Sofie - Thanks, Matt for taking such a great pic!

 Bear - rompin'

 Bear front - Sofie back - rompin'

 CP is a playground when it snows

Winter wonderland

 Bear right, Sofie left

 Bear licked inside my mouth

Monday, February 11th, 2013

Good morning, folks!  Lots-o-pictures today!  These pictures are all from Saturday morning.  This morning it was raining too hard for me to go to the Park :(

This weekend was fantastic (you all know I love snow)!  It had been snowing hard all day long - beautiful view of it swirling all around from my 14th floor window. 

I left work late despite all the "impending disaster talk."  I had to work on my ACE &  I was pretty sure I could make it 3 blocks.  Quite a bit had accumulated by the time I left & so Brian and I took the doggies for a quick walk while I took off from working out.  (I usually take Fridays and Mondays off - though I work pushups & abs on Mondays).    Brian and I made ravioli and hung out while Nemo built up some force outside.  Around 10pm I decided I just had to go out for a walk.  Had to.  I took Bear with me, though he made me cut it short because he was shivering by Park avenue.  I enjoyed a beautiful, quiet, walk through the snowy streets.  It was so lovely to be out when it was so deserted.

On Saturday we woke up early and took the dogs to the Park.  It was a most joyous scene.  Sledders, kids, parents, happy dogs, happy people everywhere.  I had a big smile from the minute we started our walk to the end.  There was about 6 inches - maybe? - of snow.  Significant.  When we got home we warmed up with coffee & egg & cheese sammies.

I worked on my ACE for awhile then worked out ridiculously hard at the gym on the treadmill.  I didn't realize that I had accidentally set the incline on 2% and so I was working for 60 minutes.  By the end I literally lost vision out of my left eye for a minute - I haven't had that happen since BASKETBALL days!!!!  Don't worry - I think it's some weird thing that happens when you work out really hard.  You sometimes lose hearing out of 1 ear or sight out of 1 eye for a few seconds.  I realize that sounds like a stroke - lol -  but it's really not - I know others that it happens to. 

So then I had lots of endorphins going, came home, walked ruppies, then I made lentil soup (round 2 of that soup I posted about a week ago - so good), and Brian made himself homemade crabcakes - which he thoroughly enjoyed.  We then watched one of the best movies I've ever seen (top 15) also - it's a Norwegian film called "King of Devil's Island."  It's about a Norwegian island called Bastoy that is basically a prison for "troublemaker" boys.  It's also based on a true story.  This prison was extremely harsh - sleep deprived them - deprived them of food - and worked them nearly to death.  The guy who ran the prison was also a major as*hole.  He looked the other way when some of the weaker boys were raped by another really bad guy who ran the disciplining/punishment.  Well a new boy gets sent to the Island whose not having any of it.  He fights back and inspires the rest of them to stand for what's right.  It was great - I highly recommend it.

Sunday morning we slept in and then went running in the Park then made chili and cornbread.

Booya.

Great weekend.

Carpe diem,

J

Friday, February 8th, 2013
*I'm aware I look a little creepy in the top pic - Bear looks cute so I figured I'd post it :)

Good morning!  A snowy morning is a good morning!  It was already snowing hard and sticking this morning at 6am.  The pictures make it look like it's not snowing - but it was actually snowing really hard.  I'm not sure why my camera couldn't get it.  I'm sure you have all heard about the "mega super crippling terrible snow storm" that is headed our way (by "our" I mean the North East).  Let me just start by saying I am totally psyched for this storm.  I always find it humorous when people make big deals out of snow - ok - yea it can be a problem - but seriously?  You mean to tell me you don't want an excuse to not go to work, sleep in, make pancakes, and play in the snow????

Every single adult who hears the doomsdayers harping on about the snowstorm secretly is fantasizing it's epic enough to lose like a week of work.  Don't even tell me that's not true!!

What they say out loud to one another:
"Darn this snow!  It's just very inconvenient.  I'd like to get to work and carry on with the important, pressing things I have to do."

What they're actually thinking:
"Could this storm be as big of a disaster as the weather channel says?  If only it could be bigger - then I'd get off even more work.  I would love an excuse to do nothing but hang out and eat pancakes and build snowmen.  I wish it weren't wasted over a weekend and tomorrow was a Monday."  

I know it is!  We're all back in our 10 year old days when you'd get an awesome snow day from school. 

Since my work is the kind which can be done literally anywhere - I have no excuses - but I'm still hoping! 

Carpe diem,

J

Thursday, February 7th, 2013

Good morning!  I was treated to a breathtaking sunrise this morning in the Park.  The pictures are beautiful, yet I still don't think they captured the morning fully.  Those streaks of pink extended way far across the sky - I didn't have enough camera to get it.  The top sunrise pic is around 6:34 and the bottom is around 6:40.  It was just an explosion of color.  The very top picture is Sofie - in case you were wondering :)

I'm in the midst of my ACE right now - that is "Admission to Candidacy Exam."  This basically means that I have to come up with my own novel idea and propose how I would test it, how it fits into the literature, and why there's enough evidence to support my hypothesis.  It starts with an outline - you do that between the months of January and March.  Then you write a full proposal, and then you defend your proposal orally while getting grilled by a bunch of people who want to see whether you deserve to remain in the program.  Basically every day now I just wake up, walk the dogs, work out, then read, write, think, and drink coffee until around 7 - at which point my eyes are glazed over and I can no longer form sentences.  This morning literally the first thing I thought of when my eyes opened was my idea.  It's hard to think about anything else right now - I think I sometimes seem far away when people talk to me - and it's true - I'm just not really great at paying attention to anything else right now. 

Sometimes when Brian asks me about my day it reminds me of a scene from this show I like called The Big Bang Theory.  Leonard's character is a physicist and his girlfriend is an ER doctor.  Over dinner, Leonard asks his girlfriend how her day went.  She replies with all of the amazing things she did and people she saved in the ER.  When she asks him about his day he replies: "Well I thought about stuff."  When she gives him a ridiculously look like he didn't actually do anything he follows up with: "Well I wrote some of it down!"  LoL.

and on that note...I'll leave you for my reading & thinking about stuff.

Carpe diem,

J 

Wednesday, February 5th, 2013

Good morning, folks!  These pictures are actually from yesterday morning's winter wonderland.  Yesterday was one of those days I wait all year for - seriously.  I've been working out after walking the dogs of late, and so I've been getting up a little earlier than usual.  Yesterday when my alarm went off at 6am, I immediately rolled over and reset it for 6:40 - "Screw running." 

*Immediate brain punishment*

"Ok, fine I'll just get up." 

When I walked outside, I was delighted to find it snowing and wintry outside.  YES.  I LOVE SNOW.  This is one reason why I don't think I could ever live permanently somewhere hot - I don't love bitter cold, but I love snow and mountains.  I don't have mountains here, but at least I got a little snow yesterday. 

So I walked to the Park and when I got there, it was dark and deserted and beautiful and quiet.  The sky was a little grayish purple.  Heavy, low, and filled with snow.  I imagined I was wandering along in the woods of Bend, OR - snowshoeing perhaps.  Or maybe had just fallen through the back of the Wardrobe and had ended up in Narnia.  Either way - for an hour yesterday, I was somewhere else - somewhere magical - accompanied by a troupe of small, joyful dogs who were sharing in my euphoria. 

Yesterday morning will stay with me for awhile - tide me over when NYC's frustrations threaten to get the best of me.  It's morning's like that that reinforce why I get up early - why I treasure that part of the day with my pups. 

Carpe diem,

J

Monday, February 4th, 2013

Ok, folks.  I know.  This is a dog blog.  But I've been cooking lately - what can I say I've been inspired.  This recipe is not easy, but so, so worth it (especially if you really love garlic, which I do).  We didn't add the sharp Asiago because I forgot to get it at the store, but it would have made such a difference - the saltiness would have paired perfectly.  It was a perfect hearty winter night's meal.  The beans add so much heartiness that you really don't need as much pasta - which is a good thing - less carbs. 

By the way, let me go ahead and recommend both of the things I posted yesterday.  The soup may be the absolute most ridiculously wonderful thing I've ever made.  It's incredible.  And I KNOW soup.  Of all the things I make - I make SOUP.  Sarah tasted it tonight and what she said sounds kind of "foodie" but it's true - it's just got dimension.  A lot of dimension.  

Vegetarian Recipe #6 - Pasta & White Beans with Garlic Rosemary Olive Oil

2 smallish carrots or 1 big carrot - peeled and chopped big
1 celery stalk - chopped
6 cloves of garlic - leave em' whole
1 small onion - chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups water
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 14oz can white beans - I used Navy beans
1 tablespoon finely minced rosemary
1lb pasta - your choice
pinch red pepper flakes
salt/pepper to taste

Combine the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes and pulse in the food processor until it's not quite pureed but finely chopped up. 

Add 1/4 cup olive oil into a large sauté pan or wok.  Heat up the oil then add your vegetables from the food processor.  Cook for about 8 minutes until some of the moisture has evaporated and the vegetables have taken some color.

Add the tomato paste and a cup of water and cook about 10 minutes until almost all of the water is absorbed.  Then add the can of beans (that had been drained and washed) and 1.5 cups of water.  Simmer about 15 minutes and add salt & pepper to taste. 

Just when the sauce is about done, take 1 cup and puree in the food processor - this thickens the sauce dramatically. 

Add your pasta (cooked al dente), and stir into your sauce.  Serve hot and garnish with a little of the minced rosemary and sharp asiago cheese. 

I adapted this recipe from the Wizard of Cooking Deb Perelman over at The Smitten Kitchen

You can check out her version of the recipe here:
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/01/pasta-and-white-beans-with-garlic-rosemary-oil/

Sunday, February 4th, 2013

Hello folks, it's been quite the weekend.  I worked a full 8 hours yesterday only to finish seeing that my massive experiment didn't work.  yaay.  So I felt depressed and went home to pizza and a movie with Brian.  We watched the Swedish version of "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo."  It was awesome.  This morning our friend Brendan came to see us and run the New York Road Runner's Gridiron Classic - a 4miler in Central Park.  It was race #1 of my 9+1 to the NYC Marathon commitment.  I saved a little Cocker Spaniel that ran into the race away from his owner and was headed out of the Park in a panic.  I still finished in 28:39 - booya. Then I cooked - to stave off feelings of dread for the tomorrow that is analyzing shit data and then showing it to my boss. 

Vegetarian Recipe #4 - Spiced Red Lentil & Tomato soup

2 carrots
3 celery stalks  
3 cloves garlic
2 small onions
1 bay leaf
11/4 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked spanish paprika
dash cayenne pepper
1.5 cups red lentils
salt & pepper
14 oz can diced tomato
5-6 cups vegetable broth

Sauté garlic & onion for about 5 minutes in olive oil.  Add celery & carrots (chopped), and cook an additional 3-4 minutes.  Add spices & bay leaf & stir.  Add the diced tomatoes + water, then the vegetable broth, then the lentils.  Bring to a boil then simmer 15 mins when the lentils will be tender & fluffy.  Red lentils break down and soften very quickly - the soup will be thick like a stew. 

*This is adapted from the lovely veggie lady at OhSheGlows.com

Here's my pictures:

Then I made another thing! 

Vegetarian recipe #5 - Sugar & Spice Candied Nuts

I'm not sure this is healthy or anything, but I never said it had to be.  I'm planning on putting these on some vanilla bean ice cream this evening.  They're f*cking really good.  'Scuse my French

1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
pinch cayenne pepper + pinch of smoked paprika
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 lb of walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds (I used walnuts)
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
dash of vanilla

Beat the egg white, water, and vanilla until it's frothy.  Coat your nuts evenly (hee hee), and then toss with the sugar and spice mixture until it's evenly coated.  Bake in the oven at 20 minutes or so at 300, tossing frequently. 

My picture doesn't do them justice but you can check out the recipe that I adapted from Deb Perelman at the Smitten Kitchen

Carpe diem,

J

Friday, February 1st, 2013

Good morning!  Well folks, we've made it to February.  I'm in the thick of lots of work & school stuff.  The ACE has officially started and I'm working on that every day.  I also have been going in late at night to work to do some things for experiments I have going.  Today (and tomorrow) :( will be busy days.  Sunday I'm running the NYRR Gridiron Classic as my first official race of the 9+1 series! 

I'm now in need of coffee....need...coffee..

Carpe diem,

J