Menu Madness
When I go to a new to me restaurant, I usually don’t read the entire menu – I scan it, looking for dishes that can be made vegan. I became vegetarian about 10 years ago, and this is something I have been doing since then.
It’s kind of a bad habit, because when I do go to a vegetarian/vegan restaurant, like the Eden Alley Cafe in Kansas City, I feel extremely OVERWHELMED by being able to choose more than one thing on the menu. I get kind of anxious, and don’t know what to choose. I want to try everything, since I can.
When you go to a new restaurant, how do you decide what to order? Do you read the entire menu? Do you pick the first thing that sounds good? Do you typically order the same types of dishes at certain kinds of restaurants?
Do other vegetarians/vegans menu scan?
Cleavage alert! (This photo is from Cascone’s, 9/11/10 in Kansas City)
Last week I went out for a coworker’s birthday during lunch. I called the restaurant to see if they had any vegan food and they said the chef could come up with a vegan dish for me. So I told the waitress that when she took our drink order, and when she came back to get our food order, I asked what the chef was going to make me… and she just told me to pick something off the menu and he would make it vegan. Well, because of my menu scanning habits I had NO IDEA what to ask to have the chef veganize. I hadn’t really “read” the menu since it appeared that NONE of it could be made vegan and it was mostly meat and other fancy food that I was honestly unfamiliar with. The waitress was really nice, but the whole situation made me uncomfortable, and I had to quickly look at the menu and try to find something that could be made vegan. I ended up with pasta. Pasta that probably had egg in it, but, whatever.
I need to make sure that does not happen again. I felt dumb. Of course, I was under the impression the chef would just pick something for me*, but I shouldn’t rely on that.
*If he did, it would probably be something mushroom based anyway. I know I am supposed to like mushrooms, but I don’t really care for them. I’ll tolerate them on pizza, and in stew and even mushroom-based gravy… but I don’t like to straight-out eat them.
What should I wear to run the Chicago Marathon?
When I spectated at the Chicago Marathon last year, I didn’t see any of the friends I was cheering for. There were just so many people running, and even when you know what someone looks like, people start to blend together.
I’ve been wondering if there is something I can wear that will make me stand out so Steven can see me. And of course, we plan to discuss where he’ll be spectating from, and on which side of the street, when I might be passing by, and blah de blah.
I have a lot of brightly colored running tops. My brightly colored green top made me stand out at the 2009 Wisconsin (Half) Marathon… but I think there were less than 2000 runners! That won’t work at Chicago. Nevertheless, I did purchase an obnoxiously yellow long-sleeved top, just in case.
If anything makes me stand out while wearing that bright yellow top, it will be my nips. Ha.
Of course, it is ridiculously early to be planning what I will wear (even though I’ve been thinking about it for a long time) because WHO KNOWS what the weather will bring on 10/10/10!
How far in advance do you plan your race outfits? Is your race outfit important or not important to you? What would YOU do to stand out? Any advice for me?
There will be 45,000 runners. I will take whatever advice I can get. And nothing is too ridiculous for me. For a long time, I thought I would run this race in a costume. Maybe next time!
A warning: if you lay all of your running tops out on your dresser to take a picture of them, your cat WILL lay on them and pretend he is going to hack up a hairball.
You’re such a tease, Data.
Training Week 49
My next race is the Chicago Marathon on October 10.
Running Highlight of the week: Running a spur of the moment 5K during my 13-miler!
Day 337 | September 20, 2010: 5 m run + strength
I ran a “test” 5-miler in my neighborhood to see how my left foot felt. I repeatedly landed on it funny during the 20-miler and it ached all day Sunday. It felt mostly okay during the run – maybe because I wore the Adrenaline 9s with inserts? The run was nice and easy, thankfully. Haven’t had many of those lately!
Look at my awful form in that photo! I thought your knees were supposed to land under your hips?! Granted, I put the camera on timer then ran by for fun (before I even ran), but come on…
Distance: 5.0 | Start Temp: 70° | End Temp: 68° | Time: 51:41 | Avg Pace: 10:19 | 1: 10:39 | 2: 10:23 | 3: 10:21 | 4: 10:17 | 5: 9:58 | WOW Negative Splits!
Strength + Stretch (done during my lunch break):
| 1 Arm Curl: 3 x 15 @ 25 lb | 7 Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb |
| 2 Pectoral Fly: 2 x 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 60 lb | 8 Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb |
| 3 Lat Pulldowns: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb | 9 Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb |
| 4 Shoulder Press: 3 x 15 @ 20 lb | 10 Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb |
| 5 Biangular Chest Press: 15 @ 30 lb, 2 x 15 @ 50 lb | 11 Rope Pushdowns: 3 x 15 @ 30 lb |
| 6 Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb |
Day 338 | September 21, 2010: yoga
Whoa. Core Yoga Flow kicked my butt! I kept talking about doing one of the other YogaWorks DVDs, and I finally had to to nut up and shut up (and do it!). Core Yoga Flow is about 43 minutes of sun salutations and poses (like Warrior). I was shaking and sweating. It felt pretty good… and demoralizing at the same time!
Day 339 | September 22, 2010: rest
Unless you want to count the .13 miles I ran, Wednesday was a rest day!
Day 340 | September 23, 2010: 6 m run
I fully intended to run 6 miles on Wednesday night, but I left the house, ran .13 and stopped. I just wasn’t feeling it. I went home, made myself pancakes, ate them, and went to bed. At 7:30!
I ended up running my 6 miles before work, in the park by our house (in the dark). My body felt really good, except running home to use the toilet… which happened on Monday too. I had too many snacks at work both days, and my stomach was revolting. I’ve had really good luck with not having to go #2 on my long runs so far, and I don’t want to mess that up for the marathon!
Notice the start time of my run below? Yeah. I had my alarm set for 3:00 and thought “that is crazy!” when it went off, and tried to go back to bed (until 4:30) but it was too late… Data heard the alarm and decided to sit on my head and purr. So I decided to get up and run.
Distance: 6.0 | Start Temp: 66° | End Temp: 67° | Time: 1:01:35 | Avg Pace: 10:15 | 1: 10:26 | 2: 10:06 | 3: 10:18 | 4: 10:24 | 5: 10:11 | 6: 10:05
Strength + Stretch (done during my lunch break):
| 1 Rope Pushdowns: 3 x 15 @ 30 lb | 4 Hip Adduction: 3 x 15 @ 55 lb |
| 2 Biangular Lat Row: 15 @ 45 lb, 2 x 15 @ 60 lb | 5 Seated Leg Press: 15 @ 90 lb, 15 @ 110 lb, 15 @ 130 lb |
| 3 Hip Abduction: 3 x 15 @ 115 lb | 6 Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb |
Day 341 | September 24, 2010: yoga
I was feeling lazy so I did the easy Yoga Works Beginners DVD.
Look – there are Chicago Marathon signs at baggage claim in O’Hare! Exciting!
Day 342 | September 25, 2010: 13.1 m run (7 + 5K + 3)
I already wrote about this run a bit yesterday – I arrived at Independence Grove and decided to run a 5K during my 13-miler at the last minute! I ran 7 miles, the 5K, then 3 miles.
For the first seven miles, I ran north on the Des Plaines River Trail. It was a perfect morning for a run. The air was crisp and cool with a slight breeze, but the sun was out too!
I loved running on the trails and seeing all the leaves… and listening to them crunch as I ran over!
I got passed a lot while I was running the first 7 miles. Everyone was being really friendly. I wore my 2010 Wisconsin Marathon shirt, which says “Say Cheese” on the back. One group ran by me and said “Cheese” then they all started talking about when they had worn their Wisconsin Marathon shirts last.
See the moon in the photo above?
I took the Chocolate Outrage GU after the 7 miles. I’ve been avoiding this GU flavor for a long time, but Mica said she liked it, so I finally gave it a try. She was right! It’s yummy!
I ran my 5K after a very short break, then ran my slow 3 miles immediately after the 5K. I really liked breaking the run up like this. It pumped me up! And I felt great the whole time!
Run stats: I took the Chocolate Outrage GU at 7. I only drank three of my 8-ounce water bottles. Crazy! I took a short break at 7, and at 10.1. I wore the Brooks Adrenaline 10s sans inserts. I wore the Target C9 bra and did chafe a bit where I can’t show you (under my right boob). I skipped the ice bath because I was pretty cold when I got home. I spent a lot of the time after the run coughing. Does running in the cold make you cough even after you are done? It may be that I had a cold too… but I remember the coughing from last year.
The First 7 | Distance: 7.0 | Start Temp: 53° | Time: 1:12:23 | Avg Pace: 10:20 | 1: 10:31 | 2: 10:47 | 3: 10:21 | 4: 10:12 | 5: 10:21 | 6: 10:08 | 7: 9:58
The 5K | Distance: 3.1 | Time: 27:18 | Avg Pace: 8:48 | 1: 8:41 | 2: 8:52 | 3: 8:57 | 4: 00:46
The Last 3 | Distance: 3.0 | Finish Temp: 55° | Time: 33:56 | Avg Pace: 11:18 | 1: 11:11 | 2: 11:25 | 3: 11:18
Day 343 | September 26, 2010: yoga
I had grand plans (in my head) to go on a long bike ride, but decided to stay at home with Steven. He just got back on Friday and has a pretty nasty cold. I did the Yoga Works Beginners DVD instead. And had a super sore neck again! I actually noticed how sore it felt after Saturday’s run, so I must be tensing it up.
Week Summary: 24.1 miles
I had a pretty good “workout” week. I would have liked to do some cross training, but oh well. And I am honestly not sure if I will try to fit it in in the next two weeks before the marathon.
The Chicago Marathon is only two weeks away. Yikes!
I mentioned I had some left foot pain on Monday. It didn’t hurt all week, until I noticed a slight ache it in doing yoga on Sunday. I will have to ice it.
I removed my toenail polish this week so that I could watch out for any black toenails… do you think the one in the picture below looks black? It’s definitely bruised, and it definitely hurts (the red spec near the top is polish that won’t come off).
Notice how the top of my toe is all peeled off? That is from blisters that form there. And the poor toe next to it… the top of the toenail broke off. And on the big toe too.
And on my right foot, I have lots of interesting blood blisters things on the sides of my toes. Fun times.
Does anyone else have toes that look this hideous?
Lake County Employees/Retirees 5K (aka Surprise 5K!)
When I got to Independence Grove this morning to run my 13-miler, the lady at the front gate asked if I was there for the 5K. Well, no, but I was immediately intrigued. After I parked my car, I went to the tent and asked what the 5K was, the cost, and when it started: Lake County Employees/Retirees 5K (open to the public), $5, and 8:30.
$5?! I think that is what the emergency running money I carry with me is for – last minute 5Ks. Ha ha. And the 8:30 start meant I could run 7 miles before the 5K.
Have you ever run a spur of the moment race?
So, I did my 7 mile warm-up (10:20 average pace), and got back to where I thought the race would start… only to find out it was about a quarter of a mile away. Oops! So, I ran to the race start, and placed myself in the group.
Running to the start…
I guess I placed myself in the wrong spot because I had to dodge a lot of people in the beginning.
Passing everyone on the grass…
So, I planned on running this nice and slow, but didn’t. My competitive spirit got the best of me and I ended up running an average of 8:48 per mile. It actually didn’t feel that bad! (But I kept in mind that I got to stop at 3.1)
1: 8:41
2: 8:52
3: 8:57
3.1: 00:46 (7:32 pace).
Racers in front of me
It was a beautiful day for a run. The temperature was in the low 50s (I thrive on this weather) and the sun was out.
I was in such a good mood, I encouraged some people to sprint and pass me at the end. Oops. Turns out one of the girls was in my age group (20-29). I came in 3rd for my age group at 27:32 (Garmin time 27:18! Darn – I should have started near the front!).
I ran 3 more miles after the race (very slow, 11:18 average pace) then went to the Health Expo they had set up. One woman at the expo was extremely impressed when I guessed that there were 15 teaspoons of sugar in a can of soda. Yuck! Another guy asked me if I had had my cholesterol checked recently. I told him I don’t eat meat/eggs/dairy, so he said I am probably okay. Ha ha.
I stayed around for the Awards Ceremony, then headed home. I felt pretty pumped! I had no idea I could run a 5K so fast (for me) especially after running 7 miles. Woo hoo!
I wanted to show you the “bibs” – they were actually bands were wore on our ankles! They did track our time electronically, but I think they all started at the same time, hence the different in Garmin Time versus clock time (or maybe I missed the start because I was passing people already?). Oh well!
Commenting
I am trying to get commenting working. Thank you to all who have alerted me. Please email me if it still does not work.
Because my BB is awesome, I cannot see what I am typing right now. Basically wordpress turned all commenting off on all of my posts today and when I ran the MySQL command to fix it, it changed all of my “discussion” settings (telling people they had to “log in” to leave comments). It should be working now. If you use wordpress, let me know if you want the MySQL command in case it ever happens to you.
Sorry about all of this!
Friday Question #130
What is/was your relationship like with your coworkers? Do you just tolerate one another, or are you fully involved in one another’s lives (or somewhere in between)?
I ask this question because my mom has been talking to me a lot about her new coworkers. They sound pretty crappy. She tried to tell one of them how sad she was about Steven’s mom passing away, and the coworker cut her off. At her last job, everyone was caring and kept up with one another’s lives. My mom was amazed that when I arrived back at work after going to Kansas City for the funeral, I found flowers and a card on my desk.
I am not super close with my coworkers, but we keep up with one another and chat from time to time. They don’t know everything about me, and I don’t know everything about them, but we laugh together, and can rely on one another. And we care about one another. I feel like I am part of a great group of people at work.
It’s quite common for people in my office to hang out outside of work, but I have just never been in to that! It blows my mind that some people spend all day with their coworkers then hang out with them on the nights and weekends too. Give me my alone time! Ha, maybe I just haven’t had the right coworkers!
10 Things I’ve learned about myself…
… while my husband was gone. Steven’s been in Kansas City for four weeks as of today. He is coming home tomorrow. Yay! I’ve missed him!
We had a long distance relationship for my last four years of college, and for about seven months of that time, I lived in Rome. So we are used to being apart from one another. Obviously, we don’t prefer it, but I don’t think of it as a big deal.
Have you ever been in long distance relationship? How do you think that experience has affected you?
I did notice that I quickly reverted back to a “living on my own” style and learned a few funny things about myself:
- I am not a foodie. I don’t like to cook and am not that interested in food. I only fed myself because I knew I needed to eat.
- I eat mostly healthy on my own (not counting the night I had homemade guacamole with chips for dinner, and last night’s pancakes).
- I have a hard time relaxing on my own. I have a lot of nervous energy and kept myself too busy.
- I don’t like to have the television on, even to watch movies. I would turn something on and quickly turn it off. I guess this shouldn’t surprise me – I didn’t even own a television in college.
- I am not a slob! I kept the house fairly tidy and clean.
- I am more likely to use the computer at night if I am home alone – then have a hard time turning it off to go to bed (I usually don’t use it at all at night).
- I don’t get very lonely* (see number 3 above – kept myself too busy).
- I have really become accustomed to Steven driving me to the train in the morning and picking me up after work, and I miss that.
- I like video chat more than talking on the phone! We used gchat once and I found myself much less distracted than when we talk on the phone (and much less bored).
- I leave the bathroom door open when he’s not around. Ha! (The bathroom is in our bedroom.)
And what did I learn about Data? He doesn’t like me as much as Steven. He’s been moping around the house wondering where his daddy is. I’ve been sending Steven lots of stupid pictures of Data.
*But that does not mean I did not miss Steven! I just know how to have fun on my own, too – I’m pretty independent. Plus, Data was there (moping and contorting his body)!
10 Things I've learned about myself…
… while my husband was gone. Steven’s been in Kansas City for four weeks as of today. He is coming home tomorrow. Yay! I’ve missed him!
We had a long distance relationship for my last four years of college, and for about seven months of that time, I lived in Rome. So we are used to being apart from one another. Obviously, we don’t prefer it, but I don’t think of it as a big deal.
Have you ever been in long distance relationship? How do you think that experience has affected you?
I did notice that I quickly reverted back to a “living on my own” style and learned a few funny things about myself:
- I am not a foodie. I don’t like to cook and am not that interested in food. I only fed myself because I knew I needed to eat.
- I eat mostly healthy on my own (not counting the night I had homemade guacamole with chips for dinner, and last night’s pancakes).
- I have a hard time relaxing on my own. I have a lot of nervous energy and kept myself too busy.
- I don’t like to have the television on, even to watch movies. I would turn something on and quickly turn it off. I guess this shouldn’t surprise me – I didn’t even own a television in college.
- I am not a slob! I kept the house fairly tidy and clean.
- I am more likely to use the computer at night if I am home alone – then have a hard time turning it off to go to bed (I usually don’t use it at all at night).
- I don’t get very lonely* (see number 3 above – kept myself too busy).
- I have really become accustomed to Steven driving me to the train in the morning and picking me up after work, and I miss that.
- I like video chat more than talking on the phone! We used gchat once and I found myself much less distracted than when we talk on the phone (and much less bored).
- I leave the bathroom door open when he’s not around. Ha! (The bathroom is in our bedroom.)
And what did I learn about Data? He doesn’t like me as much as Steven. He’s been moping around the house wondering where his daddy is. I’ve been sending Steven lots of stupid pictures of Data.
*But that does not mean I did not miss Steven! I just know how to have fun on my own, too – I’m pretty independent. Plus, Data was there (moping and contorting his body)!
A fully furnished home
CSN asked me to do another review on my blog, and of course, I couldn’t say no. When choosing something to review I started by looking at their cheap bedroom furniture and king size bed sheets, because the bedroom is definitely one area of the house that we are still working on*.
Of course, I was just lusting after beds like this one and this one, and ended up ultimately deciding to review the T-fal Avanté Sandwich & Waffle Maker because:
- I like waffles and cannot make them without a waffle maker
- You can take out the plates and wash them in the dishwasher!
- It makes waffles and sandwiches!
- It can be stored vertically
- My best buddy Erin already has it and thinks it’s great!
So, watch for a review!
But back to the topic of home furnishings – we still don’t have a “bed” and it’s something we would love to have. Of course, we learned right away that when you buy a home, you don’t automatically get to fully furnish it. Furniture. Is. Expensive! Here is our home furnishing time line so far:
- Fall 2004 – Steven moved in to house with all of his old college furniture
- Fall 2004 – bought fridge and stove**
- Spring 2005 – bought dining room table
- Summer 2005 – bought king size bed (woo hoo!) and moved double to guest bedroom
- Spring 2007 – I moved in (yay?), put my new double (and bed) in guest bedroom and got rid of old double
- Fall 2007 – (September) bought new office furniture and bookcases from Target and got rid of mis-matched college crap
- Fall 2007 – (November) bought new couch, loveseat and side table, put covers on old furniture and moved upstairs; bought brand new file cabinet***
- Fall 2007 – (December) bought sweet 50″ plasma, “sold” old TV to my sister
And that’s it! We’d still like a bed for our king size mattresses and maybe some nice dressers for our bedroom. And maybe an ottoman for the living room. Oh, and a new cabinet for the TV. And maybe some more artwork. Yeah. The list could go on and on.
What stage is YOUR home in? Fully furnished to your liking? In between like us? Still using mismatched hand-me-downs (no shame in that!)?
What’s your favorite piece in your home?
(I hope Nilsa replies. I have been in her home and it’s beautiful. She and her husband have great taste and I cannot wait to see their little grasshopper’s**** room fully decorated.)
My favorite piece in our home is actually a framed map that we put pins on to mark where we have traveled (I wrote about it a bit here). We actually got it right after we got back from Aruba in November of 2007 and it was so much fun to mark it out. Surprisingly, no one finds interest in it but us, and more so me.
*Ha ha. That sounds funny.
**The house came with a stove, but it was not stainless steel, so Steven got a new one and sold the other one (brand new) to my parents.
***I would like it to be noted that this thing weighed a lot and I pushed it up the stairs on a piece of cardboard while Steven directed.
****That’s the code name for their baby that’s on the way!
Building Security
When I visited my cousin Danielle in Milwaukee on Sunday, I had to get a guest pass just to get past the lobby of her dorm building. It involved filling out a form on a computer (first her student ID, then ALL of my info), getting our picture taken together at security, then going through a separate gate, where we showed both of our IDs to pass. And a secret handshake (not).
Jeez.
On the back of the pass, it says (among other things) I have to pay $5 for another if I lose this one.
I understand the security features and why they are doing this. But I just wanted to use her bathroom when I got there! I was worried the 15-minute free parking would expire before we even got to her room (it didn’t).
When I was in college (oh gosh, here we go, like I am old or something…) we just had keys to get in to our building. That was it. Maybe it was even unlocked during certain hours. I don’t recall. We definitely didn’t have these passes (and I lived in student housing from fall of 2002 to spring of 2004, just for the record).
What’s the craziest security you’ve had to go through to get in to a building? What was it like at your dorm/school? Do you have to go through security where you work?
At my office, I have to show an ID to get in. Guests have to go through a metal detector. When I first started working in my building, President-Elect Obama was still in it, so we ALL had to go through security like that every morning. Fun times. Ha. It wasn’t that bad.
I did see the full body scanners at *O’Hare the last time I was there, but it was unclear who they were selecting to go through them. I can’t remember any crazy security at the Vatican or White House or anything. Maybe I can’t remember anything because it’s only gotten crazy lately.
*Evil
Hi! I’m Kim, a 40-something-year-old living in northeastern Illinois with my husband Steven, and our cats, Khaleesi, Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard aka Ned. My current main hobbies are running, painting rocks, flying, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and work in an account management role. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂
