Our meals since returning home from our Thanksgiving holiday in Ohio have revolved around leftovers, so not much new has occurred in the kitchen of late. So rather than post another photo of turkey soup, I thought I'd do a quick run-down of my favorite things of late.
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I just finished reading this book right before we left for Ohio. I can't remember where I first saw this book -- I think it might have been on someone's Facebook page. Regardless, I was instantly intrigued, and quickly requested a copy from the library. (Another shout-out for the library! I love that I can get recently-published books so quickly. My bank account also likes the fact that I don't have to buy copies of everything I want to read!) I've been a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder since I was a child and made my way through the Little House series, as many other young girls do. I also was a fan of the Little House on the Prairie TV series with Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, which I watched endlessly during its syndication days. (During my sophomore year of college, my roommate and I, both diehard Laura fans, would watch episodes before our morning classes, and if one of us had to leave before the end of the show, we'd always promise to fill the other in with what had been missed, even though by that point we knew all of the episodes by heart anyway.)
In The Wilder Life, the author Wendy McClure writes about her pursuit of the "Laura experience," from trying her hand at churning butter to exploring the various locations that Laura lived in throughout her life. I enjoyed reading this book and following McClure's adventures from her Chicago home to various Laura sites in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri. I also had a six-degrees of separation moment with the author when she mentioned the name of one of her friends, whom I used to work with back in the day at McDougal Littell in Evanston, IL. Ah, the small world of publishing in Chicago. (McClure works by day as a children's book editor at a different company.)
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One of my favorite holiday treats would have to be mint M&Ms. I never had any luck finding them when we lived in Wyoming, but they seem to be quite easy to procure here on the East Coast and in the Midwest. My Mom was kind enough to purchase a bag for me -- it didn't last more than 24 hours after being opened. Let's just say that I can't be trusted around an open bag of mint M&Ms.
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Which brings me to today's final favorite -- Cathe Friedrich's Kick, Punch, and Crunch DVD. Perhaps the perfect DVD to pop in after several days of feasting without exercise. This workout is 68 minutes of, as the name suggests, kicking, punching, and crunching. It's an intense workout, and I'm definitely feeling the effects 24 hours later. Meanwhile, after I did the workout I mentioned how much I loved it on Facebook, and Cathe responded to my status update. So cool. (Yes, I am a total fitness nerd. I'm okay with it.) Many of the Cathe workouts in my DVD library are ones I first tried when they aired her workouts on FitTV, and her exercise DVDs are among my favorites. I think tomorrow I may have to break out her Boot Camp DVD for another intense workout.
There is no doubt that I have fallen off the exercise wagon since my fitness blitz in August. There is a gym opening up in the neighborhood; it was initially supposed to open in early November, but given that there still appears to be a lot of work yet to be completed, I'd say it's more likely it will open in January. I can't wait to join up; it looks like it's going to be a great place to exercise, and as it's just about five blocks from our place, it'll be super-convenient. Just open already!! In the meantime, I've got my Cathe DVDs, plus a few Groupons to use up, including recent purchases of a multi-class pass to a nearby yoga studio and a one-month membership to a cross-training studio. Since I have some major holiday baking (and eating!) plans, it looks like I should probably start using up those Groupons sooner rather than later.
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