Traveling in the Modern Age

Warning: This is definitely going to get a bit "in my day, we walked barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways, just to get to the car..."

As many of you likely did, we've been traveling this weekend for Thanksgiving. We went up to spend the holiday with my mom's family in Tacoma - which is fortunately a shorter drive for me now (about 2.5 hours) than it was coming from eastern Washington.

But when I was kid, we'd often travel to relatives' houses - about 6.5 hours across the state to Tacoma for my mom's side, and a couple hours up to Spokane for my dad's side. Our biggest vacation trips were also via car - we drove to California and to Texas on summer trips.

How did my sister and I keep busy on those long drives? We had a lot of books to read (both of us were avid readers from an early age, and eventually were big into Agatha Christie mysteries). We listened to NPR and tapes from NPR shows, specifically Car Talk and Prairie Home Companion. We played car games like the alphabet game, and had Klutz activity books and kits (in particular I remember a travel game one, that included parcheesi with little sticky cubes for the pieces that stuck to the board). 

When traveling today, I'll admit to being a bit too reliant on my phone for entertainment (when not the one driving) (though, smartphones also have some important uses while traveling, too!). But I'm trying to use the time instead to be engaged in conversation with Abe, listen to the radio, and read actual books.

This got me thinking about what we'll do when we have kids. Do kids these days ever not stay occupied with electronics on road trips? I see movies playing in vans virtually all the time! I hear parents talking about ipads for their toddlers. Do these kids even know how to entertain themselves? 

It seems like families focus more on not letting their kids get bored during a road trip - but what better opportunity for several hours in the car than to teach your kids how to occupy themselves and their minds? Easier said than done of course, as I have yet to have to up with a kid in a van for a day! But I'd like to think it can still happen.

The Introvert's Thanksgiving

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I have much to be thankful for, including a loving and supportive family, but I must say, I am thoroughly exhausted at this point, after a mere 8 hours or so in a small-ish house full of relatives. It did start out quite enjoyable, but by the end of the evening it was all I could do to keep from yelling "I don't care!" to anyone trying to show me the latest vacation book.

It actually wasn't too difficult to find my non-peopled space at family gatherings - my sister and I were both known bookworms, so curling up with a book in a corner of the living room was far from strange. Nowadays, as an adult, I think it would be a bit stranger to isolate from the group with an actual group. It does seem ok to occasionally pull out my phone, but there just wasn't much space to actually get away from the ongoing conversations even while doing so.

Fellow grown--up introverts: how do you make sure you have enough space at family events without insulting anyone?

My History of Blogs

I have no idea how I initially came across it, but I know the first blog I ever read and subscribed to was Zen Habits. That is, now, I realize it's a blog. At the time, in my mind it was merely a "website", and it seemed pretty nifty that you could "subscribe" and get an email whenever they added new stuff to it.

Sometime after that, I also came across The Minimalists and Miss Minimalist. (Any guess where my interests lay at the time?) It was around here that I realized the concept of a "blog", and that that's what these websites were. 

Eventually my interest shifted slightly, and my knowledge of the blog world started to expand, and I started subscribing to many many blogs, primarily in the arena of environmentalism and reducing plastic. One of these, My Plastic-free Life, has a challenge to follow her lead and track your own plastic trash and share it on a forum on the site. 

I finally decided to start my own blog - about environmentalism, called Weighing the Waste. I enjoyed the topic, and was making connections with bloggers with similar topics, but started to feel constrained, so started a second blog to track the 30 Before 30 list I had started. (Most of those posts I've copied over to this blog with original publish dates, since I deleted the other blog - the handful of posts prior to July 2012 are originally from the 30 Before 30 blog.)

As time passed, I realized that I was more and more often reading and commenting on blogs that fit in to the genre known as "healthy living blogs" (aka HLBs) (and had taken up running as a real hobby). When I signed up for a summer "best body bootcamp" challenge, I decided to start yet another blog to document that. I chose the name "Balancing Meanderings", though, specifically to allow myself the flexibility to take it in other directions in the future.

If I had to classify it now, I guess I'd still called Balancing Meanderings an HLB/fitness/running blog, but I've definitely been enjoying using the platform to explore other things, such as feminist musings and rants, and talking about every day life.

As I'm exploring potential new niches within the blog, I wanted to get some feedback from you guys. Though in some ways this is essentially my diary (and running journal), and I'd likely enjoy and continue writing even if I didn't think I'd have any readers, it really does add a lot to try to make this a conversation and community!

With that in mind, I wold greatly appreciate if you would provide some tangible feedback by answer a short survey: here. It should only take a couple minutes - it's just ten questions, and three of those are optional comment boxes just in case you want to expand on your multiple-choice answers. Thank you in advance!

What was the first blog you ever read?

Have you answered my survey yet?

Family Food Traditions

Tonight we had a pre-Thanksgiving meal with Abe's dad and his girlfriend (we have similar dinner plans with his mom for Monday), as we're spending Thanksgiving day with my family. (Our plan is alternate - each side gets one of the major holidays - Thanksgiving and Christmas - each year, and alternate who gets which. His parents are divorced, but fortunately both live in the area, actually both within a 5-mile radius of us, so it's not difficult to share between them, the way it is with my family and relatives spread throughout Washington state.)

So that means his family gets Christmas, and we were discussing some details of Christmas day while at their house tonight. Abe asked what we should bring, and I piped up that I'd bring Nanaimo bars. Though my family has a handful of cookies that we tend to have for Christmas, Nanaimo bars are an absolute MUST! I thought it'd be fun to try to bring that in to my in-laws traditions.

Along with today's NaBloPoMo prompt, this got me thinking about other holiday food traditions. Since I've been vegetarian since high school, the turkey centerpiece doesn't hold much meaning for me (I ate it previously, but it wasn't ever one of my favorite things). I also have a thing with textures, especially anything along the mushy spectrum, so I've also not been a fan of stuffing. Holiday meals, to me, mostly mean three things: rolls, mashed potatoes, and desserts. For Thanksgiving, that dessert is obviously pumpkin pie (the filling's fine, but crust combined with whipped cream is amazing!* For Christmas, it's all about the cookies. Nanaimo bars, hello dollies, spritz, meringues. 

*FYI, my FIL's girlfriend is gluten-free, and the pumpkin pie at tonight pre-Thanksgiving dinner included a premade gluten-free crust from Whole Foods - if I hadn't known it was gluten-free because everyone at the table was eating it, I never would have guessed. If you need a GF crust, I highly recommend it.

Almost more important to me for Thanksgiving is the day after, at least when we're with my mom's side of the family: we get pizza on the Friday after. One year I had a big disappointment, as I spend Thanksgiving with an ex's family, and we went up to join my side the next day. I'd told him about the traditional pizza, and we were both looking forward to it. Our dismay, my family was trying to be nice and held a second Thanksgiving-type dinner for us instead! I think that's probably the most disappointed I've ever been at a holiday meal.

What would be the biggest food disappointment for you on a holiday?

Would You Rather

From Running in Real Life - from a while ago, but it was sitting in my drafts, and I don't have much time left in the day to write something else.

1. Run a race at -10 degrees with slushy roads or 85 degrees with the sun beating down?

85 degrees for sure. I can barely handle running in 30 degrees! I'm sure one gets used to cold weather if you're in it regularly, but even though I don't enjoy running in hot weather, at least I do it often enough to have some idea of how to handle it.

2. Wear running clothes that are way too tight or running clothes that are way too loose?

Too loose, so long as it's pants and not shorts, as loose shorts would cause terrible chafing on my thighs.

3. Have really big upper body muscles or really big lower body muscles? (The kicker here is that whatever you don't choose is super puny.)

Well, since this is sort of a running survey, I guess big lower body muscles, to better facilitate running!

4. Travel to the past to meet your great, great grandparents or to the future to meet your great, great grandchildren?

Hmmm. I think to the past to meet my great, great grandparents, because it's never good to know too much about you future.

5. Watch your favorite sporting event on a nice big TV or watch your favorite sporting event in person but in really crappy seats?

Let's substitute "show" (music or theater) for "sporting event" (since I really don't have a favorite sporting event to watch), and I'd say watch it on a big TV. I'd rather be able to see more detail on the performer's face, than have the experience in person.

Your turn:

1. Run a race at -10 degrees with slushy roads or 85 degrees with the sun beating down?

2. Wear running clothes that are way too tight or running clothes that are way too loose?

3. Have really big upper body muscles or really big lower body muscles? (The kicker here is that whatever you don't choose is super puny.)

4. Travel to the past to meet your great, great grandparents or to the future to meet your great, great grandchildren?

5. Watch your favorite sporting event on a nice big TV or watch your favorite sporting event in person but in really crappy seats?

Brrrrr

Fortunately the 10-day forecast is currently looking more normal for this time of year (highs in the mid-40s to low-50s), but the last week has been crazy! Highs in the low-40s, with some ridiculous winds creating feels-like temps up to ten degrees colder, and lows down into the 20s! Typical winter weather, even into December and January, is more like highs in the upper-30s and lows in the low-30s, so this is ridiculous, especially for November. We usually get a week or so of a cold spell of getting down into the 20s, so I'm curious if this is it for the winter, or if it's going to be in addition to the cold spell that usually happens later on.

As I mentioned in last week's workout recap, I've had a hard time not just curling up on the couch during this cold stretch. I don't feel prepared for running in this! I know, I just said we get it every year, but only for a week, maybe two. The rest of the time it tends to get up to at least 40 during the day for most of the winter, and since I'm an afternoon/early evening runner, I get to take advantage of the warmest part of the day.

I finally, however, went and bought a pair of long running tights - previously I had some capris (which I use for perhaps an overly-broad range of temperatures - from about 40* to 70*) and one pair of fleece-lined pants. The problem with the fleece pants is that they're straight-leg, not tapered, so they let cold air in at the bottom; I bought them anyway, last year, because they came in a "short" length. And yet, I still hemmed them anyway (could have used them at the length they came in, but since cold generally equals rain, the bottoms would have touched the ground and gotten gross). 

So though I might still use those if I ever get myself out the door in 20 degree weather (with knee socks underneath to prevent the draft), for the just-slightly-colder-than-typical 30s-ish I bought a standard pair of running tights - compression, tapered, etc. As I tried them on, I was pondering the best way to hem them (it's difficult, at least with my skill level and machine, to preserve a stretchy hem), as they're a few inches too long (well, probably more than that, I suspect they're supposed to be more "ankle" length; but they're about three inches too long to hit right above my shoe). But luckily they're lightweight enough to just scrunch them up at the bottom, and it's not nearly as much of a nuisance as I expected! And I don't care if it looks dorky, cause, hello, I'm already wearing skin-tight, tapered spandex pants. 

I think I was going to have a point to this post, and discuss winter running clothes. Aside from the long tights - which are particularly important around here, because most of the cold is from wind, not absolute cold temperatures, so one tends to not really need fleece or additional warm layers, just something to block direct skin contact from the wind - it's all about layers. I tend to go with a tank top and long-sleeve (which I'll always push up the sleeves at some point on a run, while in sunny spots, even at freezing temperatures). Gloves, which comes off after the first ten minutes or so. Headband is crucial, as my ears are probably the first thing that feels cold and makes me miserable, even more so than my hands being cold. The headband typically stays on for the entire run, even as I'm taking off long sleeves.

Anyhow, enough rambling. What's your must-have winter running item?

Fours

Survey taken from Erin on Sweet Sweat Life.

Four names people call me other than my real name
Meg (relatives)
Pegatha (online)
Fig (Abe)
maw (at work - we sign off workpapers with our initials)

Four jobs I've had
Store clerk at JoAnn's Fabrics
Office assistant at a mental health clinic
Office assistant at the financial aid office at my college
Tax accountant

Four movies I've watched more than once
Back to the Future
In the Land of Women
Clue
Serenity

Four books I recommend*
Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott (a pen name of Agatha Christie)
Pastwatch by Orson Scott Card
Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Four places I've lived
I've lived in fewer than four (three, to be precise) cities/metro areas, and many more than four dwelling units or specific towns; but I've lived in exactly four counties:
Asotin County, Washington state
Yamhill County, Oregon
Clackamas County, Oregon
Washington County, Oregon

Four places I've been
London

Moscow, Russia

NYC

Sayulita, Mexico

Four places I'd rather be right now
Well, I'm on a comfy couch with my cats and internet access, so I can't complain too much, but I would love to be anywhere that's not freezing outside:
Mexico
Florida
Hawaii
Las Vegas

Four of my favorite foods
Pizza
Ice cream
Bread
Chocolate

Four things I don't eat
Meat
Bread pudding
Avocado
Olives

Four TV shows I watch
Lots of stuff on Netflix, but currently airing shows:
The Daily Show
Bones
Brooklyn Nine Nine
Parenthood

Four things I'm looking forward to this year
New Year's First Run
Continuing triathlon training next summer
Celebrating our first anniversary
Starting TTC

Four things I always say
Non-[  ] (e.g, "Let's go out for non-coffee")
Yeppers
Perfect!
Sure

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First Quarterly Relationship Meeting

Inspired by this post on Offbeat Home & Life (and because I'm an accountant and like lists and goals and agendas), Abe and I decided to hold quarterly shareholder meetings. Basically, the point is to resolve issues - or potential issues - before they become a big deal, and take proactive steps to be constantly improving our marriage. I'm sure this will be even more important when we're balancing our needs with kids, but right now it's really crucial too, as we're still figuring each other out and determining the best way to relate to each other.

We finally had our first meeting yesterday (as we were both at home for the "ice day"). (As this was intended to be three months from our wedding, i.e., October 27, I'm realizing we're both at least a bit prone to procrastination on things like this.) 

A lot of things for this one were merely logistical things related to merging finances and such, like combining car insurance. Others were more emotionally loaded, but I think giving advance notice on the agenda, setting aside a time to talk about it, and then ending the conversation (for now) (i.e., the end of the meeting), provided a helpful venue to discuss them logically, without taking anyone by surprise or being insulted or made to feel inadequate by the topics needing to be discussed. Having a more guided, rather than open-ended, discussion helped us stay on topic and actually accomplish what needed to happen.

We started a shared Google document with agenda items a few weeks in advance, and also added to it during the meeting. I think the general categories will be fairly consistent as we continue our meetings (with "family planning" eventually just being "family" or "children"); it seems to cover the relevant aspects of life in which we need to make joint decisions or join forces on. During the meeting, we established goals for the upcoming quarter, and action items for each of us to take on items discussed.

Agenda Items

• Finances
• Determine amount to spend on charitable contributions for remainder of calendar year 2014.
• Discuss ongoing charitable contributions habits.
• Combine car insurance.
• Set up at least one joint credit card. 
• Relationship
• Satisfaction with sex life.
• Set up some sort of counseling discussions. (Note: we never got around to doing any premarital counseling; we both felt we'd addressed a lot of the common issues via online dating questionnaires and ongoing discussions, so it was never prioritized. But I did want to continue such discussions, especially as we are now looking at having kids and even more important to make sure we're on the same page, or establishing agreeable compromises, in certain areas.)
• Household
• Select wedding and honeymoon photos to print.
• Evaluate division of chores. Is it working for both?
• Community
• Recurring volunteer opportunities to do together?
• Family planning
• What needs to happen/be planned prior to trying to conceive (TTC)?
• Margaret to start on prenatal vitamins
• Review timing spreadsheet with projected cycle dates. (Note: To try to schedule maternity leave as best as possible around my busy season at work, we have a small window for our first attempt at TTC, so this spreadsheet existing isn't quite as OCD is might sound.)
• Start reading books/research about pregnancy, childbirth, and babies. Consider checking out one book per month library to both read?

Goals for upcoming quarter: 

• Have monthly date nights (not with a group or parents/in-laws (much of our social life is hosting game nights and dinners with his parents)).
• Attend tree-planting event in November.
• Have sex X times per week (being a blogger I suppose means one is predisposed to overshare to strangers on the internet, but the specifics of that goal isn't one I'm sharing. :) )

Action items

• Abe: Look into prenatal vitamin requirements and do cost comparisons.
• Margaret: Contact AAA agent for joint insurance options. Add Abe to two specific credit cards.
• Both: Will have two pregnancy books at a time, each reading, making notes, swapping, reading the other, then discuss both.

If you're married or in a long-term relationship, what did you find was the hardest thing in living together or merging life stuff? What's your most important tool to effectively communicate with each other?

I Don't Want to Eat to Live

Today's NaBloPoMo writing prompt was based on the concept of the micromort: a unit of risk measuring a one-in-a-million probability of death. Though more readily applied to instant death scenarios (e.g., skydiving), but can also be used to consider the risks that reduce your life expectancy.

Obviously I've never been, and still am not, living the perfect lifestyle (definitely have a tendency towards laziness and instant gratification that interferes with that!). Over the years, I have, however, increased my desire to develop healthier habits, and have made strides towards accomplishing that. A relaxing day now includes an easy run, not sitting around reading; an enjoyable meal includes a salad in addition to a donut. 

As much I enjoy a bowl of ice cream, or say that my last meal would be french bread and string cheese, I know that it's a problem to "live to eat". Of course there's more to live than just the tangible pleasures of food, and you won't live very long to enjoy those foods if that's really all you focused on.

However, I have people in my life who go to the other extreme. My husband is a fan of Joel Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live*. That book recommends a lifestyle that's exactly what it sounds like: eat foods that have maximum nutrient density (nutrients per calorie). He's (Dr. Fuhrman, and Abe following his advice) all about eating cuploads of kale on a daily basis.

Now, Abe says he enjoys eating kale. And maybe that's true; maybe it always has been, maybe if you eat it you do learn to love it eventually. But the fact of the matter is that, for me, right now, I don't love eating kale. Though I try to fit it in occasionally, it's a burden, not a joy, for me.

Is it worth substituting kale for ice cream? Micromort analysis would tell me to. Not only would it increase my life expectancy in general, but I am dealing with some chronic conditions that would improved by a substantially better diet. But what's the point of increasing your life expectancy if you don't enjoy the prolonged life? Not that ice cream is the end all and be all of enjoying life, but it's certainly an aspect of it! 

There's more to life than just maximizing physical health; even to the extent that physical health has an impact on mental and emotional health (absolutely a relevant factor in things I have like hypothyroidism, PCOS, and depression!), there are plenty of other factors that also affect mental and emotional health. Being able to enjoy the sensations of rich, pleasurable foods is one of them. Not feeling trapped in a box, not keeping a list of things that I have to do everyday against my desires is another. 

It may be a fine line, but I don't believe that eating to live will truly produce a better life than living to eat. You can never mitigate all the risks in live, and you won't be happy while you're trying to do so. Learn to love the balance.

*Disclosure: This is a Powell's Partner Program affiliate link. If you click on this link, it will place a cookie on your browser for 90 days, and if you make a purchase from Powell's within this time period, I may receive a commission from Powell's on the sale. If you wish to avoid this after clicking on the link, please clear cookies on your browser.

Travel Meme

Today's NaBloPoMo prompt from Miss Zoot: 

If you could spend ONE WEEK anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If you could spend ONE MONTH anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If you could spend ONE YEAR anywhere in the world, where would you go?

(Assume you have unlimited funds to make this year/month/week EXACTLY how you'd want it to be. And when you come back - your job is waiting for you.)

One week: My dad's family's lakehouse. It's out in the middle of nowhere north of Spokane; there's a convenience store down the road for the necessities, but nothing else to distract you from just relaxing and enjoying nature. No internet service, virtually no cell service. Nothing to get done or feel like you have to fit in so you don't miss out.





One month: Australia. Long enough trip to make the long flight worth it; short enough to not be worth learning another language so I'll stick with the English-speaking country that's on the top of my list. 

One year: I think an around-the-world trip, to see as much as possible. Or at least Europe, if not the entire world. Not likely to ever have the time or resources to see each country in depth during my lifetime, so I'd like to at least hit the highlights of each place. 

Triathlon Training with a Team

At the beginning of the summer I wrote about re-learning to swim and bike on my own (after a 15-year-ish break from them). After that, I continued to learn how to swim and bike - with a group! I joined TRI Team PDX (the name stands for Train Race Inspire); specifically, the Portland Triathlon training group) (before knowing that the group was targeting a specific race, I was already planning on doing Aluminum Man; but it was only two weeks before the Portland Tri, so at one point I figured I'd do both). 

The cost was $299 for 14 weeks of training. This was all inclusive - access to weekly workouts (swim, track, run, bike) that would otherwise have drop-in fees, with weekly workout plans designed for the group (including the group workouts and additional workouts to do on your own during the week), and coaches at the workouts to guide you.

Swimming 

The weekly swim group workout was held at the PSU athletic center. I'd guesstimate there were usually around 30 people. The pool has, if I'm remembering right, 6 lanes. People were assigned to lanes based on abilities and speed; we in the beginners group were in lanes 1 and 2, with detailed instructions on how to do the drills, especially in the first few weeks. People in higher lanes had more advanced drills and longer distances to cover in the same time.

We learned a variety of drills throughout the season, designed to improve swimming form in different ways. Things like fingertip drag, pull, catch-up, front scull, to name a few. Nearer the end of the season, we focused more on improving endurance for longer distances and intervals of harder effort. In addition to the group workout, we were supposed to do an additional swim on our own, including some of the drills and also working on endurance on continuous distance.

After developing some basic swimming skills, the group also helped us with open water swimming. I unfortunately had to miss some of those session, so I didn't feel nearly as prepared for open water as I would have liked, but really any chance to get in open water is helpful! The coaches were super helpful about making sure you were comfortable, giving tips, and staying nearby those with extra nerves. They also encouraged team members to attend free weekly open water swims sponsored by Athlete's Lounge during the summer for additional experience.

Current ability level: 

Can easily do 1,000 yards (total, not continuous) in a workout even when I haven't been consistently swimming, including up to 400 - 600 continuous without too much trouble. When I was in the habit of going to the pool a few times a week, 1,200 yards or more wasn't an unreasonable total for a workout. 

When I first got a watch with swim functions, I was around 2:30 per 100 yards; that's now closer to 2:20 - still pretty ridiculously slow, but nonetheless a consistent improvement.

Open water swimming is something that I still need to work on a lot before doing another triathlon. I ended up just doing it once without a wetsuit, and once with a wetsuit. Better than nothing, for sure, but not nearly enough to not have a near panic attack at the start of the race. Regardless of whether I train with TRI PDX again, going to the Athlete's Lounge open water swims in the river as often as possible will be a very crucial component.

Biking
There was an assigned weekly bike workout to do on our own, focusing on intervals with high effort or RPMs. I rarely ended up doing those workouts.

There was also a long group bike ride each weekend. The first week the beginners group did about 12 miles; eventually working up to about 25 miles. Depending on which coach was leading the group, there was more or less of a coming back to check on those in the back to make sure they were ok, but it does seem to be team policy for the leaders to stop at major turns on the route to wait for everyone to catch up and ensure no one's gotten lost or anything.

One note: Sauvie Island is the best place to ride a bike, especially if you're a beginner. It's a bit of a drive from most places in Portland, but totally worth it. The main loop around the island is just over 12 miles, with a little rolling hills but nothing too steep up or down. There isn't much of a shoulder, but it really is low traffic, and the cars that are out there are well aware of the bike traffic, and give you plenty of space when passing.

Current ability level: 

Longest solid ride was 22 miles (I did 27 in a day, but it was broken up by too many stops to count it as actually my longest) (did distances in training assuming I would be doing the Olympic distance at the Portland Tri, which I ended up not doing). Assuming good conditions (dry roads, minimal wind, etc.) I could go out for a 10 mile ride anytime now and feel pretty comfortable with it.

My average speed on long rides by the end of the training season was around 14.5. I easily got above 25 mph on downhills - but tried very hard to slow down to not get faster than that! On flats or small inclines, not too hard to maintain 15 - 16 mph, but difficult to keep up 10 mph on steeper hills going up. 

I still can't take my hands off the handlebars while moving long enough to do anything like eat or drink. I'm super nervous on wet roads or in the wind. I'm basically still terrified that I'll kill myself while riding. Still willing to put more work into it next summer, but I have my doubts that this will ever be my favorite sport.

"A" Game Night

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Inspired by this post on Angela's SF Road Warrior, Abe and I decided to start an alliterative theme to our game nights (we end up hosting about 4 - 6 game nights each year, though I often intend to have them even more often, like monthly). I don't think we'll end up going through them strictly in order, but we did start at the beginning, hosting our A game night this weekend.

Games

We played Apples to Apples - one I'm sure most of you are familiar with, and is a fairly popular staple at our games nights both that we host and attend.

We also played Anomia, a game we bought recently. It has a deceptively simple concept: each card shows a noun and a symbol. As players draw cards, if the symbol matches another card, they have to shout out an example of the noun on the other player's card, before the player names an example of the noun on their card. "Anomia" means the inability to name objects - it's amazing how hard it can be as you're quickly trying to see the matching cards, process what it says, etc. It ends up being a highly energetic and entertaining game.

Food

The above photo shows the remnants after - didn't have a chance to take one before, plus our wonderful guests brought some of the items!

Angel hair pasta with 'Auliflower Alfredo sauce (recipe)
Arugula and Acorn squash salad (recipe)
Anakin's Asparagus (from Vegan Fusion)
Apples and Almond butter
Artichoke dip and Almond crackers
Avocados
Agave-glazed pecans (made by Karey)
Avocados
Aged godua
Apple pie Ala mode with Almond milk-based ice cream
Almond joy bar cake (from Vegan Junk Food) (made by Karey)
Apple Ale
Apple cider - sparkling
Apple cider - hot, spiced
Aloe juice
Acai juice

It was a lot of fun to come up with ideas for the theme, and ended up having some more variation in food and games than our usual standbys!

Why Are We Tying Up the Cat?

There was a cat who lived in the monastery, and made noise and caused distractions during evening meditation. To keep the cat calm and prevent it from disrupting meditation, the teacher decided to tie the cat to a pole in the middle of the sanctuary. This worked and the practice continued, with the cat always being tied to the pole before meditation began.

Years passed, and the teacher died. They continued to tie the cat to the pole during meditation. Later, the cat also died. They couldn't start meditation without tying a cat to the pole! So they brought another cat to the monastery, and tied it to the pole to begin meditation. 

Centuries later, descendants of the teacher wrote scholar treatises about the spiritual significance of tying up a cat for meditation practice.

 - a Buddhist parable

As you've probably inferred from what I've said about weddings, I believe that as a society we do a a lot of tying up the cat while following wedding traditions. And when it comes to weddings, in particular, blindly following traditions can not only not actually be meaningful, but actually cause harm by promoting the infrastructure that developed the tradition in the first place.

There are other times when there may not such a negative history related to the tradition, but I still find it odd that we continue to uphold things as important rituals. I've never been one to really enjoy anything ceremonial. Maybe if there were more rituals involved in our lives, beyond a scattered few important events, the sense of ritual and meaning would feel more important, but as it is they just seem like antiquated remnants of a now-irrelevant time.

For example, yesterday I was at the memorial service for my great-aunt who recently passed away. Now, part of the rituals for her included a Catholic mass, since she was Catholic. And while I certainly find some of the rites there odd (such as sprinkling holy water), I understand they're based on deep-held religious beliefs. Whether or not I think the underlying belief is reasonable or true, those who follow it doe indeed have a rationale for doing it that goes deeper than "we've always done it this way". Her daughter and their community believe the blessings and other rituals over her body will ensure that her soul makes it to heaven, so it's understandable that they partake in those rituals for that expected result.

But after mass we had a graveside service. And we stood in front of the embalmed body, in a sturdy casket. We saw the coffin be lowered into the ground - that aspect deeply affected her daughter, and that makes sense to me, to watch the body literally be removed from our sight, is to help process the person leaving our life. But it was not just being lowered into the ground, but lowered into a vault in the ground; the lid to the vault was sitting next to the gravesite. Why put the body in a concrete vault? Why put it in a coffin? Why embalm it?

I don't think that even Catholics believe at this point that an intact body is required in order to fulfill any spiritual expectations. So why are we so attached to preserving the body? What psychological, emotional, or spiritual healing is aided by preventing the body from rejoining the earth? I imagine there were at one time practical reasons, but I can't imagine they could be rationally upheld today. We've simply taking up resources to literally preserve bodies that no longer serve a purpose. 

How do you feel about rituals and ceremonies? What makes them meaningful to you?

Something to Write About

Due to plans to travel for a relative's memorial service, then head back to Portland just in time to meet up with the in-laws for the opera, I suspect I won't have a chance to blog on Friday. Scheduling this meme taken from Assembled Hazardly in this case that's accurate.

1. What are you wearing?
Plaid pajama pants (men's, cause they're cheaper and less ugly than women's), tank top that I wore under a blazer for work today.

2. Have you ever been in love?
Yes. I'm married, so one would hope so! And once previously.

3. Have you ever gone through a horrible breakup? 
I was previously engaged, and though we broke up merely two months before the intended date, the break up of the relationship actually wasn't horrible. It was obvious enough to both of us that it needed to happen. What went terribly wrong was when I tried to rebuild a friendship too soon afterward.

4. How tall are you?
5 feet even.

5. How much do you weigh?
Around 145.

6. Do you have tattoos? 
Not yet.

7. Do you have piercings?
Three in each earlobe, plus one cartilage. 

8. What is the ideal couple to you?
Mindy and Danny. Opposites who complement each other.

9. Your favorite TV show?
Ever - Firefly. Currently - Gilmore Girls. 

10. Your favorite band? 
Well, favorite performer - currently Christina Perri. I tend to listen to whatever on the radio has caught my ear. Actually, oddly, now that I think about, while I do listen to one song/album/singer over and over for a time, I haven't been loyal to a single band or singer indefinitely.

11. Something you're missing?
Being bored at work during November. We're not supposed to be this busy!

12. Your favorite song?
Currently our "wedding song" - "I Choose You" by Sara Bareilles

13. How old are you?
29

14. What's you astrological sign?
The one that thinks astrology is silly.

15. An essential quality for a boyfriend?
Single.

16. Favorite quote?
"I do want the truth. But as always, and as everyone else, I'd like the truth I get from you to be the truth I want to hear."

17. Favorite actor?
Robert Downey Jr.

18. Favorite color?
Like music, this fluctuates. Currently, teal. (See also: recently revamped blog template.)

19. Do you listen to music at a low or high volume?
Very occasionally, in a certain mood, very high. But generally, very low. Usually can't stand loud noises; I watch TV with subtitle so I can keep the sound low enough to not be annoying.

20. Where do you go when you are sad?
To bed.

21. How long do you stay in the shower?
As long as it takes, plus a few minutes to enjoy the hot water.

22. How long does it take to get ready in the morning?
If I wake up late and actually have to be somewhere a specific time (work isn't too strict on this unless there's a meeting), I can manage in about ten minutes Usually closer to twenty, though.

23. Did you ever get in a fight?
Like a physical fight? No. I once threw a mug in a sink, but that's it.

24. Something that seduces you in a man?
Intelligence and a sense of humor. (Traits that are generally correlated with each other, I'd say.)

25. The most repelling thing in a man?
Being "old-fashioned" - i.e., believes in patriachy.

26. Why do you have a blog?
For a venue to express, and to form connections and have conversations with people of similar interests.

27. What are you afraid of?
Spiders. Also gross water with food gunk in the sink.

28. The last thing that made you cry?
I'm not entirely sure. 

29. The last time you said "I love you"? 
This morning, saying good by to Abe and the girls.

30. What does your blog name mean? 
It's about the fact that once I'm interested in something, I can get obsessed with, but have to continue balancing it with other things.

31. The latest book you read?
An Agatha Christie mystery.

32. What are you currently reading?
Currently in the middle of "Diet for a Small Planet" and "Wolf Hall".

33. The latest TV series you watched?
Gilmore Girls.

34. The last person you talked to?
Abe.

35. Who did you last text with?
Abe, berating him for leaving the sink in a disgusting state (see also: question number 27).

36. Your favorite food?
Chocolate.

37. Places you want to visit?
Australia, Ireland, Alaska.

38. The last place you visited?
The Dalles.

39. Are you currently sweet on someone?
Uh, I guess you could say that. Not quite how I'd word it.

40. The last person you kissed?
Abe. Or possibly Hera.

41. The last insult you were told?
Not sure if this counts as an insult, but was told I said "ummm" 38 times in an 8.5 minute speech.

42. Your favorite candy flavor?
Most berries.

43. Do you play an instrument?
Yes, the piano. I used to play the trombone, but it's been years; I also took guitar lessons a few years ago but it didn't really stick.

44. Your favorite piece of jewelry?
My engagement ring.

45. The last sport session your practiced?
Running!

46. The latest song your sang?
"I Choose You".

47. Your favorite catch phrase?
Was I supposed to have a favorite catch phrase? Let's go with "Oy, with the poodles already!"

48. Have you ever used it?
Not in real life. I tweeted it recently.

49. Your last evening out?
Umm, I think we went out for dinner for Indian food recently.

50. Who are you tagging?
Anyone who wants to join!

Three Things Thursday: Confessions Part 2

1. I can't peel an orange in one piece. It ends up in so many little pieces, it's ridiculous. I don't know how people get the peel off in one continuous spiral! Since we're now entering the season where the bags of little oranges are all over the place, someone, tell me what the trick is!

2. I sometimes put one song on a playlist and play it - the one, single song - on repeat, continuously, for hours. At one point in college I know I did this with Bohemiam Rhapsody. Right now my work music is "I Choose You". On repeat, for 8 hours. You'd think I'd get tired of it, but I don't! And it finally clicked the other day that that's what I should do for running playlists (I rarely listen to music while running, just when I know I'm exceptionally likely to be bored, on the treadmill or long runs.) So a repeat of that same song is also what got me through last weekend's 10-miler.

3. To be on theme with today's writing prompt: When I was a kid I was very messy and a bit of a hoarder, and eventually had stuff piled in my half of the closet literally a few feet high. Finally one summer I bit the bullet and cleaned it out, throwing out and giving away bags of stuff. It was like an archaeological dig, layers of school papers and brightly colored leggings in decreasing sizes. 

I think I'd accepted that as a normal state of being because my mom is also a creative messy type, but letting it get to that point was a bit of a trigger to go to the opposite extreme. By the time I got to college, my roommate were able to tease me by knocking a poster out of alignment. Since then, I've started to swing back the other way, but am generally more moderate, and my tolerance for clutter varies depending on my mood and stress. When I'm stressed though - I must have clean surroundings! Even today, while working on a presentation at work, I took 10 minutes this morning to clean off my desktop, in order to maintain a better frame of mind and really focus on the task at hand.

Uninteresting TV Facts

After a continuing busy-ness at work, my brain power doesn't have much capacity left to write something. Today's prompt for NaBloPoMo is: TV.

Currently watching: Gilmore Girls. The entire series is now on Netflix! I already owned the entire series on DVD, so my parents have taken temporary custody of them while I have online access. (Does Netflix ever take something off instant play? I'm afraid of actually getting rid of the DVD set just in case.)

Unexpected fall favorite: Selfie. I only gave it a chance because it stars John Cho and Amy Pond, but despite the rather absurd concept, it's actually pretty entertaining! And not only in a mindless fluff way.

Favorite TV show ever: Firefly. I'm afraid I didn't even know about it during the half a season that actually aired, so I supposed I contributed to the lack of audience that allowed it to be canceled, but once I did watch, I was hooked. At least I showed my support by buying the DVDs? (Also now on instant play, but also afraid to give them away just in case.)

Favorite TV show as a kid: Happy Days. I actually rarely watched mainstream TV as a kid; considering my age there are a lot of cultural references I don't get, or just barely understand. I mostly watched Nick at Nite and TV Land, plus Full House and the Cosby Show.

Coming late to the party: The Daily Show. I just started watching on a regular basis about a month ago. I'd seen and enjoyed various clips before, so I don't know why I didn't actually deliberate watch it until now. 

Most embarrassing TV show: America's Next Top Model. I only watch it when Abe isn't home. 

You Know You're a Runner When...

All the safety pins in your house are pinned together in groups of four. Seriously, was trying to find one safety pin the other day in a jar of little things, and pulled out literally half a dozen sets before finding just one.

You find a packet of energy gel in your purse. And I'm a runner who doesn't even use gels, just get the occasional freebie.

You're willing to spend more on running shoes than you spend on work shoes. $110 to try a pair of Altras? Sure! $25 for a pair of nice black flats for work? Eh, I'll wait until they're on sale.

You own more running shoes than other shoes. Basically I have a pair of black flats and a pair of black heels for work, and the rest of my shoes wardrobe is for running.

The most obvious tan line you have is on your wrist from your Garmin. And then it's exacerbated by the RoadID, and if you add in a Fitbit... well then you're just out of luck altogether. I tried to fill it in for the wedding with self-tanner, and ended up with some weird orange-y blurry lines around the edges. Fortunately, I don't think it was really visible in the photos!

The next most obvious tan line is on your calves from your running capris. I feel self conscious in knee-length skirts, afraid someone will think if I just have strangely-colored knee high stockings on.

You socks come with a 9-step wearing guide. I can't remember which brand of compression socks this was, I ended up not really liking them and no longer have the socks (or instruction manual). 

You plan your weekend around your long run. Well, of course!

What makes you a runner?