Duly Noted

I was going to write :"our little nugget's due date came and went," but she isn't a nugget anymore!  Not even close!  She is feeling like a real baby in there!  All knees and elbows.  Regardless, her due date came and went on Wednesday.  This wasn't a surprise for anyone, including me, although I was hoping that maybe she would make an unexpected appearance in the days leading up to May 25th.  The good news is that Mike is done teaching for the year and I decided to make Tuesday my last day, so we have been enjoying some time together with Misha at daycare.  These past couple of days have been rather peaceful as we have finished some projects (our basement guest room is ready!), started some new ones (Mike is replacing all outlets- he is on a total home repair kick), whipped up some desserts (strawberry shortcakes with ricotta filling, one of my favorites), and organized stuff (like an electronics drawer- found an undeveloped one-use camera from 201...

July somersaulted into August as Mike, Misha, and I headed from our cabin weekend to joining Mike's family in the northeast.  There, our days were colored with gray fog rising off the water in the morning and jewel toned sunsets.  Early morning coffee with the baby and rounds of game playing in the evening.  Trips to the local corner store for soft serve coffee ice creams.  Long runs along hilly roads with views of shingled farm houses and adirondack chairs.  Postcard perfect views from mountain trails and steep, careful downhill climbs with precious cargo strapped to my frame.  A cold swim for a little babe in a evergreen shaded lake.  There was a not so satisfying crab cake, and, fortunately, a very glorious oh-so-savory crab cake later on.  With lots of eager arms and quick smiles about, Misha savored the loving attention from his family while Mike and I set off to complete as many crosswords as humanly possible.  :) Preparing to set o...

McCarthy 4th of July tradition lives on...DONUTS! Hipster baby.  Bringing brooklyn to MN. New picnic table arrived on the 4th!  Perfect for a potluck. Bruchetta Sleepy Misha We need new landscaping but we are rocking the American flags.

This past weekend was of the toodling variety.  What's toodling, you ask?  Toodling involves doing this and that, following one's whims. Friday was a fairly lazy day.  Mike and I declared Fridays as "M-Cubed Day," a day of adventures with little Misha. We were talking about going to the Landscape Arboretum (our wedding locale) this past Friday, but Misha fell asleep and, consequently, I fell asleep and then motivation drifted along with us to dreamland.  Lucky for us, the day ended on an effortless high note when our dear friends came over and made dinner Nicaraguan style, complete with our favorite tostones (fried plantains!). Saturday morning, I headed out for a longish run with another old friend along river road.  Often, I take Rachel the dog or Misha with me when I run, so running solo feels like a treat.  I love my little home team, but I feel so light with my hands free.  Post run, Misha and I checked out our local farmer's market.  Not...

Today I made a pesto from my inherited 1977 Moosewood cookbook.  My mom wrote "good" with a double underline, so I knew it must be a worthy recipe.  I have been preparing giant batches of salads and grilled meats to keep me from eating cereal on nights Mike is at grad school. In my opinion, the trick to tasty wholesome food is in the dressing.  I will eat a plate of plain raw veggies, but I enjoy a tossed salad with a mustardy vinaigrette beneath grilled chicken with a Mediterranean, yogurt-based marinade.   My favorite dressings are light (not saturated in mayonaise) and savory.  I prefer lime and cilantro over lemon and mint.  I avoid garlic because I cannot stand the aftertaste (still...hours later), but I do like green onions, chives, and red onion. Tonight, I tossed whole wheat noodles with a couple scoops of the pesto (recipe below- as noted, I skipped garlic and butter) and served them with tomatoes and olives over salad greens.  D...

A month into Summer with a capital S (cause Summer is for real for teachers), I have had a fair amount of hours to pick apart and contemplate my dependence on staying "busy."  You might just say I stayed busy stressing about my lack of busyness.  (I know this will tickle more than a few of my readers who I tease about their dependence on busyness.  Let's just say this comes from a place of understanding.)  My stress naturally led into some soul searching.  If my schedule is not full...If I am not working full time...If I don't know what the day has in store...If I don't have a plan...Well, what then?  Who am I?  What's the point?   On Sunday evening, my eye caught The New York Times headline, "The 'Busy' Trap. "  Author Tim Kreider argues that busyness is an "existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness."  He claims that people stay busy "because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they're addicted...

This summer's training runs have been more helter skelter than ever. I'm currently training for two triathlons in August- a women only sprint tri in Minneapolis and then a longer, Olympic distance tri in Maple Grove. So, I approached this summer with the attitude that I will run when I need to and focus on biking and swimming consistently. This plan has sort of worked out. I've been running at least four days a week: two days of trail running workouts with my club and then two days of running with Washburn Cross Country Team as a new coach. This adds up to at least 20 miles of running. However, I have some beef with this schedule. Primarily, I don't get to run as much with Rachel or by my lonesome or with my other best running girlfriends. Thus, I've sneaked (snuck?) in some extra runs to accomplish this. Perhaps as a result (or due to the fact that I never recovered fully from the marathon), my left hip is creaky. I don't like it. It's not painful...

As a teacher, I have the luxury of ten empty weeks. Somehow, I manage to fill up seven of them pretty quickly with camping, coaching, traveling, paneling, and painting. Today, however, I spent Monday morning exactly the way I wish I could spend every Monday morning for the rest of my life. Dramatic? Yes. Sincere? Very. I baked a batch of millet muffins and drank some coffee. I opened all the windows and let the cool morning air drift through our home. Then, Anna, one of my favorite tri/run buddies biked over and we headed to Lake Nokomis to try out some open water swimming before my sprint tri in a few weeks. Despite the cloudy water and the ill spread buoys, I felt strong and fast. I really had nothing to measure my speed against, but I imagined coming out of the swim in first place (this will not happen but it was fun to imagine!). The sun was beaming down on the waves and I felt absolutely alive and grateful. Thank you parents for signing me up for swim team at age 6. Hi...