As an FYI, I moved my blog posts from LogYourRun.com to this blog. I always like to keep things in the same place. It keeps me sane. I’ve indicated those posts with an asterisk in the title.
Brilliantly creative? Gigantic idiot? You decide.
Elsewhere Online
Archive for August, 2007
August 31st, 2007
I Moved Some Stuff Around…
August 30th, 2007
Computer Monster
This is purely a guilty indulgence for me and my techie friends. Enjoy!
August 30th, 2007
PostSecret.com
I think Linden introduced me to PostSecret.com when we started grad school. People anonymously write their secrets on a postcard and mail them to PostSecret. Twenty new secrets are added every week.
In theory, this just seems like a place to air dirty laundry, but it has really opened my eyes to the needs of people around me. Seems like a good thing, right? As a Christ-follower I should see the needs of God’s children without this blog. After all, Jesus saw the crowds and felt compassion for them. Funny how I don’t see the needs of people until they’re made blatantly obvious. I’m a sorry excuse for a Christ-follower.
What’s worse is that sites like this have to exist. If we, as Christ-followers, were doing what Christ called us to do—loving him and loving people—there would be no need for people to cry out for help on a silly web site.
Check out this video from PostSecret.com. It’s the tip of the iceberg. I make a point to check out the site every week to remind me that people still need Christ and that he’s asked me to tell them how much he loves them.
P.S. PostSecret has a campus event on Tuesday, September 4, at Missouri State University. I’m going to try my darndest to get there.
August 29th, 2007
Papa Murphy’s Veggie deLite Pizza
If you know me at all, you know that pizza is by far my favorite food. I love its versatility as the right pizza can double for multiple meals: dinner, midnight snack, breakfast, lunch. My favorite pizza hands down is a thin crust Hawaiian pizza with pineapple, red onion, and ham; however, I do branch out occasionally and I’m offering pizza reviews as I eat it.
Last night I shared a Papa Murphy’s Veggie deLite pizza with my old roommate Betsy. She introduced me to it earlier this year, and it will probably be a staple of our hang-out time for years to come.
The deLite pizzas have an uber-thin crust, which has half the carbs and half the calories as Papa Murphy’s traditional crusts. Now, I’m a proponent of the thin crust pizza because I can eat more thin crust slices than I can thicker crust slices. Some complain that thin crusts taste and feel like eating cardboard, but having never eaten cardboard myself, I can’t actually defeat that argument (though I imagine cardboard is a bit more fibrous than thin crusts). When you cook it just right, the deLite crust is just the right consistency—not too crunchy and not too soggy. Papa Murphy’s have mastered the art of “take and bake” pizzas, so providing you know how to use your oven, it’s easy to get the pizza crust just the way you like it.
The pizza toppings include fresh spinach, sliced fresh mushrooms, fresh diced roma tomatoes, three 100% whole milk cheeses, and a creamy garlic sauce. Together, all these toppings are delightful. I’m particularly fond of the mushrooms, which have fantastic flavor (as a note, I usually don’t like mushrooms on my pizza—or ever for that matter). The creamy garlic sauce is a nice change from traditional red sauces and has excellent flavor. I tried recreating this sauce at home earlier this summer and failed miserably, so trust me, just drop the change and get this pizza instead. I like olive, green pepper, and onion on my veggie pizzas, too, so next time, I might add them to mix things up.
My only beef with Papa Murphy’s is the use of 100% whole milk cheeses. I won’t stand on my soapbox long, but I’d like to see the company switch to skim milk cheeses. I always appreciate companies who make “eating right” decisions easy. And after all, don’t whole milk cheeses sorta defeat the notion of ordering a light pizza? Papa Murphy’s pizza topping are so flavorful that they really don’t need high fat cheese (and really, how much more flavor does whole milk cheese add to a pizza over skim milk cheese?).
Veggie deLite Nutritional Information
Have you tried this pizza or other pizzas from Papa Murphy’s? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
August 28th, 2007
Life In the Clouds
This video came across my Google Reader over the weekend, and I almost cried when I watched it. “On Courage” captured so much of what I think running—and life— requires. Just as it takes courage to sign up for my first marathon, it takes courage to dream about what my life could be like, if I truly allowed myself to dream.
More than courage, though, running and life take action. Dreaming about that first marathon won’t help me on race day—tenaciously lacing up my shoes and putting in the miles will. Dreaming with my head in the clouds all day won’t accomplish much unless I also keep my feet on the ground and keep moving forward. Life in the clouds is grand, but putting one foot in front of the other and taking action truly takes courage.
August 24th, 2007
Call Your Grandmother
My birthday was Monday, and I received a small stack of birthday cards from friends and family. As always, I received thoughtful and loving notes from my grandmothers (along with some money). Now, I’m not super great at writing thank you notes (I think I’m still burned out from all those thank yous after my wedding), but I do at least acknowledge gifts and such with a phone call to the respective giver. I waited until today to call my grandmothers, mostly because I don’t work on Fridays and I never know how long our conversations may last.
I called Grandma Irene first and got a complete account of how my brother and mom helped take out the pear tree last weekend. Now Grandma can see Grandpa Norman’s shop and what an eyesore it is. I also heard how Aunt Donna is missing her phone and how Grandma and Grandpa are going to cancel Grandpa’s cell phone this weekend.
I called Grandma Helen next and received an account of Aunt Christina and Grandpa’s garden this summer (they have enough watermelon to have a church-wide watermelon party). Grandma also told me about her church’s new pastor and the trouble they’ve had keeping pastors at their small country church. Grandma also told me a great story of how the most she ever ran was one mile one summer when she was late to get home. She was twelve and had to run home from her friend’s house: up one small hill, down one big hill, up one big hill, and then flat all the way home.
Really, it doesn’t matter what we talked about today. What matters was that I picked up the phone and called them. I’m an adult, I’m married, and I’ve moved away from my hometown, so I rarely get to see my grandparents, but that’s no excuse for not calling. The least I can do is call them myself and not rely on my mother to relay what’s happening in our lives to one another. I should be thankful that at 25, all four of my grandparents are still alive and kicking. I am happy to pick up the phone and call my grandmothers.
August 24th, 2007
Sinkholes, shoe shopping, and spectating
Sinkhole that trapped man is now barricaded Linden and I ran past this sinkhole on the Galloway Trail this morning. Just think, if Heather, Linden, and I had ran north instead of south Wednesday morning, we would’ve ran past this guy? I wonder if we’d have heard him; we’re pretty gabby.
5 Things: Choosing New Running Sneaks I’m pretty pleased with this articles from Fit Sugar. I also recommend going to an actual running store where the employees are runners. They know what they’re talking about and can offer running advice you’ll never get at a big-box athletic store. Definitely talk to them about how to lace your shoes; I had some heel slippage with my latest pair (and corresponding blisters) before Craig, my personal training friend, advised me on how to lace up.
Marathon Spectating Dos and Don’ts I’m running my first half marathon on November 4, and attendance is required for immediate family. This will be their first half marathon, too, and this article is spot on. Runners hate thinking about how far they have left to go, but we love to hear what awaits us at the end. Personally, I’d love to hear how great my sexy calves look or how awesome I’m running.
August 22nd, 2007
Do I Dare?
After over a year of all but abandoning this blog, I revisited it today and am contemplating a revival. I’ve had a hankering to write over the last month, what with working with the What Is the Point? and LifePoint Journal blogs and while subscribing to who-knows-how-many RSS feeds.
I’m just afraid that this will become one more distraction that I’ve allowed myself this summer…that I will spend more time working on this site rather than working on my thesis. If I’m to graduate in December, I must get a polished first draft finished and to my readers by the end of September—a daunting task considering that in the last three months I’ve only written one-and-a-half pages.
Please be patient with me as I write, add features, and redesign. My XHTML and CSS skills have come a long way in the last year, so I have grandeur plans for this site, but again, I mustn’t allow myself to be distracted from my primary task—the thesis.
