meals: BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. I've never been a huge coleslaw fan, but I kept seeing BBQ pulled pork sandwiches paired with it so I decided it was time. J said he wasn't much of a fan of the stuff either but he ate my batch with a smile. Success!

5. Friday I get a text from a friend I knew when I went to University of Hawaii who I hadn't seen in years. She was in town and she and her friends had an extra ticket to the A's game that night against the Indians. Despite my 4am wake up that morning for work, I decided I needed to get out and do something, be social. I accepted her offer and ended up having an awesome time. Took the Bart to the game, the ticket deal came with a soda, hot dog and peanuts. No baseball game is complete with out that ;) Although, J called me a traitor for going to an A's game, because we're definitely a Giants house. Oops.

Week 24: June 10th-16th Trying new things

1. I went running twice! Right, so running twice is no big accomplishment, except that I didn't run at all last week, and I may have not run the week before that either. I tend to get too motivated, and end up pushing it which irritates my IT band and then I'm left not being able to run. I really need to learn that running twice a week, each week is better than being able to go 3 times in a week but then 0 times the next week. I'm too impatient for this injury, but I'm working on that.

2. I tried my hand at pulled pork for the first time yesterday. I'd never handled 5lbs of pork butt before ;) I made it in the slow cooker, did a rub with spices before hand and then added my own mix after because I wanted it to have more flavor. I must say, I think it turned out pretty well and I'm damn proud. There's always new recipes to try and I love that no matter how good of a cook you are, you can always try new things.

3. I started writing in the My Listography book my sister got me for my birthday this year. It was one the many thoughtful "golden birthday" themed gifts that arrived in the mail. She is all about the presentation of everything (that is her artistic self shining through):

It is an entire book of Lists on every page. There are lists for favorites, wishes, memories, etc. I decided that my goal is to fill it out before my 30th birthday as a way to chronicle my thoughts throughout my last year in my 20's. Some of the lists are pretty concrete and won't likely change, but some of them are more fleeting so it will be interesting to look back on. I have always been a writer, a list maker, a memory hoarder. Since I was young I have written down all sorts of useless information about conversations, dreams, thoughts, any and everything I worried I might forget later. I have boxes of diaries and journals from growing up and as I grow older I realize how much you naturally just forget over time. I guess I was onto something as a child. In the past decade or so I've written a lot less, forgotten a lot more. Even this blog is somewhat of a memory hoarding device designed for me to remember a little bit more that I would on my own. My sistermay not be as much of a writer as me, but is just about as compulsive as I am when it comes to list-making so this book was pretty fitting coming from her.

4. I was told about the show, The L Word and that I needed to watch it. It was actually recommended to J and I but after a quick preview he decided it wasn't for him (which, I'm not sure how that is possible.. there is boobs galore in it!) but either way, we didn't end up starting the series. Now that the quarter is over and I've turned in my 1st draft of my dissertation proposal I've got a few moments to breath and actually relax (well, really it is a false sense since I should still be working on posters for conferences, integrated reports for patients, there is always a laundry list...oh and laundry too!) but either way, I started the series yesterday on my own. Looking forward to losing myself in some new characters.

5. Yesterday, while the pulled pork was in the slow cooker and before I settled in with the L Word for the evening, I spent the day giving the house a much needed cleaning. Cleaning is actually on this list? That probably means I need to get a better social life. The feeling of having a clean, organized house though is pretty damn amazing. That is probably the reason it made the list this time. Having organization and cleanliness, especially after finals week when everything seems to always get "put on hold" and piles of clothes appear, is such a great feeling.