deTOX

So, last Monday we started the Whole Living Cleanse. This is three weeks of no added sugar, no processed foods, no caffeine, no alcohol, no dairy, no gluten. The idea, at least for me, is to kind of reset and be more mindful of what you’re eating. The first week was fruits, vegetables, nuts and oils and wasn’t really as tough as I expected. What was tough was that I was bone tired so much of the week. I also lost 10 pounds. In a week. Obviously this isn’t sustainable for a variety of reasons, but it did make me feel like how I was eating was very off to have that kind of effect after a week on the cleanse. And then there’s some unanticipated side effects—like two people only eating produce for a week is dirt cheap! And if water is all you’re drinking, you drink a lot of it! And I haven’t had a headache in a week. I don’t know the cause (caffeine? Alcohol? Gluten? Dairy? Everything I love?) but I have realized how unusual it is for me to go a week without one. I haven’t had the blood sugar crashing shakes like I sometimes get, I haven’t even gotten really hungry and have been satiated with little.
It’s so far also made me realize how much I associate some food with activities. Like I have actually done ok without the caffeine, but Saturday morning listening to NPR in the kitchen would have really suited a nice hot cup. Or a chilly Sunday morning at the dog park, a fellow showed up with a Starbucks cup and damn I’ve never wanted a latte more. And how food is one of the best parts of being alive, how sad it would be to never eat all of those things again... In moderation, but still.
So, so far so good. This week (as of today) we added back in legumes and fish. The protein boost has helped my energy level a lot.
Lastly, the smoothies are awesome. We bought a new blender/juicer/food processor ninja which works awesomely and smoothies may become the breakfast cure I’ve long been looking for. Plus I feel like I’m getting a leg up on the day when it’s 7:30 am and I’ve already had like 4 servings of fruit.

Paleo

I'd been hearing about the Paleo Diet from various people (ok, some tangential acquaintances on Facebook) and the other week checked the book out of the library, I was curious. After a pretty quick glance, I was sure this wasn't for me. I believe them that only eating lean meats, fruits, vegetables and nuts is healthy. I believe maximizing those foods in one's diet would be a good thing. I don't believe I am willing to give up all dairy and grains. More specifically, I believe cheese is maybe the single best reason to be alive now instead of paleolithic times. Well, that and statistically I can expect to live past 30 (3 weeks! c'mon evolution!)
Anyway, today is another Monday where my legs and back are aching from theweekend's paleo workout. It is sometimes yard work where we constructed a border of rocks. It involves moving large-ish rocks from the backyard, in a wheelbarrow, to the front and placing them in this shallow ditch (not just for Greek myths anymore!) It involves digging and twisting and squatting and pushing a wheelbarrow. Reflecting on my sore hamstrings, I realized this was the action all of these strength-training classes are meant to mimic. I have discovered a new/very old way to be paleo-- and eat my cheese too!

Forecast for Today

Wake up. Approx. 40 degrees. Potatoes, Onions, Kale hash (from CSA) and eggs. NPR. Haircut for Chuckles, drop dog off at kennel. High of 75. Drive to Phoenix. High of 102. Check in to Radisson. Go to Diamondbacks game. Drink beers. Have fake-cheese nachos. Drinks with friends after. Low of 90.

Friends

I was very lucky yesterday and today to be a stop on the Great Erin/s and Maggie Road Trip of 2009. I would have been thrilled to host these friends in Madison, where I had friends, but it was especially nice to have guests in this new home where (since Charlie is currently on the Rez, as he will be every week) I know not a single other person. Except the garbage guy, Patrick. Oh, and the CSA lady, Karna. But really, I have not even a real acquaintance here... so friends at all was wonderful. And what was even more wonderful, was that Maggie turned in her dissertation, from my house, this morning. Dr. McConnell! What followed was the best. After a round of high-fives, we went to town and drank bloody marys in the "Coffee and Spirits" shop of a circa 1927 Route 66 motel. So first, I am thrilled to be with people who delight in getting bloody marys at noon on a Tuesday. And we're sitting there, talking about both the common experience of events and people at college, in Brooklyn and beyond. We asked another customer, a middle-aged Chicos-shopping woman to take our picture. She asked where we were visiting from. A flood of un/necessary answers came out, "L.A., well, Pasadena, well, Cambridge... and Oregon and well, I just moved here... and..." Erin offered that Maggie just completed her Ph.D and I just finished a J.D. "Smart women!" the photographer said. And we followed up with, "and she's studying architecture at Harvard and she's getting an MBA and... and... and." She was pleased and overwhelmed. And I was so happy to be with, for lack of a better term, what I consider "Wesleyan-caliber" friends. It's really what I associate with people I know from that place. These are friends earning advanced degrees and doing amazing things who don't think twice about drinking strong bloody marys with you on a Tuesday morning, to celebrate one person's success and us all being together.

Musical Reviews

I've gone to concerts for free the past two Friday evenings. You wouldn't know it. In fact, if you only read this, you'd know very little about now.

Friday before last, Charlie won tickets to Langhorne Slim. I've found it very easy to win tickets to minor concerts in Madison. Basically, if we both enter three main sites (Madison.com, the Onion and Muzzle of Bees), we seem to have a better than 50% chance of winning. Overall odds are helped by incidents like where I won tickets to the Avett Bros. from both Madison.com and the Onion. Anyway, the show was really high energy and fun. I didn't really realize his following is approximately 8-10 years younger than me... but it was cool. We just sat in the balcony with the old people. I don't know his music that well, but the other fans did and it always makes me happy to see a bunch of people get SO STOKED when a song comes on.

Last Friday I registered people to vote at the Neko Case show, one of the first acts of Madison's ingaural Forward Music Fest. Yeah. That's right, I exercised my giant muscle of democracy while being entertained by a slightly-less-hot-than-I-remember-but-still-pretty-hot Neko. I am a really good person.

My good personality continued through Saturday morning when I participated in a 5k raising money for public interest law students. It was a lovely day in Madison. Riding to the race along the lakeshore path, I mused that if UW were located in a more temperate climate... it would be the hardest school to get into in the country. Because, let me tell you, on a nice day, it's unbelievably lovely. Post race we did what Wisconsinites do when it's nice outside... start drinking. And kept drinking. All day. Until 10:30 or so at night when I caught 20 minutes or so of SNL and decided that "the free market... not looking so free lately..." was the cleverest joke I'd ever heard. And then I fell asleep.

Now, see, this is why I don't blog more often. I try to talk about music and it turns into some minute by minute rundown of my day to day. Lame.

Saturday: Abita Springs, LA

This is a place where the beer is free and flows like water. Water you pour yourself.

Then things got silly...


And mini...

And clever (Lindsey bought one... I tried to get one for Charlie...)

Good Idea/Bad Idea?

Is it a good or bad sign to wake up from your 27th birthday party with hands that look like this:



And what if the blistering were the result of a "flaming dr. pepper" gone awry? It was a very fun party and now I am laundering and packing for the next phase of the bender.

Old

I was formulating this whole post about how lovely it was that it was supposed to snow yesterday, but instead has been sunny in the 50s. And how cute college kids are and how I see them and remember me/us and feel happy as well as excited for reunion. But, meh, who wants to read all that happy stuff, wouldn't we all let me complain?

Today I found my first gray hair. This is combined with my visit last week to the nutritionist and nurse practitioner to once again address the cholesterol situation. My cholesterol is high again, as it was two years ago. But then it wasn't when it was tested in Madison in December 06. Weird, right? Well, it's nice to have health care providers who are competent and nice. Like I could tell the nutritionist, hey, listen, I am not perfect and there are definitely ways I can improve my diet... but I am also frustrated because I do already do the big things. This is contrast to the Brooklyn Dr. who gave me the sage advice to eat chicken instead of beef and use olive oil to cook instead of... I don't even know, lard? That made me mad. Anyway, these health care professionals were good. And I gave them a good challenge with my vastly different cholesterol readings. The NP suggested it may have to do with the fact that I had been off birth control from 8 months or so when I had the good test. And apparently birth control can raise cholesterol. UMMMMM... this is interesting, but does it strike anyone else as irresponsible? I mean, I know that reproductive years are not the ones where women are most at risk for heart disease... but it's also a period when women's cholesterol is likely not being monitored and so all that crazy plaque and whatever can just accumulate like nothing.

Anyway, the point is that I am back to a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet. When I drink, I get heart palpitations (for which I am now taking medication daily) and now I have gray hair. Basically, it is a very exciting time to be me.

Never Fear

I have returned from my 10 days of galavanting around the midwest. Before I left, I bought myself a new computer. Impulsive, yes. But between school and SHN and life, I pretty much live on this thing and I was getting sick of so much of that life being spent looking at the little rainbow spinner. And there was a sale, you know I love a sale. So now I have a black macbook. And it's so nice. I won't put it picture of it up, but here is a picture it took of me, eating a sandwich.



And drinking some patriotic tea at grandma's house.


At grandma's house I also tried to show a 92 year old woman how to use a cell phone-- frustration and hilarity ensued. But before that, hey-- remember when we went to Chicago and saw Wilco 4 times? Yeah, that was last weekend. Totally absurd, really. But also very fun. Maybe someday I will blog about it... no, probably not. So here is the mini-rundown: we volunteered with headcount the first night, and had awesome seats the other three nights. Wilco played every song off every album-- and more. I heard She's a Jar in concert, a personal goal (now that I've seen them TEN times?!?!) I was also amazed at how many folks seemed to bring stupid dates who had no idea what was going on and just waned to compare cell phones and yammer to these sold out shows that were impossible to get tickets for... BUT, they were a small annoyance. A+ Xmas/Anniversary/Valentine's gift, for sure.
In Chicago, I also found this delicious beer and mussels belgian restaurant that I was brought to after Pitchfork 2 years ago. And have been dreaming of every since. If we're ever in Chicago together, I will always be down for a beer and "mussels for two" at the Hopleaf. Yum. Yum.



And, finally, in this photo-essay of the past two weeks-- old bessie hit 180,000 on the way home this afternoon. And apparently I missed it.

Diet

Yesterday I ate 3 quesadillas, almost an entire butternut squash and 2 liters plus 2 cans of Diet Coke. I also tried to tweeze something off my face that turned out to be a mole. And this is all why I have stayed away from blogging. Because what I have to say is at best boring and at worse, gross.

Yesterday

I went to prison. At prison, I met the Director of the whole shebang (this guy). And also a delegation from Malawi that included the president, some supreme court justices and the attorney general. Or something. It was a really big day at prison.

Not to be outdone by the attorney general of Malawi, Erin showed up last night for her second one-night engagement in Madison in a month. We ate many kinds of meat and drank many beers. E. and C. each a hamburger, with a bratwurst patty on it, bacon and cheese on a pretzel roll. I had chicken sitting on jalapeno mashed potatoes, smothered in a sauce that included andouille sausage and shrimp. The more meats the better. Oh, and we ordered chicken wings. The waitress was shocked and couldn't help but visibly judge us. Delicious.

If you want to hang out with me this semester...

You gotta catch me on Saturday afternoon. Since apparently I will always be drunk then and it will be the one time per week that I "hang." Yesterday I started drinking with bloody marys at 11am brunch and continued until 2am. With only a 2 hour nap from 7-9pm. Not surprisingly, I've felt better. Then again, I've felt much worse. Party on, Wayne!

The cold, hard truth

The truth is, not really that nothing has been happening. But that I've felt insanely busy. I've been leaving town every weekend (which, except for this weekend, will continue for awhile.) And the days are packed at work, squeezing in SHN stuff and then coming home and working on SHN and journal stuff for a couple of more hours. It's been very minimally social during the week, and feels kind of strange since I think it's the least social I've ever been. It's also a strange feeling since I can see into the future and this is how it's going to be. I didn't really enter this thing (life? law school? trying to make things better?) to work 9-5 and come home to watch tv. I mean, some of that is great, but... Anyway, the point is not only to make distant excuses to my readership/friends about my shitty communication skills, but also because I feel like I am learning to live and be happy (I think) in a completely different way. Unfortunately for my past, but fortunate for my future, finding intellectual and emotional fulfillment from work is kind of a new thing... and I kind of like it.

I also nominate MILLER CHILL for "Beer of the Summer 2007." Votes?

Grudge Match: Iowa v. Wisconsin

In honor of my whirlwind trip to Iowa last night.... And the longest time I've spent in Iowa, topping out at 4 hours... And my incoming houseguest, a resident of Iowa... I now present:

The differences between Iowa and Wisconsin: A primer.

You think the midwest is all the same, my friends? Oh no. Oh, hey-ell no!

People in Iowa are mean! They drive like maniacs and make you honk at them. They don't let you out of the "turn-only" lane if you're from out of town and then turn in front of you for no reason, almost killing you and your passenger. They yell out profanities at people walking in the crosswalk and in concerts they yell things like "Fuck you! Get the hell out of Davenport!" At inappropriate times. (Obviously, there is a time and place to say something like that.)

People in Wisconsin are not always nice. But it is highly unlikely you'd have to honk as much as I did in Iowa last night.

In Iowa, they give you a choice of beer at the theater-- small or large.

This would never, ever, ever happen in Wisconsin. Every venue-- from theater to baseball game-- I've been to in Wisconsin has many, many beers on tap, from Miller to Sierra Nevada to local microbrews.

Anyway, I am sure there are some redeeming things about Iowa... feel free to suggest them. For now, I don't think I will be going back any time soon. And I am glad I didn't go to law school there. And the Wilco show we were there for was very fun.

Wisconsin's Version of a Black and White Cookie

Cinco de... wait, it's Saturday?

Today is not only a minor Mexican holiday, commemorating the initial victory of the Mexican army of the French in the Battle of Puebla, May 5th, 1862.... but it was also the Mifflin Street Block Party here in Madison.

Both had noble beginnings: Mifflin Street began as student support for anti-war protesters in Vietnam-era... And the aforementioned Mexican army win is nothing to sneeze at. Both now, however, just mean a lot of really drunk people all over the place, darting in front of my car and wandering around with tiny dogs inviting one to come "party" with them...

The Block party has a 35-year history of drinking, partying and listening to bands. It also has a history of violence, rioting, underage drinking and open intoxicants. Thousands of partiers fill the 400 and 500 blocks of Mifflin Street, the intersection with Bassett Street, sidewalks, lawns and porches. "In the Top Ten Again! Is it that Good?"

Sadly, at this confluence of two great drinking holidays... I have been consumed with possessory estates and passive personality jurisdiction.

I also went to Hooters for the first time yesterday:

March BBQ

Homegrown in Minnesota...

Surly Bender...











<-- Surly Furious

Season Opener

As you, my reading public may be aware, my #1 favorite activity is Drinking Beer Outside. And the season opened yesterday. It was 65 degrees in Madison yesterday and I capped off a day of class, homework, powerwalk in shorts and SHN meeting with some beers at Brats on State Street. It was lovely-- divine. And made me even more excited for summer, as if that were possible. That's what was so great about the past two beautiful days, they didn't feel like freakish Spring teasers... they felt like a little window into summer and the way it will be. Can't wait.

In other news, file under "Simple Pleasures" or "Are you sure Sarah isn't a total moron?," I just discovered something-- buying stamps on the internet. Since I can't seem to make it to the post office... ever... now they'll send me stamps? I never have to leave the house? This is amazing.

Winter Olympics, Superheroes, American Diplomats, Black History, Oklahoma Statehood, Wonders of America, Crops of the Americas, Baseball Sluggers, Sugar Ray Robinson and... RONALD REAGAN? How am I supposed to choose?

SushiBagel

I've been trying to get this picture off my phone for awhile. I wanted the internet to see how Bagels Forever wraps up your lox sandwich to look like sushi, because I think it is so clever. So, see? It also costs $3.25. Also clever.