Hurricane Sandy Boos and Yays

F*&k you, Sandy, we have wine.

 Boo:Four feet of water in the lobby at the height of Sandy

Yay: No one was hurt when the door and garage blew open under the force of the water.

Yay: My neighbors managed to grab our umbrella stroller and everyday stroller as they evacuated their apartment and waded through the water to higher ground in the building.

Yay: The neighbors who evacuated really didn't have to because the water never got high enough to reach their apartment.

Yay: My almost three-year old slept through the loosing of power (which means her noise machine cut out) and all the car horns/car alarms on the block going off because of the water.

Our street looking South

Boo: The next morning I spent 30 minutes explaining to said almost 3-year-old she can't watch Cinderella and having to endure the tantrum when she thinks Mommy's just being mean.

Yay: The quickness with which Neva understood that it wasn't Mommy being mean and that "when the big water went away I can watch Cinderella again."

Boo: Trapped inside with an almost 3-year-old because of said "big water."

Yay: Our neighbors letting Neva run wild in their apartments and doing their damnedest to keep her entertained.

Yay: Lloyd has an inflatable kayak!

Boo: It was in the closet that is in the flooded lobby.

Yay: Lloyd wadded through the water and dragged said kayak out.

Boo: He usually inflates it with a electricity powered pump.

Yay: I have a manual pump in the house that goes to my stability ball!!

Boo: It doesn't fit the kayak. 

Yay: We rigged it with duct tape and Lloyd got the kayak inflated as an emergency out.

Boo: We had no idea if anyone even knew the situation back on Monroe, Madison and Jackson Streets. Even a dude on a rowboat with a bullhorn would have sufficed.

Yay: After the fact, hearing that the Mayor was on TV begging for National Guard support.

Yay: The outpouring of understanding and assistance to Hoboken.

North on our street.

Boo: Trapped in a building with neighbors I don't know very well.

Yay: I know my neighbors much better and despite the situation, genuinely enjoyed their company.

Yay: Our combined skill set included a West Pointer with two Iraq tours under his belt, a nurse, a jack-of-all trades who helped with Katrina clean-up, in-house entertainment and natural moral booster, an amateur fisherman with insulated waders, two people familiar with insurance policies so we could get a head-start on claims and two techies capable of rigging any number of things, some legal and some not. 

Yay: Nothing really that important was in the storage area.

Boo: I lost 3 boxes of baby clothes I was storing for a friend until her boys grew into them and 3 larger baby toys I was going to give to a friend.

Yay: I can finally get Lloyd to throw out all those empty LOTR boxes (2 bins worth!), that were in the storage area.

Boo: Loosing the best car I ever owned.

Yay:  Insurance covering and cutting a check for the blue book value of the car before we even had power back. 

Yay: Realizing that the best car I ever owned was in actuality 12-years old with a lot of mileage on it.

Boo: Realizing that a Prius' natural state when its flooded is Park and not being able to get it into Neutral AND blocking two other cars into the garage so no one could move until we could move.

Boo: Someone telling me to pour rice in the engine to dry it out since its mostly computer driven and rice works on iPhones. (So sorry, M, that was too much to not include)

Yay: Coming close but not completely having my head explode due to the rice suggestion. 

Boo: Loosing it on Lloyd on a totally unrelated topic because of the rice suggestion.

Boo: Having to climb around in the trunk of the flooded car trying to get the trunk popped to get to the battery.

Boo: AAA telling me they couldn't get it out of the garage when we couldn't get it into Neutral and then leaving.

Yay: USAA authorizing "any mean necessary" to get the car out of the garage once they realized the Prius needed to be moved before the other cars could move and cleanup begin.

Boo: The "personal property" coverage barely covers the car seat, and doesn't cover the GPS and iPod that were also in the car.

Yay: Screw the GPS, I was raised by a USAR (retired) Field Artillery officer who emphasized map-reading skills in his daughters.

Boo: Loosing all our maps - some of which were marked with radio stations, restaurants and other notes on routes we take semi-regularly.

Boo: Because we can't lock the car our GPS was stolen and the contents of the car has been tossed several times since.

Yay: The GPS and iPod and even the car and car seat are just things.

Boo: No power for a week.

Yay: Neva was shipped off to my parents to a warm house with power on Thursday.

Boo: No power means no hot water.

Yay: My downstairs neighbor had hot water and let us shower in her place.

Yay: No power does not mean no oven and unlike newer models, ours does not have an electric ignition.

Yay: I was able to rig my coffee pot so I could still have coffee in the morning AND I bought non-dairy creamer so I could have "milk."

Boo: Having to empty the contents of my fridge.

Yay: The fridge got a good cleanout, USAA gave me money to replace the food and in a weird way I'm glad to start from scratch with menu planning instead of planning around what I already have on hand.

Boo: Some food will be hard to come by for a little while.

Yay: Neva is not a picky eater and eventually the store shelves will be restocked.

Boo: Seeing the lives of my surrounding neighbors on the curb because they lost the contents of their houses.

Yay: At the end of the day its just things and no lives were lost in Hoboken.

Two years and 4 months in and I'd say "mission accomplished."

Source: someecards.com via Mellisa on Pinterest

Confession

I have to admit that my eating was pretty poor today.  It hasn't improved yet and has thus far consisted of:

36 oz Coffee with skimmed milk
a Reeses' Peanut butter easter egg
a bag (yes, a whole bag - they have a terrible power over me) of Brach's jelly beans
36 oz sparkling water
sweet potato fries
half a veggie burger

And I wonder why I don't sleep well and can't seem to lose the last 6 lbs I'm trying to shake off.

Little Efforts

I ran after dropping Miss N off at school - Yay!  It had been part of The Plan when I signed her up and canceled my NYSC membership.  Sadly,  its only the second time I've actually followed The Plan but I'm getting there.  I'm also a bit behind on my training plan, but I have a little wiggle room there.  If I add a small (between 1 & 1.5 miles) extra run over the next couple of weeks I should be able to compensate without injury.  

Oh, hey, I recommend trying this from Angela over at Oh She Glows, I have one nearly every day.  I forgot to take a picture of mine this morning so here's a picture of Miss N and her best friend Master G, playing in the park yesterday.

My version involves vanilla whey protein powder and 1% milk.  Don't be scared of the blue-green fading bruise color the drink resembles, it's actually very good.  My immersion blender does a decent job at liquifying everything and makes clean-up easier.  Just sayin'.

Modified Green Monster

• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 scoop of protein powder.
• 1 cup 1% organic milk
• 1 tablespoon ground flax
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
• 6 frozen strawberries

 Throw it all in a blender (light stuff first, ie, powder, flax, spinach) or mixing cup big enough to hold all the ingredients and blend.  I've got this cool reusuable straw cup I pour mine in which holds just about 16oz. 

Can I have my schedule back please?

I ran into my neighbor coming back from a run while I was putting out the garbage last night.  It made me pretty sad.  There he was all tricked out in his BAA shirt and shorts telling me what a beautiful night it was along the river...  At that moment I would have liked nothing better than to lace up my shoes and head out into the almost balmy February evening (50 degrees at 8pm?!  Seriously?!?), but Himself was out for the night at a gig and Miss N had just been put to bed.  Gone are my "I have nothing else to do so I'll go for a run" nights and it occurred to me that they're probably gone until Miss N is well into middle school.  A depressing thought considering we just got her into preschool. 

Himself is off this week for winter break, Miss N has had some interesting diapers this week and was up last night with a stomach bug and as a result I've been doing a lot of laundry and my time has not been my own.  I still managed most of my planned workouts which I'm quite proud of.  There are two undone running workouts, but I'll do one today at the gym after Himself takes Miss N out this afternoon and the second will probably have to wait until Sunday.  Since they're short running workouts I should be able to get them in without too much struggle. 

Small hikes and pea soup, two ways

Miss N kept telling me, "No Baby in the lake."

Since L is away this weekend its been just Miss N and me.  Yesterday I set her loose at my parents house but today we were on our own.  I've been joansing for a hike for a while so I decided to take Miss N to one of my favorite old hiking haunts, the Ramapo Valley County Reserve.

Using a combo of our Ergo, the huge number of dogs in the park to pet and chase and bouts of "Baby running" as incentive, Miss N did pretty well for her first time out at Ramapo.  We actually made it half way up the hill to the reservoir until we had to change a diaper...Miss N is on the edge of potty training and these days is often offended at going Number 2.  Number 2 means all activity must stop until I change her diaper...she's slightly more tolerant of Number 1.  Moral of this tangent is I need to get my head around training her. 

An entire nature reserve to play in and Miss N is found a stick and some gravel that occupied most of her time.

Miss N scarfed a "Protein Plate" from Starbucks - which is reminded me that next time I could pack exactly the same for us for 1/4 of the money.  I thought she was good for lunch but when we pulled back up in front of the house she started chanting "pea soup."

It's gratifying that Miss N actually likes something I cook to ask for it, sometimes I feel at such a loss at what to feed her for lunch.  There are a few things that are great about this soup.  It's insanely easy, can be tweaked as you please and can be cooked in a slow cooker or on the stovetop.

Without further ado I give you: Pea Soup Two Ways, adapted from Jane Brody

1 1b dried green split peas
6 c water
4 c broth of choice - (I usually use chicken)
1/4 lb of ham, diced
3/4 c diced celery
1 lg onion chopped (I often use frozen diced for expediency)
1 1/2 c diced carrots
salt & pepper to taste

Stovetop directions:
Put peas & water in a pot bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes, cover and let stand for 1 hour.  Add broth, ham celery & onion.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  Add carrots & cook for another 15-30 minutes or until carrots soften and pea break down.  If soup gets too thick, thin with broth.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Slow cooker directions:
Depending on how much time you have this can be done on the high (6 hours) or low setting of your slow cooker.  Brown ham in small frying pan and drain off excess fat - I've never done it, but you could probably lightly cook the onion at the same time too for more flavor.  Put ham and remaining ingredients, except salt & pepper, in 6-qt slow cooker and set to high.  If you like your soup thick, about a half hour before serving take the lid off and let bubble away, giving it a stir now and then.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  

Someone...just tell me what to make.

Avocado, mashed sweet potatoes and Pritkin fish sticks with a milk chaser.

I've been struggling in vain to come up with a grocery list for what feels like forever. Ever get like that? I can't think of a darn thing I actually want to eat so I just can't seem to put together a menu. Since I'm the one who does all the cooking (and WAAAYYY more of it now that I'm home full-time with Miss N to feed), if I don't make it, it comes from the pizza place around the corner. While Delfino's is very good and they're very nice it does nothing for my weight, developing Miss N's food palate or my budget.

And then there's all the reading I've been doing. Meat, minimal meat, minimally processed meat, vegetarian, vegan, sustainable, responsible. AACCK!!!! Not only have I learned more than I want to know, I've learned I need to stop reading or I just won't ever eat again.  I just need to get dinner on the table! Why is that suddenly so fraught for me?!?