Currently - Jan '15

Last week got pretty busy at work, with even more time spent staring at a computer screen than usual. I know my eyes and brain appreciated the break in the evenings, but I am disappointed to have missed the "Currently" link-up with Anne and Jenna this month. Better late than never, here's what I've been up to of late: 

...to run my first 10K on March 1, provided the ground isn't completely covered in ice or other wintery precipitation.  I have a training plan taped to my fridge, but I have only gotten in about half of the prescribed workouts for the first two weeks.

...the work project I spent 20+ hours formatting last week doesn't need any revisions. With my track record though, maybe I won't be the one asked to do them.

...carrot cake. I was excited to try out a recipe my mom gave me over Christmas, but the second step called for three ingredients that were not included in the list above the instructions. I pulled out another cookbook and found a very similar recipe that made a dozen cupcakes for a dinner get-together and a single 9" round cake to take into work the next day.

...low heeled ankle boots. They go with skirts/tights as well as pants for work and keep my feet warmer than my usual flats and wedges. I've started looking for a second pair to put into the rotation for the cold months ahead.

...to continue working on my 30 before 30 list and general monthly goals. I am also trying to be more decisive and act on items from both my to-do and want-to lists.

30 before 30: 12 month report

Happy New Year! I hope everyone's 2015 is off to a great start! 

A year ago, I finalized my "30 before 30" list and created a page for it on this lil' blog.  I also proclaimed "I will be crossing off items as I finish them"  and "assessing my progress every six months." And just like June, I haven't really done the first part of that, but the six month check-ins are there for a reason, so let's get to it.

As the daughter of two lawyers I feel obliged to start with the following disclaimer: my deadline for completing this list is December 31, 2015.  Technically this three months and seven days after my 30th birthday, but who's counting anyway?

Blog
1. Edit labels - 12/2014 - Not so much editing as figuring out how to make them a look a bit neater, but that was mostly what I was going for anyway.

4. Photo site --> Post 1X/week* - As in June, I am allowing myself to edit one goal.  I've been trying to streamline my digital life by unsubscribing to offer e-mails, unfollowing blogs I don't consistently read and enjoy, and generally avoiding facebook, so starting a photo site didn't really make sense.  As an added bonus, this is now a two-fer goal!*

Cooking
6. Bake bread from scratch - Chocolate Almond Swirl 4/2014

8. Try 5 new/unusual foods - (2/5 - chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 10/2014, dragon fruit 12/2014 ) This one is actually harder than I thought it would be; I guess I know what I like and stick to it. Neither of the foods above is terribly exotic, but I had a hard time finding the chipotle chiles (and had no idea they came in the sauce) and I got pick the dragon fruit right off of the cactus, which I think should count for something.

9. New recipe 1X/week* - (33/52 - 2014)  I am really satisfied with this number! And very glad that I have started blogging about them every month, because there were definitely not that many blue circles on my wall calendar. 

Fitness
10. Run color/electric race - (Rainbow Rush "5K" 5/2014) This race was sponsored by an arts collective, started 20-30 minutes late, and was really only half as long as it was supposed to be. I went mostly for the experience of running through clouds of colored cornstarch, so at least that part went as planned.

14. Yoga 1X/week - (33/52 - 2014) While there is certainly some room for improvement here, yoga at least every other week is much better than than little or no yoga at all.

Personal Growth
17. Attend 2  professional conferences - (2/2 - National Women's Bicycle Bicycling Forum 3/2014; Safe Routes to School National Partnership Regional Meeting 10/2014) Both of these events were a bit different than the average professional conference, but then again, the growing field of active transportation planning (bicycle and pedestrian planning) is a bit different than other fields.  At the Women's Bicycling forum, I heard inspirational stories from female bicycle advocates, competitive cyclists and the CEO's of companies that manufacture and sell bicycle-related projects.  It was really interesting to see bicycling from the non-infrastructure perspective. Mark Fenton was the keynote speaker at the Safe Routes to School Regional Meeting, and hearing him speak seems like a requirement for anyone in my field, so that was pretty cool.

18. Find & commit to a regular volunteer opportunity - (Girl Scout Troop 788 Cookie Manager/Volunteer 1-6/2014) These girls, and my fantastic, fearless co-leaders are some of the things I miss the most about leaving Charlottesville.  Sure, we crammed an insane amount of stuff into one semester (seriously, cookies alone kept us busy for three months) but it was really fun, and fascinating to be around a bunch of 5th graders. Are they kids? Teenagers? Whatever they are at any given moment will be sure to change in the next 30 seconds.

19. Read 12 non-fiction books - (5/12 - Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices, Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Bikenomics, Blink, At Home) I feel like there's another one to add to the list, but I can't place it at the moment.  Oh well.  

20. Donate blood - (7/2014) Of all the goals on this list, this might be the one I most proud of so far.  I was really nervous walking from my office to the little conference center where the donation room had been set up. The finger prick hurt A LOT, and I had to avert my eyes most of the time but I survived and will likely donate again anytime its as easy as walking across the street.

Relationships
21. Plan wedding - (I now have 3 bridal magazines in my possession, and I joined Pinterest 11/2014) A year later, this goal and the next goal seem out of order. Read more below.

22. Get married - (Engaged 8/29/2014; Fiance visa paperwork filed 10/2014) Yes, I am trying to just casually slip in the fact that Keizo proposed in August, and I have never posted about it on any form of social media. I tried to let everyone closest to me know over the phone, and I hope no one feels left out if you are just learning about it here.  Maybe its selfish to keep such exciting news a relative secret, but honestly I find it much harder to be engaged to someone 8,000 miles away than just date him (even if it's been headed this direction for a while). There are so many questions we don't have the answers to yet: 'When will he be here?' 'When/where will you get married?' 'What will he do here?' and believe me, I wish I knew. The hardest is 'What do his parents think?' because I honestly have no earthly idea, and really worry about how often Keizo will be able to see them after he moves here. 

Here's the gist of it looking ahead: Last we heard, the application for Keizo's fiance visa was received by the processing center in Texas.  Once it is reviewed, they will forward it to the US Embassy in Tokyo, where he will go for an interview and have a medical exam. After he gets his visa and arrives in the US, we will have 90 days to get married.  After we're wed, he will apply for a "change in status" i.e. a green card so he can get a job. The current train of thought is a small civil ceremony with my immediate family shortly after he arrives, and a bigger reception at a location yet to be determined down the road.

24. Write letter 1X/week* - (37/52 - 2014)  I confess to beefing up this total with the 16 Christmas cards I wrote in December, but again this is something that I do manage to do slightly more often than I make note of on the calendar.

Travel 
Blergh! I hate that I don't have anything to show in this category yet.  There was definitely not as much travel as in 2013 for several reasons, but now that I have a job squared away it will be a bit easier to budget funds and paid time off for some adventures in 2015.

*Monthly Goals (Two-fers)

Exercise for at least 30 minutes 5X/week (162/260 - 62%) I set this goal thinking that 30 minutes was very achievable and I would work out more often. I logged 192 workouts in 2013, so my logic didn't exactly hold up. In my defense, I couldn't find my calendar among the moving boxes to record any workouts for most of August or September...

Cook a new recipe 1X/week (33/52 - 63%) I am still rather impressed with myself for this one! I wonder if this rate will increase when Keizo is living here; we will be consuming more food, and perhaps cooking more often thus more opportunities to try out new things?

Blog 1X/week (29/52 - 55%) This one turned out better than I thought it would. I will probably never have another 2011 with 93 posts (seriously, wow) but I would like to be in the 40's next year.

Write a letter 1X/week (37/52 - 71%) Including 16 Christmas cards in this count feels even more like cheating when I see the percentages, but they were all handwritten with personal messages. I think this year I will amend this goal to "Write a letter or call a faraway friend 1X/week."

Do something interesting/new 1X/week (5/52 -10%) I will be the first to admit that I have taken to staying in on these dark, cold evenings but I know I did more than the five "interesting" things I happened to record in 2014. Especially living in a new city with a ton of free things to do, I have no excuse not to dramatically improve this number in 2015. I think making a DC bucket list might help, but I also need to come up with a better tracking system.

Best Recipes of 2014

As 2014 draws to a close, and I get ready to go back to work tomorrow after a nice week at home in Arizona for Christmas, here's a quick look back on the edible highlights from my year: 

January - Stuffed Cabbage Soup

March - Cheesy Stuffed Eggplants

April - Chocolate Almond Bread

May - Lentil Meatballs with Lemony Pesto

June - Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

July - Mini-White Bean Burgers

October - Chipotle Roasted Kabocha Squash and Kale Salad

November - Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake

Not every month is represented in the recipes above, but as anyone who regularly tries new recipes knows, they can't all be winners.  However, the ones featured on this list are all worth repeating and it's been fun to look back at my year(s) in food.  The recipes from the first part of the year feel like I made them in another lifetime, but I guess in a way I did.

It's been a roller coaster of a year, and I am continuing to adjust to my new job and life in a new city.  Without a doubt, I am in a better place than I was at the beginning of the year and while it's hard for me to believe that there are only a few days left in 2014, I am looking forward to new challenges and adventures in 2015.

Thank you for following along on Two Betsu Bara & all the best in 2015!

Currently - Dec '14

Joining up with Anne with a list of things I've been making, listening (to), wrapping, watching and anticipating this month. 

Salty Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies for the Bake-Off at work.  I thought was being very clever with my choice, so I was quite surprised when I saw another batch of cookies with sesame seeds on top!  The two sesame themed recipes were actually pretty different, and neither of us won.  The well-deserved grand prize went to a chocolate caramel walnut tart that was both gorgeous and decadent. 

I've listened to a few Christmas carols, but this song has been my favorite since late summer. I fell in love with the video set in Japan, and I expect everyone at my wedding to have the sweet dance moves memorized.

I am going home for Christmas (see below) so instead of wrapping things that are just going to be jammed into my suitcase, I have started collecting the few small gifts I am taking with me into a small pile.

Mostly though I have been wrapping myself up in my new winter coat.  It's black and puffy; neither exciting nor the best option for walking home in the dark, but it has fleece-lined pockets, covers my hips and I have yet to be cold while wearing it.

I've actually seen two movies in the theater in the past month!  My brother and I saw Big Hero 6, which had some real tear-jerker moments for kids movie.  I can't wait to have my own Baymax to take care of all my health care needs.  I also saw the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 over the long weekend.  My Hunger Games experience started with the second movie, followed by listening to all three of the books; maybe one day I will get around to watching the first movie, or maybe not.

A whole week at home for Christmas! It's been a whole year since I was last in Arizona, which seems like a very long time.  Even when I was teaching English in Japan, I made it home once in the middle of my two year stint.  I am hoping for some ridiculously sunny weather, some time with my mom's sewing machine (to make some of these), and spending time with family & friends.  Only 16 more days! 

New Recipes: November

November was a fun month around these parts.  I went to a wedding, a baby shower, a Friendsgiving potluck, hosted my brother for a long weekend and of course, celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving this past Thursday. The slew of fun events were almost enough to distract me from the very cold weather in the middle of the month, but as you will see from the dinner recipes below warming foods were very much on my mind.

Recipe 1: Pork and Poblano Stew

I made this the first weekend of November, and in spite of eating it for a whole week, I am not recalling much about it at the moment.  I don't think the chili peppers at my local Giant were properly labeled, so this would probably be spicier (and tastier) with the right pepper.

Recipe 2: Italian Chicken Sausage and Artichoke Soup

This soup is just from last weekend, and I finished the last serving yesterday so it's much fresher in my mind.  This soup was good and really easy to make.  The Italian sausage provides a lot of flavor, and the generous amount of chard (or in my case, collards since I didn't see any chard at the store) makes it full of vitamins.  The artichokes were a nice addition too, and something I wouldn't normally add to soup.  Best served with some parmesan cheese and warm crusty bread.

Recipe 3: Pan-Seared Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

(No photos of this one, sorry!) This recipe was one of my two contributions to my Friendsgiving feast with fellow UVA MUEP alumni.  It was pretty quick to make and not surprisingly, pretty tasty with the butter and bacon.  I made this in the morning for dinner later that night but I think it would be even better served immediately.

My other dish was dessert (but doesn't qualify as a "new" recipe): Apple Crumble a la Naoko-sensei. I had known about this potluck for weeks, yet didn't choose recipes or buy ingredients until the morning of and thus appreciated the simplicity and awesome deliciousness of this recipe.  Apples, lemon juice and some sugar simmer on the stove while flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and a stick of butter are mixed until crumbly for the topping.  Filling + topping are combined in a baking dish and the results are hard to resist. This nearly perfect dish was made even better by some local salted caramel ice cream brought by another Friendsgiving attendee.

Recipe 4: Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake

As if Thanksgiving dinner isn't rich enough on its own, for the past three years I have felt the need to add an over-the-top pumpkin cheesecake to the dessert buffet at my aunt and uncle's house.  The first two years I made a pumpkin ginger cheesecake, but when I stumbled on the recipe above going through old holiday magazines before moving in August, I felt like it was time to switch it up.

This is one of the most beautiful cheesecakes I have ever made; I should have taken more pictures as it really did turn out very similar to the one in the recipe photo. Aesthetics aside, this cheesecake also received rave reviews for taste and decadence. I shared the leftovers and finished off my portion for breakfast this morning. It will be a bit hard to go back to multi-grain toast tomorrow morning, but it's all for the best: Christmas and the seemingly unlimited holiday treats will be here shortly!

I'm not sure how many new recipes I will have to review at the end of December.  There are a half dozen or so that I only make around the holidays and I would really hate to miss out on them by breaking with tradition.  Perhaps I will just have to share some of those instead!

Thank you for following along with my sporadic posts here on 2BB!

Currently

I am not a very good blogger, and I'm not just talking about the long stretches between posts lately. I'm referring more to my passive participation in the blogging community.  There are probably about a dozen or so blogs I follow on a regular basis, but I only comment on one or two of them, and even that is rare.  

One blog I have been following for a while (but have yet to comment on) is Anne in Residence. She gives great packing advice, has amazing monthly review posts, and presents everything in a professional, yet fun and friendly way.  Near the beginning of the month, she hosts a link up where bloggers share what they are "currently" up to.  I've always enjoyed reading these posts, and thought I would try one of my own based on November's prompts.

1) Reading -- At Home by Bill Bryson. This is the probably the third or fourth Bill Bryson book I've read, and I am enjoying it just as much as the others. I've even learned a few things, although there is so much information packed into these pages it can be a bit hard to absorb sometimes.

2) Wishlisting -- Some new furniture/decorations for my apartment. My walls aren't exactly white, but they are pretty bare and my living room definitely lacks a focal point.

3) Loving -- I think the leaves have been especially nice this year, and I have enjoyed this pretty stand of trees on my way to work the past few weeks (that's my office building in the background). It doesn't hurt that my go-to pair of sunglasses have a brown tint, which really brings out the color.

4) Appreciating -- So many things: a job with a future, a roof over my head and my good health.  And what does a Hello Kitty power wheel have to do with any of that?  Not much, but the photo was sent to me by my brother, who will be visiting this weekend, and reminds me of the 9-question Hello Kitty quiz Keizo read to me while I was getting ready this morning.  Getting to adventure all over Japan with Jamie is the only reason I could answer any of the questions (did you know Hello Kitty weighs as much as 3 apples?), so that flashy toy has me appreciating a lot of special people in my life as well.

5) Creating -- Just getting started on a small hat to be gifted at a baby shower later this month.  It definitely needs some work, or it will only be a headband!

New Recipes: October

It is no longer October, which means I have officially passed the two month mark in my new apartment and at my new job!  Whatever feeling of being settled I alluded to in the last post was a lie, or at the very least, fleeting.  I am definitely still adjusting to life in a new place--which has its fun parts, like a bike ride to sample beer throughout DC with friends a few weeks ago--but it has been hard for me to get a routine established that includes important things like exercising regularly and pursuing hobbies that aren't Netflix centered.

One routine that I have been able to establish fairly well is weekly meal planning and grocery shopping.  I have used my Sundays the past few weeks to pick out some new recipes, procure ingredients, and make enough food for several meals throughout the week.  Read on for some of the new things I tried this month!

Recipe 1: Bone Builder Smoothie

I'm not sure how I came across this recipe, but Nutella and raspberries in a smoothie?!?  I even went out and bought raspberries just for this purpose.  I also added a banana when I made it and a little bit of almond milk to help things blend.  My one problem with this recipe is that 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese and a dollop of Nutella aren't exactly low-cal.  I never in a million years thought I would be someone who counts calories, but I started using the My Fitness Pal app earlier in the summer, and guess what?  When you burn more calories than you take in, you look/feel better in your clothes/skin ;-)  

This is especially important for me to remember in lieu of my confession above at how hard its been to re-establish an exercise routine.  My hilly 20 minute bike ride to work in Charlottesville has been replaced by a 10 minute-if-I-add-a-few-blocks walk to work in Silver Spring, so exercising in addition to my commute is key!

Recipe 2: Chipotle Roasted Kabocha Squash and Kale Salad

This is another superb recipe from An Avocado A Day.  A few months ago, I tried a recipe for lentil "meatballs" and with a lemon-pesto, which was well worth a bit of extra effort in the kitchen.  This recipe was easier (once I tracked down the canned chipotle chiles) and contains one of my very favorite vegetables--kabocha--aka Japanese pumpkin.  If you follow the link above, you can read about all of kabocha and kale's super food properties, but I think all any fellow squash lover really needs to know is you can eat the skin!  No more almost losing a finger trying to peel a stubborn butternut or scraping out the insides of a spaghetti squash (although I will still do those things on occasion).  I had chiles left over, so I made another batch of kabocha this past weekend.


Recipe 3: Garden Minestrone

I made several substitutions in this recipe based on what I had on hand, but I don't think that subbing kale for spinach or spiral pasta for "very short tube-shaped macaroni" had any ill effects on the final product or preclude me from pronouncing this a good basic soup recipe.  I may have forgotten the salt and pepper, so it sorely needed some cheese to help bring out the flavors, but let's be honest, I would be adding cheese anyway so no harm, no foul.


Recipe 4: Roasted Broccoli Enchiladas

This recipe came about because I bought some overpriced enchilada sauce when I went into Whole Foods looking for the chipotle chiles called for in Recipe #2.  I was looking for adobo sauce, and didn't realize until I opened the can that the chiles are packed in it.  Live and learn.  I also follow the Relay Foods recipe blog, and they happened to have a recipe for enchiladas last week.  I liked the filling, but perhaps there was not quite enough sauce to cover and cook everything as the end product was a tad dry.  Like the soup and cheese combo above, this recipe was made better with a simple addition--creamy avocado.

Recipe 5: Salmon Waldorf Salad (similar recipe here)

I don't have too much to say about this recipe, but that doesn't mean it wasn't quick and tasty.  I did most of the prep between work and meeting up with my apartment building's newly formed "running group" and only had to mix everything together and put it on a bed of greens when I got back.  One drawback is that I am hesitant to take the leftovers in for lunch due to the aroma, but after sitting in the fridge the salmon does not seem as "fishy" as tuna.

Recipe 6: Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

And lastly, another smoothie.  I've made something similar before, but this is a new recipe which does not call for protein powder.  When looking up the link to share here, I just noticed it says it serves two, or more accurately, one of me for breakfast.  Although this version is looking sadly plain, I look forward to making this again and adding some Reddi-whip and cinnamon on top.


As soon as I hit publish, I will have one blog post in the books for November!  And with all the foods of the holiday season on the horizon, let's hope it won't be the only one.  Thanks for stopping by!