Random Stuff

Windstorm 2014 damaged a portion of fence in the backyard, mainly the gate...which just happens to be the biggest pain in the ass section to repair. The wind pushed the gate out in the wrong direction, breaking the latch off the door section and not only bending both hinges, but cracking the post the hinges were bolted to. Not bad for a storm I described to the newest neighbor as 'mediocre, we've had worse'. I'm going to have to replace the post, an eventuality I have put off with some handy dandy work with some well placed screws. Until then, here's hoping the gate keeps the varmints out of the backyard...and that the varmints don't test the fence for weak spots as most of the wood paneling has rotted to the point of being not much stronger that balsa. The entire fence needs to be replaced, which is a nice to have at this moment, unless a herd of elk move into the backyard... Speaking of things that need replacing...we still need a new refrigerator. The fiasco with Sears has been settled up, finally, but those negotiations did not involve a new fridge. The compressor in our current fridge is absolutely psychotic, whipsawing between freezing everything in the refrigerator section to not freezing anything in the freezer. A piece of plastic flew out of the ice dispenser the other night, startling the middle Pescado daughter who asked what she should do about the plastic floating in her drink. Due to the nature of our kitchen, we are limited in the size and style of fridge we can buy. French door refrigerators with freezer drawers on the bottom are all the rage right now, but that happens to be the one design that will not work for us. The cook top center island makes that particular style a non-starter. We need a side-by-side, preferably counter depth, criteria that seems impossible to meet at the moment. What we do know is that we will not be buying from Sears...and we have scratched Lowe's from the list as well after the shopping experience my buddy Eric had there, an experience he described as 'dicked around'. Yes, well. Our microwave works fine, unless you need to open the door. To open the door you need to focus power like Daniel Larusso driving nails. There's a sweet spot center-right on the button that opens the door...hit that thing just right and the door pops open...miss it and you just kind of jam your finger. It's just one more thing that reminds us that this is no longer a 'new construction' house. All the appliances are at least a decade old. We moved in the weekend after Maddy's 1st birthday...she'll be 11 this year. So, we are going to have to pony up and eventually buy some new appliances, and put up a new fence...and replace the carpet...and repaint the kitchen...and refinish the kitchen cabinets...and on and on it goes...

Putting The 'It' In Insanity

When purchasing a bottle of Dave's Insanity Sauce, it is important to study the condition of the contents before opening said bottle.  The ingredients tend to separate over time, something I would have noticed had I given the bottle a once over...but no, I had to go and open it right up and use it.  Now, the bottle is specific in the amount that should be used, and that amount is no more than 2-3 drops.  The recommended amount was all I was going to use, but let's touch on the separation of ingredients for a moment...

I bought this bottle of Insanity Sauce during our recent trip to Leavenworth.  For all I know, the bottle has been sitting in Washington state's 'Little Bavaria' since Christmas of 2006 as that was a good year for habanero peppers globally (note:  I made that up...I don't know if 2006 was a barn burner of year for habanero peppers).  Anyway, there's no expiration date on the bottle, or any date that makes sense, so I figure we're all good.  Smash cut to this evening in my kitchen...

I always put a couple of drops of Insanity Sauce in my guacamole.  It adds a nice kick and spicy garlicky flavor, because what good is hot sauce if it adds nothing but heat?  Well, when I went to add my 2-3 drops of Insanity Sauce to the guacamole 2 teaspoons of dark red oil ran out of the bottle...and let me tell ya, it was eye watering and the scent stung the nostrils.  At that moment, I should have stopped...but I was not about to throw out the guacamole. Avocados are friggin' expensive this time of year, and as some of you know, I'm currently on a fixed income. Therefore, I went ahead and made the guacamole, undiluted habanero oil and all. As stated earlier, a couple of drops of Insanity Sauce adds kick to most dishes. My first taste of tonight's guacamole was not a kick, it was uncomfortable. It was as if I had added a couple of drops of blood from the devil himself into the guacamole. I'm quite used to spicy and hot foods, but I had to step back from this to figure out a way to mitigate the heat. The only thing I could think of was to cut it with more guacamole and off the shelf salsa. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire, so that's what I did. The end result was good, the heat just right...but Dave should add a 'Shake Well Before Using' label to his Insanity Sauce, especially if that sauce has been sitting on the shelf of a novelty store in a faux Bavarian village in the middle of the Cascade mountains...

Nu Shooz

I've been running in On shoes for about 9 months, and they are easily the best running shoes I have ever owned. The only problem is that around mile 50-55, they start wearing out. The 'cloud tec' that makes up the sole of each shoe begins to tear and cushioning is non-existent. So, I started to do a little more research on the shoes and found that the ideal maximum weight for On running shoes is about 180lbs. That ain't me, babe...and that means I have to find a new shoe to train in for the Tacoma 1/2 marathon.

I'm really bummed about the On shoes wearing out on me so quickly. Since I switched over to them from Asics I've been able to run longer and more comfortably. My achy knees aren't so achy and the shoes make being a forefoot striker that much easier. However, when they wear out I start feeling it in my shins and Achilles's, and an Achilles's injury is down at the bottom of my to do list. Research tells me that the Brooks Beast is the best shoe around for, um, larger runners, so I'm throwing down on a pair of those. While I don't appreciate that the shoe eludes to heavier runners being nothing more than filthy animals, I'll reserve final judgement until after my first run in them. If they are as comfortable and supportive as advertised then a filthy animal I'll be...

I still don't have any real cold weather or rain running gear. Yesterday I thought it would be a good idea to run in the rain and wind in a fleece pull over my Under Armor t-shirt. Not wise as I was cold and miserable almost from the get go. I was surprised at how many folks were out running around the neighborhood, people holding strong to their resolutions two weeks in! You know what would be nice? If my first mile wasn't such a struggle. No matter how I warm up, my first mile is uncomfortable from a breathing and heart rate perspective. Back in my mountain biking days I would warm up pretty hard to establish a breathing pattern heading into a hard ride, but that doesn't seem to work for me running. Any tips on warm ups would be appreciated!

Running Out Of Steam

I begrudgingly began running 'for real' on 5/19/2013. Those first runs were not happy runs, they were sad, plodding, pain filled exercises in what I thought was nothing more than futility. However, I kept running and while my early runs could be timed more accurately on a calendar, I got faster...running began something I looked forward to doing. It was a challenge that I actually kept up on, rather than quit in disgust when it became difficult (or my knees began to swell, or my always balky hamstrings began to ache). I think I hit my 'running is fun!' peak right around the time I ran my first official 8k. Since then, well, I friggin' hate running. It's boring, a chore, and something I force myself to do...and something I find more excuses not to do. Now, I did suffer a decent hamstring injury a couple of months ago, an injury that knocked me off my routine for a couple of weeks...but the malaise continues. It's not the weather, although my lack of cold weather running gear does make the endeavor that much sportier. I'm not sure what it is... To snap myself out of the running doldrums, I've decided to register for the Tacoma 1/2 marathon. A 13 mile jog around T-Town is going to be a challenge, and maybe that's what I need, a new challenge. At this point, I don't have a time goal to finish the run in, just that I want to finish without the aid of a gurney or wheelchair. Now I just need to keep dropping the pounds, work on my drama addicted hamstrings, and begin training...