Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
"Being Elmo" looks amazing. I didn't really give Elmo much thought until he (and his puppeteer Kevin) were guests on Rove's talk show many years back. Man, that guy is insanely talented. When he can make a character seem real enough that kids can suspend disbelief when you can see him, you know he's got a special talent. Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
This was our 31st cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. As the Snook put it: "Are we done yet??" Hey, we're in the home stretch. For this meal, we picked: "Sticky Pan-Fried Scallops, Sweet Chilli Rice, Dressed Greens, and Quick Brownies." We picked it because we were in the mood for seafood, we had some greens to use up, and we had the episode to watch. The Snook was on chef's duty for this one, and he managed it in a respectable 34:19!  Substitutions: We used regular broccoli instead of "purple sprouting broccoli." We only did half-recipes of both the rice and the brownie. For the latter, we subbed in walnuts and dried cranberries instead of pecans and dried cherries. We also had it with whipped cream instead of creme fraiche. Other than that, everything else was as written in the recipe! Quick verdict: This one was great! We both really enjoyed this one. Sure, it's a little light on protein just because how expensive scallops are as an ingredient. (From our fish monger, they worked out to about $1 per scallop!) But the flavours were all fantastic and really complementary. I was dubious about the rice, but it was probably my favorite component of the whole meal. The greens weren't sexy or fussy, but they added some nice contrast in both colour and texture. And the brownie! Well, it's not really a brownie. More like a dense chocolate cake. I loved it. (The timing, however, was way optimistic and we ended up cooking it for a lot longer.) Overall, we both rated it a stunning 9.5 out of 10! This meal is easy and quick to prepare but it would definitely impress your guests. Read on for a photo essay of the preparation. [more...]
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Woo! My first decent distance week in ages. On Sunday I ran the Half-Marathon. I was sore Monday, but not too bad considering the cramping. I actually did a Spudds class Monday night and kicked some butt on the rower. Tuesday I walked to work in the morning. Wednesday I started my new Fitness Class (more on that in a minute) and consequently ran 2.88km before work. That afternoon I walked another couple of km's across Sydney while lugging a heavy suitcase. Today I did my second Fitness Class before work, and then I walked to my office. Hooray for lots of exercise! It really, really helps my mood. Sep. 18: 21.6km Sep. 20: 2.72km (walking) Sep. 21: 2.88km Sep. 21: 1.99km (walking) Sep. 23: 3.54km Sep: 23: 2.63km (walking) Total this week: 28.02km (17.5mi) Total in 2011: 853.29km (533.3mi) So, the Fitness Class. This is a thing that RunKeeper does. Ailsa and I were talking after the Half-Marathon about our plans, and I said that my goal for the summer was to cut back my distance per week but work on building up some speed. A couple days later, she suggested this Jeff Galloway class which trains you to run a 30:00 5K. There are three runs per week: a tempo run, an interval session, and a long run. The long runs actually build up to 7 miles, which is perfect considering our next race is the 10K Run4Fun in November. The Snook joined me for today's interval workout, which involved 4 x 400m repeats at faster than goal pace. We managed it, but man, it was tough. I'm looking forward to seeing my progress and hopefully I'll score a PR at my next event!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
 Blackmore's Half-Marathon 2011 Race ReportRemember how last year I said that the half-marathon distance was CURSED for me? The streak continues. This past Sunday was the 2011 Sydney Running Festival, where the two of us were toeing the line for my fifth Half-Marathon and the Snook's first. Our training plan had went pretty well, with the exception of me spraining my ankle twice and missing a couple long runs. I felt pretty good on the day though, and we soon found ourselves at Milson's Point getting ready for the start. (I took a quick photo just to prove that this year I didn't lose my iPhone.) We started at the back of C group and we planned to do 2:30/45s intervals from the start. I didn't want to aim too high given the state of my ankle, but I had hopes that a PR (around 2:30) was possible. From the start, we were flying. We were going under my PR pace, but I didn't feel like we were going too fast. It was great. Here's the cursed part: It was an unseasonably HOT spring day. We were wearing sunscreen and hats, but there's only so much you can do. I wore my water belt, but I could tell we were hitting it hard. When I had my first Hammer Gel at 45 minutes I felt briefly light-headed, almost like I might faint. (Thankfully the feeling passed.) We hit 8K at the one hour mark, and that's when it all started to fall apart. My lower legs started to cramp. We extended a few walk breaks, thinking I could shake it out. I had already been taking Endurolytes, so I also started hitting the Powerade at each aid station. It didn't help. I ended up battling cramps for the entire second half of the race. Every 5-10 minutes they were back, first one leg and then the other depending on the camber of the road. Sometimes my shins, sometimes my calves. It SUCKED. Snookums tried to keep my spirits high, but I was in a lot of pain. My dreams of a PR slipped away. It was just about surviving to the end. My face was gritty with salt and my shirt had white patches on it. It was so hard. Eventually I limped my way across the finish line, a full 20 minutes slower than I'd hoped to run. I was so glad to be done. I wasn't the only one having problems; we'd seen the medics treating a LOT of people out on the course. And the poor marathoners! I was glad I hadn't picked this one for my first 42K. Anyway, we collected our bag and met up with the fabulous Knitabulous, who ran her first half-marathon as well. And hey, that's the important thing! Rodd and Ailsa ran their first HM, and that's AWESOME. I'm just glad I got to come along for it! We actually got some pretty good race photos this year. Have a look...                Tuesday, September 20, 2011
This was our 30th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. For this week, we chose "Steak Sarnie, Crispy New Potatoes, Cheesy Mushrooms, and Beetroot Salad." We made this meal on Saturday, the day before the Sydney Running Festival Half-Marathon. We chose it because we had the episode recorded, and it seemed like a good choice for a pre-race meal: a good amount of carbs, but not overly heavy like pasta. We also prepared this for lunch instead of dinner so we could just eat a light meal of leftovers in the evening. I was on chef's duty for this one and I was flyin'! I finished it in 29:44.  Substitutions: We already had normal potatoes on hand so I used those instead of buying "New" potatoes. You can't get pre-cooked beetroot here, so I simply boiled mine up ahead of time. We're not 100% certain if our mushrooms were Portobellos; basically we just got the biggest ones we could find. I was going to use the jarred red peppers as indicated, but when I opened mine they were moldy so I left them out. Other than that, everything was as written in the recipe. Quick verdict: I had guessed this one would be a crowd-pleaser, but it ended up being somewhat divisive! It was mostly the mushrooms. Neither of us are big mushroom eaters, but I've been making an effort to learn to like them. I actually really liked these. I thought the strong flavours and the rich cheese really complimented the thick slab of mushroom. The Snook didn't like the texture of the mushroom itself though. The sandwich and the potatoes were good, and the beetroot salad was tasty and different. Overall I rated the meal an 8.5 out of 10, while the Snook rated it an 8. It's a simple, quick, and (mostly) unobjectionable meal that lots of folks should like. Read on for a photo essay of the preparation. [more...]
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
I've been a bit slack about updating my distance numbers lately, mostly because they've been so disappointing. I ended August with a week's vacation, and while I got a lot done, I didn't do much running. Then on August 4th, we went for our last long run of HM training: 20km. And 10km into it, I rolled my left ankle AGAIN. This was the third time in two months, and it hurt a lot. I managed to finish the run, but I ended up resting it the whole next week. I've only done two runs since then: an 8km with the Snook, and a 5km on my own today. I've been making an effort to get in some walking though, which was helped with the stiffness. I really have no idea how Sunday's Half-Marathon is going to go... Aug. 31: 6.02km Sep. 4: 20.52km Sep. 11: 8.16km Sep. 16: 5.10km Total for these three weeks: 39.8km (24.8mi) Total in 2011: 825.27km (515.8mi) My goal of running 1200km in 2011 looks like it's slipping away from me. I should be at 854km right now, so I'm officially behind the pace. Going to be a challenging Spring, I can tell!
Looking at Amazon's Return Policy, I think I'm out of luck as I'm outside the 30-day return window and I don't have the original packaging anymore. I've just emailed both Amazon and Mizuno Australia to see if they can help. Right now I'm reluctant to train or race in those shoes if there's a chance there's something wrong with them. (Also, the squeaking noise is kind of annoying and embarrassing.) Any other ideas? I can't see anything that's making the noise, so I don't think fixing it is possible. I really don't want to chuck these if I can avoid it... Update: Holy crap, that was fast! Amazon just replied to tell me to go ahead and send them back and they'll refund them. That's fantastic service right there. Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
This is our 29th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. Sorry for missing the past two weeks! We were in Melbourne for one of them. We actually did cook a Jamie meal last weekend, but we had visitors and got too distracted to properly document the meal. (We decided we'd revisit that one again in the future.) The Snook was on cooking duty for this one, and he chose "Catherine Wheel Sausage, Horseradish Mash, Apple Salad, Sage & Leek Gravy, and Stuffed Apples." This is actually the second meal to use a "Catherine Wheel sausage," but I was the chef on the other one. We chose this one because it used a lot of ingredients we already had. Unfortunately the TV episode hasn't aired yet, so we were working just from the book. The time, I'm afraid, was a blow-out: 42:27. Luckily it made up for it in taste!  Substitutions: We used Dutch Cream potatoes instead of the ones specified. We couldn't find any watercress in season, so we substituted rocket instead. We had roasted almonds instead of blanched for the dessert, and we didn't bother with the flaming Cointreau(!). Other than that, everything was as written in the recipe! Quick verdict: This was another winner in terms of the overall flavour "theme." Each component complemented the rest really well. (You can't go wrong with pork and apples, basically.) The sausage is impressive-looking, but it's not a large portion of protein. That's okay because you fill up on horseradish mash, which is very tasty and awesome. The "gravy" isn't really; it's more of a weird leek white sauce. It tasted good though. Snook was dubious about the apple salad at first (mostly the Ryvita bits on the bottom), but I thought it was unusual and nicely crunchy. And stuffed apples always = YUM. We both rated this one a 9 out of 10. Read on for a photo essay of the preparation. [more...]
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
|
|
archives
You can search through the archives by post keyword using the form on the left, or you can browse by month using the links at the bottom.
"Moblog" refers to posts and images posted directly from my mobile phone.
"PW Blog" refers to posts recovered from my very first weblog, which dealt with news related to my college dorm. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Created and maintained by Kristine Howard ©2000-2012.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
