Life is in the Details

Imagination Stage (Digital Scrapbooking Layout)

Yesterday I had an awesome bike ride for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. There was some ice still on the trail in some shady parts and most of them I was able to avoid. There was this one spot under a bridge that I couldn't get around safely and it was less than a minute from where I usually turn around so I took that as a signal to turn around slightly early instead. It was interesting to note the changes on the trail these past few months. There are lots of trees that have fallen, likely from the snow storm at the end of January. But I also noticed that the detour is gone where they were doing construction last year. There has also been some improvements made to the sides of the trail: new gravel on the side and new grass seed put down on the side of the gravel. What a nice surprise to see. There were a few cows, a bunch of horses, and many cute older couples walking together along the way. Great ride... there was a headwind when I was heading home and I was already a bit tired given that I haven't ridden outside since a strangely warm day in November but it was AMAZING to be outside and have this spring-like gift of 67 degrees in the middle of February. It's felt so spacious to be out in open, moving forward, feeling the wind on my skin. It is a spectacular feeling that still is with me and might take a few days to wear off... though I wouldn't mind it sticking around for as long as it wants.

Watching the kids play outside with friends was also so nice to see! They have been longing for days where they can play outside too. Day where everyone isn't huddle inside trying to avoid the blustery cold or harsh winds. Yesterday was the goods!

Above is a page I made about our favorite family theatre - a place that we LOVE to go - that we found out about 2-3 years ago. This was about our first season of attending shows there. To create it I scanned in the Imagination Stage promotional flyer, added it on top of a white canvas in Photoshop, and with the Marquee tool, removed the graphics for the one show that we didn't attend in the series and added a journaling square in its place (the bottom right one) and some swirls.

Today, I have the big of the littles home sick today... it's likely a cold. No fever but she wasn't feeling good last night and this morning wasn't any better. Her head is aching and she looks sooo tired even though she just woke up. She's also not very hungry. She only asked for tea this morning so far.

Grocery shopping with the littlest of the littles is on our schedule today. I have a feeling lots of episodes of Ace of Cakes and Cupcake Wars are in my future since those are Jessi's favorite shows currently. It's supposed to be 72 - YES SEVENTY TWO - degrees today! In. the. middle. of. February! But no bike ride today... I'll be hanging with my girl instead, maybe reading some more from one of the Harry Potter books to her also, and that's perfectly awesome! All things previously scheduled for today are on hold. Working on prints for the kids' rooms will have to wait, as will looking for some bike shorts, buying a birthday present for one of Ryan's friends, and researching composters.

I WILL be dreaming about the garden come spring and the plans that I have for it and all that I will grow. We met with a landscaper who is going to take out a diseased tree (the one that lost limb in the snow storm inches from my car and the same tree that will one day fall splat on my car if left standing given my current parking spot), and build 3 raised beds with really good soil (the fourth bed will come late summer after the current garlic is harvested - I'm NOT losing the cute little garlic that is already poking up that I planted last fall just to have everything look all nice and pretty and even - no way! Good things come to those who wait.)

I have oatmeal in my belly, my family tribe within these 4 walls (even if one of them is working... I still like all of us being in the same place).

Let's get this FRIDAY on the road! Long weekend here I come! Ready, set, GO! 

Inspired By...

 

The past few weeks I've been inspired by...

• Cool sewing projects from http://mialuna24.blogspot.com (and thank you to Google Chrome for helping to translate this site from German to English so that I can understand some of what it says!) - see the photo of that colorful jacket. Love Love Love it! I think I'm going through a bright::colorful phase.
• This awesome family adventure that started out in 2008. They are taking 2.5 years to travel from Alaska to Argentina together... on THEIR BICYCLES!! This sounds an amazing way to spend a few years!! I would SO be up for something like this even if on a super-small scale.
• This beautiful scarf from Presser Foot
• Doodle Stitching that I checked out from the library on Monday. I brought some muslin and embroidery floss that Jessi let me borrow from her friendship bracelet-making supplies to bring with me last week while I was taking Mike to the doctors and tried my hand at some stitches. I definitely need practice - they are harder than they look. The French knots are still tying me up and sometimes they don't work at all. I will have to give it another attempt when I'm alone and able to concentrate. Ryan was with me and I was helping him with some of his wax sticks and clay and wasn't able to figure out what I was (consistently) doing wrong (though I did get 5 or 6 of them and they are so cute). A good even blanket stitch eludes me as well. But I am persistent so I will just continue on!
• A great blog and site about changing the world in 15 minutes a week

Bean Burger + Brrrr! Biking + Barcelona Skirt

This was from a month or so ago but as I was going through my photos that I haven't shared yet this jumped out at me because I had these garbanzo burgers for lunch everyday for an entire week. It paired wonderfully with a small side salad and a square of Brown Rice Zucchini Gratin (that I had leftovers of in the freezer) YUM!.

TODAY:

I was up at 4 in the morning for no particular reason and couldn't go back to sleep so after trying to sleep for another hour to no avail, I decided to get up and enjoy the space and the peace that comes with that hour of the morning. I feel like I could use a nap now, though, as my day is going to run long today with a meeting that I'm running later tonight (and GOTR practice this afternoon). Too bad I have some things to do instead. During the wee hours, I had an early breakfast and cozied up in my basement with some fabric and chalk, marking off an inch from the top of a bunch of pieces for the back, thus completing another step in the creation of my skirt. I'm making the Barcelona Layer Skirt from Amy Butler:

I was just invited on a cold, fall bike ride tomorrow afternoon. I'm IN! I've been longing to go out on my bike and had missed those unseasonably warm days that we had a couple of weeks ago that would have been perfect for riding as I had things I needed to do... but not tomorrow. Today I'm going through my drawers and getting out my cold weather riding gear and taking my bike of the indoor trainer and bring it upstairs and out to the garage. I'm not sure how many layers to wear as I'm rather unexperienced when it comes to riding in these temperatures. Do I wear two thin layers and a light windbreaker on top of it or do I wear a heavy layer on top of all of that? I just don't have a clue. I don't want to wear too little and freeze my butt off or need to turn around early because I can't handle the cold (not to mention the teasing that would ensue from the latter). I also don't want to be so hot that I'm peeling off layers with nowhere to put them. I do have one definite "note to self": stuff my pockets with lots of tissues!

Off to prepare for the GOTR lesson later today.

Cinnamon Letter Practice

 

I am not outside cycling this morning in the event for which I registered earlier this summer (and for which I trained the best I could for). I'm a little bummed about it but I know it's for the best. I'd hate to require medical attention out there while riding just because I was too stubborn to make a smart decision. It's about the journey (right?) and not the destination. So I'm home. Resting. With tissues and liquids never too far away. I plan on working on some BPS stuff and maybe going through some photos from our trip to Europe to get a few more pages together for our family albums. It's been a while since I've done that so this will feel like a treat!

This cold has been dragging me down this past week so I don't have a lot of new stuff to share from recent events. Last week included two Back-To-School nights (on the same nights as soccer and t-ball practices), our first mid-week Hebrew School, lots of changes needing to be made to the PTO website, updating things for my BPS Wellness Journey class (that starts at the end of Dec), researching and buying liability insurance (yes I did!), one visit to my doctor to see why I am sick and what can be done (almost nothing), two physical therapy appointments and more. There is never a shortage of things to do around here. Last week I completely phoned it in in the food/cooking department but I'm looking to remedy that just as soon as I feel better (I'm browsing cookbooks and adding things to my "To Try" list).

Since I don't have much to share from last week I'm posting these. They are from a few weeks ago when Ryan and I made some cinnamon buns together. Good stuff! Delicious!

Settling in

 

I think it's happening. That settling in. The past week has felt like one giant spiral or chasing my tail or running around in circles. You get the picture. New schedules, new demands, new ideas. Trying to make it all work. Trying to make it all fit. Keeping all the balls in the air. My inbox was crazy full this past week which was driving me insane but I finally made sense of all of it and have whittled it down to a more manageable size and that alone made me feel like today could be filled with some fun, and gesso, and paints! And beads. I've been loving holding my new tools in my hand and molding and manipulating wire to my desire, adding beads, and making some cool wire & be a charms. These spiral charms above are some that I made a month or so ago with my old tools (that now belong to Jessica). Jessica was the main reason I even have new tools. Whenever I'd bring my jewelry making kit to a doctors appointment to pass the time while we waited, she would ask to see how I twisted the wire, how I added the beads, and how to finish it off. Then she'd ask to try and often we would end up spending most of our waiting time in an impromptu wire jewelry tutorial for the rest of the visit until the doctor came in to see us. We clearly needed some more provisions.

New beginnings. My yoga teacher training this weekend was amazing! The best training I've ever had. I absolutely loved the lead instructor, Mary Comfort. She rocked! The group was great... and what I really loved about the training was that we had opportunities to practice teaching. This should be required in all trainings everywhere because it takes away the mystery and the fear that often comes from trying things out. We were allowed to make mistakes, we were in a supportive environment and were given helpful feedback, and saw that improvement comes in as little as one day when you spend time working on it. As a part of the YogaFit Level 1 teacher training program we are required to do 8 hours of teaching yoga in the community free of charge. I'm so excited to do get out there and do my volunteer teaching. I'm currently trying to work out the details of where and how this will look like (likely a free 8-week class). I don't have enough room in my house, though I wish I did because I would love to have a little yoga studio in here and teach classes from it. I've talked with a local yoga studio to see if they are interested in hosting it... so I'm also in the process of getting liability insurance so that I can teach there (most studios require it and I needed to get this for my personal training business too).

Flow. So this week has lots of business ideas floating around in my head - great stuff, exciting stuff... stuff that keeps me wide-eyed with energy at night even when I should be sleeping: thinking of a name of a company that can encompass all that I'd like to offer (in addition to personal training and yoga, I'd like to add a variety of healthy cooking classes and courses on building a healthy pantry that includes a trip to the grocery store to demystify foods there and their labels), thinking of web technology and what I'll need to put together to offer what I want (capability for my clients to get and keep their workouts online as well as record any pertinent information pertaining to their health). 

Excess. As in excess germs. I'd like to get rid of this cold or whatever virus seems to have landed here now. I have my ride this weekend. The one that I missed last year because I got... um, sick (and last year I was much more prepared for the entire distance. 100 was possible last year.) This year 50 is possible. Rebuilding year, I remind myself again and again. It's okay I tell myself whispering this is where I am right now (and I am doing my best to accept it). The key to success next year? Find a cycling partner (and quarantining myself?). This first part is absolutely and positively essential. I didn't have one this season, which in addition to that little surgery, made this season a bit more challenging. I absolutely love riding by myself but it's so key to have someone that can go those longer distances. Once I get up to 40 or 50 regularly it's so much more fun to have someone else along for the ride. To talk with occasionally, to push each other farther or faster that we'd otherwise go on occasion, to help out if things should go bad (flat, other mechanical issue, accident, etc.). This goes to the top of my to-do list! If you are nearby and are interested please let me know. (And just for the record, I have no idea what my pace is.)

Off to get some Airborne and some art supplies that I want to paint on today for a project that's been on the back burner for far too long!

Strong Monday

 

Today was meant to be a long bike ride outside but the weather wasn't cooperating so I did a long indoor cycling DVD on my trainer (Spinervals 25.0). It ended up being a 2 hour, 10 minute workout with some pauses to answer the phone (but still stay on the bike). During the last 40 minutes I was STARVING as it was right at my lunch time. But I still stayed on (even though I thought about getting off about 4 times). I did a bunch of stretching after and left knee felt very good. I'm definitely going to continue my foam rolling because I really think it's helped the healing process (that's my roller pictured above)... and I have a blog post in the works about it that I'm hoping to get done over the next week or two.

The kiddies are at camp this week and I have a bunch of things that need doing. My hair needs to be cut. It's been a YEAR people! I've made an appointment and it's getting done... tomorrow! I need to schedule some more doctors appointments for Ryan and also PT appointment for me (just realized I have none on the calendar at all - oops!). I just registered as a coach again for Girls on the Run which I'm really looking forward to (and Jessica is too... and even the team mascot is probably excited if he was here to ask about it, but he's not). I have basil that has been in pots since before my surgery that looks super stunted in the growth department because it doesn't have anywhere to spread its roots, so this week I need to plant it in the ground already. Hopefully it rebounds a bit. I'm used to masses of basil galore and it's so sad when I have to go to the farmers market and plunk down $2.50 for what I usually grab from my own garden for free. Yesterday I made a big pot of Zucchini Basil soup and the next time I make it I'm hoping to be able to use from my own stash!

We've taken a break from school stuff - having the kids work on stuff that makes sure their brains don't turn to mush over the summer - and this week we need to get back on track so I'm photocopying things and planning and writing notes for them for when they get home so they know what needs to be done.

And later this week I'll be attended the DCAC Fitness Convention as well as my Spinning Instructor Orientation. This should be fun (and probably more than a bit tiring given that I'll be moving a ton and in fitness workshops from 7am - 6 pm <-- I'll be packing major snacks for these!)!! I only have one or two lectures and the rest are full-on workouts. I think I have 7 or 8 Spinning workouts scheduled over 3 days. I'll be sure to post a full report of the conference here!

This week I also plan on getting a few more scrapbook pages done from our Europe trip.

It's shaping up to be a busy week but also a GREAT ONE! Here's to starting with a strong Monday.

Cycling and Wine Tasting

I still have more photos from our trip but I need to take a break and post some from this week.

I'm back to cycling. YAY!  

 

Here was my fitness schedule for the week so far:

Monday - 21 mile bike ride (was sore even on Wednesday... losing fitness is so easy; getting it back... not so much)

Tuesday - Upper body (from BodyMax 2)+ Core (STS Stability Ball Abs)

Wednesday - gardening and recovery (ouchie - I'm sore from Monday and Tuesday), physical therapy

Thursday - 90 minutes cycling

Friday - 90 minutes cycling (I think there's something wrong with my bike odometer because I keep getting different readings on a path that I know the distance of and it's off), physical therapy, + I still need to do some core work later

Tomorrow will be upper body and Sunday will be a rest day with a little core work thrown in and I don't care what else happens tomorrow but I AM going to the FARMER'S MARKET!!

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Earlier this week I stole Mike away and made him take some time off to have lunch at a vineyard.

 

 

I didn't realize that they didn't really have lunch, per se. I was hoping for a big salad of some sort but we had to piece together our own lunch of the cheeses they had on hand, a baguette, and some chocolate. I wish I had brought some fruit along but I'll know for next time!

 

We had a tasting of their whites.

 

Boursin (herbed goat cheese - always yummy), a classic reserve sharp cheddar, and Cypress Grove Chevre Purple Haze (a goat cheese that had lavender and fennel pollen) - they were all delicious. I love goat cheese and now have plenty to use up in salads and sandwiches!
   

Mike got the chips and the chocolate (I tasted some of the chocolate and it was very good).
 

 

Our lunch. That baguette was so crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside that we had to hold ourselves back from ordering another one (or two).

 

So peaceful.
 
 

We were the only ones there for much of our trip.

 

I love the rows upon rows of grapevines.
 

Their trophy shelf. LOL!
 

Our stash to take home: their 2008 Viognier (a dry white) and their 2008 Nebbiolo Ice Late Harvest (dessert wine).
 

 

Digital Scrapbooking: Two-Wheelin'

 
I created this page two years ago around the time of the milestone of Jessica riding a bike on her own without her training wheels. It has been sitting on my hard drive ever since then. The only thing that was missing was the journaling. Mike was the one that taught her how to ride so although I could have written the story from my point of view as an excited observer holding Ryan back from darting out in front of her and zig-zagging all over the place, as three-year old little brothers are apt to do, so I wanted Mike to have a turn.

I left a small space on the photograph for his words to rest. When I reminded him of this two weeks ago he typed up something way too big for that little space so I printed out his thoughts on a regular piece of paper (letter-size) and am including it right next to the page in our family albums in it's own page protector.

I love Mike's voice and his writing style. I think he is the best writer I know and although scrapbook journaling is not his usual genre I absolutely adore his words and look forward to having his voice on more of our pages in the future.

I love when I can involve others involved in the story-telling.  

Credits: Digital supplies from ScrapArist.com (except the paint stroke, which is by Rhonna Farrer).

Digital Scrapbooking: Pierced

Browsing through my photos is always a huge motivator for me. I found so many photos that haven't ever gotten the chance to see the light of day because they live only on my computer and on the multiple backups that I have of them. It inspired me to set a few more of them free and tell the stories, big and small, that go along with them. 

We just passed the one-year anniversary of Jessica getting her ears pierced last spring and I realized that these hadn't been documented yet. It was a big step for Jessica because she had been wanting her ears pierced for so long, hand even tried once but was afraid of the pain so although she was already in the chair with her ears marked she decided that she wasn't ready so we went home. One day last May she told me that she was ready... and you know what? This time she really was.

I'm so happy I went through iPhoto last week and allowed myself to be open to the inspiration and the stories that my photos hold. 

Life is in the details.

Credits: Digital supplies from ScrapArist.com

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Today: My physical therapy appointment was AWESOME! How many times do you here that, right? Parts of it were painful, no doubt, but let's not dwell on that. What I was so psyched about was that I was put on the stationery bicycle near the end of my session. A bike! YES, A BIKE! I think I teared up at some point as I was pedaling along. And I was given the okay to go on my road bike hooked up to the trainer tonight (which you know I did!!) and to ice my foot after. I still can't walk - due to the amount of pressure required of the ball of the foot - but I am able to do something that I love again (albeit indoors). I couldn't put my road bike shoe completely on the way it was intended to fit. I had to leave the velcro straps and the other click-y strap very lose, so as to leave enough room for my still-swollen-and-bruised foot. I also couldn't clip in with my right foot. It's still too painful to put much pressure on the ball of the foot. So after a few unsuccessful attempts, I had to hop off the bike, take my right shoe off, click the right shoe into the cleat with my hands and then hop on the bike and put my foot gingerly into the already clipped in shoe. BUT I RODE MY BIKE!! It felt so incredible. I didn't really want to get off, but I did. Didn't want to push it too much and not be able to hobble along tomorrow.

Again... baby steps to wellness and recovery.

Post-surg PROGRESS!! & Recipe: Sweet Corn Soup

Post-surgery update: We are making progress, people!! This morning was the first morning I was able to put my right foot on the ground without feeling like I was going to skyrocket to the moon while spewing expletives. This is HUGE! And it could not come at a better time (though 2 weeks ago would have been acceptable). I helped cut up strawberries at the sink, pitted some cherries, and cut up a juicy cantaloupe too. All of this progress and the fact that it's June already has me itching to plan some summer activities and get going with life. An active life. [And a life that we're really trying to have involve a trip to London and Rome or Seattle and Tokyo as part of the tag-along-with-Mike-on-his-business-trip. But I need to be walking for this to be possible. And it's in 3 weeks, so the sooner the better.]

One of my cycling buddies was telling me of the adventures he's having and I so want to be out there too: trying out new routes, pushing my lungs and quads, feeling the freedom of being on two wheels, driving on winding country roads with rolling hills, and starting my century training for the 100-mile bike ride that I want to participate in this September. I know I need to start smaller than this right now. A goal of being able to walk to the bathroom on merely one crutch is more realistic. This morning I got a glimmer, that, yes, things are moving in the right direction. And this feels so good.

This afternoon I start physical therapy. I'm hoping I get the okay mandate to swim in the pool a few times a week so I can get working on some cardiovascular conditioning again but the truth is I really love being in a PT office because all the tools and equipment they have are so cool and I always learn a few things about the human body.

Before any of that can happen this morning is Ryan's kindergarten orientation! And lunch with some friends. YAY!

Bring it on. We're ready!

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Here's some summer soup love for you...

I've had this photo and recipe in my files to post since last year (which makes me wonder why I didn't do some post-processing on this). This soup ended up being one of our favorites - and even the kids loved it! This is a wonderful soup to make when those fresh ears of corns start showing up at the farmers market. The simplicity of this lends itself to endless variations, some of which I've included below.

Sweet Corn Soup fromVegetarian Cooking For Everyone by Deborah Madison

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 6 ears corn
• 1 tablespoon butter or oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• ½ cup grated way potato, such as Yellow Finn
• 5-6 cups vegetable stock (or a "Quick Cobb Stock" that's in Madison's book)
• Salt
• Chopped parsley, basil, lovage, tarragon, chives, or dill
• Half-and-half (optional <-- I did not use this)

Directions

1. Shuck the corn, remove the silk, then slice off the kernels. You should have about 4 cups. (Use the flavor-filled cobs in the stock if you are making one.)
2. In a wide soup pot, heat the butter or oil, then add the onion, potato, and 1 cup of the water. Cover the pot and stew over medium heat until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add the corn, 1 teaspoon salt, and the remaining vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Lover the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture to the desired consistency. Taste for salt and sprinkle with herbs. Add half-and-half if desired. If you are, be careful to stir frequently when reheating this soup to avoid curdling.

Variations

• add a pat of compound herb butter to each bowl just before serving
• roast the corn before adding to soup (this goes well with minced green chile, lime juice, and tortilla strips)
• top with an edible flower
• reduce the amount of vegetable stock and add some coconut milk and a squeeze of lime, bean sprouts, and cilantro
• garnish with a sprinkle of ancho chile powder and a drizzle of pumpkin oil
• add diced tomatoes and basil when serving