Motivation Monday -- I Fell Down

Yeah. It's Tuesday again. I'll get the hang of this one of these weeks.

I'm a little bummed out. I fell while running on Saturday morning. I tripped on a bump in the sidewalk. It's so stupid. I'm not as scraped up as my last fall, but my right knee is still fairly bruised and swollen. Yesterday I Frankenstein shuffled around the grocery store and it exhausted me. Today I'd like to try walking one mile. The few pounds I'd lost the last two months have migrated back on because I haven't been as active as I'd like to be and we were traveling for a couple days so it was difficult to eat as well as I'd like to.

The Army Ten Miler is in less than a month. With my hamstring and IT band I'd been beginning to think I was going to have a nice, slow run rather than aim for a PR. Now I don't know what's going to happen. I'm keeping the race in mind but I'm sure I'm leaning more toward a nice, slow run than a PR at this point. Somewhat ironically, my hamstring and IT band feel a lot better so maybe this forced rest is actually going to do me some good.

I'm trying to be more conscious about drinking water and eating lighter until I'm back into training mode.

For now, though, I really want to curl up with a book and a hot cup of coffee.

Your Basic Motivation Monday Stuff. And Dancing Frappuccinos.

Last Monday, 6:47 a.m.: It's going to be hot today but I feel ready for my eight miles. I can't leave until 9:00, after Muffin gets on the bus, so plenty of time for breakfast and more water.

During the run I struggled with the heat. For most of it I imagined a huge Midnight Mint Mocha Frappuccino dancing on the path in front of me.

It never occurred to me to search for frappuccino gifs before.

Making healthy decisions when I'm well-rested and well-hydrated it easy. Making them when I'm tired and hot is not so I'm very pleased with myself for not pulling out my phone and ordering a frappuccino to be ready when I passed the Starbucks near my home. Instead I made a mint mocha protein shake at home. It wasn't the same, obviously, but it wasn't bad and I know it was better for me.

I didn't get my eight miles, though. I barely got seven and the last mile was mostly walking along shady, tree-lined streets. The temperature rose twelve degrees while I was running. I think losing some of my fitness means I've lost some of my heat acclimatization. Burundi, India, Mali. Summers in Rhode Island, Florida, Washington, D.C. I'm a lover of heat and humidity. It's a lot harder to face it now, though.

This morning I had six miles on my training plan. I had to do a little shuffling around of workouts. Muffin was home sick last Friday when I'd planned on this six-miler. We had a busy weekend but I did manage a short run/walk while she was in karate on Saturday and she and I walked together on Sunday morning. (A walk at her pace does help me get my steps in and encourages me to drink plenty of water but it's hardly a workout for me.) Looking at the week ahead, today and tomorrow are really the only days I have time for significant workouts so I have no choice but to make it work. Six miles today and the climbing gym tomorrow, then whatever else I can squeeze in all the other days.

Despite temperatures falling a bit it was still hot and sunny out there this morning. I did my six miles. I did pull out my phone a quarter mile from home and order an iced latte with soy milk to pick up when I ran by that Starbucks. I came home and drank it with leftover roasted garlic and broccoli quinoa salad.

This morning I tried on a pair of shorts from last summer and they almost fit. They are the gauge I'm using rather than the scale. Maybe all the quinoa and ab workouts are starting to pay off.

This is the last week of school for Muffin. After that my schedule will be all out of whack and I have no idea what I'm going to do.

The Reviews Are In! (And New Availability from Online Book Stores)

• "A superb adventure in Africa"
• "A delightful read"
• "Makes you want to travel to Africa"
• "Mountains Never Meet is a fantastic airport or beach read. It’s light, humorous, and all about the mushy love stuff."
• "Kept my attention from the first page to the last"

I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed Mountains Never Meet. I may not say this often enough but I am so thrilled that anyone has paid attention to it and when I read your thoughts on my book it motivates me to keep sharing it with others and to keep writing.

If you haven't reviewed it, please consider doing so on Amazon and Goodreads. And not just my book, on any book that you read. From the best-sellers to the indie authors, everyone loves hearing what the readers have to say about their work.

I know that not everyone loves Amazon, so online distribution has been expanded to a couple other sites for the paperback version. If you already have an account at one of these retailers, why not check it out?

• CreateSpace (This is the Amazon direct-print website where I created the paperback edition. It's also where I get the highest percentage of royalty. :)  Just sayin')
• Barnes and Noble
• Abe Books
• IndieBound

I am still working on bricks-and-mortar stores and libraries. I'd love to see it on a shelf someday!

Thanks again for reading!

Seeking Out Running Opportunities

Sunday morning we decided to stop at a cafe for breakfast before doing a little grocery shopping. Since I can't eat gluten and I don't like eggs, breakfast is one of the hardest meals of the day for me to eat out in Africa but most of the time I can get some fruit and yogurt, and if I'm lucky, a little bacon. This restaurant was out of fruit plate, however (despite a bustling fruit market just down the block), and bacon. As I drank my surprisingly good coffee and munched on half a stale Lara bar I'd had in my purse while watching Muffin eat waffles and Mike eat pancakes, I felt discouraged. 

Then the channel on the television changed from a nature show about whale pregnancies to a marathon and waitstaff who hadn't been interested in serving us materialized to watch. I got up to watch, too. I didn't know until later that it was the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. I couldn't hear most of the French commentary and there were no graphics on the screen informing me of anything other than distance and time. It didn't really matter, though. I watched and I felt happy. 

We visited the Parc National du Mali on Saturday for a short hike. There's a fitness trail with some crazy 1970s-like workout equipment, but it looks fairly new. I hopped onto a few machines and felt like I was in a Jack Lalane video, or the Ben Stiller Daniel Day Lewis treadmill sketch from Saturday Night Live. Muffin had a blast trying out all the equipment. I envision myself jumping into the car as soon as she gets on the school bus in the mornings to get to the parc early to run the trail up the mountain before the heat of the day sets in. I caught site of a track from our hike up the mountain, too. 

Mike thinks our neighborhood is fine for me to run in, I just need him to take me out a couple more times so I get the lay of the place. We have a treadmill coming in our household shipment. There's a gym at Mike's office. I can run laps around the field while the rest of the expat community plays ultimate frisbee on Sunday nights. There's a hash club here. There are ways to run. 

I didn't plan my gluten-free foods in advance of arrival in Bamako as well as I should have, so I'm hesitant to try too much running or working out quite yet. I'm making strides with grocery shopping and our housekeeper but everyday living and figuring things out in a new place is still taking up a lot of time and energy. One of the cookbooks I mailed to myself arrived last week, one that I'd already jotted down French translations for our housekeeper in Burundi, so I was able to ask our Malian housekeeper for the right ingredients without consulting the dictionary again. I hope some of my gluten-free mixes arrive this week so I can have crepes and make quick breads. I stocked up on local peanuts, popcorn, and honey to try making some kind of peanut-popcorn snack this week. The local yogurt is good and our housekeeper has a fresh, pasteurized milk source. Yesterday I found a good avocado at the fruit stand, which I overpaid for, but my housekeeper says it hasn't been good weather for them this year, so everyone is overpaying for the good ones. We are eating mangos like they're going out of style, because they might be soon. The rainy season has been unusual and we are eating produce while it's available.

Today is a "surprise" holiday -- you never know until the last minute which day will be the holiday for Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. Mike has the day off so we are contemplating getting outside for a bit, exploring a new place. I have enough bottled water and peanut packs for a day hike.

Mommy Fueled by Coffee

This was Muffin at eight o'clock this morning. She wanted to water plants but we don't have any plants in the house. (I love plants but hate the upkeep, especially with a cat who eats them and a kid who sticks her fingers in dirt at every opportunity.) She found some melon seeds that our housekeeper left out to dry and the stash of empty egg cartons that I keep for just such situations and did some planting. I know I should go the extra step and get her some dirt. But, eight o'clock in the morning. Maybe I'll have the energy for dirt later.

We don't leave for school until close to 8:45. She woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5:30. By six she was dressed for school and had her spoon and bowl out, ready for cereal. I was sprawled out on her bedroom floor half asleep. We had a terrible thunder storm last night, which thankfully Muffin slept through. I did not. The cat did not sleep, either. At the beginning of the storm she was at my feet, chirping nervously whenever there was a clap of thunder. By the end of the storm she'd inched her way up and was pretty much on top of my head. It was nearly midnight by the time the storm was over and I fell asleep. Then Muffin woke up crying at 1:15. It was a quick pat-on-the-back, kiss-on-the-head, and then back to sleep for her but it took me a while to fall asleep again. And then the Muffin Alarm went off at 5:30.

I planned on being much more productive while she was at school today but I ended up drinking coffee and staring off into space. 

Have Yourself a Merry Dental Christmas

I just finished my lunch of applesauce and yogurt, courtesy of my latest visit to the dentist. I got my blood work done; I got the dental scan done (that experience is a whole short story unto itself that I've been working on); I was on antibiotics for five days. I went back to the dentist on Monday and the swelling and pain were very much reduced. The scan showed some sort of growth -- either soft tissue or bone, it's still unclear -- in the area where my wisdom tooth was removed four years ago. The dentist wanted to do a deep cleaning around the back molar and "snip" off the growth with a laser. I talked to the American doctor who determines what amount of dental and medical stuff can be done here and what needs to be done in a more reliable location. She told me to get the deep cleaning done here; depending on the amount of pain and discomfort afterward I can be sent to Singapore for immediate surgery or I can wait until I'm back in the United States in July.

I got my deep cleaning done yesterday and they did a pretty deep investigation of the area, all but snipping off the growth. Oral surgeons, oral pathologists, root canal specialists, radiologists, have all either looked at my scans or into my mouth -- and in some cases done both at the same time. They stuck these acupuncure-like needles into my gum and took x-rays so they could see exact angles of things going on in there. They concluded that my wisdom tooth extraction was "complicated." There may have been damage to the nerve that supports the back molar and there's a gap between the molar and the gum; it's that little gap that's filling up with whatever's growing. (My theory is small gnome or dwarf.) There wasn't any food stuck in there causing decay, which is good news. But no one is 100% positive of what's going on in there.

I feel like I've been punched in the jaw. Tylenol and cold, soft foods for another day, although I felt up for some slightly warmer than room temperature coffee this morning. I should be able to nibble on the five-star, black-tie dinner we're going to tomorrow night. (There's panna cotta for dessert, and that's cold and soft!) I'll go in for a follow-up visit in a week, assuming the pain and swelling continue to go down.

Why did I get this done so close to a big holiday? Because I want answers as soon as I can get them and if I'm going to be in discomfort I'd like to get started on being on the healing side of that discomfort.

I haven't been working out, but I haven't been eating much either. There's nothing like the threat of oral surgery to help you lay off the holiday snacks.

Monday Motivation -- HBBC Week Two Wrap up

Week Two of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge is finished and accounted for. I did not complete my weekly goals but I did much better than Week One and I'm ready to kick off Week Three on the right foot.

My goals for the week were to run three times and to try a new vegetable recipe. For various scheduling and "life" reasons, those just did not happen. However, I ran twice, I did two ab workouts, and I did Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred; I ate seven to eight servings of fruits and vegetables every day; and I had outdoor play time with Muffin nearly every day. Overall it was a pretty healthy week for the family (because when I'm eating fruits and vegetables, everyone's eating fruits and vegetables). I also checked in at the Facebook group every day for a bonus point. On Thursday, rather than earning bonus points, participants wagered points on completing a specific healthy activity. I wagered my veggie point on keeping myself to only three cups of coffee or tea. Yeah, I drink a lot of caffeine. Cutting down to three cups for the day had me ready for bed by about five o'clock in the afternoon. But I did it so I got to keep my well-earned veggie point. My total points for the week: 22.6.

Outdoor Play

This week my goal is again to run three times and to keep myself to three cups of coffee or tea every day. (It's 7:15 Monday morning and I'm already done with one cup. It's going to be a long week.) Three cups means one cup in the morning, a small at the coffee shop, and one cup later OR one cup in the morning and a large at the coffee shop, with none later in the day.

Here's to a Week Three!

You can check out other participants' weekly wrap-ups at Jill Conyers: Fitness, Health and Happiness.

Cranky Mommy

My day started with Muffin breaking our last working coffee maker, my beloved French press that saw us through eighteen months in San Francisco, two years in Burundi, and two years in India. It was partly my fault for not watching her more carefully, but I warn her every morning not to pick it up because it will break if she drops it. Luckily only a few pieces of glass chipped off so it was easy to clean up, but a giant crack through it prevents us from ever using it again. I can buy a new one here, but it left me in a lurch over what to do for coffee this morning as the water was boiling. Mike to the rescue! He scooped some ground coffee into the pot of boiling water and then sieved the coffee into our mugs. Without caffeine I was unable to come up with that solution on my own.

Muffin did not have school on Monday and Tuesday so the extended weekend made getting ready for school today a slow process. I was finally hustling her out the door when I nearly stepped on a dead gecko in my bare feet. (Hadn't made it to our flip-flops sitting by the door yet.) Not only did I not step on it but I managed not to yelp out and draw Muffin's attention to it. I did not have time for an explanation of why a gecko was sleeping, legless, in front of the door.

We made it to school in plenty of time for Muffin to play before heading inside. Relieved, I immersed myself in checking email on my phone for the drive across town. I planned on meeting some mom friends for our weekly coffee; however, our driver pointed out a terrible crunching sound that the brakes started making. We were close to our house so carefully made our way there. But I couldn't use the car for going back to pick up Muffin. I made a few phone calls to friends and resigned myself to taking an auto-rickshaw (not a great choice looking at the dark rain clouds forming in the direction of Muffin's school) when one of my friends came through and said I could use his car. The most important part of the day, picking up Muffin from school, was taken care of. Nothing else mattered anymore.

I'll have to shop for a new coffee maker another day, using Mike's method for the next couple mornings. Starting on October 1 I'd planned a rigorous schedule of homework and Halloween preparations during my free time. Thanks to the bandh on Monday, the holiday yesterday, and car trouble today, so far I have not done a minute of either of those things.

I'm thinking of taking a nap this afternoon. I can be Super Mommy tomorrow.

Muffin's View of Pattaya, Thailand

I mentioned in my previous post that Muffin and I were on a girls-only vacation last week in Pattaya, Thailand. As a single mom for the week chasing after her, I didn't have time for lots of gorgeous scenery photos. I had to get quick snapshots of Muffin being cute to post to Mike's Facebook page.

Road through the resort. No cars allowed!

Beach across from the resort.

I highly recommend Rabbit for a family vacation.

Road between resort and beach; during the day no cars are allowed.

Shrine at the resort.

And to the tiger at the zoo, Muffin just said, "Pooh, pooh."

Last day at the beach.

Kapa maki at the Bangkok airport.

We stayed at the Rabbit Resort, which I recommend for families visiting Pattaya. The owners go by Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit and they were very accommodating. No cars are allowed on the resort compound, and the road along the resort is closed to car traffic during the day so it's safe for kids to run around. There's an adults' pool and a kids' pool, and the kids' pool was perfect for Muffin to test out her swimming skills. The ocean is just across the no-traffic road, and the beach and water were pretty good for letting kids run around. A little debris after a storm blew through, but nothing worse than you'd find at a lot of U.S. beaches. On the best days at low tide the water was very shallow for quite a ways out and safe enough for little legs like Muffin's to wade without fear of undertow or giant crashing waves. There is no spa at the resort but they will arrange for a car to take you to a nearby spa and will arrange for a baby-sitter. (And Mrs. Rabbit herself checked in on the sitter while I was gone.) Pattaya is about a 90-minute drive from Bangkok airport. You can arrange a car with the resort or you can book an airport limo upon landing.

There is a water park within walking distance of the resort, although Muffin and her friend were a little too young for it. Muffin was more impressed that there was a 7-11 within walking distance. Every morning she asked if we could there for a chocolate milk. A good zoo is about a 45-minute drive. We had perfect timing on zoo day, with overcast weather while we walked around; the rain waited until we were back in the car on the way back to Rabbit. There is not much in the way of playgrounds or other kid-friendly areas in Pattaya. There are good restaurants and coffee shops within walking distance; outlet shopping is a short tuk-tuk ride away. The resort restaurant is pretty good and we ate most of our meals there.

We were there during the last weeks of the rainy season, which is the least expensive time to be there. If you are a sun bunny, this is not the best time of year to go. But if you want weather that is warm enough for splashing around in the pool or ocean without too much time in the sun, and afternoon rain storms that are conducive to napping, then it is the perfect time to go.

Thailand has Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, so if you live in a country that doesn't have those do you really need any other reason to visit?

This Week

This week I posted at What I Eat. I'm experimenting with blogging my meals every day.

Jet Lag Is Like Vacation Hangover

We arrived in Hyderabad early Tuesday morning after more hours of travel than I care to calculate. It was actually our easiest trip yet. We arrived at the airport in Providence, checked in with our extra baggage without hassle, received our boarding passes for all three flights, noted that all of our seats were together on all three flights, and got on the plane. For the longest flight, thirteen hours from Dulles to Dubai, Muffin slept nearly ten hours. Mike and I felt better than we expected to by the time we boarded the last flight to Hyderabad. And when we got home at five o'clock in the morning, all three of us fell asleep in our own beds. The easiness ended there.

Muffin has not been adjusting well to the time difference and the jet lag. With night and day being flipped, she's drowsy all day and night without actually wanting to sleep much. Mine and Mike's older, more experienced brains can rationalize jet lag but Muffin is confused. She's trying her best. I also think a stomach problem plagued her yesterday, which added to her discomfort. It seems to be plaguing me today.

Today I feel hungover. At one point during the night I woke up to relieve Mike of sleepless Muffin duty and I felt drunk. The headache I've had since we landed has finally disappeared, but I still felt fuzzy upon waking up this morning and all I want is coffee, water, and toast. (My gluten-free bagels survived the trip in my suitcase, so I have a few more days of toasty yumminess.)

Muffin starts school next week. I feel like we're in suspension for the next few days. We're not quite on vacation but we're not quite on a normal schedule, either.

Operation Short Shorts

We are still enjoying our U.S. vacation. We've been in Rhode Island for some time now, where Operation Short Shorts has not been as successful as it was in Palm Beach. Call me acclimated to the Hyderabad weather, because 65 degrees and cloudy has me grabbing my running leggings or my jeans.

The weather has been great for my running times, however. Mike and I ran a 10K road race last Saturday and I finished in 55 minutes. I was hoping for under an hour so I was pleased with that. All my easy running days on my half-marathon training schedule have been less-than-10-minute miles, which is surprising to me because I was struggling to hit that mark in Hyderabad. I'm glad I'm doing the first few weeks of training here, where I can get a good base going and be motivated to continue with it when we return to Hyderabad.

We've been ticking off our list of vacation things mixed with shopping for things we can't get in Hyderabad. Test-driving new jogging strollers, eating gluten-free pizza from real pizza parlors, retail therapy at Target, going to movies. Muffin has been getting a lot of time with grandparents, aunts, and uncles and more family is flying into town this weekend.

The house we are renting doesn't have internet and has 10-channel basic cable, which was charming for about two days. After a week of damp, foggy weather, with a couple days of downpours, staying inside is becoming much less charming. We are getting outside at least once a day, but we are not spending full days at the beach or anything like that. We are spending coffee breaks each morning at the nearby Dunkin Donuts with wi-fi. We are getting a lot of reading done at night after Muffin goes to bed.

At this moment Muffin is taking her first real nap in days; Mike volunteered to stay home while I spend some alone time with a hot chocolate and Google Reader at DD. Some of the most relaxing moments of vacation have been exactly the same as relaxing moments at home.

There Was a Naked Man Walking Down the Street and Other Issues With My Run

Yesterday was one of those runs where a lot of things got me down. Mentally I just wasn't there and it proved to be a difficult morning in India as well. Every day for the last week I'd been waking up naturally at 5:30, but with Mike being out of town I was spending my time enjoying early morning quiet time rather than going running because there was no one to stay with Muffin (and she was miraculously sleeping until nearly 7:00 each morning -- I didn't want to wake her up for a stroller run). Yesterday, though, when the alarm went off at 5:25 I rolled over and fell asleep for half an hour. Not an in-and-out, thinking-of-getting-up sleep, but full-on totally conked out. When I did get out of bed the sun was already up. I quickly pulled on my (stupid) leggings. As I tip-toed past Muffin's room I heard her saying "MOM-ee, MOM-ee," and I ignored it with a twinge of guilt. I had to get out the door before she knew I was awake.

I opened the front door to a wall of heat. It was hot and dry, a bit like a Santa Ana day in Southern California. I looked at my watch. 6:15 am. I had planned on 5 to 6 miles but if it was already this hot and sunny I didn't want to be outside an hour later finishing up that last mile. I decided to test out a new route to see if it was in the 3-to-4-mile range for the easy runs of my upcoming training plan.

At first I was amusing myself pretending I was running in San Diego on a Santa Ana day, not running in India. I ran through the back roads of my neighborhood. There wasn't too much traffic yet. I approached a busy intersection at the main road where the traffic was surprisingly light. I crossed the intersection easily. Then, on the sidewalk of the main road, right out there for all the early morning traffic to see, was a guy walking along with his loincloth pulled up, fully exposed, scratching himself. Not just for a quick second, but several minutes. And I lost it, mentally. No one is yelling and honking it this guy for walking around fully exposed, yet if I'd been wearing shorts I would have been the center of attention. And that is not fair! I was really mad at India for that. I stormed along for awhile, fuming over the sight I'd been forced to see just by trying to enjoy a public road. (As I wrote that, I realized maybe that's how people feel when they see me. Blerg! Twist! I stand my ground in that double standard not being fair though.)

I entered the park and jogged between two parking lots, then exited for a different route home. By my Garmin, it looked like the route was going to be just three miles by the time I got home. Hilly, but not too bad. It's impossible to completely avoid hills here. I turned onto the last road before my street and wondered why everyone was driving so quickly. Then I realized the road had been paved recently, so instead of having to drive slowly to avoid potholes everyone could speed along and lay on the horn to alert everyone else to get the hell out of the way. I was so crabby at this point I did one of the most provocative things I've done on the road here -- I gave the evil eye to an auto-rickshaw full of people who stared at me as they drove by.

And a few minutes later when that auto stopped near my house, I booked it to run past and avoid those people. (It was thankfully only an old woman who got out -- and she gave me the evil eye back.)

My run was only 2.86 miles, which was the last straw of the day. How hard can it be to find a stupid three-mile route? Why are they all either over five miles long or just short of three? Why can't I just open my door and go for an easy three-miler? It's the cornerstone of every stupid training plan and I shouldn't have to spend an hour driving back and forth between treadmills or parks just to run an easy three miles.

When I went inside and heard Mike talking to someone on Skype, I immediately went to my room and cried. Stupid video phone where you have to look as cheerful as you sound if you want to convince the person on the other end that everything's fine. Muffin found me in my room and cheered me up. She brought in her bottle of milk and we laid on the bed together. Mike got off his call and joined us. I told him all about my run and said that I should have continued sleeping and then stayed home to drink coffee with him and Muffin. I didn't feel accomplished to just be out there. He said the distance didn't matter. He said any one of those obstacles, either physical or mental, would have kept a lot of people home but I ignored them all and went out there anyway. It didn't immediately make me feel better but I appreciated the words.

I will not be braving the streets today. I decided to hide out with the treadmill at the gym today rather than hide out at home and not run at all.

Running Rerun

I've been here before.

I signed up for a 10K race in May so I'm in running mode right now. It's a bad time of year to be training outside; if I don't finish my run by 8 o'clock in the morning it's too hot and sunny. Clouds have moved in over the last few afternoons, with thunderstorms far off in some other parts of the city; I'm considering trips to the park during that cloudy time even though my driver advises against it. (It's just a little wind and distant thunder in our neighborhood; it hasn't even rained.) Every once in a while I can use the treadmill at Mike's office, but it's a long drive. I spend more time on the road going back and forth than I do on the treadmill.

I read all the books, articles, and blog posts about moms who run, searching for motivation and for the key to success. A friend and I have surmised that the key is to wake up at a ridiculously early hour to get your run in. (And then hope that caffeine and a quick cat nap if the baby takes a nap will pull you through the rest of the day.) After learning that secret, I still spend more time reading about running in the comfort of my air-conditioned home after Muffin goes to sleep at night than I do waking up at 5:30 in the morning and hitting the pavement. I'm waking up at 5:30 but heading straight to Muffin's room and then the coffee pot, since she's been waking up at that early hour recently. I know I should be putting her in the  jogging stroller and taking her with me or not feeling so guilty about leaving her at home with Mike. If I don't get out the door within nanoseconds of waking up, though, my motivation drains away. (I sleep in my running clothes to make it out the door as quickly as possible.) Every second counts in the morning.

To wear shorts or not to wear shorts remains the question of the day, every day. Among my friends, reports of harassment, regardless of what they are wearing, seem to have increased the last few months. I still feel safe going out for a run in our neighborhood and Mike feels it's safe, too. As much as I'd like to yell back or flip someone off, I just look straight ahead and keep running, knowing it's best not to engage with anyone. I never bring my iPod and I always carry my phone. I stay alert and I change routes frequently.

I know that running in the United States presents its own challenges and there are some parts of life that are deterrents to running regardless of where you live. But I can't wait until we're on vacation and I can wear shorts, run in nice weather, and have grandparents around to help with Muffin-care.

P.S. Follow me on dailymile. 

This Week

This week I also posted at Coffee Mommy. And I'm working on my post about our recent holiday. I'm at a coffee shop, away from grabby little hands, so hopefully I'll have it completed and posted here soon.

The Best Coffee in the World

Here's a little note to let you know that the best coffee in the world, Peet's Burundi, is back for a limited time, online only. I'm not just saying it's the best because we lived there and I'm happy when Burundi has great economic opportunities. This really is great-tasting coffee.






Image from Peets.com. I was not compensated in any way for this post. Product was purchased by me for personal consumption.

All I need is a nap under a cool fan

I never thought I'd miss the sound of the guards running across the yard to the generator when the electricity went out in Buj. Here, when the power goes out, the concierge busts into the apartment several times to throw switches all over the place. That's much less convenient at ten o'clock at night than waiting for guards to get the generator going.

I know that both in Buj and here we are fortunate enough to have generators that work most of the time. I'm trying to be thankful for what we have. But I'm cranky this morning. The power went out last night just as they were revealing who was going home on Master Chef Australia, one of the few non-Indian tv shows here. It would have been the perfect time to go to sleep, except the concierge kept coming in and out and when the power came back on in the rest of apartment, it stayed off in the bedroom, so the concierge kept coming in and out of that room in particular to flip switches. Eventually the power was back on, which meant the fan was on and the concierge didn't need to come in anymore. I was able to sleep and it felt so good after my sleepless, jetlagged nights. At two in the morning, though, Muffin decided it was time to party. I got her back to sleep at four, laying on top of me, and dozed off again myself only for the two of us to awake in a sweaty mess a couple hours later because the electricity was off again.

Thank goodness the power came on long enough for Mike to make coffee before he left for work.

Condition Baby Imminent

It's our last child-free day! I'm going to the hospital tonight to be induced. My blood pressure is high and my blood sugar has gotten harder to control, so the doctor said it's time to come out. And we agree. The last week or so has not been easy for me.

It's a day of final preparations. I'm making cupcakes to eat post-delivery. I've been craving cupcakes for months, but being on a no-sugar diet for the pregnancy made cupcakes an impossible dream. (I wasn't willing to try cupcakes that are both sugar-free and gluten-free. That seems like a huge waste of cupcakes to me.) We're also making sure cell phones, camera batteries, the ipod, the Kindle, etc., are all charged up. We have bags packed and lots of snacks. We have scouted out the Dunkin Donuts nearest to the hospital so Mike can make post-delivery coffee runs. (I've been mostly caffeine-free for the last nine months because caffeine makes the baby jumpy, which makes me even more uncomfortable.) Oh, and the car seat, bassinet, and all that baby stuff is ready to go, too.

We start at four o'clock this afternoon and hopefully by that time on Friday, we'll have a little baby on our hands.

Careful, there's a beverage here

Last night we had our much anticipated and much planned La Fete Lebowski, a celebration of all things Big Lebowski. We wore robes, we (Wii) bowled, we watched the film, and we made white russians (which we call mzungus here), a drink with which no Lebowski celebration can be without.

We stockpiled vodka and Kahlua for months. When I traveled through Nairobi earlier this week I grabbed an additional bottle of each from the duty-free shop and it's a good thing, because we opened those last two bottles. They can both be purchased here but can be quite expensive and may not be top quality.

When making white russians in a country where you can't run down to the Ralphs for some half-and-half, it's important to test your recipe ahead of time with the different milks you have available. As far as I'm concerned, white russians made from irradiated pouch milk are utterly disgusting. We decided to use our fresh milk source and everyone raved about how great our white russians were.

In a place where beverage options can be mind-numbingly limited at parties--Coke, Fanta, Primus, Fruito, Amstel grande and Amstel petite--expect that more people will choose to drink your signature drink than, well, you expect. We bought a lot of extra milk for the party and didn't think we'd go through it all. We assumed that the cream, sugar, and alcohol content would keep folks to one or two white russians each. (I certainly couldn't have had more than two without yakking.) But a novel beverage choice was extremely popular and by the time the movie ended we were out of milk; folks were adding dry milk powder, Lebowski-style, to straight Kahlua.

Mike and I took turns tending bar and used a simple, basic recipe:

1 part Kahlua

1 part vodka

1 part full-cream milk

over ice

Some people added additional splashes of their favorite ingredient.

Vodka and other distilled beverages are widely regarded as gluten-free. However, if you're unsure, find a potato-based vodka with no additives. Most sources state Kahlua as being gluten-free. (It sneakily contains dairy, which is what gives some people a reaction; however, if you're drinking white russians I certainly hope you are dairy-tolerant.)

I actually didn't get to drink much white russian. The one that's in the photo is one I made earlier in the day, while we were prepping for the party and testing proportions. I only took a few sips because I didn't want to be wasted before the party even started. Then, later, I made one to drink while watching the film but I put it down on a table for a minute and it disappeared. After the film I tried for the third time, just to discover we were out of milk. And I didn't relish the thought of milk powder so I gave up for the night.

We have enough Kahlua and vodka so that the next time we buy milk I can make a white russian to sit and enjoy quietly.

Cross-posted at What I Eat

Coffee! Quick!

This escaped me while I was on vacation, but for one last day (today!) you can buy Burundian coffee from Peets:

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE - BURUNDI
Discover Peet's Burundi—a berry perfumed and caramel textured East African coffee. This wonderful new treasure is a coffee redolent of Kenya's berry perfume, but with the bold, caramel texture we enjoy in Burundi.

Tucked in between Rwanda and Tanzania, Burundi sits in the heart of that grouping of East African jewels which consistently provides us with interesting African flavors: berries and body, clarity and heft. Given the country's remote location, it is difficult to get coffee out on time to be savored at the peak of the season. Fortunately we did—because Burundi coffees are at their finest this time of year.

This coffee is so good that we are making it the heart of our upcoming Anniversary Blend—but it's a treat to taste alone, so we're offering the top pick of the lot for one last roast.

Order online by Tuesday, March 3rd for the last roast.
Also available in Burundi African sampler.