"Crap I Like to Eat"

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a quick meal idea: smashed peas on toast. I thought: I'll have to try that, and I went home and did, though with a fried egg instead of poached. While I was eating it, Lance wandered over and took a bite. Then another bite. To save the rest of my meal, I had to make him his own, and our current favorite dish was born.

Molly of Orangette writes about making a list called CRAP I LIKE TO EAT (CILTE). Whenever you're tired and can't think of something to make, you refer to the list to grab an idea that will be immediately appealing and get you excited about cooking. Smashed peas on toast with a fried egg has gone on my CILTE list.

Last night, I needed a light bite to eat for dinner, so I immediately thought of smashed peas on toast. It may not sound that appealing, but believe me--it's delicious, especially if you leave the yolk a little runny. Quality ingredients are best for such a simple dish, since all of the flavors come through: I used homemade whole wheat bread and fresh free-range eggs purchased at our farmers' market.

It hit the spot perfectly so that I could muster up my energy to help complete a painting project, and it will continue to be a favorite quick, simple dish that Lance and I will go to when we're feeling uninspired by the prospect of dinner.

Smashed Peas on Toast with a Fried Egg
(Note: All measurements are approximate because I just throw this together, which is part of why it's a perfect dish.)

• frozen peas (~1/2 cup or more)
• 1 slice good quality bread
• 1 egg
• seasonings ( such as garlic powder, salt and pepper, cayenne, onion powder, nutritional yeast, or anything else you think might taste good. I like my peas really garlicky.)

In the microwave (or on the stove top), heat the frozen peas until hot. Smash with a fork and add seasonings to taste*. It shouldn't be a paste, just smash them up for a minute or so and until the spices are incorporated.

Meanwhile, toast the piece of bread and cook the fried egg. I salt and pepper my egg at this point.

To assemble: place the toast on a plate. Put peas on top of toast. Place fried egg on top of peas and eat with a fork because the peas and egg yolk are likely to get a little messy.

*Lance likes to add a touch of half-and-half or cream to make the peas a little creamier.

Pie War

I'm trying to start a pie crust war with Lance. I have doubts that it will actually work--those who have met him know that he's generally unflappable--but it's still fun to try.

You see, Lance is a improvational, free-style cook except for two recipes: cornbread and pie crust. He uses the same recipes (or ratios, really, since he has been known to substitute different types of flour in the pie crust) that his grandmother taught his mother, who in turn taught him. Anyway, these two recipes border on the sacred for Lance, and I agreed to follow them as well. I've made other cornbread recipes, but he always complains about them.

Pie crust, however, is fairly standard: butter, flour, salt, and ice water. Technique is actually the most difficult part of pie crusts. We have been experimenting with our mixing and rolling techniques with great success.

Yesterday, I decided to bake a pie for his grandmother. I was reading Molly Wizenberg's (of Orangette, a fantastic cooking blog) book A Homemade Life*, and I told Lance's grandma about Molly's Hoosier pie, which contains chocolate, bourbon, and pecans. Lance's grandmother proceeded to hint about it throughout the evening, so I showed up with one yesterday, and we had it for dinner. It was delicious.

What got me going about the pie crusts, however, was Molly's pie crust recipe for the Hoosier pie was significantly different from our standard crust. It had apple cider vinegar in it! Also sugar! I was intrigued, to say the least. So I diverted from our recipe--and I really liked the results. The crust was tender and flaky, with a nice crispness. I think Molly is onto something with the vinegar. Lance's grandma also declared it delicious, and she really knows her pies**.

Both crusts are good--dont' get me wrong--but I think I'm now interested in experimenting with crust recipes. I think I'll leave the cornbread alone. It really is an excellent recipe, which I will share with you when next we make it. For now, here are the warring pie crusts:

Lance's Grandmother's Pie Crust

• 1 cup flour (I like a mix of 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry and 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose)
• 1/3 cup cold butter, cut up
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 tablespoons ice water

Blend flour and salt in a bowl. Add butter and mash up with a fork or a pastry cutter until the butter is the size of peas. (Alternately, use your food processor--but the hand method does work a bit better. But everyone can be a little lazy sometimes.)

Add 3 tablespoons of ice water and stir. Add a bit more if your dough is dry--it should hold together but not be sticky. I usually use all 4 tablespoons and maybe a bit more if I'm using whole wheat pastry, since it can take a bit more moisture.

Roll out or wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator until ready for use--you can make pie crust a little ahead of time since it does well when chilled (it is important not too handle it too much or the butter will begin to melt).

Molly Wizenburg's Pie Crust
From A Homemade Life's Hooiser Pie recipe

• 4 tablespoons ice water, or more as needed
• 3/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry and 1 cup all-purpose with great results)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon cold butter, cut up

Mix together ice water and apple cider vinegar and set aside.

Mix together flour(s), sugar, and salt. Add in butter and cut into flour (using fork, pastry cutter, or food processor) until the butter is the size of peas. Mix in water, adding more if needed--you are looking for the pie crust to hold together, but not be too damp. Shape into disc, wrap in plastic, and place in the refrigerator until ready for use.

*Much more about this book later. I'm really, really enjoying it.
**When I make a pie, and it meets with his grandparents' approval, I know that I've succeeded. They have eaten/made a lot of pie in their lifetime, and they know good pie when they taste it.

Photo Ops

Often, I'm convinced that I'm not photogenic. I'll look at a picture of myself, and all I see is that I'm not wearing make-up (makes my eyes look tired), or my head is at a funny angle, making me look like I have an extra chin.

My graduation pictures were both terrible. Well, one was pretty terrible and the other was okay. I ordered the okay one because I wanted an "official" picture to give to family. The graduation action-shot--photo taken as I'm being handed my diploma-cover--was the worst of the two. I was confused as I was walking across the stage, and I looked at the camera instead of the person handing me the diploma. I look like a deer caught in headlights. The second photo is okay, except that my bangs covered one eye and my mortarboard slid back on my head. It was definitely the winner.

People tell me that I'm crazy for thinking I'm not photogenic, but I've seen lots of bad pictures of myself. Then one like this pops up:












And I'm convinced that I'm capable of having good pictures of myself. Thanks to the ever-lovely J. for making a decent photograph of graduation exist.

Kindle Lesson #1

My Twitter followers will know that I recently purchased a Kindle 2--it has been mine-oh-mine for about two weeks now, and I use it everyday. I love it.

Today, I contacted customer service because I was having some issues with finding my New Yorker subscription (the new one wasn't showing up on my device!) and a PDF file I had converted and uploaded vanished without a trace, even after I'd read a bit of it and examined how well the conversion worked. I discovered that the PDF file was still on the device when I attempted to re-add it, but somehow I couldn't find it when I searched my items.

Enamored as I was with my Kindle, I did not react with anger. Perhaps something was merely awry, I thought. Maybe the device wasn't accessing the information, or maybe I uploaded it wrong. I e-mailed Amazon; they promptly replied that I should call their customer service number. I did; after about a minute I was greeted by a helpful gentleman who attempted to re-send my New Yorker issue to the Kindle. He then had me restart the device and transferred me to tech support for assistance with my PDF file.

By the time the Kindle restarted, I was chatting with a friendly woman. I described my problem--I can't find my converted PDF document! Oh, and I still can't find my New Yorker current issue!--and she quickly directed me to the top of the screen. If I press the navigation key to the left, I suddenly see that I can display "all items". Somehow, somewhat inexplicably, I had changed my selection to display only books.

"I feel stupid," I told the tech support woman. She expressed satisfaction that she was able to so quickly solve my problem, and I hung up pleased that the Kindle was working perfectly (and armed with new knowledge about display settings).

I blame the folks who played with my Kindle the weekend before last (you know who you are*).

So, Lesson #1: be careful how many individuals fiddle with Kindle's settings unsupervised. Also, Kindle has many, many hidden menus that I'm still locating, despite the ease and intuition with which I have so far operated my beloved device. More Kindle gushing soon!

*Don't worry--I don't actually blame you. Either way, I now know a new, nifty feature!

Rain Everlasting

Last spring, Arkansas experienced incredible flooding and torrents of rain.  If I remember correctly, the rain caused the dirt supporting a storm drain near where I live to get washed away, causing the city to shut down a stretch of road until they could repair it.  The farmers sighed and offered what produce could grow is such soggy weather, since crops need both sun and water to grow properly.  Too much rain, after all, delays their production. A funny paradox of farming, I suppose--too much of a good thing and all.

Anyway, I'm not really wanting to talk about farming so much as weather and my life events.  I did participate in commencement last week, but that's for another post, with pictures! What I'm inspired to write about today is rain.

It has been raining almost non-stop for the last three weeks (or maybe not three weeks, but it's been going for a while).  We'll get a day or two--or even a partial day--where there is sunshine, but other than that, it's been raining. And raining. And raining.  Hard, torrential rains (with the threat of tornado), light spring rains, mist, sprinkles--we've had all the flavors of rain one could experience with a dash of thunder and lightning.  I feel like perhaps our weather patterns are changing to make our state a damper one.

The weather pairs up strangely with graduating. For me, this was a huge event, three years in the making. I surmounted a thesis and course work while working full-time, and the ceremony signaled the close of that phase of my life.  And then it was raining, though it didn't really rain during the ceremony, which was a relief since I had lots of family and kids who probably didn't need to get wet on their way to the venue.

The rain marked not so much the lack of sunshine for a celebration, but something rather more complex.  Two major members of my family were voluntarily absent from commencement, so in some way the rain signified that the celebration was marked with clouds.  The weather couldn't be perfect for a day that was missing someone(s).  While I had a wonderful time, and while I really enjoyed being able to participate in commencement, there was still a hole because of their absence.

More importantly, however, the rain has come to mean that something new is coming.  Something that I can't see yet, but a something that is working on sprouting, wriggling through damp earth, and waiting for the sun to shine so that it can burst forth.  I can feel it--this phase of my life is over, a phase that began four years ago when I graduated with my BA.  I can see how much I've learned, both academically and personally, and I feel good about the future.  I may not know what's coming, but I'm excited to see what happens.  And so our rain, while preventing us from camping, hiking, biking, and generally enjoying the Arkansas spring before it becomes muggy summer, helps me to wait hopefully for what's to come.

YA Lit: The Mysterious Benedict Society

If you look at my bookshelves, you will quickly realize I enjoy a range of literature--and I really like good "young adult" literature. I have everything from Anne of Green Gables to the series to Harry Potter. I frequently reread books from my childhood, The Secret Garden being a perennial favorite.

When I was last in Barnes and Noble, I wandered through the children's section to see what I could possibly pick up for my nieces. One book caught my eye because of its cover art: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart*. I picked it up and read the first two chapters, and was instantly hooked--A is begging to borrow it because she did the same thing the other night at my apartment.

Without going into too much detail on the plot (A, after all, reads this blog), the story is compelling and empowering for young adult readers. Adults can also take delight in a story well told, as well as identify with the characters, who could contain shadows of our younger selves.

The Mysterious Benedict Society (the first in a series) has all the elements of a good narrative: compelling characters, a villain, mystery, secret agents, and a satisfying conclusion. I even teared up a couple of times. I definitely recommend it for adult readers who enjoy a good story and for older kids who want an adventure read.

*Who, incidentally, lives in Little Rock.

Hamlet--But With Dogs

As soon as I concluded my thesis writing and defense, I snatched up the nearest book I could find. That book was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, one I had purchased with Christmas money based on Donna's recommendation*.

I had heard the book was a sort of modern Hamlet. The book certainly contains similar elements to Shakespeare's play, but it also extends those themes into the relationships between humans and their dogs. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle tells of the boy Edgar, who was born without a voice and whose parents breed and train dogs. These dogs are special, special because of the vision that Edgar's grandfather had to breed a dog who is a true companion, not merely a useful work animal.

The book plays on themes of love, of soul-mates, and of revenge. The novel too focuses on language: since Edgar cannot speak out loud, he must communicate via different avenues, including his beloved dog, Almondine. Yet he is obsessed with words and language, and he is given the responsibility of naming all the pups in the Sawtelle kennel. His relationship with language is entirely physical, enacted through written and signed forms, embodied by his well-worn dictionary. His inability to communicate verbally underscores the ways other characters in the novel are unable to speak, even though they have the power of speech.

I don't really want to give too much away of the plot, but Wroblewski was able to get me to really care about the characters in deep and complex ways. I wasn't completely repulsed by the story's villian because Wroblewski didn't completely villainize him, writing a complex character that a reader could be drawn to in spite of herself. The writing was vivid and well-paced; though long, the novel read quickly and concluded well.

I'm glad I read this book, and I look forward to loaning it out. My next book is The Mysterious Benedict Society, which I picked up this weekend on a lark because I liked the cover art** and thoroughly enjoyed the first two chapters. I do enjoy being able to read for pleasure again!

*I like knowing that I have people who can really recommend good books and movies to me. I've liked nearly everything that Donna has recommended. Thanks to her, I purchased Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
**The book was illustrated by Carson Ellis, who is also the artist responsible for The Decemberists' albums and is married to Colin Meloy, their lead singer.

The Week After

If you haven't heard by now, I successfully defended my thesis on the 16th. This past week (and weekend) has been spent lazing about, reading books, thinking about putting the finishing touches on my final copies, and visiting with good friends.

The defense itself was, well, intense. I had prepared a twenty-minute formal presentation, only to be told the morning of that I needed to prepare to speak "no more than fifteen minutes". After the panic subsided, I figured I'd just go with what I'd prepared. When the defense began, my adviser introduced me and set an informal tone to the defense, so I ended up discarding my notes and just talking. And I think it went better than if I had been more formal.

Then came the questions. Oh, the questions! For about 40 minutes, they grilled me. I didn't have time to even be nervous about anything, though my adviser had to bail me out of one tight spot. Toward the end, the defense became a discussion on the writing and educational needs of engineering students from all who were present (I had three guests), which I thought was a great way to conclude. After receiving an "you're okay" gesture from my adviser, I stepped into the hall for a moment , chatting with S, an engineering professor. Then my committee called me back in and congratulated me. I was now a Master.

I thought I would feel some great sense of relief, but I was a little dazed after the intensity of the defense, and I still can't quite believe it's all done. But it is, and I felt pretty good. I learned a lot about large research projects, which should serve me well in my PhD program.

I've begun reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (great recommendation, Donna!) and I read Coraline on the way home from Little Rock. Coraline was good, and although the movie differs quite a bit, the film's changes enhance the story on that level. I enjoyed both for their individual merits, and would recommend them for children (probably seven or older, though).

I've also been cleaning and cooking, participating in the Kitchn Cure Challenge, and doing lots of yoga. I missed taking care of all the little household things like cleaning and cooking and keepting the house tidy. I'm sure I'll get tired of not working and schooling all at the same time, but it won't be any time soon!

'Twas the Night Before...

It's 10:30pm, the night before my thesis defense.  Part of me thinks that I'm hyping myself up too much--but I can't help it.  I want to do so well, and it means a lot in terms of my education.  I'm trying to tell myself that I have this, just to relax...but my nature is to panic slightly.  Luckily, people have asked me really hard questions, and I do so much better answering questions.  It's weird how that works--maybe because I prefer a setting where I'm conversing with individuals rather than talking for twenty minutes without relief.  My future teaching style, perhaps?

So, it's 10:30, and my thesis defense is tomorrow.  I feel pretty good about my ability to confidently talk about my thesis for twenty short minutes.  Seriously--do you realize how short twenty minutes is?  I can't talk about anything in depth.  Really, it's quite ridiculous. 

To keep calm I have practiced (successfully) twice, I have baked chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing, and now I'm preparing to go to bed.  Luckily, I have until 2pm tomorrow to wait, so if I miss anything tonight, I have a little while to catch it up.

I'm ready for this.  I'm so ready.  I feel good, I feel confident, I will defend successfully.  I just hate feeling so anxious!  Time to gather my outfit, iron it, and crawl into bed for a good night's sleep.  Good night, all!

Seriously?

Two signs seen around campus:

ASG campaign sign: "Making Yesterday's Ideas Tomorrow's Reality"

Red Cross Blood Drive: "Recycle Life--give blood!"

Seriously, people? Do you even think about what words mean??

(Back to my thesis. I'm >this< close to being finished...)

Spring Pretty

Ahh, spring. Of course, today it's SNOWING, but you know. Winter is trying to stick its tongue out one last time or something.

Anyway, I'm busy working hard on my thesis, but I thought I would share some pretty pictures of my tulips. They had some gorgeous ones at the Winter Market (the last week!), so Lance bought me some. He's just that sweet.

Enjoy the pics--I'm back to work!

Muffin Break

I'm in the throes of my writing. Well, sorta...I'm taking a blogging break. I promised my adviser he'd see three chapters and two syllabi by Monday. Right now, I have not quite one finished chapter, a hefty start on another, and the inklings of a third (i.e. notes on scratch paper). I do, however, have a full syllabus. I have to say that I'm pretty proud of my work on it. I put a lot of time into it, and the feedback so far has been very positive. I already sent the syllabus off to my adviser and to one of my readers to get their feedback. All in all, I'm making a lot of progress, and I feel confident that in a week or so, I'll have a full draft turned in*. Then on to defense!

Meanwhile, I baked muffins last night, and I thought I'd share the recipe with you all. I do have to warn you all that this is a rough approximation of a recipe, since I just threw what I had lying around in it. I'll try to hone it soon, since I have vats of pumpkin puree in my freezer. I think this will get you close enough, however, so feel free to play around with it. But I can vouch that the results are delicious. Not too sweet, flavorful and filling, and perfect for a nutritious breakfast.

Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins
Makes 24 muffins

• 1-1/2 cup oat flour
• 3/4 cup oats
  
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut**
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans
  
• blueberries (I just dumped in about a cup)
  
• spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves
  
• ~1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp blackstrap molasses
• 1 cup buttermilk
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• some hazelnut oil--2 tbsp?
  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare two muffin tins (24 muffin cups)--either lining with papers or spraying in a bit of oil. I use a Misto and it works perfectly, but my tins are also non-stick. I also have silicone muffin liners, which work pretty well and are reusable.

In a medium bowl, mix together flours, oats, coconut, baking powder and soda, spices, and salt, pecans, and blueberries. If using frozen blueberries, we've noticed that just mixing in solid berries works, but it might cook better if they are somewhat thawed.

In a large bowl, mix everything else. Mix dry into wet and stir thoroughly. Normally recipes have you mix the wet into the dry, but I always find flour on the bottom when I'm part way through filling the cups, so I prefer this way. Don't overmix or you'll kill all the good bubbles. Scoop into muffin cups and bake until golden brown and done--a toothpick will come out cleanly.***

*Cue crushing chest anxiety. Oh my.
**The only place I have been able to find unsweetened coconut is the natural foods store in the bulk bins. Believe me, it's far better than the sweetened crap.
***Though not if you stick it in the middle of a blueberry. Also, if you have an inconsistent oven like mine, some might be done before others, so rotate the tins around occasionally. I'm really not sure how long it took to bake since I just let them go until they smell, look, and feel right.

Special Friday Pancakes

I've been off work all week, but this morning I decided to make Lance breakfast. Joy the Baker asked that we make ourselves breakfast on her behalf--and provided many tasty recipes. So I decided to pretend that today was the weekend (since Lance will be gone tomorrow anyway, and maybe part of Sunday too), and I made him breakfast.

I'm a huge fan of the pancake. You have infinite variations with toppings, with flavors, with whatever you like. Don't like syrup? (I don't). Use applesauce, cream cheese and honey, jelly, cream cheese and jelly instead! Done!

So looking over Joy's list of breakfast treats, I was drawn to her Carrot Cake Pancakes. Ahh, I thought to myself, this would be the ones that I will make for Lance--no syrup, but a cream cheese topping that will make you almost feel a little bad for eating it for breakfast.

Of course I would have to modify it slightly. I decided that from her comments that the carrot was almost a little overpowering, so I grated half an apple to make up for about 3/4 cup of grated carrot. I also used 1/2 cup of oat flour to not make them a little healthier (though these pancakes are not about being healthy--they do have carrots in them, though! That's a vegetable!), added more nuts, and reduced the sugar by a smidgen, since apples are pretty sweet. I added a bit more spice, because I love ginger and cinnamon. What came out was delightful.

Smothered in a slightly sweet cinnamon cream cheese topping, these pancakes were quite tasty. I could see myself making them again, for sure. Enjoy!


Carrot Apple Pancakes
(adapted from Joy the Baker who adapted them from the Food Network)

Makes 8-10 pancakes

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour*
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• dash nutmeg
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1-1/4 cup finely grated carrot
• 1/2 large apple, grated (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 recipe Cream Cheese Spread (found on Joy's original post)
  

In large bowl, mix together flours, nuts, baking powder, spices, and sugar. In a smaller bowl, combine the egg, milk, carrot and apple, and vanilla.

Get a skillet heating. Put a splash of oil in the bottom to make sure your pancakes won't stick. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing well with a spoon to make sure you get all the flour off the bottom (always a problem with me). I always use one of my dirty measuring cups (the 1/4 cup works fantastically) to measure out the batter onto the skillet--I like smaller pancakes because they're easier to flip. And cuter.

Try not to cook the pancakes too hot, or your carrots will be very raw. I have a gas stove, so a nice medium-low flame works great. Let the pancakes cool for a minute, then stack 'em and slather the layers with the cream cheese spread. Enjoy!

*You can use whole wheat pastry, or just all purpose, if that's what you've got.

Bits of This n' That

• In a correction to my prior post, there are apparently faculty who live in my complex. Or something. But I'm right about the other stuff...
  
• Meyer lemons are tasty, especially when baked into a pie, or combined with goat cheese, asparagus, and nuts*. Yum. I'm a fan of these tasty little citrus.
• I'm plodding along on my thesis. A little work here and there, which was derailed by having a stomach bug Tuesday and residually on Wednesday. Yuck. But today--much work will be accomplished. And tomorrow. And Saturday (well, maybe not all day Saturday). And a bit on Sunday too.
• I expect to hear good news from a great friend today.
• The Decemberists released The Hazards of Love on iTunes yesterday. I'm very tempted to buy it, even though I like to purchase actual CDs from bands I like--that way I can take it in the car, etc. I guess I'm old fashioned like that.
• Google Reader (which has changed my blog-reading life) now lets you comment on other peoples' shared items. How cool is that?

All right, folks, back to work!

*It makes a good breakfast too. Mmm...

The Media and the Fire

It's funny to realize how much the media has gotten wrong about our fire on Wednesday. It's really small stuff, but it's still amusing. And it really makes me wonder how much else they get wrong with other stories.

I'm not going to link to any stories in particular (though this one is probably the most accurate), but the general errors include the timeline of events, how much was damaged, who was affected, and what happened. They all claim that swift action on the part of the police department was responsible for getting everyone out safely, when really it was the swift action on the part of residents that got everyone out. And the fact that when you hear a giant explosion and see flames, you're likely to leave the building that's on fire as quickly as possible. Also, a few UA staff members were affected but no faculty. Details, people, details.

Anyway, hopefully our friends in the affected building will be able to go home soon.

Never Shout "FIRE"

I've occasionally been asked the question: if your house is on fire, what would you save? Personally, I'd save Rory, Lance (if he needed saving), and my grandmother's poetry book and our mutual correspondence. Everything else is pretty replaceable.

Of course, the question was purely theoretical...until it wasn't. Tonight, my apartment complex caught fire
.
There are two buildings in my complex. I'm on my porch, so my building was fine--but the other building lost several apartments on the end, and everyone in that building had to be evacuated. They cannot return to their homes until tomorrow, and who knows when their power and gas will be turned on, or if they'll even be able to live there.

What caused this splendid display of pyrotechnics? Well, the university hired a contractor to dig out the pond in front of the apartment building above because their recent construction had caused a great deal of sediment to be dumped into our pond. Through a series of mishaps, the big backhoe ended up in the drained pond, sunk into the loose mud and sediment. Then they broke the gas line. The gas company came out and was presumably taking care of the situation.

Lance and I were sitting in my apartment when an explosion rattled our windows. "That's a gas line blowing," said Lance. We dashed out the door--to see what was going on, to rescue our friends in the building, something--and we saw smoke. Then little flames. Then MASSIVE FLAMES. The people in the two apartments that were on fire got out (including our landlord's mother), so no one was hurt, and all the residents and area citizens watched as the firetrucks came screaming from down the road (the advantages of living downtown, two blocks from a fire station).

Since it was a gas fire, it took a good half hour to contain. Meanwhile, we bounced from outside to a friends' apartment across the street. It is cold, after all. I offered floor space to my now homeless friends (two of whom are now staying here). Everyone's okay, though it was pretty frightening.

So what would you save if your home caught fire?

Slogging Away

I AM graduating this semester. There's no reason for me not to. I've applied for graduation, paid my fees, picked up my regalia, turned in my forms. What's left? Oh yeah, my thesis.

I really love talking about my thesis. I've read a lot, learned a lot, and thought a lot. Now it's time to get it all out on PAPER. So I've been alternating reading and writing.

I met up with my adviser last week, and we set up some deadlines. I modified them to give myself a better cushion, but here they are:

March 2: turn in a chapter
March 23: turn in two more chapters + syllabi drafts
April 1: Complete draft due
May 1: final copies turned into the graduate school

Now, my adviser wanted me to turn in a complete draft on on April 15. But the thought of only having two weeks to scrape together my defense, revise and edit, etc. terrified me, so I moved the date up on myself. If I can get a complete rough draft to my adviser on April 1st, I'll be doing well. And also can possibly set up my defense; we'll, of course, have to see about that.

I'm slogging away at it. Right now, I'm shooting to get about 15 pages of writing per chapter, since I figure I'll add a lot more as I revise and edit. I'm also still doing research, so I'll add more in as I go. Then I'll have the syllabi, course assignments, and many appendices, so that should flesh it out to a tidy length.

The end is in sight--I just need to get to work!

Do You Run or Jog?

Although I am certainly not the most dedicated, consistent, or fastest person, I still call myself a runner. Why? Because I do nutty things like run in below freezing weather, get up at 5:30am to run 5 miles, or run 12 miles on a Sunday morning even though I could sleep in. I think that I qualify, even if I'm slow, lazy, or inconsistent--and why is because I love to run. I love it. I might not want to run even as I'm lacing up my shoes, but once I'm in motion, I'm happy. There is joy in running. Thus, I am a runner.

I was telling a friend about a beginners 5k program sponsored by the best running store in Fayetteville. He looked at me and said thoughtfully, "I once jogged a 5k." I replied, "Jogged? What is jogging?" He had clearly meant to say "jog" and not "run". We had a brief exchange until I made it clear that "jogging" meant something different than running. He jogged. I run.

Joggers do it because they have some notion that moving at faster than a walk is an efficient way to burn off the processed food that's making them heavier. There is no joy in jogging; it's too much like boring homework or a distasteful yet required task. It's like people who eat or drink certain things because they are "healthy," yet do not enjoy consuming it. I like to eat things that are tasty as well as healthy because I enjoy the experience and the fact that it's healthy generally means my body will appreciate eating it*.

Joggers do not enjoy the activity, whereas runners get enjoyment. Sure, running is hard. You have to do it more than once a week for it to be an easier. But watching the sun come up as I ran home this morning made me happy. I smiled. And it was a fantastic way to begin my day. Joggers don't get that satisfaction**. Runners do. So--do you run or do you jog?

*If I eat too much sugar--sadly, something that occurs more than it ought--I feel TERRIBLE. I've never felt like that when eating a giant salad or an apple.
**If you don't, find something that will. Like biking. Or playing racquetball. Yoga, Pilates, swimming, jumping up and down on a trampoline, chasing your kids, walking your dog, yard work, gardening, or that silly video that makes you giggle. Moving is good--if you hate to run, then don't do it. Just like if you hate yogurt, don't eat it.

I Did That?

Sunday, I went out for my group run. Our schedule said "15K" which meant probably around 9 miles. Since I'd actually been running consistently throughout the week, I figured I could do it; I'd just be a little tired at the end. When I arrive, the running coach says, "Hey, we're running 12!" I think perhaps he means just the marathon folks, so I don't really say anything, also figuring that I could just walk or something if it's too much.

2 hours, 1200 calories, and 12 miles later, I'm back home stretching and eating a snack. I'm still a little shocked that I ran 12 miles. I mean, I'm training for a 13.1 mile run, and so I was not mentally prepared to run 12 miles. (That's not for another month! According to the training schedule). It surpassed my last week's run by 4 miles. Anyway, I'm happy that my body didn't revolt on me (like it wanted to last week) and seemed to not mind the distance too terribly much, except for being absolutely tired and requiring both a bath and a nap afterward. And an early bedtime tonight too.

Apparently next week is a "light" week (you know, only 6 miles), so it should be fun. And there's supposedly going to be waffles and breakfast burritos and coffee. Maybe by that time I'll have processed that I ran 12 miles and I didn't die. I didn't even feel all that bad*--it was just a lot of work.

Oh, and I met with Thesis Adviser today. I have deadlines! And chapters!

*My knees were achy. I need to do more strength training for the muscles around my knee. Also, I'm a little sore today, but not that bad. Weird how 8 miles was agonizing last week, but 12 was merely hard work.

Accomplishments and Events

They are small accomplishments, but here they are:

• Almost one page of thesis writing! Okay, so it looks miniscule when I type it out...but if I do one page tomorrow...and maybe two pages the next day, that's four pages before the end of the week*.
• I got up and ran 4 miles this morning
• I sketched out a rough, preliminary outline of my thesis. Just to get thing moving.
• I printed off some documents for the engineering class so I can start working on my syllabi
• I read a chapter of a book for my thesis.
• I started a new knitting project that should be finished soon. More details later.
  

*My goal is gradually increase what I'm doing until I've got it done. Or something like that

And now, for events:

• I went to the dentist today, and I have groovy teeth. Groovy is good for music or hippies, but bad for teeth apparently. Even though I'm a good brusher and I floss and I don't drink soda, I have some teeny spots that have to be filled next week. Uggh. My first non-cleaning dentist appointment.
• They later called to tell me the price. It is then that I discovered that my dental insurance sorta sucks.
• I've thus been weird about my teeth all day. I think I'll go brush them now. And floss.
  
• It's raining. My cat is hiding under my chair (she doesn't like bad weather).
• My new boss started today. I think he's all right. He even poked fun at me about my thesis.

And now I'm heading to bed so that I can run and work on my thesis tomorrow. I really want to graduate this semester, and I'd also like to say I've been productive when six people in one day ask me about how my thesis is going.