Vida

I've always been one of those runners who prefers 70-80° temps for runs. This morning it was around 50 with lots of fog.  (It's really interesting to have those little drops from fog on your eyelashes.)  I headed out for my run. When I go on runs I generally look at the time around the time I leave and generally look at the time around when I get home.  That's as far as my timing goes.  I'm not too concerned about it. This morning with my high tech timing system I had to look twice I went so fast.  Woah!  I even said, "Wow, Lisa!  Where'd that come from?" And I feel great! I've been battling some injuries lately and nothing flared up at all. It was a LOVELY run and just what I needed before saying good-bye to Chicago for the week. This coming week I'm super excited to get some beach runs in. So maybe my body does  like cooler temps for running?

Work is frustrating.  But there are also lovely moments. For the program Rubina & I are doing right now we have a "Kids say the Darndest Things" sheet where we would write down fun/funny things throughout the program. The most recent addition was at a park where a little boy said he wanted "man scissors" not the "safety scissors".  (I actually had no idea they were called safety scissors, but apparently it's a thing.) Today I had a couple different field trips and ended up having the same group in both. Towards the end of the second one, one of the kids (who was generally quiet) came up to me and asked if he could call me Mom.   I patted his back and said... "You can call me Lisa." He was cute anyway. Kids really do say the darndest things.

Today's my Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!!! So maybe I have the Cardinals on my mind right now and that's why I picked this picture, but whatever, it's a cute picture anyway. Saturday I'm traveling to St. Louis before we head to Mexico (flights were cheaper out of there) so I'm looking forward to a birthday celebration dinner!

In one week I'm headed on the first vacation I've taken in over a year and a half.  Needless to say, I'm pretty excited!   Especially considering how much  I need a break from work right now! Mom, Karen, & I are headed to Riviera Maya.  I figure we're compromising because I would love to get there and move around everyday I'm there, staying at a different hostel every night and traveling around by bus.  Karen would be perfectly happy staying at the resort all week.  So we are staying at a resort (we got an amazing deal on that) and taking public transportation to the ruins and other places I want to see (like bus terminal buses) and shopping in mercados (markets).  I'm kind-of happy the resort is not all-inclusive (we have a kitchen) so we can go to the nearest town and support the locals. So to prepare for my return to México I have a few things I miss about  México.  Don't worry.  I won't list them all... just a few. Mangos ...

and breaking an unwritten rule I bought tostadas last weekend and immediately broke and unwritten rule that I've broken so many times before. You don't break tostadas. You put your lettuce, salsa, sour cream, meat, etc. on top of the tostada and bite into it.  When I was in México, Caro (my fellow vegetarian housemate) and I always broke them apart and dipped them in salsa.  Like a tortilla chip.  This was the closest thing I saw to a tortilla chip the entire time I was in  México.  Or I would take one of the broken pieces and decorate it with lettuce and salsa.   I just didn't like biting into the huge circle.  It usually would break anyway and then all my salsa went everywhere. I didn't notice, at first, Caro & I would get strange looks when we broke apart our tostadas.   There were always pieces of broken ones at the bottom of the bag, which were fed to the dogs or donkey.  Or Caro & I.  We didn't mind the...

We all have old tennis shoes at some point.  Look for a place where you can recycle them.  They turn them into running tracks, basketball courts, etc.  Saving the resources they would need to use to make these things and saving some shoes from the landfill. I usually recycle mine at Fleet Feet or Niketown on Michigan Avenue.   on the way to the recycling bin Niketown's PSA from me to you: If you're a runner try to somewhat keep track of your mileage on shoes.  I tend to overwear mine and generally give myself injuries.  The shoes above after underestimating the number of miles I ran on them, was over 2 times the recommended mileage.  (Also find out what the recommended mileage is for your specific shoes.)  That's probably why I am still fighting a knee injury.  And before I had shin problems until I got new shoes. Keep track of that mileage, my runner friends!

I made my way back to Read-with-Me again.  (I made a stop at Dollop on my way.  I love trying out new, independent coffee shops.)  It was a bit more challenging this time (reading the same book at the same time with a 1st grader and a 3rd grader).  But still very fun. When I first arrived and found a seat among the other volunteers (most of them seemed to be in a sorority).  They wanted to chat with each other so I waited until Hector arrived and went over to chat with him.  He told me a lot about his life.  He's such a sweet kid.  (I swear he's missing 3 of his front teeth.) I worked with Hector and Desiree reading a couple books and making a mobile for them to recall key points in the story.   Oh boy did we have fun!!! And can you say glitter?  There was glitter, feathers, streamers everywhere.  Hector seemed to think it was appropriate for me to do all the dirty work, which was ok with me ;) As we were leaving Desiree ...

Well I didn't expect to be one to say this anytime soon, but it's an app where you pay for meals using your phone. I couldn't help it. I'm on The Chicago Diner's mailing list (of course) and they sent out an email saying if you sign-up the app gives you $5 (with the promotional code provided) and then Chicago Diner will give you $2 the first time you use it there.  (That's almost a free meal, people!) Then... when I spend $100 (included tax & tip) I get $10 free credit. It will be interesting to see how this works. I'm a sucker for deals. And when I signed up I was surprised to see the majority of restaurants in my area are on it now...  Wow.

Quite possibly, yes. I walked out my apartment complex ready for the gym, dragging my feet. Then I realized it was still nice outside and I was going for a run outside!  I suddenly had more energy.  Went upstairs, dropped off gym supplies and changed into running outside clothes.   It was beautiful! Then icing on the cake... I went swinging right before I came back inside. It was so beautiful with the sun peaking through the clouds.  Sooo beautiful! I would share a picture instead of you just imagining it, but I was completely disconnected =) Therefore, no pictures. So, use you imaginations and imagine the best thing you could see right now, something you really need to see (maybe you're feeling down, like I was), close your eyes and visualize it for a second. That was it! I'm going to think of that to get me through today... or week.

Oh My Gosh! How have I missed out on the wonderfulness of Genius on iTunes all this time??? It's addicting and it's bad, but it's oh so wonderful. Usually when I listen to music, I just use pandora, but I wanted to get a Vampire Weekend song (after I heard it on pandora) so I got on iTunes and after I made my purchase 6 songs I might like came up.  Might ???  Ummm yes.   It was hard to control myself. Then... When I played a song I could click the genius button on the bottom and it went through my songs and made a playlist. WOW!

Probably a month ago there was lots of sudden drama with the budget and libraries causing the libraries to close on Mondays.  It was quite sudden when it happened.  Pretty sure no one knew until the very Monday morning they didn't open. This bummed me out because the library by me isn't open on Sundays so I would go to the library Mondays. Since then they came to an agreement with shortened hours Mondays.  But it sounds like during the summer when school isn't in session they will have regular hours.  Sounds ok to me, but I don't know the whole story.   Here 's the article I read. So since we're talking about libraries, where I get all my books, let's talk books: eating animals - jonathan safran foer Yeah, this is a vegetarian book.  It's interesting because he had a hard time becoming a vegetarian so he is able to present a unique perspective.  Interesting to read about his process becoming a vegetarian.   Everyone has their own reason...

Remember how I talked about work/life balance.  Remember how I said it's hard. I meant it. Especially when working on a program that makes you work long, late hours.  Getting through the weeks is becoming very hard.  (I know I'm not through yet.  This is a 6-day week for me so I have 2 more days to go!) Yesterday I felt completely run into the ground and didn't know what to do.  I sat on the floor of my cube for 20 minutes reading Cardinals articles.  I'm not kidding. That was me. ( via ) I am convincing myself I am a very good actress.  When it comes time to deliver programs I do it.  And I do it enthusiastically.  Even if my mind is racing.  (Maybe that's what I should be?) I knew my yoga class would help me feel better this morning & that it most definitely did! When I first woke up I was upset with myself because my phone died in the middle of the night so I missed my spin class.  I allowed myself to be ma...

HAPPY 108th BIRTHDAY DR. SUESS! Today is Dr. Suess's birthday (estimated).   Have you ever read the Dr. Suess books as an adult? I read a lot of Dr. Suess books last summer ( research ).   Dr. Suess is great for kids learning to read, but it also has lots of deeper meaning, which kids might not pick up on.   Dr. Suess continues to impress and surprise me.   My favorite Dr. Suess books: The Lorax ( via ) Oh, the Places You'll Go (maybe that's typical, but it's uplifting nonetheless)  ( via ) I know The Lorax is coming out in theaters today.  Maybe you don't want to go see the movie, but I highly recommend really reading the book... and thinking about it. "Think left think right and think low and think high.  Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!" "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple" "You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself in any...

I mentioned I was going to tackle pizza crust.  And that I did! This is the recipe I used from Prevention : 3/4 cup warm water (105º-115ºF) 1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast 1/2 tsp sugar 1 c whole wheat flour 1 c all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp kosher salt   Not sure what the importance of kosher salt is.  I used salt. •Stir together 3/4 cup warm water, 1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. •Stir in 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, and 1 tsp kosher salt. •Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth, about 2 minutes. •Put in lightly oiled bowl.  Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  •Form dough into 4 balls. •Roll out dough ball on very lightly floured surface until 1/8" thick (about 10" diameter). •Transfer to baking sheet lined with ...