I think I'm a runner?

So I've started this new health & fitness regime. When I worked full time at UG, I was pretty strong. Now that I'm only there twice a week, and I spend almost every other moment sitting in front of a computer or in a classroom, I'm becoming all weak. Plus, Dan and I are beginning to think about babies in our future, and I figure it'll be easier to have a human living in my body if my body is in shape.

A couple of days ago I blogged about how I've started cooking super healthy meals ahead of time to eat before class. I've been kicking around the idea of running for awhile, but always talk myself out of it. I'm not good at running; besides just being out of shape, I have asthma, which has made it difficult for me to run for any amount of time

for as long as I can remember. I always see people running, and they're just so good at, the idea of running in public makes me feel self-conscious. But I decided to stop with the excuses and just try.

My decision coincided with a super frigid day yesterday, but I didn't want to use any more excuses. So Dan (who has been running for 15 years and is infuriatingly good at it) went out with me for a quick run last night, which was miserable because it was only 9 degrees. We didn't go far at all, the whole loop was only half a mile, but I felt like crap when I got home. I couldn't breathe, I felt sick to my stomach, and I was coughing all night. But I did get some major endorphins, and I got over what may be the toughest hurdle, starting.

We went back out tonight, for a mile this time. I want to start slowly so I don't injure myself. It wasn't as cold, so I was able to run more and walk less, but I still did a fair amount of walking. The mile took me about 12 minutes, which is about what I used to run during gym class. I used an inhaler before I went out, so while I couldn't breathe well during the run (that picture above is a pretty accurate rendition of what I looked like), once I got home I felt a lot better than I did last night. I feel really good, these endorphins are awesome. Hopefully, I can stay motivated to keep running. It's hard now, but it will only get easier, right?

I'm taking a break tomorrow. For now, I'll aim for 3-4 days a week. Tonight I got a yoga dvd to do on the days that I don't run, because I think it'll be good to focus on wellness a little every day. I need to do more for myself than just study all the time. I've never tried yoga, but I'm always super stressed out and can't ever sleep, so it seemed like a good choice.

chef lindsay

On today's agenda: tons of homework, tons of cooking. In an attempt to eat more nutritiously this semester, I've made it a goal to choose meals I can cook ahead of time. I just don't have time/motivation to cook when I have to be to class at 5:45 or 6:30. I don't really know what I ate for dinner every night last semester. I think it was a lot of sandwiches. Boring! I missed cooking and eating different foods all the time-when I'm not in school, I'm constantly searching out new recipes and experimenting with my own creations. So I'm trying this new thing out: I shop for things that can be cooked ahead (so far it's been a couple of soups and stews), cook 'em all on Friday, and then my week is super easy. Last week we had Moroccan tempeh, turkey chili, and acorn squash, roasted garlic, and spinach soup. The best thing about soups and stews is that they feed us for 2 or 3 nights. I'm so domestic!

Right now I'm making potato leek soup (I'll put the recipe at the bottom. Try it-leeks are in season, people!) and lentil and carrot stew (using the awesome crock pot my aunt got us for x-mas), but my plan to also make a butternut squash experiment soup was thwarted when I ran out of bouillon, so I will have to run to the store after the potato soup is finished.

Homework is being done in between chopping/mixing/stirring. I love days like this. Some days, I feel like I work all day and get nothing done. I have a lot on my plate right now, so being super productive is quite an accomplishment.

So, here's my recipe for Potato Leek Soup. Generally, potato leek soup has cream in it, but I use a different type of recipe because it's healthier. It's vegan if that's important to you! It's also super easy.

1 tbsp-ish oil

2 or more cloves of garlic (depending on how much you like garlic. You could leave the garlic out all together, I just like to put garlic in everything), minced

Bunch of leeks (2-3, I usually use 3)

1 onion, chopped

Pepper

2 large potatoes, cubed (but don't peel 'em, dummy-the skin is where all the nutrients are)

6-7 c veggie broth (or chicken if you want. I use Herb ox builon powder, which is sodium free, but still full of chemicals. I'm too lazy to make my own veggie stock.)

So, first you're going to want to deal with the leeks. Leeks are kind of like onions, but dirtier. You should cut most of the green part off, except for about 1-2 inches. Cut the root off the end. You now have a little cylinder. Cut this in half lengthwise get rid of the outer layer or two, then cut into thin slices so you have little half-circles. Fill a big bowl with cold water, and put the leeks in there, separating the layers. Swish them around and let them sit for a few minutes. Any dirt on them will sink to the bottom. Scoop the leeks out of the bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a stock pot. Add the garlic, and saute for a couple of minutes until it starts to turn brown. Add the onion, leeks, and pepper to taste. You could add some salt, too, if that's what you're into. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions and leeks become translucent. Then add your potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for, um, awhile, until the potatoes are soft. Let it cool to room temperature, and puree it in batches in a food processor or blender. When you're ready to eat it, just re-heat it in the stock pot. I like to eat this with yummy fresh bread.

See, easy!

Bed Time!

Despite the fact that I got very little sleep last night, I'm all wound up. Since this is the first week of class, my stress level is high because I don't have a routine yet, so I have no idea how the hell I'm going to get all of this work done. My history and writing about literature class both have a huge work load, and my math 4 dummies class has a medium amount of work. I'm not sure how much work Spanish will be this semester yet, it depends on how quickly I pick up on the new verb tenses we're learning. The good news is that I've been frighteningly productive for the last 24 hours. I've finished almost two weeks worth of work for the writing class (online class=I am working ahead as far and quickly as possible), plus I finished my Spanish homework my math homework, plus I've attended 3 classes. Yikes!

I just looked at the chapters I have to read for history by next Tuesday and that stopped this productivity train dead in my tracks. 85 pages. Fuck you! I try to avoid doing reading if possible, and find that generally reading is not necessary because I learn much better from lectures anyway. But this sneaky prof has structured the class so that the reading is due every Tuesday, and we will have a quiz every Tuesday before the lecture. Sigh. I'm not even a slacker, I just know how I learn best, and it seems like an inefficient use of my time to struggle through suuuuper boring text books when the teacher is just going to explain everything during class anyway. Whatever.

So now I'm using my bountiful energy to write this rambly and perhaps insane blog.

I had my first math class in...8? years tonight, which terrified me to my very core. The professor seems cool, he helped me with my schedule this semester and he is pretty entertaining. Plus, he thoroughly erases the dry-erase board when he's finished, which was a relief. It drives me absolutely crazy when a teacher haphazardly erases stuff, leaving marks all over the board. Ugh! I'm much less afraid now, as the homework was super easy. I guess I can do math. And you know what? When the homework was over, it was over. No revising. No editing. It was just done. Look whose glass is half full! During class, the teacher invented this word problem, which I solved in my head in about 25 seconds, causing an inappropriate surge of pride. I thought to myself, "I must be some sort of idiot savant!"

The worst part of my day was when, moments after I tore the shrink wrap off of my new $185 math text book, the teacher read the title of our textbook, and I had the wrong one.

Artist rendition of me with my classmates after the horrible incident. Look at them comfort me.

So tomorrow I have to go fight with the bookstore people, because I ordered my books online, correctly, and they gave me the wrong book. I have so much evidence proving that it was their bad that I think I'll get my money back. I don't think they're going to fork it over without a significant amount of whining on my part. Thankfully, my professor has my back. After I shared my tale of woe with him, he got all riled up and said, "Oh, you'll get your money back. Let me know if they won't give it to you. I can be a squeaky wheel at faculty meetings until they give in." Holla!

Holy crap, I need to go to sleep.

back to school

I am back from the midwest, just in time to start school again. My classes start tomorrow, and I'm not looking forward to this semester at all. My schedule is really inconvenient, and I have two classes that I'm really not looking forward to: Algebra for dum-dums and The United States to 1877. Sigh. Maybe it won't be as bad as I think.

In other news, we got a new neighbor on Friday and have finally given up on finishing out our lease. The apartment next door is 2 floors, so we share both living room, bathroom, and bedroom walls with this new person, plus their hardwood stairs are right next to our bedroom, and their bedroom and bathroom are above our bedroom. From the sound of it, they don't have a single area rug and have never lived below anyone. To be fair, this is the first time I've ever lived below anyone and I don't know how considerate I was of downstairs neighbors. I always assumed that they insulated the floors in between apartments, which they may do in some buildings, but not this one. Even when new neighbor is just talking in his apartment, it sounds like his is in mine, and I moved our bed into the living room because I was up all night Friday listening to him arrange his furniture/walk around/drop heavy things right over my bed. So now we essentially have a studio apartment. It's idiotic. I can't live like this for 4 more months. It has been really stressful since we moved in, and I'm just done with it. So we're calling a few potential apartments tomorrow, a couple in Saratoga and one in Gansevoort. Hopefully we find a good place to live.

Soy de Iowa

This has been quite an eventful week. I started my trip to Iowa by missing my flight (my alarm somehow didn't go off), but after a rocky day, I landed in the Midwest. Since then, I've been in wedding boot camp (run by my mom and sister). We figured out the table decorations at the reception, my mom made my veil, and I had my Midwest bridal shower today. I feel like we're really close to finished with the wedding planning, which is a relief. There are still a few details to work out, but we're getting there.
Baby fever has struck hard. You'd think being around my nephews (ages 8, 6, and 3) would discourage my baby desire, but somehow it's ignited it. Also, my BFFL had her baby last night, and while I haven't been able to visit her yet (stupid H1N1 regulations) but I saw a picture and nearly died because she's so freeking cute. The baby came a few weeks early, and I feel so lucky that the timing worked out like this. I get to see her tomorrow or the next day!! Eek!
I'm at my sister's house right now because I'm babysitting my aforementioned nephews. They are sleeping together on the floor of one bedroom, and it is the cutest thing. We had a rad night, we had pizza and played games. I told them they could stay up as late as they wanted and they were all asleep by 8:45. Ah, I wish I could see them more often. I could never live in the Midwest again, but it's so hard to live so far away from my family.

Whining about sickness/rejoicing about my trip

Dan and I were infected by an unnamed criminal with a horrible cold on New Year's Eve. I got a little tickle in my throat on Monday, and lived in denial until Tuesday afternoon when I got weak and feverish. I have spent almost every minute since Monday on the couch, except for the few but detrimental hours spent at work. I thought the cold would peak on Wednesday and then get better, especially because I'm resting, taking airborne every day (tons 'o vitamins) and drinking tons of tea, water, and juice.

You can imagine my surprise, then, when the damn thing kept getting worse. Wednesday: worse. Thursday: worse. Friday: worse. WTF? Thankfully, it seems to have plateaued, but when is it going to get better? Woe is me.

Thankfully Simone swooped in to save me and is covering my shift at work today. I want to give resting one last chance before I travel tomorrow, because as it is, I don't think it's going to feel very good. I'm flying to Iowa to visit my family and friends (yay!), and being sick wasn't part of the plan. Urgh.

I am really excited about my trip, sick or not! I usually only see my family once a year, but I just saw them in May, and I'm seeing them now, and then they're coming for my wedding in July. I feel spoiled. I'm also wicked proud of my packing skillz. All I'm brining is my backpack and my purse. Since I'm going to meet my sister at the MOA instead of the airport (it's easier to get to for her and not difficult to get to from the airport) I don't want to have luggage.

My trip is going to be awesome. I'm going to hang out with people, my sister is throwing me a bridal shower, and I'm going to my BFF's baby shower. I'm flying back on Tuesday the 19th, and my flight isn't until 7pm, so I'm going to take a bus up to Minneapolis and chillax there for a few hours. This is going to be me:

Okay, nap time! Hopefully I heal miraculously from this cold overnight!