I've been on a smoothie-making kick!  Lately, I've dabbled with blending different fruits in raw and frozen form.  I noticed that freezing all the fruit (and adding ice cubes) makes this drink creamy without adding sherbet, yogurt, or ice cream.  (Although, in my book, the best smoothie EVER has to have some triple-berry sherbet.)  For this recipe, I think it was the frozen banana that did the trick, but freezing all the fruits makes the drink super thick and quite tasty!

(I haven't experimented with the juice yet. Some new smoothie fads use a base of soy milk or green tea.  I'm a teeny bit skeptical -- what could trump OJ? -- but I'll have to give those a shot next!)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
3-4 frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana
few slices frozen pear
3 ice cubes
3/4 cup orange juice

Directions:

1. BLEND and drink!

That's almond butter on there. I know what you're thinking, "she ditched pb TWO mornings in a row?!" I know I can hardly belive it myself, but I just think almond butter tastes amazing on those Kashi waffles. It was a killer combo this morning, and fueled me all the way until 12:30pm!

I finished up class, packed my car, and upon walking in the door, went to the computer to print out the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownie recipe that Meghann used for her Pumpkin bars. I'm making them to take to the boy tonight, since I won't be with him at his game tomorrow, and least he can enjoy a scrumptous fall dessert. I've never made these before, but I know he likes pumpkin pie, and this recipe honestly sounds easy and delicious, so I hoping it works out :)

After buying my ingredients at the grocery I came home with a nice little appetite. So I rolled up turkey, swiss, tomato, roasted red peppers, and spinach in a Flat-Out Multigrain wrap and chowed down:

That's the new version of Athenos Garlic and Parsley hummus plopped on my plate there. Pretty good, I'd say. Oh and I also ended up switching that apple for a very ripe Bartlett pear at the end of my meal :)

I'm about to go test my baking skills in the kitchen and make the brownies, I'm pretty excited, I'll definitely let you know how they turn out!

Hope everyone's enjoying their Friday!! ;)

Background: I am beyond an apple aficionado. I'm obsessed with apples -- I eat at least two a day. Granny Smith are my preferred variety. The crispness, the acidic bite: is there anything purer?

So I caught myself judging this apple eater and I stepped back to analyze why. The guy was smacking his lips. His belly hung over his pants and stretched the buttons of his shirt. He brought the words "sleazy businessman" to mind. Here he was, holding this symbol of purity -- ingesting it, even -- and emitting sleazy rays throughout the elevator. It was incongruous!

I wondered if I'd find the same problems with other fruits. I pictured him eating grapes -- no! Grapes are for children. They're an innocent fruit, with their Gushers-like burst of fun upon biting. Pear? Sort of a violation, but not as problematic as the apple. Not so pure with its grainy texture. Orange? Yes! I could deal with him eating an orange. Something about the messiness of consumption made it okay. Raspberries, though, were out of the question.

(Note that I haven't discussed bananas. No openings for Freudian commentary here...one step ahead of you.)

Apple Crisp –

A recipe found on a pumpkin picking farm website.

6-8 apples
juice of 1 lemon
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
½ cup butter
whipped cream
freshly grated nutmeg
cinnamon

Wash, quarter, core and slice apples. (Peel if desired.) Sprinkle with lemon juice. Place in buttered 8 x 8-inch pan. Mix sugar and flour. Cut in butter with pastry cutter until in pea-sized lumps. Sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon on apples. Sprinkle on flour and sugar topping. Bake in 375-degree oven for 45 minutes. Serve plain or with whipped cream and grated nutmeg.
Note: It is easy to substitute peaches, pears or nectarines for the apples.

And for lunch I had the rest of my burrito from Chipotle. The only thing I don't like about their guacamole is when I bite down on a big chunk of jalapeno pepper. Those pieces literally make my mouth burn. Owwww. Other than that, it's delicious. :-)

I got gas in my car this morning, so I know I'll be able to make it to work. I did end up washing my car yesterday, so now I can see through the windows, and it's all sparkly in the sun.

See you later tonight...

9:30am: large soy latte= 115 cals.

12pm: 1 vegetarian burger, with cheese and ketchup (425), sweet potato (65), lentil soup (75)

tce:1100

Short run of 20 min: 125 cals burned.

6pm dinner: pb and honey (225), wheat bread (200), pear (70)

1/4 cup of kashi cinnamon harvest (47) + half tbsp of dark chocolate (70) =117.5

tce: ~1590

California Black Mission Fig & Cardamon Aquavit

Bosc Pear, Madagascar Vanilla Bean and Black Peppercorn Aquavit

Concord Grape Sorbet

Golden Bell Pepper Sorbet

Stay tuned!

On the menu for breakfast today was banana nut oats:

I made my dad lunch again and was going to take a picture of it, but I forgot. He loved his sandwich yesterday!

For my own lunch I made a sandwich with leftover chicken from last night and had a pear on the side.

I think it's time for me to go wash my car. It's quite filthy because it rained the other day. Ta ta...

I love the idea of making something that someone will love and keep instead of a regular card. A party at Stephanie's also looks REALLY delicious. Thanks for sharing!!

Souffles can be intimidating, but if you just break them down into a few simple components and steps, they are a breeze. Most dessert soufflés really just have two main parts – the base (flavoring component), and the meringue (whipped egg whites and sugar that make it puff up).

The pear soufflé is a good one because pears make an elegant dessert in any fashion, and there’s a very good chance that none of your guests will have ever had it before. It’s great with a crème anglaise, or you could do a cheese plate (think gorgonzola…). Or do it straight up with a nice dessert wine.

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup sugar + 1 T per souffle
• 2-3 ripe sweet pears, peeled, pitted, chopped—must be ripe
• 1/2 cup sparkling wine
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I like Mexican vanilla)1 shot of Poire William liqueur (optional, b/c it’s so hard to find)
• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 4 egg whites

Prep: Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Prep the four eight-ounce ramekins by lightly rubbing butter along the insides. Sprinkle with sugar to coat.

The Base: Saute the chopped pear in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the sparkling wine, honey, and vanilla.  Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the pear chunks are cooked down to a thick purée.  Remove from heat.

Put the puree in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour the purée through a wire mesh sieve over a bowl.  You will have to work it through the sieve with the back of a spoon or spatula. Whisk in the egg yolks.  You can add the Poire William if you have it. Set this aside. (This can be done in advance, and refrigerated).

The Meringue: Whisk the egg whites in a mixer until they begin to stiffen.  Add the sugar, continue whipping until you get just stiff peaks. Don’t over whip.

Fold ¼ or so of the meringue into the purée mixture to lighten it.  Then fold in the rest of the egg whites.  Spoon some into each of the ramekin, but DO NOT overfill. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven.  Bake for 10-14 minutes until the soufflés have risen and are slightly brown on top. Give them time to really rise up high.

Serve immediately.

Optional variation: Slice a pear ¼ inch thick, poach lightly in champagne and butter, then place one slice of pear on the bottom of each ramekin before pouring in the mixture.

OK mittens

Pattern: basically Teresa’s Lined Mittens (by Mavis Adams, Spin-Off- Summer 2008 ) without the lining (inspired by Orla Kiely Autumn/ Winter ‘06 collection)

Yarn: Cascade 220. pear and Doeskin Heather

I lost the camera for a few days, hence my absenteeism. It was in the camera drawer, of course, right where I looked for it five times. I really do have lots of things to post about, started a new quilt, at lease a few knitting projects, and need to give a worm update...so I will be back soon. Right now I'm going to make some cashew ginger sausage (well not making the saugsage but cooking it up for a yummy Fall supper).

They taste like mini Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Pirouette's. It's delicious, but I probably shouldn't eat something with 20 grams of sugar per serving for breakfast. So I had oatmeal with TJ's Nuts about antioxidant trail mix.

For lunch we had a birthday at work to celebrate. The birthday girl choose a restaurant called "Mexico" which just so happened to serve mexican. I order veggie fajitas and had 2. They were good. Also for once in my life I didn't eat any of the free chips and salsa. 

For dinner I had left over pizza and a pear.  I took a bite of it cold before deciding to bake it again hence the missing bites.

I must have worked up a serious appetite during spinning because about 15 minutes later I had some mixed cereal (puffed corn, the last of the fiber 1, and a few whole grain chocolate bites.) I also had a few of the cereal bites dry before deciding to make the 2 bowls of cereal. I told you all it was addicting.

Now Smell This Notes: lemon, mandarin, jasmine, roses, gaiac wood, pear, cinnamon, heliotrope and almond

Date: 10/6/08 Weather: 57 degrees, sunny

Comments: From the container, strongly woody. On the skin, the woods and a sour note. A flash of vanilla appears 5 minutes in and disappears after a minute, then the sour woods return. 30 minutes later, the sour note minimizes and it turns a bit rubbery. Not bad, per se, but not good either. The rubbery note morphs into Play-Doh. The sillage is nicer - don't catch nearly as many of the off notes as I do up close. Practically vanishes after an hour. Returns occasionally as a close-wearing bready vanilla when I concentrate. I'd be more inclined to wear L'Artisan's Bois Farine if I wanted bready. Not crazy about this one.

Perfume Smellin Things
Now Smell This
Makeup Alley

For a snack this morning I had a string cheese.

My lunch today was super filling. And I actually had something besides a sandwich! One of these tofu burgers:

On a piece of bread with tomato, a pickle, and some juicy pear slices.

This meal was delish! I really need to have tofu more often - it's such a good source of protein. My problem is that I get it at the store and then let it sit in my refrigerator without doing anything to it until the expiration date passes. Oops.

Time to get ready for work.

The lineup of toppings:

All put together:

And the last of the yogurt:

After breakfast I cleaned up the kitchen, emptied the dishwasher, and made some hot tea. Then I retreated to my room for some time in the Word. Once the Lord filled me up with spiritual food, I got to work doing some more cleaning.

Next I went downstairs and made lunch for my dad. He's a realtor, so he's on the go all day and drives around a lot. He gets tired of having fast food for lunch, and sometimes doesn't even bother stopping because he doesn't want to fill up on junk. So I made him a healthy lunch of a ham sandwich with cheese, spinach, and tomato and also gave him a pickle and grapes on the side. That should give him an energy boost in the middle of the day.

Now I'm off to try to get some writing done. It's a gorgeously sunny day out today, so I think I'll take myself outside...

Esta mañana he ido a entrar en el administrador de Joomla y me dice Sesión Invalida. He estado repasando todos los cambios que realicé en el php.ini, y restaurando los valores originales en todos ellos pero nada, me sigue diciendo lo de sesión inválida.

Los cambios que realicé son los siguientes:

; error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE
; display_errors = On
; memory_limit = 128M
; session.gc_maxlifetime = 3600
; max_execution_time = 600
; post_max_size = 60M
; upload_max_filesize = 40M
; session.hash_function = 0

En vista de que restaurando los valores originales no se soluciona el problema, he seguido revisando las operaciones que efectué en el server, y una de ellas fue instalar varios paquetes PEAR. He desinstalado directamente php-pear del sistema, pero me sigue dando error.

$ pear list

INSTALLED PACKAGES, CHANNEL PEAR.PHP.NET:
=========================================
PACKAGE                  VERSION  STATE
Archive_Tar              1.3.2    stable
Auth                     1.6.1    stable
Console_Getopt           1.2.3    stable
DB                       1.7.13   stable
HTML_Template_IT         1.2.1    stable
HTTP_Request             1.4.3    stable
MDB2                     2.4.1    stable
MDB2_Driver_mysql        1.4.1    stable
Net_Socket               1.0.9    stable
Net_URL                  1.0.15   stable
OLE                      1.0.0RC1 beta
PEAR                     1.7.1    stable
Spreadsheet_Excel_Writer 0.9.1    beta
Structures_Graph         1.0.2    stable

De momento no se que más hacer. Revisando las instrucciones de configuración que seguí para configurar el nuevo servicio ya está todo desecho.

También he probado a eliminar a restaurar el password del administrador directamente en la base de datos, aunque esto no es ya que si introduzco mal la contraseña me dice que son incorrectos, y si los introduzco de forma correcta lo de Sesión Inválida.

NOTA: Me están fallando las instalaciones de Joomla 1.0.x.
Las que tengo de la rama 1.5.x funcionan sin ningún problema.

Buscaré información referente a sesiones en php a ver si averiguo algo:

• webtaller ! Charla sobre sesiones en el canal #php_para_torpes
• joomlaspanish.org !  No puedo entrar como administrador

SOLUCIÓN

Cuando he ido a realizar una nueva instalación, en este caso de Joomla 1.5.7, en la fase de Comprobación Previa que hace el instalador de Joomla me salen valores en las variables de PHP que no se encuentran en estado recomendado.

Revisando el php.ini me encuentro en la variable session.auto_start un comentario introducido por mí indicando que había sido cambiado por exigencias de otra plataforma, que no fue la que probé este fin de semana y yo andaba revisando, y por eso no me había dado cuenta hasta ahora.

Al cambiar el valor y reiniciar Apache observo que ya puedo entrar sin ningún problema a las instalaciones antiguas. Este valor aunque me dejaba entrar a las instalaciones de Joomla 1.5 a las de Joomla 1.0 me devolvía el mensaje de Sesión Inválida.

Como se ve en la imagen, también register_globals se encuentra en estado recomendado pero sobre esta variable ya estuve haciendo pruebas ayer, y supongo que si estaba en ese estado es por que al finalizar las pruebas se quedó así.

Moraleja: más y mejores comentarios nos pueden ayudar a solucionar imprevistos de esta clase.

It was pretty good. Not fantastic or anything. Next time I might try it with Greek yogurt and a different kind of fruit. I would've had it with Greek yogurt today, but 1. My soy yogurt was about to expire, and 2. Sometimes the dairy of Greek yogurt doesn't sit well in my stomach, and I didn't want to be worried about that in church. But there will be more experimenting with this cereal to come!

For a mid-morning snack I had one of the new bars I got yesterday - a Clif Z Bar, blueberry flavor. Wow! This was soooo yummy. It just might be my new favorite flavor! Too bad I can't find them in any stores close by. :-(

Yesterday I stocked up on sandwich bread at WF, so for lunch I had the usual turkey sandwich with Vegenaise, almond cheese, and tomato. On the side I had a huge pear that was soooo good.

A little clothes shopping just might be in order today. It all depends on someone else, so we will see. In any case, my mom's and my book club starts back up tonight. We still need to get our books for it - Around the World in 80 Days. Should be fun. Be back later...

Then we found dill!  I thought it was too late in the season for it, but there it was.  It was grown at Drumlin Farm, run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society in Lincoln, MA, less than 15 miles away.  We bought the dill, and also their yellow potatoes and tongue-of-fire shell beans.  Two pounds of beans in their pods yielded 3/4 pound of beans our of their pods. 

In case you're wondering, out CSA is based in Lunenburg, MA, about 40 miles away.  The drop-off is on my husband's way home from work, by bicycle.)

We bought six ears of corn to freeze Nicewicz Farm in Bolton, MA, a little more than 30 miles away.  We also bought from them two pears to eat right away.  It was nice to have fruit that wasn't an apple, for a change.  The pears were nice and crisp.  I never know how to pick a pear.  Some varieties are crisp, some are juciy, or maybe it's the same variety at different times in the season?  I know my apples very well by now, but not my pears.  My grandmother used to have a pear tree in her yard in New Haven of all places.  Maybe she'll know. 

Edible Boston magazine was being given away for free at the market, so we took a copy.  I like the articles about local food producers.  It's also the rare publication where I really look at the advertisements, especially this month, because they tell me what local foods are for sale and where. 

Because it's Eat Local Challenge month and because they were there, we also bought some herbal tea from the Herb Lyceum in Groton, MA, a bit more than 30 miles away, and some chocolate from Taza in Somerville, MA, less than 5 miles away.  There was a vendor who sells mostly meat but also some eggs, but he said he usually sells out within the first half hour - even at $7 a dozen!  We heard a few other people go over and ask him the same thing after we did.  It's really hard to find local eggs! 

We continued our local food search later in the day.  It takes only one car trip to go to the grocery store, so if I'm going to a lot of little vendors I do my best to not drive, so as not to pollute more because I'm buying local.  (We always walk to the farmers market, except when we bicycle.) 

Our first local food detour was to Reliable Market in Somerville, where we found Chang Shing tofu in silken, soft, fried, and puff varieties, but none of our usual firm.  We bought some soft and fried to try. 

We bicycled over to Christina's spice shop in Cambridge, where the store is local, even though I'm sure the spices come from all over the world.  Spices are like that.  Of course, we popped next door to Christina's ice cream.  One of their current seasonal flavors is Calmyrna Fig, and it's incredible - rich, creamy, and tasting very much of fresh figs. 

Then we biked the little bit more to Harvest Co-Op, also in Cambridge.  I was thrilled to find a big bulk section with all the grains I would normally get at Whole Foods:  organic brown rice, organic whole wheat couscous, organic bulgur, organic grits, organic popcorn, and on and on.  The prices were competitive, and it's nice to support a local non-profit instead of a national for-profit chain.  I also like that for many of the foods they list the grower on the label.  Our new brown rice comes from Arizona, as opposed to our previous rice which was from California.  That doesn't make it any more local, I know, but it's nice to know. 

Today we went to the Kickass Dairy Bar in Somerville and bought eggs from Jaffrey, NH, about 75 miles away, and firm tofu made by 21st Century Foods in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, less than 10 miles away. The eggs were $3.19 a dozen, compare to the $7  a dozen at the farmers market.  We'll have to see if they're truly good eggs, with a thick shell and a bright yellow yolk that stands up in the pan instead of flattening out.  I'm convinced that stronger eggs have higher nutritional value. 

I've also identified a couple more local or local-ish brands: Uncle Sam cereals are from a company with local headquarters, less than 20 miles away, and Bar Harbor chowders are made in Whiting, Maine, about 340 miles away. Not local in the strict sense, but compare that to Campbell's.

For truly local food, here's my new favorite resource:  Local Food Guide to Metro Boston

While we were there A insisted we eat at Pizza Hut, so we shared a personal pizza and breadsticks.

On the walk home we stopped at a pet store hoping to pet some dachshunds and now A is pissed that I wouldn't let him make this $900 purchase:

Between errands, I also went to a 45minute Pilates class at Crunch.  As I said when I began this blog, I had recently gained some weight and lost some fitness.  Currently I've lost a few pounds (putting me about 4 over normal and 14 over where I want to be), but have gotten even more out of shape.  I'm definitely feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.  It's time to step up my efforts.

I'm ending this post with what I'm currently snacking on while I do my internet stuff,

baby carrots with a tbsp of chunky ranch dressing, a Red Bosc with a Babybell lite mini, and some Mary's Gone Crackers gluten free caraway crackers.  I'll be back for dinner, but for now, go buy yourselves some of these crackers - yum!

For my afternoon snack I had TJ's Greek yogurt with frozen mango chunks. This was another winning combo. It tasted especially yummy over time as the mango pieces got all melty and the juice mixed with the yogurt. I ate it slowly for that reason and savored every bite. Mmm.

Before all that emailing picture madness began, there was dinner! We had salmon and risotto. Green beans were also involved, but they had butter on them, so I was not able to partake.

The salmon:

And risotto:

Later on for a snack I had a delicious pear. And just look at the box full that Mom got at Costco today. Oh boy!

I'm glad tomorrow's Friday. See you then...

The first problem with growing, anything, where we live is the soil. The first twelve or so inches down are rocks. About 300 million years ago Colorado was covered by a shallow sea that was then divided into two large mountain islands known as Frontrangia and Uncompahgria (really, those are the scientific names), located in the current locations of the Front Range and the San Juan Mountains, that forced their way through layers of limestone during the early and late Paleozoic period.

The mountains eroded though out the very late Paleozoic and then early Mesozoic period, which was at the early stages of the dinosaurs’ existence. The Rocky Mountains that we currently live in took shape as the result major plate tectonic activity in the Jurassic and Cenozoic periods, approximately 170-40 million years ago.

What that means is that every time I try to stick a shovel in the ground and cannot due to the massive amounts of heart to hand size rocks encompassing the first layer of ground and curse, I am actually cursing the Rocky Mountains mother. Which cannot be a good way to start a garden. Even after digging through the rock layer, all there is to discover is a packed layer of clay, which extends much deeper than I have been able to get with the length of my post hole digger and is useless for growing the types of things we would like to grow.

To remedy this first problem, Gretchen and I built an elevated garden. We gathered stones together to build a four-sided wall about two feet high, but this can also be accomplished with materials like wood or hay. We then filled up the walls with our neighbor’s horse manure, top soil, earth worm castings, mulch, and compost purchased at the employees discount rate Gretchen gets at the plant nursery she works at.

This not only solved the problems caused due to the Ancestral Rockies and the clay, but also eliminated any weeds that would have inevitably been a problem throughout the growing season.

The next problem about having a garden at 7,000ft is the growing season, which officially isn’t even 80 days! The rule of thumb around here is to keep everything in pots to bring inside at night until June 15^th. After which you are relatively safe from any night freezing – but that is still no guarantee and need to keep a roll of Remay cloth around to cover the plants at night to keep them safe.

We are lucky to have a very open and south facing kitchen with some good windows that really help the plants in getting their necessary sunlight when it was too cold or windy outside. Once June fifteenth came and went, we moved the plants outside, and it was really amazing to see the plants grow and bloom and produce.

Well, summer came and went. Fall richly eased across the gamble oaks and aspen forests in deep reds and incredible yellows and oranges. It is very nice, but it hadn’t been a long enough time of the kind of heat that tomatoes need to get to their healthy and full red color, which indicates the kind of ripeness we desired. On top of that

, night frosts were not very far away. We could cover the plants at night with the Remay cloth to protect them from freezing, but that was still not going to get the plants to the type of temperatures that they needed in order to ripen up, so we decided to build a “season-extender,” or, “po’man greenhouse,” as it were.

The ranch where I work replaced 9,000 linear feet of log fencing that was falling apart last summer with anew one. Being the wood-burning gnome I am, I was able to take all of the old, rotting wood posts home to burn in our wood stove. Fortunately many of the posts were still in good shape and I was able to use them to build a frame around our garden. My grandfather, George, went to the flea market and purchased all of the pieces I needed to build a peak-shaped roof of aluminum poles and fittings to place on top of thewooden frame, over the garden.

I then purchased a 160’x30’ roll of rip-stop plastic sheeting for about $160. Rip-stop plastic is a relatively thin sheet of plastic with criss-crossed string woven throughout it in order to, well, stop rips.

Covering the frame with the plastic sheeting allowed three things to happen. First of all it protected the plants from the night frosts that would have frozen and killed the plants. It also protected them from thepretty intense winds that come around here with the changing season. And, most importantly, the clearplastic allowed the sun to get inside during the day and stay – bringing the temperature inside the season-extender as much as fifteen to twenty degrees higher than the ambient temperature outside.

All this was just the recipe we needed in order to start ripening up our Pear, Cherokee Heirloom, Mr. Stripy, Patio, and Cherry Tomatoes. Going through Gunnison several months ago I noticed a restaurant that was throwing away their old beer-cooler doors. By adding two of these on each side of the extender we were able to open them as we needed to not only get inside easily, but also to allow cross breezes inside to prevent the extender from getting too hot, which would also kill the plants. It was also important to vent the extender out because of the moisture that accumulates from the plants breathing all night and could make it so the plants would rot from too much moisture.

It has been a really awesome learning experience for me. Along with the green beans and peppers and lettuce that came along too, we really feel on our way toward some kind of really good nourishment. Gretchen has made the best salsa I have ever had with the ingredients grown in our frontyard, and that alone is enough for me to know all the work was entirely worth it.

Now we will see how the unit winters. If it lasts through all of the wind and storms and snow and ice, we can use it to protect the plants outside in the spring. Then simply remove the roof after June fifteenth to allow nature to do it’s thing, and put it back on around September first for the best Salsa this side of aisle three at City Market in Montrose!

Portland's Community College Multimedia Club has taken on the task to execute the design and production of a 2009 "Get Naked For A Cause" calendar. This calendar will be a fundraiser to help raise money for local charities/groups, as well as for educational opportunities within the club. The three main charities/recipients chosen this year are p:ear, Girls, inc., and Free Geek. We are currently seeking Portland media professionals to get involved in the making of this calendar. The theme (beyond the implied nudity) is for all photos to be of "geeks", or techs/media professionals. This is intended to be tasteful and fun, even a little silly. We are also looking for sponsors who will have the opportunity to have their logo and contact information at the bottom of the page. Sponsors can have this advertising on one page up to all twelve calendar pages. Sponsor ads range from $20.00 to $150.00. Please contact Windy at pdx_charities@yahoo.com for more information.

For breakfast this morning I decided on a blueberry waffle with soy yogurt and another delicious pear. Sadly this was the last pear in our fruit bowl. I'm going to have to go to the store to get some more to hoard for myself.

Today is yet another work day for me. But first I've got to get some things done this morning, such as clean our upstairs bathroom. It's in desperate need of some cleaning. "The girls" are coming over today, so all the more reason to do it.

Better get going...

Recipe for Stilton and Pear Salad

Recipe for Candied Pecans

P.S. Running update: I haven't run since Saturday morning, but I'm planning on running tonight, tomorrow and maybe Friday after work or Saturday morning. The weather is so great for this right now. I'm glad I decided to try to run a 5K now and not during the heat of Austin's summer!