Thursday, December 31, 2009

How It's Going sleep in

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
sleep in
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
Fleetwood Speed
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

Ahhh. Seriously.

Of course, then I have rioters practice—

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Suicide Substitutes

I.

5 toe touches
30 JUKES
5 star touches
45 FORTY-FIVES

II.

5 toe touches
15 JUMP KNEES TO CHEST
5 star touches
45 FORTY-FIVES

III.

5 toe touches
30 JACKS
5 star touches
45 FORTY-FIVES

IV.

5 toe touches
15 JUMP HEELS TO BUTT
5 star touches
45 FORTY-FIVES

All sequences Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Alternately do jukes/jacks for 1 min, jumps for 30 sec, forty-fives for 1-1/2 min.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

How It's Going suicides

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
sleep in
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
Fleetwood Speed
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

So pretty much right off the bat I had to scale back my plans for suicides from 4x to 2x a week, because of adding the Saturday early morning speed practice and because I probably was never going to do Sunday morning suicides and then do more suicides at Sunday rioters practice. But you know, aim high and adjust. Is my motto.

Adding the Saturday early morning speed practice also put paid to my Saturday morning three-mile run, which I think I so need. So for a minute I thought I would do suicides 2x a week, right, at six in the morning, and then run at least a mile afterward. And then the next minute, it snowed. Which is a thing that happens in winter. You gotta love a subconscious that allows you to want to do suicides and run afterward at six in the morning. When it's a pretty safe bet that you're not gonna have to cash that check—

Clever girl.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Suicides

20091225_suicides

The hardest thing about this is getting out of the house when it's twenty degrees, but tell yourself this: it'll be over quick. It's, like, ten really intense minutes of exercise. Getting dressed to go out in the freezing cold actually takes longer than the actual exercise, um, in the freezing cold.

I layer up:

  • sport bra, leggings, socks
  • t-shirt, running pants
  • hoody, sweatpants
  • hat, neckwarmer, gloves

Jog halfway around the block to the schoolyard, where I do:

  • Forward/backward suicides 5x
  • Forward/backward cooldown 1x
  • Side/side suicides 5x
  • Side/side cooldown 1x

Then I run the rest of the way around the block back home.

These will not be happening, of course not, if it's snowing or raining, or if there's snow on the ground, or ice. As in, not last week at all. In which case I have suicide substitutes...

Work up to two sequences Tuesday and Thursday.

Friday, December 25, 2009

How It's Going stretches

Not last and not least (more TK!), STRETCH, seriously, STRETCH EVERY NIGHT. I guess when I say seriously stretch every night, I get that Sunday nights you fall asleep watching television at nine-thirty and have to be wheeled to bed in a wheelbarrow; that happens. But seriously stretch every night is the standard I have in mind. And if you're too sick or tired to do sunrises, or if you flipped over sledding with your nephew and niece and smushed your neck a little bit, you can still stretch, yes, you can stretch twice in a single day!

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
sleep in
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
Fleetwood Speed
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

I believe a lot of hoodoo about stretching, with nothing like science to back it up. In no particular order:

  • It's not just nice, it's necessary for building muscle.
  • Which I picture like pulling taffy: you fold it over itself, and then you pull it, and then you fold it and pull it again...
  • I actually don't know how to pull taffy.
  • It keeps you from getting stiff and sore.
  • It works out the lactic acid.
  • Though I think the lactic acid thing is mostly a myth.
  • This has to be true: it develops flexibility.
  • And flexibility in motion is agility. (I made that up. Doesn't mean it isn't true.)
  • It develops body awareness, which makes you better at learning new moves.
  • It doesn't hurt, anyway.
  • And it does feel nice.
  • It's an easy good habit to get into.
  • Getting into an easy good habit gets you in the habit of getting into good habits.
  • So you can get into harder good habits.
  • It's, like, a gateway good habit.
Who am I kidding, that was totally in order—

Thursday, December 24, 2009

How It's Going pastime

This is also good:

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
sleep in
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
Fleetwood Speed
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

...and the more everything changes, the more Choppers night stays the same. It is the real right time of the week. Friday is turning into Taco Burrito Express night, there's just not a lot of partying you can do when you're getting up the next morning at 5:00 AM for speed practice; but you know, call me if there's fun afoot. And Saturday night is wide open for MOAR PARTIES and DANCING. THIS IS MY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

How It's Going hobby

This is good:

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
sleep in
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
Fleetwood Speed
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

...this is what it's all for. I mean, I guess you might think that it's all for skating. I guess in my head, right now, skating is something that I have to do. Not like I have to do chores, more like I have to breathe. That probably sounds precious, but a) it feels true to me, and b) skating like breathing insofar as it's necessary, and it's like breathing insofar as I take it a little bit for granted. Whereas I'm not sure about writing, whether it's something I'm going to have time for.

It's not that I can't make time for writing, you can make time for anything that's important to you. That's what I'm saying, skating right now is that important to me & I'm making time for that; and by "make time," I mean find time. As everybody knows from Lost, you can't make time. You can find time & there's a limited amount of time that you can find. I'm not sure that's what they're saying on Lost. I'm not sure what they're saying on Lost, period. What I'm saying is. You find the time for skating, and you're not sure how much is left for everything else & it might not be enough.

But this is a good amount, I'm happy with this. I should acknowledge that this will mostly be made possible by waking up at 5:00 AM on Saturday mornings for Fleetwood speed practice & not really feeling the need to run after that.

Right now, I'm still in talk to the pear mode & just doing what seems to need doing: writing for this blog, designing a screensaver that's supposed to keep me on task when I'm at work, printing my name on the back of my practice shirts. It's random, and it's enjoyable & the latter probably has to do with the former, and is another counterpoint to how skating feels. Which is why I'm not pushing to get back to the time travel screenplay. If I randomly fall into writing that, then great. You can't push for everything and everything's not going to fall in your lap, but you're living the right life if you can get a little of both in—

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

How It's Going knock knock

Crap.

Good news, bad news... who knows.

You know that story, right? The farmer's horse runs away, and then it comes back with some wild horses, and then the farmer's son breaks his leg trying to tame the wild horses, and then army doesn't take him because his leg is broken. And through all this the farmer just keeps saying, "Good news, bad news... who knows."

You think I'm talking about not being drafted. Ha, I wish. Oh and, my leg is not broken.

Right before Thanksgiving, my sister's friend saw a story on the news about a clinical trial for a genetic mutation of the type of the lung cancer that my sister has. A few weeks later, my sister was flying to Boston to be tested; there was just a thirty percent chance that she would test positive for the mutation, and she tested positive. It was agreed that she would continue with her current therapy as long as it kept working, and then she would have this clinical trial.

Oh my god, you're talking about cancer? You're juxtaposing the draft to your sister's cancer?

Man, I didn't do it. I was cool with the draft. I just got home and there was this email—

That's mean, Poppy. Go back to talking about your weird charts!

So the current therapy is not working. The cancer is, apparently, bad. But. The current therapy not working was the necessary condition for her getting to get in the clinical trial. On the news they said that in the trials the cancer was melting away from patients even more advanced than my sister.

Good news. Bad news. Who knows.

It's a great philosophy, but I'm sick of it—

Monday, December 21, 2009

How It's Going skate practices

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
sleep in
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
Fleetwood Speed
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

Plus ça change!

So the thing about the opera with the bagels is, it's the drama that gets you. Where "opera" is, like, über-drama. In basic storytelling terms, just thinking dare I eat a bagel opens the door to a question: is the bagel going to be eaten or not eaten? Which is rarely resolved until the bagel is eaten, since the possibility of the bagel being eaten remains open as long as the bagel is uneaten. Whereas as soon as the bagel is eaten, the story ends. This is hugely what you're struggling against when you're trying not to eat that bagel, your hardwired sense of narrative.

And actually belatedly I realize that this was going on when pit crew broached the idea to me of jumping out of a plane, and I instantly shrieked STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP. But it was too late, the door had already been opened; and though I am really, really, really terrified of falling, I found myself in a Cessna 182 pretty much willing to die before I was going to act afraid in front of his skydiving friends and appreciating the irony of that I might actually die because I wasn't going to act afraid.

Before I forget: the thing you're supposed to do about the bagel is, just decide that you're not going to eat the bagel. You know, the way some people can just decide that they're not going to jump out of a plane.

I am, perhaps, just weak-minded.

But I'm a writer, I'm supposed to have a strong sense of narrative!

But anyway, I'm supposed to be talking about how skate practices are going & how it's going is, I've been fretting for a few months about adding a fifth practice & the only way that was going to end was, well, you know—

Friday, December 18, 2009

Good Night Stretches...

Hold all stretches for 10 seconds or longer:

Standing:
forward bend
forward bend, right foot crossed over left
forward bend, left foot crossed over right

Step into:
pigeon with right leg folded
...add left quad stretch
pigeon with left leg folded
...add right quad stretch

Lie forward into:
britney with shoulder blade stretch

Lie back into:
single or double quad stretch

Sit up into:
c-curve

Lie back again into:
doll stretches
...right leg up
...right ankle over left knee
...right knee over left knee
...spinal twist to the left
...left leg up
...left ankle over right knee
...left knee over right knee
...spinal twist to the right

Sit up again into:
split leg stretches
...right side over right leg
...right front over right leg
...left side over left leg
...left front over left leg
...front over center
butterfly stretch
arm stretches
...right arm across chest
...left arm across chest
...right arm over shoulder
...left arm over shoulder
...arms clasped behind back
...arms clasped in front and overhead

Entire sequence, every night before bed.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

How It's Going sunrises

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
PLAY
run
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

All right, so, I have scheduled exercise every morning of the week & I will tell you right now that I have not yet exercised every morning of any week, and I'm okay with that. I mean if I need sleep, I sleep. But if I'm up and it feels too cold to move around, wah wah, I'll give you something to be warm about. Remember when I was talking about learned patterns and the opera with the bagels, and learning a better opera? This is a better opera, you're cold and you unroll your mat & in a minute you're as warm as toast; and then at rioters practice, Juanna makes us do eighteen million squats and you don't die. But on the other hand, I'm sick again after just having been sick & it might be because I'm overworked. So I'm still testing what's actually doable. Like if I schedule Good Morning Sunrises 4x a week, I'm only going to do it twice probably & if I schedule it 3x a week, I might actually do it the three times. It's a good, hard program & I will teach it to you, if you ask—

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

How It's Going review & plan

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
suicides
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
PLAY
run
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

As it happens, B emailed just as I was putting the finishing touches on this latest chart for my life. "Chart for my life," by the way, comes from Joe, who is from London, so it is actually pronounced chaaht for mah loife. She wanted me to tell her a little bit about my systems, which was like... I'm trying to think of an example of a nerd being asked to talk about his nerdiness, and I'm only coming up with examples of myself; so nevermind. But that got me started & the below is basically what I told her, only with capitals and without swears.

But oh, the reason I don't usually talk about this. Is because I never want to tell people what to do. I'll tell you how I do, alla Poppy, but what you do with that is up to you. Partly because I am really deeply a constructivist, and partly because I really don't ...care, and I mean that in the nicest Buddhist detached sense. But like the worst thing in the world is when you mention that you do morning pages pretty religiously, and then people start confessing their morning pages fails to you. I don't know what to tell you, you either do them or you don't & everything else is just drama.

That said, the first principle is that the system is always evolving. Stuff changes all the time, so you can't have the expectation that you're going to set a schedule once and be done; like see, I've already made changes to my morning exercise schedule (more TK!) So you sort of have to commit at the outset that to continually work your system, which means actually setting aside x amount of time for this activity. And for me that's about an afternoon per week to set myself up for the week ahead, as highlighted.

Related to the first principle, you must not beat yourself up for not adhering perfectly to schedule. That's not what the schedule is for, the schedule is just a standard to keep in mind. With practice and as you learn more about what works for you, you can mold yourself reasonably close to standard. In the early stages, being way off standard often says more about setting your standards too high. That's a much worse problem than, say, procrastination. It probably causes procrastination, because your subconscious pretty much knows how much you can get done & rebels if you give yourself too much work.

I have developed, seriously over years, a time grid that works for me. I plan on a weekly basis, and each day is broken into the following periods: 6-9am, 9am-12pm, 12pm-3pm, 3pm-6pm, 6pm-9pm, 9pm-12pm. The hours are just guidelines, it's not about beginning and ending precisely at 6pm and 9pm; it's more about the general flow from one period to the next period. What's more important is that I only plan one activity, or I should say class of activity per period. The basic classes are, as you know, WORK (my job, and also housework), PLAY (skating), HOBBY (writing, and also the aforementioned systems work), and PASTIME (just having fun like going out or watching television). Now I will say, what this makes you good at is deprioritizing and jettisoning stuff that're going to trip you up; but it makes you sort of bad at being able to squeeze in little jobs in fifteen minutes here and there.

I actually draw out a master grid & if I'm lucky, it stays good for a whole season. Lots of times it's only good for two weeks. Every week I draw a weekly grid in my notebook, with whatever's different for this week, e.g., last week instead of Monday MOD Skate and Tuesday USA Speed, I had Derby Lite Park District and my niece's choral concert at the mall, and this week I'm a little bit sick and would have skipped Tuesday speed if it wasn't already cancelled and am skipping Wednesday strength circuit and taking the opportunity to watch Xmas movies with —gasp— non-derby friends. So you see what I'm saying about not adhering. But I'm wandering and not lost, because I still have my eye on that standard & can jump back on track at Thursday speed.

Going over my schedule week after week is very much returning to my center, and then well-armed into the whirlwind of the week. It's hard to answer whether it's a lot of work. I mean it's three hours a week, every week, working on my work plan. I mean, who has time for that?? But in a way, thinking about it like that makes it feel more like a time out. Then it seems like a luxury, as nice as a bath. Now that I'm thinking, I think this is why it's classified as HOBBY. Which is work that is play, something that is done as a means to an end that is an end in itself.

And actually HOBBY is also writing, and in a way reviewing and planning is also a kind of writing or, better, a kind of storytelling. It's telling myself, over and over, the story of my life. It keeps me on the same page with my life, I think that might be my definition of sanity—

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Avocado and Hummus Toast

20091217_avotoastI am finally OVER chex mix, because now I eat this as my afternoon snack. I should say that this very good on toasted bread or bagel, but I usually have eight seconds after I realize that I'm hungry and before I have a psychotic episode; so really usually I have avocado and hummus bread, which is also good.

2 slices good whole wheat bread or bagel, toasted
2 Tbsp hummus
1/2 avocado
lime juice
salt
pepper

Spread a tablespoon of hummus on each piece of bread, scoop the avocado on the hummus, and sprinkle with lime juice, salt, and pepper.

Per serving, 434 calories.

Monday, December 14, 2009

How It's Going an overview

So life as a rioter seems to be settling down into this:

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
MORNING
x-squats
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
x-squats
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
x-squats
MORNING
sunrises
MORNING
x-squats
PLAY
WCR Rioters
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
PLAY
run or bike
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
Review & Plan
HOBBY
 
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
WORK
Office
HOBBY
 
PASTIME
Choppers
PLAY
MOD Skate
PLAY
USA Speed
PLAY
WCR Circuit
PLAY
USA Speed
PASTIME
 
PASTIME
 
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches
EVENING
stretches

There's, like, a story for almost every box on this chart, well, the non-work boxes. So I will be milking this chart for all it's worth, to be continued...

Friday, December 11, 2009

Boot Surgery

20091217_bootsurgeryThe good news is, I finally got new winter boots:

  • that are cute
  • that are warm
  • that fit my radish legs
  • that were on sale

The bad news is:

  • they leak

Why would you even make boots that leak, they're boots!

Still, the good news outweighs the bad. And there's Shoe Goo.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Good Morning Sunrises!

I.

mountain pose
reach up
powerful pose
10 SQUATS
forward bend
look up
walk the plank
10 TRICEP PUSHUPS
chatarunga
upward dog
downward dog
10 WALK THE DOG
lunge right foot forward
warrior 1
warrior 2
reverse warrior
return to mountain
10 MORNING RISES
10 CROSSOVER SQUATS

Repeat, switching sides

II.

mountain pose
reach up
powerful pose
10 SIDE SQUATS
forward bend
look up
walk the plank
10 DOWN-UPS
chatarunga
upward dog
downward dog
10 COUNT THE DOG
lunge right foot forward
warrior 1
warrior 2
reverse warrior
return to mountain
10 MORNING RISES
10 CROSSUNDER SQUATS

Repeat, switching sides

Both sequences Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Oatmeal with Banana, Almonds, and Silk

Now that it's too cold to eat yogurt, this is my all-new vegan power breakfast that I eat at work. I keep the oats, sliced almonds, cinnamon sugar, and silk all at work, and every morning I pick out an exorbitantly-priced banana from the shop downstairs. I stole some measuring cups out of the kitchen, so I can measure the oats and almonds at my desk!

1/2 cup quick-cook oats
1 banana, sliced
1/8 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup silk
cinnamon sugar

So right, you put the oats in a bowl and add enough hot water to cover. Let it sit for a minute or two, then stir it up. Add the banana, almonds, and silk, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Per serving, 445 calories give or take the cinnamon sugar.

Friday, December 4, 2009

T-Shirt Surgery: A Racerback Dress

20091224_racerback 200911225_racerback2

For fuller instructions on measuring yourself and marking out an A-line dress, see T-Shirt Surgery: A Simple A-Line Dress. I still cut the front and back together and sew up the sides, as for an A-line dress...

...then I cut the racerback, which goes like this:

  1. Draw two vertical lines a desired width apart down the center of the back.
  2. Draw four parallel diagonal lines from the inside and outside shoulders to the center band.
  3. Draw a horizontal line across the back from armpit to armpit.
  4. Draw a little curve at the neck.
  5. Draw curves from the horizontal armpit line to the diagonal shoulder line on both sides.
  6. Cut out the racerback as drawn.
Just don't get freaked out about the curves. It's all straight lines, and the curves are just to round out the angles.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

With Friends Like These Who Needs Marines

pom So Saturday afternoon Pom is all like, Let's do a hundred pushups yeah! and since doing the tiny tricep pushups with Busty for six weeks, my pushups are pretty good. Suddenly in the middle of the six weeks, I could drop and do ten full pushups pretty much no problem; and now I can do twenty.

So I drop and do twenty, and then I go to a games party with Zombea and Shannana & I find out when I get home that she meant a hundred pushups today. Man, I could have spaced them out & done them. But anyway I drop and do thirty, knowing that I'm sure gonna get a ton of pushups in at rioters practice tomorrow.

I'm driving home from practice when Pom texts: Pushups! We are at 72 at speed practice for today. Catch up!

I text back, Done baby! Fifty yesterday, twenty when I woke up, thirty at practice!

Pom texts back: No. Today! We started over! :)

Oh, she meant a hundred pushups every day.

I am stubborn. And I am proud. And I am not going to count today's fifty for yesterday towards today's hundred. I drop and do twenty.

I text back, 20...

ETA: Pom would like to clarify that 100 pushups every other day would actually be safer and more productive.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Not-Too-Sweet Date Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

20091125_datenutoatThis is basically the Quaker Oats oatmeal cookie recipe, veganized and with the sugar reduced by half. Because of my crazy blood sugar I've mostly lost my taste for sweets, so this may not be sweet enough for a normal person. Though my tasters thought they were okay, and because they're not so sweet you sort of feel like you can eat a lot of them. Ha, um. Also because they don't have so much sugar, these cookies don't spread when they bake and keep a nice shape; so if I wanted to add a little sweet to these cookies, I'd be more inclined to ice them.

1/2 lb "butter"
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flaxseed, ground and mixed with 6 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups oats
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together butter, molasses, and sugar until creamy. Oh and I just happened to use molasses and sugar because I was out of brown sugar, you could also just use 3/4 cup brown sugar. Mix in flaxseed and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and mix into wet ingredients. Mix in dates and walnuts.

Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until browned.