I found my cardio yoga class - Core Yoga at Yoga People in Brooklyn. It's offered by my favorite teacher twice a week so I have two options to take the class. I am trying to go to the Gentle Restorative Yoga class weekly as well since it is so relaxing and generally needed after I spend the week working on my fitness. Now that I've been a few times, I may try and do it on my own at home which leaves more room on the old yoga card for this Core Yoga class. It is definitely a workout and really helps me focus on strengthening everything.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
20. Dine al fresco 101 times.
My friends, the season is upon us! Spring is just starting to peep out and so eating outside may begin. I met a couple of friends for lunch today and we, each with our little brown bags, sat on a bench in Manhattan and ate lunch in the sun. It was so nice! I look forward to this particular item on the list most of all. Hopefully there will be much more outdoor eating in my future.
Friday, March 5, 2010
47 & 48. Read 202 books/1 non-fiction per month
So I'm back on track with my non-fiction reading. In this case, Sickened is a memoir about a girl who lived for over twenty years being poisoned and manipulated by her mother, only discovering the truth when she started to pick up the pieces of her life on her own. She was taking an abnormal psychology class and heard about Munchausen by Proxy (MBP) and had an awakening.
Julie Gregory tells her frightening and fascinating tale through her memories and if it's possible to believe, the MBP experience is only one of the horrors she experiences. She also remembers the charming moments of her childhood, those that may still seem frightening to the outsider but those that warmed her and shaped her. There were good days too.
I was looking to learn more substantive information about MBP when I read this, since it has come up in a few different articles and things that I've read recently. This isn't a reference book, but it is a really well written memoir that gives some insight into the experience of a child affected by MBP. I definitely want to keep learning about this amazing disorder and am very glad that Julie Gregory put together such an interesting perspective on her life.
Julie Gregory tells her frightening and fascinating tale through her memories and if it's possible to believe, the MBP experience is only one of the horrors she experiences. She also remembers the charming moments of her childhood, those that may still seem frightening to the outsider but those that warmed her and shaped her. There were good days too.
I was looking to learn more substantive information about MBP when I read this, since it has come up in a few different articles and things that I've read recently. This isn't a reference book, but it is a really well written memoir that gives some insight into the experience of a child affected by MBP. I definitely want to keep learning about this amazing disorder and am very glad that Julie Gregory put together such an interesting perspective on her life.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
47 & 48 - Read 202 books and at least 1 non-fiction book per month.
I fell behind in my non-fiction reading for February, but I'm on a roll this month and plan to catch up. This book was a gift from a family member to help me think outside-the-box about what it is I want to do in life other than my 101 things (amazing to think there might be even more than that!). This is an interesting approach to defining and creating yourself as a brand and learning how to market yourself accordingly.
The methods suggested in this book are very Web 2.0 - using the internet and its latest social networking capabilities to establish yourself and your brand and open doors. I am just a bit too old to be Gen Y (defined as starting at 1982), but I feel like I am savvy enough to have learned a lot and to be able to implement some of these techniques as I go forward in building my career.
For those who already have a sense of a personal brand or a strong set of goals, the book can be extremely helpful. I'd say it's a bit light on finding that brand if you're starting from zero, but there are some exercises that will yield results and start the thinking process. All around a very interesting read and a useful new perspective on careers and technology.
The methods suggested in this book are very Web 2.0 - using the internet and its latest social networking capabilities to establish yourself and your brand and open doors. I am just a bit too old to be Gen Y (defined as starting at 1982), but I feel like I am savvy enough to have learned a lot and to be able to implement some of these techniques as I go forward in building my career.
For those who already have a sense of a personal brand or a strong set of goals, the book can be extremely helpful. I'd say it's a bit light on finding that brand if you're starting from zero, but there are some exercises that will yield results and start the thinking process. All around a very interesting read and a useful new perspective on careers and technology.
Monday, March 1, 2010
22. Try 10 new restaurants
I limited my restaurant goal to 10 new restaurants because while I love trying new restaurants, we tend to be homebodies and eat at home more often than not. This past weekend, however, I had a surprise staycation in NYC and got to try a couple of new restaurants that I really liked.
The first was Spice Market which has been on my list forever. It has a mix of Asian-influenced dishes including Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese influences. I had a lovely chicken and coconut milk soup, great chicken samosas, spring rolls and a number of other tasty small plates. The decor is incredible and really transports you out of the meatpacking district and into another world.
The second was Almond, a take on the French bistro. They had a really interesting mix of typical bistro fare such as steak frites and innovative and creative dishes like a homemade cavatelli with shrimp sausage and chick peas. I sampled the cavatelli which was really satisfying and refreshing. Other stars that I really enjoyed (basically everything I ate) included the roasted beet salad with homemade ricotta crostini, salt cod croquetes and the prosciutto and truffle macaroni and cheese. My one critique would be that in an effort to be really luxe and truffle-y, there may have actually been an overload of truffle in the gratin. The dish included chopped truffles (and one really big slice that I uncovered) rather than truffle oil, and dare I say, a little really does go a long way.
I don't think I'll be adding tons of new restaurants at the same rate as I did this past weekend, but should I reach my 10 early, I might add a second round and see how far I get in the 1001 days.
24. Use Crockpot 60 Times
On the snowy day we had at the end of last week, I pulled together a kitchen clean-up crockpot meal that turned out very nicely. I used sirloin steak tips, local red creamer potatoes, onions, green beans and zucchini and made a fairly healthy Red Curry Beef Stew. Look for the post at www.bklynforager.com later this week. It was great for a cold snowy night and heated up very easily to feed us throughout the weekend.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Catching Up
I haven't been quite as good at actually posting the things I'm accomplishing here, but I did up my numbers for the new recipes and new blog posts that have come up. Since I'd rather get caught up quickly than push things off even more for individual posts, I'm going to sum up some things of note.
Books
Back in January, my non-fiction book was Anthony Rapp's Without You. He tells the story of his involvement with Rent from tiny theater workshop through giant Broadway show along with his own personal story during that time which includes relationship struggles and his mother's battle with cancer.
Be forewarned: if books make you cry, like they do to me, you just may cry throughout most of the book. Anthony Rapp has a very easy conversational style of writing which makes a reader (at least this one) get very wrapped up in the emotional roller coaster. I felt extremely invested in his story and really had a hard time putting it down. I spent one afternoon on the couch curled up with the dog and it was entirely worth it.
I also picked up The Whole World Over by Julia Glass. It was a solid novel which dragged a bit too much for me in the beginning, but I was glad that I stuck through it to the end. The story follows a handful of people living in lower Manhattan in the year before 9/11, following life along and learning a lot of the standard lessons along the way. I had high hopes because two of the central characters are in close proximity to food - one a baker who follows a job out of town to be the personal chef for the governor of New Mexico and one a restaurant owner in New York City. There wasn't quite as much food as this reader would have liked, but alas, that was not the purpose. It was an interesting story weaving back and forth across a number of characters which I generally like. Not off the charts, but not a waste of my time either.
Movies
I think we only got one DVD watched in the time since I last posted. It was one of Austin's - Tropic Thunder. This was good for a number of reasons - it is very hard to get him to watch his DVDs and so usually they sit and wait for months at a time. Also, the movie wasn't terrible. I liked what they were trying to do in general. The sense of humor wasn't quite what I enjoy and there a number of gross scenes for the sake of being gross which I also don't appreciate, but I got it and didn't hate it.
Other
As a general wrap up, I have been working on my recipes, my blog posts and my fitness! I am four weeks through the nine week Couch-to-5K program which means I am doing more running than walking these days, although it's still on the light side. I should be on target to complete it in the next five weeks (or maybe a bit longer depending on some intervening events) which is exciting.
Thats really it for now, but I hope to get more done in coming days and will post more regularly as I do.
Be forewarned: if books make you cry, like they do to me, you just may cry throughout most of the book. Anthony Rapp has a very easy conversational style of writing which makes a reader (at least this one) get very wrapped up in the emotional roller coaster. I felt extremely invested in his story and really had a hard time putting it down. I spent one afternoon on the couch curled up with the dog and it was entirely worth it.
I also picked up The Whole World Over by Julia Glass. It was a solid novel which dragged a bit too much for me in the beginning, but I was glad that I stuck through it to the end. The story follows a handful of people living in lower Manhattan in the year before 9/11, following life along and learning a lot of the standard lessons along the way. I had high hopes because two of the central characters are in close proximity to food - one a baker who follows a job out of town to be the personal chef for the governor of New Mexico and one a restaurant owner in New York City. There wasn't quite as much food as this reader would have liked, but alas, that was not the purpose. It was an interesting story weaving back and forth across a number of characters which I generally like. Not off the charts, but not a waste of my time either.
Movies
I think we only got one DVD watched in the time since I last posted. It was one of Austin's - Tropic Thunder. This was good for a number of reasons - it is very hard to get him to watch his DVDs and so usually they sit and wait for months at a time. Also, the movie wasn't terrible. I liked what they were trying to do in general. The sense of humor wasn't quite what I enjoy and there a number of gross scenes for the sake of being gross which I also don't appreciate, but I got it and didn't hate it.
Other
As a general wrap up, I have been working on my recipes, my blog posts and my fitness! I am four weeks through the nine week Couch-to-5K program which means I am doing more running than walking these days, although it's still on the light side. I should be on target to complete it in the next five weeks (or maybe a bit longer depending on some intervening events) which is exciting.
Thats really it for now, but I hope to get more done in coming days and will post more regularly as I do.
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