Success and Failure

Last night I started my first community education class: Beginning Crochet. It was pretty fun and we will be learning the bubble stitch, so soon two items will be crossed off my list. I won't cross the items off the list until the class is finished.

I totally forgot to wash my face last night though. I'm just not a face washer. So, day 3 and I've technically failed completely at my goals. But I'll just start again on that one.

101 in 1001

I jumped on the bandwagon, and it feels good.

I've started a challenge to complete 101 goals in 1001 days, starting today and ending in October 2010. I've started a new blog for the project, which can be found here.

I'm very excited and will update on the relevant goal reaching here also.

Day One

Today I start my adventure. In the next 1001 days, which ends on October 24, 2011, I will accomplish 101 goals.

Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon. After seeing Ang's, Jen's, and Max's lists, I couldn't help myself. What a great challenge. What a great way to get motivated. But they are not the only ones out there with great lists. Google 101 in 1001 and you will see many lists, with very mixed results. Some people stick to it, some people give up quickly. I hope to stick to it.

Much of my list consists of things I've wanted to do for a long time. The list (located to the left) was put together after a lot of thought. You will see there is a lot of items listed under "Food." I love to cook and try new things, so of course I have lots of goals there. I didn't want to put things on the list that wouldn't be personally rewarding. I could have put "Do 100 push ups in a row" on the list, but I have no interest in doing 100 push ups. Some of the things will take only minutes and some will take weeks, but they are true goals.

I don't think I will be able to accomplish everything on this list, but I want to. For instance, things like "visit another country" and "purchase a deep freeze" involve other people and money. I have to think about my family and my pocketbook. I hope to do those things, and I think CJ does too, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.

I have some really huge goals on here for me, especially in the "Physical" section. Losing weight is my number one goal, and as you can see, I have already started. I'm down 9.6lbs on the year. That's out of 116lbs. I have a long way to go. I also want to hike the Superior Hiking Trail. That's a serious amount of work, but the goal I'm looking most forward too.

This blog will be the recorder of my progress. To the left I will update after the item my progress such as (1/30) if it is a item that I want to do 30 times and have done once, or (complete) if it is a completed item.

So, that's it. Off I go.

Lookie

Look what I made!
(it is straighter than it looks here)

It is my first crochet project, and I chose a big one. I used this pattern and I really think it is great.

National Day of Service

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. day I participated in the National Day of Service. Friends of ours in NorthEast Minneapolis used their home as a drop off point for their local food shelf.

I put the call out on Twitter and Facebook that I would pick up food stuffs at any one's home in Minneapolis to bring to the drop off site. Three people took me up on that (thanks Sarah, Tara and Lauren).

After falling down our front steps, CJ and I delivered 7 grocery bags full of groceries to Paul and Jolana's very full house. We were the 18th people to drop off food, with one person after us doing the same while we were there. It was amazing.

Thanks to everyone nationwide who participated in the National Day of Service. Let's keep the tradition going.

Roasted Acorn Squash Polenta

Meatless Monday has been a tradition at the Church-Camp household for the last year. We try to eat meatless once a week, usually on Mondays. It doesn't always happen, but we try.

Tonight I had an Acorn Squash that I have been really wanting to use, so this is what I came up with: Roasted Acorn Squash Polenta.

It is a pretty intensive recipe for a week night, but it has tons of leftovers, which will be nice for lunches.

1 large Acorn Squash (about 3 lbs)
6 cloves garlic
5 t. rubbed sage
1 1/2 c slow cooking polenta
1c skim milk
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
1/2 stick butter
salt & pepper to taste
6 c. water.
olive oil spray

Preheat oven at 425
Cut squash in half and peel garlic. Put garlic in squash and sprinkle with 2 t. of rubbed sage and spray with olive oil.

Roast in oven for 45 minutes.

After done, puree in food processor until smooth.

(My polenta called for 4 cups of water, but I ended up with 6 cups and 1 cup milk. I like my polenta a little runny, but you could use less)

Bring water to boil with 1 t. of salt. Stir in polenta slowly. Then stir in milk. Bring down to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes stirring often.

Then, stir in squash, butter, and sage and bring back to a simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Just before finishing, add maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

It takes lots of salt, but it is a big pot. It is easily 6-8 servings.



This recipe, with the butter and syrup and all, is a great recipe for those of us on WeightWatchers and other diets. Lose the butter and milk (maybe add some soy milk) and it makes a great vegan recipe. This is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It would be good with a fried egg or with a tomato sauce.

Overall, a really great recipe.

Dog Day at the Metrodome

Last night, we brought Jeff to Dog Day at the Metrodome. From 6:00 to 9:00 dogs were allowed to roam the concourse off leash.

Here's Jeff with Fran Tarkenton:

There were lot of small dogs there, but a fair amount of larger dogs. There were only a handful of dogs bigger than Jeff.

Dog Day at the Dome isn't a great event if you are looking for real exercise for you dog. Jeff did very little running. But Jeff was very tired after an hour and a half of a constant supply of new dogs, new smells and new people. He socialized a lot and sniffed a lot of butts.


As for us, it was an okay event. We ran into a lot of people we knew. It is weird to walk the hallways of the Metrodome watching out for dog pee and poop. We cleaned up the first time Jeff peed on something, but quickly realized it was a lost cause because there was urine all over the place. A lot of people didn't feel the need to clean up after their dog's poop, which sucked. The event was run by the same people who do the Rollerdome, and they provided bags, cleaner, hand sanitizer and napkins, but people ignored this I guess. Also, standing next to the garbages at the end of the night was rough too, as the smell could be bad. The smell really got to CJ, who had to step out.

There will be two more Dog Day at the Dome on February 3 and March 3, both from 6-9pm. The cost is $1.00 a dog and parking is free in the Metrodome Lot.

A New Year

It is a new year, and with it comes resolutions. One resolution I have is to update this blog more. To do this, I realize, I need to expand my content beyond just what I cook. I'm going to expand to things I make, things I read, and things I do. It won't be random content, but will stick along the lines of "this is what I did and you can too."

I have four resolutions for this year:
-lose weight (I have a specific amount, but I'm not sharing)
-blog more
-go on an overnight backpacking trip which includes a hike of 20-30 miles
-have a party at the house

To blog more, I explained above, means expanding content.

To have a party at the house is actually a lot more difficult than it sounds. We have a lot of work that needs to be done at the house for this to happen. We need to finish the mantle in the living room and do a lot of making of organizing. This means building shelves, developing a system, getting rid of things and a lot of will power.

The overnight backpacking trip is what I'm most excited about. To do it, I need to get in much better shape and beg, steal, or borrow a lot of equipment. I'm totally motivated, I just need to get it together.

The losing weight (and getting in shape) is the hardest to do, but I'm on a good start. Before the new year, I started hiking and snowshoeing, two things I like a lot. Unfortunately, with the short days, they are not something I can do on weekdays. And they just are not enough.

So, I bit the bullet and joined WeightWatchers again. I hate WeightWatchers, but it works. So far, since Friday, I've kept on plan. It is a struggle to go to WW meetings. It is also a struggle to eat correctly. But I'm going to do it.

I also have a membership to the YMCA. I love the Y, in theory, but really hate it. It is less than a block from my house, so it is always there, taunting me. I never have a real excuse for not going. Aside from laziness, which is a real excuse, just not a good one.

Today I'm going to restart a swimming workout at the Y. It is a six week program to get me to swim a mile. Swimming three days a week will be my start, though I want to go to the gym at least 5 days a week. I guess we will see how it goes. I'm hopeful.

So, in the coming year, expect a lot more recipes, but also some of the crafts I do, some of the great places I go, and some of the cool things I do. And hopefully updates on my weight loss.

Happy New Year.