Well. Let me back up because I believe have a good reason to be frustrated.

Sam’s mom, Debi, gave me a KitchenAid Mixer for my birthday back in March (…I know. So nice!). Of course, I immediately made a loaf of white sandwich bread. And of course, it turned out perfectly.

Bread baking is EASY, I thought.

The thing was, it was white sandwich bread: yummy, but nothing special. So then I got very snooty about the whole thing and tried making whole wheat sandwich bread.

Fail.

So then, I tried making Challah.

Major brick-like fail.

So then I tried to make Artisan Bread.

1 inch tall: fail.

Then I tried some sort of free-form loaf.

Too much wine + novice baking = Fail!

Although I did get increasingly discouraged each time, I was always eventually motivated to try again. First, because I bought a new cookbook. Then, because I started to read a delightful novel called, The Baker’s Apprentice. Then I was given another cookbook, and finally, because I read this interesting blog post entitled “October Unprocessed,” (as featured on Grist) about a group of people challenging themselves to go a whole month with no processed foods. If you’ve read this blog from the beginning, you’ll know that I love stuff like that. I just love the idea of being self sufficient and doing awesome things like regularly having homemade bread.

So, how’d attempt five go?

At first, not so good. I may or may not (leaning toward may)  have added a full cup of extra flour. I’m still not sure. Anyway, I wouldn’t call this (picture at left), “wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of the container,” as the recipe calls for. (Not at all.)

But, now that I am accustomed to the idea of failed baking, I continued with very little to lose.

By this afternoon, the dough was much easier to work with after being refrigerated all day. This dough (photo right) seemed much more promising. (And yes, “seem” is really all I have to go off of.)

So, after shaping it I let it rise for 40 minutes (while I went for a delightful rain-run), popped it in the oven and voila: MASTERPIECE!

I am just so happy.

I also read that you can store the same dough for up to 14 days (covered in the fridge), to have fresh bread whenever you want with just 5 minutes of preparation time. I love this!

Did I mention how happy I am?

I found the recipe I used online (at the bottom of the page – the first few pages in this article are the “5 minutes a day” theory.) To novice and frustrated bread bakers – I highly recommend this recipe.

Good luck!

Well here you go:

(Not that you asked, but I recommend reading this slowly – to give yourself enough time to let things set in before you move on.)

On that same vein, Steve Jobs’ Stanford commencement speech is a lot like this Holstee Manifesto. It’s inspirational in a jab-you-in-the-side-might-be-exactly-what-you-didn’t-wanna-hear kinda way. If you don’t have time to read the whole thing, here are a few excerpts:

“…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. [...] If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

“…On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.”

-Steve Jobs

Since college, I have had this theory that there is just not enough room for meaning in everyday life – we are uncomfortable with it for some reason, except with our very close friends or family. I think this is just the type of advice we can easily be uncomfortable with. It’s easy to say, “What does that even mean?”

Or, you can apply it to your life in a very specific way and run with it.

In sum:

Start doing things you love. Stay Hungry. Stay foolish.

PS: TM – thanks for the inspiration. Everyday. 

Tonight’s run was the kind that would have made this blog awesome had I documented the whole process. It was colorful, warm, quick and reminded me of how far I have come.

The jury is definitely still out about how much I actually like running itself. But the time to think, and the opportunity to notice little things to add to the list of all I love about Madison make it well worth sore hip flexors and inability to gracefully ascend or descend the stairs.

Anyway, tonight I particularly appreciated the thinking about nothing and now I have separated my “nothing-thoughts” into three categories for your enjoyment. (Amusement?)

Wishes:

- I wish I had taken the following classes in college: forestry, horticulture, creative writing, photography, pastry making (is that real?) and lots more. Just more variety. I miss learning.

- I wish I hadn’t stopped writing for so long. Ira Glass is currently my main source of inspiration on this matter: (click the image to enlarge)

Loves:

So many things!

- The houses that are growing beautiful things like pumpkins, colorful flowers, mums, etc, and have done it in lovely ways that I am determined to someday master.

- The block of Spaight Street that had the most perfect fall colors. Bright yellow, electric green, deep red. Oh boy, oh boy it was amazing. I gasped outloud.

- All the smells while running. Tonight’s highlights: the autumnal smell of decaying leaves that smells dirty and sweet at the same time, lots of dinners (particularly one that reminded me of Grandma Lynes’ goolash), french fries, and Sam’s cooking when I walked in the door.

- How I felt like I had a relatively easy run and it was five miles! I will never get over how awesome I think that is.

To Dos:

- Write more. (Do it, do it, do it. DO IT.)

- Take some sort of class to chisel away at my “wishes” list.

- Get awesome at baking bread and do it regularly.

Ready? Go.

I’m going to start blogging again!

Ever since college ended last spring, I have been very unsure of what to do with my blog. While in school, it was a perfect outlet for my new-found environmental endeavors: things I learned in class, reporting on environmental extra-curriculars, musings on current events, and then some other fun stuff added in here and there. Now that I’m working full-time though, I don’t learn quite the variety of new and interesting stuff that I did while in college, so I keep telling myself not to waste my time writing – and others’ time reading – boring mundane stuff.

Except tonight I realized something. Not only do I think about blogging all the time, I read blogs a lot and often want to know more of the boring mundane stuff. Who is this person who bakes/crafts/story-tells/reports so well? What is he/she like? What does this person do for fun?

So, here I go. The renaissance begins.

———————————————

Accountability. I hate it.

Here’s an example: when you announce that you’re going on a diet, and then the next day your friend sees you eating french fries and you feel like you have to justify it: “uhh, I was so hungry. I got these because didn’t eat lunch today.” (Or something like that.) That’s why I hate it.

But now you are all in charge of holding me accountable to the fact that on Saturday, October 15 2011, I am going to run a half marathon!

The training schedule has been created, first runs ran, and registration fee paid – so I’m not sure why I’m so nervous to start telling people that I’m training for a half marathon.

Anyway, tonight was actually my first run. It was really nice (minus the big bowl of spaghetti in my belly that I had just eaten). I’m looking forward to this challenge.

Other than that, this weekend I went dress shopping for some upcoming weddings, and Sam and I went riding on roughly 1/2 the course of the Horribly Hilly bike ride we did earlier this year. Holy crap, how did I ever do that? Overall, not too much in the way of adventure, but we’ve had so many traveling weekends lately that it was nice to stay in Madison and get stuff done around our apartment.

Alright, time to go to bed, but this has been nice. I think I’m going to have fun with this.

-Jenny

This is the second week that I’ve been at my imaginary “goal weight” that I set oh so, SO long ago. (And I mean consistently at that weight, not those first-thing-in-the-morning-completely-naked-before-breakfast-but-after-you-poop kind of weigh-ins). Anyone dieting knows what I’m talking about. I think. Right?

Anyway, today I went for a run and I was thinking about what it took to get me here, and all the lessons I’ve learned about myself along the way… all four years of the way. Surprisingly, almost nothing about my life now is the way I imagined it would be when I thought about what life would be like “as a skinny person,” as I would say.

I don’t think this post will contain the answers for many people. I think that’s just it – weight loss is 100% individual.

But as a form of reflection, here’s how I did it anyway:

1. Got happy. I recently realized that I used to think of it all wrong. I used to think, “Once I’m skinny, I’ll be happier.”

Wrong. It wasn’t until after I addressed my bad habits, took on new challenges, tried new things, and made some big changes that my self confidence improved. Along the way, the weight came off. Once I became happier by actually doing things that make me happy, I spent a lot less time stressing about and wishing things were different, and more time just living a happy life than sitting around thinking about living one. (Usually with a snack.)

2. Got realistic. I still don’t look good in skinny jeans. I won’t go running only in a sports-bra, and I still have a lot of… well, jiggles. Being at my goal weight doesn’t look like what I thought it would, and I’m surprisingly OK with that. (And who has the time to do all those sit-ups?!?!)

3. Made goals. Lots and lots of goals. Many of them I never met. So then I made smaller ones. For example, last year I wanted to run a half marathon. So, I started by running for 25 minutes. Then I added a block at a time. Then I ran 3.5 miles quite regularly and came to really enjoy it. Once I made it 5 miles. I never ran a half marathon, but I did complete a 5k and loved it. It wasn’t my original goal, but it got me running across a finish line and that felt awesome.

3. Got going. I used to look at blogs, attend meetings, read books, and actually fantasize about weight-loss and healthy people. But it was so hard to translate reading about someone else’s success to my own success.

First, I got going the classic way: Weight Watchers. There, I learned exactly how much of what I usually ate was superfluous to what I needed to eat. I talked with others with the same habits and actually really, really enjoyed it (the chatting, not the non-eating). Weight Watchers’ Points system sucks and takes tons of time to adjust to, but it is a great way to learn what my body needed, how to find good healthy alternatives to favorite foods, how to create and maintain portion-control, and very importantly; it teaches you the lesson that if you screw up and over-eat, it’s OK.

All that said, I would never go back to Weight Watchers. My last 20 pounds were lost in a much more simple way than points equations and weekly weigh-ins and I think if I would have come up with it from the beginning, it would have worked just fine.

It finally took me equating “getting going,” with “getting happy” to eventually get healthy. Once I wanted to see some scenery on a hike, unwind by taking a jog, ride my new bike, or try cooking a new recipe, (and actually make time to do these things regularly) I simply found myself busier, and then healthier, and then happier, and then skinner. And it was fun. I don’t think I could have lost the last 20 pounds without a whole lot of fun because prior to that, I was in a big, fat rut.

And that’s what I did.

-Jenny

Though there have been many, this is the tune of the “crowd favorite” chant over the past 3 weeks at the Wisconsin capitol. Protesters yell it, car horns honk it, and my mind constantly replays it throughout every part of the day (wait, was that in my mind or did a passing car just honk it?).

This morning, as I sit and drink Just Coffee’s aptly named, “Revolution Roast” and try to get that beepbeepbeep out of my head, I am amazed, once again, looking through the images of the turnout to the state’s capitol yesterday.

Since Clean Wisconsin’s office is located about 4 doors down from the center of the action, it’s been day after crowd-packed day of chants, honking horns, clever signs, free pizza, marching union leaders, marching students, marching firefighters, and marching teachers, all determined, angry, mobilized, and very, very persistent.

While I am usually hesitant to write a blog post about political matters – especially this one that’s about as divisive a topic as you can imagine, I still want to make sure my out of town readers realize just how amazing these protesters have been – that amidst day in and day out of bad news, the crowds come peaceful, organized and in big, big numbers.

On Wednesday, the sneaky Senate found a [potentially-illegal] way to vote on the Budget Repair Bill (the bill that includes the contested collective bargaining piece) without a quorum. Sam and I were at a film festival near the capitol at that time, and went down afterward to see what was going on. It was madness. Before I get to the crowds, you should really watch what it is exactly that happened that night in the Joint Finance Committee before it moved to the Senate. It’s pretty crazy. Watch here.

…Hearing them vote as Rep. Barca is yelling at them that the vote is illegal, while you can hear the crowds yelling right outside the door. Wow. Representative Gordon Hintz also did a good job of expressing the frustrations of many in this awesome speech the week prior:

Well, anyway. The crowds were quite riled up when Sam and I got down there. We made it inside and up to the third floor of the packed capitol and made a few loops around looking for a spot to stand and see the drama unfold in the rotunda below. The place was noisy as hell and filled with such an array of people. Sure, there were your smelly, stoned, dreadlocked protesters that you’d expect at any protest, but for the most part, the capitol was full of normal everyday pissed-off people who are just frustrated, and standing there is the only thing they can think to do at this point.

We ran into the exec director of Clean Wisconsin, many fellow students, interns, UW professors, WI Supreme Court hopeful David Prosser, Tia Nelson (the daughter of Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day), one founder of Clean Wisconsin, the previous mayor of Madison (who had apparently snuck in through a bathroom window at the time the capitol was locked in order to protest the vote) and 8 policemen with mustaches (hey, we needed something to do).

What’s truly amazing though, is with as angry as everyone has a right to be, the protesters have made their occupation of the capitol somewhat of a science. This HuffPost blogger paints a really good picture in his post, “The Unbreakable Culture of the Occupied Capitol,” but that night Sam and I probably got there at 9:30 pm, and by the time we left at 11:30, in anticipation for protesters staying over night, fellow-protesters had come distributing free water, fruit, and pizza to the crowds, and holding “peaceful protest info-session” gatherings in the assembly. There were people delegated to go around and get signatures for recall petitions, and others delegated to go around with mega-phones on each floor announcing over and over: “This is a peaceful protest. The police are waiting for us to become violent so they can kick us out; do not let this happen. Later tonight the police might tell you to leave the capitol. You do not need to leave, but do not resist arrest, do not become limp…” etc.

My pictures don’t do justice, but there are many that do.

Alright, I’m disappointed by my inability to describe the powerful scene that night (and many previous to that night), but it’s time to wrap this up. But I do think that despite all the bad news, the scene at the capitol has been truly amazing, and I feel really lucky to have gotten to see so much of the action. Although I might go crazy if I hear that protest again, this really is what democracy looks like.

Oh also, one major lesson of all this:

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE. VOTE.

Wisconsin elections are April 5th. And according to a friend, “If you were down there protesting this bill and you don’t go vote, you’re the worst kind of person.”

Here is any info you need to know (for Wisconsin).

Beep – Beep – Beep – Bah – Beep – Bah – Beep – Beep – Beep.

-Jenny

But I have to admit (and anyone who has known me for more than a year has caught on to this already), that I’ve taken my love for the outdoors to a whole ‘nother level this year. Annnnd, as much as I had always wanted and intended to spend more of my time in the great outdoors prior to this year, I’ll admit that this change is most definitely related to the fact that I began dating someone who doesn’t merely love the outdoors… he needs the outdoors. Like, he needs it in the same way a fish needs water. It’s a life or death thing.

Anyway, this post is about stereotypes. I hope I don’t offend anyone in the process, but since Sam’s from the Northwoods (Or, excuse me: “the Hub of the Northwoods”) and I’m from Minneapolis, I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about stereotypes and different types of people and the certain social classifications they fall into pertaining to what they like to do for fun. (In other words, am I “outdoorsy” now that I do things outdoorsy people do? What does “being outdoorsy” really mean? Do I have to sign something somewhere? Am I still allowed to wear high heels and nail polish if I sign?)

There’s this great episode of NPR’s This American Life entitled, A Little Bit of Knowledge. The episode discusses “stories about the pitfalls of knowing just a little bit too little.” It basically stipulates that when you talk at length about a topic in which you know just a little bit too little, you become the modern jackass. (This analogy isn’t great for anyone who hasn’t heard the episode, so if you’re interested, you can download it at the link above.)

Although I previously fell into “modern jackass” classification for many of the activities I now frequently partake in, this post is supposed to be about skiing.

This year is the first I’ve ever stepped into a pair of skis (aside from the family Colorado downhill ski trip once every 5 years or so). Naturally, I learned many lessons about skiing that I would never have known before:

I learned the difference between backcountry, nordic, skate, and downhill skiing (think: snowshoe hiking-type trails, versus groomed tracks, versus speedy Olympic race people, versus down hills, respectively). I learned that ‘cross country,’ ‘nordic’ and ‘XC’ all mean pretty much the same thing. I learned that you can’t just go skiing, you have to have different types of wax to put on your skis depending on the weather and trail conditions. Ok, I’m going to stop now before I leave jackass territory and enter idiot territory.

Anyway, I previously had many stereotypes about cross-country skiing that I have now had some time to investigate. Many actually ended up being true. Some include:

1. XC Skiers have no sense of style. How could you if you’re willing to be seen in public looking like this lady? No, I’m not sure that this is true when it comes to them in real life, but on the trails, style is the last (and I mean LAST) thing on anyone’s mind. Today we saw a guy wearing spandex pants that had this orange, blue, red, yellow and black swirly design. Did you know those colors were ever all found on the same single item of clothing? I didn’t.

2. XC Skiers are intimidating. I always thought this, but it’s false. They just always look intense. I don’t think we’ve come across a single person that didn’t greet both of us. Some have even said supportive things like, “you’re doing great” (obviously being able to tell that I had originally come with Sam and they’d just passed him up trail about 10 minutes ago taking a nap while waiting for me).

3. XC Skiers are freakishly tall and skinny. This one is largely (but not always) true. Although, I will say that most anyone willing to brace the cold for hours “for fun,” when the rest of the world is curled on the couch drinking hot chocolate just tends to be skinny by default. Good for them. Well, increasingly, good for me. (Well, actually, good for Sam for convincing me to get off the couch…)

You get the idea. Overall, skiing has been awesome, and a wonderful addition into my pointless ongoing investigation of what it means to be outdoorsy.

Not to mention, it has made a HUGE impact on the major blues I’m usually feeling right about this time of year (pertaining both to the fact that I usually wouldn’t have been outside at any one time longer than the amount of time it took me to walk to class, AND that I usually barely fit into any of my clothes by the time March 1 rolls around…).

Anyway, sorry for the long blogging hiatus, and stay tuned for Modern Jackass: mountain biking, trail running, road riding, canoeing, and fly fishing editions.

- J

First of all, it has it’s own self-titled club, burrito, pizza and casserole. It’s the motivation for a whole genre of one-night only hotels. And, when done correctly, the good kinds of breakfasts can be the first few ingredients in the recipe for a perfect day.

Do you ever wonder why people celebrate milestones (birthdays, engagements, you name it) with a breakfast in bed? It’s because breakfast = happiness.

It has something to do with the crispy edges of an over-easy egg sitting atop a mound of buttered sourdough, sharp cheddar, delightfully savory sausage, and fresh tomato. Oh, and avocado, if you’re lucky.

Gosh. Merely typing out those words makes me salivate.

Also, yellow is undoubtedly the happiest color. My Mom always says the best meals are the most colorful ones, and she’s right. If I were an artist, I would paint the blue ceramic plates in our apartment with all those colors: the mismatched coffee mugs neighboring harmonious shades of yellow and orange in the forms of yolk and cheddar, the greens of the avocado, the unblemished white of the egg, and the shiny-est, reddest tomato, all with streams of morning light pouring in. I’d do this if only for the sake of thinking of nothing but breakfast for the whole time it took me to paint the thing.

See? Just look at all the color!

But, alas, breakfast is more than just a slice of savory pie sent right down from heaven. There’s much more to it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing this. I mean, I love when apples are baked with sugar and butter, in any form, recipe or concoction, but I don’t think I’ve ever written about that. Mmmmm.

Anyway.

Breakfast is about light. It’s about Saturdays. It’s about laziness, and the sound of sizzling bacon and the flip of hash browns that prompt me to get out of bed. Finally.

Breakfast reminds me of how lucky I am.

I’m lucky that my apartment literally fills with light in the mornings. The kind of light that makes you want to get out, and seize the day and DO something. And the kind of light, that on a Saturday morning, makes you get out a broom because every nook and crannie and dust ball is lit up like a freakin spotlight.

Breakfast reminds me that I am so fortunate to have a beautiful apartment, fresh ingredients, the time to eat it, and that I’m able to pay for the good cage-free eggs – the kind with the super orange yolks that make everything so pretty.

But most of all, it makes me thankful for my wonderful chef: breakfast maker-hash brown browner-egg cooking-extraordinaire. There are few things in this world that make me happier than seeing Sam bounce around the kitchen on a Saturday morning. Well, there are few things that make me happier than seeing Sam happy on a Saturday morning. But, yeah, the breakfast part helps. I don’t think he’s missed making me a Saturday breakfast once the entire time we’ve been dating. Keeper. For sure.

But, you know what? None of that is the real reason I love breakfast.

I love it simply because it’s more delicious, savory and delightful than any other food group. After all, there are few meals in this world that can make you say, “I just burped… and it tasted awesome.”

And, if breakfast weren’t the best, then why would I have just eaten it for dinner?

I know. You’re probably not there anymore because my last post was 4 whole months ago.

That’s ok though, because over the last 4 months, I’ve been doing important research for this space and discovering the real reason why I titled this environment-focused blog, “Welcome to the Good Life,” when I started it back in the spring of 2009. Ok not really. But, since June 1 of this year, I’ve lived a lifestyle that is incredibly environmentally considerate, but also one that has made me the happiest I’ve ever been. In other words, I’ve learned that it’s easy to “be green,” and what’s more: it’s actually pretty fun.

If you know me, I know what you’re thinking. The incredible boyfriend, awesome apartment, living in a very liberal and enviro-minded community, and having a job at an influential environmental non-profit helps with all of that, but I have recently discovered that this new found [non-college] environmentally friendly life I’m living, aside from making me happy,  also made me the healthiest, skinniest, most resourceful, and still frugal…. ever!

This picture doesn't really have to do with anything except me being happy. And hiking.

A while ago, I thought that I could just abandon my blog because Sam and I are so busy hiking, biking, skiing, canoeing… and ok, watching some TV, too (if you haven’t watched How I Met Your Mother, you really should. It’s hilarious.) on any of our free time post 5 o’clock. But, the blog has been slowly taunting me. I’ll think of a fun post idea or experience something funny or thought-provoking that I just can’t help but want to put in my blog. So anyway, today I gave in. While I’m not expecting anyone to read this, I’m also not expecting this post to be any good. So there.

Here’s why I wanted to write though.

This weekend I did so many things that were “normal” (aka I wasn’t doing them out of any strained environmental obligation), but that were so awesome and the kind of things I always hoped I would do but wasn’t sure if I actually would.

We: home-made really cute Christmas wrapping paper from paper bags, paint, and potatoes (carved into stamps shaped like Christmas trees, bells, bows, etc.). I made delicious (and beautiful!) roasted root vegetables for dinner from the CSA, we went back country skiing to enjoy the breathtaking winter scenery (picture: snow draped over every branch, nice sunset, powdery snow, etc.).

…and then other boring stuff like cleaning our apartment, making chocolate-walnut toffee (somewhat unsuccessfully, I hate to say) and movie-watching (Inception), which are all boring things that are actually incredibly satisfying and not particularly boring, except to write/read about.

ANYWAY, I don’t really know what to do with this space now that I’m back because very few are interested in hearing me go on about how lucky I am (except maybe you, Mom. Hi… I know you’re reading this…), but I do think I’ve gained some interesting insight on healthy/happy living that I look forward to sharing.

Ok, so I’ll take that thought and chew on it for a while (that, and some Christmas cookies and mediocre toffee) and get back to all… (one?)… of you with my “new directions.”

Ahhhhhh…. it feels good to be back!

Last week's CSA loot- it was pretty funny trying to bike home with my bag that full!

Hello everyone!

I hope your summers are going well. ‘Tis the season for fresh zucchini and sweet tomatoes… so you know mine is.

Anyway, this September 11,  hundreds of Madison and Dane County residents, Sam, and I will bike 62 miles to raise money for the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition, a group that brings  fresh, organic food from local farms to low income families in the community.

I am really excited both for the cause and the ride (read: the food breaks). MACSAC does wonderful things in the name of creating a sustainable, local food system in Dane County… and that’s an issue I’m really excited to support.

Here are some links to learn more about it or bike yourself.

Finally, participants are urged to fundraise for the coalition, so if you support the cause, you should check out the links below and pitch in whatever you can. We’ll really appreciate it!

**If you want to donate to our ride, I would encourage you to check out this page!

Thanks!

Jenny (and Sam)