Saturday, November 22, 2008

Up And At Them

Thanks, friends, for all your supportive comments! I'm happy to report that I felt much better today, and even went outside, where I learned that Winter had started since I'd been inside, and I was tempted to return to my den to hibernate until Spring. By now I'm sure all interested parties have googled my affliction, so I'll spare you the details. (It really isn't that exciting, although the treatment is a hoot.)

Here are some things I learned while spending five days at home. Please note that I spent three of these days in bed, and two of those I was delirious.

1. My upstairs neighbours have a cleaning person who comes on Wednesdays. Their vacuum is very loud. And the cleaning person is very thorough. And may wear clogs (like, the Dutch wooden kind).

2. I am a terrible, terrible housekeeper. I saw so many cat-hair tumbleweeds and dust bunnies while I was huddled under the covers in a ball, staring at the radiator, that today I texted my neighbours to get the name of their clog-wearing cleaning person. [Richie.*]

3. CBS.com has 4 seasons' worth of the original and awesomer "90210"!

4. The fourth season of the original and awesomer "90210" is not enough to entertain a person through a week of being sick, evenespecially if that person is delirious for two of the days.

5. Memphis sleeps behind a box in the closet. I don't even know how she can get back there. Weirdo.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

P.S. Meredith said "Richie." on "The Office" tonight which is totally a shoutout to this blog. Holla!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Me, My Kidney, and I

I have a kidney infection.

I wasn't going to blog about this but by now any of my co-workers who read UFF know why I haven't been at work this week anyway, and since my diet of apples and chocolate milk hasn't caused any sort of remarkable weight loss (which, really? that would have been the one upside to this whole ordeal), they won't suspect that I've been away at a spa retreat. Trust me, it's been no retreat.

Last night I felt particularly crappy and Ken was out at class, so I called my mom. When she answered the phone I promptly reverted to being seven years old by blubbering, "Mommy, I'm so sick!" [-10 Dignity Points] Anyway, she was awesome. She gave me all the best Mom-advice possible.

Mom: You need to drink lots of water. Are you drinking lots of water?
Me: Yes.
Mom: Gillian, *promise* me you are drinking lots of water.
Me: I am. And apple juice, and chocolate milk.
Mom: Well, the apple juice is good, but not too much chocolate milk.
Me: I'm drinking two half-cup servings of chocolate milk per day.
Mom: Oh that's fine, as long as it's not a quart a day!

Apparently she'd mistaken me for her other child.

Also, I wasn't kidding about eating *only* apples and chocolate milk. Last night I spread some almond butter on the apple slices 'cause I was feeling wild. So I talked to Mom about whether she thought getting some Ensure or something like it would be a good idea.

Mom: Yeah, sure, that can't hurt.
Me: OK, I think I'll go get--
Mom: Oh no, you won't go get it.
Me: It's OK, I'm going over to Leslie's in a bit--
Mom: Oh no, oh no. You're not going anywhere. You're not to leave the house today, and I think not tomorrow either.

Which, yeah, considering I hadn't been out of bed for more than two hours at a time, and considering that I get a massive pounding headache every time I turn my head... She's probably right.

So then, for the first time in 15 years, I had to call my friend and tell her that I couldn't come over "because my mom won't let me."

[I do feel better this afternoon, and even though I stood her up last night, Leslie was awesome enough to send over dinner for tonight! Which is good, because I think we're out of apples.]

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Caturday Plotting

I knew it.

via Gill

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Geriatric

When I showed my friend T the picture of my hot hot sock, he immediately laughed and said, "Oh my God, you're SUCH a geriatric!" Then we ran home from work tonight, and oh my God, I am *such* a geriatric.

I haven't run since the half-marathon last month, save for 20 minutes here and there on the treadmill, which doesn't really count. For the first two of tonight's four miles, I felt like I haven't run in a year or more.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: That ain't me no more. Hotbody November is ON, People! In fact, I'm off to the gym for a little lifting and then a yoga class. Stay tuned.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Thursday, November 06, 2008

I'm Too Sexy For My Sock

Lately I've had a bit of pain in my heels, especially the left one. I'd chalked it up to the shoes I'd worn to run the marathon in September, which had already run too many miles before I went and added another 26.2. While we were in Berlin, I mentioned it to Meredith and Philip, both experienced runners and triathletes, and Philip suggested I might have something called plantar fasciitis. I'd never heard of that and figured that when I finally replaced my shoes I'd be A-OK. A few weeks and a pair of new running shoes later when I still had pain, Ken pulled out the ol' sports medicine bible and looked up PF. It described athletes at highest-risk for the condition as long-distance runners [check!] with high arches [check!], and worn-out shoes [check-o-rama!]. It might just as well have added, "especially if you are a red-haired Canadian girl with a penchant for red wine and things that are orange."

Yesterday I saw a sports medicine dude to have my hooves checked out and sure enough, I have plantar fasciitis. Thankfully, contrary to the advice in the sports medicine book, I don't need to take a break from running. Among other things like ice massages, I need to stretch my calves a lot. Fortuitously, last night I hung out with friends who are also runners. They told me about their experiences with plantar fasciitis and shared with me a neat little device that helps keep tension on the plantar fascia and alleviate symptoms.

And that, dear Reader, is how I came to be lounging on the couch wearing one of these:
I know. I'm turning myself on, too.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Anyone Else Predicting a Baby Boom in August 2009?

And a huge Democratic victory in 2028?

Oh Hell Yeah!

I've never been so happy to call this country home.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Democracy Is My Homeboy

This morning my American boy roused himself out of a deep slumber at 5:30 to hit the polls. For a few minutes I lay in bed considering my Canadianism (yes, I did vote in the recent federal election), and at the last minute decided to join him in line at the polling station.

Outside the polling center, the line wrapped around the corner and well down the next block. It looked insane, but moved quickly, and once we were inside the elementary school gymnasium, we only waited a few minutes. We saw a few voters still wearing pajama pants and even a bathrobe at that early hour.

It was awe-inspiring to see that many people out to cast a ballot. Democracy is good times.

Vote.

Because you can.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Chicken Squash Action

As is oft the case, last night I was ambitious. We wanted to go to First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum (British rock! Fun!) and in honour of the NYC Marathon this morning, I had supportive signs to make (Go Tiernan! Go Dawn! Go Jim! Go Robert! Go Paula!*) and plans to make a batch of Sticky Cinnamon Rolls to share with my fellow cheerleaders.

Two out of three ain't bad: We danced to Blur and Elastica and I managed to eke out a couple of Bristol board signs, but the cinnamon rolls remained at their first rise overnight. I completed them later this afternoon with great success. Really I should be blogging about those, but I also made a delicious meal tonight that involves all things Thanksgiving, things which happened to be in our fridge even though there are 3 weeks until the culinary event of the year. And despite previously detailing how to create a Bunny Cake, I've never posted my very own recipe. And so, without further ado, I give you:

Chicken Squash Action (named by Ken)
Makes 4 servings

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c sliced mushrooms
1/2 c celery, diced
1 T fresh sage, minced
1/2 c red wine (I used Vampire Pinot Noir)

3 c butternut squash, in 1/2 inch dice
1 c chicken broth

1 c cooked wild rice
6 oz cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced

In a large pan with a lid, sautée the onion, garlic, mushrooms, celery, and half the sage over medium heat until onion is caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining sage.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine (this part smells delicious). Add the squash and the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until squash is fork-tender (this will depend on the accuracy of your dice), about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice and the chicken breast and simmer a few minutes more, until chicken is heated through. Salt & pepper to taste.

Serve with wine and, optionally, a purring cat nearby. A few toasted sliced pecans would also be a delicious addition, or a few dried cranberries (in fact, I think I'll go add a few of those to the leftovers right now). Bon appetit!

*We met Paula on the subway on Friday night. I didn't see her running today but I'm sure she did very well!

Sunday, November 02, 2008

NaBloPo... Something

Two Novembers ago I participated in National Blog Posting Month, and since I'm not doing anything silly like running a marathon this November, I'm going to give it another go. Aren't you excited? Unfortunately, I remembered to write this post at 12:15am on the 2nd. Fortunately, tonight is the night the clocks go back! So I'm rolling my clock back and timestamping this for the 1st. And I can assure you that at least one of the next 29 posts will be more interesting than this one. Two, if you're lucky.