Thanks for Your Support!!!

To everyone who donated for the Race For the Cure, I want to Thank You! I started off trying to raise 200 dollars and as more and more generous folks added, I upped my goal. My final goal was 800 dollars. 770 was raised.

The event was a success; approximately 10,000 people came out to run or walk. It was very satisfying to be a part of something so generous and righteous. Thanks to all of you for contributing to that. 

Oh The Memories

My October Book Club Read

Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


View all my reviews >>

Race For The Cure

Hey guys...I am going to run a 5k in "support" of breast cancer. It is on October 25, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. in City Park in New Orleans.

The website for more information is here.

If you can, please donate by going here. I am trying to raise $200.00, which is a small drop in the bucket of what they need.

Thanks!

Master Cleanse Day Five

DAY 5: The Results

I have a headache from the glass of wine I drank last night. I guess my body isn't quite ready for that yet. I also decided to lay off coffee for a little while to see what happens. I woke up with a headache but other than that, I feel great! I am happy to be at work; I am awake and lively and not even very hungry. Maybe there is something to this thing after all. I will not miss the Salt Water Flush but the rest of it was….Not too bad!

A couple blogs about it that I found when researching...in case you want to know more:

http://mickipedia.vox.com/library/posts/tags/diet/
http://themastercleanseblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/final-thoughts.html
http://bethbrianmastercleanse.wordpress.com/

Master Cleanse Day Four

DAY 4:

7:42 am: I have my watered down OJ all ready to go. I am nervous about eating, since too much too soon can cause digestion problems. I think though that with only 3 days of detox, I shouldn’t have too many problems hopefully.

9:57 am: Have had some spicy lemonade and some watered down OJ. I still do not feel hungry but I want to have some real food tomorrow so I have to get my body ready for it. I actually think I could do this for a few more days, but I really don’t feel like going through the weekend without being able to cook something.

2:46 pm: I am so bored. I realize that when I am bored, I eat. So now when I am bored I drink liter after liter of water and watered down OJ and then I run to the bathroom a lot. However, it is not really keeping me from being bored. My stomach is gurgling. I think it has tasted freedom. Or was that just watered down OJ?

7:42 pm: I was going to wait until tomorrow to eat real food, but I am hungry. The OJ jumpstarted my…something. So I have a salad and some hummous and…a glass of wine. Satisfaction attained.

Master Cleanse Day Three

DAY 3:

11:03 am: I am doing well today. I am not hungry at all and have no ill effects (except that I am freezing – everyone else is in shirtsleeves and I am wearing 2 sweaters). I almost ate something this morning because I was a little stressed out. Normally when I am stressed, I exercise, eat or drink…and I can’t do any of those…so I almost caved. But then I had a few sips of the spicy lemonade and got to work and all was well.

11:14 am: I just walked by the smell of turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes. It smells good, but oddly enough, doesn’t really tempt me to want to eat it. My tummy didn’t rumble and my mouth didn’t water. It just smelled pleasant.

1:31 pm: I am still not hungry. And I don’t have a headache. It’s great! I do have some rumblings in my stomach. I have decided to start incorporating stuff back into diet tomorrow. You are supposed to wean your way back on to food with broth and watered down juice and stuff. I really can’t wait to chew something.

7:15 pm: Went grocery shopping for tomorrow’s food. I am tempted to eat some of it now. I am starving. I want Mexican food.

9:15 pm: I feel great. I am not hungry anymore and don’t have a headache. However, I am very, very tired. I go to sleep around 9:30.

Master Cleanse Day Two

DAY 2:

6:14 am: I wake up before my alarm. I am not sure why. I am not hungry at all. Last night I had to do the salt water flush (SWF) in order to cleanse myself of any impurities. It was horrible! It tastes like drinking the sea. And who likes that? What follows is not much better, but I will not get into that. I had a hard time going to sleep due to a horrible headache. I had read a couple of other blogs and many people report sore muscles, but I have not experienced that. I had a marvelous breakfast consisting of spicy lemonade and…nothing.

7:05 am: The elevator at work is broken. I take the stairs. 15 floors later, I am soooo tired… I have NO energy at all. I am starting to get a small headache again. It could be due to not having coffee; I do drink at least a cup every day. Or it could just be because I have not eaten.

8:23 am: I am cold, which is weird because usually I get cold after lunch. Maybe I drank too much spicy lemonade.

11:10 am: I am waiting for lunch time so I can…stop watching the clock. It is such a habit to be able to look forward to 11:30 or so. I think I will go home and take a half hour nap. That is almost as satisfying as food. I am not hungry at all but still want to eat just because. Maybe it is just boredom? Also, I must have jinxed myself when I talked about the sore muscles because now my back and neck muscles are really sore. Does that mean all the toxins are rising to the surface? Or am I just falling apart due to lack of food?

2:08 pm: Went home and took a nap. While asleep, I dreamed about a rap song. When I got back in my car, that song was playing on the radio. I am confused. Did that really happen?

4:57 pm: My back hurts. I think I am going to go home and have a Top Chef Marathon and eat until I burst. Minus the eating part. One good thing is after today, I will be halfway done. I cannot imagine doing this for 10 days.

7:00 pm: Watched Top Chef and it doesn’t even make me hungry. Weird.

10:00 pm: Went to bed with a splitting headache.

Cayanne, I Can

After eating way too much over the last few weeks with the excuse of "being on vacation" and always saying I will "exercise more when I get back", I have decided to try to purge my system for a few days. To do this, I am using the Master Cleanse method. This method uses a combination of water, lemons, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. You make up this mix and drink it and lots of water for as many days as you want to cleanse. It is supposed to get rid of any toxins in your body and make you feel great. Most people do it for 10 days; some do it for as little as one; I am doing it for 4. The reason for this is that I have a concert to go to on Saturday and there is no way I am not eating/drinking that day! I am a little worried, as the hardest part supposedly is getting back INTO food (oh and the toilet issues, but for that you can read the Master Cleanse website)

So, today is day one. Here we go.

1 o’clock pm: So far, so good. I have not eaten all day, although I have had about 6 bottles of water and peed about 300 times. I am not too hungry, although I do miss putting food into my mouth. I went home for “lunch” (ie to watch Jeopardy) and walked by the Whole Hog BBQ place thinking, “Wow, I could eat a WHOLE hog!” Then while watching Jeopardy, there were two categories relating to food! Then as I was driving back, I couldn’t help but noticing billboards for McDonalds, people in the park eating sandwiches and the smell of tacos in the office as I walked back in. So, like I said, I am not very hungry, but I WANT FOOD! I have already started to try to think of things to do when I get off, in place of shopping, cooking and eating (it takes a lot of time!)

4 o’clock, normal snack time: NOW I am getting hungry. I have drunk another liter of water and a half a liter of spicy lemonade (which I actually like the taste of). I have gone pee about 5 times since 1 o’clock. I keep thinking about opening my desk drawer and eating a handful of nuts. Who would know? I kind of have a headache. My teeth feel fuzzy. I had planned on starting back up at the gym this week, but am going to postpone it because I wont have any food to give me energy. When I get off work I am going to do laundry, download pictures, take a bath, read, remake the beds and clean the bathroom and I will probably STILL have spare time.

4:12: Argh. The lady in the cubicle next to me just heated up rice and chicken and it smells delicious! I am starting to plan my meal for Saturday.

I (Still) Love New York

New York City: I never tire of it; it never gets old. There is something new around every bend, a new sight to see, a new neighborhood to explore, a new thing to do. Each time I go there, I do less cheesy touristy things and more everyday things -- my favorite thing to do is to just wander around aimlessly, finding something new and cool with each step forward. As a treat, we stayed at the Parker Le Meridien, which I can highly recommend to anyone who has 300 dollars a night to spend (or a butt load of points -- thanks to the four letter F word, that I will not mention here). It was awesome! And it is right in the middle of midtown, about 3 blocks from Central Park, which is one of my favorite places in Manhattan.
The view in the picture to the left is from out of the hallway window. I love the old rusty bay windows. Something about them just made me want to take a photo. This photo was taken with my phone AND through a dirty window, so its not the best photo ever, but I liked the idea of it.

The picture in the right is a Jewish deli that we went to (had seen it on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show:the Disappearing New York episode). It is called Russ and Daughters and its on Houston St and it's great! Note the "homemade pickled herring" sign. We had bagels with lox and cream cheese. We also had an egg cream, which Jim Dedes, who grew up in NYC, always raved about. It was so-so. It tasted like a melted fudgesicle with soda water mixed into it. It didn't have any ice. It was weird. I still prefer a nice iced mocha myself.

We also went to Chinatown, Wall St, The NYSE, Ground Zero, Brooklyn Bridge, The Museum of National History and more general wandering..... Like I said, there is never a shortage of things to do! We tend to eat a lot and WHILE eating, decide where we are going to go next to eat. It is fun, but bad for the bulge! And I dont know if walking around the museum counts as "exercise"!!!

Family Talent

My cousin Jon is a writer and was on NPR's Morning Edition regarding his new book. Listen to the story here. What talent!!! Good job Jon!

Red Dress Run

A few pics...I lost my camera yesterday BEFORE I got a chance to download...so all of these are from my, or my friend's phones....Sad but true... Enjoy!

Five Star Stay!

The Waldorf Astoria opened a new hotel in New Orleans this month. The Roosevelt Hotel, "Originally one of the South’s first grand hotels” underwent a $145 million restoration, which “has returned The Roosevelt to its place as the premier luxury hotel in New Orleans".

I didn’t really know the history of this hotel, so I decided to do a little research. Apparently, the hotel was built by Louis Grunewald, a German immigrant, and it opened as The Grunewald in 1893. In 1908, 400 rooms were added, and in 1923 it changed to the Roosevelt in honor of former president Theodore Roosevelt. It was the Roosevelt for 40 years before it was acquired by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in 1965. It remained The Fairmont until 2005, when it was damaged by the storm. And today, the Roosevelt returns. It just re-opened July 1st and as it is (re)new, they are having marvelous summer deals. And, thankfully for me, it is a Hilton partner, which means not only do I get to enjoy a beautiful hotel, but I get points for staying there! Double score. So I decided to go and check it out.

It’s very nice, all done up in gilt and brocade with wide hallways and high ceilings. The staff is nice but not snooty; the rooms are tastefully done and the towels are the softest I have ever used. There are a few kinks that they need to work out as a new hotel – there were still tags on some of the furnishings; the refrigerator still had it’s EnergyStar sticker on it; There is only one trash can and it was not in the bathroom. But the soap leaves you smelling like lemon all day long and the sheets make you want to skip work and sleep all day.

A few more interesting facts: A suite on the 12th floor of The Roosevelt was (corrupt?) Governor Huey P. Long’s residence when he was in Louisiana. When the hotel was The Grunewald, it was home to The Cave, which is considered by some to be the first nightclub in the United States. The Fairmont was known for the Sazerac Bar and the Sazerac Room for the finest dining. So yesterday, we went to find out if it lived up to its fame.

Firstly, Sazerac is a cocktail made from whisky, bitters and absinthe. It is purported to be the first cocktail in the United States (a lot of firsts here today!) We had to have one, since we were in the Sazerac Room. It tasted to me like slightly licorice-tasting whisky. Not too bad though. See below (taken from Wikipedia)

TypeCocktail
ServedStraight up; without ice
Standard garnishLemon peel
Standard drinkware
Old fashioned glass
Commonly used ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Sazerac Rye whiskey
Three dashes Peychaud's Bitters
One sugar cube or simple syrup
1/4 ounce Absinthe
Preparation
One old fashioned glass is packed with ice. In a second old fashioned glass, a sugar cube and 3 dashes of Peychaud's Bitters are muddled. The Rye Whiskey is then added to the sugar/Bitters mixture. The ice is emptied from the first old fashioned glass and the Absinthe is poured into the glass and swirled to coat the sides of the glass. Any excess Absinthe is discarded. The Rye-Sugar-Bitters mixture is then poured into the Absinthe coated glass and the glass is garnished with a lemon peel.
Notes
Originally, the Sazerac was made and served in an egg cup called a coquetier.

Next was dinner – we came for the Foie Gras and it did not disappoint. My second favorite was the surf and turf, which was cooked to perfection and flavored just enough. Dessert was bread pudding, which had fresh fruit and a little bit of vanilla ice cream. All in all, it was a wonderful dinner. The waiter was nice, not in your face, but there when you needed him. There was a live “band” (one man) which was pleasant and not too loud.

So, overall, the Roosevelt has it all – class, charm, history, nice sheets and great dessert to boot! Five stars really does mean five stars!

Kill The Wabbit

I went on an unofficial rabbit hunt, in order to stop the beasts from eating all the vegetables in the garden. With a 22, I shot a poor little rabbit. Then I skinned him from head to tail (it was easier than I thought it would be to take off the fur) and then....we ate him! Delicious! However, skinned rabbit smells like death; I don't really like it that much. But once cooked, all smells of death abate. Anyway, this is a photo of me and the poor headless, skinless bunny.

Go Car Go

Last weekend we had an Ice Cream Social for about 60 pre-war vehicles. Among them were many Packards, Cadillacs and Lincolns as well as one each of Nash, Franklin, Stutz, Bentley, Rolls and maybe one Chrysler. The oldest car there was from the early 20s and the youngest in the 40s. The folks in these cars, The Classic Car Club of America, did a tour around California and Nevada called the “Far Out West CARavan”, starting in Sacramento, going on back roads through places such as Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain and Reno, and ending back in Sacramento 8 days later. You can read about it in the Feather River Bulletin. You can find more photos HERE.

Too High To Get Over

Climbing Mt Shasta is something that not everyone wants to do. Sometimes I wonder why people, myself included, subject themselves to such pain and misery. I usually wonder this as I am trudging up an almost 90 degree hill, wheezing from the lack of oxygen, and tired from climbing since before dawn. 
 

We started the first day in good spirits. At 6,900 ft, it is easy to be in good spirits! We hiked until Horse Camp, which is about 2 or 2.5 miles and is the last source of water (fresh from Shasta Mountain springs…delicious!). After Horse Camp, all you can do is melt snow for water. So, we filled up on water, said goodbye to Buffy, Sierra and Levi, who had hiked up with us to that point, and headed up the hill. 

From this point on, it was snow the whole way. No trail, just straight up the mountain in the snow.

After hiking about 6 hours, we reached Lake Helen, which was where we were going to stay the night. Lake Helen sits at about 10,400 ft and is pretty much the only flat spot on the mountain, which is probably why it is a good place to stop. We set up camp and started making dinner. Shortly after eating, we went to bed. 

We got up at 3 am to start the climb to the summit. Randy and Matt surged ahead, while Dad and I kept up the rear. I thought the day before was hard, but this climb REALLY WAS straight up! Wearing crampons and using our ice axes, we crept up the mountain, rest step by rest step, finally reaching the top about 6 hours later. Once we reached the summit (14,179 ft), we knew why we did this. From the top you can see Mt. Lassen, Oregon and much of the Cascade Range. The 360 view is amazing. The day was sunny and mostly clear and the mountains around us were beautiful. We also saw some sort of fighter plane that whooshed RIGHT past us as we were standing atop the mountain. It can’t get much better than this!

We were tired, hungry and burnt (sooooo burnt!) but now we still had to climb down. Luckily, you can climb part of the way down and the other half you can glissade, which is like riding a big slide down the mountain. You just sit in the snow and cruise down on your butt. It is cold and wet, but we got down to Lake Helen in about 2 hours. You cant beat that!! 

At Lake Helen, we packed up the tent, took half hour naps and tried to stay out of the sun, which was burning us up from the top and the bottom. From Lake Helen back to Horse Camp took a couple of hours; we didn’t get to glissade as much as we wanted, but we did hit a couple of slides, and so it made going down a little quicker. We got back to Bunny Flats (6,900 ft) and the car around 5, starved, burned, tired and sore, but glad we made it.

See Photos HERE.

There's a Cornshop On The Corner

(Written June 9) I am leaving Iowa, and in my wake, I am leaving miles and miles of 6 inch stalks of corn. It is nice to finally see some greenery in Iowa; the landscape has been mostly brown and white for the last 6 months. The tiny little shoots are finally dotting the landscape and creating a feeling of Spring in the air.

I learned a few things about corn while in Iowa, some of it, ironically from a book that I just happened to read while I was here, called Omnivore’s Dilemma, and much of it from the farmers and locals themselves. For instance, did you know that pretty much all of Iowa’s corn is not eaten in it’s natural form by humans? By this I mean that most of the corn grown in Iowa is considered “type-2” corn, and is used for animal feed and processed foods, such as corn meal and corn syrup. Oh and of course don’t forget about Ethanol.

There is very little “sweet corn” (edible corn) that is grown in the state. Also, I don’t know if I was the only one that thought this, but I was under the impression that when the corn was harvested, the combine took it off as a whole cob. However, that is not the case. The combine strips the cobs off the stalk and then the kernels off the cob and distributes this into a trailer that drives along side it. The cobs, stalks and leaves get put on the ground and later get rolled into bales or put in a corn crib where they dry out and are either fed to cattle or put back on the fields later for fertilizer of sorts.

Speaking of fertilizer, the farmers in Iowa used to keep a few animals around in order to fertilize their crops (which were also a lot smaller back in the day). Until after World War II, when scientists were trying to figure out what to do with some of the left over agents of chemical warfare. Enter the man made fertilizer that we know today. After that was figured out, the farmers nearly stopped using animal manure all together. Until recently, when huge pig farms cropped up in the Iowa landscape. These farms each hold about 2,500 pigs each and are quite plentiful. I don’t know the exact facts, but there something like 2 or 3 times the amount of pigs to people in Iowa. There are about 3 million people in Iowa, so do the math. Anyway, some farmers get the pig manure and use it on their fields.

Anyway, I digress. While I was in Iowa, my main job was doing damage assessments for Drainage Districts. A drainage district is a district made up of 2 or more farmers who share drainage pipe or ditches. The farmers in Iowa used to use clay pipe which has holes in it in order to get water into it; they would run it a couple feet underneath their fields so that when there was excessive water, it would drain down through the ground, into the pipe and then get carried to a ditch and eventually into the river. At least two farmers have to share the pipe for it to become a “district”, otherwise it is considered privately owned. So I spent a lot of time while in Iowa looking at fields, ditches and pipes. Actually I learned a lot while I was there and the people of the mid-west were quite friendly and usually eager to answer all my annoying questions about corn and drainage.

Shasta hike

We went to the top! Avalanche gulch and Misery Hill were the worst!!!
But we made it! PS they just changed the elevation to 14,179.

NYC

Here is a pic of our recent trip to NYC. We had a great time... Went to see In The Heights, (Mr L hated it, I LOVED it!), went to a Yankees Game (the Yankees won, unfortunately... but it was very fun! The new stadium is COOL!) and went to Central Park for a nice walk. This picture is us and our friends, the Berreaux, whose wedding we went to in October. We met with them for some Vietnamese food and good conversation...They are expeciting a baby in September!! (Seth doesnt waste any time!) We had a great trip; it was too short as always... I "heart" NYC!!

Central Park

From our recent trip to NYC.