Category Archives: Just my Thoughts

9 January 2012

Resolutions

By Nicki

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? What is so special, other than the term new year would indicate a fresh slate, about January 1st?

I realize that having a new calendar makes my life seem like I am getting a fresh start. I also realize that tradition dictates that I make resolutions. Yet, as is the case in many areas where I just cannot bring myself to conform, I try to not do the resolution making.

I want to spend the end of December and the beginning of January looking over how the past year went. I want to evaluate and analyze where I could have done things better. I want to see if the goals I set for myself are ones that were achieved.

Here in lies the problem with the typical New Year’s resolutions. People make them. Some may even put them in writing – a definitively good move if you want to actually attempt to keep some of these. Most do not ever think about these resolutions again through the new year.

Do you currently belong to a gym or fitness center? If so, do you avoid it the first couple of weeks of the year so as to avoid the crowd? People go all gung ho and then realize that the resolution they have made is not sustainable.

Another problem is people make New Year’s resolutions that are vague. How many times have you made the resolution to lose weight? Well, drink nothing but water for a day and weigh yourself. Chances are you have lost weight. Resolution achieved. Unfortunately, this type of instant weight loss that will come back once you start eating normally again is most likely not what you meant by a resolution to lose weight. The resolution was not specific enough. Most people do not want to make a resolution like this very specific because then they can face defeat when they do not achieve the resolution.

So, as you put your new 2012 calendar on the wall – unfortunately, mine is already getting quite a mark up for January – think about your resolutions as goals. Make them specific. Make them achievable. Make them small and make many. Write your resolutions down. Break them into achievable chunks and do each part as a step on the way to achieving the bigger resolution.

Have a great 2012!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Just my Thoughts

6 January 2012

Somewhat of a Year in Review

By Nicki

2011 was a good year for my running life but not necessarily for my business life. You would think that one part of life would be connected to another. This is not – actually, in my experience, is never – always the case. Or maybe I should say that the areas I want are not always, mostly never, connected. If one part of life is doing well – especially with balance hard to achieve – some other part of life is suffering.

There are some parts of life that are naturally connected. My running does tend to help my body image and my weight control but the eating healthy part has to come into play also. My business life effects other aspects of life such as where I live – I rent, whether I have cable and internet and landline and such. My spiritual balance and fulfillment play into every other part of life that I have. I know what I have been letting my relationship with God lapse or suffer a bit as things start to fall apart.

So back to the good part of 2011. Running… yes, the running part of life is good. Is it perfect? Hell, no. I had my first real injury – other than a fall in 2010 – in 2011. I strained a hamstring and did not run two different races that I wanted to run in May. This caused me to not run a race a month this year. I also had set a second goal – after realizing I was not going to run a race a month – of running 1500 miles in 2011. I failed on that account. You are probably wondering why running is so good, right?

I started running with an evening run group in July. This was spectacular. Different people from different places in their lives all getting together to run in the evening once a week. To find a group that I could run with and enjoy the time and the company made for a great year. When the group ended as the days got shorter and no large race goals were in place, I found motivation lacking. I would still run but not as far.

This change in distance worked out well. I started working on speed. I would do shorter runs and see how fast I could run certain routes. I have run two marathons and have never worked on speed before as I was concentrating on getting the endurance down. Now that I know I have the endurance, I am going to work on the speed of my next marathon.

I ran my first and second marathons in 2011. I do not know what possessed me to want to run marathons. I am unsure why I am running more – if I am as I have not yet signed on the waiver line and parted with my money. The half distance seems to be my favorite distance. I actually ran two half marathons in ten days in August, cutting two minutes off my best time each race. The strange thing was I was not running either race as an actual race. Each was just a part of my overall training for my October marathon.

Even though I have not met goals that I set for my running, I have loved every run and every race this year.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Fitness, Just my Thoughts

5 January 2012

Taste Memory

By Nicki

We all have memories. The question is what triggers those memories. Yesterday, I had a taste memory. I have talked frequently about growing up with my grandmother. Holidays were busy times, as they are for most families. Yet, my grandmother would always bake.

I made the recipe for sugar rollout cookies this week (see my dilemma regarding the cookie dough). I had not made these cookies in over 20 years. I got to the point where no chill cookie dough was definitely a better option than dough that had to be made, then refrigerated, and then rolled out and cut and baked. Time is a commodity and I was making the most of mine.

I did finally roll out the sugar cookie dough and once they were baked, I was the first to have one. This is not because my children are not cookie monsters but because I was the only one at home while I baked. The taste, the slight almond, the texture – it all took me back to that kitchen on Liberty Street. I was a young girl or a teenager – I was always up for cookies – and my grandmother was the baker. The cookies were delicious. I didn’t put sprinkles on them or icing, something my grandmother did on occasion. I just baked the cookies.

I hope, that 30-40 years in the future, my children bake this recipe and have a memory about coming home to these cookies on the table. Taking a bite of today’s bounty definitely took me back in time and had me looking forward to the future.

2 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Food and Recipes, Just my Thoughts

4 January 2012

Cookie Dilemma

By Nicki

Have you ever had issues with what you are baking? I made cookie dough. I made two different kinds, both what I consider Christmas cookies. The first batch was sugar cookie rollout dough. It was my mother’s recipe and I use to hate using it as I am not a wait for the dough to get cold kind of gal. I like making my dough and my cookies and being done with it all. The second was a gingerbread recipe that also needed to be chilled.

The sugar cookie dough was done on a Saturday in December. My oldest daughter was having a party the next day and I was making these cookies for that party. I never got them cut out and baked. There is that chill the dough part coming in again. I left the dough in the refrigerator for some time but when I did decide I was going to make cookies, the dough was all crumbly. I added a bit more water and still was having issues. I re-wrapped the dough and put it back in the refrigerator.

I have several gingerbread cookie recipes. I have, though, lost my favorite one which did not require refrigeration. I cannot wait to find another not necessary to chill the dough recipe. In the beginning of December, I made one recipe. I refrigerated it and then got it all rolled out and made a gingerbread-mince roll. It also had ginger flavored cream cheese in it and was delicious. The roll had some issues in the oven but tasted fantastic.

The second batch I used a recipe that came with a Tupperware calendar I had years ago. The recipe was larger so I could do some cut outs and another roll if I wanted to do so. I refrigerated the dough and, sure enough, it was all crumbly. I do not know what happened. I added more water and re-formed several – four to be precise – balls of dough and put it back in the refrigerator.

I am ready to make cookies again. Now, will the two dough be good enough or will a crumbly-ness continue and will I eat the raw the cookie dough?

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Family, Food and Recipes, Just my Thoughts

3 January 2012

Come Visit With Me

By Nicki

I have spent a few days away from  my computer but want you to come visit me Another Mother Runner. I did a why I run guest piece that you can find here.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Fitness, Just my Thoughts

27 December 2011

Starbucks’ Breakfast Fare

By Nicki

What a pleasant surprise when I walked into my local Starbucks on December 20th to find that breakfast sandwiches were buy one, get one free. After having read Onward by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, I have steered clear of the breakfast sandwiches at my favorite coffee shop. I knew that changes had been made since they were originally introduced but I wasn’t willing to tempt fate. Vestal, New York may not be on the top of the list for Starbucks so I wasn’t going to order something that would smell up the small shop.

I figured if a lot of people were ordering these and I wasn’t hit with the smell of breakfast sandwiches when I walked in the shop, I was good to get a sandwich … or two as the case may be.

Let me tell you that the variety that was available floored me. I was excited to be able to order a wrap instead of a sandwich. My order was not adventurous by any means – two spinach, feta and egg wraps. YUM!

The wrap, which I expected to be on a tortilla type of wrap, was on flatbread. This means the wrap itself was thicker than just a tortilla. It was multi-grain of some sort. The reminder was delicious. Whoever prepared the wrap did so with perfection. I lost none of the insides as I was eating the wrap. I am a huge spinach fan and there was plenty of spinach in the wrap – fresh baby spinach it seemed to me without taking the wrap apart to actually see. The feta was the perfect companion to the spinach and egg.

The wrap tasted delicious. I was so full I even came home and ran three hours later without a growl in my stomach. I didn’t even manage to eat lunch as I was still full. I count myself lucky to have decided to work at Starbucks that morning as I had breakfast for five dollars and thoroughly enjoyed it.

2 comments   |  tags: , | posted in Food and Recipes, Just my Thoughts, Product Reviews

21 December 2011

The Postal Quandry

By Nicki

The US Postal Service has proposed cutting service within the United States. This process was not something done on a whim but one that took much analysis. None of the changes are going to be easy. First class mail will be slower. Jobs will be lost. Services will be consolidated. Saturday mail delivery will be eliminated.

To prevent these actions from happening sooner, rather than later, the United States Senate passed a moratorium. None of these actions can take place for five months. I wish that Congress – or the Senate in particular – would stay out of this issue. Yes, I know that every senator wants to look like he saved jobs in his state. I know, also though, that if the USPS were a business, these changes would have taken place long ago to ensure continued viability. On top of these changes, a for profit business would have increased stamp prices ages ago and not by a penny or two at a time.

Do I want first class mail to take longer to get to me? No. I will say, though, that those who live where I do should be use to this issue. Many years ago, Binghamton stopped processing mail on Saturdays. Consequently, a letter going to a local business or neighbor that was mailed on Monday would arrive on Tuesday. The same letter mailed on Saturday would arrive on Tuesday. Saturday’s – or all weekend mail for all I know – mail would go to Syracuse to be processed and then come back to the area. The extra day – or even two – was a known and people work around it.

Do I want Saturday mail delivery to stop? If this move will keep the postal service solvent, I say yes. I do not care if the little mail that I receive gets to me on Saturday or not. Having a weekend without mail would not deter me from doing business. I can live without Saturday mail delivery.

Locally, the processing center in Binghamton will be moved to, or consolidated with, Syracuse. Yes, this will make delivery a bit slower. Yes, this will cause some job loss in the area, an area that can hardly stand the job losses it has already seen. Yes, this will cause some movement of jobs to Syracuse. Do I personally want any of these items? No. Do I see the reasoning for them? Yes and, as a business, I feel the US Postal Service should do what is necessary to stay a viable business.

1 comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Just my Thoughts

20 December 2011

Spicy Almonds

By Nicki

Do you always wonder what you are going to give those “hard to give to” people? Here is a quick last minute gift or a great hostess gift. You can either reuse a container you have – I will explain how to decoupage a container later – or buy a cute holiday container at the dollar store.

Spicy Almonds

INGREDIENTS
1 cup almonds
1 ½ teaspoons canola oil
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Dash fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Roast almonds in oil, stirring frequently in a skillet over medium low heat until slightly browned and crispy. You will be able to hear the nuts hissing.


2. Toss nuts with spices until evenly coated.


3. Spread out on aluminum foil to cool completely and then store in an airtight container.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Food and Recipes, Just my Thoughts

19 December 2011

The Fourth Sunday of Advent 2011

By Nicki

I have been trying to post some Advent reflections the day after each Sunday in the liturgical season. Sometimes these thoughts come from memories of years past – as the first piece did – and sometimes from what I have  heard in readings and  homilies at church – like this one does.

 

The final Gospel reading of Advent – at least of a Sunday in the season – goes to Mary. While the reading is very similar to what is heard on December 8th – the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the homily yesterday took me in a different direction. I heard of a young girl answering a call. I heard of a young girl giving up her own destiny for that vision that God saw for her. I heard of a young girl setting an example for her peers and for us.

 

Think about what it takes as a teen to follow God and let people know you do. I have seen plenty of examples this past weekend as I went Christmas caroling with teens and families from my church on Saturday evening. Then, on Sunday, I witnessed a living nativity. The teens play-acted the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus.  You can see or hear of both by following the various links below.

Church Web Site Recap of Caroling

WICZ Coverage of Caroling

WICZ Coverage of Living Nativity

WBNG Coverage of Living Nativity

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Just my Thoughts, Religion

17 December 2011

Maine-Endwell Fall Sports Parade

By Nicki

To celebrate a state championship in football and a very successful fall sports season – both on and off the field as the overall grade average of all fall sports teams was a 92, the Maine-Endwell School District put on a parade for the both the school and the overall communities.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Board of Education, Just my Thoughts, School Sports, Sports

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,840 other followers