oops

Tonight's run was going great. I did my first mile in 11 and a half minutes, which is 30 seconds quicker than average. After the 2nd mile I took a few blocks to walk. I had barely started back up again when I got distracted by looking at my phone to change the song that was playing. Before I knew it I was face down on the sidewalk. Ugh. I ended up with a lot less skin on my knees and some blood running down my leg. Fun. I ended up in the bathroom of a fast food chain trying to clean it up. Needless to say, I didn't get to finish the 3rd mile. Very disappointed.
Picture 1 is from before the fall, running along the Charles looking towards Cambridge.
Picture 2 is after the fall, obviously.

on the move

It's official....I'm moving. Not very far, just out of the city that I currently live in. One city over actually. It's a long story why it's happening, well, kind of. Not for blogging really. If you are reading this and have never lived in a large (and incredibly expensive) city, you won't be able to wrap your head around what moving here involves. Being from a not big city/very cheap place to live originally, it still blows my mind a bit. For example, I have a realtor. No, I"m not looking to buy, just rent. Yes, a realtor is almost a must. He emailed me with a place that hit the market yesterday with the first available showing today at 10. It was under priced and getting a LOT of attention. We showed up at 9:45 and the people with their realtors began appearing. It was crazy and we were actually laughing about the ridiculousness of it all. When talking to him last night he said that we might need to be ready to offer more than the rent. UGH. Once we got in there I decided that it wasn't for me, but was a great steal. I have another one in the works and had my phone "pre-screening interview" tonight. Wow. This is truly crazy.

In the last 3 nights I have run 9 miles (3 miles each night). Still seems crazy that I actually did it. I almost didn't go tonight, but after dinner I just felt too guilty. I talked myself into just doing 2 and a 1/2, but once I got there I had to get to 3. Seemed silly not to.
The first picture is from last night and the last 2 are from tonight.

New dinner experiment tonight. I got eggplant at the farmer's market today and needed to figure out what to do with it. I"m still not eating gluten and am vegan for the most part. The exception tonight was egg. I was going to make a chia "egg" but went with the real thing. I cut the eggplant into thin slices, dipped it in egg, then cornmeal, then into a hot pan with a touch of olive oil. Here it is served over black lentils with diced tomatoes and fresh basil. Pretty yummy!

3 miles in 36 mins. That was my early evening run tonight. Again, not speedy but feels good that I went that far. My 3 miles ended at the grocery store where I got a HUGE watermelon. I have been making myself eat it all summer trying to like it and I think it worked. So the 5ish block walk home included carrying an 10 extra lbs. Workout bonus!

Tonight's run was 2.5 miles and took 31.41 minutes. While I'm not breaking any speed records, I am running the whole distance.This photo is when I was going through the Public Garden crossing the swan pond. A bit busy with tourists, but still pretty.

Go!

Sport: Running Start Time: Aug 7, 2012 6:42 PM Distance: 4.00 miles Duration: 54m:35s Avg Speed: 13:38 min/mi Max Speed: 9:12 min/mi Calories: 350 cal The app on my phone keeps track of all of this and on the connected website shows my route. I tried to get that on here, but it wasn't working. It was basically down to the river, past the Esplanade (the photo is looking across the Charles to Cambridge), through Beacon Hill, the Boston Common and Public Garden.

Diapers, diapers, and more diapers

There had been rumors about an anonymous diaper donation coming to Cradles to Crayons. Then nothing more was said. I was told that if/when it happened it would be huge. They were right! A few hundred thousand diapers huge. I was able to score 60 cases for the families that are in our program. While that sounds like a lot, it doesn't last long. But we were SUPER excited and extremely grateful. Yes, I fit ALL 60 cases into my car!

Thanks to some new music on my phone I am happy (?) to say that I am back to running. Over the last 2 days I have logged 4 miles. That doesn't count the mile and a half a few days ago and then 2 and a 1/2 that I walked today with a client. I took this photo during the run yesterday. Overcast but nice and cool. Perfect.

I mentioned FoMu in a previous post. Lisa and I went again last night. These are the flavors. ALL DAIRY FREE! They even had vegan sprinkles and gluten free cones! Sounds crazy but it is the best ice cream I have EVER had.

p.s. just realized after posting that you can't actually read any of the flavors. But there are a lot!

Birthday part 2

Saturday I celebrated my birthday with Kim and Meg. I spent the day cooking and they came over for dinner. This is the pesto I made with basil from the backyard, pistachios instead of pine nuts and without dairy to make it vegan. It was awesome! I put it over quinoa corn pasta (gluten free) and mixed in some asparagus and fresh corn. YUM! I also made vegan/raw/gluten free chocolate tarts. They turned out SO WELL. The photo does not do them justice.

After an awesome dinner we went to a show at the Improv Asylum. Lots of laughing. It was a great show.

To celebrate my birthday some friends and I went to Teranga. It is a Senegalese restaurant and was AMAZING! So many choices for vegans! The photo is what I had. Veggies in a tomato-based sauce with rice. We also had fried plantains that were super yummy.

Afterward we headed to FoMu for ice cream. It was delicious, dairy/gluten free, locally made and without refined sugar. No really, it was INCREDIBLE! Some of the best ice cream I have ever had. It was an awesome day followed by hanging out with a friend on Sunday. Birthday part two will take place this coming weekend!

Today Kim and I returned to Rockport for another day of kayaking. The weather was perfect. We worked a LOT harder this time. Totally expecting to be sore tomorrow. Totally worth it. This picture is of the harbor.

I've been a vegetarian for quite some time. I don't remember ever being that much of a fan of red meat. Starting in high school I experimented back and forth with giving up various meat products. Red meat was the first to go. I rarely ate it and even less frequently cooked it. Then there was the very last day. I still remember it. I had made a hamburger in the George Forman grill (remember those things!) and rinsed it off but didn't scrub it. When I returned home after a long opera rehearsal I walked into an apartment that stunk of red meat. That was it. Done. From then on I would eat chicken out sometimes, but rarely cook it. Then it dwindled down to the rare piece of fish. The last creature from the sea that I ate (well, attempted to but couldn't) was a lobster in Maine. It was on the plate staring back at me. Yes, it was dead but it appeared to be watching me! And that day I said good-bye to seafood. While in Nicaragua I ate WAY to much dairy and wheat/gluten. Basically bread/tortillas and yogurt at an attempt to calm my furious digestive system. Since being back I have made yet another dietary change: gluten and dairy free. Not sure if I will stick with it, but I am for now and it's going well. There are plenty of other options. Coincidentally the NY Times had an article about cow's milk last Sunday (we really aren't made to have it). Check it out HERE. Tonight I tried the above product for the first time. Mac and cheese that is made from brown rice pasta and dairy free "cheese." While it isn't your typical, it's pretty good and I feel good about eating it. I'm currently reading Fair Food. It's basically about how messed up our food system is. If you didn't realize that, you need to read this NOW! Also a recent read (highly recommend, it will blow your mind), The End of Food.

Very early into my trip we took a day adventure to the Somoto Canyon. The plan was to hike (with a guide, of course) and then once at the end we'd get in and float back to the beginning. Imagine my surprise (I wish there was a photo of my face when I was told this) when less than a mile in we were told to swim across a fairly quick moving river. Um, ok. I needed a bit of help, but did make it over. This photo is of me floating back to the start. It was probably a 20ish minute float back.

I went to see my amazing herbalist yesterday. They whipped me up a concoction that they conveniently put in these little pouches. While they are very helpful and work wonders, they taste TERRIBLE. I try to make it a little more fun with the fancy straw. Three a day for three more days. Bottom's up.

An added bonus of travel? Spending 6 hours in the emergency dept last night. Not sure if i caught something while away or when i got back but it was pretty bad. After a day of kayaking and fireworks with friends Wednesday I started feeling really achy. Not the post-kayak achy, but achy all over and just not feeling right. Thursday morning I could barely get out of bed. I finally drug myself to my office where I lasted all of about 2 hours (1 of those hours asleep in a conference room). I went in for an acupuncture session then headed home. I just kept feeling worse and realized that something was really wrong when my temperature read 104.5. That convinced me that something needed to be done, fast. I went to the hospital and once they heard that I had recently been to Central America they placed a mask on me and took me back. The evening started with 2 liters of IV fluids. After the training paramedic finally gave up trying, someone else got the IV in. There are many, many marks on my arm to show his attempts. I had a chest x-ray and a million other tests done. It took quite awhile for the fever to go down, but finally did. Everything that they tested came back normal and they all seemed pretty shocked. While it was good, I still have no idea what was wrong. Eventually they decided to send me home. Today I've been resting, except for my visit to my herbalist, and plan to do the same tomorrow. Pretty scary stuff and nothing that I want to ever repeat!

here we go!

In less than an hour I will be on my way to the airport. This is a photo of Managua the part of Nicaragua that I am flying into. I am completely anxious/nervous/excited/worried and a million other things. Thank goodness for an extra long acupuncture appointment this morning! I guess I'd better pack!

While driving between clients today I started thinking about all the different languages that I hear in a week. Not sure what made me think about it, but I was almost surprised at the answer. I have families that speak one or more of the following languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Creole, Bengali, Russian, German, Serbian, and Mandarin. Quite a list! I am proud to say that I know a few words in a few of those languages. So much for my 4 years of high school French.

Pride 2012

Here are some photos of the massive parade that was yesterday. It was really amazing to see how many people were there. I feel very lucky that I live in a place where this event was so welcome and embraced by the city. It made me think about the people who don't have that. I try never to forget how lucky I am that I can walk down the street holding hands with a girl and no one pays any attention. I even have the right to get legally married. Pretty awesome. And as your can see from the photos, there was a lot of celebrating of all of that.

About 6 months ago I decided that I needed to add exercise to my life. Did I want to? No way. Do I enjoy it? Well, I do after I'm done. I've never been any bit athletic and people throughout my life have consistently reminded me of that. Six months ago I walked into the gym for the first time in a really long time. I logged 5 miles on the elliptical. It took just over an hour. Over time I have shaved off quite a bit of time and have done it in as little as 51 mins and 44 seconds. Two weeks ago I faced a new challenge: running outside. A friend asked me to go with her and while completely sure I couldn't handle it, I went. We ran about 4.5 miles. I only walked for about 50 yards. When we made it back to her house I was exhausted but so proud of myself...and a bit shocked! Two days later I did 3 miles. Yesterday I returned to the scene of the crime. I decided to do the loop that I did with my friend. It was rough, but I did it with about the same amount of walking. I was almost back to my starting point and realized I was just shy of 5 miles. So, I circle the block and made it 5 miles! Unfortunately, the running has left me with an injury. I see my acupuncturist tomorrow to assess it. If you live anywhere near Boston and hear screaming tomorrow night, it will be me as she works on me. She's amazing, but the body work is incredibly painful. The photo was as I was running back across the bridge into Boston.

Even the fountains are preparing for gay pride week in Boston!

That's right. We totally went here and did the tour....

A delicious batch of dinners for the week. This is a new recipe that I tried tonight. I like something that is basically dumping things into a pan and putting it into the oven. This was exactly that. Check it out for yourself here.

Red Sox

Last night was my very first Red Sox game! While I have been to many Celtics games, this was my first Fenway experience. It was pretty fun, but MUCH slower paced than basketball. It was over FOUR HOURS. The photos were from our seats (except the 1st one)

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Cradles Photos

This place is SUPER organized. Each bin is labeled with the size/sex of clothing or the toy's appropriate age, etc. It's my dream! The 2nd photo is the station where I was. We emptied bags of donated clothes and made sure they were in top condition. It was amazing to see just how much gets donated.

Cradles to Crayons

Today I volunteered for the 2nd time at Cradles to Crayons. Cradles is one of the most amazing organizations that I have ever come in contact with. It started when one woman realized how many kids go without basic essentials like clothes, shoes, books, and even toys. Since the early 2000s it has grown to fill a 35,000 sq. ft. warehouse. Everything is donations. There are strollers, books, clothes, toys, blankets, bottles, shoes, etc. It is an overwhelming place to see. I am the Cradles contact person for my office and each month put in an order. The clinicians I work with fill out forms of what their clients need. I submit these orders online and within a week get word that the order is ready. While they can't always fulfill everything, they do a pretty awesome job. I always leave there with my car packed to capacity. They serve over 300,000 kids in Massachusetts each year. There is also a division in Philly. They rely on volunteers and have over 20,000 of them each year. I took a few pictures to show just how massive (and incredibly organized) this place is. It truly is a savior for so many of the families that we work with.

It was that kind of day....lots of rain. Perfect for wellies. Home visiting without them? No way.

When I get time, and the motivation, I make a special snack for my Monday group. The babies in the group are anywhere between 7 and 15 months. I make things that are easy but healthy. It's a nice opportunity to talk healthy food and eating with the parents and hopefully inspire them to try something new. Tonight I made waffles with beets inside. I cheated using canned beets and waffle mix. I mashed the beets with a fork (probably should have pureed them to make it smoother) and made the mix according to the directions. However, I slowly added the water. It didn't need as much as recommended due to the juice of the beets. We'll see how they go over. The small container is the remaining beets that I pureed for the younger babies.

Due to a busy week I did some prep tonight. A whole tray of baked veggies (red peppers, garlic, asparagus, mushrooms, and brussel sprouts), and a container of quinoa. I love knowing that everything is ready to go and easy to grab. Carrots in small containers to eat in the car. A small container of mixed fruit for each day. Also for in the car. I drive a lot during the day and need things that travel well. l (

patriots day/marathon monday

Thanks to Patriot's Day I had today off. It was 80 degrees and sunny which was perfect for a 3 and a half hour walk. Okay, maybe there was a brief stop to buy new sandals and 30 or 40 minutes of lying under the trees in the park. This week I am house sitting, but this time I also have the dog. Max was part of the journey today. We even took another half hour walk tonight!
Photos are a few places we were.