Here is some of the noise that is currently flowing in and out of my brain:
- The newspaper-stuffing method of drying out wet running shoes is quite possibly the most useful and ingenious runner's trick I've ever learned. Whoever discovered it should immediately be granted sainthood.
- I might be the only sportsfan in the Milky Way Galaxy that doesn't watch NCAA basketball or pay attention to March Madness. I think I've become disillusioned from participating in too many bracket pools where I came in second-to-last place. Apparently it doesn't work to make picks based on unscientific criteria such as how much I like the school's colors or how cute the team's mascot is.
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Tommy Hawk is not an NCAA mascot, but he's still my favorite mascot.
(Throwback Thursday to the 2013 Blackhawks Fan Convention) |
- It's rare for me to take consecutive rest days from working out. However, it happened earlier this week due to a combination of travel and work. WOW, did I lose both physical and mental momentum during that second day! It's amazing how quickly and easily you can get off track.
- I won Erica's giveaway for the March edition of the Bestowed healthy food subscription box! Many thanks to both Erica and Bestowed. My box arrived this week and I had so much fun tearing it open to see what goodies were inside. I really, really love getting packages in the mail. I think that's the real reason why all those subscription boxes are so popular - people just love receiving things in the mail!
- In honor of St. Patrick's Day this past Tuesday, I did wear green, and I enjoyed seeing so many of my coworkers partaking in the green festivity. I have wanted for the longest time to ask my friends of Irish descent how they feel about the raucous weekend celebrations and the "Everyone is Irish on March 17!" proclamations. To all my Irish compadres - what say you???
- Irish soda bread is the best. I get very excited when I see it in the grocery stores each spring. I need to seek out some good recipes and try making it from scratch at home.
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| Yummy yummy! |
- For book club this month, we are reading One Day by David Nicholls. It has been a captivating read so far. The story is set in the U.K. and I am really enjoying the British humor.
- If time permits, I want to start participating in a virtual running book club that I just found out about. This month's selection is 4.09.43: Boston 2013 Through the Eyes of the Runners by Hal Higdon. I put my Chicago Public Library card to work and am waiting for the book to become available.
- Adam and I went to Gino's East earlier this week (I had a Groupon that was about to expire), but we did NOT order deep dish pizza. Blasphemous!
- I've been taking some accusations of being a racing rain magnet from Xaarlin and Pete. I think I've scared Lauren, too. The pressure is mounting now with the Shamrock Shuffle coming up in less than two weeks. I pray to God it doesn't rain that day, otherwise I will never hear the end of it! Seriously, folks in California - how can I provide my rainmaking services?!?
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| Aren't you all glad that I'm a rainmaker and not an iceberg-maker? |
Linking up with
Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursday.
I have a good soda bread recipe! I have the Bread Bible cookbook and tried theirs out this year - easy and delicious! Every other recipe I tried failed, but this turned out perfectly (as verified by me and my fellow Irish taste-tester).
ReplyDeleteI read One Day a few years ago - loved it! The movie was a little disappointing because they cut a ton out, but the book was really good.
The Shuffle has been sunny and unseasonably warm for the past few years that I can remember, so if it rains for your first year... there may be something to that rain magnet thing :)
Ooooh - thanks so much for the tip on the Bread Bible! I've never heard of it before, but I am always on the lookout for good cookbooks. I have a lot of trust in the recipes that you like, too. Any time I've ever tried one of the recipes you shared, it always came out great. I will have to get my hands on a copy of that book.
DeleteI didn't know that One Day had been made into a movie!!! My experience has always been that the books are always better, and it sounds like this is consistent.
Starting tomorrow I'll be able to stalk the weather forecast for Shamrock!!! FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!!
Glad you're loving the book! I read it and watched the movie last weekend! I've been obsessed with Irish Soda Bread this week too and having it for breakfast daily! Last year I made Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread Muffins, but this year I let Mariano's do the work. :)
ReplyDeleteI am super excited for book club as I think One Day will make for some really great discussion! Do you know what food you're going to be bringing, btw? My biggest focus each month is finishing the book on time, and my second one is WHAT FOOD TO BRING!?!?!? =D
DeleteDid you post the Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread Muffins recipe?!?!? If so, I will have to try it myself! To date I've let Mariano's do the work for me every year. =)
I'm actually quite surprised that you're not into March Madness! I guess I kind of assume all sports fans are crazy about March Madness -- but maybe that's just because *I* love March Madness haha. Or at least I love March Madness until my brackets explode :P
ReplyDeleteI'm not Irish, so I can't give an actual Irish opinion, but even though I'm in no way Irish, *I* find St. Patrick's Day horrifically offensive. (Though maybe that's just because I don't like enormous crowds of drunk people haha.) It seems like it takes all of these patronizing stereotypes about the Irish and their culture and just blows it up, all so people have an excuse to get totally wasted. Not to mention that it seems to be really more about drinking than celebrating Irish culture anyway, at least as far as mainstream St. Patrick's Day celebrating goes. Ha - I've become very anti-St. Patrick's Day as of late :P
I read One Day a few years ago and LOVED it...right up until the ending. I won't spoil it for you in case you don't know how it ends, but from a literary perspective I found it to be, honestly, a bit unprofessional. I got the impression that Nicholls had a certain word count or page limit he had to hit for his publisher, and once he hit that limit, he just quit on the entire story, which REALLY bothered me, especially based on how well I felt the rest of the story was developed. But I tend to be a bit critical about that type of thing -- it's one of my few rights as the proud owner of a BA in English ;)
If I didn't always do so poorly with bracket pools and/or if I had an allegiance to a school that was a consistently strong contender, maybe things would be different for me? That is cool that you love March Madness! Who did you pick to win it all? What criteria do you use to make your selections!?!?!?
DeleteAgree with you on St. Patrick's Day feeling very offensive. If I were Irish, I can't imagine that I would be proud of the crazy drunkenness that goes on with people dressed up as leprechauns. This past weekend, my Facebook page was blowing up with folks complaining how it's so hard to do ANYTHING in Chicago that weekend. I know you agree!
You are correct in that I have not yet finished One Day. I'm only about a third of the way through the book so far (I need to hurry up as book club is next Friday). Your perspective is very interesting! I am intrigued now to finish it, based on your commentary! Do you want to join the book club, btw? Katie from Live Half Full started it up last year, and I think you'd enjoy it! Only challenge is that the meetings are in the suburbs on Friday nights. But please let me know!
Well, I have eight different brackets.... Haha. But I have Gonzaga winning it all on the only bracket I care about (the other ones I fill out either for competitions that aren't that important to me [like winning spots in sports leagues, which I'd be fine with, but certainly don't need] or just for fun). I went to a DIII school, so obviously my alma mater is never in it. Instead, I pick on a combination of gut feeling, seed ranking, and whether or not I know someone who attended the school in question, and my opinion of that person (for example, my best friend's school tends to go far in my bracket, because my best friend went there. My ex-boyfriend's school loses first round in all eight of my brackets, because he went there and even though I'm really doing all right, sometimes it's fun to be petty over really silly things like this hahaha :P ). I also almost always go for Gonzaga because I like their name, and I am THAT person. Haha.
DeleteBook club sounds like a lot of fun, but sadly I don't have a car :( Plus I do get up pretty early on Saturdays to run, which makes Friday nights a bit tricky for me, usually. But I do really appreciate the offer! We had a little blogger book club in the city here for a while and it was always a blast!
You and I have very, VERY similar criteria for how we determine bracket selections. =) Oh my goodness, eight brackets!?!?!? You really DO love March Madness! I like the name Gonzaga, too. It's just fun to say. (Other words that I think are fun to say include kiwi and discombobulated, off the top of my head. Totally random, I know.)
DeleteI hear you on the Friday night challenges. Living in the city and even having a car, it's tough to get out to the burbs on Friday nights amidst all the traffic. Let me know if you ever change your mind, though! What happened to the blogger book club in the city? I think I knew a few folks that were part of it before but haven't heard about it in a long time. Did it go by the wayside?
I noticed you omitted a key fact about Tommy Hawk. Moments before we took this picture, he tried to steal your purse…in full view of hundreds! Ran right across the room with it. He returned it; I can only assume because a giant purse snatching bird would be easily described to local law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Yes, despite the crimes against humanity that Tommy Hawk has committed against us (stealing my purse, spraying you with silly string, rubbing your head, mocking the "superior fowl"), he is still my favorite mascot. It would be interesting to see a dual between Tommy Hawk and Ice Burgh.
DeleteAnd yes, Tommy Hawk would be exceptionally easy to pick out of a line-up. ;-P
WHAT? No deep dish at Gino's?? Who are you???
ReplyDeleteMarch what? Add me to camp couldn't care less about the madness. If I'm the race heat magnet, you can be the rain magnet. Maybe we need to race together more and cancel the weather out.
I know, right? I don't even know I am anymore! =P
DeleteI was thinking about what would happen if we raced together and both brought our weather magnets with us. Would it result in a hot, rainy race (e.g. a steambath or a sauna)? But hey - when we both ran Soldier Field 10, we had perfect weather that day - so maybe you are right!!! We need to run more races together, period. =)
I like that little cartoon! Funny:)
ReplyDeleteI too am going to try and Irish Soda Bread recipe...Love Irish Soda Bread!
Isn't the cartoon hilarious? It is SO TRUE, too!!!
DeleteIrish soda bread is scary addicting. I love carbs to begin with, so combine amazingly good bread with that and you've got a dangerous combination!!!
Here's hoping for no rain at your next race! You've certainly had enough!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read One Day, but I saw the movie on Netflix. (Usually it's the other way around for me - reading the book but skipping the movie.) At first I didn't like it, then I got really into it, then I hated the ending. I'm assuming the book is probably different though. If you like it, I might end up picking it up. I def like the idea of a story that is set on the same day over the years. I think it'd be challenging as a writer.
Thanks, Amy!!! All prayers and sunshiny-vibes are very appreciated!!!
DeleteI am surprised how many folks have seen the movie! I never even knew the movie existed until now. It sounds like most people weren't big fans of the movie, though, which I guess is not surprising (don't people always like the book better?) I do like the concept of the same day, though - I think it's very innovative! I'm only about a third of the way through the book so far so the jury is still out on this ending that people keep mentioning... to be continued!
You didn't order deep dish?! I just cried a little.
ReplyDeleteIf you look in the dictionary under the definition of "blasphemous" you will see my picture! I don't even know who I am anymore. =(
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