Thanksgiving Break

Happy Thanksgiving one week and two days later! The work has been piling up and finally reaching its peak point for the last two weeks of school. I have hardly had time to shower let alone think about blogging. I'm currently waiting for a group my classmates to come over so we can work on a project indefinitely, so I thought I would post some pictures from Thanksgiving.

There was singing.

Saying hi to Ruth and Sean in New York.

Missing our other cousins!

Waiting for food!
                          

Great Bingo prizes.

More great prizes.

Aaron learning that toddlers don't actually eat things you prepare for them.

Apple pie making.

Someone's extra large piece. 

One of my best high school friends got married.

It was great to see most of our family and catch up with some high school friends I haven't seen in what feels like forever. We had a little too much fun and all of the food left me with a stomach ache!

Although I was too busy traveling and doing homework over the break to post anything about being thankful, I have been reminding myself all week how thankful I am to be at this point in my life. Sometimes I can't believe it is my life, and not in a good way (non-stop homework and studying can take people to dark places). But when I really think about it, I am so lucky to be going to grad school practically for free, having many opportunities open up for the life I want to live, and have a wonderful husband and family on top of it all.

Cooking Wish List

Photo from the NY Times.

I know everyone says you should appreciate every day of your life, but this semester I am extremely guilty of looking toward the end of December and hoping the days in between go as quickly as possible. It may have to do with the ridiculous work load I got myself into this fall, but there is something else as well: I miss cooking!

In my other life I was obviously meant to cook elaborate meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am so lucky to have Aaron to make sure I eat more than canned soup and toast while in grad school (or, ahem, frozen fish sticks, a staple of my undergraduate diet), but one of the things I miss the most about working full time was how I could come home and NOT do homework, but cook a nice dinner (even if it was just for myself). I try to keep recipes easy and cheap for Aaron, since we are often tight on dinner making time and I guess its not really fair to give him a 20 step recipe just because I think it sounds fun.

In the mean time I have been saving recipes like crazy and dreaming of December 20th when I will be finished with all of my course work and can cram as many recipes into winter break as possible.

We already have plans to make cinnamon rolls and cranberry upside down coffee cake (the best brunch/dessert that has so much sugar in it it can only be eaten once a year). The cranberries are already in the freezer, purchased at the Farmer's Market over the weekend. Did you know Wisconsin is a big cranberry producer?

Also on my cooking wish-list are the following recipes:

Chocolate Pie: I love chocolate pie and this one is made with tofu, so its totally appropriate as the main course for Christmas dinner right?

Chilaquiles: I ate these all the time in Mexico and want to try making them at home. There are just no substitutes at the Mexican restaurants in Madison. I saw them made on the Food Channel a couple of days ago while I was at the gym and I was practically drooling on the machine.

Shepard's Pie: I made this once in my life and topped it with sweet potatoes (vegetarian/vegan versions typically use some combo of lentils and veggies instead of beef). I want to try it again with a more complex recipe with regular mashed potatoes on top... there is something so appealing about a casserole topped with a thick layer of mashed potatoes. I have two recipes in mind: Swiss Chard and Lentil Shepard's Pie and Vegan Shepard's Pie.

Squash on Toast: This recipe is from the ABC Kitchen in New York. Ruth and I ate lunch there and had their "crab toast." They just have a knack for putting stuff on toast and making it delicious. We have about 7 squash on top of our fridge right now begging to be roasted, mashed, mixed with carmelized onions, and heaped onto toast.

Something with Farro: I've been eyeing farro for a long time and have never bought it or cooked with it. I'm thinking a risotto like dish is the best option, or using it in a salad.

There will also be waffles, but that is more of Aaron's specialty. Maybe we'll even try our hand at bagel making. Admittedly not the healthiest of cooking wish lists, but there will be plenty of exercising and green smoothies happening as well.

All of this food talk is making me hungry. Time to get back to work and stop day dreaming about cooking and baking. Looking forward to Thanksgiving when I will have dairy and beer for the first time in over a month (thats right I gave up beer and dairy in Wisconsin and survived a whole month, be impressed).

Indoor Bike Racing

A couple weeks ago I convinced Aaron to sign up for an indoor bike race with the team we road with quite a few times over the past season. My friend Becky said it was "super fun" because you get to put your bike on a trainer and see how fast you can go. I was convinced (I'll take any chance I can get to ride my bike in November). It was a 24 hour team relay with members taking hour longer shifts, so Aaron and I signed up for one hour each on Saturday afternoon.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to take my hour since I had been so sick. On Saturday my antibiotics were kicking in and I was feeling a little better, so I decided I could handle an hour bike ride. After all, I had ridden for twice as long many times and this would be a flat course. 

Well, I was totally wrong. This was not like hopping on the bikes at the gym for a little cardio. This was not even close to a leisurely bike ride and what I thought would be super fun was actually super hard. Within ten minutes of my hour I was exhausted and thought I was going to have to get off. I am proud of myself for pushing through the whole hour and challenging myself to keep my miles per hour up, although in retrospect it probably wasn't good for my healing body. I thought I was going to die, but I didn't, and it only took 45 minutes for me to say that I would be willing to do it again.

Not so sure about Aaron though... he got a hilly course.

Someone is a lot happier than the other... 

The screen keeping track of how fast and how far everyone has gone.

It was a cool event and great fundraiser and hopefully I can convince Aaron to do it again in the winter. I don't think I will be taking more than one shift though... my butt still hurts. 

Our team finished in 4th place, which they called "the best of the rest" (because the top 3 teams were serious/professional/tri-athelete crazy in shape people). Also I was probably the only person ever who has done this race without real biking shoes.

Saturday morning was also the last outdoor Farmer's Market of the year! It will be nice to sleep in a little bit on Saturday mornings, but I will miss all of the great deals. We stocked up on honey, jam, and squash.

My First Z-pak

The elusive z-pak.

I woke up very early Tuesday morning because my throat felt like it was on fire. It only got more fun when I starting running a fever, combined with being super sore from TRX the previous day. I couldn't tell what was body aches and what was sore muscles. It was rough! My fever finally broke around 9 p.m. which I assumed was a signal that Barack Obama would be re-elected president (and he was!).

Well, Barack Obama's re-election somehow didn't heal me and my throat continued to throb away. Anyway, I tried to be an adult about the whole thing and continue with my school work (although I missed two classes). Given the fever I assumed my flu shot had not actually worked and I was suffering from a mild flu.

It has only been getting worse and I had a rough time being at work today. My co-workers were sure I had strep-throat and I decided it was time to go to a doctor as what I had imagined to be the worst sore throat ever on Tuesday had somehow gotten worse and worse every day.

Surprise surprise, I do not have strep-throat (but they still had to stick cotton swabs down my throat to be sure). I also don't have mono. What I do have is some bacteria living in my throat. I think the fever and red throat gave it away. The doctor offered me a z-pak, which apparently has magical abilities that I have only heard about from others.

A couple years ago I was sick for over two weeks and had a terrible sinus infection but they still wouldn't give me a z-pak. All I had to do this time was have a sore throat for 4 days. The sore throat also earned me a fast track at the clinic somehow and I didn't have to wait for an hour like everyone else. Magical!

If the z-pak is as awesome as everyone says it is, I should start feeling better by tomorrow. Here's to hoping. Now I need to go buy some coconut milk ice-cream to eat for dinner.

Weekend Instagram

 Badger Hockey Game vs. Colorado College- we lost in over time. Bummer, but it was a good game!

 Coffee shop on our street finally has almond milk (AND they have decaf chai).

 First batch of spiced walnuts for the holiday season.

Split pea soup, cooked all day in the slow cooker.

What did you do this weekend? I refrained from taking photos of my books/computer screen.

Sparty vs. Bucky Badger

This time last Saturday we were at a cold football game at Camp Randall. Michigan State was playing the Badgers, so a group of Aaron's family came to see the game. The game was boring and low scoring, but they were rewarded with an overtime win! Luckily we were seated in the MSU section, so we got to enjoy the excitement. 

It is always great to show family around Madison, since we've been living here for two years and haven't had too many visitors. Besides the football game, the weekend was rounded out by some time drinking and dancing at the Essen Haus (not every Grandma can handle a boot... but she was still under 80 and letting loose) and a great dinner at Harvest. I had an exam to study for so I couldn't join in all of the rest of the fun, but it was great to finally get to a football game this year.

        

Happy Halloween!

Its Halloween and while we weren't able to dress up or go to any Halloween parties over the weekend AND won't be having any Halloween candy, we did carve the pumpkin we picked last weekend.

As you can tell, we are not the creative people who make beautiful, amazing, jack-o-lantern works of art. My main goal when carving a pumpkin is to get all of the seeds out so I can have a great snack.

Sutter's Ridge Farm

The weather on Sunday was warm and sunny (unlike the rain we have had the past two days), so Aaron and I decided to take advantage of it and get outside. Our favorite fall activity is eating carmel apples, but we are not eating sugar, corn syrup, or dairy, which are all common ingredients in carmel, so we opted for a corn maze at Sutter's Ridge Farm instead.

                            

Aaron looks way too tall for the corn maze in this picture, but there were parts that were taller than me! And it actually turned out to be more than we could handle... we had to use the map to find the last marker and find out way out.

                      

When we finally finished the corn maze, we picked out a pumpkin. Aaron wanted to get a big one. It is still waiting to be carved on our deck. They also had a big play area for kids and it looks like its a nice place to pick different fruit like apples and raspberries. Maybe we'll go back next year and enjoy one of their delicious looking carmel apples!

Graduate Profile

Nothing much to say from Madison. There has been lots of studying and smoothie drinking going on around here, and that is about it!

Since I don't have much to say, I thought I would share my profile on the La Follette school website. It was posted last year but was recently updated to include my summer internship and stuff I am involved in this year. Click on over if you are interested!

La Follette School Student Profiles: MIPA Training Prepares Palmer for International Work

Ruth's Visit

Ruth in front of my school's office building.

Ruth came to visit Madison for the first time this past weekend. We missed Sean, but we were really happy Ruth was able to come. 

We took her to Roman Candle for their vegan pizza and then woke up early to go the Farmer's Market and our gym. It was a cold morning! It reminds me that the outdoor Farmer's Market will soon be coming to an end. We need to stock up on honey, maple syrup, and jelly. Ruth bought some cheese to take home to Sean.

We also went to the top of the capitol building, The Old Fashioned for fried cheese curds, Red Sushi, and El Dorado Grill brunch (plus quite a few bars... but this is a PG rate blog so I won't go there). We even got her to wear a Badger shirt is support of the football game. Her flight wasn't until 5 on Monday, so we walked around campus and State Street, then had lunch at Madison Sourdough and tea at Mother Fools Coffeehouse. Of course we had to pick up a scone from Lazy Jane's for her to take on the plane and a couple extras for Aaron and I.

It was great to show Ruth around where I have been living for almost two years (it is strange not knowing where your twin sister lives!). We tried to show her the best that Madison has to offer, but there are so many other places to go. Hopefully she will be able to come back (with Sean) and visit some of the ones that we missed.

At the Memorial Union Terrace.