Paprika - A Great Recipe App

I love to collect recipes.  I get them from friends, clip them from magazines, and look for them online.  The collection is getting big and I needed a way to organize it.  I wanted it to be digital so I could have it with me all of the time and so it would be searchable.  I needed it to be easy to populate because typing in every single thing was going to be prohibitive.
Paprika is an app that works on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer.  You can use its browser to search for recipes.  If it's been published in a magazine, you're likely to find and download it.  I've even found some old recipes from Kenny's grandmother online.  If you can't find the recipe you can enter it yourself.
The categories are completely customizable so you can organize your collection any way you want it to.
The app uses the cloud to automatically sync between devices.
You can search by category, name, or ingredient.  I love this!  I can search by what I have in my fridge or pantry and get recipes using those ingredients.
It is really convenient for me to have my recipes with me.  I'll often cook when I visit friends and family.  And, we move all of the time and sometimes I'm ready to cook before our household goods arrive.
You can plan menus.  So, for Christmas I had all of my recipes grouped together and was able to email them directly from the app to my parents to do the grocery shopping.  The app will make a shopping list for you, but I use another app for that that incorporates non-food items as well.
You can add your own notes and photos.  It's really easy to take a photo with my iPhone or iPad and then upload it into the app.   I like to add notes to all of my recipes.  I'll write the first day I tried it and then subsequent dates if I made it for company or an event.   There are all kinds of memories attached to my recipes.  It's fun to go back and see what I was making in the weeks before Sophia was born, or what I made for good friends who no longer live close by.
This app has changed my life.  I'm so pleased!

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Some Things Need to Change Around Here

Some things need to change around here.  Sophia got her mid-year report card this week.

I was thrilled to read that she has transitioned well into her school.  She gets along nicely with the other children.  She works well independently and in groups.  She is strong and coordinated in sports.  She loves to sing and has a knack for interpreting music.

But, but, but.  The report on her academics wasn't so good.  She's reading fluently in German, not her native language, but the stories have to be fairly simple.  When asked to write something about the stories there are lots of errors.  When they do dictation with learned vocabulary there are lots of spelling errors.  There were lots of complaints about sloppy work, with her handwriting and her artwork alike.

So, what to do?  Last year Sophia was only allowed to have play dates on Fridays and she was in bed by six.  I think we need to go back to a similar type of routine.  We started off the year with lots of play dates, several a week sometimes.  We were new to the neighborhood and eager to get acquainted.  I also think it is good for Sophia to socialize to practice her German.  However, the homework that she does in the afternoon program isn't sufficient to keep her up to snuff in the classroom.  She got a lot more individual attention last year because the afternoon program had a larger staff.

It is difficult to work with her in the afternoons.  She's tired and she has a legitimate complaint that she worked hard all day and needs a break.  If she has a snack and watches a TV show then I can sweeten her up and get her to work with me a little bit.  I have her practice her piano, do her math drills, and then today we started working on the dictation.  She HATES dictation.  Probably because she's not good at it. She cried all the way home at the prospect of having to do it.   So, I approached it a different way.  Instead of reading her a sentence and having her write it, I picked important words from the story and had her write the word several times.  Then I had her write it from memory.  After we did several words she was feeling more confident and ready to try a sentence.

It's a shame that in second grade she has to come home at 4 and do work.  I agree with her!  But, we also need to try and please her teacher.  I don't know the I can make her do neater work, (I think that might be a genetic flaw from her father), but we can work on substantive stuff, at least a little bit.

She is a native English speaker in a German school and she is the youngest in her class.  Two strikes against her, but she's hanging okay.  Just need to help her along a little bit.

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Jamie Eason's 12 Week Challenge - Week 7 Results

I'm over halfway done with Jamie Eason's 12 Week Challenge. I feel strong and I like it. I like being able to try a new activity like cross-country skiing and be fit enough to give it a good go and then go night skiing with Sophia later in the day. I like having newly defined muscles.

What I don't like is that for the first time in seven weeks I don't really have any measurable changes to report. No weight lost. No inches lost. Really, I'm relieved that I haven't lost any ground after a week of eating out on vacation. Still, I'm spending a lot of time in the gym. Today's workout took about 2.5 hours. I'd like to see some dramatic results in my problem areas. I guess that's what the next several weeks are for.

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A Bee in Her Bonnet

I don't know what's gotten into Sophia but she definitely seems like she has a bee in her bonnet. It's kind of nice.

She has been self-motivated to work on math drills every day of our vacation and she finished her cursive handwriting book.

She has been generally agreeable and sweet. Usually we fight about silly things like taking baths, preemptive potties, getting dressed, going to bed, doing homework, or not being able to buy every little thing at the store. There has been no fighting on this trip.  We have had a wonderful time together.

Maybe skiing all day every day takes the fight out of her.

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My Forever Home and New Dreams

I never get tired of this view.

I lamented earlier that I have no place to call home.

After enjoying spectacular views and outdoor activities in the Bavarian Alps I think my forever home should be in the mountains.

I feel like nine years is forever long away when I consider that Sophia will be 16. When I think about Kenny retiring from the Army in nine years it feels like it's approaching quickly.

Today I imagined myself living in the mountains running a small yoga studio/cafe. The cafe would serve coffee, tea, and fresh juices. Food would include soups, salads, sandwiches, and healthy baked goods. Simple but good and nutritious.

I don't think it's an out of reach dream.

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Jamie Eason's 12 Week Plan - Week 6 Results

It is hard to do this

Gym on post in Garmisch

and this

CPA Continuing Education

when it looks like this outside.

View from the fitness center on post in Garmisch.

When we booked Sophia for this week of ski school I told Kenny he needed to find me a hotel with wi-fi so I could have a nice chunk of time to work on my continuing education for my CPA license.  I am also dedicated to Jamie Eason's 12-Week Body Challenge so that means time in the gym every day.

Here are week six results:
9.25 inches lost!  And, I'm starting to see results in my problem areas which always seem to be the last to go away.

I don't have a scale here on vacation so I don't know pounds lost.  A week of vacation isn't doing me any favors I'm sure.  I'm trying to make smart food choices with a few indulgences while keeping up with my workout routine.

I was surprised to find that the gym here in Garmisch isn't on the installation with the Commissary and the PX.  Instead, it is on the same installation as the Edelweiss Lodge.  It is small, but adequate and organized and there was only one guy in there with me today.  He also had a kid in ski school.

Tomorrow is chest and cardio.  I have to decide if I want to be efficient with my time and run on the treadmill so I can get lots of continuing education done or if I want to do a nice run outside.  It's a tough trade-off!

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Just Me and My Girl in Garmisch

Kenny had to go back to work so he and our dog Kicsi took the train back home leaving Sophia and me here in Garmisch to continue our vacation.

We had a little time to kill before we had to check Sophia in for her ski week so we went to the Birkenstock outlet which was just minutes away from our hotel in Farchant.  Sophia got some summer sandals and some house shoes in the next size up.  Kids take off their outside shoes and wear house shoes in German school.  I found some silver sandals and a great hiking backpack.




We had a nice lunch at the Atlas Posthotel.  It is the large yellow building in the Marienplatz.  They had a few vegetarian items on the menu.  I had my usual green salad with veggies, cheese, and eggs, and Sophia had the Kasespaetzle.  There were other tourist families there.  We didn't recognize the language they were speaking but they also spoke perfect English with a British accent.  All of the children were glued to phones at the table.  One entire family was locked into phones.  It was really sad that everyone was so disengaged and even Sophia noticed and commented.  I know some parents have to distract their children any way they can just to get through a meal in a restaurant.  It is a very effective coping mechanism.  But, it can also become a bad habit.  Meal time is a time when families should interact not disappear into their electronic worlds.




After lunch we went to see Big Miracle (whale rescue movie starring Drew Barrymore) in German at the Kinocenter Garmisch.  It took us an eternity to find the theater.  Look at the picture above.  It's a very traditional old building.  It doesn't look at all like a movie theater.  We had to ask two people for directions before we found it.  I had never been to see a movie in a German theater before so I was surprised that we got to select our seats when we bought our tickets.  It was a good movie, though it made me wonder why I wasn't following the whale rescue story in the late 80s.  I don't remember hearing anything about it, though I do recall some Save the Whales bumper stickers.




We checked into our new hotel which is in Garmisch itself and will be an easier drive to the mountain in the mornings.  Sophia admitted that she was tired after the movie, which is very rare indeed.  So, we didn't mess with trying to find a restaurant.  We just walked to the organic food market which wasn't far at all.  We got vegetable strudel, some hot drinks, a yogurt drink, and some fruit.  We enjoyed our picnic and got Sophia to bed at somewhat of a reasonable hour.




I told her that it's pretty amazing that we can drive to this beautiful place in just a few short hours.  Most Americans don't get to have these kinds of opportunities.

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Sophia Skis!

The Hausberg Lodge here in Garmisch had a party tonight. There was night sledding and skiing among other things. We thought maybe Sophia would be too tired to ski after skiing all day but we gave it a try and we're glad we did.





This is the first time that she did well enough that we enjoyed skiing with her. She went a decent speed, didn't fall too much, and she was happy.




She started getting silly and sloppy just after 8 so we said it would be time to go soon. She asked if she could do more runs if she didn't fall. We agreed to that and she did her runs fast and fall free.





One man marveled as she went over this edge. He said, "She barely comes to my knee and she says bye daddy and goes over the edge. Pretty sweet!"

I thought so too but I think she can do better. I think next time we'll get her private lessons in the morning and then ski with her in the afternoon rather than doing the group lessons.

She has fun though so I'm happy to see her so excited.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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Old Enough to Choose Fun over Cool

Cross-country skiing doesn't seem to be wildly popular with my peers. Kenny said yesterday that he's pretty sure the sport has a high dork factor. My response was that I don't care. I'm old enough now that I can choose what I like over what other people think is cool. Part of that is good self-awareness.



I know that I prefer solitude and wilderness over crowds. Cross-country skiing is very peaceful. It also feels like more of a workout than downhill skiing, as if I could substitute it for a run.



It wasn't as pretty of a day as yesterday. It was cloudy and even a bit rainy at times. But, we had the technique down a little better so we were able to cover more distance with less effort. I did more work with my legs so my shoulder didn't bother me.

We'll spring for lessons next time but this time we watched some how to videos on YouTube. The best advice was to kick forward like kicking a soccer ball rather than kicking back like a donkey.

Sophia had a nice day skiing too. She got to spend the whole day up on the mountain rather than staying in the backyard with the beginners. Some kids in her group wanted to go back down to the backyard after lunch but one instructor stayed upon the mountain with Sophia and another girl. I thought that was nice.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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Cross-Country Skiing in Garmisch

I learned how to downhill ski when I was in 5th grade.  My school took 5th-8th graders skiing every Monday during the winter.  We got a half-day lesson and then we were free to ski with our friends in the afternoon.  My dad somehow worked it out so he could have the day off of work and he drove a van load of kids and participated with us.  That was at Mt. Batchelor just outside of Bend, Oregon.  I don't remember it being too crowded, probably because we always went on Monday.

Skiing in Garmisch is crazy.  I don't know what it is with the Germans.  They are very orderly drivers.  Everybody follows the rules and it is very efficient.  For example, the left lane is for passing not for lolly-gagging.  But whenever there is a line it is a mob with pushing and shoving and cutting and no order at all.  It makes the lift lines really unpleasant for me.  And, I don't enjoy skiing when the slopes are crowded.

Today was absolutely perfect for skiing with heaps of snow, blue sky, and temperatures warm enough to be pleasant but cool enough so it wasn't slushy.  Perfect conditions and American and Germany holidays were sure to make for a crowded mountain.

So we decided to cross-country ski.  Kenny had been once before as a kid, and I have never been.  The peace of it was appealing.  The American facilities do not offer cross-country skis so we had to endure the craziness of the German lodge to get our skis.  Then we decided to come back to our hotel in Farchant and go out on the trails here.




It was indeed peaceful.  There were a few people out and about but it never felt crowded.  We chose to go the classic route, skiing in a groomed track.  It might be fun to go the skating route one day but I am not about to go back to that lodge to try and exchange my skis.  Next time!




We enjoyed fields of untouched snow and beautiful blue sky.  It was so warm that we did not need full winter gear.  I skied in yoga pants and a hoodie.


I'm sure my technique wasn't perfect but I was able to make the skis go.  In the beginning I probably used my arms too much and the little tweak in my shoulder from weight lifting got aggravated.  I tried to concentrate on pushing off of my back toes rather than planting and pushing with my poles.



I really liked the equipment.  The skis were light and the boots were comfortable.  It's more of a workout than just going out for a hike.  I'd like to do it more.  I'm sorry I didn't try it back when we lived in Weiden where the snow lasted for all of the last two winters.



Sophia got to head up to the big mountain after lunch.  We were pleased that her skill level got her out of the beginner area on the first day.  We didn't tell her teachers that she's a vegetarian.  It hadn't been an issue in other years.  Today they offered chicken nuggets and french fries for lunch.  So, her lunch was an extra large serving of french fries and a small apple that her teacher found for her.  We headed to the Denn's organic market right after picking her up to find some healthy food for all of us.



I ate my chili at the hotel during cake and coffee time.  Sophia of course wanted to get some cake and hot chocolate.



The day of skiing wasn't enough for Sophia.  She wanted to go out and play in the snow before dinner.

We were all tired but met up with our friends for Italian food for dinner.

We have our skis tomorrow too so we'll get to go out one more time.  Hopefully my shoulder will do okay.

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Garmisch in the Winter

We got lucky with our vacation schedule. Kenny's four day weekend coincides with Sophia's week long vacation from German school. And, the American facilities in Garmisch are offering a Ski Kids program this weekend and this week. Kenny will spend the weekend here with us and then go back to work while Sophia gets in six days of ski school. I intend on getting in all of my workouts and working on my continuing education for my CPA license.

The hotels in Garmisch filled up pretty quickly but we were able to find a room for the weekend in the neighboring village of Farchant. We're staying at Hotel Föhrenhof which is very charming. It is full of Bavarian antiques and we were pleased to find that they offer complimentary coffee and cake every evening. We felt very welcomed.







We had to postpone our dinner since we filled up on cake so we went for a nice evening walk. Sophia was thrilled with the heaps of snow. We noticed that there are groomed cross country trails just outside of our hotel. I told Kenny I'd like to give it a try.








We ate dinner at Zuggy's in the Edelweiss Lodge because sometimes it is just nice to have an American style meal. I'm trying to stick to my healthy lifestyle routine while we're here so I had the Mount Olympus salad and then drank some Muscle Milk with my vitamins back at the hotel.

I'm excited to get in some nice outdoor activity time. The weather is beautiful, the snow is deep, and this area is just about as charming as you can get. We have to remind ourselves to appreciate it here because we start to get numb to the beauty of Bavaria when it surrounds us all of the time.

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No Place to Call Home

The Colorado Sky

Where are you from?

It's a simple pleasantry but I don't have a simple answer.

I've started saying The West.

That answer doesn't get the simple oh okay response.

What do you mean you're from The West?

Well, I've lived in most of the western states but I can't claim one as home.

A close friend said she thought I'm from California.  Well, the Army happened to send use there for four years and I have five other years I can add on to that.  Nine years out of 36.  Does that make California home?  My parents live there and we go back at least once a year.  Now is it home?

But I've lived in Europe for seven years.  One school year in Spain, and three different Army posts in Germany.  Am I almost as European as I am Californian?

When we returned to the States for Christmas there were some things that bothered me.  Things are changing or maybe it's just me.

The mall may as well be the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.  Vendors constantly harass you as you walk through.  No, I do not want my hair put in ringlets.  No, I don't want to try your hand lotion.  No, I don't want a spritz of your perfume.  No, I don't want a sample of your food.  No, no, no!  If I wanted something I would approach you.  So I use my Grand Bazaar strategies.  I don't make eye contact.  I don't look in their direction.  I walk quickly.  Kenny went so far as to tell a vendor in the airport (maybe Philadelphia) that he's an American.  I'm sure the guy was bewildered and didn't at all understand that we just didn't want to be harassed.  It's becoming normal in America.

After I navigated my way through the pushy vendors I then had to deal with pushy salespeople.  Yes I'll take the jeans, but no I don't need a top or a belt to go with them.  If I wanted those things I would have been shopping for them on my own.

Then there's the parking lot.  The vehicles are huge!  Why do we need such large vehicles?  In Sacramento our airplane taxied by the parking lot.  Just about every vehicle was a pickup or an SUV.

At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy, the fashion is tasteless.  Leggings are not pants.  You are not classy because you threw on a pair of UGGs and a designer bag with your leggings.  Unless you're at the gym, cover your bottom.

People are on the phone all of the time.  Kenny says I have an iPhone addiction.  It's probably true.  I like to respond promptly to texts and Facebook comments, but I don't talk constantly.   After eavesdropping quite a bit in the airport I decided that most people's conversations are pointless.  They're not even really saying anything.

People look hard and tough.  Kenny said he could take me to some neighborhoods in Europe where I would feel uncomfortable but for the most part I feel pretty safe walking around.  It was intimidating walking around San Francisco.  Hoodies and tattoos and piercings became armor.   I walked a little faster and wondered if I needed something to make me look tough too.

As strange as it felt in America, I don't feel at home in Europe either.

I don't think I could call a place home if I don't speak the language perfectly.  It's just too much work to try to understand and make myself understood.  If I can't relax, I'm not at home.

Everything is closed all of the time.  Kenny wanted to shop for ice skates for Sophia.  He got there at 7:45 but they had closed at 7:30.  There is no shopping on Sunday.

There's a lot of peer pressure to have everything just so.  Germans are meticulous with their housekeeping, gardens, and even their cars.  I never quite feel like I measure up.

It's hard to find vegetarian food, especially in smaller towns.

The clothes just don't fit right, and it's hard to find 30-something clothes.  It seems like things go from super trendy teens/twenties stuff to old lady with not much in the middle.

It is really crowded.  I never noticed how closed in I felt until we got to Colorado and I felt like the sky opened up and I could breathe.

There's no such thing as a line.  Everybody crowds together and pushes to the front.  You have to eye the gang to know your place and then be assertive about taking it.

Kenny has been in the Army for over 11 years.  He can retire at 20.  I sometimes ask him if he thinks we'll settle down in a forever home.  He thinks we might.  But where?  There's no clear place to go but I'm willing to bet it will be in the West.  If I could take Portland's restaurant scene, combine it with Boulder's outdoor culture and blue sky, and add a handful of family and friends then I think I could call that place my forever home.

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Food for My Valentines

Inspired by Pinterest - veryculinary.com

Participating in Jamie Eason's 12-Week Body Challenge has made me a little bit of a party pooper lately when it comes to food.  We eat a lot of really healthy dinners that usually consist of a veggie meat, a veggie like broccoli, and a grain like quinoa.  Very, very healthy.  Nobody's complaining too much but I sense a general lack of enthusiasm.

So, for Valentine's Day today I tried to make a few special treats, most of them inspired by Pinterest.  I'm supposed to eat a serving of berries every morning for breakfast.  This morning I stuffed raspberries with white chocolate chips.  Delicious and pretty too.

Inspired by Pinterest - griffithsrated.blogspot.com

This afternoon I surprised Sophia and Kenny with these Pretzel Buttons.  You can find the recipe here, but really it's easy.  Just melt Hershey's Hugs over pretzels and place an M&M on the top while the Hugs are still warm.  The hardest part is unwrapping all of the Hugs.

I made a "Chicken" Pot Pie special by topping it with heart-shaped pie crust.  The recipe comes from my Soul to Soul cookbook that my parents gifted to my grandparents in 1977.

Chicken Pot Pie
Serves 4-6

1 cup chicken-like vegetable protein
Extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 small potatoes, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons chicken-style seasoning
Salt to taste
1 cup frozen green peas
7-Minute Pie Crust (Recipe follows)

Sauté in oil the onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic for 15 minutes.  Add potatoes, carrots, and vegetable protein, and sauté for 10 more minutes.  Add remaining ingredients except peas and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.  Add peas and cook until cooked through.  Remove from heat. Line deep pan with pie crust.  Pour in filling.  Cover with top pie crust (or hearts!), slashing 2-3 gashes on top to let off steam.  Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

7-Minute Pie Crust
This is my mom's favorite pie crust recipe.  The original recipe calls for shortening but I prefer to use butter.  I've also updated the instructions to be food processor friendly.

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup warm water

Pulse flour salt and butter together in a food processor until it's the consistency of cornmeal.  Gradually pulse in the water.  Shape into a round ball and let rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.  Roll out into desired size adding a little flour if it's too sticky.

Makes two standard pie crusts.

Birdies
When I was little we always made Birdies with leftover pie dough.  Sophie and I made them today.


Leftover pie dough
Butter
Sugar
Cinnamon

Roll out leftover pie dough.  Spread with butter.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Cut into strips and roll.  Bake at 350F until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.

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Jamie Eason's 12-Week Body Challenge - Week 5 Results

After this week I'll be halfway done with Jamie Eason's 12-Week Body Challenge.  Here's how it's going:

Just over two pounds lost.
About 7 inches lost.

Clothes are getting bigger.  Need to go down a pants size.  Ready for shorts and tank tops.  Oh, that's not for another four months or so.

Getting stronger.  Was able to do a set of overhand pull-ups with the blue band today.  Cranked out the other two sets easily with the green band.

Ran into a guy from the gym in the produce section of the Commissary.  He noticed that I workout everyday and he said it's worth it, I'm in good shape.  Made me feel good!

Best running song today was Eminem's Mosh.  My happy memory association is that this would play on long runs with only four miles and one long, steep hill to go until home.  Makes me run faster, stronger.

Come along follow me as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength
Come with me and I won't steer you wrong
Put your faith and your trust as I guide us through the fog
To the light at the end of the tunnel
We gonna fight, we gonna charge, we gonna stomp, we gonna march
Through the swamp, we gonna mosh through the marsh
Take us right through the doors (c'mon)

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A Real Life Organized Pantry

I got tired of pantry items falling on my head so today's project was to organize my pantry.  We've been living in this house for about six months now so I have a pretty good idea of what I use frequently.

My goal was to make the most of what I have.  I can drool over beautiful pantries like these on Pinterest but they are NOT REAL.  Real people do not use these pantries.  These were set up to sell built-in shelving or to illustrate an article in a photo shoot.

storageracks.com

http://www.womansday.com/home/organizing/pantry-perfect-22348

We are a military family renting the home we're living in right now.  Built-in shelving is not an option.  I cook a lot.  A just-for-show pantry is not an option.  I need something that allows my daughter and her friends easy access to snacks and something that allows me to grab what I need quickly.  My pantry has to hold food items as well as recycling and cleaning tools.

I don't have a lot of room in my kitchen or my pantry but I do have an extra kitchen upstairs and a storage closet in the basement.  This is what I did to create a sane pantry:

• Remove the pantry door.  I didn't do this today.  I had my husband do this as soon as we moved in.  A door that opened up into the small kitchen blocking the refrigerator was a deal breaker.  This created more space but also meant that my pantry has to look nice because people are going to see it.  I put my GORM shelving units from IKEA off to the side so that the main view is of pretty aprons hanging from hooks made from silverware.  The three compartment recycling sorter sits below.  I used my label maker to mark glass, metal, and paper so that when guests come they aren't confused over what goes where.

• Use stacking containers for pantry staples.  I used Martha Stewart's Food Storage Sets to store things that I keep on hand all of the time like nuts, grains, and pasta.  That way I avoid random bags  and boxes and I'm able to neatly stack everything.
• Use baskets for other awkward items.  There is one basket for sweet snacks and one basket for savory snacks.  These are put at kid level.  I can trust my daughter to make good choices.  I put baking supplies like coconut, chocolate chips, and specialty flours in baskets because I don't necessarily have these things on hand all of the time and they are a hodge podge of shapes and sizes.  I also used a basket to store kitchen towels and rags.
• Use bags and nails to get things off the floor.  I have potato and onion storage bags that I hung along with our aprons.  I also have a canvas shopping bag that contains plastic shoppings bags that I repurpose as kitchen trash bags.  I hung cleaning tools like my broom, feather duster, and dust pans from nails to get them off of the floor.

• Remove infrequently used items.  My pantry is prime real estate.  I can't waste space storing things I don't use all of the time.  My 110 small appliances that I don't use often here in Germany got removed.  Seasonal things like cookie cutters and sprinkles got removed.  Drink containers and large serving pieces got removed.  Happily I have that second kitchen where I can put extra things that I need occasionally.
• Remove extras.  I made neat rows of canned goods and filled the snack baskets.  Any overflow got moved down to the basement.  My shelves are not completely full.  I didn't want to have to move one thing to get to another.
• Throw away expired items.  Check expiration dates on everything and throw out anything that is expired.

All of this got relocated.

My system isn't going to sell any shelving units or be featured in a magazine, but it is neat and efficient and hopefully things won't be falling on my head now.

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3 Ways to Make Your Run Better

Jamie Eason's 12 Week Body Challenge introduced cardio in addition to strength training this week.  To avoid wasted time and wardrobe changes I've been running inside on the treadmill instead of running outside like I usually prefer to do.  I absolutely hated it all week but today's run was better.  Here are the things that helped me have a better run today.

1. Get 7.5-8 hours of sleep.  I've had a busy week with lots of things going on in the evenings so I've been getting closer to 6.5 hours of sleep a night.  Last night I made it a point to head upstairs at 10 to prepare for a 6 am alarm clock.
2. Wear good shoes.  After spending the better part of last year training for a half-marathon and a marathon, 30 minutes on a treadmill didn't seem like that big of a deal so I just wore the black shoes I wear for strength training.  They are worn out running shoes but I like them with dark workout pants.  They help reduce the dork factor.  Dork factor aside, today I packed my white speed training shoes.  They chew up my feet on longer runs, but they are light and fast for shorter runs.  What a difference!  I didn't even look at my elapsed time until 16 minutes had gone by.
3. Listen to good music.  It's a powerful memory trigger.  Put upbeat songs with nice memories associated with them in your playlist.  I've listened to my running playlist so much that I have happy running memories associated with different songs.  Survivor's Eye of the Tiger means it's time to lace up and get started.  Lady GaGa's The Edge of Glory means the marathon is almost over and I'm about to achieve my own personal glory.  And, Bon Jovi's Bad Medicine means that I've just run three miles in record time.  Today when Bad Medicine came on I smiled and felt like singing out loud.  I restrained myself, but the song was a powerful happiness trigger that made my run better.

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Fixing a Shaved Eyebrow

 I've been feeling out of sorts since we've been having cold weather like this:

Maybe my brain is frozen along with the landscape.  I've walked into walls, forgotten my electronic devices at book club, and this morning I accidentally shaved off half of my eyebrow.  I was going to groom them a bit and forgot to put the plastic guide over the blade of the trimmer.

I was preoccupied thinking about how it made my day that Kenny scraped my car windows before he left for work.  He's a good Valentine!  I appreciate all of the thoughtful little things he does.  Then I shaved off half of my eyebrow and my morning was no longer quite so nice.

So, what to do?

I started by trimming my eyebrows appropriately.  Then I pulled out this brow ex-press kit by Anastasia.  It includes stencils for eyebrow shaping.  I used a thinner stencil that I usually do,  Thinner brows will fill in faster.

I had to go to the gym with a naked brow.  After my workout I went to the PX and purchased a Lancôme eyebrow pencil.  Unfortunately they didn't have a good color match.  My natural brows are almost black, but if I filled them in with black they would look weird.  So, I got Brunet, the darkest brown they had.

This is what I ended up with:

Not so great.  Need practice with the pencil.  The real brow looks too heavy.  Probably need to find a makeup counter to get some help, but I don't know where to find one in Bamberg.  Might need to head to Nürnberg.  Or maybe now is a good time to cut those long bangs I've been admiring on Pinterest.

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www.pinterest.com

What would you do?

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