Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Brand new me....

Quick post...

After a melt down over a molasses cookie recipe, courtesy of humidity and too little a/c, William and I made our way up to Salon Aqua Blue where our friend, Misha, is a hairdresser.  Having grown up with a hairdresser for a mom, there's pretty much nothing I won't do to with my hair....and after having grown it out to be something that other people wanted me to be, I finally decided to take the plunge and be MYSELF again!!!!  Thank you thank you thank you Misha for your amazing work!!!  New attitude! :)

Monday, June 28, 2010

Lazy Sunday....

After spending most of the last few weekends living at the gym or on the road, we finally got to enjoy a lazy Sunday yesterday!  William got up and worked out and I finally slept in past 8am...it was GLORIOUS!  I didn't, however, get around to posting pictures from my culinary adventures two weeks ago, nor did I get around to baking everything I'd intended....but William reminded me, it's not a contest, and I shouldn't put pressure on myself.  It SHOULD be fun, right?  Right.  Even if it's not a competition, I'm competitive with MYSELF.  In any case, we had our reception in Austin Saturday night and had plenty of leftovers, so I restricted the baking to one type of cookie---Peanut Crisps.  Will I make them again?  Probably not.  They got good reviews from my taste tester, but...meh.  I didn't like the way they turned out.  NEXT! I'm thinking....oatmeal raisin and maybe some shortbread!  :)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Perfection. Far from it.

I'm a perfectionist.  I freely admit it.  Which is why, after committing myself fully to training for my last show, it hurt so badly to end up where I did.  With a physique that was much improved over last season.  Unfortunately, I put everything else after my training, including 1. my new marriage, and 2. getting settled into my new home.  Can I do it over?  Of course not.  Can I change what I'm doing going forward?  Absolutely.  A few things I learned last weekend...

-Wherever I end up in the placings, judges can't take away the kind of person I am.  I'm a lot of things, and defeated by opinions shouldn't get me down.

-I have the world's most supportive husband, who would do anything and everything to make me happy.  And I, sadly, have yet to return the favor.

-My relationship with my brother and sister in law is vastly improved from a few years ago, and going to Milwaukee and visiting after the show was the highlight of my weekend.

-Eric is dead on at sacrifice flies on the softball field. :)

-When buying a "joint gift," it's better to wait until closer to the one recipient's birthday...ha ha...you know who I'm talking to! :)

-Training needs to fit in with life, and not the other way around.

-I'm still the same person, regardless of where I end up.  And I have a lot to offer, things that some people will never have a chance to see, nor care about.

-My team and coach set a new precedent when it comes to support.

-I'll always be my own worst critic.

With that...

If I had permitted my failures, or what seemed to me at the time a lack of success, to discourage me I cannot see any way in which I would ever have made progress. Calvin Coolidge

Here's to making progress.  They can knock me down, but they can't take me out.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Martha/Ryan

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.”--- Robert Fulghum

Martha/Ryan doesn't have quite the same as Julie/Julia....nevertheless, I'm going to borrow the idea from the author of the book in order to complete my pursuit of cooking every cookie recipe from the Martha Stewart Cookie Book.  With modifications, of course.  I won't be baking cookies every day, nor trying to make it through a cookbook with over 500 recipes in a year's time.  This goal seems a little more reasonable, and like Robert Fulghum said....it'd be a better world if we had cookies and milk, right?  So if you're in the Austin area, and it's the weekend, chances are if you swing by our place, there'll be a few different varieties of cookies available for the taking!

First up, which I've made before (and smell DELICIOUS!) are Chunky Peanut, Chocolate, and Cinnamon Cookies.  I'll post a finished product picture tomorrow...because I'll also be baking the Pistachio Lemon Drops and Peanut Crisps.  Super excited!  I'm also going to try baking a cranberry walnut bread with a yeast mix, which will take a bit longer for the entire process....and mixing in one last leg workout before Chicago!  Also...treating myself with a trip to two different libraries---the best, Bee Cave, and APL, which is currently holding the first two Agatha Christie novels....short and sweet!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Home Again!

There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again. Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

So....Aunt Penny called me out this weekend. :)  She said she happened to notice I hadn't posted much recently!  I suppose, then, that this is dedicated to my little Penelope. ;)

The purpose of my visit was to drive into Wenatchee with my parents to Siobhan's wedding shower, and to see my Aunt Patsy.  Coincidentally, Riley, Ben, and Abby have birthdays near each other, so I was able to celebrate their birthdays on Sunday afternoon!  Friday and Saturday were both jam-packed with activities (or driving) and Sunday was no different!  Luckily, Monday was an opportunity for my parents and I to relax and catch up.  I even got a little cooking and baking in! 

I had an entire early Father's Day menu planned, but my dad decided he was craving spaghetti.....which happens to be one of my favorite things to cook.  Granted, it's a super easy recipe and I add a few extra ingredients, but it leaves the house smelling yummy and tummies full.

I also tried out a new ice cream pie recipe from Taste of Home's summer magazine....Dark Bottomed Ice Cream Pie.  Gingersnap crust, chocolate, chocolate and vanilla ice cream....I heard a lot of "mmm..." from my parents!

Mom and I got to do some of the things we used to do---hang out at River Park Square, run out to Target, stop at Starbucks with Dad on Sunday morning---and the only thing that could have made the trip better was having my husband there to share some of the moments with!  But...how fortunate am I to have TWO homes?!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Scaredy Cat

“Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something."
--- Frederick Smith

Yesterday was the first time in a long time I've had negative thoughts in my head, directed at my ability to complete a task.  I know this may sound a bit silly, but it rattled me!  As I was sitting at the dining room table, figuring out how to put together a sewing project, that little voice in my head said, "Wow.  That's brave of you to do for your first project in a long time....without any help.  Maybe you should have picked something a little....simpler?  One that you won't quit?  Or maybe you'll just quit that project like you've quit the others?"  See...I'm not a quitter.  Or at least....the things that are most important to me, I refuse to quit at.  I've stayed in relationships past their date of expiration just because I didn't want to quit.  I've stayed up til the wee hours of the morning trying to get papers done, or projects, or baking, and ended up getting run down and sick because of it.  More recently, I've allowed myself to stop reading a book if it hasn't captivated my attention within an hour or so, but even that has been a struggle for me lately....I look at Amazon.com at the reviews and think to myself:  "If everyone else enjoys it, why am I having a hard time?!"

My attention span these days is very short.  I tend to start and not complete tasks when I get closer to a competition, not because I don't want to complete them, but because I simply don't have the energy to do it, or I start in on something else.

I know that there are so many things that I've accomplished and that I haven't quit....so why am I focusing my energy on the things that I have a difficult time with????

I've been baking up a storm, lately.  Sunday included peanut butter cookies, made with whole wheat flour and honey.  Root beer bundt cake.  Cranberry pecan bread.  Monday was bran-blueberry muffins, and this morning, I baked two loaves of banana walnut bread.  Our house smells AMAZING!





On a positive note, I'm traveling to Spokane for the first time since we moved.  I make it sound like I haven't been there in months!  In reality, it'll have been about 5 weeks?  Hee hee.  Time flies when you're dieting and living at the gym!