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Julia Would Be Proud

Happy Sunday! It's stormy and raining so hard that we're flooding a bit, but I've got a nice big fire going and a cup of coffee making it quite a cozy morning. It also doesn't hurt that the husband stopped by the local casino and won us some extra $$$. He should be a professional poker player, but I'd miss him too much with all the traveling it would require. Instead I told him that mama needed some new running pants and sent him on his way. And now I've got these beauties to look forward to, which I'm trying to focus on instead of the gallons of water I know will be soaking me on my run today.

CW-X Endurance Generator Tights

Plus I'm channeling my inner Julia Child and made Pouding Alsacien (Gratin of Sauteed Apples). "This simple - ha! - apple dessert is always better if prepared the day before it is eaten, as a good 24 hours are needed for a slow blending of flavors." Oh, it looks and smells so good that I want to eat it now, but Julia said to wait, so we shall wait.

The Ice Bath

You know how they say things happen in 3's? Well it must be true, because my legs finally felt good 3 days after the big run and all 3 boys were off on their own adventures that evening! So I stopped by Beaverton Bakery on the way home after work, then took myself out for a nice 4.5 mile run. Then I did it. The ice bath.

I was scared.

But with tea in hand, I chanted my mantra - what one woman can do, another can also. I was going to kill the bear (bonus points for movie reference).

It was cold. I do not look cute. And it was the longest 10 minutes of my life. But I did it! And I don't know if it was the self induced suffering or just that Beaverton Bakery rocks, but the petit fours I ate afterwards were the sweetest, most delicious treats I've tasted in a long time.

And I do have to say that when I woke up the next morning, my legs didn't hurt at all. I felt great. Damn it, it looks like there are more ice baths in my future. But on the bright side, I have a really good reason go to to Beaverton Bakery again. 

Holy Humble Hurray!

Holy smokes, I did it! 12 miles! Now before you get all after school special on me, let me explain...or admit...that I've tried to run this far before and failed, very miserably. And for me, this is the longest I've ever run - ever!

Why run so far now you ask? Because smarty pants me is following a half marathon training schedule that has you peak your long runs mid-way before a race and then taper them back down so your legs aren't jello the week before race day.

Sounds good, eh? Yeah, well I'm a little off schedule due to my, uh hmmm, lessons learned lets call them. So to remind myself (and mom - this is what I've been up to lately):

1. You need the right clothes.
 - Shoes, check. Put wallet back in purse; husband smiles. Long run attempt #1 however was cut very short after being cold and wet with a nylon jacket stuck closer to my skin than the static cling sock I wore on my pants all day. And I thought it was my winning personality that made people smile. A rainy runner Oregon girl needs (1) a ventilated hat and (2) a waterproof, windproof jacket. Remind your husband that happy wife = happy life, and buy the right clothes for the weather you're running in.

After my first 12 mile run

2. Be the tortoise, not the bunny.
- "Your average pace is 10 minutes per mile" (yes, I'm hearing voices from my phone and not my head), check. Long run attempt #2.5, ended painfully with me walking back home. Rockstar me was more concerned about my speed than my form, and I ended up doing some mindless funky chicken dance move mid-run and hurt my knee. I embraced my inner turtle and only averaged 12 minutes per mile this time, but was focused and pain free the entire 12 miles.

Me with red hair at the Hoppity Hop 10K

3. Fuel while running.
- Light breakfast, Gatorade, wait 30 minutes, check. At mile 6 of long run attempt #I've got this now, I was thirsty and exhausted. Luckily I had enough sense left to not push myself and risk injury again and went back home. Learned you need fuel and water during a long run, not just before and after.

I tried GU energy gels in orange flavor, and wow! what a difference. This time I was sucking down gel and drinking water every 3 miles and - shock, surprise - I felt great, great enough to keep running! The gel didn't bother my stomach at all. Espresso Love seems to be the blogger GU gel of choice, so me and my change purse have some shopping to do.

I love Anne Taintor!

4. Ice, ice baby.
- Right clothes + slow and steady pace + fuel and water = successful long run #1, check! Yay me, I deserve a nice hot shower and Ben and Jerry's - totally love and ate the entire Liz Lemon pint! Felt pretty good about myself until I woke up the next morning and couldn't move. After my minor (ok, I have anxiety issues) major hypochondria about rhabdomyolysis subsided, my online obsession found its way to informative posts about why you should take an ice bath after a long run.

Not me, but how I feel about rhabdo and ice baths

So this weekend I am going to see if I love GU Espresso Love and will have a cute sweatshirt in the ice bath picture to share - as my husband tells me, it's what all the football players do.

Like the sock, it would of been helpful to know this BEFORE I went to work. But apparently this is how God keeps me humble.

My Walls

I always enjoy reading "the other Beth" from high school's blog and being the online wanderer that I am, I clicked thru from one of her posts to find another girl who I went to high school with and was inspired by her blog, A Year in the Life of an Art Journal. Crafty and coffee - it had me at "Hello, Lovelies."

The 30th came this month after Wednesday date night with the hubby, so still slightly hung over from Hokusei's lychee sake martinis and with a belly still full of salmon collar I begin...


Monday Mugshots Collaboration May 30th
PROMPT: My Walls. Do you have walls that you put up?
SHOOTERS: Shoot your mug in front of a cool textured wall.

First thought - oh crap, I do not have a cool textured wall in my immediate vicinity.  Second thought - just take a picture of your wall already. So there you have it. My morning coffee and blank office wall. I just got my own office, and to date have not been motivated to decorate. Could it be that by not decorating I'm putting up a wall to separate my personal life from my work life? Do I not want my work space to reflect my personality? Or am I just being lazy? Who knows, but I just realized that like my wall, my coffee cup is empty. And unlike my wall, I'm going to fill it up.

Why Yes, I've Eaten Pigeon

Yes! It's been a while since the Mr. and I have liked a new restaurant. Le Pigeon's sister restaurant Little Bird was ehhh. I don't remember anything I ate there other than the foie gras creme brulee that was so bad we couldn't finish it.  Which brings me to my ah-moment - I have a general disdain for sweet foie gras dishes. They remind me of childhood smile-and-eat-it, we don't know why crazy Aunt Mildred put a chunk of spam in the apple pie moments. 

However Le Pigeon found the magical bridge for savory and sweet. Salt. Ah-ha! The very thing that makes me love bacon chocolate, has brought me my first edible sweet foie gras - Foie Gras Profiteroles with caramel sauce and sea salt. Eat it, love it, forgive Aunt Mildred.

Le Pigeon is a small, family style seating restaurant. Try to sit at the bar so you can chat with the 3 chefs preparing your food in the open kitchen. Being our first time, we ordered the 7 course tasting menu, which I highly recommend. Highlights include the butter with salt flakes (so good, although the butter at Beast is still my favorite), the Rabbit & Eel Terrine with peaches, avocado, and foie-miso vinaigrette, and the Pigeon with liver toast, grapes, and white anchovies (pictured below). 

My husband and I couldn't stop talking about the anchovy and grape salad. Such a good surprise of unexpected flavors that go so well together. It felt like we were judges at Iron Chef. The pigeon was delicious and the liver toast rivaled the salad, although you can't go wrong with liver mousse on bread.

The only small downside was the uni on the halibut. Uni is a fickle thing, so like Aunt Mildred it deserves forgiveness. It can taste like the deep ocean, which would of sent this dish over the top, or it can taste dirty like it did this time and taint the entire plate.

Great atmosphere and glorious food make Le Pigeon one of my top 3 restaurants. We ended up exchanging phone numbers with some new foodie friends and met a local wine maker (Mahonia Vineyard).  I loved the mismatched fine china and real silver utensils (unfussy, refined), and I'm going to try the peach and avocado with mint side dish at home. Sauternes, recommended by our fellow table-mates, is now my new favorite dessert wine for a cheese plate (think honey with cheese).

This is what makes a great restaurant. Unexpected delicious food, interesting conversations, and good wine. Le Pigeon has created that "je ne sais pas" space and food combination that makes me heart Portland. Plus, now I get to say that I've eaten pigeon!

Food poisoning

Ironic that when I find the time to blog, I am home with food poisoning. The first and hopefully only time pizza has, as they say in the song...done me wrong.

Which leads me to irony number deux, I'm on my second attempt of preparing and seeding the lawn. I can't seem to get grass to grow here

 
but I don't have any problems with it growing here