Cool Cucumber

Rob and I are Big City Burrito’s biggest fans in Colorado Springs. We got in the habit of calling it “Burrito Barn” a year ago when we started going to choir. Every week after we work out at the Y, we grab a burrito (which gives Rob a chance to try a new hot sauce) before choir practice.

Tonight, as a treat (since I can’t attend choir this week), I drove downtown to get burritos for when Rob got home. I was shocked and alarmed to see the lights out and all of the refrigerated cases cleaned out. Oh no! And not even a sign on the door explaining the situation. Just last Thursday, I was telling Rob as we ate our potato burritos, “I hope their business isn’t in trouble… they’re never busy.”

One thing that gives me hope is that I found a web site listing the business for sale. Maybe they sold the business and someone else is renovating it. But would they really not put up a sign or note in the window? I am very upset about this, in case you can’t tell. I can’t even imagine going to choir next week without a Big City burrito. At least we recently used up our Free Burrito punch card…

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I’m at home today with Rob, whose a sickie. I’m furiously using Zicam nasal swabs in the hopes of not catching what he has. Our weekend has consisted of:

• I had my first class of the semester called “The Principalship” Saturday morning (I have lots of friends in this class, so it will be fun, especially since the class is very discussion- & group project-oriented.)
• Roasted 2 cups of coffee beans for the upcoming week
• Made a half-gallon of yogurt
• Saturday night, went and saw There Will Be Blood with Rob, Melissa and John (Some of my favorite people!), then ate Vietnamese food afterward
• Made Potato Leek Soup with Arugula for lunch Sunday
• Did lots of laundry (4 loads- yep, it’s been a while)
• Made beet salad- SCRUMPTIOUS, but now my hands are pink
• Worked on grading math tests and writing homework
• Ran with Royal outside- 50 degrees and shorts-weather (although there was still snow on the ground)
• Played Scrabble with Rob- we are so addicted

I’m trying very hard to be deliberate about work and play in my life. I can easily be drawn into things that I enjoy doing (even things for work or school), and let the time slip away without noticing. Weekends are sometimes stressful if I try to work the whole time, making lists to check off every item that needs to be done. On the other hand, sometimes Mondays can feel awful when I haven’t done anything to prepare for them, and then my whole week stinks as a result.

I’d like to think that I’m doing a better job than I used to, where I’d go in to school and work all day Sunday. How do you balance these opposing forces in your life?

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I’m someone who’s always been an erratic exerciser. I love running, but can’t sustain an easy pace for long. I’m more of a sprinter (I love field day every year because I get to race my class in all sorts of sprinting competitions!) so I have to work hard to build up to any sort of distance. Lately I’ve been following Cool Running’s legendary Couch to 5K program, a walking-running program that gradually increases the time spent running during a half hour time period. I have to fight the temptation to just jump back into running by going out and trying to run 3 miles without stopping because I inevitably push myself too hard every time and then jump off the wagon.

This program has been perfect for me! I don’t feel worn-down and I know I’ve gotten a good workout every time. I’m currently on week 2 (90 second running intervals with 120 second walking breaks), and I feel like each time I’m a little stronger. I’m even running at a faster pace than before and I don’t feel awful or sore.

Here’s another thing that’s helped me on this endeavor: C25K podcasts. Robert Ullrey created a separate workout track for each stage of the Couch to 5K program, then set it to music, complete with cues for when to run and when to walk. I love not looking at the clock or the elapsed time on the treadmill. Last night after my run, I felt as if I could have kept going for another half hour. I’m so excited about my new strategy!

Here’s my grandiose plan: this August, my mom and brother want to run the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon, and I want to run it with them. I want to complete the C25K plan, then start in on a half marathon program. Big dreams, but I think it’s doable.

I’m off today due to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. I think I’ll go in to school and get some things done that I’ve been putting off. It’s been snowing all day here. Big, fluffy flakes that float to the ground gracefully. I’d rather stay in on a day like today, but I need to go lift weights as well. See you later!

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For Christmas a year ago, I got a coffee-roaster from my dad and stepmom. I LOVE roasting my own coffee and decided it’s high time I shared it with all of my Internet Friends. Here’s the deal: I roast a cup of “green” raw coffee beans and they turn into 1 1/2 cups of sheer bliss… and the beans cost half the price they would at a local coffee shop. I roast twice during the weekend and it’s just enough coffee for Rob and me during the week. Any less, we’d run out of coffee; any more, I’d void the warranty on my iRoast2.

However, this batch of coffee was FREE from my good friend Melissa. She and her husband went to Coasta Rica over the holidays and she tracked down some beans that were unroasted. Apparently they were just roasting the coffee beans on the beach and she went to much trouble to get them green for me! Thank you Melissa! Here’s the label for your viewing enjoyment:

So then I put the green beans in the carafe and select a roasting profile that I set up previously. I’ve played with the settings a lot this past year, even to the point of graphing the temperatures using a thermocouple and Microsoft Excel. But I decided to keep it simple for this batch.

Here’s the coffee about halfway through the roast. You have to sit with it and listen to the cracks while it’s roasting. There’s a first crack segment, a period of rest, and then a second crack, which is harder to hear. I like to roast my coffee about 10-30 seconds past second crack ’cause I like it almost burnt.

I like how you can see the little beans flying into the air in these photos.

This is just before I stopped the roast… when you stop a fluid air roaster, it goes into about a three minute cool-down cycle. Oddly enough, the coffee never smells great while it’s roasting. It’s kind of a musty-burning odor.

I store the beans in an airtight container for at least 12 hours (no sneaking sniffs)… then enjoy!

For more photos of the process, visit my coffee roasting set here.

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It’s okay that some of us need more motivation than others to blog, right?  I mean, it’s hard to come up with something interesting to say.  And when you haven’t posted in months, it’s easier to continue the trend rather than just start blogging again.

That said, I wish to state my intentions right here for all to read.  I will be blogging at least once per week in 2008, just like my talented and strong sister-in-law Melissa.  My blog has sat cold and lonely during the second part of 2007 and I regret it.  I don’t even think anyone’s checking it anymore, so the pressure’s off, even.  The truth is that I love to blog and I don’t know why I stopped.  Oh, unless you count the undertaking of a graduate degree last January.

Today I received an early birthday present that should aid my blogging efforts.  CompUSA was going out of business nearby and I persuaded Rob to just go in and LOOK around because maybe they’d have the camera I wanted.  I present (through a very dirty mirror)- my new Canon Powershot Digital Elph!  I am having so much fun learning how to use it.  My sister-in-law and brother-in-law have this same exact camera, I think, and I was constantly looking for an excuse to play with it while we were with them over Christmas.  I’m so excited to have a better camera!

I’ll see you next week!

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