Exercising Smarter: At the tail end of 2009, I started the New Rules of Lifting for Women (or NRoL4W as it’s affectionately known). I’d seen it recommended by various people in various places, but the place where it stuck was The Nest: Brie at The Fit Bride blog is very body positive and healthy in her fitness discussions. So I picked up the book, read through it, found it made more than enough sense, and started at it. So far I love the workouts (even the goddamn, blasted, cursed body weight matrix which I have to do tonight) and have seen some muscle gain. I’m doing less well on the nutrition aspect, though; Christmas, plus a trip to Michigan, plus a husband who loves to cook, plus a wife who’s learning all her mother’s recipes, and I find myself needing to revamp how I eat throughout the day. I use the Lose It app on the iPhone to keep track of my meals, though, so hopefully I’ll see some fat loss and more muscle gain. I’ve been lifting for years now, but I’d never done compound moves—my upper body’s already built, and I do have some nice ab definition, but I never thought I was strong enough to do a push-up until this program made me do 10 in a row. And my legs? Much stronger already. In addition to NRoL4W, I’m still running longer runs on the side; I’m registered for Cherry Blossom 10 Miler this year, and while I toyed with the idea of giving up my registration, I’ve decided to do it. I really am still at the point where running 10 miles isn’t a big deal for me. I’m slower than I once was (and faster than I’ll be, that’s not unusual*), but I can still do it. Also in the cards are the St. Patrick’s Day 8K and the RunAmuck 10K runs—I’ll be running both with my Jingle All the Way 10K buddy, so that should be fun.

Writing: I feel as if I’ve been writing more on the blog, and I have started the short story that’s been fermenting in my head since January 2009. I would say I’m about halfway through, and need to get on the ball again with the story: it’s terrible and no good, but I have enjoyed writing it and I would really like to finish it, edit it, have IP look at it, edit it again, then maybe have a friend do another reading, edit it again, and then maybe submit it. I also have an idea for a novel, and I’ve purchased some books for background research. So far it hasn’t been bad as I’ve done more now than I did in 2008 and 2009 combined, but I need to do more. I will do more, dammit. I’ve also started to write really bad, really cringe-worthy sonnets for this website, just for fun. One about Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan will be debuting soon.

Reading: I was complaining the other day to IP that I’ve only read eight books this year. He shrugged at me and said, “So? I’ve only read five.” I then looked back into Sonnet 87′s archives to see how much further along I was at this time of year in the past and, to my surprise: I’m ahead by three to five books depending on the year. I’m about to finish my ninth book of the year which, when compared to other people isn’t stellar, but it’s been a pretty good year so far. I have at least four books on my Waiting To Be Read (Already Purchased, Got as Gifts, Borrowed from My Husband or Otherwise Accessible without the Use of Funds, But Not an Assurance That I Will Read These Before I Buy More Books) list; there are already books in my Amazon cart that I desperately want to buy (although I am terribly frustrated that Wolf Among Wolves, Hans Fallada’s newest translation, has been pushed back to May 25 instead of the March release that was on Melville House Publishing’s website). The best part is that I’ve yet to read a real stinker. That will probably change, and if it didn’t it would make for a very boring 2010 Book List Awards, but hell—reading is a fun and beautiful thing.

And finally, Searching for a New Job: I am searching for a new job. However, as I mentioned a few posts ago, I dropped that whole D.C. thing and decided to focus on my efforts on getting out West. IP has also started doing the same, and the idea of moving has become less than an if and more of a when. It may not happen this year, but we are putting in the time and effort to find jobs. I’ve only been able to apply to one job that matched my skills and their needs, but I keep on looking. I’ve set up my Google Reader to filter jobs ads from SimplyHired.com to me every day; I feel more on top of this than I ever did with my D.C. search. In this, I really feel the dedicated fire you need to make things happen. I’ve felt this about three things before, and here they are in chronological order: 1) losing 65lbs in college; b) making my long-distance relationship with IP work and III) getting myself out to D.C. to be with IP. With lots of work, lots of luck, and lots of hope, we can do it.

So that’s my progress in a nutshell. Here’s hoping the next couple of months see more improvement in all areas.

*$10 if you can tell me which song I paraphrased and the original line. WordNerdia-IPia family members not eligible for said $10.

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

Here I am. Staring at my Google Reader.

Looking at jobs.

Out West.

Yep. Out West.

I am scared at the idea of job hunting again. My D.C. hunt sort of stalled, and part of it was because I really didn’t like the idea of just going to another Metro stop in D.C. I do like D.C., don’t get me wrong, but like Toronto, it’s come to this: I think I’d rather visit the place on occasion than continue to live here.

My husband, IP, is starting to feel the same way.

The idea of moving across the country is definitely scary and daunting, and I remember how frustrating it was to send jobs out into the ether of a city hundreds of miles away, but the idea of staying here indefinitely scares me more. One is something I desperately want; the other is something I desperately don’t want. Because I don’t fit in with D.C.: I’m not a workaholic, I don’t enjoy trekking from Maryland into D.C. on the weekends for touring and sightseeing, I’m losing interest in the politics of the place, and whatever lifeblood people have that allows them to happily work 100 hour weeks just doesn’t have a place in my bloodstream. I dislike my job, and honestly the idea of getting another job here, no matter how much I might like the work, is not uplifting at all—I’d still have to walk up to the Metro, ride the Metro, work in concert with the government (most likely), and do the same 9-5 gig in a city to whose charms I’ve grown immune.

Sorry, D.C.

Now, of course I know there’re no guarantees that we’ll be happier out West. IP lived there for a couple of years and, while the scenery was stunning, he was miserable. What makes it better this time around is that we’re a bit more set in our careers and, most importantly, we have each other. Together we can make informed and researched choices and, when research and information fails us, we can hold each others’ hand as we take the plunge. We are being pretty methodical about this, but we came to this conclusion long ago: D.C. is not a long-term place for us. It was a stopover, a place to develop our skills, a place to strengthen who we are as professionals in order to seek out situations in which we’re able to use our expertise successfully. But—big, big but—we always wanted to take those skills and expertise and transfer them somewhere else, a place that uses our knowledge well and understands that we have lives outside of the office. Will we get a better work-life balance? Hopefully; it’s what we seek and prioritize above anything else as our eyes turn West.

My current boss once said that, because we spend so much time together, we should treat each other like family. Except she doesn’t treat us like family, and I don’t expect her to do so—but I think it’s fair for me to expect to see my family on a regular basis without being made to feel guilty. Unfortunately, what this boss was trying to say was that the office should be treated like our family only by us—complete and utter dedication to nothing but her company mission. I beg to differ. I have complete and utter dedication to one thing and, with some work, to hopefully two soon: my family and my writing. Both occur outside of work. IP and I hope that we can find a place out West that will understand this better than our workplaces seem to at the moment, better than D.C. seems to as a whole.

In sum: I don’t thrive on my job or this town. A lot of people in this town do, and I say good for them. But it’s not what I want, what IP told me he wants, not what we thrive on at all, so we’re starting to look elsewhere. Somewhere where the sun shines a bit more, where there are peaks rising into the sky, where getting out of town and into nature is only a whim away. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but we want to act on our goal before it becomes something we just tell ourselves to make the D.C. workdays, the Metro delays, the soundbites a bit more bearable. I think we’re going to make this happen, and that’s why I’m looking at my Google Reader, hoping to find a few places that seem to fit and might like to have me.

I promise we’ll visit, D.C. And I promise we’ll remember to stand to the right.

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

Hey. How *You* Doin'?

Thank you, KitchenAid® 5-Speed Ultra Power® Hand Mixer, for coming into my life precisely when I needed you most. You see, for years I have now done everything with raw, manual labor, be it mixing cake batter, kneading encanelado dough, making cakeballs, or stirring up trouble by making chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies that counteract the effectiveness of our lovely gym. And frankly, dear KitchenAid® 5-Speed Ultra Power® Hand Mixer, I was getting sick of it. My arms would get tired, my hands would go numb, and at the end of the process I’d have some smooth-ass batter or dough (when lumpiness wasn’t called for, that is), but it took so damn long that it added an extra hour to my baking time in extreme cases (like encanelados).

There is, of course, a lot to be said about manually mixing things. My cheesecakes are always so much more incredibly delicious (and less likely to crack) if I stay away from hand mixers. However, given that I don’t have a springform pan and I haven’t baked a cheesecake in ages, manually mixing was overrated for the things that I was doing, especially cakes. I was also always taught that you never use machines to mix encanelado dough—it’d be damn near impossible thanks to the thickness and you’d burn out your motor. Oh, how my mother, sister and I have labored over encanelado dough. Sure, sometimes it’s fun, like when you’re really mad and you’re pretending that the dough is someone you’re giving a severe beating.  For the most part, though, it just leaves you in pain even as the delicious cinnamon smell permeates your apartment. Ouch.

But then, you! You came and you saved me! Just wanted to get a little baking done! Gracias!

Thanks to your handy, dandy, included attachment, the Stainless Steel Dough Hook (praise be to the baking gods!), I was able to knead my encanelado dough in a quarter of the time, mixing the ingredients perfectly until the dough was smooth instead of slightly grainy, and was done baking in the blink of an eye. I produced 87 encanelados in about an hour and a half. That’s not bad!

Sigh. I think I'm in love.

Now, I know my love affair with you will end when IP and I move here:

Hola, CO!

And we move into something like this:

Be it ever so humble.

And we have a kitchen about this size (or maybe bigger?):

Yay, counterspace!

I will then buy this:

Tangerine dream!

Until then, though, you are my one true small appliance love. I look forward to baking with you for the next few years, but hopefully not beyond four or five. Mwah!

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

Good morning!  I must say, right off the bat, you’re looking quite fetching today.  Did you get a new haircut?  No?  Perhaps you treated yourself to a full spa treatment and got some rest and relaxation over the long weekend?  No?  Hmm, what is it . . .

Oh, I know!  A new administration!  What’s more, a sane administration!  Yay!

IP and I have returned from our vacation, tanned and healthy, having hiked, explored, eaten a lot of Mexican food, and gotten into other shenanigans out west.  It was difficult to come back to D.C.  But I’m in a good enough frame of mind to come to work without scowling like crazy, and it’s because of the hope (there’s that word!) that a) this new administration might actually do something besides antagonize the world and 2) the idea that one day IP and I will live out west.  Huzzah!

Also?  I’m probably a lot cheerier for having left D.C. during the craziness.  Tourists, I do not deal well with them.  As tourists out west, IP and try to make ourselves as invisible as possible, choosing to go on long hikes that keep us out of the natives’ hair.  Tourists in D.C. are not so inconspicuous, and given the numbers that I saw on the Mall during the broadcasts the I did catch, I’m quite happy we took advantage of the long weekend to treat ourselves to some sun and hikes.  We didn’t miss much by not being in D.C.; yes, it was historic and momentous, but dollars to donuts, we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near the Mall.  Instead of being cooped up for four days we chose to seize the day and do what we love.  We saw more coverage of the Inauguration out west, anyway, given that we don’t have a television at home.

So here’s to D.C. looking all right on our return from the desert; sure, it’s not enough to make me want to stay forever, but it makes D.C. a little brighter than it was before.

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

On Monday, it’s back to work.  However, we are saved by the fact that we’ll have a four day weekend thanks to a wedding that we’ll be attending.  (Speaking of weddings, I just discovered that I’m invited to another one the weekend after, but that would be next to impossible to attend; it would involve a flight to western Michigan.)  So we have to survive four days and then hit the road in our icy blue metallic car (which is still totally wicked [I sound 13]).

Okay, back to some regularly scheduled staring.

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

And the picture turned out very well:

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

Many stories on the Pacific Northwest to come.

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

And so start my efforts to pack. As IP has counseled me throughout our nearly six ye—I mean, seven month relationship, making a list and checking it twice is the wisest way to go. I might listen to IP, but I seldom do what he says—it’s a hallmark of our loving relationship. Therefore, I am a notoriously horrible packer because I always, always forget something.

It’s never as drastic as leaving my hiking boots behind or not bringing a coat with me, but I have been known to leave out a change of clothes or two. Typically, this means a quick trip to the local big box store, such as Wal-Mart. I don’t particularly like giving money to Wal-Mart, but they did save my butt in Durango, Colorado, when we had one more hiking day to go and I was out of shorts and shirts.

Another reason why the packing list turns me off is because mine is so long. IP gets to toss shorts, shoes, shirts, socks and underwear into his suitcase and go. Me? Well, I’m a decidedly uncomplicated kind of woman, especially when it comes to hiking, but I still have things with which I cannot be parted. Sure, I do the tossing of the shorts, shoes, shirts, socks and underwear (and bras) into the suitcase, but my list continues still, loaded with things by which IP is happily unencumbered:

• Hairbrush—oh, the joy of being able to get a high and tight
• Hair styling crème—yes, my hair’s in a ponytail, but that does not prevent frizziness
• Hair ties, and back up hair ties for the initial hair ties that will get lost
• Contact lens cleaning solution
• Contact lens case
• Extra contacts just in case
• Glasses
• Eyeglass wipes
• Body lotion for my dry skin
• Lip gloss
• Face wash
• Diva Cup, for those special three days that happen to coincide with my vacation
• Panty (I hate that word) liners on those special three days . . . you get it
• Allergy medicine
• Cell phone charger

And that’s just what I can think of at the moment. When frantically packing the night before, I usually do a mental head-and-down-from-there body check to make sure everything is packed, but that’s not foolproof. As you can see from the above list, I’m hardly packing anything utterly frivolous and meaningless to hiking, such as a ton of makeup and straightening irons, but the list gets pretty long regardless. By the time I finish packing, my suitcase feels so full that I doubt I can bring back any souvenirs—and I seldom do bring them back, as evidenced by my family’s sour disappointment at not getting little gifts from my trips. I hate full suitcases, too; they’re signs of inefficient packing and overcompensation to me, so it’s always infuriating that I’ve left something behind when I feel like I’ve packed my whole apartment into the thing.

Will I be wise and take off from this post, build a list, check it twice, make sure that I have everything in my suitcase (with room left over, somehow)? I’ll honestly attempt to. Might other things get in the way of my packing properly? Perhaps—the Internets provides plenty of distraction when I should be folding clothes and arranging them properly into my suitcase.

And you know me. I just like complaining.

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

I couldn’t believe it when I started reacting in the same manner as we approached the airport. IP didn’t notice at the time, but I hooked my arm around his to reassure myself that he was coming with me. That really didn’t work; it wasn’t until we got our tickets at the Frontier counter that I began to relax.

Aside from that momentary discomfort (and the fact that my name was misspelled on my place card—sigh), the trip to Colorado was a very fun and relaxing one. We did hit Pikes Peak on Friday, but were unfortunately limited to about 13,000 feet—the snow on Wednesday prevented us from reaching the summit of the mountain, but there’s always next time, right? We managed to take some amazing pictures on the ride up and down on the cog railway, and enjoyed the company of a couple from Minnesota. The disadvantage of not making it to the top was that I did not get to have a hot chocolate and doughnut—treats which are supposedly legendary and musts when heading up to the summit of Pikes Peak. Since that moment, I have felt deprived of the perfect opportunity to eat a doughnut. Rare is it that you’ll find me picking one up just for the hell of it. I was thwarted, but I didn’t complain (much), especially since we ended up at a fabulous little Mexican restaurant at 3317 West Colorado Avenue for lunch. It’s called La Unica and we highly recommend that you try it. A good measure of their worth is that their rice tastes almost like my mom’s rice—IP will tell you that my mom’s rice is pretty damn good and rarely replicated in the wild of restaurants. When I find someone who can do it, I’m impressed.

Of course, we hit Garden of the Gods and did a few of the small hikes there on Saturday. We didn’t have time to invest in a good, long hike—we were there for a wedding, after all, not hiking. That didn’t stop us from enjoying clear blue skies (“all the way to Las Vegas!”), red rocks and seeing five grazing deer in the crisp morning air on Saturday. I was a bit afraid that, even though it was cold, I’d freak out at the idea of rattlesnake warnings. However, the warnings didn’t trouble me, and I think I’ll have a better head on my shoulders next time I encounter ones of those things. I still don’t like the idea of climbing around in a narrow space where snakes could be hiding (cough::GoblinValley::cough), but I’ll be fine by the time summer rolls around and our vacation is planned. If rattlesnakes are present, I’ll manage. No panic reaction (in contrast to the feelings brought on by the Denver airport).

We had planned to have lunch at La Unica again on Saturday due to how close it was to Garden of the Gods, but we were forced to abandon that plan once we saw that La Unica was closed. Oh, my heart ripped to shreds and we had to go to On the Border, but we survived. From there, we returned to the hotel and prepared for the wedding, where I looked smashing in my Tocca dress and IP looked dashing in his blue pinstripe suit.

The ceremony was an hour long and interesting even if we didn’t know what was going on or being said. Apparently, the priest took charge and modified the ceremony that the bride, groom and their parents had practiced with the priest. We then hightailed it to the reception, which had an open bar (woohoo!), fruit, veggie and cheese trays. A very nice hotel indeed, but I was surprised that some of the common areas intermingled with the pre-function areas; while this isn’t uncommon, per se, it is kind of funny to see close to 200 people milling about in evening wear and then the occasional conference participant with his 3”x4” nametag proudly displayed as he or she taps away on a laptop.

A couple of times, we were approached by the wedding photographer who asked to take our picture. At one point, IP and I were leaning towards each other with our foreheads touching, joking around and basically canoodling (which we actually tend to do sober or drunk—I think we’ve become that annoying couple everyone hates because it didn’t seem like any other couples at our table were doing it) and suddenly red flashed across my boyfriend’s face. We realized our picture was being taken and instantly turned and smiled. “I was trying to sneak up on you!” the photographer said with a laugh—she then took another picture of us with goofy grins on our faces. One of IP’s friends marveled that we held our smiles for so long without twitching. “I think it comes from the jobs we have,” IP said. I agree.

We stayed at the reception until 12am when the hotel began to shut the party down. It was supposed to continue in the hotel’s bar, but IP and I were beat by that time. However, we did get to speak to the bride and groom before we left. When IP and the groom got to chat for a while, it basically became an “I love you, man!” “I love you too, man!” drunken exchange, but it was cute. IP and I then headed home (transportation graciously provided). He asked me more times than I can count to remind him to email the groom (Hon—did you email the groom yet?) and slurred out that he was ready to talk marriage with me. ‘Kay, hon, do you want to have a discussion in the comments section? ;)

I will say this for IP—he was infinitely more relaxed at this wedding than at my High School Friend B’s wedding back in 2003. I think it’s because there weren’t any pick-up trucks around, and the chances that the Michigan Militia would show up were slim to none. I should post my old journal entry on that day. It was a classic southeast Michigan wedding, and it deserves to be enjoyed by the internets.

Last weekend was great—I missed the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, but I got to go to Colorado in exchange. That is not a bad trade at all. Now, if only I could finagle it so I can have a Colorado wedding as opposed to a Michigan wedding . . .

However, the best part of the weekend was looking over at IP on the ride to the airport terminal and realizing that, this time, I got to take him home with me from Colorado.

©2010 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.