a little shout out

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One of my sisters has been working on the same case at her law firm for the last 2 and a half years and the trial finally starts today (unless the judge decides to push it back at the last minute, which he might). She is the reason that I was in California and will be returning there at the beginning of next week. She is currently living in a hotel with several other people from her firm (doesn’t that sound fun???) for the next month while they try this case and I get to work as her personal assistant (or slave, as she likes to call me).

Anyway, I doubt she’ll have time to read this (so I’ll probably email her, too), but I just wanted to send her a little love via the blogosphere. I seriously don’t know how she survives her job sometimes!

wasatch back: the photo journal

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I know I already blogged a little about this, but seriously, looking at the pictures (finally) just reminded me that, while I was totally under trained and sucked it up big time, it was all worth it, for both the surroundings and the camaraderie. I’m not going to say more than that. Oh, who am I kidding? The other thing I want to say is that, while I do not love living in Utah, running this race reminded me that it really is one of the prettiest states in the country. And I think I will probably survive the 16 more months I have of living in this state (more specifically, this town) full time.



















So, I know this isn’t the most exciting picture of the bunch, but please note the multiple band aids and the seriously swollen ankles (they are naturally very thin…I promise, they are swollen, similar to what they look like right now, after walking the streets of SF

to blog or not to blog?

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Yeah, it’s not a question right now. The answer? Not to blog. Trust me, I would much rather be posting all of my fabulous pictures from Wasatch Back and my first week in California (Sarah came to play and I got to be a tourist in my favorite city in the world, San Francisco). However, that will all have to wait. There’s a statistics class that I have to finish in the next 24 hours and from what I understand, it takes just under that long to complete. And how much have I worked on it?

No…the answer isn’t “not at all”, but it is “not very much”. So, while you are all happily sleeping, I am miserable plugging away, figuring out confidence intervals and z-factors. Gag!

Did I really think going back to school full time was a good idea?

cooking class

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For years I have thought it would be fun to take a cooking class. I’ve taken cake decorating, but never cooking. I don’t know why, but they really intimidate me. Actually, any class where I don’t know anyone intimidates me, but I just power through it, I guess.

Well, yesterday I’m in Whole Foods (I love this store and am so happy that for the three weeks I’m in California, it’s just across the street…but that’s another post for another day) picking up some things for lunch and happen to see the class schedule. And, to my delighted surprise, the class yesterday was a souffle class; something I have never attempted before because they scare the crap out of me.

Before I could even think about it (because I wouldn’t have done it if I had), I signed up and paid for the class. The rest of the day gave me time to get both excited and nervous. By about 6:45 (15 minutes before the class started) I was ready to just forfeit the money, but then I got over that and headed over to Whole Foods (a couple of minutes late…didn’t want to be the first person there).

It was absolutely lovely. There were only for of us; a mom, her son, an attorney, and me (oh, and the instructor). It took a second before we all warmed up to one another, but warm up we did, and soon we were all moving, stirring, whipping, chopping, etc., etc. And I learned a great, new folding technique that ensures much less flattening of the egg whites (the key to souffles is air…thus the name “souffle” which means “breath” in English).

With a little over two weeks here, mainly on my own (I’m house-sitting for my sister), I have every intention of taking a few more classes. If I get really daring, I may even take one that doesn’t involve baking (regular cooking, where you have to season things and can improvise, is not my strength).

Of course, me being me, I didn’t hesitate to ask if I could take pictures, so here they are. All of the recipes are on Epicurious.com. If I have a little more time, I will link them in later.

Gruyere and Parmesean

Orange (absolutely divine)
Strawberry with a strawberry and rhubarb garnish (totally fat-free)

Bittersweet Chocolate (a fabulous death by chocolate – obviously, as a total chocolate addict, this was my favorite…although I really enjoyed all of them)

heaven and hell

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Our team name for the Wasatch Back was “Heaven or Hell”, but the truth is it is both heaven and hell. This is one of those experiences that I’m just not sure I can really capture in words. I’m sure some of my teammates will do a much better job than I, so I will direct you to their blogs once their posts are up. Not only that, but I need to get my pictures uploaded and I can’t seem to get my computer connected to the internet and my sister doesn’t have a card reader.

Just to give you a quick picture, here are the basic stats:
12 runners
180 miles
2 vans
36 legs (of the race, not body in which case, it would be 24…duh)
3 head lamps
6 blisters (personally)
1000s of ounces of fluid, consumed and perspired
4 bee stings
9 new running friends…I already knew Christy (who was our amazingly awesome team captain) and Anne
30:53:46 worth of memories that I wouldn’t trade

There’s so much more to share than this, but I wanted to give you a little taste. I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted about running and really, I have lots of thoughts on relays, now that I’ve run one (and in reference to myself, I am using the term “run” very, very, very loosely), so I thought I’d at least get something down.

Seriously, if you ever have the opportunity to run one of the Ragnar relays, do it. It was an unforgettable experience, and one that I’m hoping to repeat (in much better condition) next year. Any takers???