Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Narrator: Rebecca Lowman
Source: Audible
Finished: 2/8/12
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 352
Published: 2011
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from Amazon): Set during the hazy, enchanting, and martini-filled world of New York City circa 1938, Rules of Civility follows three friends–Katey, Eve, and Tinker–from their chance meeting at a jazz club on New Year’s Eve through a year of enlightening and occasionally tragic adventures. Tinker orbits in the world of the wealthy; Katey and Eve stretch their few dollars out each evening on the town. While all three are complex characters, Katey is the story’s shining star. She is a fully realized heroine, unique in her strong sense of self amidst her life’s continual fluctuations. Towles’ writing also paints an inviting picture of New York City, without forgetting its sharp edges.

Overall Impression: Rules of Civility is a book to get lost in. Towles decadent descriptions of life in 1938 reeled me in and I found myself just falling into the story. Towles has an incredible gift for writing beautiful language, and Rebecca Lowman’s soft, elegant narration did it justice in a way that made me wonder if I would have missed it had I read it in book form. It was all just so lush and thick and delicious. This was, by far, my favorite part of the book — seeing how Towles crafted his sentences and paragraphs. Gorgeous.

The plot got off to a somewhat rocky start for me (it felt a little contrived), but then it sort of flattened out into a more even, realistic story. It’s truly a story of a woman’s independence and coming of age, a little later in life than most. I found myself loving the subplots more than the main triangle of friends — particularly Katey and Wallace and Katey and Anne. These two stories felt particularly timeless — they could have happened any time, but I was lucky enough to read about them in 1938.

This could have been a knock-it-out-of-the-park stellar book if it was not for one thing — I have a hard time when men write female characters. Towles did an admirable job, but there were still parts that didn’t feel distinctly feminine, though, of course, I couldn’t put my finger precisely on it. Maybe it’s that Katey didn’t quite have the emotions that would be spot on for pretty much all women — for the most part, I find that we care about certain things more. Other than this, though, it was an excellent book.

Positives: Towles! Write more beautiful things! Please! I will read them!

Negatives: Katey was missing…something. I can’t put my finger on it, though.

Narration: Rebecca Lowman was wonderful — a little timid in some places, but overall she did an excellent job.

Other books I’ve read by Amor Towles: none

Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Rebecca Lowman: Vaclav and Lena (review)

Other blogger opinions:

books i done read: “We have a heap of Theme and Nuance in this corner, and then a pile of Genuinely Enjoyable Read over there.  And underneath the diving board I believe I spied some Humor.”

Devourer of Books: “Perhaps the real problem for Rules of Civility was simply that it fell victim to my as-yet undiagnosed general dissatisfaction with historical fiction based in America, despite my love for American history.”

Reading with Tea: “Well worth the read. Get your hands on a copy if you can, and even better if it’s in audio!”

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 2/6/12
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publisher: Little Brown
Pages: 304
Published: 2011
Challenges: none

Synopsis (from the Book Description): Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can “remember” are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you’d easily forget, yet try as she might, London can’t find him in her memories of things to come. When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it’s time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

Overall Impression: Full disclosure: I am tweeps with Cat Patrick on Twitter. And I think she’s great. I will try not to let that skew my review.

First of all, kudos to Patrick for creating something different. The premise for her book — that teenager London Lane can only remember the future, not the past — is original (at least when it comes to everything I’ve read). I liked that I had to puzzle over how different parts of her life worked out. For instance, how does she wake up every morning knowing who her best friend is? Of course…they’ll be best friends for years to come so she remembers her. Clever! I also thought Patrick’s writing was clear and her dialogue authentic and sharp. It was a quick read — I flew right through it. Which is nice, since I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately.

London’s emotional struggle was very realistic — I think it’s hard enough when, for instance, people lie to you and you have a normal memory. But knowing that you have to rely on the people around you for your memories and then you find out someone has been keeping something from you for a significant amount of time — that’s an even bigger betrayal. I thought London’s struggle in this area was particularly heart-wrenching, and her emotions and actions regarding these lies were true to how her character would act. I liked the secondary characters in the book as well — none of them felt like cliched sidekicks.

Still, I sort of struggled with Cat’s world a little. I somehow both liked and disliked that not everything was spelled out to the reader about London’s condition. I was thinking there would be more visits to doctors, more examining, more input from the people around her about what her condition might be (I think Before I Go To Sleep made me think this). I would be totally freaked out if someone I knew could read the future! Will I ever get married and have kids? What’s going to blow up? Are the robots really coming? But he friends and family seemed just fine and not very inquisitive. But it wasn’t a deal breaker — more just curiosity at her condition. And things wrapped up a little too neatly at the end, though that’s a gripe that I have about most books. Tying it up in such a neat package always falls a little flat for me.

Positives: Such a fantastic premise — it had me guessing all the way to the end.

Negatives: A little too neat, especially to toward the end.

Other books I’ve read by Cat Patrick: none

Other blogger opinions:

KellyVision: “This is one of the most clever stories I’ve read in ages.”

As Told by Jen: “Every character felt real. Every scenario seemed plausible. I think I experienced every emotion London felt right along with her.”

Mrs. Q: Book Addict: “This debut novel is entrancing, absorbing and one you won’t want to pass up.”

GalleySmith: “Forgotten is, hands down, one of the best mystery books I’ve read within the young adult field of literature.”

Let’s see. Here are a couple things I’ve made in the last few weeks:

Broccoli and Cheese Over Easy Omelete, courtesy of Whole Living

I think I’ve been running low on protein (feeling a little lethargic sometimes), so I’m trying to eat some more eggs and meat and other protein-packed food. Normally I’ll just fry up an egg and some toast, but I thought I’d give making an omelete a shot — can’t be that hard, right?

I’m happy to report, it wasn’t hard at all! I sort of followed the directions — I didn’t have a scallion, so I added a little garlic to the broccoli, and that added some nice flavor. I think what really made this recipe was the cheese. I sprinkled it in the pan and didn’t move or anything — just let it get golden brown and then cracked the egg / poured the egg whites over the top. The resulting cheesy crisp on the outside of the omelet made it extra special. I also loved that there was one whole egg in here, cooked over medium. The yolk was so good mixed in there — and it gave me something to mop up with my toast.

Eight out of ten cheesy crusts! 

As I mentioned in my post about Hillary’s visit, I also made scones from Martha Stewart Living.

Apple and Oat Scones with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

I have never made scones from scratch before. I really do love a good scone, especially with Devonshire cream and jam. Scones can really be hit-or-miss — sometimes they can be way too dry if they aren’t made right. So I was a little apprehensive about tackling scones for the first time. I followed Martha’s directions exactly as in the recipe — and the resulting scones were a little lighter than a traditional scone. It was more like a coffee cake scone. Which was definitely not a bad thing — Hillary, Ryan and I all thought they were really tasty. Case in point — I ate four of them on Saturday. When I make them again, I think I’ll add some more cinnamon and nutmeg — the flavor could have been a little bolder. But they were really light and delicious. Oh, and next time I’ll grab some Devonshire cream. I bet that will make them stellar!

Nine out of ten apple chunks! 

Training Update: When I last wrote a training post, I was complaining that I completely lost my workout mojo. Good news! It has returned with a vengeance.

First of all, I started running again. In the last two and a half weeks, I’ve started doing the C25K again. Since I hadn’t completely lost all my running skillz, I sped up the program, running about five times a week, instead of three. Several times, I doubled that day’s workout (just doing it twice in a row). I’m up to Week 5, Day 3 now, and I’m feeling good. I also took some Christmas money and put it toward a new treadmill from Costco. I decided to bite the bullet because I was having a hard time getting out and running in the cold and the fog, and Costco had a killer deal. So I’ve been running on the treadmill, as well as outside on my work lunch breaks. It’s been awesome and I feel great. That 5k on March 3 isn’t looking nearly as scary.

We also had two Tough Mudder trainings since my last post. They were both conditioning — the first had me and Jason (a TM teammate) doing a combined 500 kettlebell swings, 400 cross mountain climbers, 300 push-ups, 200 box jumps, and 100 burpees. We also had two half-mile runs with a 15lb weight. Then, we also helped Chris and Dave complete their set, because they got started late. I was sore for five days.

Last weekend, the training was a circuit of one-minute exercises: monkey bars, TRX squats, rope wrangling (you know, that wavy rope thing they do on the Biggest Loser), squats with a barbell across my shoulders, evil ab roller, box jumps, and a handstand. Then run a half mile. Then do all that twice more! It was quite a workout, and was good practice for Tough Mudder (which as monkey bars, for instance). Good times!

I also tested for my first black tip on my red belt at karate — it was torture. All of my training went dooododleleleeee out of my brain and I couldn’t remember anything. I am not sure how I passed, but I did. And I vowed to get to more classes this cycle, so that wouldn’t happen again at my test in five weeks. I made it once this week (Hillary’s visit interrupted my normal schedule…not that I’m complaining!). Next week I hope to go three times and then I’ll be on track for this cycle!

Anywho, we had a great time while she was here. We spent Friday traipsing around San Francisco in the rain/mist/fog/15-minutes-of-sunshine. We visited the fun shops in the Ferry Building (where I bought a fabulous green umbrella because we were a big soggy), took a tour of Alcatraz (it’s got a thing on the end that looks like a monster), rode a cable car to City Lights bookstore (where I purchased Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark and Old Filth by Jane Gardam, which will make Steve very happy), ate an entire pizza in the North End (that was sort of the elevensies before dinner), and then met up with one of her friends in Yerba Buena Gardens for dinner and tea (and then barely made it back to my car before the garage closed). It was an altogether lovely day. Here are some photos from our adventure. (There is also a picture of the delicious scones I made.)

On Saturday, we decided to do the exact opposite of running around a big city — we sat on my couch and watched the entire season 3 of Parks & Rec, which is absolutely hysterical (“Stop. Pooping.”) We loved that we could spend a day being so busy, and then enjoy each other’s company just as much hanging out around the house stuffing our faces with scones. Oh! And Ryan (I’ve gotten a lot of good-natured flack lately for calling him “the boyfriend” so it’s about time you all learned his name) came over so Hillary could meet his dog Gunnar (oh, and also meet Ryan…but the girl has her priorities). The three of us om-nom-nomed some Thai food and Hillary said I could keep Ryan. So, win!

Then Hillary had to go back this morning to Chicago. I should have mentioned again that it was 10 degrees in Chicago and 60 here. Maybe she would have stayed longer!

*really, you should be watching Parks & Rec.

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson

Source: Personal copy
Finished: 2/1/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 320
Published: 1989
Challenges: 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Synopsis (from the AudioFile): Iowa native Bryson returns from several years of residence in the U.K. and takes a long driving trip in the U.S. to see what he’s been missing. Not much apparently; he turns his rapier wit on everything and everyone he runs across. He reads billboards! He describes tacky towns! He treats us to tales of family trips with his parsimonious father! He voices glum room clerks and grumpy gas station attendants! An all-you-can-eat adventure in Amish country is a comic vignette in itself.

Overall Impression: Bryson wrote this toward the beginning of his wonderful writing career, and because of that, it comes across as dated. I think anything written in 1989 is going to feel that way (*cough*The Stand*cough*).

But thankfully, it doesn’t detract too much from Bryson’s writing. One of the things I love about his travelogues is that he just…goes. And sees what he can see. He doesn’t try and hit all the hot spots — he just meanders through small town America, musing upon the strangeness of the cities that we don’t normally come across as tourists. Although Bryson is a native of Iowa, he had spent the prior 20 years before his trip in the UK, so he had the interesting point of view of being both a local and a foreigner. Sometimes he feels like he fits right in, and other times he might as well be from Mars. Problem is, small town America is small town America no matter where you go, so his journey got a little repetitive after a while.

Usually Bryson’s travelogues make me want to go places, but this one really didn’t have me aching to to anywhere, except maybe Mackinac Island in Michigan. I think it’s because I don’t necessarily have any desire to see a lot of small town America, especially now that it’s mostly strip malls and fast food restaurants. I live in the suburbs. I know what it is like. But I did enjoy his reminisces of his travels with his family when he was a kid, though to get the full joy of reading about Bryson’s childhood, I highly recommend The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

As he was traveling through the Great Smoky Mountains, Bryson made this observation:

“At the foot of the mountain, the park ended and suddenly all was squalor again. I was once more struck by this strange compartmentalization that goes on in America — a belief that no commercial activities must be allowed inside the park, but permitting unrestrained development outside, even though the landscape there may be just as outstanding. America has never quite grasped that you can live in a place without making it ugly, that beauty doesn’t have to be confined behind fences, as if a national park were a sort of zoo for nature.”

I couldn’t agree more. I loved New Zealand, for example, because so much of it was nature and so much was livable space and half the time you couldn’t tell the difference between the two. While I am thankful to live where I live, sometimes I really just want to live among more nature, more beauty, more wildness. Then again, I also want hip restaurants, good shopping, and an occasional sporting event. So…perhaps the living in the suburbs about two hours away from Lake Tahoe is just about as good as I’m going to get.

Positives: Bryson is very dry and very funny. He is a great observationalist (yes I just made that word up, but it’s very apropos).

Negatives: Being more than 20 years old, the book was dated. It would be interesting for him to retrace his steps now to see what he sees in 2012.

Other books I’ve read by Bill Bryson: 

At Home (review)
Icons of England (review)
I’m a Stranger Here Myself
In a Sunburned Country (review)
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
The Mother Tongue
Neither Here Nor There (review)
Notes from a Small Island
Shakespeare: The World As Stage (review)
A Walk in the Woods

Other blogger opinions:

Sophisticated Dorkiness: “A major issue I had throughout was inconsistency. Bryson would come across a diner or a tourist trap in one place and simply hate it. He’d rip it apart in a way that was funny but at the same time, just a little mean. Then just a few pages later he’d hit something else that sounded exactly the same, but instead he’d love it.”

Here, There and Everywhere: “ What a shame that each and every one of us never really gets to see our very own country.  But if you’d like… this book could give you at least a tiny view.

Avid Reader’s Musings: “Don’t get me wrong, there are some funny bits, but it’s no where near his normal level of hilarity.”

After a lot of research and even more trying-on-everything-in-the-mall, I finally went with the Merrell Barefoot Run Pace Glove. They seemed to fit my flat-ish feet the best — others rose up higher in the arch than I would have expected from a “barefoot” running shoe. So here’s a review, just in case you’re thinking about giving minimalist running a shot.

The Pros:

There is a lot to like about the Merrells. One of the things I didn’t expect but really love is how breathable they are. My feet tend to sweat a lot (so hot, raar), and the Merrells keep my feet much cooler than my Asics. I like how they hug my feet but still let in a lot of air — not having so much fabric and “structure” between me and the air is definitely something I unexpectedly love. I do wear very thin socks with them — I think they are meant to be worn barefoot, but I get blisters easily and I didn’t want to risk it until I had broken them in better.

The Merrells force you to run on your midfoot and/or forefoot. This wasn’t really something I needed, since I run that way anyway, but it’s good to know if you’re a heel-striker. Striking on your heel in these shoes downright hurts (there is no cushion at all), and could definitely do some damage if you aren’t careful. But the Merrells really are built to guide your feet into running on the front part of your foot — which most runners would say is the best way to run, since the impact of your foot hitting the ground goes up through your muscles when you strike on the front of your foot, and your bones and joints if you strike with your heel. Muscle stress = good. Joint stress = bad.

I also like feeling the ground underneath my feet. I feel the bumps and cracks in the sidewalk, and I like how I can actually feel those stabilizer muscles working to keep me in good form. I want the muscles in my feet and legs to continue to get stronger — I think this is a good thing not only for running, but for cycling, karate, and Tough Mudder as well.

Finally, I love how light they are. Because there’s so little shoe there, there’s not as much to have to pick up and put in front of me.

The…Prons:

I can’t decide yet if this is a pro or a con: my calves have been horribly sore. I’ve been running in the Merrells for a bit, and I think it’s getting better, but good Lord…I feel like I’ve done about a thousand calf-raises. My calves feel like they look like Popeye’s arms. I thought this was a little weird, since I was a midfoot runner before — I would have though I’d built up some muscle there! Plus I’m barefoot in karate all the time! So it was a shock to find that I’ve been so sore — I think I was a little smug thinking I wouldn’t have such a problem (I’ve read that many people also have a lot of calf soreness). Maybe it was too much too soon — I’m now alternating the Merrells with my Asics, and that seems to be helping.

The Cons:

The weirdest thing about these shoes is that they are more comfortable when I am running than when I am walking. Because the footbed is slightly U-shaped in the heel, I don’t feel 100% sturdy walking around. Like I might roll an ankle if I’m not careful. This isn’t a problem when I’m running, though, since I’m striking on my midfoot. But just wearing them around is taking a little getting used to. Perhaps I just need to build up more stabilizer muscles.

I also feel like maybe I should have gone up a half size, but it’s hard to tell. My feet are two different sizes, so I’m never quite satisfied no matter what pair of shoes I’m wearing. I don’t feel my toes bump when I run, but my big left toe sometimes grazes the front of my shoe when I’m walking. Very strange.

Since I’m a girl and these things matter, I thought they would be cuter than they are. Not that they are ugly (they aren’t Vibram five fingers, for instance), but they just look a little dopey. But I can wear them out to the movies without feeling like a stupid American Tourist with my bright white tennis shoes, so that’s a bonus.

So, there you have it! I’m going to continue running in my Merrells and my Asics, hopefully building up the muscles in my legs to make longer minimalist runs a little easier. I also think they will be the perfect shoe for the Survivor Mud Run and the Tough Mudder — the less shoe there is for the mud to cling to, the better!

March 3: The Lost Trail 5k

I’ve wanted to do a trail run for a while now, so I convinced my friend Hannah to join me for this 5k — she was also looking for something to help motivate her to get running again (either that, or I just convinced her to do all these things and she’s easily persuadable). This is on granite paths near Folsom Lake, so it will be a nice change from running roads all the time. I should probably get out there and try a few trail runs before the race. This will also be good prep for running “off road” for some of the other races this year.

April 22: The Survivor Mud Run

To get ready for our big mud run this year — the Tough Mudder in September — my TM team is getting together to do the shorter Survivor Mud Run, which is only 5k. Hannah and a few other friends are also joining me that day — should be a ton of muddy fun. Really looking forward to seeing which obstacles I sail through and which I need to work on. It will be great practice for September!

July 21: Eppie’s Great Race

Last year I did Eppie’s alongside two friends — we split the “no swim” triathlon into three parts. Hannah ran 5.82 miles, I biked 12 miles, and Siobhan kayaked 6 miles. This year, I want to do all three myself. I think it’s doable — I just need to commit to working to run at least six miles. I know I can do the bike and the kayak, but getting my legs to run six miles will be a challenge. I am actually hoping to get up to running farther than that before then, so that I’m not maxing myself out on the run portion of the triathlon — and then having to do the bike and in the kayak with no gas. Hannah and her husband are also doing this one with me! (It’s a good thing I really like Hannah, isn’t it?)

September 22: The Tough Mudder

I’ve written about the Tough Mudder here before. I’m still not really sure what I’m getting myself into, but I’m excited nonetheless. Most of our team has officially signed up, and we’re in one of the earliest waves of the day, so hopefully we won’t be stuck at obstacles waiting for large numbers of people to complete them (this was the biggest complaint I heard from people who did it last year). We’re still meeting on Saturdays to train, which I think is great for both muscle- and team-building. My brother is officially on our team, and I’m about three minutes away from convincing Ryan. Should be awesomely terrifying…or terrifyingly awesome. I’m not sure which yet.

Sounds fun, doesn’t it? And by fun, I mean “insane.” If you’re local, let me know if you want to get in on any of these runs!

The Gunslinger by Stephen King (audio; book #1 in the Dark Tower series)

Narrator: George Guidall
Source: Audible.com
Finished: 1/22/12
Rating: 7 out of 10
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Length: 7 hours, 24 minutes
Pages: 264 pages (print version)
Published: 1982, revised in 2003
Book Club: Book Eaters
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

Synopsis (from Library Journal): The Gunslinger introduces protagonist Roland as he pursues the Man in Black through bleak and tired landscapes in a world that has “moved on.” Roland believes that the Man in Black knows and can be made to reveal the secrets of the Dark Tower, which is the ultimate goal of Roland’s quest. They journey through imaginative landscapes, over astounding obstacles, and meet with and confront a unique and fully drawn cast of characters, both human and nonhuman. 

Overall Impression: I had absolutely no idea what The Gunslinger was about when we selected it for book club. All I knew was that it was fantasy and not horror, so I was down to read it. Then Audible had it in their $7.95 sale the other day and…win!

I thought it started off a little slow for me, mostly because I didn’t know what to expect, or even what was happening. The book has a slow, sort of western-y, meandering feel to it, and it took me a while to get acclimated to the style. The world, as well, that King has created is very similar to Earth, but has some striking differences as well. A parallel universe? I think so, but I’m not sure. The plot sort of chugs along, alternating between Roland’s (the Gunslinger) current search for the Man in Black and flashbacks that explain how Roland came to where he was in the present day. The action came in short, satisfying bursts, breaking up the slow hunt that was characteristic of the rest of the novel. Roland still needs some fleshing out as a character — and as there are at least six other books in the series (I believe a seventh is due out this year?), I think that will come in due time. Really, this felt like a prequel to me more than anything. Like it was telling the back story for some great tale that is to come.

Positives: King is really great at showing and not telling — I could picture the book in my mind easily.

Negatives: A slow start, and a lack of character empathization (I just made that up). In other, non-made-up words, the characters, specifically the stoic Roland, were hard to empathize with.

Narration: George Guidall is a wonderful narrator (I read that King selected him personally for this book). I swear I’ve listened to something he’s narrated before, but none of the 900 books he’s narrated seemed familiar. Perhaps he’s done some other voice-over work that might be familiar.

Other books I’ve read by Stephen King: On Writing (read before I started writing reviews)

Other blogger opinions:

Theresa at Shelf Love: “As fans of the whole series, we’re going to naturally view this book as an exposition to a larger story, but there’s some darned impressive storytelling in this single volume.”

Jenny at Shelf Love: “I do think, though, that the tone of the book — its style — is different from what I consider “normal” Stephen King.”

Opinions of a Wolf: “I’m shocked to discover, I like a Stephen King book.”

Smoked Salmon Vermicelli

The first recipe I have for you is one that my mom has made on several occasions out of Sunset magazine, so I thought I’d try it myself. My parents’ took a trip last year to Alaska, and brought back some canned smoked salmon (they must love me very, very much), and I knew this would be the perfect recipe.

I made this recipe exactly as directed, and it was melt-my-face-off stellar. I took the salmon out of the can to peel off the not-so-pretty skin bits, and wanted to eat the entire can of salmon before I managed to put it in the pasta instead. I served it with a side of lightly seasoned shredded zucchini that I stir-fried in a little olive oil. The recipe made an absolute boatload of pasta (then again…I’m cooking for just me), and I was eating it for days. Reheating it was just fine — but I added a little water to the pasta before reheating, so it wouldn’t dry out.

Ten out of ten salmons! (Seriously, yo, this was some killer pasta.)

Lemon-Sage Chicken Cutlets 

The other new dish that I tried was Lemon-Sage Chicken Cutlets, courtesy of Food Network magazine. I made this for my friend Jenn last night, and we both agreed that it was pretty darn tasty, especially when paired with wild rice and broccoli (and chocolate ice cream for dessert!). The chicken was tender and the sage (which got kind of crispy in the pan) was really delicious. Also, I got to pound chicken with a meat hammer…so, that was awesome.

The recipe, however, made my kitchen a disaster. I needed two shallow dishes in which to flour and egg-dip my cutlets, and I don’t have such dishes that were substantial enough to handle the job. The smaller shallow dishes I used overflowed when I dipped the chicken, sending egg/lemon mixture ALL OVER the counter and onto the floor. Also, there was a *poof* of flour when I dredged the chicken, which consequently stuck in the egg goo. Then there were egg/flour drips all the way to the pan. If I make this again, I’ll have to come up with a different solution. I don’t want to clean up anything last night.

Eight of ten flour-dredged cutlets.

Training Update: I have got to get my exercising mojo back. Apparently “fat butt” and “pants don’t fit” are not motivating me enough.

I’ve been to Tough Mudder training twice in the last two weeks, and both classes were difficult, since I’m not doing anything besides karate during the week (I’ve been going twice a week — testing is next week). The first TM training was Spin Plus: which was a regular spin class, except that twice we hopped off our bikes and ran up a hill and around the block. Because spin isn’t crazy enough as is. I had a problem with side cramps, which haven’t bothered me in years. I am now eating a banana a day to try and fend them off. The second TM training was Evil Yoga, which I’d like to explain here a bit, so you can fully understand what Evil Yoga truly is. (No, my trainer doesn’t call it Evil Yoga. She calls it Suspended Yoga. But really, it’s Evil Yoga.)

Yoga is hard enough for me as is — I’m not particularly flexible (especially doing front splits). My hips are always, “WTF are you doing to us?” Craaaaaamp. Charley Hoooooorse. I also do not have the greatest sense of balance, but I must say that karate is helping immensely with this. It’s been a while since I’ve randomly fallen over. Also, I am impatient. I want to go go go. Yoga says, “No. You shall bend here in this crazy position and you shall hoooooold it. Hooooold it. Hold it, bitches!” Needless to say, yoga is not my favorite thing. (Ice cream is my favorite thing.)

So let’s combine regular yoga with TRX bands strapped to the ceiling, shall we? It looks like this:

Well, not exactly like that. That girl is looking calm and pretty. (I hate her.) For me, it’s more like I’m shaking, sweating, swinging back and forth, and trying not to cry/cuss. Nearly every single position tests me to my limits. We do plank, chair, monkey, mountain, forward fold, warrior 3, some other hellish things of which I can’t remember the names.  I can’t hold some of the positions for more than a second before my body crashes to the floor. It’s an hour of pure torture and I’m sore for days. Why do I do it? Because I want to know I can. I want to push myself. I want to be able to go nearly into a handstand and do a push-up while one foot is strapped to the ceiling (I am so not there yet). It’s the same reason I want to do the Tough Mudder in the first place — to show myself that I’m stronger than I ever thought possible.

I’m going to make an effort to start running again, starting on Sunday. I’m seriously looking for a treadmill on craigslist — I just cannot seem to get my butt out into the dark cold mornings to run. I’m hoping to convince my friend Hannah to do a 5k trail run with me on March 3, then a 10k run on my birthday, April 28. That should put me in good shape to do Eppie’s Great Race (run, bike, kayak triathlon) on July 22, and the Tough Mudder on September 29. I just need to keep it up. I feel so good when I do!

Tagged: cooking, i made it myself, tough mudder, training ]]> http://letseatgrandpa.com/2012/01/25/i-made-it-myself-lessons-in-cooking-15-training-update/feed/ 6 Cori I-Made-it-Myself salmon-vermicelli-su-1694236-l LEMON_SAGE_CHICKEN_025.tif asterisks Nimble-TRX-Yoga-588x300 http://letseatgrandpa.com/2012/01/19/book-review-5-the-fault-in-our-stars-by-john-green/ http://letseatgrandpa.com/2012/01/19/book-review-5-the-fault-in-our-stars-by-john-green/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:14:09 +0000 Cori http://letseatgrandpa.com/?p=5231 ]]> The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Source: Personal (signed!) copy
Finished: 1/15/12
Rating: 10 out of 10
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 336
Published: 2012
Challenges: 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, What’s in a Name 5 (“A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title”)

Synopsis (from the Book Description): Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Overall Impression: There are about a million blog reviews of this highly anticipated new release, and every single one of them I have read has been overwhelmingly positive. The reviews speak of Green’s uncanny ability to craft a cancer story that isn’t really about cancer, how he builds characters full of so much presence,  and how it is nearly impossible not to fall head over heels in love with nearly all the characters in the book (yes, Hazel and Augustus, but also their parents — oh, Hazels dad just about brought me to my knees — and their close friend Isaac). All these things are so true. I felt like Hazel and Augustus (and Isaac) are the teenagers that we all want teenagers to be (minus the cancer part…and maybe the having sex part). They are thoughtful, they are grateful, they are determined, they are strong, they create clever Venn diagrams. They read books, they understand loss, pain, and anger, they love their parents. But they also play video games and watch America’s Next Top Model, so we know that they are actual real teenagers. I think this is what made this such a great novel for me — Green’s characters were some of the most memorable teenagers I’ve read in a long time. I felt like it was a privilege to know them.

Positives: Really, it’s one of the best YA novels I’ve ever read. Yes, it’s a tear-jerker (come on, it’s kids with cancer…), but really, it’s incredibly hopeful.

Negatives: A bit of the dialogue suffers from Dawson’s-Creek-itis (I actually had to look up a couple words), and every once in a while the plot feels a bit contrived. These are tiny negatives. Ignore them. Read this book.

Other books I’ve read by John Green: An Abundance of Katherines (review)

Other blogger opinions:

Avid Reader’s Musings: “…he turns a story about cancer, death and the desire to be remembered into one about living and first love and favorite novels.”

For Love and Books: “In fact, this may be one of my top ten books of all time. I cannot say how much I loved it.”

KellyVision: “There are not enough superlatives for this, or for Hazel and Augustus or for any of the other characters in this book.