Bluesy

I'm not in the mood to listen to a lot of upbeat music so I made a bluesy playlist. When my father died, I listened to Anthony Hamilton's I'm A Mess a lot and while it's not a song about physical death, it allowed me to grieve. The lines that moved me the most:

I'm a mess right now I can't eat can't sleepBills are piling high ain't worked in three weeksAin't bathed can't shave cause my heart is so tender like living in a blenderI'm shaken and I'm stirred

Here's part of the playlist:

I also have Hamilton's  Comin' From Where I'm From and Can't Let Go plus Moby's Why Does My Heart Feel So Sad? and Bill Wither's Ain't No Sunshine. I will also add Al Green's How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? Might add Diana Ross' Missing You but maybe not.

Because Of Yoga

Masterpiece Theatre

Because of the perfect weather, had my eye on walking to work all along. Thought that I had downloaded an episode of The Moth but I hadn't so I listened to StoryCorps instead.  It's a story from the Griot Collection told by Mary Ellen Noone and I really would like to unlisten to that story, ugh...

Learned my lesson and hit play on a Sporkful episode about chocolate on the return trip... Also got my bicycle out because when I went to renew Sam Smith's CD, got the item has holds message. Bicycled to the library and handed over Smith's CD and picked up Flo Rida and Al Green CDs.

Ate part of the Mexican-Style Grilled Vegetable Sandwich that I put together yesterday. Actually set the top part of the Ciabatta loaf on fire which is probably a good thing anyway. Even though it was hallowed out, we all know how evil bread is...

Accidentally Open-Faced

Got myself together after dinner and headed to yoga. Popped in the Al Green CD and between listening to I'm Still In Love With You and looking at the sunset, I found myself occupying really nice space.

Did I tell you how I look forward to Mondays because of yoga? Okay, not every Monday but a lot of them.

Further Down The Road

The New One

As I made my pre-bicycling smoothie, started singing How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? out of nowhere and it stuck in my head for quite a while. My heart didn't feel broken but maybe it broke sometime in the middle of what felt like a rather long week...

A bunch of parks and recreation folks reminded me of a chain gang and I started singing a very off-key version of Chain of Fools. Also sang Home on the Range and Happy. Poor Alison had to listen to me sing.

Alison and I decided to tackle the entire Riverfront Trail since we both felt really good. After bicycling on the Chain of Rocks Bridge, I'll round it up to a nice even tally of 22 miles...

Finally tackled something on my to-do list. It dawned on me that I have a man's bike with a seat made for, surprise, a man. The bike felt right and still feels right except for the seat (past tense).

Could have saved myself money if I had purchased a woman's bike but you know what they say about hindsight.

Picked up my bike at lunch yesterday, headed to the shop after work and consulted with a tech. My favorite part of this visit was the tech's rather involved explanation of why my brakes are making noise. At any rate, my ride was much more comfortable today but the real test will be my assessment of the situation tomorrow and, further down the road, the challenge of back-to-back rides.

Reward for Going Uphill

Cakeway to the West, Happy 250 STL

Bicycling on  Chain of Rocks Bridge

Arch's Reflection

The Rough Guide to Relaxation and Reentering the Rat Race

I've been on vacation for three weeks much to the shock of some folks who looked at me as if a three week vacation were a foreign concept. I should have taken vacation earlier (which is why I had quite a few days) but my timing was off then it wasn't the right time etc. etc. At any rate, I usually try to take at least two weeks off at a time.

If you can get three weeks off, I highly recommend it since, in my humble opinion, it takes almost one week to decompress. Furthermore, if you're traveling, try to travel during week one so that you can have time to recuperate from traveling.

I got a few things done during vacay:

Car Insurance and Maintenance Matters

Eye Doctor Matter

Floating in the Pool

Found Netflix DVD

Massage

Reading

Things that I did not get done and will not beat myself up over:

Uncluttering (In fact, I created more clutter and I can't find my keys right now either...)

Did Not Get To Spend Time With Everyone That I Wanted To Spend Time With

Figure Out How To Make Time Stand Still

Get Rid of Baggy Clothes

Get Tires Rotated

Go On Long Bike Rides (Heat-Related)

Handwrite Note to Former Colleague

Look for Recipes

Strip and Wax Kitchen Floor

As I get ready to head back into the workforce, I remind myself:

Be Grateful

Be Your Own Therapist (muy importante)

Breathe (also importante)

To Not Let Anyone Rattle My Cage

Just because I'm going back to work does not mean I can't devote time to things I enjoy (hello nighttime outdoor swimming)

No Catastrophizing

Remember what paid contractor said: if you have 1001 things to do -- cross of 1001 and start with one

Stop wishing you were rich because it's not helpful

Try Not To Be Uptight

Your carriage will not turn into a pumpkin

Anything to add to the relaxation rough guide?

When The Lights Went Out on Fremont Street

I find it reaffirming that the best day that I had in Las Vegas was, decidedly, a non-Las Vegas kind of day. Well, not completely. One of my uncle's half-brothers stays in Las Vegas. I'll just call him my bonus uncle, Sam. Sam and his wife Nita came to pick us (me and my aunt) up and took us to a magic/comedy show.

Speaking of my aunt, we have not vacationed together since we were shorties. That's my aunt in the white swimming suit and, if you cannot tell, my eyes are focused on her and I have quite the smile on my face.



(More smiling and so glad that I can swim minus Daffy now)

Sam and Nita made us smile quite a bit. We joked about Nita being Sam's GPS minus the off button and Nita said that she should have left Sam lonely a long time ago. I told Sam that he was going to be left singing that Al Green Tired of Being Alone song. The whole time that we were joking, I kept catching glimpses of a spectacular ring that Sam gave Nita when their son was born. To say that they were great hosts is an understatement.

After the magic show, Sam asked if we wanted to go to this burger joint and my aunt looked at me. I said that I don't eat hamburgers but I would find something else to eat but Sam insisted that we go to Souper Salad and I'm glad we did. While they have pizza etc., it's, essentially, a giant salad bar with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, chickpeas, etc. When I tried to pay, Nita put a block on me that was linebacker-worthy.

Looking back on what I ate while on vacation, I didn't do too bad with selections, including veggie burgers at Fuddruckers. They did put butter on the buns but I just cut that part off. For lunch a couple of times, I got the mango salad at Qdoba Grill. I asked for it without the shell which I got the first time (misunderstanding) but I still didn't eat it. I also ate at T.G.I. Friday's and although I got the Dragonfire Grilled Chicken with brown rice and broccoli, I knew that the sodium was going to be off the hook. I did ask for them to leave the kung pao sauce off but still...

I also fell in love with these little flat white peaches which I found to be the perfect size...



After eating, Sam and Nita took us downtown since we hadn't been there yet. Oh, the kitsch of Freemont Street. Ya gotta have a light show, right?



When the lights went off and the music came on, it was amazing to see adults stop in their tracks. It reminded me of two moments in The Shawshank Redemption when Tim Robbin's character locks himself in an office and plays classical music and when he escapes from jail.



Sam and Nita couldn't resist the music either.




To our hosts, heartfelt thanks -- for hospitality, for the laughter et al; you all are incredible.

Have you been the recipient of sterling hospitality? Hope so and hope it has been often...

The Striker's Guide to Dinner

After weeks of not cooking, I finally got into the kitchen, chopped a few vegetables and made something happen.

In all honesty, I haven't felt like cooking.

In my old life, I had a lot of go-to recipes but I've been too lazy uninspired to adjust the recipes and, frankly, I find looking through cookbooks exhausting and, if it's a cookbook without pictures, spare me...

Did I tell you all that I was a picky eater as child? Big visual, temperature and texture issues. Big drama. Like, you're not leaving the table until you eat drama. I sat with my legs dangling until I was excused. My 'rents had long caught onto me slipping the dog my undesirables. Did my parents ever once consider that it might have been their cooking? Nooooooooooo.

To this day, if something tastes good but is mushy, I'll taste it but won't hang with the dish for long.

When I do find a recipe that calls my name, it usually involves a lot of chopping. For some reason, the labor intensive recipes beckon me.

I was flipping through the March Prevention when I saw a recipe, More-Vegetable-Than-Egg Frittata that I instantly liked. The recipe was a contribution by the one and only Mark Bittman.



I used a red bell pepper, spinach and squash for my frittata. And my verdict -- not bad at all and quite clean tasting. I wasn't doing that Al Green moaning thing but I liked the frittata and will make it again. The frittata doesn't stand alone and it doesn't make a lot. If you have more than three folks to feed, double up on the ingredients.

What I ate while on strike:












Steamfresh Veggies with Trader Joe's Marinated Chicken Breasts

Ironically, that same Prevention featuring Mark Bittman also had an article, 50 Healthiest Everday Foods, which had a very nice chart for folks, like me, who need visual cues.

For example:

Natural State, 1st Choice: apple
Somewhat Processed, 2nd Choice: strawberry preserves
Highly processed, limit: strawberry gelatin dessert

What is one of your favorite go-to recipes and what food do you resort to when the cooking comes to a halt? If you don't halt, kudos, and may I come over?

P.S. Another promising Bittman recipe in that Prevention was Chicken Not Pie.

Bon appétit, you all...

The Good Times

I went to my fourth grocery store in three days.


Today I worked out on the EFX, my newest cardio friend. The gym is close to Big Lots where I went to see if they had any Wasa crackers and chocolate-covered peppermint sticks. I didn't find what I was looking for but I did score some Kashi ripe strawberry bars.

I couldn't very well bypass Sappington Farmers' Market which is in the vicinity. I had to, at least, get the part-skim cheese that I really like from there. I also picked up a few other goodies and I grabbed a Hanuta for, as Al Green would say, the good times.