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February 28, 2010, at 10:00 pm
The end of February in Houston signals the start of rodeo season, which kicks off with a huge barbecue cookoff, a charity 5k/10k to benefit the HLSR Educational Fund, and a parade. This was the second year that I ran the 10k.
I was a rower in high school and college, but despite my athleticism I was never much of a runner. I have tried very hard to like it, but I think I’m just not built for it. So I can’t explain why I would voluntarily do a 10k twice, except that my employer is a major sponsor, it’s a good cause, and the memory of the pain prevents me from registering for something that I’ll hate more. And what’s 10k, if even retirees take up marathoning these days? Surely I can run 6.3 miles.
Last year I trained a lot. This year I trained less often, but at a much faster pace. On race day, my miles averaged two seconds faster than last year — hardly the payoff I was hoping for. Also, I really, really did not enjoy the last half, not even a little. So if I participate next year, I’m moving to the 5k event.
What I do enjoy, however, is strength training. I naturally gravitate toward sloth, so I have to love a sport that involves more rest time than work time. Mark has a long history of powerlifting, so when we moved to Houston we decided that we were going to buy some nice equipment. Our home gym is only about 140 sqft, so of course we bought a power rack that fills a quarter of that space. The rest of the space contains an erg, a cycling trainer, and some kettlebells.
 We don’t have a clock down there, so I was always borrowing Mark’s watch to keep track of my rest time and my sets. The heavier I lift, the less capable I am of counting my sets, even when using the kettlebell abacus (my own invention). The watch worked fine except when it wasn’t here, so he got me one of these:
 It’s a Gymboss. I love this thing, and Mark uses it too. You can use it as a stopwatch (as I did to time my run this weekend) or as an interval timer. You can set a single interval time, or you can set both work and rest intervals, and you can let it cycle indefinitely or for a specified number of sets. In other words, you can set it and then work so hard that you cannot count your own fingers, and never lose track of what you’ve done. It’s tiny, too:
 You can clip it to your shirt or waistband and you’ll never notice it. It runs on a single AAA battery, so you don’t have to worry about finding the right button cell to replace it. Fun fact: that’s why I haven’t worn a watch in about five years — the battery died and Target doesn’t carry the right one. So I just got used to not wearing a watch. Have I mentioned that I’m sort of lazy?
The other thing Mark got me is a weight belt. Once I passed bodyweight on deadlift, it seemed like a good idea. He bought me the same kind that he uses, but since I’m a girl, mine is pretty:
 My strength may not be in running, but I can lift heavy things…while accessorizing.
February 25, 2010, at 10:00 pm
Actually, the website calls it ‘BIZARRE vintage jewel Egyptian SCARAB bracelet’:
 The stone is glass, thought to be Czech, and the piece is estimated to be from the 1920s or 1930s. The scarab is a symbol of good luck, though I’m not sure how lucky you are when your occupation is pushing a poo ball across the desert. Regardless, I would rock this one-of-a-kind piece so hard.
‘BIZARRE’? Nay, I think you meant ‘AWESOME.’
February 23, 2010, at 10:00 pm
Sometimes cheap is good. Sometimes better is better!
 One of the brands that shows up semi-regularly on Editor’s Closet is Whiting & Davis. I always ‘ooh’ over something, but the prices tend to be amazing and most of the bags I like go quickly. This time I splurged a little (where ‘splurged’ means ‘spent more than $30′) because I can see this bag doing duty with a wide range of outfits. The strap can fit over my shoulder, clip like a wristlet, or be taken off. Best of all, the size is what I’d call ‘essentials plus’ — I can fit cash/cards, my phone, a compact, lip gloss, and a couple other small items. I love small bags but hate having to edit the contents!
Someone keep me away from the next sale! Unless it includes this bag, in which case I’ll take one of each color.
February 21, 2010, at 10:00 pm
When I was a kid, my family drove to South Carolina every summer for a week at the beach. I can imagine that it’s probably a massive challenge to minimize the whining and fighting between kids during a 12-hr car trip, but my mother is a master of the art of the bribe. My sister and I were each allowed some magazines and a new tape for our walkmen, and we couldn’t start using either until we got onto the highway. After that, once an hour, we were given a wrapped surprise — usually candy, a puzzle book, something like that. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I loved it when she surprised me by resurrecting this tradition when we drove from Albany to Maine in September 2009. :)
Now that I’m married, most of my roadtrips are with Mark. We usually just listen to NPR, but I always have crosswords or sudoku on hand in case I need emergency entertainment. And when we stop for a bathroom break, I’ll sometimes buy candy (admittedly, I always have seasonal candy in the house, but roadtrip candy tastes better!). Since we started visiting hill country regularly, we have found the ultimate rest stop.
Having spent many, many hours of my life on I-95, the NJ Turnpike, and the Garden State Parkway, I am familiar with a wide array of rest stops and convenience stores, and it is my expert opinion that Buc-ee’s is the Cadillac of convenience stores. It inspires well-earned, passionate praise. Do you know what you get on the NJ Turnpike? A dry, shriveled hotdog and a restroom that makes you want to take a shower. Do you know what you get at Buc-ee’s? Fresh kolaches and bathrooms that they brag about on billboards. The billboards, by the way, delight me because they remind me of all of the crazy South of the Border billboards that we kept track of on those childhood trips to SC. Except, when you finally get to Buc-ee’s, it’s not a creepy, cockroach-infested temple to food poisoning. Okay, maybe I never ate at South of the Border, but one detour through it was enough to persuade me that I didn’t need to.
Our usual Buc-ee’s picks are fresh jerky for Mark and fudge for me. It’s a beautiful thing when you enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
 From left: peanut butter & chocolate (top) and butterfinger (bottom), dulce de leche (x2), cookies & cream (x2)
February 18, 2010, at 10:00 pm
We are the first owners of our home, which came with some nice features, but nowhere to put books. We decided to have some bookcases custom-built in the living room. This is what the living room looked like when we moved in:
 There’s some funky perspective happening in that photo, but you get the idea. We thought that wall was a good place for books, so we decided the fireplace should be flanked by floor-to-ceiling bookcases to preserve the tall feeling of the room. We knew we wouldn’t be able to reach whatever was at the very top without a ladder and we have some art items that don’t necessarily fit anywhere in the house, so we wanted the top portion to be a lit display area.
So who was going to build these bookcases? When we moved to Houston, we immediately registered for Angie’s List. If you haven’t heard of it, you must not watch television; if you haven’t used it, you’re missing out. We’ve found a number of excellent service providers through Angie’s List, and we always contribute reviews of local businesses/providers that we love (one month we were the top contributor for Houston, and we got a gift certificate to a local restaurant!). You have to pay for it, but I figure we have saved the membership cost many times over by finding providers who do good work.
Angie’s List has categories for everything, so we started with cabinet makers. We saw a lot of photos and read a lot of reviews, and got an estimate from DJ at Quality Millwork (nothing to see there yet, but if you’re in Houston and need something built, there’s your contact info). He told us how much business has increased since he started getting ratings on Angie’s List, which is good incentive for me as the customer to write a positive review for someone whose work I like.
Anyway, he took measurements, did a sketch, wrote an estimate, and we sent the deposit. We went out to his workshop to see the bookcases before they were painted and give him the paint chip, and we were pretty excited. Finally they were painted and the day arrived for installation!
Then we hit the first snag. The bottom cabinets were installed, but the workers couldn’t get the shelving sections around the angles in the stairs that go up to the living room. There was nothing to do but cut them apart, hide the seam with decorative molding, and try again another day. This was not what we had expected or wanted, but devoid of other options we agreed, and waved goodbye to the bookcases as they headed back to the shop.
There is a famous quote about laws and sausages — that it is best not to see them made. I would amend that to ‘laws, sausages, and anything you’ve hired someone to do to your perfectly good home,’ and after overhearing all sorts of power tool sounds from the safety of my bedroom, I would add that is best not to hear them being made, either. This is what we looked at for the next week:
 It’s hard to see, but there are all sorts of holes and cut-outs and cut-outs that have been reattached and lines on the walls, some with wires protruding. But the cabinets look great!
Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. The size incident was a lucky mistake, because we really like the look of the molding that frames out the bottom of the display area. The electrician that DJ brought did right by us too, by suggesting the right kind of bulbs to suit our needs and positioning them so they wouldn’t shine in our eyes as we sit on the couch. That’s the kind of overlooked detail that thrills me when someone else thinks of it. So, without further ado:
 In conclusion: use Angie’s List. But unless you have an iron stomach, try to be somewhere else when you’re having something that ain’t broke fixed.
February 16, 2010, at 10:00 pm
We spent a long weekend at one of our favorite places, a little farm in Texas hill country:
 Things are pretty laid-back at the farm.
 The locals know how to have fun…
 And they’re always ready to welcome you:
 We couldn’t let the animals have all the fun — we played a little, too:
 All vacations come to an end, and we eventually had to ride off into the sunset (until our next visit).
 I believe in giving credit where credit is due, but if you don’t already know exactly where this farm is, then I ain’t telling, because its booking availability is essential to my inner peace. Sorry. :)
February 14, 2010, at 8:00 pm
(Photo by David Wolfe)
February 11, 2010, at 10:00 pm
I like to cut as many corners on this as I can — that’s what makes it easy:
For a fairly small time and energy investment, I can get two or three dinners and maybe a lunch or two out of this meal.
The fresh ingredients are 1-1.5 lbs of thin-sliced beef (I buy it pre-cut into strips and marked ‘for stir-fry’), a bag of carrot chips, roughly half a pound of either snow peas or snap peas (I like snap peas better), five or six jumbo white mushrooms (or a comparable amount of your favorite mushroom), and a few big cloves of garlic (or more if you really love garlic).
On the nights that I make this, the first thing I do when I get home from work is marinate the meat with lots of soy sauce, a good-sized splash of red wine (any cheap red wine is fine — even cooking wine is good enough), and plenty of powdered garlic and powdered ginger. I stir it all up to make sure it’s coated and add more of the garlic and ginger powders, then stir it up again and maybe add even more. I cover that and put it in the fridge, then take a nap (see, I told you this was easy).
When it’s time to cook, start the rice, or get your spouse to start it because you had a rice cooker when you were single and now you suck at making rice. While that’s cooking, rinse your peas and chop your mushrooms and garlic.
You’ll need some tongs, and a spatula for stirring. Put some oil into the wok and it turn it to med-high/high. I like canola or coconut oil. Coconut oil is good for you and adds a nice dimension to anything you cook in it (I say this as someone who won’t touch shredded coconut, so if you think you’re a coconut hater but you like the smell, try the oil). Add the beef and its juices, then pull all the pieces of meat out when they have cooked and set them aside in a dish. At this point, add the garlic and let it brown a little, then add the carrot chips.
The carrot chips take a while — I usually let them cook seven minutes until they’re just al dente. Add the mushrooms and peas, mix them well to get the mushrooms coated in the juices that are at the bottom of the wok, and let that cook for about two minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, add the cooked meat back in (along with the juices that have leaked out), mix it well, and serve it up on the rice. Dig down to the bottom of the wok with a spoon and drizzle some of the juices over each serving.
If you try this, I’d love to hear how it turned out!
February 9, 2010, at 11:00 pm
I’m still not entirely sure I made these correctly, and I was undecided about whether I liked them until the second day, but I can now say with confidence that these unusual cakes are awesome:
I have been thinking a lot about brown butter lately. We often get brown butter ice cream with dessert at Beaver’s, and I am going to attempt to make some at home, but I had never made beurre noisette before and needed something lower-pressure to start with. A pastry gone wrong is one thing; ice cream gone wrong is another.
Making the brown butter was intimidating, but I used this page as my color guide and I think I nailed it. The thing that threw me when I actually baked the cakes was the amount of melted butter left behind in the muffin wells when I pried them out. The cooling racks were soon dripping with butter:
I wasn’t expecting this, and nothing in the recipe had led me to believe I should, but I really can’t find anything wrong with them (I’ve since done some experimenting with leftover batter and found that if you don’t release them to cool, the butter is reabsorbed!). They’re not quite a muffin, not quite a cupcake, but they’re richer than either one. When they’re hot, the texture is that of a perfectly dressed muffin, dense but laden with melted butter. When they’re cold, the flavor reminds me of Royal Dansk butter cookies. I recommend trying them both ways to compare.
And then trying again just to be sure.
February 7, 2010, at 10:00 pm
This is my best friend, Jes:
 (Why is Lance riding the opposite direction of everyone else?)
I met Jes at my first retail job when I was 16, and we became fast friends. I credit her with my love of cycling — first she taught me to mountain bike, and then she taught me how to ride in a city. (Lately I only ride in a spinning class, but I’m trying to fix that!) She’s one of those rare people who are good at everything they try and can turn any stranger into a friend in seconds, everywhere they go. Being an extreme introvert, I regard the latter ability much the way I regard the ability to run a five-minute mile.
Jes got laid off recently from a job that she was too good for anyway. She’s taking some time to try running her own business, selling handmade aprons and such. If you were here for Thanksgiving, you may have seen a terrible picture of me wearing one of her aprons.
She’s just launched her site and is busy sewing her butt off, but check her out. I’ve put a link in the ‘artists’ section of my sidebar, so you can always come back later when her inventory is full, but she does custom work, too!
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