My PRK Recovery: 5 Months

I guess my PRK log is the only reason I've been updating the blog!  Life has been quite busy and the last thing I have time to do is to take pictures of things and post.  However, it is handy to have a record of my gradually improving eyesight so I like to do this.

Today I had my five month checkup and while each eye is seeing 20/25 alone, using both together I can 'see' 20/20.  So this is better than last time when I was struggling to see 20/25, so it suggests my eyes may still be gradually improving.  While I was able to identify each letter on the line correctly, the letters were by no means crisp, and I couldn't do it without effort.  

Does it matter though?  At this point, I might just leave it at that and not undergo the hassle of a repeat surgery.  Since my eyes were a bit better this time compared to last time, I made another appointment for September and will make my final decision then, based on how well I'm seeing.  

Despite not having perfect eyes, I am sooooooo happy with the surgery.  It's a huge pleasure not to have to wear glasses anymore and to not have to worry about my eyes or my vision or anything.  It's not something I've learned to take for granted yet, I appreciate it each and every single day.  Highly recommend.

My PRK Recovery: 3 Months

I stopped posting weekly updates because frankly the change was so incremental.  At this point, I would say that the ghosting has reduced considerably, but in the evening I notice it when I try to read on the computer.  I had my 3 month checkup on Thursday and to my disappointment, I struggled to read the 20/25 line!  They thought my allergies might be affecting my vision (my eyes get very irritated and itchy this time of year) or that they might still be stabilizing.  I'm to return in 2 months.  I think if my vision stabilizes to less than 20/25 I'll definitely get the touch-up surgery done because I can imagine that it might regress further after a year and it'll be free if I do it this year.  Since I have an interview in May, I would not want to be debilitated before then so having that two month checkup before deciding is totally fine by me.  In the meantime, my eyes are definitely great enough for me to function in day to day life and dramatically better than they were pre-surgery.  I have no regrets.

Just a quick note - aside from needing drops right when I get out of bed (I've been using gel drops), my eyes don't feel dry at all for most of the day.  At most, I would need another round of drops in the evening at the end of the day.  When they checked my eyes on Thursday, they also checked for dry spots and didn't see anything.

My PRK Recovery: Week Seven

Same old same old.  I THINK the ghosting is a bit better than before but it's definitely still noticeable, especially when I read on the computer (which I need to do all day long) and gets worse as the day goes on.  It doesn't seem like there is improvement, but when I think back to three weeks ago when I could barely use the microscope I know it's gotten better.  The differences are just too gradual for me to really notice.  The last few days my eyes have been a little red and itchy - I don't know if that's part of the healing process or if it's allergy related.  I really really hope I have normal eyes soon though, the blurred (yet clear) vision throws me off kilter a little.  By the end of the day, I tend to feel pretty tired and my eyes feel strained.  I want to note though, that I can see distance quite well and can make out details - the blurriness in my vision is all due to ghosting and not the kind of near-sighted fuzziness I had before. 

My PRK Recovery: Week Five

This post is one day overdue, but yesterday I couldn't bring myself to write "No change from last week."  Today however, I feel that there might be some slight improvement?  A bit less ghosting?  Or maybe it's just wishful thinking.  This aspect of PRK healing did not really strike me previously when I read through other people's experiences.  Slow progress I can handle, but this "no noticeable change" from one week to the next is annoying.  In reality, I'm sure there has been progress, only so subtle that I can't detect from day to day.  It was easier in the beginning when I had little milestones to test myself with, but how do I measure ghosting?  I know that in the morning things look best and sometimes by the evening, the ghosting can be quite severe.  I'm re-reading some of the PRK blogs now and taking comfort (again) in other people's timelines.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

My PRK Recovery: Week Four

It's a little frustrating how slow the recovery is at this stage.  I can't tell that there has been any improvement since Week Three.  Sometimes the ghosting actually seems more severe.  At the same time, I was away at a conference for several days and didn't take care of my eyes too well during that time (not putting in drops very often, some alcohol, not getting nearly enough sleep), so I'm not sure how much that factors in.  I tell myself it takes time and at least I can function.  Let's see what the next week brings.

My PRK Recovery: Week Three

Today marks three weeks since I had PRK surgery and I wish I had more progress to report.  If there were any improvements this last week, they were so incremental that I cannot tell.  Generally speaking, my eyes feel fine but I still have ghosting, which makes everything feel just slightly out of focus and reading on the computer is a little weird.  Not sure if I mentioned this before, but unlike some of the other PRK accounts I read, I've never had any issues with my night vision.  No halos or smudging or anything.  Night looks much as it always looked when I had glasses.  Ghosting seems to be my main issue.  I try to put drops in my eyes when I remember, but I think dryness must not be a problem for me because I frequently forget to.  In the mornings I always have to put some in but once I'm out and about, they don't feel dry for long periods of time.  I've returned to Bar Method and it's great to be able to go through class without my glasses getting in the way all the time.  Right now, I'm just trying to be patient and let my eyes heal on their own schedule.  Overall I'm still very happy I had this surgery, because not having to worry about contacts or glasses is a real pleasure, even with ghosting.

My PRK Recovery: Week Two

Any change in vision I've experienced this week has been incremental and subtle so I won't bother breaking down the week by day.  The biggest difference I noticed from Week One was a marked improvement in my far vision that seemed to be linked to some deterioration in my near vision.  It's a little hard to explain.  Between days 4 and 7, I felt that I was near-sighted, just with a better prescription.  So objects in the distance were blurry but I could hold up my iPhone and see text fairly well.  Now though, even text up close is blurry.  It's not the same kind of fuzziness I previously associated with near-sightedness, however.  It's more a doubling/shadowing of letters, I guess what some people describe as ghosting. So instead of seeing a V, I see something that looks like a W with half of it fainter.  It's like looking through a microscope in a way, and today I found that if I focus my eyes the way I do when I look through a microscope, I can actually bring the ghosted images together.  However, that seems to be a strain and so I'm trying not to do this.  So the blurriness does have clarity to it and I can read.  I am still enlarging my font though, to reduce the effort involved.

As many people have experienced, my vision is best earlier in the day and tends to blur more toward the end of the day.  I noticed this especially today when I was able to load a gel fairly easily this morning but when I was loading another gel in the evening it was quite difficult and I went mostly by instinct.  I was a bit lax with putting in my drops today though so dryness might have been an issue as well.  In general though, the only time my eyes are noticeably dry are in the mornings.  During the day I have to actively remember to put in drops since I don't experience any discomfort related to that, which surprised me.

I believe each day my eyes are getting better but it's hard to really tell if there's a difference from one day to the next.  Improvement with PRK really has to be measured in terms of weeks I think.  I had my two week checkup today and the doctor claims I'm seeing 20/20, which is exciting.  I don't quite believe I'm seeing that well though and hope I continue to improve my distance vision.  Right now I am mostly awaiting a return of clarity in my vision and eventually I hope to see even better than 20/20.  The person who was with me for most of my checkup kept on trying to get me to read 20/15, but honestly all those letters just looked like tiny circles to me.  My next (and ideally last) appointment is the 3 month mark, so sometime in April.  

Despite the mostly cloudy Portland days, I've been religious about wearing my sunglasses whenever I'm outside to prevent scarring and to prevent errant debris from flying into my eyes.  This is no hardship because I love my sunglasses and one of the worst things about being in glasses is not being able to wear sunglasses ever.  Overall I'm extremely happy with my surgery even though the recovery is gradual.  I'm functioning well at home and at work and the pleasure of not needing corrective assistance is always with me.  One interesting thing is how my eyes no longer feel tired at the end of the day.  With glasses or especially contacts, my eyes would often just feel heavy by the end of the day but even mid-recovery, I don't get that feeling post-surgery (aside from those first few days of course).  It makes such a difference in my quality of life.  Looking forward to the next few weeks!

My PRK Recovery: Week One

Day 0-1: After my nap on Day 0, my right eye started stinging and both eyes started to water considerably.   I napped intermittently through the rest of the day and listened to the TV and radio and my boyfriend kindly read articles to me.  I went to sleep with my dark goggles taped to my face using a little roll they had given me so that I wouldn't accidentally knock the goggles off while I slept.  This was the only night I used that tape because it was awful to take off and made my face really sticky.  But I think for that first night it was a good idea.  Throughout the night and upon waking, my eyes watered pretty much continuously and sometimes I would lift the goggles a little to let the tears out.  When I got up on Day 1, my eyes were quite swollen.  There was some stinging in both eyes so I took a Vicodin to be on the safe side.  I'm a complete wimp when it comes to pain so I was ready to take Vicodin any chance I got.  I want to stress how grateful I was not to be alone during these first few days.  Having someone hand me the correct drops and fetch me pills/water/food and keep me company was so important to my sense of well-being.  I felt very lucky.

Day 1 Checkup: I had my one day followup at 10:45am so my boyfriend drove me to Casey.  My eye exam went really well even though my eyes were swollen and still sensitive so it was difficult to keep them open for long.  They put some drops in my eyes (not sure what it was, they said they don't give it to patients because repeated use delayed healing) and asked me to read the vision chart and I tested at around 20/30 for each eye.  You can imagine my delight!  Doctor said everything looked good and that I could wear regular sunglasses instead of the goggles.  I was also allowed to shower and wash my face, I just had to be careful not to get water in my eyes.  I was giving some preservative-free eye drops and instructed to use them every hour.  After the assistant placed those special drops in my eyes, the watering pretty much went away for the rest of the day.  For the rest of the day, there was no stinging, but my eyes got tired easily.  I really enjoyed looking around and marveling at my sharp eyes.  They were good enough that I could even send a few emails from my iPhone.  

Day 2: When I woke up, my eyelashes were stuck together a little bit so I gently washed the lids with some water so I could open them.  Vision was noticeably worse this day, but still a million times better than what it was before surgery.  I could get around my apartment and easily identify objects.  My eyes were again watery during the night and morning but felt dry by noon.  I delayed taking any Vicodin until I felt a hint of stinging and after that, I had no discomfort whatsoever.  I wore my sunglasses all day and kept my apartment on the dark side since I felt a little bit more light sensitive than I had the day before.  This was probably the only time I've ever been grateful that Portland is such a cloudy city.

Day 3: By this time I was excited that I seemed to have gotten through the first 72 hours without experiencing anything I could really describe as pain.  Aside from some stinging and lots of watering, I had no discomfort with my eyes and spent my time napping and listening to things.  I could look at the TV, but the images were fairly blurry - it was very clear to me that my vision was nowhere near as sharp as they had been on Day 1.  However, I wasn't too discouraged since this seemed in line with everything I had been told to expect.  I had been taking 2 Vicodin a day on Days 0-2, but on this day I didn't feel like I needed any and didn't take the rest of my pills.  I started off the day feeling very light sensitive, despite the sunglasses and spent quite some time simply resting with eyes closed.  But as the day progressed, the sensitivity began to alleviate and I was able to take the sunglasses off.  My near vision was actually pretty decent since I could read things on my iPhone, although my eyes tired easily.  That evening I took a little walk out with my boyfriend, and didn't notice any change in my night vision (aside from the obvious blurriness/ghosting). 

Day 4 Checkup: I couldn't wait to get my contact bandages out, because even though I never felt them, I really didn't like the thought of these things being in my eyes for so long.  The doctor peeled them off using little tweezers and the feeling was a little unpleasant, but not awful.  Ironically, after I had the contacts out I started feeling like I had something in my eyes from time to time.  My vision test was dreadful this day.  I could not read any of the lines at all on the chart.  While I knew my vision wasn't as good as on Day 1, I admit to being a bit taken aback by this.  The doctor said I was healing just fine and there was still some corneal haze, but he was very noncommittal about my vision and simply said we would know more at the two week checkup.  This vagueness sort of worried me more than anything.  But at the same time, I kept in mind all the accounts I had read before and kept my hopes up.  After all, it's only been 4 days.  After the checkup, we went to walk around and grab lunch.  While I wore my sunglasses outside, my eyes were perfectly comfortable without them indoors.  It felt really good to be out and about again.  I couldn't read the street name signs well, but I could navigate my usual routes easily and identify my bus.  I can't stress how impossible even this blurry vision would have been before the surgery.

Day 5: This was my last day using the medicated drops.  My initial instructions had been to take them for six days, but my doctor was quite explicit during the Day 4 checkup to discontinue after Day 5.  I was looking forward to this also because 1) it's a pain to remember to take drops four times a day and 2) I'd read in a number of places that healing occurs more rapidly once you stop using the steroid drops.  Of course, I'd also read that you don't want the cornea to heal too much/too fast because that could lead to regression, so it was with somewhat mixed feelings that I stopped using the drops.  Vision was much the same as previous day.  My boyfriend had flown back home this day so I spent my time watching blurry TV (got addicted to the show Damages).

Day 6: I have some markers around my apartment that I use to determine my level of visual acuity for that day and every day had been checking my progress with these markers.  There is the little clock on my kitchen stove and my Kitchenaid mixer.  On this day, I felt like I could distinguish the mixer just a little bit better than on previous days.  Hopeful!  At this point, I ran out of the preservative-free drops I had been given so I bought some more at Rite Aid.  Again, noticed that I couldn't see the street name signs unless I was fairly close to them, nor could I see faces clearly until they got closer.

Day 7: Eyes were quite dry upon waking and I felt like there was some debris in them.  But after putting in drops and blinking a bit, the sensation went away.  On this day, my eyes felt like there were some clouds in front of them.  When I put in eyedrops, the clouds would part briefly and I could see more clearly, without ghosting.  But after a few blinks the clouds return and things are blurry again.  However, I could tell that the blurry state of vision on this day was better than it had been two days ago.  And the clarity underneath the clouds put me in a quite cheerful frame of mind.

My PRK Recovery: Introduction and Day 0

I had PRK surgery on both eyes last week and thought I would record my own recovery process because it was so incredibly helpful to read about other people's experiences when I was considering the surgery myself.  Reading these accounts also helped to set my expectations for the surgery and maintain optimism during the days when it seemed like my vision might be devastated forever.  The one thing that really stood out from reading all those accounts is how variable the recovery process is for each person, so this is my account.

Stats: I'm 32 years old and my prescription going in was -8.0 diopters for both eyes with a slight astigmatism in one eye.  The thought of eye surgery always freaked me out even though I knew several people who had had Lasik and loved it.  I would have happily continued on in contacts but in the last year or two, I seemed to have developed a sensitivity to contacts and could no longer wear them comfortably.  Even the daily disposables were difficult to wear.  With such a high prescription, my glasses were kind of intolerable so I started looking into eye surgery.

Consultation: I'm an OHSU employee so the Casey Eye Institute was the obvious place for me to look at.  Since I was so nervous about eye surgery I definitely wanted a reputable institution with very experienced doctors.  If anything happened to my eyes my career would literally be over so I was not going to cheap out on this.  I first went to a free information session, which demystified the whole process for me, and I scheduled my consultation soon after.  The consultation was $100, but this amount was deducted from the total surgery amount when I chose to undergo the surgery.  During the consultation I learned that my corneas were of average thickness, but since my prescription was so high, I was a borderline candidate for Lasik, which was what I wanted.  I could do Lasik, but would not be able to do a followup procedure if it was necessary because there would not be enough cornea left.  The doctor explained everything and left the decision up to me.  Given that my prescription was so high, I wasn't super confident that I could fix my eyesight in a single procedure and thought I should play it safe.  So I chose PRK and scheduled my appointment.  

Cost: The cost was $2000 for each eye, but I got a 25% discount as an OHSU employee and planned to pay for the procedure with money set aside in a Flexible Spending Account.  I calculate my actual cost (after tax savings) as closer to $1100 per eye, which was more than reasonable for such a respected institution.  

Pre-Surgery Preparation:  I made my appointment in October for the earliest date in 2013 (so I could sign up for a flexible spending account).  At that point I had already been free of contacts for a few weeks (important for an accurate consultation).  Since my contacts were irritating my eyes and I wanted my eyes to be in their natural shape as long as possible pre-surgery, I only wore glasses for the next three months.  Four days before surgery, I discontinued wearing makeup and starting wiping my eyelids with some sterile washing pads they provided for me in the morning and evenings.  I forgot to do it twice but I guess it was fine!

Surgery (Day 0): After checking in, the receptionist told me I could take my Valium pill so I did.  I really have no idea if it was effective, but I was definitely quite nervous during the procedure and it's possible that it would have been worse without it.  I recommend you take the pill if given the chance.  As others have described, numbing drops are placed in both eyes, eyelashes are taped back, some cold sinister contraption is placed in to hold lids open (I absolutely HATED this part the most), and a solution is dropped on the eye to dissolved the epithelium.  The doctor handled everything and a technician operated the laser I think while another technician assisted the doctor.  Everything I would experience was explained beforehand, which was really reassuring when I was actually experiencing it.  Anyway, after the technician counted out the time, the chemical solution was washed away and the doctor scraped on my eye to get rid of the cells I guess.  This felt weird but did not hurt.  Really the most uncomfortable thing for me was inserting that lid contraption.  Then I was told to focus on a green light (which was super fuzzy to me) and not move.  The lasering smelled like a blowdryer was running and was very quick and the most delightful part so far.  As my eye was lasered, I could see the fuzzy green light come into focus.  My eye was then flushed with cold solution I think and that was that.  When I got up from the padded table, I was able to already see very well.  It was incredible.

I was told to take one of my Vicodin pills right away and to use my medicated drops four times a day (antibiotic one first, then steroid).  I put on my dark goggles and my boyfriend drove me home and I slept for a couple of hours.  My eyes felt sensitive but I was amazed by how well I could see.

Mouse Course 2011 Scrapbook Pages

I'd made the first two pages a year ago and then lost steam with scrapbooking more or less completely.  Now that I've found my groove a little bit, I thought I'd finish this set up.  I originally planned to have more pages but I think I'm going to leave it at three for now and maybe revisit adding more pages at a later date.  If I added another page, it would be of everyone wearing mouse t-shirts and some scavenger hunt pictures.  Next up will likely be Ferret Visits Portland!

Max's First Birthday Party Scrapbook Pages

Papers and Elements from Persnickety Prints and Shabby Princess

It's been ages and ages since I last scrapped but I was inspired by Persnickety Print's Fall Freebie (Birds of a Feather), which seemed perfect for Max's First Birthday.  One of his favorite things to say is "Buh" or Bird so this kit was especially apt.  So nice to get back into scrapping again!  As usual, my pages are collage-y and I tried to fit in as many pictures as possible.  Super hard choosing between pictures but it had to be done.  I initially wanted to mirror the pages for Jess's Baby Shower but it didn't really work out.  I kept the side banners and used the same blue paper to frame the pictures but that was about it.  After I finished these pages I realized that my color scheme mirrored the colors in Jess's dress.  Score!

Project 333 Update and End

I managed to last almost 2 months before giving up on this project.  It's actually not a complete fail because most of the things I'm wearing are still from my original list but I'm starting to sneak in some non-list items because I'm bored.  Since I don't own a lot of clothes (I think), minimizing my choices wasn't really revelatory, but it did lead to a few new outfit combinations from necessity.  I don't think I'll be doing this again, but I'm glad I tried it out.  I think I see some wardrobe holes and it will be fun searching for items to fill them.

PSU Farmers Market or I Love Summer

It's been a long time since I did a farmer's market post, not because I wasn't going but because I've been too lazy to assemble my produce together after getting home.  Usually I go to market and then go from there straight to lab and then a few hours later I come home.  By then I'm anxious to get things washed and refrigerated, etc.  Today though, I stopped off at home first for lunch before setting forth again.  As you can see, I've been going to town on tomatoes and berries because they're so incredible this summer.  I also bought some Queen Anne cherries, but forgot to include.  Unfortunately, I don't remember the individual cost but I know the total was somewhere around $28.

I decided to post a picture of one of my favorite things to eat in the summer.  Tomato and garlic bruschettas. With summer tomatoes being what they are, all they need is a bit of crushed garlic, olive oil and sea salt to make them shine.  Put atop toast and you have a lovely meal.

Project 333

I first heard about Project 333 a few months ago and it's popped up on my radar with some regularity ever since.  Usually accompanied by raves of how participating in this changed lives (for the better).  The idea originated here and basically, what you do is choose 33 items (not including workout clothes or underwear/socks, but does include shoes/accessories/handbags) and you can only wear items from this list for the next 3 months.  On paper I seem like the perfect candidate for this project because let's face it: 1) my wardrobe is small, 2) it is composed almost entirely of neutrals and 3) I already wear the same things over and over anyway.  For some reason though, something held me back.  Until now of course!  Summer is a good time for me to try this out because I don't have to wear a billion layers just to keep warm.  And it turns out, I was only able to identify 29 items for my list, which I have stuck to since July 1st.  Here it is (UPDATE: ADDED SOME ITEMS TO INCREASE TOTAL TO 32 33):

Tops (9 8 total)
3 luxe t-shirts from Banana Republic (black, navy, gray) - these are awesome
Short sleeve black top (pleated bib front)
3/4 sleeve black knit shirt
Long sleeve gray knit shirt
Elbow-sleeved white collared button down shirt
Purple sleeveless tank (added)
Blue collared long sleeve button down blouse (added)

Sweaters (2 total)
Gray cardigan
Black cardigan

Bottoms (5 total)
Pleated gray skirt
Black pencil skirt
Blue skinny jeans
2 pairs dark blue skinny jeans

Dresses (3 total)
Black sleeveless dress
Black strappy dress
Navy short sleeve dress

Outerwear and jackets (4 total)
Trench coat
Black blazer
Gray blazer
Navy blazer

Shoes and Accessories (11 total)
Black thong sandals
Gold sandals
Black ballet flats (added)
Black leather belt (added)
Black leather handbag
Brown leather handbag
Black sunglasses
Straw hat
Cubic zirconia stud earrings
Pearl stud earrings
Black and gold watch

Since I still have 4 slots, I give myself leeway to add to this list as the weeks wear on.  I'm curious if I'll feel really held back by this challenge or if I'll get sick of my clothes at all.  I think not, because I wear this stuff all the time anyway, but we'll see!

Casual Dinner In With Kindle

I've been largely too busy/traveling hectically the last month or so and have therefore not been cooking beyond the basics and certainly not trying any new recipes.  I finally had a couple of weeks of being solidly at home though and took the opportunity of 4th of July to take myself to Fubonn to replenish my Asian groceries.  While there I picked up some Korean ribs and one google search and several hours later, I had something very delicious on my hands.  I also made a batch of kimchi and I have to say there is not much better than Korean ribs with rice and kimchi.  The recipe came from allrecipes - I don't have a grill so I sealed up the ribs in foil and just roasted in my toaster oven for 45 minutes at around 425F.  Several commenters also say slow-cooking turns out delicious meats so I might have to give that a try next time.  And the book on my Kindle is World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.  I highly recommend!

Korean BBQ Short Ribs (adapted from allrecipes)

3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons white vinegar (I used some champagne vinegar I had in my cupboard)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/2 large onion, minced
3 pounds Korean-style short ribs (beef chuck flanken, cut 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick across bones)

Directions
Pour soy sauce, water, and vinegar into a large, non-metallic bowl. Whisk in brown sugar, white sugar, pepper, sesame oil, garlic, and onion until the sugars have dissolved.

As one commenter noted, it helps to wash and drain the ribs first to get rid of bone chunks.  After that, submerge the ribs in this marinade, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 7 to 12 hours; the longer, the better (I used a glass Pyrex baking pan and that worked nicely).

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.  Remove ribs from the marinade, shake off excess, and discard the marinade. Cook on preheated grill until the meat is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes per side. (As mentioned above, I cooked in toaster oven, sealed in foil about 45 minutes at 425F).

Bar Method: 10 Months!

Image from: blog.beauty-goodies.com

I can't believe it's been 10 months already since I started Bar Method!  Everything is still going well, I love the classes and teachers and continue to go about 4x a week.  I have to admit there have been a few weeks when I do 3x a week, but for the most part it's been 4x/wk and that amount feels right to me.  As I sit here, I feel soreness in pretty much every muscle.  Despite the constant muscle soreness (which varies in intensity depending on the class), I've never experienced an actual injury doing Bar Method so I'm not too worried.  

One thing I've come to realize is that the class is sneaky.  It's structured into arm, thigh, butt, ab sections but even when you think you are just targeting one area, the only way to do each exercise properly is to work the other parts too.  So for example, when you do the pretzel you are supposedly targeting your butt.  But you also end up torturing your obliques and your arms and since posture is emphasized throughout the class, you are always working your back muscles.  Actually, that's probably the correction I get the most - "Open your chest" "Engage your back muscles" "Draw your shoulders back."  It's awesome though because now I have great posture.

Still using the same weights, but they still feel challenging so oh well.  I might be ready to move up from the 1 lb weight for the one arm lift/lunge exercise though.  Wish there were half step weights, like 1.5 lbs.  My main goals when I started this was to improve strength and flexibility and I think I've done both, although there are still many things to work toward.  There's one girl who is in my class sometimes that I love watching because she's crazy flexible so all the positions look beautiful and graceful when she does them.  I'm not sure I'll ever attain that level of flexibility, but one can try!

A Nice Noodle Broth

Now that I have a noodle recipe that's pretty fast and easy to throw together, I wanted to have a good standby vegetarian broth in the event I don't have any leftover meaty soup-ish ingredients on hand.  The key to this broth is star anise (to lend depth) and miso (for umami).  All of these ingredients I happen to have in the pantry already, but they may be acquired in any Asian supermarket.  The first time I made it I kind of threw things into the pot but the second time I tried to keep an eye to measurements for reproducibility.  Here is what I have roughly, I believe the proportions can be easily adapted to taste:

Vegetarian 'Meaty' Broth for Noodle Soup

2 tsp vegetable oil
2-3 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tbs dry fried shallots (find in Asian supermarket)
3 cups of water
1.5 tbs miso
2 star anise
1.5 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp shaoxing wine (optional)

topping ideas:
scallions, chopped
leafy greens
bean sprouts
poached egg
lime wedge
cilantro, chopped
chili garlic sauce

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and fry the ginger and shallots until fragrant.  Add water, miso, star anise, soy sauce and shaoxing wine and let simmer for 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly (can add a pinch of sugar or salt or more soy sauce if desired).  I like to quickly wilt the greens in the broth before combining with the noodles and scattering scallions over.  I bet a squeeze of lime would be nice too.

Simple Dinner 3

I guess my simple dinners are pretty much all bread based.  I definitely had more than what I pictured above;  when I'm by myself I tend to eat various courses of things until I am no longer hungry.  I've been semi-obsessed with soup recently and this was my latest effort, a cream of tomato soup from Cook's Illustrated.  I've never been much of a fan of tomato soup until now, this was extremely good.  Especially with some toasted bread alongside, yum.

Cream of Tomato Soup (adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes (not packed in puree), drained, 3 cups juice reserved, tomatoes seeded

1 1/2 tbs dark brown sugar

4 tbs butter

4 large shallots, minced

1 tbs tomato paste

pinch ground all spice

2 tbs unbleached all purpose flour

1 3/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tbs brandy or dry sherry

salt

cayenne pepper

My substitutions:

I forgot the brown sugar until after the tomatoes were already roasted so I quickly threw 1 tbs of light brown sugar over them and stuck them back in the oven for a couple of minutes.  Next time I will follow instructions better.  Instead of shallots, I used 3/4 of a red onion.  I used 1/8 tsp of allspice and used 2 cubes of powdered chicken bouillon combined with water.  Having no brandy or sherry on hand, I used 1 tbs Chinese Shaoxing wine instead (my usual substitute when sherry is called for).  And instead of cayenne pepper, I gadded some black pepper.  Even with all my subs, the soup was delicious and pretty easy to put together on a weeknight.  

1. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a rimmed sheet with foil and spread tomatoes in single layer on foil.  Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar.  Bake ~30 min (until all liquid has evaporated and tomatoes begin to color).  Let tomatoes cool slightly, peel off foil and transfer to small bowl.

2. Heat butter in pot until foaming and add shallots, tomato paste and allspice.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until shallots are softened (7-10 min).  Add flour and cook, stirring until combined (30 sec).  Whisking constantly, slowly add chicken stock, reserved tomato juice and the roasted tomatoes.  Cover, increase heat to medium and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer about 10 min.

3. Strain mixture into bowl and transfer solids into food processor (or blender).  Add ~ 1 cup of liquid and puree.   Add everything back into pot.  Add cream and reheat soup.  Off the heat, stir in brandy or sherry, season to taste and serve.

Simple Dinner 2

I have a weakness for baguette-centered meals.  All I need is a piece of cheese or even some butter and I'm good to go.  In this case, I mixed up a no fuss spinach and cream cheese dip and I happened to have a lovely piece of venison pate from the Farmer's Market in the fridge so all the ingredients necessary for a simple dinner was present.  Again, I'd like to reiterate my pleasure in living alone...somehow I can't imagine any of my past boyfriends looking at this and thinking it a satisfactory dinner...

No Fuss Spinach and Cream Cheese Dip

Throw half a block (4oz?) of plain cream cheese into a bowl and shake out some frozen spinach (the loose kind you buy in a bag, not the frozen block that comes in a box).  How much spinach you like is up to you.  Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper.  Heat bowl in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until everything is melted and mixed.  If you have some cheddar cheese around, add a bit of that and zap with microwave to melt in.

Hearty Lentil Soup With Spice And Spinach

A couple of months ago I got two bags of French lentils from my sister, who had received them from my mom six months before that, who had gotten them from a neighbor who was moving away who knows how long ago.  So that's a lot of people who have no idea what to do with lentils, including me.  I made a lentil soup years ago that I felt pretty eh about.  In an attempt to use these up, I also made lentil salad and it was fine, but definitely something that I will be craving never.  This weekend I solved my lentil problem when I stumbled onto a Cook's Illustrated recipe for lentil soup.  My CI cookbook really has not let me down yet, best cookbook I own for sure.  The original recipe is for hearty lentil soup and then there were two variations, one with fragrant spices and one with spinach.  I basically turned out a version that combined elements of all three and I couldn't be more pleased.  Now I am jealously guarding my remaining lentils, so I can turn out more of this soup!

Hearty Lentil Soup with Spices and Spinach (adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

3 slices bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 large onion, chopped fine

2 medium carrots, chopped (I used 3 and food processed into same size as onions)

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 (14.5 oz can) diced tomatoes, drained

1 bay leaf

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (I used a bit less than that of dried)

1 cup (7 oz) lentils

1 tsp salt (I omitted this bc I used regular chicken broth)

ground black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

4 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth (I used regular and omitted salt above)

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice (I didn't actually measure this)

5 oz frozen spinach (eyeballed how much I wanted!)

1. Fry bacon in Dutch oven over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until fat is rendered and bacon crisp.

2. Add the onion and carrots; cook, stirring until the veggies begin to soften (2 min).

3. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cook about 30 sec.  Stir in tomatoes, bay leave and thyme, cook until fragrant ~30 sec.  Stir in lentils, salt (if using), pepper, cover and reduce heat to medium low.  Cook until veggies are softened and lentils have darkened, ~8-10 min.

4. Uncover, increase the heat to high, add the wine and bring to simmer.  Add chicken broth and water, bring to boil, cover partially and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold shape, 30-35 min.  Discard bay leaf.

5.  Puree 3 cups of soup until smooth and return to pot.  Stir in lemon juice and frozen spinach, heat soup until hot and serve.

Note: If you have cilantro, chop some up to sprinkle over the soup.  The timing above wasn't really followed by me, just use some common sense.  It's a forgiving soup I think and tastes excellent.