Laundry

Don't you hate when you're doing laundry and you forget to turn the dryer on?  It's really disappointing to open up the dryer expecting warm, fluffy, dry clothes and finding cold wet clothes.

That's my thought for the day.  I will post pictures from our first camping trip of the year and the Indy 500 soon.

Bicycles

I'm going to be very open here, because I feel it's necessary sometimes to express yourself. Today in Minneapolis there was a terrible bicycle accident involving a semi-truck. A cyclist was killed while riding in a bike lane when a semi-truck was taking a left-hand turn and crossing over the bike lane. This is a horrible tragedy and no one feels good about this, but it's frustrating for people who do ride bikes. This is a frustrating accident because we see and experience these sort of actions all the time, thankfully, without the consequences of this incident.

It's frustrating to not be seen while riding a bike when a lot to biking is be observant and aware of others. I want that same respect from drivers. It's impossible to get that from drivers though because they are cooped up in a shell and cannot be as aware of their surroundings. Especially in large vehicles, like semi-trucks. I cannot tell how many times I've yelled at cars who've cut me off, and made last-minute swerves to avoid car doors and lane-changes. When I'm at my best of riding, I can be very defensive and I know how to get around without being hit. I'm sure the cyclist who died today did as well. But in this world of large vehicles and complacent drivers, it's exhausting to be on your toes all the time.

For full disclosure, I do not like driving. Ever since I got in to the accident with my Dad's ATV, I've been adverse to motor vehicles. People have told me it's silly to be afraid of driving a car and such, but they have never felt what it's like to have something that large and powerful become completely uncontrollable while you are on top of it. It is hands down the scariest moment of my life. I realized I loved riding bikes before this incident, and after this incident I didn't feel like I really wanted or needed a car. I have a car now and I appreciate it for where it can take me. But I don't go out for joy rides and I still get scared when I'm going around high corners. It's silly, but it's how I feel.

And I feel as though I shouldn't ever be looked down upon for riding bikes or taking the train. Sure it takes me longer to get places, but I exercise more without really trying. I get up and move and I get outside. It seems like people who ride bikes are looked down upon as hooligans and people who break the law. Sure, I don't stop and put my foot down at all stop signs, but 90% of the cars I see don't make a complete stop at a stop sign either. I am more likely to honor the rules of the road if the vehicles around me are doing the same thing. I think drivers and cyclists on both sides of the debate need to get off the soap box and start compromising. Drivers need to be more aware, definitely. And all cyclists and drivers should be taught better how to use the road. There is no consensus or logic in bicycle safety and laws in this state. As the city with the 2nd highest percentage of commuters, Minneapolis has a LONG way to go before it's a safe and logical city for cyclists. And I hope to hell that more innocent cyclist don't have to die before Minneapolis wakes up and makes some logical bike lanes.

Drivers don't know how to ride with bikes along side them and it's high time to begin a discussion with open minds.

Food and Fun!

Yesterday I made the most delicious lunch that I probably have ever made. Check it out:

It is prosciutto wrapped asparagus with focaccia, olive oil dipping sauce and some Honeyweiss! I've never had prosciutto before and it's delicious! It's like very thin bacon without being fried. It was really peppery and had more flavor than a little strip like that should.

Andy has been doing some cooking as well. He's become our bread master and we rarely buy packaged bread anymore. Here are some of his delicious creations:

Braided bread and pretzels! They were delicious.

We've also been planting stuff and it's been growing. Here is what our parsley seedlings look like:

We also went to the Green Expo last weekend and had a lot of fun! We tried out segways, looked at wind turbines and electric cars. We saw a demonstration for very expensive pans but ate lots of delicious food. It was a fun event. We even saw Don Shelby! Without his pinstripe suit, he looked sort of grumpy. I was awestruck anyway.

I'm a wind turbine, love me!

Andy is a wind turbine too.

An array of home-use wind turbines in front of Sweet Martha's cookies.

Trying out the segway. I didn't fall flat on my face like our former president.

Andy on the segway. He was a pro, but still a little stiff.

More pigs!

I never thought about seeing pigs at a zoo either, but there are some at the Minnesota Zoo.  They're looking to be the new St. Paul Saints mascot!  They're really cute.

Poor Little Pig

I've never felt such sympathy for a pig.  But this article is the best.  I love the BBC.

Bring Your Own Lunch

I make my own lunch for work pretty much every day.  Anytime I don't make a lunch, there's a good reason; such as I'm getting lunch for free that day.  It's work to make a lunch everyday.  Especially to make it not the same boring thing all the time that I'm going to get tired of eating, or worse, that Andy will get tired of eating.  Sometimes I don't want to make lunches and I'd rather sit around in the morning and read the news.  But then I think of the consequences.  If I don't make a lunch, then I'm going to have to buy a lunch.  Even with my mall discount, a comparatively delicious lunch would cost me between $6-7.  To me, that is expensive and money could be better spent in other ways.

One thing I really dislike: microwave meals.  I have probably not had a microwave meal for the past 10 years, and that is something I really appreciate.  If you try and think what process food has to take to get to the point where it can be frozen and regenerated like that after being shipped thousands of miles, gross.  Also, I like the idea of a person making my food, not a machine.  I'm not a "locavore" or anything.  I just like buying ingredients and making food from scratch.  Cooking is a skill that is in short supply and I like to learn how to cook new things. 

Granted my best recipe that I created myself is butter noodles with seasoning, I still like to learn.  Cooking good food is a challenge with delicious rewards, and I like anything delicious.  Andy has been a great help in getting me to be more experimental and try new vegetables and recipes.  When I was little I really wanted to be a vegetarian for animal rights, except that I didn't like vegetables.  So I'm getting there.

For some reason I just feel a lot better making my own food than going out and eating.  Sometimes it's lots easier to just get some food, but it's more rewarding to me to just have my own food that we make.  Andy is really good at cooking, so I'm lucky to have him around to make fresh bread and buns.  It's nice to take my own lunch to work and tell everyone that Andy made the bun that my sandwich is made on or the salad dressing I'm using is a gluten-free recipe from Andy's mom.

My biggest food problem is planning ahead for each dinner, it's really hard to make a menu a week in advance.  Then we have to go out and get a bunch of ingredients and stick to the plan. I like flying by the seat of my pants sometimes.  But it gets hard when there's nothing in the cupboards and we're hungry.

I'm open to hearing new recipes from anyone if they'd like to share!