Read More: The Psychopath Test

Update: I just finished The Psychopath Test. After hearing Megan and Kaye rave about it, I had to give it a try. And I loved it. It was a very hard book to put down. I know I say that about virtually every book I read (Except for The Magus--that book was easy to put down), but in this case it was particularly true. It made me laugh out loud in many places. The author is such a good writer, I've decided to read his other books! I thought the nuanced look at the Madness Industry was great too. It seems like most authors are either thoroughly for modern psychiatry or thoroughly against, but Ronson seemed pretty openminded. It made for fascinating, thought provoking reading. I guess I don't have much else to add to Megan's review, just that I concur. Great, thoroughly interesting book.

-Kristin

I really enjoyed The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson! A few things in the book were old news thanks to This American Life. I knew one of the stories of the psychopaths he met (which I could hear about repeatedly, so that's ok) and knew all about the test after a whole episode dedicated to it. But Ronson is an excellent storyteller. The book starts with a fun mystery at the beginning, not related to the test, but which eventually led him to discovering its existence. He then goes to a workshop to learn about the test and starts spotting psychopathic behavior everywhere, even in himself! There are interviews with very scary psychopaths. And a bit of the history of psychiatry. There are even some Scientologists in this book! A very fun read, indeed!

- Megan Leigh

Couch to 5K: Reflections

Well now that I am officially done with Couch to 5K, I thought I'd reflect a little--in case anybody is thinking about trying it.

First, I'm really glad I did it. I would have never, ever thought that I could jog for 30 minutes--or that it wouldn't be completely agonizing. I never thought I would be one of the people who knows about that wonderful high you get after you jog your heart out. I feel like this experience also ushered me into a new club of semi-athletic people who actually enjoy jogging from here to there.

As far as jogging for weight loss... I did lose a few pounds. But nothing drastic, and it really didn't happen until towards the end of the program, when I was jogging way more than walking. Remember that this program is only about thirty minutes, three times a week. So you're not going to shed all your excess weight in these nine weeks. But I do think it is a great place to start if you want to become healthier. And I noticed that I also began to eat healthier while doing the program. I started to listen to the cues from my body more, and to only eat when I was actually hungry. I don't know whether that's because the running sort of inspired me to change my diet and be more healthy all around, because the jogging put me in touch with my body in a new way, or something else... But the change is definitely for the better!

I think one of the things that makes jogging so fun is that you get to set little, achievable goals--and it feels really good to meet them. As an adult, I think there are few areas of your life where you can really do this. You're always working on something big. Getting ahead at the job, raising happy kids, working on your house--things that never really have a conclusion. It feels good to be able to say that you want to do something concrete, like run three miles, and then be able to do it.

Finally, once you start jogging you find out that lots of people you know are also crazy about jogging. Before  I started jogging, I'm sure I knew that many of my friends were big time runners. But I guess it wasn't something I thought about much. Now I understand! It's fun to get to share this interest, and to understand for the first time what this passion of theirs is all about.

I'm really excited to run my first 5K next weekend (hopefully not in the snow!), and I definitely plan to keep running!

-Kristin

One New Thing: Triple Crown Ale House

After going to see Dave's comedy show at the Magnet Theater we headed to the Triple Crown Ale House around the corner. Very important things were done here, like watching the Cardinals win the World Series!

It was a pretty typical sports bar, but it was nice because there was actually available seating! There may have been no toilet paper in the bathroom, but at least I had a chair.

I didn't have money for food, so was so jealous when everyone ordered and it looked delicious! Irish food. Except for maybe the calimari and the Philly Cheese Steak... I definitely want to go back and try the food out. Maybe on special Irish Day (although I really want to be home for that because Recupero corned beef is the best corned beef. Or is it Harper corned beef?)

And perhaps most exciting of all, right next to The Triple Crown a Panera will be opening!!! Fine dining at its best!

- Megan Leigh

Read More: Never Let Me Go

I have to say this book was nothing like what I thought it would be. Kristin told me that it was really similar to Kazuo Ishiguro's other famous book The Remains of the Day, a slow moving story about a head butler who chooses duty over love.

So I was quite surprised to find out that Never Let Me Go is actually a science fiction novel. I don't really want to go into any detail about the book because I think anything I might say would ruin the story. There's a lot of mystery in the book, and you learn little by little what's going on.

The idea of the book wasn't anything new. It's been in other science fiction books and movies (one of which was terrible, but had Ewan McGregor in it, so A+!), but I thought he did a really good job of telling his tale and I was kept interested the whole time, so I do recommend it!

On another note, this was the first book I've read on a Kindle. The experience was ok. Because Kristin got a large version to read PDFs with it was a bit heavy and made my hand cramp holding it up. So I still prefer books!

- Megan Leigh

I still maintain that the two books are a lot alike. I think Ishiguro took two old, stodgy British genres (the "butler describing his splendid employer" book and the "boarding school childhood" book) and turned them on their heads. I loved them both for that. And both books are about love and longing and regret, which I think he does so well too.

-Kristin

Couch to 5K: Day 27

Last day! It felt strange to run around the track, knowing this was the last day I would have purpose. At least Couch to 5K purpose!

As a special, last day surprise, I was able to shave a little time off my my mile! 11:40, down from being stuck in a 12 minute rut. Woohoo! 

Now here was an even bigger surprise: I thought the computer voice, the one that tells you to walk or run, would congratulate you at the end of the last jog. I mean, c'mon, you made it all the way! I was really wondering about this the whole time I was jogging. What would computer voice say? But all she said was the usual: Workout Complete. That was kind of a surprise and a let down!

I think my next goal will be to add another lap to my jog, until I am up to three miles, so I will be ready for my jog. I will also work on getting speedier, so I can eventually run a 10 minute mile. Doesn't that sound respectable?

-Kristin

Couch to 5K: Day 26

Next to last day! Nothing special to report today. It did not feel very hard, not very easy either. As I ran, I composed the report for an article I am supposed to review. I find when I let my mind wander, the time goes faster and the jog is easier. So I am trying to think about things in my life that need thinking! I ran at exactly 12 minutes per mile, my usual time. It's funny how I fall into this speed, and it doesn't seem to change day to day. My natural speed.

-Kristin

One New Thing: Tribeca Cinemas

This evening Kristin, Cat, Kim and I took a trip down to Tribeca Cinemas to FINALLY see the Pruitt Igoe Myth which was playing at an Architecture and Design festival.

First, I'll talk about the theater. It was very cute and tiny. When we entered the theater I was worried because it was old fashioned (i.e. no stadium seating), which is worrisome for a short person like myself. Luckily I was able to see just fine. The workers were really nice, which is always a plus in New York! They had a lounge area where you could get drinks and a little art and architecture library set up for the festival. I would definitely like to come here again for another movie. The only bad thing was that for every four chairs you had only three drink holders! Luckily Cat had downed her coke before the movie, otherwise we would have been in quite a pickle!

Now, let's talk about the movie! Me and Kristin have been dying to see this for months! It is about the Pruitt Igoe projects in downtown St. Louis and why they failed. I guess the common 'myth' blames the architecture of the buildings. Too large, no sense of community and no sense of pride. As is the usual in St. Louis, the downfall of Pruitt Igoe was blamed on the residents instead of looking at the social issues that led to its failure. For example, how the government quit paying for it's upkeep. How in order for families to be allowed in, no men could be living there, thus splitting up families. How they put such restrictions on the residents that it turned into a place you wanted to get out of rather than stay in. How white flight wasn't predicted by the city, ruining their development plans. There were great and heartbreaking interviews by former residents. 

An interesting thing I didn't know about the City of St. Louis was that it has strict boundaries. Other cities were able to buy up land and expand, so when the move to the suburbs happened they were able to still count fleeing citizens as residents. But when the middle-class exodus happened in St. Louis, the city lost all of that taxable income.

I recommend that you all see this! It definitely helps you understand the problems of St. Louis much better. I hope one day it can bounce back.

- Megan Leigh

I also thought the movie was excellent, but I expected a little more talk about architecture--since architecture figured so prominently in discussions of why Pruitt Igoe failed, and also since the movie was playing at an architecture film festival! I think the makers were trying to make the point that you could explain the downfall of Pruitt Igoe without even considering the architecture of the place. But I would have liked to hear what the actual residents thought of the skip stop elevators, the public spaces, etc. It seems like they would be the best judges of some of the theories that have been offered up, and I was sad that we didn't get to hear their thoughts on whether architecture did contribute to Pruitt Igoe's problems in some way. In the few parts of the movie where people did talk about the architecture, the high-riseness of the building for example, they seemed to have viewed it pretty positively, which is interesting.

-Kristin

Recipe in Progress: Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Cream Cheese Sauce

You will never guess where I got this recipe! Or maybe you will. Yes, it was How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Again!

This sounded like a really decadent recipe. Yummy pumpkin waffles topped with a rich maple cream cheese sauce and chopped walnuts. The waffles were pretty good, although they took a long time to make. I'm not sure I liked them that much more than regular waffles, so I'm not sure if I would go through the bother of making them again! The maple cream cheese sauce didn't turn out to be spectacular, though. I like the idea, but the recipe would need some tinkering.

Basically, it tells you to whisk 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup cream cheese together. The result did not look good! It was a bowl of opaque syrup with chunks of cream cheese floating it. Little chunks I couldn't get rid of no matter how much I whisked. Ben said the result was "tasty, but visually appalling." Well, not a very nice thing to say to the chef who is kindly enough to make breakfast for everyone, but it was pretty accurate. If I made the sauce again, I would do more cream cheese and less syrup, to make it creamier, and I think I would drizzle in the maple syrup a little at a time while mixing with an electric mixer. Hopefully this would make it nice and evenly mixed, and creamy.


These pictures show the pleasantly pumpkin-colored waffle and the "visually appalling" maple cream cheese sauce! I apologize if it grosses anybody out.

-Kristin

Recipe in Progress: Curried Eggplant with Coconut Milk

Perhaps I need to branch out. This was yet another recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

With a description like "a spectacular dish to serve over rice," my expectations were pretty high. And how could you go wrong with eggplant and coconut milk? But this recipe turned out very blah, and as you can see, very brown colored. It took a long time, it was bland... and in the end it was edible, but nothing special. Basically, you sauté eggplant, potato chunks, garlic, and curry paste, then add coconut milk. The potato chunks took much longer to cook than the eggplant, which I guess should not be a big surprise even though I cut them small... but by the time the potato was tender, the eggplant had turned into total mush. Which could have been OK if the flavor was great, but it wasn't!

I garnished with tomatoes, crushed cashews, and cilantro, which kind of rescued it... but I don't think I would ever bother with this recipe again! Bummer.

-Kristin

Couch to 5K: Day 25

Well this is the home stretch! This is the first day of the last week of Couch to 5K. All week, I will run for 30 minutes. I had been running for 28 minutes before, so running 30 wasn't much harder. I made it a little over 2 1/2 miles in 30 minutes... not super fast! Something that was nice today is that I had a track partner. Megan went over with me, and she walked while I jogged. You might think that over the course of 30 minutes of running I would have the opportunity to lap her over and over again. Not so! I only got to pass her two times. What the heck? Anyway, it was fun to have somebody to walk with at the beginning and end of the jog.

My 5K Dash to the Finish Line run is fast approaching (November 5th), and I am a little nervous about it already. I figured that I'll finish up Couch To 5K (last day is Wednesday if all goes as planned!), then I'll practice running 30 minutes plus that extra half mile, so that by race day I will be used to running 3 miles. Hopefully the exhilaration of running in a race will give me a little extra speed too!

-Kristin

Read More: Ender's Game

UPDATE: Now I have read Ender's game too! It's funny--I never heard about this book before the Kygers started talking about it, but when people saw me reading it when I was out and about a lot of people spoke up and said they were big fans. I liked the book a lot for the most part, couldn't put it down. Except for the end! There was a big surprise, I won't say what it was and spoil things. But after the big surprise, I thought the way the author wrapped things up was a little bit corny. One of my friends told me there are eight books in this series. I'm curious about what the others one are about!


This book kind of reminded me of Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye, in that it brings back all the strong feelings of childhood. By putting Ender in real life or death situations, the author is able to call up memories from childhood situations that we must all have--memories of events that, in reality, were probably very insignificant in the big scheme of things but which felt like life or death, times at which we felt threatened, or lonely, or the joys of a first friend. I think it must be really hard for an adult writer to write about kids in a way that isn't gimmicky or fake, so I'm always impressed when somebody pulls it off.

-Kristin


When my cousin Cate learned that I had eagerly been reading about fantastical wizard worlds, she informed me that Harry Potter was a gateway drug to science fiction and placed Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card into my hands to start me on my way. I think the only science fiction I've ever read was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I was still a bit dubious about Cate's choice. It was a small book, though, and it was a good idea to start branching out into different genres, so I thought "Why the hell not?" And thus I began.

As you would guess, this being a science fiction book, it takes place in an overpopulated future where Earth has been attacked by an alien race called The Buggers. Ender, a teeny little boy, has been chosen to lead Earth's invasion to destroy the Bugger colony so the Earthlings can rest easy and get back to warring with each other. The book follows Ender's life as he is sequestered with other promising children in a space station where he is trained to become Earth's savior. They believe Ender is 'the one' and put him through some intense, psychologically stressful situations to help catapult him into being what they need him to be.

It may not sound very interesting, but it was! I was never bored for a moment, and since it was light reading it was perfect on the train where I get distracted easily. Evidently this is the first in a series and I've been told from one person not to bother with the rest and from another that it was the best series he's ever read. I'm torn on whether to continue or not! I trust the judgement of both!

- Megan Leigh

Couch to 5K: Day 24

Today I decided to give my legs a break and go run on the track. Easy-peasy. Except for this run was the toughest on my legs out of any of them! I guess it's kind of astonishing, but with this program, my legs don't usually feel a lot of stress. I'm done with the run, and my legs feel fine. Today my shins are kind of achey. I wonder if it's from running on pavement more? I guess I will take a day off and run on the track again next time!

But the important part is, I finished week eight. Only one more week left! Woohoo!

-Kristin

Read More: Random Family

I finally finished Random Family too.  I began it. Then that bastard of a library made me return it. (They keep doing this to me! There are 14 available copies, but because there is a hold I have to return mine! It's really messing up my Halloween Marathon planning.)

Well, my review of this book isn't as great as Kristin's. (She seems to be very easy to please lately.) Where as she had a hard time putting it down, I kept thinking when is this book going to end? I think the author may have spent too much time looking at court notes and began to think she was a stenographer because she stuffed everything into this book. Every store that someone passed by on their way home. Outfits described from head to toe, even the outfit of a piercer who was in the book for a paragraph. The paragraph mainly consisted of clothes. Conversations and quotes that didn't add to the story. This book could have been cut in half if it weren't for all the needless descriptions. I'm hoping an editor got fired after this book came out.

The story itself was interesting and frustrating. Interesting because I think it may be how people in this neighborhood live so it's eye opening to read about. Frustrating because even though they talk about wanting to change their lives they fall into the same exact behavior over and over and over and over. Then their children follow the same patterns and their children too. It made me wonder if I have bad behavior patterns that I can't see clearly! I'm pretty sure I'm perfect, but you never know!

- Megan Leigh

I have been meaning to read Random Family for the longest time. The author, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, was a reporter who had initially covered the court case against a New York multi-million dollar drug dealer who was barely out of his teens, Boy George. But as she got to know more about him, she became fascinated with the women in his life, and their stories. She ended up spending ten years getting to know his girlfriend, Jessica, and her sister-in-law, Coco, and their families. This book is a sprawling chronicle of a decade's worth of events in the lives of these two women from the South Bronx.

This was a hard book to put down. Jessica went from a desperately poor child to a desperately poor teenage mom to a millionaire drug dealer's girlfriend to an inmate in a federal prison. Coco had five children in this time (as did Jessica), one of them with severe medical problems, and struggled to raise them more or less on her own. The obstacles she and her kids faced in trying to make a better life for themselves were heartbreaking. It was a little surreal to think that most of the events described happened just a few miles away from where I live... it seems like the characters live in a different world. Reading about the lives of the children was especially eye-opening.

Now I find myself longing for an update on the characters. The book was published in 2003, and while it stopped abruptly, obviously the lives of the people in it did not. What has happened in the eight years that have elapsed? I want so badly for everyone in this book to get a happy ending somehow. How is Coco doing? What about her oldest daughter Mercedes, who had been through so much? Or Jessica and her oldest daughter Serena, who was pregnant at fourteen when the book ended? Did Cesar, the father of Coco's children and her true love, get out of jail? Did Frankie, her current boyfriend, ever break out of his funk? I hope that LeBlanc will someday return to their stories.

-Kristin

One New Thing: Occupy Wall Street & Potbelly

Cat finally came back so I have an adventure partner again! Since I didn't have to work today we decided to go Occupy Wall Street for a few minutes. First we went to get lunch at Chicago's favorite sandwich joint Potbelly. The line was all the way out the door and wound around inside, so I thought this place must be really fantastic. But it was just a regular old sandwich place - definitely no Grand Central Bakery! (Still thinking about that sandwich from Cate's wedding!) I got a meatball sub. I would have preferred more sauce, but it was good. Would I wait in line again? Probably not, but it was fun to see how Chicagies eat!

Then we continued on our way to Zuccotti Park to see the protesters. Mainly they just looked like dirty hippie bums. They had set up their own little library and market. There were lots of interviews going on. I wanted to hear chanting and the like, but there was none of that. There was a lot of drum playing, which you would expect from a bunch of hippies. Everyone seemed very relaxed. The cops joked around with us (although there was no water gun fighting). I bought a button to put on my purse. I hope they have another march soon where more normal, groomed people can come out to show support! I think it'll be hard for most of the people there right now to be taken seriously!

- Megan Leigh

Recipe in Progress: Rice Noodle Salad with Grapefruit and Peanuts

So I am not very exciting. I tried another Mark Bittman recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I was pretty excited about this salad! In the blurb that describes the recipe, it says this is a "flavor-packed salad" and that was what I expected with grapefruit, peanuts, rice vermicelli, mint, cilantro, thai chilis, lime, lemongrass, tomatoes, scallions... and so on.

This recipe took pretty long to prepare. I mean, there is only so much work you want to put into a salad! I thought it turned out OK, but it was a little bland for my taste. I think it was missing a sweet-sour taste that I like in these types of salads. If I made it again I think I would add a little fish sauce or vinegar. So my verdict is OK, but nothing stellar.

-Kristin

I don't like cilantro and I don't like grapefruit - the two most flavorful pieces of the recipes! So you can imagine what I thought of this recipe!

- Megan Leigh

Get Healthy: Quit Eating Crap (well, at least so much....)

This week I am going to start my push to eat healthy. I think I've chowed down on most of the not-so-good for me treats in the house, thus clearing out the temptations that stare me down daily. Goodbye Pirates Booty, hello banana! Adios bags and bags of cookies, hello apple and ONE or two or three cookies (but definitely not a whole bag)! I can't cut out the crap entirely. My body is sure to go into shock.

Today I did pretty well. The pizza for breakfast may not have been good. But the banana and salad for lunch was. The potato would have been good, except for the 4 to 5 tablespoons of butter I put in it. Then Ben made us chocolate shakes and that was definitely not so healthy. But all in all, it really was an improvement I think!

- Megan Leigh

Couch to 5K: Dog Day!

Today I went jogging with a new partner, Velo. Velo is our dog, and to be honest, he has been getting a little tubby since we moved to New York. I figured a little exercise would be good for his waistline, but I was also a little worried that he might keel over and have a heart attack if I just made him run for thirty minutes. But I decided to give the jog a try and see how it worked. We could always stop if we needed to.

So is Velo fun to run with? Well, he was definitely an enthusiastic jogger, but he just was not the best running buddy. He kept trying to stop at every tree and post to pee, and I kept trying to reign him in while still jogging, screeching "Heel, heel." I'm sure we disrupted a lot of people's daydreams and peaceful Sunday-paper reading in the park. To be charitable, I think he may have been confused by our pace. To me, we were on a heart-pumping run. To him, we were going for a brisk walk. Why not stop now and then, he thought? Obviously we were in no hurry. He also kept jogging right in front of me, crossing from side to side, so I would almost trip or accidentally kick him every few minutes. Darn dog!

I think I will try to keep taking him out, since he needs the exercise. And he looks like a small wolf, so it is like running with a security detail. Hopefully if we keep trying, he will learn to be a better jogging buddy!

-Kristin

Recipe in Progress: Donut Puffs Take Two

So I tried the donut puffs again (recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian), and this time I cooked them until they were done. I think they turned out the way they are supposed to, but I still am not a fan. The outsides were a little too crispy, and they were just denser than what I wanted. I think I had something more like those airy Krispy Kreme glazed donuts or beignets or zeppole in mind.  These were more cake-donut type puffs. So I'm disappointed, but maybe my expectations were a little unfair! I will abandon this recipe, and maybe try one for beignets next.

-Kristin

Treat Yourself!

Kristin and I just watched the Parks and Rec last night where Donna and Tom celebrate 'Treat Yourself Day'. We've decided to add this special, special day into our happiness project and think that you all should celebrate too! We've deemed January 31st as National Treat Yourself Day. I figure this is about when I'll be at my lowest of the year - dead of winter, spring still so far away... It'll be something to look forward to this winter!

- Megan Leigh

So far our day includes mud baths, a delicious lunch out, shopping for new outfits, and looking at ourselves in a skinny mirror. Any other ideas for us?

-Kristin

Recipe in Progress: Donut Puffs

This recipe came from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. And it turned out AWFUL! I think the fault was entirely mine. You have to deep fry these little donut puffs, then you can sprinkle them with powdered sugar or whatever you'd like. I took them out as soon as they turned a little golden (it did not take long at all). They LOOKED perfect on the outside. But they were doughy and awful on the inside! Normally I like a doughy treat, but this was not a good doughy food. It was heavy and blech. We all forced down a few donut puffs because they looked so tasty, but then we felt sick. It was not a great way to start the day.

Tomorrow, I am going to try this again! Smaller donut puffs, longer cooking time. I know this recipe has potential! I used to have a little deep fryer of my own. It was the size of a rice cooker, and I got it in high school. What happened to it? I would love to have it now. So many things I would like to fry!

-Kristin

Couch to 5K: Day 23

Another 28 minute day. And it wasn't easy to fit in this jog! Usually, I try to go in the morning, right after I drop off Poppy. But this morning it was raining. So I went to work, but skipping my jog put me in a bad mood. Luckily, the rain let up in the afternoon and I was able to make time for a jog.

Today, I jogged inside Riverside Park. The bridge going over 12th avenue is kind of gross (I had to avoid many heaps of dog doo and a used condom), but once I got to Grant's Tomb it was very scenic and nice. I got caught in a a huge mud mess too, and I'm not sure how to clean my shoes without ruining them.

A little while after I finished my jog, there was a crazy rainstorm. So I was lucky to get in and out when I did!

-Kristin

One New Thing: Occupying Wall Street

Well we didn't actually occupy Wall Street so much as walk down to Liberty Park and gawk at the protesters. We only had our lunch hour, and we had to eat during that time too. But it was still good fun! I went downtown, met up with Kim, and we got to see what the protest was all about.

It wasn't as big as I expected, but the little park was crammed with protesters who had sent up camp. A lot of people were working hard at tidying the place up, some people were drumming, some people were holding up signs, a lot of people were just lounging around. Everyone seemed to be in pretty good spirits! There were lots of young people, but lots of older people too. I thought it seemed like a fairly diverse crowd. As we were leaving, we noticed people mobbing this guy with a guitar. It turned out to be Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine. He was talking to people, and jamming, and everybody loved it!


In the spirit of Occupy Wall Street, I'm posting a great link with charts that show what everyone there is so worked up about. After spending years thinking about Gini coefficients and health disparities, it is great to see that other people care about these things too! I think one of the reasons people in the US seem, for the most part, content to live with such drastic disparities in wealth is that they don't realize that achieving the American Dream (making a lot of money and entering a higher income bracket) is virtually equivalent to winning the Lottery these days. It ain't gonna happen for the vast majority of people, even if they work their butts off. I'm including my favorite chart, one that illustrates that point pretty well. Poor people that work hard are probably not going to be able to make a good life for themselves no matter how many hours they log, while odds are good that lazy wealthy people can continue to enjoy their comfortable lives...there just isn't much mobility in terms of wealth in this country. Since most people seem to love the idea of a meritocracy, I think income and wealth disparities should concern Americans much more than have historically.

So are all of the protesters at Occupy Wall Street super articulate? Do they all have workable policy solutions? No, of course not. But I sympathize with the protesters, and I stood them with them in spirit as I enjoyed my tasty lunch at a nearby restaurant.

-Kristin

Couch to 5K: Day 22

Day 22! It's hard to believe! Today was pretty uneventful. I went to the track and ran for 28 minutes. The highlight of the workout was that I ran my fastest mile so far--11 minutes and thirty seconds. Also, it was exciting because a flock of seagulls came and sort of attacked/landed on the bleachers by the track. The water fowl are really adding an element of danger to my jogs that makes them more fun. Living on the edge!

-Kristin

Had the Commander of the Army Fowl been with you, there'd be no reason to fear.

- Megan Leigh

Read More: When A Crocodile Eats the Sun

I just finished When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin. Kristin originally picked out this book from the library. After her good review I decided to give it a try. I was positive that she already wrote her review on the blog, but can't find it! Well, anyway I was not nearly as impressed.

It's another white African memoir. Boy grows up a privileged white, thinking because he was born in Zimbabwe he is a true African. He never lacks for food, he is given an education and sent to study abroad, he lounges by a pool, he has a maid, a gardener, a nanny... He may have been born in Africa but he most definitely has no idea how it feels to live like the majority of his countrymen. Then Mugabe comes along and sends the country to hell, demonizing the white people as he does it. His family's status drops drastically and they are in constant danger. For the first time he gets to feel what it is like to be a true Zimbabwean, but he doesn't seem to notice that hey, I'm still living a better life than everyone else! They may have a hard time finding food and gas, but they DO still have food and a car they are able to replace twice after being stolen. He doesn't worry much about the idea that if he feels this bad off, the rest of Zimbabwe is still fairing a whole hell of a lot worse.

But aside from that I didn't think the writing was at all good. Boring. Somehow passionless when it's obvious he wrote this memoir because it's something he feels very passionate about! Dry. He tried to force himself to throw in some humor here and there, but it just fell flat. I don't believe I'm better off for reading this book as I've read numerous memoirs in the same vein and the writing wasn't enjoyable enough to make me forget it.

- Megan Leigh

Wow! Megan is really giving it to poor Peter Godwin here. I really disagree with her review. I thought it was very well-written (unlike a lot of memoirs), and just because he did have a rather privileged childhood doesn't mean his experience isn't worth sharing. If people with privileged childhoods weren't allowed to write memoirs, there would be like two or three books in the whole genre! And throughout the book, I think Godwin made the point that as devastating as Mugabe's policies were for white farmers, they affect the historically poor and powerless the most. Megan is just a strident Marxist who is unable to appreciate fine literature.

Plus, I think this is a story that both Meg and I will be able to relate to very soon. Your parents are growing old in a violent, anarchic place, far from where you live, so that you are powerless to help them... They refuse to move, for reasons you can't comprehend... doesn't it all sound familiar?! Yes, I am talking about Webster Groves.

-Kristin

Recipe in Progress: Chocolate Cake

My first two-layered cake! I got the recipe for a simple chocolate buttercake from The Cake Bible. I also tried a simple chocolate "neoclassic" buttercream frosting from the same book. Well, I thought the cake turned out really well! It was kind of crumbly, but very chocolatey and rich, and not TOO sweet. The icing was different than what I expected though. I thought it would whip up and be very light and fluffy. That's buttercream, right? But instead it was very thin. It TASTED great--again, really rich and chocolatey, but not too sweet--but it looked like a thin, shiny ganache. So I'm not sure what happened there! It tasted very nice with strawberries. It was quite a production to make this thing, though! Definitely for special occasions only.

Well, it's definitely a start. My big goal is to be able to make a stunning cake by Elliot's birthday. I wouldn't be ashamed to serve this! But I think I can do even better. This seemed more like a grown-up cake.

I don't think this picture does it justice. I am putting it up anyway, because a bare blog is boring. I need to learn how to take better pictures!

-Kristin

Good Food: French Toast

What to do with the dumb organic bread that you just bought from the store, even though it cost way too much money, only to find that it was stale once you tried to make yourself a sandwich? French Toast!

This time I tried a recipe from the Best Recipe Cookbook. I did not have especially high hopes for this recipe, because nothing from this cookbook tends to turn out well for me. But it was delicious! Just right. Highly recommended! I like it better than Mark Bittman's. Also better than my own. For years I had been using a recipe I had in my head that involved about one egg per piece of bread and a little milk and vanilla. That made a very hearty, eggy french toast. This french toast is lighter and probably tastier, more like what you'd find in a restaurant.

-Kristin

Time With Friends: New Jersey

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I went to New Jersey this weekend to spend time with my best friends from Eckerd.  Michelle came down from Maine. Josh came over from Kentucky. And we all stayed at Cynthia's house in New Jersey. It was so nice to see everyone again and in one place!

FRIDAY 
We played Scattergories and watched the Cardinals beat the Phillies.

SATURDAY
First we got into a car accident when a big ol' truck couldn't see us over his big ol' truck. That put a bit of a damper on our fun and has convinced me even more that big cars such be ousted. 

After getting a police report we headed over to a haunted village. We paid our respects at a tiny graveyard where most of the people had died November 22, 1776. We assumed it was in a revolutionary war battle. And there was one very close by November 16th according to a Google search. No hands reached from the ground to grip at my ankles, so I doubt there were really bodies there. We continued on down a trail and found 'surprise lake', the name leading you to believe it's a hidden beauty. Then you see it and Surprise! It's just a scummy old lake! Next we went in search of a horse stable, but got lost. We tried to track the horse hoof prints but our tracking skills were poor to extremely poor. Luckily on our way back to civilization some horse ladies came trotting at us so we got to see them after all. I sure would like a horse! Next we found our way to a pasture or playground area where we picnicked. A bee fell in love with Michelle and I think she fell a little in love with it. Finally back to the car. We never did see the haunted village. I must say that I'm a bit dubious that it really exists.

That night we had blackened grouper (that Cynthia had to order special for us!) and yellow squash and asparagus from the grill and sipped on fancy wine spritzers with strawberries. Yum yum! We played Cranium - A first for me and very fun, I must say! It's all sorts of games rolled into one: Pictionary, Charades, Trivia and MORE. (So for my birthday Apples to Apples and Cranium are on the list!) Then a episode of Project Runway and to bed I went.

SUNDAY 
Sunday was just beautiful out. We laid around the house and watched Free Willy (this time I didn't cry) and some Arrested Developments. Then we went to a park and laid under a tree and read and napped and Michelle tried to learn to knit. We went across the street and got ice cream then raced home to catch the train.

Couch to 5K: Day 21

Whew! Finally back on schedule! Not only did I complete the 25 minute run, but I ran a little faster than I ever have before! 12 minutes and 30 seconds per mile. Not bad.

There is more exciting new than this, though. As I was lacing up my shoes to go jog, Elliot declared that today was the day. You may remember that weeks earlier I had tried to entice Elliot into joining me in the track by offering to buy him a game for his DS if he could run a mile, no stopping or walking. Well, he decide that it was time to take me up on the offer. On the way to the track, I kept up a steady stream of what I hoped was encouraging, but sobering, advice. "It's so great that you want to run too, Elliot! But don't feel bad if you can't run a mile your first time. You probably need to build up to it." He nodded politely. Then we got to the track, and he proceeded to run a mile. He did it chattering the whole way too. I don't think he was winded at all. When we got to the last lap, he said now was the time to really run, and he took off like a rocket, leaving me far behind.

Then we came home and picked out his new Pokemon video game (the third one) from Amazon. This is a post-run victory picture of him.

-Kristin

One New Thing: MWAPE Peer Awards

Poppy's wonderful teacher, Mbumwae, also happens to be an accomplished dancer, and she told us that she would be dancing at a Zambian event. We were excited to finally get to see her dance! So this Saturday, we lobbed off the kids on a generous friend, and spent the evening at the MWAPE Peer Awards, an event where awards are given to Zambians and members of the Zambian diaspora for doing amazing things.


It was a lovely (and for us, fancy!) night of dinner, dancing, and meeting many new people. It was a lot of fun to see Mbumwae and everybody else dancing and having so much fun. And it was very inspiring to hear about all the things that the awardees had accomplished--they included everybody from filmmakers and lawyers to economists. Mbumwae also has a charitable foundation that aims to improve women's lives, and it had a table at the event. If you would like to check it out, you can look at the website here.

Ben was the photographer for this event and yours truly was the videographer, so we got a lot of photos. Here are a few!

-Kristin

Couch to 5K: Random Run

So I can't really count today's run as part of the official Couch to 5K program. But it was fun, and it was running, and I'm sure it will count towards the eventual goal! Ben happened to be home when I was ready to leave for my jog, so he came along. We have never gone running together before, so I was excited to get some quality time together--and also to show him up, big time. After all, I've been building up my endurance for months, and he doesn't jog at all. He's always the one that's good at athletic stuff, and I'm always the one that is huffing and puffing and complaining. I can remember one bike ride, in particular, when he had to wait for me at the top of a hill, while I panted next to my bike, a funny shade of green. This time I knew it would be different, and I was looking forward to it!

First, we headed to the track by our house. As it happened, school had just let out for all the neighborhood kids, and they had all gathered around the track to run races and cheer. Now when I see kids in the neighborhood loafing around in front of their buildings, playing their music too loud, or selling drugs, I always think "look at those good for nothing kids. Why don't they get their butts over to Riverbank Park to play basketball, or soccer, or run around or something?" But today, every kid in the neighborhood WAS in Riverbank Park, engaging in some wholesome fun. Immediately, I rued my earlier wishing that must have brought them all here to clog up my track during jog time.

So off we trotted to the greenway. We jog/walked from where we live, in Hamilton Heights, all the way down to 96th street and back. Now I have missed about a week of jogging, because of a bad cold that's finally lifting. This jog was hard for me! And even worse--Ben, who hasn't been doing any couch to 5K program and hasn't gone jogging at any time during recent memory--kept up fine. He went faster than me! It was hard to keep up sometimes, in fact!

Anyway, it was fun to have a partner again--even if I didn't get to show him who's boss on the greenway. And it was a good ease-in back to the program. I can't believe missing a week seems to have made such a difference. But I'm back!

-Kristin

Recipe in Progress: Creamy Broccoli Soup

I got this recipe from Padma Laksmi's cookbook, Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet. Creamy broccoli soup--it sounded good! I put it on my to-make list for the week. But as I got out the ingredients to make it, I realized that it didn't have cheese in it. This was kind of upsetting. I guess it was really cheesy broccoli soup that I had my heart set on. So maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset to give this soup a fair chance.

I thought the soup turned out OK. It took longer than I thought it would, about an hour, and it tasted just like what you would expect--a creamy broccoli soup. Very simple! Ben liked it, but I don't think I would make it again. So I guess it is not exactly a "recipe in progress." More a recipe I have thrown overboard. It did get me thinking that I'd like to try a cheesy broccoli soup recipe though. And I got the chance to put my immersion blender to use, which is always fun.

Megan thinks this picture of the soup looks really gross. In reality, she said it just looked like a creamy broccoli soup and not like dog vomit. I don't know, I thought this picture looked enticing!

-Kristin

Read More: Bonk

I just finished Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach. Ms. Roach did not disappoint. The first book I read by her was Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, which I loved. It's a book that someone fascinated with skeletons and decaying bodies cannot resist! And what made it even better was that I could hear my dad gagging in the kitchen as he tried to eat and read this book at the same time. (He gets grossed out pretty easy). Then I read Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, which was a little bit of a let down. It was still very interesting, but a little drier. In Bonk Mary Roach's excellent wit was back and had me laughing out loud.

This book was an informative look back through the ages of sex research, with a number of shouts out to Masters and Johnson - the sex gurus from St. Louis. (Tidbit! They've even got their own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame!) Do polyester pants lead to less sex? Ever wonder what types of masturbatory items have gotten lost up a man's uretha? Toothbrush bristle end first, rat's tail, three sets of forceps... nothing too outlandish. You can find it all and much, much more in this book of sexual wonder.

I unwisely decided to choose this as my public transportation book. Knowing full well what this book was about, I didn't realize how embarrassing it would be to read beside a nine year old girl. If she decided to glance at what I was reading (which I do to everyone, so it's a definite possibility) she would see 'clitoris' every other word. I found myself worrying that people were staring at the book cover, which unlike the one on this post, clearly states the book's full title and has a picture of two ladybugs doing it. And worse yet, I had the challenge of trying to hide a picture of a man romancing a sow, without looking like I'm trying too hard to hide something.

- Megan Leigh

Recipe in Progress: Mary's Saturday Soup

Mmmm, this is a great recipe from Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef Takes Off cookbook. It's a hearty and satisfying stew of beef, yams, squash, carrots, okra and coconut milk, topped with little, heavenly cornmeal dumplings. So good!

The downside is that it takes a LONG time to make. Lots of chopping, and then the cooktime is fairly long. So it really is for a Saturday, or some other day when you have time to spare.

So if this recipe is so darn good, why is it a recipe in progress? Well, it calls for two tablespoons of coriander seeds. It didn't say to crush them or anything, so I put them in whole. So it was full of hard little coriander seeds, lots of them. Ben voiced a concern about possible coriander poisoning. I think next time I would definitely crush the seeds first! And maybe try putting a little less in.

The other thing I would change is the dumplings. They are great, but the recipe only made five of them, while the recipe is supposed to serve six to eight. Who wants a soup with no dumpling? It's the best part of the whole thing! I would double the recipe, so everyone gets two dumplings per bowl!

Unfortunately, my photographer was sleeping when dinner was ready. So I had to take my own picture, and it doesn't really do the soup justice. But believe me, this soup is good! As you can see, I only had one sad dumpling. For shame, Mr. Oliver. For shame.

-Kristin

This soup was really good (I had leftovers, not fresh) and I didn't even put a dumpling in mine!  I second the coriander seed thing. I had to pick around them because I didn't like their taste. I think crushed up they would be fine though. 

- Megan Leigh

One New Thing: Animal Rescue?

Today I took Elliot to Nancy's, and he immediately rushed to the bathroom. When he came out he yelled "A MOUSE!" I peeked around the corner and sure enough there was the cutest little mouse! We debated on what to do. He wasn't moving so I thought he was sick. My first assumption was that he had been poisoned, so I wanted to get him outside. But then it was getting so cold out! I was hoping he'd just run into a hole and solve this dilemma for me. But the poor little guy just sat there. In the end Elliot pulled out some toilet paper and paper towel tubes from his backpack and trapped him in there.

This happened while Nancy was in session with another kid. When she came to get Elliot, he told her about the mouse in the tube. She let him take it back into the room, thinking he was playing a joke. He quickly came out of the room with the tube when she realized there was really a mouse in there! 

After Nancy's, we took the little mouse to let him go at the park. Elliot was NOT happy about this. He wanted to take him home, so there were many tears. I wanted to take him home too, but the fact that he was sick was not good. And I kept thinking about how all the awful hemorrhagic fevers and other mystery diseases are always traced back to mice. And we are in Rabies City, USA. So I couldn't take the chance, especially with little Poppers. I found a wild looking, fenced off section of the park and poured him out. I hope he recovers out in the wild and that a nice little mouse family takes him in.

Couch to 5k: Day 20

Today I took it to the streets! Well, I took it to the Greenway. It was a glorious autumn morning, sunny and breezy, a wonderful day to run along the side of the Hudson.

Well, just as I suspected, it is MUCH more difficult to run on pavement than to run on the track. I could really feel the difference in my legs afterwards. And what made things even harder is that the greenway is at an angle, so water can drain off of it, so you end up running on a slight slant the entire time. Not easy either!

It was great to have the wonderful scenery to look at, though, and since I wasn't running around a track I wasn't keeping track of distance. So I just ran, and didn't think about how fast I was going, or how much distance I covered... pretty relaxing! I think I will try to alternate some track and greenway runs. There was also a tiny dirt path next to the Greenway. Maybe I will try that, to see if it is a little easier on my legs.

-Kristin

One New Thing: African Food Festival

Today we trekked over to East Harlem to go to the African Experience Food Festival at the Museum for African Art (which doesn't actually open for another year). We have been watching for a couple years as the big colorful building that houses it has gone up, since it's on the bus route to Elliot's school. We weren't sure what to expect, but I knew they were serving different types of African food for $5 a meal, so I thought it was worth a go!

It was a little fair with food from three different restaurants, so we got a plate from each one, and we got to listen to African music while we sampled the dishes. I got a plate of Nigerian food, which I liked a lot. There was some kind of chicken in sauce that was very good, spicy rice, and a delicious side of greens. The only thing I didn't like was the melon seed side dish. I wasn't sure what to expect when they said it was melon seed. I guess I was expecting something sweet. But it wasn't at all sweet--it was kind of musky and savory. I couldn't get used to the taste. Elliot tried a plate from a Senegalese-French fusion restaurant. Poppy decided that Elliot should have to share. She grabbed his fork and raked it against the steps we were sitting on, while he protested loudly. Then she shoved it in his couscous and swirled the food around with it. After that, he refused to eat anymore and he said he thought he should get to have an ice cream because he was very hungry. But he also said that the chicken he tried before all this happened was tasty. And I got to try his couscous before the dirty fork incident, and it was really, really good and I don't even like couscous! Megan got a plate from another Senegalese restaurant. I will let her post about that.


Poppy LOVED the music. She nodded her head with a huge smile on her face, and tapped her feet to the music.

Fun day!

-Kristin

The dish on the right was mine. It was from a Senegalese booth. There was a cucumber couscous dish that was gross. I hate couscous, no exceptions to date. There was a piece of salmon that just tasted like salmon. No surprises. Some sort of beef dish that was good. She warned me it was spicy, but it wasn't! And then there was an interesting dish that consisted of black eyed peas and mashed up yams. At first I didn't like it, but then it began to grow on me. Would I make it? No. But I'm glad I got to try it!

I'm excited for next year. I'm sure it will be bigger and better! There were no crafts or art this time, which was very disappointing and also good because I would have probably spent money I don't have.

- Megan Leigh