RICE AND LENTILS WITH FETA AND A SLICE OF SPANAKOPITA

POTATOES WITH ALL THE FIXIN'S

Maple beans, avocado, grated cheddar, chives

A CARD HOLDER YOU COULD MAKE IN CARDBOARD

ON THE BOTTOM OF MY SAUCONY RUNNERS BOX, WHEN I WAS TAPING IT CLOSED TO SEND AS A PACKAGE

A MESSY BUN OF BEAUTIFUL HAIR

JOSEPH CAMPBELL QUOTE

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

TONIGHT I RUN FOR HOLLY

Running starts with eating. Eating light. Not overeating. It's uncomfortable, often cold or too hot. Something usually hurts.

Today I have my running clothes on, day 2.

Yesterday I watched a youtube video about a dad and a daughter who ran a 100 miler together for the first time. He was 59.  I didn't run. I worked late.

Today I got up late. I went to a Christmas fair where I had part of a pretzel. On return, I ate a box of candy, and ate breakfast and lunch at the same time, instead of running.

But today I ran for Holly. She called when I was debating about an early supper or a nap. Running was vaguely a choice but I was warm under a blanket, and if she hadn't called from the parking lot of the Salvation Army before she dropped off donations this afternoon, I might not have gone for a run.
Because she gave me 15 minutes to text her that I was going for a run. And texted again when the 15 minutes passed.

But I was getting ready. I listened to the end of Zahn and Sia's Dust to Dawn while my phone charged. I drank water to rehydrate after my glass of wine earlier. One trip to the bathroom, put my hair in a ponytail, threw off the lap blanket, zipped off my warm Lululemon scuba hoodie, laced up my runners, put on my gloves and quilted jacket and junky toque. It was dark, so I found my head lamp and finally, I was off.

I ran through the forest on a crunchy trail, up a hill perfect for tobogganing once it snows, by my daughter's school, through the train tunnel where a bearded millenial was lighting up a joint, along the water past dog walkers who often gave me berth, through the village lit up for Christmas where a gaggle of girls made way for the "runner" and a toddler cheered me on, and finally back up the hill through the golf course and home.

I was happy and tired and chilled when I got home, but a change into pjs and a check-in with my inspiring friend, and a hot soup, and here I sit, warmed up, and grateful for the run, and my friend.

Thanks! Today I ran for you!

THANKSGIVING TAKE TWO

The thing about shift work is that you miss a lot of holidays. I like to make them up, at a later date, because then it doesn't feel like you missed anything, but just delayed it.

Now, I am missing even more events. I am glad that my daughter celebrates with her dad's family on the proper day, but sometimes it means that I do miss the holiday after all.

This year, Thanksgiving was one such holiday. But I was able to use the oddness of two Thanksgiving to make up for it. Canadian Thanksgiving had come and gone, but the Macy's day parade and some homemade treats were reason to celebrate on the American Thanksgiving Day.

The perogies were fun to make together, but the dough gets tough quick so we had to work quickly. We were careful not to overstuff and made enough with leftovers for another meal. This time I tried a recipe with the end of the dough and leftover mashed potato cheddar filling. Basically, combined together, they were cooked as dumplings and quite yummy. This time I used Balderson 2 year aged cheddar, and it was spectacular!

To try:

Quick Pierogi
1-2 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg
1 cup cheddar cheese (half if good aged cheddar)
salt and pepper to taste
flour

Mix potatoes with egg, salt, pepper and cheese. Add flour until a soft dough is formed. Drop by teaspoonful into boiling water and boil for 20 minutes. Drain and serve with butter and onions.

Lastly, and really only for me, I peeled a rutabaga (turnip) and 6 carrots, chopped them in chunks, and cooked until tender. They were mashed but chunky so I pureed them in a food processor with margarine and milk. With the puree at the bottom, I made the dressing and baked in the oven at 350C until warmed through. It was just as I remembered, but maybe a little moist. I couldn't find the recipe, if there is one, but I think the dressing should be just fried in the margarine without the water reconstitution.

Happy Thanksgiving, un ou deux fois!

Homemade Perogies, large and small

Baked turnip and carrots with Stove Top Stuffing (see recipe in Christmas Squash)

Honeyed carrots, mashed potatoes, pirogies, quick pierogi and turnip bake

I am so thankful!

BANANA BREAD WITH BUTTERSCOTCH CHIPS

Betty Crocker makes a mean banana bread!

LIBRARY SURPRISES

I love taking out a book and finding someone's due date slip to follow. Today the slip only revealed the name of the book I sought out, Hidden Figures. I like when a person's list is long enough to have something else to consider, like a treasure hunt.

KIDNAPPING AND THE TALIBAN

To my loved ones, if I am ever kidnapped, do not pay my ransom.

It appears that paying works, but the money goes to fund terrorism. That is a terrible conflict to resolve, but I know what I would want. Check out this podcast for more.

NON STARTER

I heard on a drama recently the use of the phrase, "non starter". I think it was meant to simplify the latin "non sequitur ", but I am not sure it is any more clear. I think the clearest translation is "it doesn't follow" or even more simply, "that doesn't make sense" or "that has no logic".

MY BEST QUOTE OF THE DAY

I was at work and asked the office fixer to look at the tonopen (that measures eye pressure) yet again, because it was not calibrating on a couple of attempts, so I wouldn't be able to trust the result.

It was a busy day, and he came to me to ask me to withdraw my request, claiming that each time he takes it to the technical department they try it and it works.

I understood he really didn't need to have another thing to do that day, but this wasn't going to be satisfactory to ignore the problems with a vital machine.

I said, "It can't just work once. It has to work most of the time."

I must have been convincing, because the resident laughed, and he took it away, begrudgingly, to be looked at again.

MY IDENTITY

I am a lover of beauty.
I am a runner with an eating disorder, which sometimes make me a bad runner. I am fighting it!
I will always look for the abnormal, not the normal.
I cannot let perceived injustice go. I will always feel morally outraged.
I love to adore people and see the good in them.
I will always feel responsible.
I love a good laugh, but I know life is often serious.
I am morally a vegetarian, but I understand the need for being an omnivore. I cannot, however, celebrate being a carnivore, and abhore how we farm animals today.
I am environmentally conscious and believe we all should leave the smallest imprint on the planet possible.
I prefer experiences over things.
I love nature and need to be outdoors often.
I will never be skinny again.
I loved to be hugged and kissed.
I am an introvert, but like to socialize.
I like to get things done.
I feel the world would be a better place if everyone looked out for each other.
I believe humans are, in general, good.
I value kindness and charm but don't trust it.
I hate owing people and prefer going dutch.
I am a romantic.
I used to be confident but I am not often anymore.
I believe in a being greater than ourselves to explain the wonders of the universe.
I am a mother full time, with part time with my daughter.
I am a doctor.
I have many regrets and fear my life might be too limited to change this.
I speak my mind without much filtering and value directness over playing games.
I was convinced that punctuality is a waste of time early on in my career, but also believe that punctuality is the politeness of princes.
I often am lazy and enjoy wasting time.
I like to do things well and carefully.
I enjoy having a lot of time to do something.
I perform better under pressure, observation and accountability.
I like to be generous.
I feel saved money is security.
I like to learn, but often feel limitations to my intelligence.
I struggle to be creative but feel relieved to entertain it.
I feel a shared experience is often more valuable than one done alone.
I think before I act and rarely act without thinking.
I rarely lose my temper without warning, but would consider myself too often impatient.
I believe honest is the best policy, but admit that being blunt is often harsh, and needs to be tempered.
I believe temperance on most subjects.
I find forgiveness to be essential in life, but admit that some people go too far and exceptionally lose my trust.
I believe life is precious and valuable and worth protecting.
I need good friends in my life, but very few aquaintances.
I need men and women and children and elderly in my life to feel balanced.
I know life isn't fair.
I am very grateful for what I have.
I like to do things for myself.
I love design. If you can have practicality and beauty, why wouldn't you try to have both?
I love great communication, but know that it does not come easily to me.
I think it is hard to live with people and believe everyone has a right to their own space.
I hate evil and ugly things.
I love passionate people.
I am introverted, sensing, thinking, judging (ISTJ).
I am cool blue unless under pressure when I am fiery red.
I am a good observer and enjoy being a supporter and a helper.
I speak too fast and listen too poorly.
I believe marriage to be a thing apart, needing partnership and attention and respect and faith. I believe both partners need to give their all, not half half. I believe that one of the greatest acts of love is doing something for the other that doesn't matter to you. I believe communication is essential but I think sometimes it just isn't working. I believe life is too precious to let a partner disengage and keep pouring in your investment. You are allowed some self-interest.

TAPAS AND A CHICK FLICK

My friend often makes a big spread and shares it with us girls. This time we thought we'd share the burden, potluck style, and bring tapas for a crowd. I think it ended up being just as much effort, but, wow, the variety! We had so much delicious food!

We watched Enough Said, a slow moving odd romance between actors Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini, and talked until after midnight. It was wonderful.

Rice crackers (gluten free), mayo, I think, fresh avocado, and Barefoot Contessa's eggplant dip that my smart friend freezes in batches for just such occasions!

Eggrolls and dipping sauce

Zucchini roses with puff pastry(trimmed short to perfection) and cheddar. Perfection!

Stuffed mushrooms with bacon and a few vegetarian, nearest the bottom,  just for me!

Potato wedges with bacon and cheese

Broiled golden cauliflower

Potato tortilla, or rösti

Stir fry with the cutest take out boxes!

When foodies come together, it's a party!

Stirfried noodles

The perfect tapas plate with devilled egg

Well we barely had room but we had to have coffee liqueur with rich chocolate dessert

THE ENDOWMENT EFFECT

We know it well now, but it used to be assumed that people made economic choices rationally. But one man won a Nobel Prize for proving this to be wrong. Richard Thaler, who came up with the idea of mental accounting, set up an experiment. He gave half the class a free mug, and nothing to the other half. The mug owners were allowed to sell the mugs to the ones without. You would expect rational behaviour of selling the mugs, as it is automatic profit. But it turns out that having something makes you overvalue it. This is the endowment effect. Not all of the mug owners would sell their mugs at the price negotiated. The mug owners valued their mugs double to what the mug buyers wanted to pay. Interesting, right?

We have a lot of wrong ideas when it comes to our mental accounting. Not all days work are equal. We are more likely to spend more with a credit card than with cold hard cash. So it leads me to a couple of other ideas. Is this why hoarders get sentimental about their stuff? And if you have something, make sure you don't overvalue it, and get rid of it for a reasonable amount, probably half of what you think you deserve!

LESSONS FROM MARATHON TRAINING

I've been obsessed with long distance running lately, but still not doing enough of it. So to add to my inspirations, I just watched a TED talk on a business class that requires you to train and run a marathon to pass the course. Andrew Johnston distills the lessons into one essential quote: "It's not about doing the OCCASIONAL BIG things, it's about doing the CONSISTENT SMALL things."
This is where I get derailed, and living two lives isn't helping. But the one big day doesn't make up for all the other days I didn't do something. So I am inspired not only to run less distance but more often, but also to try everyday to do the things I need to do, for myself, to be healthy, and for my daughter, so that when I miss a day or two, it's an aberration and not a norm.

RULES FOR DIVISIBILITY

I helped my grade six daughter with her homework tonight and learned things I never knew.
Here's how to find out if there are multiples in any given number. Here's the youtube video that we learned it all from:

1.No explanation necessary. The answer is yes.
2. Any even number is divisible by 2.

Okay, this is where it gets interesting:

3. If you add up any number, your sum, if divisible by 3, is going to be divisible by three. For example, 458, 230 adds up to 22, which is not divisible by 3. This also eliminates the possibility of it being divisible by 6 or 9. If 22 is too big a number for you, you can add the digits together to get 4, and no for sure that it is not divisible by 3. Another example, 72,452, which adds up to 20, also not divisible by 3. Another example, 383, 655 adds up to 30. This is a number divisible by 3.

4. For divisibility by four, you just need to look at the last 2 numbers, no matter how big the number. For the numbers above: 458, 230, the number 30 is not divisible by 4. In 72, 451, the number 51 is not divisible by 4. Lastly, in the number 383, 655, the number 55 is not divisible by 4.

5. Five is another one most people recognize. If the number ends in 0 or 5, it is divisible by 5.

6. To be divisible by 6, it should be an even number also divisible by 3.

7. To be divisible by 9, add up the numbers, and divide the sum.

Hope that helps!

MARK'S AD NAUSEUM

I want to let you in to a little secret.
What we do defines who we are.
It's not where we're from or what we said.
It's the commitments we make,
the promises we keep,
the sweat we pour.
We are the well worn.
This is who we are.

IF YOU OWN A HOME, YOU CAN GIVE UP YOUR GYM MEMBERSHIP!

I have a colleague that calls himself a gym rat. He likes to go everyday.

In contrast, I own a house. I get core training raking leaves, hauling the garbage, recycling and compost bins out. My arms get a workout shaking out the carpet, mowing the lawn, and mopping the floors. I can get 10,000 steps in and around my house.

Good thing, since with house payments, taxes, and maintenance, I can't afford a gym membership!

So if you don't have a house, enroll in a gym. But if you have a house, be glad that it gives you an excuse to exercise. It's good for you!

SCHADENFREUDE AND GÖNNEN

Schadenfreude (German) - Pleasure in someone else's misfortune
Commiseration - Feeling someone's pain, sympathetic
Compassion - Displeasure and wanting to alleviate someone's pain, empathetic
Mudita (Sanskrit),  sich gönnen (German)-  Pleasure in someone else's pleasure (vicarious joy, not pride, not self-interested), enjoying someone's good pleasure,

BEING META

The example that started this entry was "Stay meta". In colloquial terms, this seems to mean "self-aware".

From organic chemistry, I remember meta being a position on an organic ring. The position near the R group is ortho-, the next position is meta-, and the position opposite (third from the R group of a hexagon) para-. Meta comes from the greek, signifying the middle.

Meta is self-referential. It is art that reflects on art. It's a movie about making movies. It's the data about data.

So if you came from the generation I did, the Greek version still applies to the middle position of the benzene ring.  Metadata is still at data about data. But now a new generation is using it to talk about themselves. I am mindful. I am introspective and extraspective simultaneously. I am meta.