Link to pictures from trip to the Azores
Our trip to the Azores was pretty cool, and we have the pictures to prove it. I'll try and write up more later.
Finished a scarf for Phoebe
A while ago I finished making a scarf for Phoebe. This was a project to try out a basket weave type of pattern, and, other than some sizing issues, it turned out pretty well. I ended up using some yarn that my mom had given me around Christmas that had a really bright color pattern to it.
I started by casting on 30 stitches, long tail method. Though I should have only done 20 stitches as I'll get to later. The first five rows were done in garter stitch, so knit on rs and purl on ws. After the five rows I did the following pattern:
- Knit *5, Knit *5, Purl*5, Knit *5, Purl*5, Knit*5
- repeat 1 until you have 5 rows
- Knit *5, Purl *5, Knit*5, Purl *5, Knit*5, Knit*5
- repeat 3 until you have 5 rows
- repeat 1 through 4 until scarf is the length you want, then
- 5 rows of stockinette stitch and bind off.
As you can see, it is a repeating pattern of alternating squares of stockinette stitch with the rs and ws switched every five stitches. The pattern is much more evident in the detail view. This was a great project for me to try out something other than garter or stockinette stitch. The garter stitched edges help keep the edges from curling, giving it a nice straight edge with no blocking.
This was also my first design of my own making, and I learned a bit from it. One thing I should have done was make some test swatches to gauge the correct width. The pattern as is makes a really wide scarf. Phoebe is going to have to have it folded in half to wear it, and because I didn't want to make it too long for her, it ended up looking too short (though it is the perfect size for a 5 year old). I would suggest changing the pattern to casting on 24 stitches, and making the repeats be 4 stitches long instead. Though again, this time I'd do a test swatch of the width to make sure that is what I wanted, as that might still be too wide. Maybe a lighter yarn and smaller needles would have been the correct fix for this.
The fruits (vegetables) of my labor
My garden is now producing somewhat regularly. I can get enough lettuce for two salads about 3 times a week, I'm pulling radishes like crazy, and I've even started getting some spinach and strawberries.
The radishes especially remind me of Spring. When I was young, i remember biting into fresh radishes with their super pungent and aromatically spicy flavor. I love just washing the dirt off, grabbing it by the top, shaking a little salt on it and taking a big bite. They are also really good in salads.
The salads we've had so far are seriously yummy, the lettuce is still warm from the sun, just a quick rinse to get any bugs and dirt off and a quick tear into a salad bowl, throw some thinly sliced radishes on... sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice and white wine vinegar and dig in.
The strawberries started out watery, so I cut down on watering them. From every day to every other day or so. It seems to have made the fruits that much sweeter, while still being juicy. I don't know that we'll ever get more than half a dozen ripe at once with the six plants we have, so we'll still be buying them at the Farmer Market.
The tomato plants are in the ground and seem to be growing well. I need to finish the drip irrigation around them. I sowed a bunch of basil seeds among the tomato plants and am hoping I can get those to germinate and thrive under the tomatoes. They're supposed to help keep insects out, and a good tomato salad can't be without fresh basil... right? I've just had such bad luck with basil this year, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.
"How does your garden grow?"
Very well, thank you for asking!
This is just a quick update on my garden (check out the photos!). The tomatoes I have left are doing very well. I'm going to need to get them in the ground soon, I only hope the average daily temperature warms up a little in the next week. I'm shooting for a May 1st date of getting them in the ground. Then I have to make the cages for them.
I installed a drip irrigation system in the first bed, it seems to be working very well so far, now I just need to add another mainline and water up the second bed. I only worry, because the second bed has some lettuces in it... I think I'll leave the lettuce section dry and water it as needed, rather than try and get all fancy to keep the lettuces drier.
In the first bed, we have the onions and spinach and radishes we planted earlier, all of which are doing well... the radishes are flourishing. To those we've added yellow squash and pumpkins (sugar pumpkins for more soup next fall and winter) which are doing really well having been transplanted from the seed trays. In the photo to the right, you can see the squash and the radishes are in the background. I've put bird netting over the top, and that seems to have really cut down on leaves disappearing from these tiny plants.
In the second bed, we have the aforementioned lettuces which have really benefitted from the bird netting, as well as some anaheim peppers and a cayenne pepper I've transplanted from the seed tray. I've also planted a row of carrots and a couple of hills of zucchini. I planted the zucchini just before the temperatures dropped again, so I'm hoping they'll bounce back up again soon so the zucchini can germinate. I'm leaving room in that bed for a couple more peppers, another row or two of carrots and the broccoli.
Speaking of broccoli, I just this morning transplanted them from the seed tray to their own rose pots. I have to admit I've never seen broccoli actually growing, so this will be an eye opener for me. I've been really happy with how well the seeds have germinated, and hope to have some real success with this particular vegetable, as nothing beats fresh broccoli... except for maybe fresh carrots... and fresh peas. I can hardly wait for the first salad of the year from our garden.
So far (knock on wood) we've had very little problem with gophers. I have a little sonic annoyer in the ground that seems to be mostly working. However, if the gophers start wreaking havoc, I'm gonna have to go medieval on them and hire professional hitmen to take them out. It wasn't until they ransacked swaths of my garden last year that I understood Bill Murray's character in Caddy Shack. Carl Spackler, I feel your pain.
I've also just started on vermicomposting. The city of Santa Cruz has a subsidy for composting kits and I chose the Worm Factory and a half pound of Red Wrigglers. They seem to be doing well after a week in there. We'll see if they're still kicking after a month.
So, wish me luck on my gardening endeavors. Maybe we'll invite you over to dinner once we start harvesting!
I'm not the only one...
My great uncle Joel sent this to me. And I realized this might explain to many of you why I am the way I am.
You Know You're an Oregonian if....
1. You know the State Flower (Mildew)
2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.
3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.
4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
5. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.
7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.
8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, is not a real mountain.
9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Dutch Brothers.
10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye Salmon.
11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima, and Willamette.
12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.
14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark-while only working eight hour days.
15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
16. You are not faxed by Today's forecast: "Showers followed by rain," and Tomorrow's forecast: "Rain followed by showers."
17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.
18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.
19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.
20. You announce, "The mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.
21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.
22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.
23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.
25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.
26. You measure distance in hours.
27. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day.
28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.
29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter - Raining; Winter - still raining; Spring - Still raining; Summer - Road construction and Fall - Deer and Elk season.
30. You actually understood these jokes and will probably forward them.
Sorry about the downtime
Just noticed that the latest Software Update had hosed the blog server. I've fixed it, obviously.
I'll have some new photos to put up soon, so stay tuned!
Getting my garden geek on
Gardening is my new geek focus, my Big Project. As I've blogged recently, I've got a flat of tomato seedlings gaining strength for when the ground gets warmer. Oh, you didn't know that tomatoes need the soil to maintain 60º F in order to thrive? That's the kind of information that really gets my geek on with gardening.
It turns out there are a lot of places on the web to get great information about gardening. I've been following and even took the tomato class from Cynthia at growbetterveggies.com, which was great. I encourage you to sign up for the next class if you think you have a little gardening geek in you. Cynthia understands gardening (especially tomatoes) in a way only someone with a real inquisitiveness can. She studies and experiments every year and encourages others to do the same.
Gardening is one of those pastimes that can return huge dividends based on how much attention you are willing to give it. Since I am focussing my energy on it fully this year, I expect to get a better than average garden.
For my tomato seedlings, I spent quite a bit of effort looking for a fan. Having the fan blow on them for a few hours a day stimulates stem thickness and strengthens the plants. Sandy finally found one at an artists supply store. I built a little stand for a grow light (basically, an under cabinet fluorescent fixture with a plant bulb in it). This allows them to grow strong despite the fact that we don't have a great place for direct sunlight in our house.
Last week, I spent four days creating and amending raised beds in the garden. I grabbed a bunch of 1 by 8 fencing in 6 foot lengths. I knew I wanted 10 foot by 3 foot beds, so I used 5 boards for each bed. One board I cut in half as the ends, the others, I took a foot off of the end. I used two of those foot long pieces to join together two of the 5 foot sections each. I then took some 2 by 2 that I cut to match the width of the other boards and used those to connect at the corners. I used zinc plated screws, so if something goes wrong, I might be able to just pop off some screws and screw down a new board. I haven't treated the boards with anything, and I just used common redwood, why spend for the expensive heart redwood?
To put them into place, Sandy and I dug down a little and created a level trench that the beds would sit in. We removed some soil from between the beds and added a good 3 inches of mulch between and around all of the beds. I then added, in order, humic acid, chicken poop (about 2 inches worth), Dr. Earth's fertilizer with a bit more P and K, to make up for all the N in the chicken poop, topsoil from what we took out, and some soil building compost (about an inch and a half's worth). Needless to say, that was quite a few trips to The Garden Co and OSH. I then gave all that new soil a quick turn. I had bought a manure fork for that, but it broke on the second turn, so we had to return it and get the more expensive one.
Sandy's parents had brought us some onions, so Zach, Phoebe and I planted those in the new soil. I'm still trying to figure out what I really want to plant in the beds this year. I know I'll do at least one hill of pumpkins, and at least a few pepper plants. Other than that, I'm still mulling it over. If you have any ideas, leave a comment.
My tomatoes are sprouting!
Last Sunday, I took a class on how to germinate tomato seeds with Cynthia Sandberg of Love Apple Farms. It was a great class with lots and lots of ideas for getting the most out of your garden tomatoes. During the class we sow a flat of seeds, which we take home and then are supposed to nurture into seven foot tall tomato plants, laden with so many fruits that my small garden plot will solve world hunger. Well, at least some are supposed to survive, and then hopefully thrive.
I saw my first little shoots this morning, they are just the smallest little white roots sticking out. I was expecting to see them tomorrow at the earliest, so it is exciting to see the little buggers fighting their way out of the soil.
Now they are sitting uncovered, on a seedling heating mat. I still need to get a cheap grow light and a small fan in order to do what Cynthia told us to do. And since she's the "crazy tomato lady" I'm gonna listen to what she says!
In a few weeks, they should be big enough to transplant into slightly bigger pots. Then, hopefully, by May 1st, I'll have quite a few plants to put in the ground. I've promised a few starters to my in-laws as well... and with a potential (if all seeds germinate and survive) 144 tomato plants, I might be looking for homes for my babies.
On the slopes
Two years ago, Zach and I bought equipment for the slopes (he got skis, I got a snowboard) after the snow season. Needless to say, last year, the snowfall was miniscule. We went to the slopes once last year, right after a snowstorm... the only snowstorm of the year. It just didn't seem worth the effort to drive all the way up, pay for lift tickets just to be disappointed with few open runs and sloppy snow.
This year has almost made up for it though. We've gone to the snow two separate times now (Kirkwood). Both times we drove up the day before, rode for one or two days, and then drove home after a good night's sleep. It's been so nice that Sandy has even bought a pair of skis and boots and loves shooshing down the mountain at her own pace.
The really fun part is watching the kids take to skiing. Zach has a natural kinesthetic ability with any sport he tries, and Phoebe is so fearless they are both going to be much better than I will ever be.
Phoebe's taken 3 lessons so far and is really taking to it. She loves going up the chair lift with the instructors and has gotten so she can really zoom down the mountain. She also enjoys throwing snowballs at her instructors and loves, loves, LOVES eating snow. Turns out the dirtier it is the better she likes it... sigh.
We bought her goggles and a helmet, which she has decorated with stickers. You can just make out the stickers in the picture to the left. We'll get her skis after she grows just a little bit more.
Zach is about ready to take on the entire mountain. The first time we went, we got him a full day lesson. By the end of that day he was confident on the bunny slopes. The next time we went, we ended up putting him in a half day lesson. Then he spent the rest of that day skiing with Danny, Raul and me.
After Zach's half day lesson he was excited to show us a run off of the beaten path. "It's called the Ditch of Doom," he told us matter of factly. He led us towards a green (easy) run. All of a sudden, he drops into a tree lined gully. Not wanting to seem like chickens, we all followed. We wound around through this gully, up the sides, over jumps, ducking under trees... he really showed me another side to riding on the mountain.
Zach took a few faceplants that day and the next, but almost always came up laughing. He took some real chances, and was willing to go fast, take the big jump and wipe out if it didn't work.
Sandy went with us to the "Ditch of Doom" but stayed on the green run instead of going with us. That was probably a good idea.
Sandy did, however, go to the jumping terrain area, which she enjoyed.
I've found that having gone twice, and planning to go again means that I feel like I'm actually getting better at riding. Before, with my one trip a year, I spent most of the time just getting back to the level I had ended at the previous year. Now, I'm definitely moving forward and learning more each time I go. And with Zach to push me into new areas, I can't help but feel really excited for our next trip.
See more photos of our snow trips this year.
Cool entry on agnostic spirituality
I like 43 Folders. I especially like this post.
What I like about it is the way he takes a concept from Christianity, forgiveness (which really is the pillar of Catholicism, and somewhat of a secondary pillar of the rest of Christianity) and applies it to himself. I think what he is really searching for is an induced catharsis. A way to take that roller coaster wave of emotion and ride it back into a purified, happy state.
Read it if you have a moment.
My "Coffee Name" is Gunther
You're there, at the head of the line, ordering your coffee drink from some cashier more hip than you. Said cashier asks for your name, what should you do?
Introducing the "Coffee Name"
Your Coffee Name is the name you give to people that ask your name for the purpose of writing it on some cup, to be forgotten the moment the pen gets the cap put back on. Your Coffee Name could be your real name, but where is the fun in that? I'm starting a movement that says that your Coffee Name should be different from your real name. My current Coffee Name is Gunther. I like the way it sounds. I can't imagine a Gunther ordering a half calf skinny latte with two Sweet-N-Lows™, and so Gunther won't order that.
Practical reasons for a Coffee Name
I work with a person who's name is very difficult. He's Finnish, so don't feel sorry for him. I noticed when we went out for coffee that he gave his name as Justin, not very far from his real name, but then, not exactly his real name. He explained that he got tired of trying to explain both how to spell and then how to pronounce his name.
Another co-worker has an exceedingly common name, every time they announce his name, he has to look around to see if someone else with his name is coming forward. He then asks the barista whether it is, in fact, his drink. That man needs a coffee name, and something really exotic. Or, he could mess me up by choosing Doug as his coffee name... damned Chai drinking hippy that he is, I can see him doing that.
Your turn!
Choose your own Coffee Name, try it out for a while, like trying on sunglasses at the store. When you tire of that name, choose a new one. You could even use different ones at different coffee houses. Heck, I think it would be fun to choose a real Poindexter name at one spot and a cool name (like Gunther) for another. Just choose something and add a little surreality to everyone's life.
New Years Resolutions
I hate New Years Resolutions.
It always seems so trite to make all of these resolutions right after the holidays, when you've been cheating on whatever diet/exercise program you've been on anyways. Yes, I'm bloated and out of shape from two straight weeks of hanging out indoors, scarfing up all the holiday treats... why do I have to make myself feel even worse about it all by making resolutions I know I'll have trouble with?
This year, I'm going to try and space out my resolutions. I'll work on one for a few weeks and then I'll move onto the next. I'll put up a list somewhere (maybe in OmniFocus) so I can keep track, but it won't be a hard list. I can change items on it or remove them at any time. That way, I won't feel like a complete tool when I can't keep up with the twenty life changes I feel like I should be making.
By apportioning them out, I give myself space to concentrate on one area at a time. I also allow for cheating and backsliding without feeling like my complete resolution list has fallen apart and I'm huddled up over some ice cream hoping Summer will be here soon, "That's when I'll really exercise... you'll see!"
So, in no particular order, here's my off the top of my head list of habits to get into this year:
- exercise daily
- pick up hockey at least very other week, if not skills class
- change my eating habits to include more veggies
- change my eating habits to include fewer (or smaller portions of) sweets
- go bike riding with my family once a week
- shop at the farmers market and not let the produce I get there spoil in the fridge waiting for me to prepare it
- write in this blog at least once a week
- practice juggling once a day
- practice zazen once a day
On top of that, I have some projects I want to work on/finish over the course of this year. Might as well list them here as well:
- build the pergola in the backyard
- get the garden boxes finished and planted
- get the house "automated" and secured
- build the sandwich box robot with Zach
- build a combo winerack/sideboard for the dining room
- get our bedroom set up for function and aesthetics
- get the office set up, including hardwood floors and new furniture
- get wills done for Sandy and I
- learn Portuguese
That's quite a bit to keep me occupied for the year, don't you think? I'll try and keep updated on my progress throughout the year.
Updated XMas Lights
I've updated XMas Lights to 1.5.5 with a few bug fixes. Thanks to all of the users that took time to tell me about problems they were having, particularly, Al Heynneman, who's detailed crash log and specific instructions led to the fixes in this new version.
I'm retesting on Mac OS X 10.4 as I've had a lot of users with issues there.
Updated Holiday programs
I've finally updated XMas Lights and Snowflakes to be universal apps. I've also tested them on Leopard.
Go ahead and download them to give your desktop a more festive feel!
How to wake early
Waking early is good for you
Waking early is a great first step in taking control of your life. Developing the waking early habit allows you to have more time and energy to focus on things you might not have the time for now. Some other benefits to waking early include:
★ You are not as rushed in the morning
This means you can make a nice breakfast, and you won't be running around trying to get everyone off to school and work in a panic. You can have time to do those things you never seem to have the time or energy for.
★ You are better rested
This allows you to hit your stride earlier in the morning. You'll be more productive (and pleasant to be around) at an earlier time. It's easier to go to bed early when you know you're going to have time when you wake up. Often we stay up late because we are trying to finish some task we don't have the energy for.
★ It is good alone time
If you are doing the waking early habit by yourself, early morning is a great time to have some quiet space for yourself.
★ It is nice to see the sunrise in the morning
Don't underestimate the power of watching the sunrise every morning. It can be very rejuvenating and uplifting.
The evening energy suck
Evening time for me, and for many others, is a productivity hole. We are tired, but not sleepy. We have this feeling that we need to be doing something productive with this time, dishes, exercise, writing blog articles, etc. However, we end up sitting around, watching television, reading or even just talking with our loved ones. These things are not bad, but they make us feel guilty for not doing what we think we should be doing. Guilt is never a great motivator, it usually dismotivates and saps your energy even further.
Waking early combats that. Knowing that you are going to have time in the morning allows you to relax and night; it keeps you from feeling guilty for watching television or reading or talking. It can be motivating to get yourself set up for the morning, knowing that it will be a productive time for you.
Take back that energy by being productive in the morning.
Forming the habit takes commitment
Waking early one day is simple. Doing it everyday is difficult without some good strategies. Take the evill snooze alarm as an example. It makes it simple to say, "Oh, I'll just sleep a little while longer." Nine minutes becomes 18 which then becomes 27... and before you know it you've blown your morning and end up rushing.
Living with others can make waking early more difficult as well. They may not appreciate your new lifestyle, and in fact it may annoy them to hear you up and about while they're trying to get that extra sleep that you now know they don't really need. You'll need to make a compromise with them, you'll try to keep things quiet (no using the bandsaw at 6am) and keep the lights low or the bedroom doors closed if they promise not to sabotage your efforts. You can also use the morning time to make them a nice packed lunch or even a good breakfast.
Changing your morning routine may mean changing your evening routine. But, as I said above, oftentimes that can be a good thing. As a general rule, you don't have to go to bed two hours earlier in order to wake two hours earlier. It just means you need to commit to going to bed when you are sleepy. If you can't consistently go to bed when you are tired, that's where this habit will break down. Try to get others in your household to respect your new timing.
Waking early is a habit that needs to be formed. Research shows that it takes 21 days of applied effort to form a new habit or break an old one. At some point in the formation of this habit you'll be tired and cranky in the morning. This is where you need to have some form of reward for yourself for waking early. For much of the time, the feeling of accomplishment and the extra productivity are a good reward, but there are times that it won't be enough. We respond well to rewards, as they can give us that extra little boost we need to stick with a newly forming habit.
What would you do with the extra time?
What would you do with an extra half hour? extra hour? extra two hours?
★ Extra half hour
An extra half hour is just enough to make you less rushed in the morning. It means you have time to sit down and enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea. Or you can have time for a luxurious shower/shave. Maybe it gives you the extra time needed to pack your lunch instead of grabbing fast food while at work.
★ Extra hour
An extra hour gives you time to actually do something in the morning.
- Make a nice breakfast
- Throw meat and veggies into the slow cooker for dinner that night
- Read the newspaper or catch up on RSS feeds
- Practice something - juggling, piano (quietly!), meditation, knife throwing
- Work on a project you don't normally have time for
- Do dishes laundry or some other chore (I always loved the morning time in summer for gardening)
- Exercise - morning is a great time to exercise
★ Two hours
Two hours of extra morning time means you've moved into the realm of having the time to do multiple things. You can do dishes, make breakfast and still have time to read the paper. Exercise, have a nice breakfast and have a nice luxurious shower/shave. Bake some bread and write your next blog post. Basically you can take everything you can think of for one hour and do two of them and still not feel rushed.
You should also break things up, don't do the exact same thing every morning, break up the tasks so it doesn't feel monotonous and boring. Just make sure that there is always something fun in there, something that will feel like a reward. It helps you to get up in the morning is you have an inkling of what you want to do with the extra time. So start thinking now about what you'll do with that extra time.
"I'm convinced! Now how do I really do it?"
There are lots of pointers for establishing this habit, some are simple and some are strange. Use the ones you like and ignore the ones that don't work for you.
★ Use an alarm and get up the same time every day
This is the most effective way to generate the habit... make it a regular habit!
★ Never, ever hit the snooze button
Snooze alarms are the worst invention ever made. If you set the alarm for 6:30 and you hit the snooze until 7:00... you've not only cheated yourself out of half an hour of awake time, but half an hour of sleep time. Nine minutes is almost enough time to get you into stage two sleep, but not enough time to benefit form the extra rest. Set the alarm for 7:00 and resolve to get up when the alarm first goes off.
★ Start easy, then dial it back
Once you've broken the snooze habit and you can get up consistently at the same time, start dialing back the alarm in 15 minute increments. After a couple of days of success with the new time, dial it back again. How many days of acclimation you need is a personal thing. You'll know it's time to dial it back when you find yourself wishing for more time in the morning or if you find your self consistently getting up just before the alarm goes off. If you really want to short circuit the process, make one big leap at the transition from daylight savings to standard time in the fall (sorry Arizona.)
★ Establish a wake up routine
My wake up routine is to get up out of bed, turn off the alarm, do my bathroom business, and then I walk through the rest of the house opening all of the blinds. By the time I get back to the kitchen I'm fully awake and ready to start the tea kettle heating. Having a routine like this makes the habit go into autopilot. Having a habit that is on autopilot means you'll do the habit without thinking about it.
★ Practice your wake up routine when you're awake
Steve Pavlina has a great article on this. Basically, in the middle of the day when you are awake and unlikely to hit the snooze, darken your room, set the alarm for a few minutes from now and get in bed. When the alarm goes off, very consciously do your routine. By practicing when you are awake, it becomes easier to train the habit. Getting up and performing your routine when the alarm goes off becomes a Pavlovian response.
★ Reward yourself
Make sure you find a way to reward yourself. It can be something that you are doing with the extra time in the morning, or it can be a treat you allow yourself later in the day.
★ One habit at a time
If you are looking at waking early as a way to start exercising, don't. First focus on the waking early habit for at least 21 days, so it becomes habit. Feel free to exercise every once in a while with your extra time, just don't try and use habit forming strategies to make it regular. If you add the exercise habit while still trying to do the waking early habit, you now have two stressors - either of which can keep you in bed. When the alarm goes off, you'll think, "It's nice and warm in here. And I'm too sore from yesterday to workout today, so do I really need to get up? I need to extra sleep." And next thing you know you've hit the snooze 4 times. Once you've established waking early as a habit, adding the exercise habit should be much simpler. You're awake anyways, might as well exercise.
★ Allow yourself cheat days
Cheat days are those days that you decide that you've done your 21 days and have the habit well established, and you deserve a day to sleep in a little. Some people have scheduled cheat days. Mine is Friday mornings, as I play hockey Thursday nights and can get home pretty late from that. Only allow yourself to cheat if you've decided on it the night before. Your just awoken by the alarm brain is not the best judge of when you need a cheat day. Having the option for cheat days is important as it keeps you from resenting your new habit when an opportunity for late night fun presents itself. You don't want to feel guilty for staying out late or you'll resent the whole waking early lifestyle. Just be careful that cheating doesn't become the new habit.
★ Drink lots of water before bed
If you do this just right, your bladder and your alarm will work together to get you out of bed.
★ Have an idea of what you'll do with the extra time before you go to bed
This does not mean you need to completely plan out your morning the night before, but you should have an idea of what you might like to do with the extra time. It acts as an extra motivator for getting up.
★ Be willing to nap
I know that not everyone has the luxury of being able to take a nap. However, if you can afford 20 minutes to put your head down on your desk and you're willing to do it if needed, you'll feel more comfortable about waking early. If I'm really tired in the morning, knowing that I can take a nap if I get too tired later really helps get me out of bed. I've found that when I'm tired during the day, my productivity goes way down. If I can take a 20 minute power nap, just resting my head in my hands and drifting off, I can greatly increase my productivity for the rest of my day.
★ Accept setbacks
No plan is foolproof, and it is likely you'll be halfway into setting your habit when you find yourself hitting the snooze a couple of days in a row. Don't get angry with yourself, just take the steps necessary to get back on track.
★ Go to sleep when you're tired
This, along with getting up consistently at the same time are the most effective ways of training this habit.
Conclusion
Waking early has lots of benefits, many of which only become apparent once you made it a habit. You'll find you have more energy throughout the day and that your daily productivity really soars. I was able to write this article by devoting some extra time every morning to getting it done. Other benefits that don't seem as obvious at first are: it gives you good alone time, being up and able to watch the sun rise, and that you hit your stride much earlier in the day.
Knowing what you are going to do in the morning can make your evenings much more relaxed. Regain that "wasted" evening time. Having a reward and knowing what you are going to do in the morning means there is a reason to wake up early.
By following a plan for achieving your habit, you'll reduce the likelihood of failure. Practicing that plan for 21 days straight will make that practice into a habit.
Links:
Steve Pavlina's 30 day challenge: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/04/30-days-to-success/
Good advice on creating good habits: http://zenhabits.net/2007/11/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-effective-habit-change/
Google answers info on 30 days vs 21 days: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=786165
More on the 21 day habit forming science: http://www.aristotle.co.nz/library/series.aspx?seriesId=61
Generic article on waking early from Steve Pavlina: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/
Part 2 of Steve Pavlina's waking early article: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser-part-ii/
Using midday practice to build the habit: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right-away-when-your-alarm-goes-off/
ZenHabits article on rising early: http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/how-i-became-early-riser/
Reasons to wake early: http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/
Motivation for waking early: http://www.anmolmehta.com/blog/2007/03/24/the-secret-on-how-to-become-an-early-riser/
Making your morning easier by being productive in the evening: http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/jumpstart-your-day-night-before-evening/
Article on power naps: http://www.mensjournal.com/healthFitness/0601/napping_power.html
Wikipedia article on power naps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_nap
Snooze alarms are bad: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/17/MNG5J99V9V1.DTL&type=health
Bed shaking alarm clock: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/8f1a/
This alarm clock requires you to get out of bed to turn it off: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/91f2/
Another variation on the mobile alarm clock: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/9171/
Photos and blog posts
I've finally finished what I need to do to integrate photos from my iPhoto library into blog posts. So, be ready to see more photo posts. In particular, I want my recipe posts to have more photos of the finished product as much as I can.
As an example, here's a photo from one of Phoebe's soccer games. Ain't it just too cute?
Pumpkin Soup
Our garden produced quite a few pumpkins this year. I've already made pumpkin bread from a recipe I found online which was quite good. For the pumpkin pureé, I halved the pumpkin, scooped out the seeds and baked them cut side down at 350º for about an hour. It was like banana bread but with pumpkin.
I decided next I wanted to make soup with the pumpkins. I had done a soup with the butternut squash Zach had grown in the garden, but was unimpressed with that one. I figured this time, I'd keep it a bit more simple and pureé the soup to finish. We were having friends over for dinner, and that seemed the perfect opportunity to make this soup I had been thinking about.
Notice that I've not used any cinnamon or cloves, pumpkin without the pumpkin pie spice.
Pumpkin soup with peppers
- 1 qt good homemade chicken stock
- 2 carrots
- 1 medium pumpkin
- 1 medium onion
- 1 small shallot
- 1 medium spicy red pepper (this was fresh form our garden as well)
- 2 fresh sage leaves
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 sprig of rosemary leaves
- 1/4 cup wine (red or white, whatever you have leftover in the fridge)
- splash of wine vinegar
- 1T olive oil
- 2 T butter
- salt and pepper
Garnish
- 1/2 cup crab meat
- 1/2 T butter
- 1 small shallot, minced
Seed and peel the pumpkin, then cut it into regular chunks. In a heavy pot, heat olive oil and 1 T butter, add cut onion and shallot with a little salt and turn the heat down. Let those sauté until just before they turn color, then add carrot cut into chunks and the pepper cut into rough chunks. Sauté those until they all get a little color. These steps take time, but this is where a good bunch of the flavor comes from. Once those have just started to get a little color, add the fresh herbs, give a stir and then add the pumpkin chunks with a little more salt. Let that mixture cook for a few minutes. Add the wine and the vinegar then add the chicken stock, if you need to, add water just to cover and bring to a boil, then turn down and let simmer at least one hour. You could instead add a teaspoon of lemon juice at the end instead of the vinegar if you'd like, but some acid really gives this soup some zing.
Turn off the heat and let cool until you can handle it. Blend half at a time, putting the first half into a bowl after blending and then return to the soup pot after you've blended all of it very thoroughly. You could use a food mill if you wanted more texture, but I like it silky.
Just before serving, bring the soup back up to a boil. While waiting for that, create the garnish by melting butter in a small sauté pan, add the shallot and before the shallots turn clear, add the crab meat and toss just to heat well. When the soup is at temperature, turn off the heat and add the 1 T butter (cold butter is best for this) and stir it in. Notice how that butter at the end really makes it silky smooth.
Ladle into shallow bowls, add a clump of the crab garnish to each bowl and serve immediately. We had ours with a simple salad dressed in a garlic/thyme vinaigrette.
This was the best part of the meal, in my opinion. It was hearty and satisfying and really yummy. I was going to take a picture of it, but I'll make sure to do that next time. I'm definitely making this one again.
Whole wheat dinner crackers
I made a very nice dinner last night: Pork chops with a nice oyster mushroom, carrot and shallot ragout; mashed potatoes; and sauteed green beens with garlic. I had a hankering for a little something extra, and decided to make a quick yeasted bread (quick being a relative term).
Ingredients:
- 1/4 c. warm water
- 1 package quick rising yeast (1 tsp would work as well)
- 1 t honey
- ~ 1/2 c. All purpose flour
- 3 c. (approx.) whole wheat flour
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 t salt
- Fresh herbs (I used thyme, rosemary and chives from my garden)
- butter, chunky salt
* All measurements are approximated, as usual with breads, I just guesstimate amounts an use what "feels right"
In a bowl, dissolve honey and yeast in the warm water. The water temperature should be close to body temp. Once you start seeing tiny bubbles, add the all purpose flour, stir until mixed and let stand, covered in a warm place for half an hour.
At this point, you should have a lovely sponge. Add the olive oil and salt and stir in gently until incorporated. Then start adding the whole wheat flour. You should strive to only use as much flour as you need to make the dough just so you can knead it without it sticking too much. Knead it for a little, not too much, just until it feels smooth. Make the dough into a ball, tucking under. Put some olive oil on the dough, spread it all over, and set back in the bowl, tucked side down.
Let rise for at least half an hour, though an hour or two would be better (punch the dough once after an hour if you're doing it longer than one hour.
Preheat oven to 400ºF (205ºC). If you have a pizza stone and peel, use that. Otherwise, a plain baking sheet will work fine. Sprinkle a little bit of corn meal on the peel or baking pan. Then, use your hands to flatten and stretch the dough into a flat rectangle shape, place it on your peel or baking pan and really flatten it out. Let it rest for another half hour (15 minutes minimum). Spread butter on top of the dough, sprinkle with some good salt (big chunky salt is best for this) and your fresh herbs. You spritz a little more olive oil on top if you want that olive flavor. Poke the dough down with your fingers every inch or so, then throw into the oven to bake.
Keep an eye on it, it should only take 10 to 20 minutes to bake. Take it out and try to cut and serve immediately. I'd love this with something to dip it into... hummus or a nice tapenade... yum.
As you can see, this is just a simple bread recipe, cutting down on rising times makes this more cracker like, as does making the dough really thin and the high temperature for baking. This is an easy thing to do while juggling the other dishes in an elaborate dinner.
Got the pictures back up
I created an extension to the server I'm using for blogging to read my iPhoto Library and make it available on the web. You can also reach it by clicking "photos" at the top of any page.
This is similar to the script I was using before, but this time I re-wrote it to fit into the wiki server I wrote for Apple. I've also made it quite a bit more responsive by not forcing it to re-read the iPhoto library on each access. With a large photo library like I've got that is a big win in terms of performance.
The next thing to work on is getting the style of the photo pages to look better than it does right now. After that, I'll work on a way to add images from my photo library to my weblog pages without going through lots of gyrations to get it to work.
Let me know if anything is wrong with the photo browser.
First post
Just want to get some text in here, so it doesn't look so lonely. At some point in the near future, I'll put some useful stuff up here. Until then, here's some kitties.