let it burn

I was lucky enough to score tickets to the Third Annual Burning Beast in Arlington, WA - just a quick drive from Seattle.

I'm a little disappointed in myself because I only heard about this magical food fest this year.. Not to worry though, I redeemed myself by eating 3 years worth of deliciousness, so all is forgiven.

For those of you not in-the-know, 10 Seattle chefs come together and get their grill on with local, sustainably raised animals during this event.

which way did he go?

the mascot (not me.. the wooden beast behind me!)

Robin from Top Chef

oysters!



moooooo!

what the cluck??


pork belly served on a steamed bun a la Peking duck
(I missed taking a photo of the "pork" station - not to worry, I didn't miss eating it! served with white beans cooked with what else? BACON!)




a little bit spicy and a lotta bit delicious - and cornbread... served with choice of jalapeno, honey or truffle butters (I had 5 pieces!)

he asked me if i wanted skin.. silly question

sadly, they ran out of their bison tacos before I could try it, but I snagged a bit of their bison sausage.

amazing lamb tacos

my kind of rack of lamb

sliced leg of bison was sooo moist!

Skillet's version of lamb

my first encounter with moose - farro with blueberries and english peas topped with moose confit and a side of moose with english pea and fennel puree.

gentleman from Coastal Rovers informed me that the sardines he was cleaning were freshly caught on Saturday. he drove all night from the coast to get them to the Beast! I thanked him for his efforts.

rabbit stuffed with rabbit sausage by Seth Caswell served with a tomato/sour-cherry/arugula salad by Robin from Top Chef!

goat served with white beans

(there was another goat station that i neglected to take a photo of... theirs was completely unadorned, just a hunk of meat. it looked dry and boring compared to the rest but i ate my words as soon as i ate that goat! it was so moist and tender and perfectly seasoned. beyond wonderful!)

and finally, the beast burns....

Who's coming with me next year??

the rundown

I've been (guiltily/lazily) Twittering much more than blogging. It's just fast and easy. Instant gratification s'il te plait. I really haven't even been reading my favorite reads. I think in reading other people's well kept blogs, I feel even more ashamed that I'm not keeping up. It's like Rebecca Bloomwood hiding her bills in a drawer rather than dealing with the reality - minus the bad credit.

The last race that I did was the Furry 5K. Since then, I've unfortunately been suffering from shin splints and have basically sidelined my racing days. I did, however, participate in my favorite race as a walker with my dad!

Woke up early, picked him up and off we went to walk the Shore Run. My dad was really nervous about it and had been "preparing" for it by walking on his treadmill before taking the doggy out for his morning walk! Isn't that too cute? Afterwards, we went to brunch! That's always the best part.

Dad's eager to do the next 5K! Swedish 5K anyone?

On another note, I'm on my fourth week of bootcamp. Mostly they consist of:
lunges
squats
push ups
tricep dips
incline push ups
crunches
push up/side plank combos
squat thrusts
mountain climbers
wall sits
run 1/2 mile

and repeat 3 to 4 times in 1 hour for a total of 2 miles

It pretty much kicks my arse during the hour but I haven't been getting sore. Must work harder!! I'm bringing my dumbells this week.

I still haven't lost any weight at all. Muscle-schmuscle! I want to see a smaller number dammit!

Miss you.

counterproductive

Can I just vent a little bit today?

I just have to say that sometimes my family can be really lame. I spent Saturday evening being criticized for being fat. I'll be the first to admit that I've gained weight since I had my snowboarding accident a few years ago. But do I really need to be reminded by seemingly caring relatives?

Not really.

The criticisms ranged from "Wow, you look wider than your fiance" to "When are you going to start dieting?" Oh and did I mention the part where my aunt said I couldn't have any ice cream with my cake because I need to lose weight - in front of everyone? At least I know when to censor myself - I didn't tell all of them to STFU!


I cried in the car on the way home. *sigh*

It's not like I haven't been thinking about it constantly. And it's not like I haven't been working on getting in shape. I'm sorry I'm not wafer thin like I was when I was 12. I'm not exactly happy with where I am, but I'm not sitting on my arse and doing nothing either.

For the last couple months I've been doing yoga twice a week, pilates once a week, and running once or twice a week. I just started running to and from my pilates class too.

And with encouragement from my friend Jackson, we've been waking up early Mondays-Thursday and work out/run "together". We live pretty far away from each other but every morning around 6 am we text each other to get up and get out there! Knowing that there's someone else waking up and getting her heart rate pumping really forces me to not wuss out.

At least there aren't any more family gatherings coming up. I don't know if I can stand there and smile and be respectful to my elders very much longer.

Anyway, I guess it should motivate me more or something. Or make me want to go binge.

PS: The photo is from the 5K I did a couple weeks ago. I've got one coming up this Sunday and an 8K the following Sunday. Can I get a "GOOOOOOOO LRB"??

the ides of march

The St. Patrick's Day Dash was m-i-s-e-r-a-b-l-e! Not only was I sore from too much pilates, yoga and snowboarding, but it was snowing! Hello?! Did you read my title? Ides of March? Not Ides of December. Seriously, ridic.

Thank goodness I still had my fleece in the car from the snowboarding trip. I normally only wear a light jacket and a tshirt for running but good grief was it cold!

And since I'm already griping, are my thighs really that humongous? How depressing. This was a tough 3.75 miles run for me. Definitely not my best time. I don't even want to talk about it.

I'm planning to redeem myself during the 5K run that I'm doing this Sunday. Wish me luck. Only 16 more runs on the schedule through the end of the year! Are you in?

who/what/wear:

jacket - Thakoon for Target (annoying that the hood doesn't have a drawstring so I had to tuck the edges into my ear warmer so it wouldn't fly off! only $12 though, so eff it.)
fleece - nike
tshirt - gap
mittens - jcrew
thunder thigh pants - nike
sneaks - brooks

thundering hooves*

Dude. Are my thighs so thunderous that I can't even fit them in my new JBrand Lovestory jeans? I actually have to get down on the ground to pull them up!

When did I turn into one of those girls?

My gf she has a pair too and swears they'll stretch out. I really hope so.

Once they're on, the waist is fine if not a little loose. But those thighs.. I swear I may need to grease up my legs before trying them on again.

*Thundering Hooves is actually a meat biz. I've always been tempted to order from them... Prolly not a good idea since I can't fit into my new jeans.

long weekend part ii - valentine's day

Saturday:
HB is not exactly known for his romantic gestures. This Valentine's Day was no different. Spent the early part of the day attempting to revive my inner shred Betty. Not so much. I'm just thankful that I'm not quite back to square one. In fact, I'm definitely back to where I ended the last time I rode. Muscle memory? Perhaps. Refusing to let HB doubt my mad skills? Heck yeah.

Anyway, after several runs I wasn't falling. That much. Anymore. And by then HB was only yelling at me a little bit.

Not to be outdone by the morning's festivities, the rest of the day proved to be even more wondrous. During our stroll through Whistler Village, HB treated me to an artery clogging treat - poutine!

This mouthwatering load of smothered and covered goodness has truly mystical powers - I was in a daze after making mouth-love to fries covered in cheese curds and gravy and hot sauce.

Dinner was mostly uneventful. Because of V-day, all the Village restaurants were booked so we decided to stay in and make dinner in our condo. HB's bff's non-gf made a lovely roast that HB stole from me after I barely ate half.

All this was followed by a rousing game of Texas hold 'em. And lots and lots of drinking. Which led to this:

Not exactly HB's crowning moment.

He'll probably kill me after he realizes that I've exposed his weakest moment. D'oh! Not that he doesn't deserve to feel a little chagrin.. It's not like he didn't go barfing over the balcony. To be honest, I've never seen him that trashed before. And I never want to see it again. Icky.

P.S. At least he finally got his hair cut. I have no idea what his latest obsession with hobos is all about.

unsatisfied, now satisfied

Lunch was uninspiring and small. And since I'm banned from shopping, the only walk I could take was to Top Pot Doughnuts.

It was beautiful and delicious and fattening and yummy and sweet and perfect.

And I only had half - Mango had the other half.

i did it!

...cue Rocky theme song

I completed my first 5K run of the year in not-so-record time. (I can't believe the 1st woman to finish was done in 18 minutes!)

Anyway, I think I did okay - finished in 35:04 minutes. Although not very impressive, considering that I haven't been running at all it was quite a feat. I seriously thought it would take me a good 45 minutes!

Sure, I felt like stopping for a vomit break but I muddled through somehow and was a mere 30 seconds behind my short-legged cousin Mango. After picking up a bunch of post-run freebies, we headed off for a hearty breakfast - chicken fried steak with gravy on the side.. Mmmm...

who/what/wear:
pink jacket - Stella McCartney for adidas
top - lululemon
running pants - nike
running shoes - nike
neck gator - columbia

ack

This has gone too far. I must be crazy! I just signed up for the Love 'em or Leave 'em 5K Valentine's Day Dash taking place this weekend.

Hold me. I'm scared.

get in shape girl

I'm really trying to get myself motivated. I kinda hate exercise. Yeah yeah. I feel good after I'm done but I still hate exercise. And while I do yoga regularly (twice a week), I've realized that I need to put a little more oomph in my routine if I want to shed some of the extra layers that don't come off with a little zipper.

Not to mention the fact that I'm tired of old Chinese hags telling me I'm a portly beast. STFU. Thank you.

Did I really gain 20lbs in the last year or so? Gawd, I hope not. I have 9 months to look aisle-walking-worthy.

So on Thursday, I have an appointment for my first private Pilates lesson at Club Pilates - they were having a special intro for newbies. I've done mat Pilates here and there but have always been interested in the machines. Maybe they're the magic bean I need to ignite my inner fox. Rowr.

In addition to yoga and Pilates, I've signed up to do two 5K runs next month. Yep. I've put it out there. In public. There's no turning back now. I have approximately 5 weeks to get myself ready.

Did I mention I hate running? I've only been able to drag myself out once a week for the last couple weeks - running about a mile each time. I hate running.

The goal here is to do at least one 5-8K run per month because running for the sake of exercise and health is not motivation. But running for the sake of not embarrassing myself by coming in last is!

I'm starting with the St. Patrick's Day Dash. Are you in?

indignant

So I had to drop off a few items at my alterations/dry cleaners last week and she told me they'd be ready by (last) Friday. I didn't have time to go after work so I went on Saturday. To my annoyance, she's closed on the first Saturday of every month.

Oh well. No biggie.

Then on Monday I had to stay late at work and couldn't make it there before they closed. So then I went on Tuesday afternoon.

As soon as I walked in, her jaw dropped. "Oops! I forgot! It's not done yet!" WTH? I guess even that's kinda okay since I had one more dress with me that needed the straps taken up. After she pins the straps, she comments that my boobs don't fill it out all the way.

Gee, thanks.

She offered to add some fake boobs. I said no... Then she said I needed to lose some weight so the dress would look better, or just wear some spanx.

Just what I needed. An old Korean lady telling me that I'm a flat-chested moo-cow with big hips. She's lucky she does a damn fine job with alterations!

beached whale

I don't know what I was thinking. I went to Target last night and picked up a couple bikinis. (I hate spending a ton of money on swimwear because it's not like I go to the beach all the time! Why do stores charge over $100 for that crap?)

Don't get me wrong, I really like the two I chose. And if I had a hot body, I'd probably buy a few more! But right now, my body is a hot mess. (This is all while I'm having a Starbucks coffee and a butter croissant!) I'm just hoping that I can tone up before Mexico. I have three months. I also have three months to return stuff at Target... It's win-win.. ish.

I bought the Jovovich-Hawk polka-dot one.



And I also bought this Xhilaration one. It was on sale for 50% off so the set cost only $15 total. My niece says she likes this one because it looks like a watermelon.



I need to do some squats now. Or maybe I'll go get lipo and have them suck out the juice in my gut and pump it into my boobs - just rearrange it all.

la cucaracha! ole! and grassy ass!

Uhh.. is that racist?

Cos we're going to MEXICO!! Hunny-bunny came through and bought our package to Cabo! We're going at the end of June so that means I have about three and a half months to stop eating.

soooo hungry....

where'd those come from?

I've been thinking about getting new jeans for a couple weeks. I've pretty much been rotating four pairs because I can't really fit the rest of them. *sigh*

Anyway, I decided to try them all on just to be sure. Well, I have this one drawer in my ghetto Ikea dresser that never really opens so I never really open it. But I opened it today and what do I find? A pair of seven jeans that I don't remember buying! Not only are they practically new but they FIT!

Its like the jean fairy paid me a visit! Yippee! New jeans! Its even better than finding your own money in the laundry!

Too bad most of the others don't fit. I just put them back in the mystery drawer. Some day I'll wear them again! (Picture Scarlet O'hare with her fist in the air...)

he loves me, I think

My loving bf said he'd love me even if I gain 30lbs. What does that even mean?! Is he talking about 30lbs over the average weight of an American women? Or is he talking about 30lbs over the weight I think I should be?

Because if it's the latter, I think I'm already half way there.

I'd probably love me more if HE gained 30lbs only because he's so effing skinny that I feel porky. I have low self-esteem.

gung hay -skinny- choy!

Is there such a thing as a happy weight? According to Self.com, I need to lose 10-11 lbs in order to be happy. I suppose I would feel a lot better about myself if I lost that weight. *sigh*

Here's the formula (or you can just click on the above link to go to the calculator, though they're slightly different, the answer is about the same):

Multiply your height in inches squared by .031
add 1 lb if your sibling is obese
add 2 lb for ever decade over 20
add 1 lb if you allow yourself a treat once in a while

Good luck!

Speaking of fat though, while we were having dinner one night in Budapest, the waiter served us some bread along with what I thought was butter. It didn't quite look like butter so I tasted it... It was straight-up LARD! No joke. Tasty, wonderfully delicious lard.... ahem.

I only tasted it! I swear!

Happy thoughts...