So after working out yesterday, I was talking to Lawrence on the phone and just started crying. I don't know if it's because everything felt so hard and I was sick and tired...or if it was PMS and I'm getting my period soon.
I asked him to pick me up from the train station because I really didn't feel like walking home. We stopped by Border's where I bought a Kakuro puzzle book and then went to Blockbuster where we rented the latest Harry Pottery movie (he watched it without me and I never got around to seeing it).
It was 2.5 hours, but I felt like barely anything happened. It was nice to get interested in the world again and this morning I thought to pick up my copy of Deathly Hallows and finally start reading it.
ETA - menstruation it is! about time too...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
New exercise regimen
I started a new exercise regimen. It's a 6 week bootcamp of 3 hour-long sessions a week that takes place right across the street from my office. Being that it's an hour long and it involves much cardio (including running), I'm not sure how much energy I'll have left if I still want to see Melody on Mondays. Well, it's only for 6 weeks.
They require you to bring a jump rope, a pair of 3-5 lb. weights, and a yoga mat since it takes place completely outdoors. It's a fairly large group of probably close to 30 people. They also want you to track your food in a log.
It's too bad that I'm SICK. URGH. I was in Vegas over the weekend and ended up sick. Initially it was the cigarette & cigar smoke that really irritated my throat and gave me a sore throat. Then I got a stuffy/runny nose and my brain feels clogged. It really sucks having to run around for an hour outdoors while sick, but I don't really have the time to make up classes. They only let you make them up within the current session.
In their initial 2-minute test, I was able to do 20 push-ups and 19 sit-ups. Body fat was 33.1% - low end of high & high end of normal. I weighed in at 170 lbs, which has been relatively stable for the past year or two. I really need to watch my diet more to lose weight and maintain a stable lower weight. I hope tonight doesn't go too bad. I'm not feeling great today though my throat isn't hurting.
They require you to bring a jump rope, a pair of 3-5 lb. weights, and a yoga mat since it takes place completely outdoors. It's a fairly large group of probably close to 30 people. They also want you to track your food in a log.
It's too bad that I'm SICK. URGH. I was in Vegas over the weekend and ended up sick. Initially it was the cigarette & cigar smoke that really irritated my throat and gave me a sore throat. Then I got a stuffy/runny nose and my brain feels clogged. It really sucks having to run around for an hour outdoors while sick, but I don't really have the time to make up classes. They only let you make them up within the current session.
In their initial 2-minute test, I was able to do 20 push-ups and 19 sit-ups. Body fat was 33.1% - low end of high & high end of normal. I weighed in at 170 lbs, which has been relatively stable for the past year or two. I really need to watch my diet more to lose weight and maintain a stable lower weight. I hope tonight doesn't go too bad. I'm not feeling great today though my throat isn't hurting.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Japanese-style custard pudding
A few months ago we bought a cup of Japanese-style custard pudding (with caramel on the bottom, like flan) from the Marukai in Little Tokyo. Lawrence picked it up on a whim. It was some of the most heavenly pudding I've ever had in my life. Lawrence was determined to figure out how to make it and started researching the moment we got home.
After much searching on Google, he combined various recipes to make his own version of this Japanese pudding. He experimented a bit with the caramel as his initial attempts were too bitter. We bought cheesecloth to strain the milk/egg mixture. We also used whole vanilla bean pods so that we could scrape out the seeds. We even bought 2 sets of ramekins.
It turned out SO good. Lawrence made two batches, the second one perfecting the mistakes made in the first batch. Unfortunately, over the holidays when I requested he make more, he realized he forgot the exact recipe specifications he used. I'm going to make him write a blog entry for me so we have it archived. The stuff is too good to forget how to make.
After much searching on Google, he combined various recipes to make his own version of this Japanese pudding. He experimented a bit with the caramel as his initial attempts were too bitter. We bought cheesecloth to strain the milk/egg mixture. We also used whole vanilla bean pods so that we could scrape out the seeds. We even bought 2 sets of ramekins.
It turned out SO good. Lawrence made two batches, the second one perfecting the mistakes made in the first batch. Unfortunately, over the holidays when I requested he make more, he realized he forgot the exact recipe specifications he used. I'm going to make him write a blog entry for me so we have it archived. The stuff is too good to forget how to make.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Monday workout
- 1 minute of jumping rope
- 3 large jumps forward, then sprint to the end of the mat and sprint backwards all the way across the mat, repeat 5 times
- with hind foot on a "slider" (gripped on one side, smooth plastic on the other side), bend down into a lunge, touching 2 weights (10lb?) to the ground; stand back up, lifting weights to shoulders and then above head
- with hands on a medicine ball (2kg?), jump feet back and do a push-up; jump feet in and stand up, then jump with the ball as if shooting a basketball
Repeated all of that twice, but I didn't make it to the last item the 2nd time.
- 3 large jumps forward, then sprint to the end of the mat and sprint backwards all the way across the mat, repeat 5 times
- with hind foot on a "slider" (gripped on one side, smooth plastic on the other side), bend down into a lunge, touching 2 weights (10lb?) to the ground; stand back up, lifting weights to shoulders and then above head
- with hands on a medicine ball (2kg?), jump feet back and do a push-up; jump feet in and stand up, then jump with the ball as if shooting a basketball
Repeated all of that twice, but I didn't make it to the last item the 2nd time.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Mistakes
Part of being an intelligent person is learning from your mistakes. You recognize what went wrong and you don't make the same mistakes again. Constant improvement means constant progression and self-development.
So why do I never learn that drinking certain coffees gives me cramps??
So why do I never learn that drinking certain coffees gives me cramps??
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Burned my Bread
I baked bread yesterday and I burned it. It was either because the thermometer I used to measure the internal temperature was broken (the plastic melted when we stuck the magnetic back onto a too-hot oven door) or the inside of the oven was too hot. I turned up the temperature to 500F because according to the oven thermometer I got, the inside of the oven takes a long time to heat up. That itself may be due to the addition of the 2 large clay tiles I bake my bread on. Being too hot could mean the sugars caramelized on the outside of the bread too quickly for the inside to finish baking.
I had actually hoped I would burn my bread some time soon. I've under-cooked it so many times that I knew how to avoid that problem. Now I know - instead of just checking the thermometer, I should check the look of the bread itself as well.
I had actually hoped I would burn my bread some time soon. I've under-cooked it so many times that I knew how to avoid that problem. Now I know - instead of just checking the thermometer, I should check the look of the bread itself as well.
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