Then again...

Maybe my random whim to jog around the lake wasn't such a good idea after all. Now my right glute is hella sore, and I walk all cock-eyed because every time I swing my right leg, my glute feels like it tenses up and then I feel a sharp pinch. I had to ask lil C if one butt cheek was bigger than the other last night. I have this theory: maybe my right leg is less dominant so therefore weaker, and this soreness is a result of exerting it when lefty has otherwise taken the brunt of the work. I figured, if this were true, it'd manifest itself in one cheek being bigger and more muscular than the other right? Unfortunately, he was unable to neither confirm nor deny my theory because he refused to look back there... Not that I can't blame it. I did trick him once by mooning him, so perhaps he still carries that resentment, haha.

Never under-estimate the power of procrastination!

I am so tired of studying for finals and writing papers. Hell, I sooo do not want to do this that I just jogged around Lake Union, ahha!! Yeah, I can't believe it either... but when I hit Jillians, I thought to myself, I could probably go a bit further. And then when I hit China Harbor, I thought again that I could still keep going. And before I knew it, I was jogging past the Fremont Bridge, and then past Gasworks, and I was back at the University Bridge. Unfortunately, I had to stop at this point to take a walk, and from that point on, I was alternating jogging and walking. But still, it felt good being able to push myself to do that! Even at a slow pace, I just kept thinking to myself 1) just set your own pace, and 2) it's this or studying, heh. :P

How liberating!

I've never run naked before. Oh, and by "naked", I really mean without my iPod/music (sorry guys, that's a term I adopted from Runner's World). And not only that, I've never really run outdoors at night. I recently signed up for gym membership at 24 Hour Fitness, so I've been trying to take advantage of their classes. Anywho, I went to Zumba today, which was a lot of fun!! I got so pumped that on a random whim, I decided, hellz, I'mma run home! And run home I did! In fact, I even beat the bus.

And man, running home in the dark without music? It feels pretty damn good! It was so liberating setting my own rhythm, with the cool night air brushing against my skin, and seeing the city when it's dark out. It's an entirely different world. And of course, just as I made this impulsive decision, it starts to rain. But you know what? Bring it on rain 'cuz you's just bout made me feel that more badass! Granted, I wasn't running that fast... actually, it was more of a jog. But still! Running out there just now, I was so tempted to flail my arms out like I was Andy fuckin' Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption.

Halleloo!

Today has been a barrage of good news! Despite being hella busy with upcoming projects and due dates as well as feeling slightly under the weather, P called earlier today to tell me that she & M are applying for an apartment 3 blocks down the road!! It's a nice 2 bedroom with a view of the lake. Oh, and did I mention, it's 3 blocks down the road from me? While I don't want to jinx anything for them, I can't help hiding my excitement.

Oh, and while she was apartment hunting in my hood, she also happened to discover this hidden neighborhood supermarket I had heard of, but never found: Pete's Supermarket. So naturally, I went down there to check it out for myself and this place is awesome! It's cute; it's got a lot of basics, while still having a fair amount of the exotic, unique, fancy, and charm; there's over 175 selections of wine; and better yet, it's 3 blocks down the road! Anyone who knows me will tell you that my one complaint about my place was that there wasn't any nearby supermarkets (oh how naive I was). The reason why I couldn't find it was because it's listed as Pete's Wine Shop, even though the store front clearly says "Pete's Supermarket". Even google maps has it listed as such, so of course I would have never thought to check it out. But anyway, I'm just happy to have a supermarket to add to my list of other neighborhood dives that includes a coffee shop, a pub, a bread shop, restaurants, late-night snacking, video rental, mail office, nail salon, and yoga studio, whee!

The Whole Foods Experiment

Welcome to Carmel's kitchen, where I will shower you with love!

And hopefully good food as well. That is, with the Whole Foods app on the iPhone. Btw, have I mentioned how awesome this app is? Especially when you're someone like me who's still learning how to cook (I really much prefer baking...). Don't get me wrong--I can follow a recipe. As Julie Childs puts it, "anyone who can read can cook". And amen to that sista'!

But I don't possess the skills to peak into my fridge, gather whatever leftovers I have, and magically turn them into an amazing and healthy meal. Thankfully, Big C told me about this function that searches for recipes based on the ingredients you have on hand. So for tonight's dinner, I looked up "beef" and "escarole", and through the powers of the Whole Foods elves, I came up with Rustic Farro Soup with Sausage and Mushrooms. (Oh, and while making it, I was also having a little fun with Instagram, hehe)

I figured, this recipe would be delicious because, like all things delicious, it started with a mirepoix (pictured in Lord Kelvin):


But then half way through, I realized, I didn't have any Italian sausage thawed, so I had to compensate with a 1/2 lb of bacon instead (pictured in 1977):


But another 3/4's of the way through, I realized I also didn't have any mushrooms... or mushroom broth... or farro for that matter :/. So I had to settle with a beef both mixed with water and Calrose rice (plus red wine and diced tomotoes in juice). Once the Calrose was cooked, I added what I had left of my escarole (pictured in Nashville):


3 minutes later, a little sprinkling of thyme, some grated Parmesan cheese, and... voila! It came out a little thicker and more gumbo-like than I was expecting, but that was probably due to the Calrose :p. Still, I thought it tasted pretty good!

It's official...

I can't have children...

psych!

The 2nd Annual Knitting & Crochet Blog Week has been announced! And I never even knew there was a first one. I'm glad I stumbled upon Ravelry because I've been able to get more involved in my hobbies and meet others the world round who share this enthusiasm. And at the same time, groups like The Blog Hub keep me learning and motivated with cute, little fun activities like Blog Week. Despite my best efforts, I've been really bad about blogging. And I can't even use the excuse that school has been keeping me busy because the point of this blog was to document life down the grad school lane in the first place! It'll be nice to have a theme to help keep me blogging, even if just for that week.

Who's got 2 thumbs and is excited to blog about arts&crafts?

this girl!

Oh, the Oscars...

Really Oscars? The King's Speech? Now don't get me wrong, I loved this movie! I mean, how can I not when it's about my field? Well... sorta about my field seeing as we discover a twist in Geoffrey Rush's character. But still, I may love me some Colin Firth and some Geoffrey Rush AND most especially, speech pathology, but I certainly did not think this was the best movie I'd seen in the past year. Even when looking at it from a purely entertainment-value/popularity-contest point of view, I still don't think The King's Speech warranted such a coveted title. Then again, maybe my opinion would change if this were about someone with aphasia or a neurogenic motor-speech disorder rather than stuttering, heh. Damn Oscars and their love of biopics!

Instead of looking to movies exploring the past, why not look to those exploring the future? Ones that take full advantage of what technology has to offer and create greater possibilities of the human mind? Why not look to movies like, oh... I don't know... Inception? Haha, ok, I admit, I'm being bias. But despite my love for Joseph Gordon-Levitt (and Tom Hardy and Ken Watanabe and Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy and Marion Cotillard...), this was a great movie that was sorely overlooked :(

you mustn't be afraid to dream a little bit bigger, darling