Feel the Burn

The other day one of my roommates said, "I'm going to do my best Lis impression and go work out." Then he went for a run.

I have to admit I was both taken aback and really flattered. I love that now people associate me not only with a love of puppy pictures and a fascination with food, but also with being fit. A few years ago this would never have been the case, but exercise has now become part of my routine.

I've been really lucky to have people in my life introduce me to a range of exercise programs (I'm looking at you Christine, Kelly, and Scott), and encourage me to keep it up. Now, I hit the gym as I walk home from work, and if I miss too many days in a row I just don't feel good.

It's funny how the exercise lifestyle can suck you in in other ways too. Like "fashion." I've also started to think more about ways to exercise throughout the day, almost passively. Things like standing up at work (I don't actually stand at my desk for long periods of time but I do regularly get up and walk up and down the stairs) and taking a walk at lunch.

And this passive exercise trend has me very enamored with these: The Reebok Easytone shoes.

I know what you're thinking, "You just like these cause they're pink." And while, yes, that's part of it, the majority of my like comes from the fact that my mile-or-more walks a day two and from the office could be put to better use. Plus, I think this will totally solidify my reputation as the girl who works out a lot.

Blogging for Another

Whoah, how are we almost halfway through November? I hope you don't feel too neglected dear blog. But I've been busy doing stuff. Stuff like camping, playing my new favorite game Dominion, and, well, blogging other places...

That's right, I'm getting most of my writing fix over at ProjecTravel recently. My most recent posts being:

• Touring the U.S. Capitol


• Celebrating Native American Heritage Month in D.C.


• Walking for a Cause in D.C.

There are a bunch of topics I've been meaning to write about here (daily yoga, potential 8k, delicious recipes, cute puppies, recent podcast inspiration), but have not had a chance. The days are just too short, the time at the gym is much to necessary, and company of Scott and friends is just too much fun to resist. But please come back soon. There are posts in the works that I want to share.

Halloween 2009

There's nothing better than Halloween falling on a weekend. And the fact that it was on Saturday this year, was even better: perfect excuse to dress up on both Friday and Saturday. And if you're going to dress up twice, why not have two costumes? Scott and I embraced this notion and partook in two separate personas this Halloween.

On Friday we went as a belly dancer and a skeleton. Costumes that were decided on and created only a few days earlier. Check out my abs! Told you I go to the gym:



Abs of steel, man. Scott carefully crafted them for me with his sharpie skills. Then, he painted himself this shirt (I think its good enough to wear around on non-Halloween occasions).



Then, for the main event on Wednesday we wore our Sookie and Bill (from True Blood) costumes.

I think we got pretty close, if I do say so myself.

The real Sookie:



The Lis Sookie:



The real Bill Compton:



The Scott Bill Compton and the Lis Sookie:



We were pretty pleased with how the costumes came out (though not everyone had seen the show). Halloween accomplished!

Pumpkin Love

I said it before, and I'll say it again: "I love pumpkin flavored things." From pumpkin beer with my pumpkin pie to pumpkin spice lattes, I love it all.

This time of year the pumpkin concoctions come out of the woodwork. I've been collecting recipes to drool over, but I might actually attempt one of these sometime soon. Thought I would share in case you're looking to make some pumpkin delicacies of your own.

1. Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
I can not get enough of Kevin from Toronto's "Closet Cooking" blog. I am enamored with 9 out of 10 things he posts on there. Recently he posted this Pumpkin Pie Milkshake recipe, essentially marrying my obsession with pumpkin flavor to my infatuation with milkshakes. This is very high on the "potentially will try" list. Though, if the laziness kicks in I may just head over to Jamba Juice for a Pumpkin splash smoothie.











2. Pumpkin Soups
The only thing that can make soup better on a cold, blustery, fall evening is if it tastes like pumpkin. Another recipe from Closet Cooking: Pumpkin and Black Bean soup. What a fabulously interesting sounding soup. Yes please! Or, for the pumpkin-lover on a tight schedule, just add water to Maggie & Mary's Creamy Pumpkin Soup.








3. Pumpkin Bread
There's a little cafe near my work that has a pumpkin gingerbread I've yet to try. And while I'm at it maybe I'll attempt these other pumpkin + starch sides. First off, cheesy pumpkin biscuits. I love cheese. I love pumpkin. I love biscuits. Cheesy biscuits I get. Even pumpkin biscuits I get. But cheesy pumpkin biscuits? It's so crazy it just might work. Next up is another interesting/awesome sounding combination: olive oil pumpkin bread. I think I've had olive oil bread before, and I can totally see the pumpkin twist working.




4. Dessert
Pumpkin is obviously delicious in dessert form, but it's fun to try it out in something other than a pie shape. Enter Paula Deen's (queen of butter)Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes. One needs only the read the name of that recipe to be sold on the idea. This is another I'd really like to try.







5. Breakfast
Finally, we end with breakfast (I guess that was an odd way to organize this) and two more recipes from closet cooking (perhaps I should have just put a link to his site instead of writing out this post): Pumpkin pie pancakes and Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. Sounds like two fantastic ways to start the day to me.

Belly Dance the Night Away

Check out my sweet new hip scarf (to the right) I got last night at my first belly dancing class at Saffron Dance. Scott's roommate (and dare I say, my friend as well) Rachel found a deal through Groupon that gave you 4 belly dancing classes and a free hip scarf for about the price of a restaurant week dinner (before you order any alcohol). It was a sweet deal, so even though I've never really thought about trying belly dancing before, I decided to sign up.

I'm not the only one who thought it was a great deal. We chatted with a member of the staff last night and she said they were expecting to get maybe 90 or so responses from the Groupon and ended up getting over 300! Wow. They ended up having to add a bunch of classes to accommodate everyone. I think you'd have to call that a success.

After signing in and carefully picking out our hip scarves (I went for the one with the pink fringe. Surprise, surprise) we hung out for a little bit until the class before us was out. I thought it was cool that such a wide variety of ladies had shown up. Ages probably ranged from early twenties to late forties, every body type was there, and numerous ethnicities were represented. We were all ladies though. No men had shown up to shake their bums, but that's not surprising. I'm pretty sure belly dancing is traditionally a female thing.

Soon enough it was our turn to belly dance. We ushered in and were immediately struck by how warm the room was (bikram belly dance!). Dots on the floor marked where we should each stand to be spaced evenly. Throughout the class they rotated the rows so that every one had the chance to be in the front, middle, and back. Overall, I really liked the teachers. They were professional, friendly, and kept us moving the whole time.

During this first class we learned how to hold our hands, how to use our knees to drive our hips, how to shimmy, and how to move. It was way more of a workout than I expected. I definitely got an ab workout, but I was surprised at how much it worked my legs and arms as well.

One of the things I liked best about my first belly dancing experience was the jingling. A room full of hip scarves creates a musical, rhythmic, bell-like sound. I pretty much hopped my way out of class cause I didn't want to stop jingling.

I don't think this is something I'm going to really get into, but I have to admit, I'm looking forward to my next classes.

Ryan Gosling and Dead Man's Bones

This past Saturday Ryan Gosling's (yes! from The Notebook!) band Dead Man's Bones played at the Sixth and I Street Synagogue in DC.

Read all about it here: Rockin’ Out at the Sixth and I Street Synagogue.

I'll admit it, I went to the show to ogle Ryan Gosling (and I have a suspicion that most of the audience went for that reason. There were multiple instances of "WE LOVE YOU RYAN!" interjections). He (or at least his character in The Notebook) is so dreamy. The fact that his band ended up being really really good was an added bonus.

But you don't have to take my word for it, they have a bunch of songs on YouTube, so check them out and decide for yourself:

In the Room Where You Sleep



My Body's a Zombie for You



Name in Stone

Cookie!

She's done it again. Kelly, creator of bacon delights, impromptu pies, peanut butter decadence (last pic), has gifted me with a handful of her newest baking creations:

Behold, chocolate cookie dough/oatmeal cookie dough cookies with butterscotch chips (catchy name, no?).



I swear it tastes better than it looks.

I gave one to my roommate yesterday and watching him eat it was hilarious. First of all, he ate it with two hands like a chipmunk. And between each bite he commented on it. It went something like this:

*Nom nom nom*

"Wow, I haven't had something from scratch like this in a while."

*Nibble nom nibble*

"This is no chips ahoy"

*Munch munch hom nom*

"Does Kelly go for short balding men?" [That is a quote!]

*Yum yum nom*

"Mmmmm"

*Nibble nibble licks fingers*

"Wow, that was great."


Carry on Kelly! You are a master baker.

UPDATE: Kelly has informed me that there is a name for these bits of deliciousness: "Oatmeal Scotchies." And they are actually a "Nestle Tollhouse Classic." :)