This Monday morning made it absolutely clear that the glorious weekend was over.  It opened with rain, and a recurrence of nip in the air.  The dogs were so dirty after our walk in the Park that it was seriously just ridiculous.  I had to really do a lot of rinsing and pulling out of sticks, burrs, branches, and leaves from the hair.  The tub was COATED with grime and dirt.

Next, because I was so busy having fun this weekend, I had done ZERO laundry.  I knew getting dressed this morning would be an adventure, but I was not prepared for the inability to find ONE clean pair of underwear.  Now, usually my go-to in this type of emergency are bathing suit bottoms.  But even my bottoms were missing!!!  So...I had to go commando to work.  For those of you who don't know what "commando" means...it means that I didn't wear any underpants to work.  Oh DON'T TELL ME you've never done it.  You KNOW YOU HAVE.  I was very concerned about making sure my fly was up upon leaving the bathroom.  It felt very scandalous.

I did the laundry this evening in lieu of running.  I ran enough this weekend...I now need underpants.

I had squished in an experiment for the afternoon and had to start straight away after lab meeting - no time for lunch.  I won't go into the details, but the experiment ended with me losing a good deal of data, and "breaking" a very large and expensive piece of machinery that belongs to another lab.  The break involved a clog in a thin tube...I attempted to dislodge said clog with a thin wire, that decided to break off inside the thin tube after insertion.  I'm done...nothing more to be said about it.  I can now look at it with some humor - but the moment I had to tell the physician-scientist of the lab who owns it, I had my best, most pathetic sheepish face on.  He laughed.  He couldn't believe what a stupid thing I did.  But he assured me that he had also made stupid mistakes (when he was young and stupid...which is obviously no longer since he is now big & important).

Thank you big & smart guy! KARMA!  I will someday remember this moment when some idiot of a grad student comes and tells me he/she broke some fancy lab equipment because he/she stuck a random wire in it and broke it off.  

Machinery technician will come and fix it...no big deal I suppose.

While waiting for said big & smart guy to get back to lab from his lunch break (which I did not get)...I found this recipe on the NYTimes Recipes for health.  Whatever...parsley is weird to use as a main addition, but I wanted an excuse to eat a big mound of orzo and peas and cheese so I made it.

It was DELICIOUS....I HIGHLY recommend it.  Martha Rose Schulman hasn't done me wrong yet.  One of the best pestos I've ever made....and I've MADE pesto.  I adapted hers a bit to make it more my style - my changes are annotated with a *.  You can visit the website here if you're curious to see her version:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/health/orzo-with-peas-and-parsley-pesto-recipes-for-health.html?ref=health&_r=0

Vegetarian Recipe # 11 - Orzo with Parsley Pesto and Peas:

For the pesto:
2 cups of tightly packed flat leaf parsley (I tried to get rid of the thicker stems)
1/3 cup of olive oil
2 cloves of fresh garlic - minced
salt & black pepper 
*juice of 1 small lemon or half a large one
*1/4 cup of grated asiago cheese
*1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds (GOOD FATS & protein!)

Process everything in a food processor until it's creamy.  Add your salt to taste - it doesn't need much.  The lemon adds a lot of flavor on it's own.

For the orzo & peas:
Salt some water and bring to a boil
Add about a cup and a half of orzo and cook for roughly 5 minutes
After 5 minutes, add about half a bag of frozen peas (if you can find fresh peas, use those, but for an easier version, just use frozen).
Boil together for about 4 more minutes or until the orzo is tender.
Drain

Combine the peas, orzo, pesto back into the warm pot you used to boil the orzo & peas.  Stir everything together and let sit for 10 minutes.  (The orzo will absorb a lot of the juices & flavor).

Top with some grated asiago cheese.

Enjoy!

This dish was very "non-parsley-ish."  I find parsley to be a very overwhelming flavor and not pleasant if it's too over-powering.  This, on the other hand, was very fresh, not over-powering at all and just delicious.  The perfect spring-time pasta dish.

Carpe diem,

J

Why running with my dog makes me a better runner:

I've been running quite a bit with Bear lately.  This post might seem a little Bear-centric, but I assure you, it's only because Bear likes to run whereas Sofie tolerates it on good days in trudges along most others - keeping an eye out for pigeons and scattering leaves that are fun to chase.  My dear, beloved little Sofie is a field dog.  She likes to hunt pigeons....and chase rollerbladers....and skateboarders (there's something about the sound of the wheels that gets her really revved up).  She loves to hike.  She love love love LOVES to SWIM.  She likes to nose around in the woods and roll in the grass.  Run - on a leash - she's not into it really.  Especially not for more than about 3 miles.

Bear, on the other hand, is a running dog.  After about half a mile, he settles in at the same pace I'm running, and is right by my side.  Slack leash.  He doesn't pull - doesn't chase things.  He occasionally looks joyously up into my eyes - ears flying - tongue lolling- big doggie "smile" on his face.

Back to the point.

Running with Bear makes me a better runner.

I notice scenery I never notice most other days because I want him to get to smell the flowers and nose around in the daffodils once in awhile.

I change my pace up so it's comfortable.  We run fast when we feel like it, and slow when we feel like it.  I want it to be fun for him, so I don't take it too seriously.

I stop to give him sips of water...so I also have sips of water.

I wet him down behind his ears now and again because I know it feels invigorating and keeps him cool.

I smile almost the whole run - because he's got the doggie equivalent of a smile on.

I make eye contact with more runners - because they're gushing over how cute he is.

I end the run feeling refreshed - not tired - refreshed and happy. 

The bottom line is that because I love him so much and want him to be happy, I do things that also make me happy.  I'm a firm believer that a tired dog is a happy dog is a good dog.  I'm also a firm believer that a tired human is a happy human is a good human.  Give a dog a job to do - it's a happy dog.  Give a human a job to do - it's a good human. 

Bear ran a total of 15 miles with me just this weekend.  That's not even counting on all the walks and fetch we've played.  Soon I'll start training again for my biggest run of the Spring/Summer - the NYRR Women's only 10k.  Once that starts, I'll run slightly less with Bear so that I can get in some faster, tougher runs.  But for now....I'll enjoy nosing around in the daffodils and watching his ears fly behind him in the breeze. 

Now I think I'll just give you a recap of our weekend.

Friday afternoon was so beautiful I took the doggies on about a 2.5 hour walk in the Park - complete with grass-laying time.  It was wonderful.  I felt very relaxed. I've been trying to take some time each day to lay in the grass and not think about things.  On Saturday I was very productive - I got up and went in to work (twice) but only for a short period of time.  Then I went running with Bear - then walked the dogs about 5 miles.  I was beat and the above picture of them sleeping on the couch was how they looked afterwards.  Perfect. 

Then Brian and I went on a date.  I got dressed all cute- aka not my running clothes and then we went downtown to Rye House.  We got beer cheese as an appetizer - it was freaking delicious.  And then he got the house burger with bacon, cheddar, red onion, lettuce, and tomato.  I got the 3 cheese grilled cheese with truffles.  I'm a big fan of truffles.  I had them first at Grégoire's house for a lab party.  I was slathering them all thick on bread before he quietly reminded me that "they were expensive."  Yea - and they're freaking amazing.  Worth every penny.  I had a nice arugula salad on the side with toasted walnuts, mushrooms, and more cheese.  You know how I feel about toasted walnuts (very positive).   I had 1 cocktail - because it was $12.00.  It was the best cocktail I've ever had.  Probably tied with the Lemon Drop I had at Christmas at the Cornell Club. It was ice cold, bourbon, bitters, lemon juice, honey, and a splash of seltzer.  Then we went to the movies and saw "Mud."  In answer to my mother's question as to whether it was the 1950's film about a politician...no...it's the one where Matthew McConnahey takes his shirt off and has bad teeth.

We finished the night by annoying the froyo guys at Tasti-delite by being the last absolute people to come in.  I got chocolate with heath bars.  Brian got chocolate with colored non-pareils. 

Sunday I woke up at the crack of dawn to volunteer at the Run as One race to support lung cancer research.  It was 5 hours of being on my feet but the weather was stunning and the atmosphere was great.  I was doing stuff the whole time so it went by pretty fast.  When I got home, I hung out with my friend Brendan - who happened to run the race.  We ate breakfast and then I ran another 7 miles with Bear.  Brian made us salmon (Brendan and he had crabcakes), roasted baby red potatoes with asiago, and broccoli for dinner.  It was capital.  I finished the night by hanging in bed with my pups reading one of my favorite books - the Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera.  Brian was working on his new drum kit out in the living room. 

I got tan - I ate good food - I ran - I relaxed - I worked - I dated - I hung with my dogs.  

It was a good weekend.

Carpe diem,

J

FRIDAY, April 26th, 2013

Good morning!  One thing I love about this time of year is how refreshing it is outside.  It's not yet warm enough to be hot hot first thing in the morning and so there's always a lot of dew that sits on the grass.  The grass is also so lush and green this time of year.  The pups look so happy when they're romping through it!

Anyway, my sister is here right now so I'm off to hang with her a little more.

Carpe diem!!

J

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

Good morning!  Well, we had our first night of agility class!  It was SO much fun.  There are 5 dogs total and Bear is the smallest one by far.  There is a huge German Shepherd, a black Standard Poodle, a Goldendoodle, and a Lab-Border Collie mix.  You're supposed to have your dog sit on a towel next to you when you're not working.  Bear was very well-behaved but whined a lot out of excitement.  The instructor, Sarah, said that it was fine and just because he wants to run around and greet the other dogs (which you're not allowed to do).  You're not allowed to let the dogs meet & greet because they are supposed to be working with you and therefore only focused on you. 

We started by working on the jump.  First they just had to walk through the two poles - but you throw a treat through so that they don't learn to look at you when they take an obstacle - but instead look ahead at the obstacle.  Then we put the bar up very low and had them work on the same thing.  She said Bear was a natural ;)  Then we worked on targeting - that's also to help the dog look at an obstacle instead of you.  You rub cheese on a target - literally a target - and then drop it on the floor.  When the dog touches it's nose to the target, you say touch and then put a whole piece of cheese on the target.  Bear had trouble with this part because he was so obsessed with getting the cheese that he was just trying to do any trick I've ever taught him.  It was adorable.  Then we worked on getting the dog to focus on YOU.  We did this by practicing leash walking and having the dog look at you while walking next to you.  We finished by introducing the "wobble board."  The scariest obstacle for dogs is the teeter-totter because it moves under their feet.  So to warm up to that, she brought out this thing that you see at some gyms, but bigger because it needs to fit a whole big dog on it.  It's round and has a ball underneath it so you have to kind of balance on it.  Bear was THE BEST at the wobble board.  He was the only dog that climbed the whole way on - probably because his center of gravity is so much lower than theirs.  He didn't even need a treat and was definitely not scared of it - he just hopped right on and surfed around. 

We had a great time - seriously - I really enjoyed it.  I wish Sofie could come, too, but it would be too expensive and impossible for me to work with 2 at one time.  Also she already got to go to obedience school back when we lived in Philly - so it's fair I think.   Ok, off to work. 

Carpe diem,

J

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

Good morning!  The top two photos show Bear around 6:30pm, when he knows Brian is going to be home soon.  He stares at the door every time he hears the elevator door open and close.  It's so adorable.  Sofie usually lays right up against the door when she knows he's going to be home soon.  She likes to be first. 

See!  It's starting to get green again in Central Park!  I was graced with a very lovely morning today.  It is supposed to be almost 70 degrees today, so I'm going to wear my crop jeans.  I would totally wear my sandals, but my toes need some work. 

Tonight is our first night of agility class!  I'm so excited/nervous because I'm afraid Bear will get over-excited and just whine all night.  I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow :)

ps.  I ate 1/4 more of the fritatta for lunch yesterday - and I liked it much more.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's destined to be a lunchtime thing.  Or maybe it's one of those things that improves in flavor with time....like lasagne. 

I'm going to leave you today with this:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/the-cutest-things-that-ever-happened
because if it doesn't make your day...then nothing will!

Carpe diem,

J

I am actually going to take 100% credit for this recipe.  I made it up - without learning it elsewhere - though I already knew how to make a fritatta in general. 

Here's the thing, I'm not sure I actually really like fritatta's.  I've tried.  Whenever I don't know what to make and I'm speaking with my Dad, he says, "Why don't you make a fritatta."  My innate desire to please my father has me hoping and wishing that I will someday actually like the fritatta's I make. 

I feel kind of weird about something that is so much egg all at once without a sandwich or toast component.  I think I really like the idea of a fritatta - no carbs - packed with protein, omega-3's, and all the vegetables you can get in there.  When it comes to actually eating it, though, there's just something kind of off-putting.  It kind of makes me sick.  I will admit, though, the sickness could have been caused by eating half of said fritatta - that's approximately 6 eggs, half a salad, and a whole hell of a lot of goat cheese.  I was hungry.

I think if you're a fritatta person, this is a good one.  If not, well then wait for a random night when you don't feel like working all that hard for dinner and want to eat something healthy.  It's good enough for one of those nights and makes you feel good about yourself...like you just did a healthy thing....or a gourmet thing....French countryfolk in Provence probably make fritatta's the way I did tonight....maybe they too feel sick after eating them.   I

 followed up tonight's healthy thing with 2 peanut butter chocolate chip cookies dipped in milk...woops.  

I know...I've really sold this recipe...really talked it up. 

Vegetarian Recipe #10 - Spring Fritatta:
12 eggs (good sweet God that's a lot of egg)
splash of milk
salt & pepper - to taste
goat cheese - crumbled
shallots - minced
fresh thyme - chopped up
a few handfuls of some sort of salad mixture - I used arugula and baby spinach out of one of those plastic salad boxes
splash of sherry (optional)
butter - couple good pats

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.   Mince your shallots and then sauté them in a little bit of butter for just a few minutes - to take the edge off their bite.  Add a splash of sherry and let it cook down for about a minute (I'm such a ponce - who has Sherry around?).   Whisk together your eggs, adding a splash of milk (I'm not sure what that does but it seemed like the thing to do) and then add them to a large, deep skillet or cast iron pan that you've already melted a bit of butter in the bottom of.  Add your shallots straight from the pan so you get all the juices.  Then add a few good handfuls (roughly 4-5) of your salad mixture.  Sprinkle on your thyme and some salt and pepper.  Cook on your stove-top on a low-medium heat until the edges begin to solidify.  Before you put it in the oven, add your goat cheese crumbles to the top.  Finish it off in the oven for about 15 minutes. 

Maybe you'll enjoy it more than me....or at least feel gourmet/healthy for the night.  

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

Good morning!!  What a weekend!  Busy, busy!  It involved all of what is posted in the above pictures.  I have much to tell you, but I have to give lab meeting today so I'm a little busy.  I'll tell you about the race and then leave the rest for another day. 

So this weekend we had a race that counted towards our 9+1 for the NYC marathon in 2014.  It was the NYRR City Parks Foundation Run for the Parks.  About 6,200 runners participated - roughly 3100 of men and women each.  It was an emotional day to start.  Beautiful morning, but quite emotional.  The National Anthem Singer was a Bostonian and had played in the band for the Boston Marathon since she was in High School.  She broke down during the end of the anthem - it was intense. 

It was about 40 degrees and sunny - still quite cold but the sun really made it nice and warm.  The race took us on a loop of the Park that I usually do a couple times a week - so I was very accustomed to the route (I just don't usually run it so fast :)).  I ended up running it in 28 minutes on the dime for 7 minute mile average.  Since it was a race, I'll tell you I got 52nd in my gender and 15th in my age group.  What really matters, though, is that I beat Brian :)  Brian ran in 30:17 for about 7:35 minute miles.  He got 939th in his gender and 145th in his age group!  To be fair, he didn't really set out to "race" it - but just kind of to run it fast on a nice day.  

I would love to tell you all about those peanut butter chocolate chip cookies above and about the puppies, and all the other things that we did this weekend - but I have to shower and go to work now!!

Have a GREAT DAY!!!

Carpe diem,

J

Hi all - no picture today - forgot to take one in the Park.  I was busy contemplating what I plan to say in my rebuttal letter to my ACE committee.  This will probably bore you, but I can't always be wildly entertaining so here goes ;)

I got the reviews of my ACE back yesterday.  Overall quite positive but with revisions.  (Revisions are standard - the extent of the revisions is what changes).  At this point, however, I've put so many hours into this damn thing that if anyone tells me it is anything less than "the most incredible thing they've ever read," I am perturbed.

The requests for revision irritated me for several reasons...reasons I just wrote about for about 10 minutes and then deleted because I don't want to just go bitching on and on. 

I will revise - and in my rebuttal letter, I will avoid a snarky tone....avoid...not eliminate.

Carpe diem,

J

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

Good morning!  As you can see, I'm pretty much on cloud 9 the past couple of days.  The weather yesterday and today is S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G.  Since I got my run out of the way yesterday morning, I was free to take the pups on a looong afternoon walk in the Park.  I left work a bit early and once we got there, we just took some time to lay in the grass in the sunshine.  It was the perfect temperature - cool enough to be refreshing - but the sunshine made it non-goosebump inducing.  There were people out everywhere and everything is in bloom.  Kids were playing, people snoozing.  Bear and Sofie were the perfect company. 

This morning was chilly - but refreshingly so.  I can't get enough of the blossoms.  Love the blossoms.  In fact - maybe I should make some peanut butter blossoms to celebrate all the blossoms. 

In other news - I just found out that my tuition at qBio this summer was waived for a scholarship!  Yay!!  This means that I just have to pull some strings with Cornell & Grégoire to get the room, board, and flights covered.  qBio is starting to be very real and coming up super fast.  I will officially be away at St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico from July 21 to August 10.  I kind of can't imagine being away from Brian and the pups for so long but we'll deal.  I'm SO excited.  Like SO SO SO excited.  I've been trying to learn to love avocado - for now that involves thinking about it in a nice way.  If Santa Fe can't make me a guac-lover then nothing can.  I plan on eating at least one burrito a day.  The THINGS I'M GOING TO LEARN!!!  I'll be a regular computational biologist when I get back.  ;)  Well maybe not quite....but it's a stepping stone. 

Well, I hope you guys enjoy Spring and have a great day!

Carpe diem,

J

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

She sits...and she waits for the mice.  She will capture.

J

I ran tonight for Boston - I was literally overcome with emotion as I ran downtown and downhill on the West side towards the CNN building.  I thought about the air - crisp and cool on my skin - thought about the daffodils and the crocus - thought about the cherry blossoms, magnolias, and dogwood trees - thought about the sunset over the West side and the way the city lit up the sky, illuminating the dome of clouds and blue above it.  Thankful that I get another night to talk to my Dad, eat a chocolate bar, relax with my dogs, and hear Brian come home.

The older I get, the more difficult these tragedies are for me to absorb.  They don't roll off me like they did when I was a child.  I can't help but imagine my loved ones or myself in the same situation.  The senselessness of the acts is part of what gets me the most.

I hope that tonight you hold your loves close in body and in spirit.  I hope that you also take some time to remember that there are good and beautiful things left in this world even amidst tragedy like this.

If you're having trouble thinking of them....I'll help get you started with some silly & simple ones:

 

I defy you to show me a thing cuter than a baby bunny.

 Could there ever be a limit to the number of chocolate chip cookies one person could eat?

 

I <3 <3 <3 Christmas and still want to believe in Santa.

 A BELOVED story from my childhood.  I think this book defines what magic means to me.

 Fancy coffee-shop lattes.  With pumps of vanilla or mocha flavoring....

 Snoopy was the first dog I ever loved...  Why does that bird fly upside-down???

 It's not my birthday unless I eat cake.  I don't request presents or even a party...but I'll be damned if I don't get cake. 

 KITTEN!

 :)

 Well...you were all waiting for a dog picture.  Here you go. 

 Hawaiian sunset. 

 I hate that I love you.

 Mountains are majestic and awe-inspiring....and a little scary even.

 If I had been born a few decades earlier.... (that's Led Zeppelin in case you were wondering)

 What could be better than carbs covered in cheese?

 My favorite flowers are poppies.  My second favorite are tulips.

 I enjoy good Russian vodka - and lets be honest...who doesn't like to get a little buzzed now and again?

 Friends are nice....and Winnie the Pooh is sweet. 

Love me a theme park.

 ....and a good movie that makes you yell

NEVER gets old...

I've always had a thing for horses.

Most magical thing I do each year.

 It might seem like I don't read "adult" books, but I do. 

 I LOVE this show!!!!!!

Nature makes beautiful colors.  

 

Who doesn't love a good adventure?

 Favorite bird.

 This book sets the record for number of times read out of all my books and it was the most unlikely.  I remember standing in an Atlantic Books in Sea Isle City, NJ when I was about a junior in college.  I had called my Dad and asked for a book recommendation - he always has good ones.  When he recommended this one, I snarked but bought it anyway - it was about $3.00.  I read it on the beach and hated it - thought it was the lamest.  Then I read it again on a plane trip....and then I read it again traveling to and from work on the train.  Then I read it again over Christmas holiday the year we lived in Manayunk.  In all honesty, I'm not sure what it is....the simplicity?  The gossip?  It comes back to me now and again - an odd & inexplicable craving for it....but it makes me happy.

I'll leave you with a song....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM

What stupid & silly things make you happy?  

Carpe diem,

J