5 more miles.

..I was hoping to do six today, but I think 5 was a good choice. (by the last mile and a half I was definitely feeling specific muscles in my legs. It was not cool.)

What a gorgeous day! If weather like this would stick around, I don't think I would have any problems getting my runs in. I took a route along Summit avenue again today. Started at the Cathedral, and then ran by a TON of churches along the way. Got to see a bunch of people in their Easter Best, which was really fun.

Tonight I'll be attending my first "Hoopla" at Lake Harriet. I made my very own Hula Hoop last night, and I look forward to being able to keep it off the ground for more than 5 seconds at a time. :)

I love you, Ax-Man.

What's that? Could it be a LIFE-SIZE JESUS BOBBLE-HEAD??

Yes. Yes it is.

(And yes, I pushed on his head to see if it would wiggle.)

Today I hit the local awesome surplus store, Ax-Man. I was in search of bamboo, fake fish, and a steering wheel. I didn't walk out with any of those things (though the first thing I saw walking in was bamboo. Huge bamboo. But too short for what I needed.) I did get some adhesive-backed foam strips and a roll of masking tape.

I nearly walked out with a couple Japanese notepads, featuring "Happy Burger." They had an adorable engrish phrase on the front, which I have since forgotten... but I was able to resist.

As a props person, I can't believe how invaluable a resource Ax-Man is. I mean sure -- sometimes it's a complete strikeout for what you're actually looking for. But other times it has just what you need, and sometimes things you didn't even know you needed!

Cute Food!

Cute food is kind of a sort of craft, right? In any case, at BORDERS the other day I picked up Cute Yummy Time, a bento recipe book. I have oh so much bento things squirreled away, and I've kind of been lax in my "adorable lunch" making. So, one of the recipes sounded way yummy, and the tiger looked adorable too... so I was on board!

Everything went pretty well! The cooking, and the converting of brown rice into sushi rice... then it came to the decorating of the tiger. Now, in the author's recipe the whole thing is put into a single dish -- therefore you only have to make one (relatively large) tiger. In MY plan, I had to make five (small) tigers.

I gave up after the first one.

And after a not particularly well-executed one at that. I needed darker greens, and apparently a set of tweezers to place the decorations, and the rice was really sticky and making his little paws was hard...

...I hope it's delicious.

But fear not! I will not be discouraged! Next week I'm going to try Panda Tofu Soba Noodles!

More Photos!

I finally acquired a picture ledge from IKEA, and now the no-man's land above my TV is full of photos! Hooray! I also FINALLY got a frame for the 5x7 cat prints I bought after Christmas. Finally my pictures are getting off hard-drives and out of boxes, and onto shelves and walls where I can appreciate them!

All I have left to square away is the BIG print I bought. One of these days I'll take it out to get it framed. It's just a bit more effort and planning!

I really had a great post idea...

Seriously.

Now I don't remember what it was.

As for the month in review, I think it went pretty well. I still have one more shopping trip planned with coupons, and will diligently enter my info once I get my bank statement. (I guess then I will see how well I did entering my receipts.)

I'm not convinced that these are behaviors I will stick to 100% of the time, but perhaps I will be more mindful going forward.

Now, the question of March... It is, legitimately, National Craft Month. I think I can get behind that. It is also National Nutrition Month. I did check out the new NEW food pyramid and their eating recommendations -- but that just seems like a lot of work, honestly. And seriously, I know I shouldn't be baking and eating treats all the time. I am a smart girl. (Or so I've been told.). I also have my next race of the series -- a 7k in celebration of all things lucky.

Then I look ahead to the half marathon.

And that really scares the pants off me.

Hippo-palooza!

Okay, so I know that technically the 30 Days of Creativity are over... but some things are just too good to let go. PLUS, one of my activities from November blossomed from one custom apron into NINE custom aprons. Soon my work will grace the employees of the Hyppo (gourmet popsicle shop) in St. Augustine, FL. I sewed up 9 of these suckers this weekend... got them in the mail today. They turned out so awesome!!

(Also, because I had to get them all done and packaged up and in the mail today I did NOT go to the gym yesterday. So, I missed my biking -- but I did do my circuit at home after the frenzy of sewing and packing and addressing.)

My Final Day!

And not very exciting...

I decided that December should be a commitment to me and my fitness... mostly so when all the newbies show up at the gym in January I can look down my nose at them.

So today I created my fitness plan for the month of December.

My goals will be:
Lose 4 pounds. (Seems realistic - what with the treat overload I'm anticipating for the month.)
Be able to run 5 miles in under 60 minutes.
Be able to run 5k (3.1 miles) in under 30 minutes.

Also, for fun... the Army Fitness Requirements:
45 pushups in 2 minutes (yes, I'm counting the girly kind with my knees bent.)
76 situps in 2 minutes (with my back issues, not sure if this is happening.)
2 miles run in 16 minutes.

I'm also hoping that some snow will show up, because I'd like to do some winter fun "cross training" including: ice skating, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing.

Here goes!!

Me and Trader Joe's

...make a great team for pasta!

I picked these tortelloni up (pesto stuffed) from Trader Joe's. In a fortuitous twist of fate, the unidentified container I chose to thaw from the freezer (freezer roulette, anyone?) was pasta sauce!

The pasta was super easy -- put in boiling water for 4-6 minutes and done! And re-heating the sauce was a piece of cake, too.

And both tasty... and timely. I was only able to make it through a couple days of the pumpkin curry soup (it became more and more potent the longer it stewed in the fridge.)

In The Works!

So the only thing that really keeps me on-task with stitching is if what I'm making is a gift -- so here's the most recent! I think it's adorable.

Pumpkin!!! Soup!

It doesn't look like much. For sure. (A lot like baby food.) But my dear friend baked and pureed pie pumpkins this year. She was nice enough to give me some, so I made some Pumpkin Curry soup! This is my first creamy-type soup... I've done stuff with broth before but this was exciting. It's all pumpkin, with sauteed yellow onion and garlic. And curry powder, of course. (Maybe a little tooooo much.)

Another apron!

I must have done the pleating a little differently on this one... it seems longer, but I think that's because it's not as "poofy" at the bottom... strange. I guess that's what make hand-made special! You just never know if your math is going to be right! :)

Turkey Hand!

Classic.

Pasta!

Inspired by an incredibly garlicky entree at The Cheesecake Factory, I was looking to make a pasta with a very simple sauce (olive oil) and lots of my favorite vegetables.

I love the slice 'n' dice process, so I started with tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers (orange, yellow, and red,) mushrooms and (of course) garlic.

The result was so pretty!! But not very flavorful... I need to do more research on herbs/spices for the next time.

Cheesecake!?

Something I have always enjoyed... but secretly feared. I mean, not that a cheesecake would come for me o my sleep or anything -- more feared its creation. But this was going to be it! My attempt to make a cheesecake. First, some backstory...

I saw a recipe called "Maple Cheesecake with Baked Pears" (with a picture, of course. I can't tell you how many recipes I pass over, though I'm sure they're delicious, because there's no picture. A picture will get me every time!) and knew it was the one. I talked about it at work, and one of my coworkers said I simply HAD to make it (and bring it in for everyone to eat, of course.) I said I'd love to, but unfortunately I didn't own a springform pan... of course, she did and said she's try to remember to bring it in for me to use. Now, were this me it would mean I hoped that I would remember to get it to work within the next week or two... or month. But no, she brought it the next day. No pressure, right?

Anyway... today was the day. I was not as successful doing the press-in crust as I would have hoped. I need to do some research on a better method for that. It was uneven, and therefore baked unevenly... it didn't go halfway up on the sides like it was supposed to... etc. Also the pears weren't cut very consistently, so they didn't bake very evenly. Next time.

I think it turned out awfully pretty, and I hope it tastes good, too!!

Here comes Turkey Day!

So I admit it... I love the cranberry sauce from a can. That Ocean Spray whole-berry is delicious and sculptural! BUT... for the past two years I've tried to broaden the horizons of my extended family by making cranberry sauce from scratch.

Behold, my super-delicious cranberry pomegranate sauce! It also features a granny smith apple and an orange. And a cinnamon stick (but I recommend removing it before serving.)

I only made a half-recipe this year... both because cranberries were a ridiculous $2.50 per bag (ouch) but also because I just finally finished all the leftovers I froze from last year. I know it's a novelty, and it will never replace the ribbed mold of the can -- but I try!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Dala Horses!!!

In hindsight... I probably should have gone for something more muffin-shaped. Something portable and freezable -- but these lovelies can certainly come to work with me.

The pans are from IKEA -- it's funny because I don't have any normal loaf pans, so it's dala-shaped or nothing.

The mini chocolate chips are just a little extra something-something to tip the scale from "bread" to "dessert."

Yum.

Eggselent!

Started today off right... with a tasty omlette! This is not my usual breakfast fare (now with the cold weather I usually go for oatmeal) but the nice thing about weekend mornings is that you have a little more time t be creative.

Anyway, this ended up being a sort of "clean out the fridge" omlette... some leftover pico de gallo, some meatless Italian sausage, green onion and cheese! It was taaasty!

It's a Seeeecret!

I made something today... But it's for a gift, so I cannot reveal it.

I also created a digital copy of my Scott pilgrim vs the World so I can carry it with me constantly only iPad.

A Craft from the Past!

When I was thinking about the "rules" for this month I kind of ruled out anything I did at work, since my job is kind of "creative." However, since this was kind of an "above-and-beyond" project, and it's a bit nostalgic, I decided I could use it anyway.

So, I remember waaaaaaay back to a faboo craft called "Perler Beads." You've got these little tube-shaped beads, and pegged grids -- you arrange them into shapes, and then lay wax paper over the top. Add a hot iron, and the beads melt together making shapes!

Teh awesome.

I like the orange the best... though it just made me want to make other fruits, and PacMan, and Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde. Oh, and all the Mario stuff... 1UP mushrooms, etc.

A Custom Order!

One of my favorite things about my Etsy shop is getting emails from people that have bought my stuff and are sooooo excited about it. Today I got to fill my first custom order -- a woman in Florida who wanted an grown-up version of my hippo apron for kids. Apparently, her friend works at a popsicle shop called the "Hyppo" and wears an apron while he works... SO... It will be a nice birthday surprise, I hope.

I also hope it looks a little more attractive on her friend than it does on my dress form. Eep.