Back in the Saddle!

Oh man, it's finally Monday!

How many times are you gonna hear that today, eh? But if you've been in these parts for any length of time you've heard me go on and on about Mondays; they are my favorite. Especially lately - this starting up a business stuff means that my brain is constantly making lists of things that have to get done - it's turned into a big gray garden hose, spewing forth a steady stream of tasks and objectives, and I have to say I am loving it. On the other hand, it's spoiled the weekends a little bit because they put a kink in the hose...apparently some other people like to, you know, NOT work on the weekends, thus forcing me to slow down.

Sounds like silliness to me! Although now that I'm self-employed, my kids are out of school, and my husband's hours are all over the map too, life has decidedly little structure. Which is great in lots of ways, but not without its pitfalls - one of which is that it's really freakin' hard to keep track of what day it is.

But not today! Today is especially special, know why? Because today is the first day of the first run of Precision Nutrition's level 2 course: a full year of learning, studying, mentoring and generally moving toward a new level of previously unheard of awesomeness. I am pretty pumped to get to be part of this!

Another thing that's pretty cool that I have added back into the mix after a long hiatus is taekwondo. It's been almost a solid year that I've been out of the game, six months since I wanted to go back, and three months since I re-joined the dojang and just never went because I was ashamed of myself...and because life was just too damn overwhelming. Well, no more! I have to say, it was quite a shock to realize that my cardio has slipped to the point where I was seeing spots following every two-minute sparring match. Even more of a shock was that it took me thirteen full minutes (thirteen!) of sitting in my car after class, staring blankly at the steering wheel before I knew for sure which way was up and what exactly that steering wheel was for. What was not a shock was that I can't effectively kick any more because my uniform is too tight, and that feeling sucks the bulls' balls. Oh well - the only way to NOT feel like that any more is to keep going and:

YES! This is an e-book written by Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon, my mentor and lead coach of the Precision Nutrition 2 course. It's amazing and inspiring and a quick read, and it makes so much sense it's ridiculous. It's hilarious, entertaining, and FREE, so what you need to do right meow is go to www.stumptuous.com and download it. The biggest take-home point that stuck in my head is, listen to your guts instead of your brains and only eat - only eat - when you're actually hungry. Crazy simple, yes, but surprisingly difficult for the certified emotional eater in this corner. Plus my guts are notorious for having shit for brains...but nobody's perfect.

And on that note:

This also happened. This is a Black Bottom cheesecake (read: rum/dark chocolate) that an old university buddy asked me to make for his mom's birthday. Now, this isn't any old cheesecake (not that I EVER make "any old cheesecake") because he specifically requested some special Austrian rum that was steeped in family tradition.

So there's me in my kitchen, mixing up cheesecake batter. I pour out some rum to add, but as it falls into the measuring cup I notice it's a strange reddish color, not like the golden brown spiced rums I've used before...so I figure I'd better taste it so I know what's going into my cake. I take a sip. It burns my lips, then warms my whole body, and then, one by one, my toes shoot off like fiery little rockets. I smell smoke and, reaching up, notice my hair is on fire. I gasp, then with one fiery exhale, engulf my entire house in flames.

That didn't really happen, of course. What did happen though, when my eyes stopped watering and I got my breath back, was that I read the side of the bottle. It said,

"80% Alcohol"

80%?? Eighty?! Holy crap. I cut the amount of rum that I had planned to add in half, and still ended up with one seriously strong-tasting cake. Haven't heard the verdict from the birthday party yet but I hope they liked it. I'll keep you posted!