all the single ladies
This morning I read this email from my inbox.
That’s right, this Saturday, April 7 th 2012, I shall run my first official marathon. Never, have I run a marathon distance (longest I have run was 21 miles) and I have run a few unofficial half marathon plus one official {San Francisco Half Marathon 2010} half marathon.
After I read that email, I sort-of wanted to distract myself and went ahead to make a little t-shirt mock-up for our family’s next reunion…what’dya think!? Georg and Arabelle are rockin’ Madagascar!
{edited to add: Kathryn and David: Heather and Georg’s kiddos!}
This was one of those “half-marathon” training schedules I proposed 10 weeks ago {cannot believe it’s April, already!} for my, err, marathon and ended up using this one (more or less)
And by “more or less” I mean, today I ran 8 miles instead of 3 and may have to bike 12 this afternoon because I am going to Chapel Hill. Alas, I will get LOTS of sleep this week (going to bed each night before 9 pm) and rest, like UBER rest, on Friday. It’s going to be so much fun!
That’s how excited I sort-of am about running a marathon this Saturday. At least my pretend face appears legit!
Did you get a load of my post title? Yah? This morning on my run, I was wondering about posing a question to all you ladies out there for advice on how to spend “fun” time as a single lady! My friend Elizabeth said that I should “tell” people that I am interested on being set up on a date if, indeed, I am actually interested. After that, I thought “well AM I actually interested?”
Has anyone ever heard Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results… “While I ran, I wondered: “Am I doing the same thing over and over with males {absolutely nothing} and expecting different results?” The few times I have flirted or acting, even the slightest or -worse- majorly interested, the fella’s seem to drop me like a hot bowling ball. Ouch. {for them or for me, I wonder which is worse?} Thus far, the best advice I have gotten is to eNJOY the single life while keeping faith that some day I can share some time with a guy who likes me back!
What is the best “single” life or EVEN “how to go about dating” advice YOU’VE heard, to date?
happy monday everyone ~ jasper
how many shots does it take to make it JUST right?
eeeeeeh. when you know, you know 
this is for the sad little photographer who can never get that shots right….
never fear for, one, day, you’ll get the styling and lighting right!
just right!~
maybe 
a special homecoming granola
With banana….or without banana? This granola is tired, now, and….true!
Some of you may, already, know that my aunt travels for her work quite a bit. Well, today she’s arriving home from out-of-town and I thought I’d surprise her with some “auntie-homecoming-granola!”
The line-up:
frozen-stored-and-chopped-of-these
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. dried cranberries
2 c. oats
1/2 c. honey
plus a dash of salt!
Mix all ingredients together in large bowl until well combined! Then spread mixture onto baking pan and pop into 350 degree oven for 1.5 hours! Check baking/drying process every 30 minutes to ensure no burning!
And then skip around for joy that your friend/roommate/aunt/loved-one will be arriving home shortly while you wait for homecoming granola to bake!
Okay, okay…If you MUST try a bit before your loved-one arrives home, I won’t tell anyone…
This homemade granola goes really well with yogurt, soygurt, sliced banana, coconut butter drizzle or any of your favorite toppings!
how what people say impacts us…
Yesterday, I realized that I allow what people say really impact my behavior. It’s sad, really. But what’s hopeful is that I am beginning to recognize my unhealthy tendencies and not let me behavior, like eating my feelings or shaming myself, carry me away with others’ comments as a lousy excuse.
So here’s the deal…for the last two week, or more, I’ve allowed this lady at my office to affect, more or less, the way I behave. This lady does not know me well and I have tried to be kind to her despite her aloof behavior and eye-rolling my way. Really, I am not sure that I ever did anything to both her besides leaving crumbs in the hall or water drips in the breakroom floor. Three weeks ago, today, she stopped me in the hall with what appeared this cheeky grin to say “You’ve put on a lot of weight.” As she examined my frame, up and down, up and down again, her nods were confirming…”Oh YEAH, you have put on a lot of weight.” Smiling, trying to appear cheerful and unaffected I relied “Thanks!” and skipped off to grab my bag and head for my after-work appointment.
Despite my hopeful success of not giving this woman any inclination that her comments had affected me – positively-negatively-or-WHATSOEVER- for that matter –I could care less about her at that point: I was CRUSHED. How is this hurting little girl in my soul going to cope with the women’s comment?
Despite-of (NOT in spite-of) people’s comments, this lady want to live a new way! So the workouts and meals after such a comment were closely monitored…that is, I had to make EXTRA sure that a healthy perspective was the voice that BEAT OUT the nasty haunting voice of others’ comments. The truth it, I HAVE gained weight but no matter what other’s think, I have to live life and be grateful or else I’ll have nothing to offer others down the road. And THAT’s what I really want…to offer something special to someone else and not remain so focused on ME and what others think of ME. Who CARES how much I weigh!!!??! I can only hope that one day, I really will not care how much I weigh if I know what’s, truly, good for my soul.
Yes, there is a time and place for making sure I feed my body the proper nutrition for it’s needs, not over indulging or depriving my cells of the fuel they require, but I am talking about releasing myself from the deadly grips of feeling that my weight is = to my worth.
More importantly, if there’s something I have said to contradict what I mean, then remember: I certainly do not “know it all.” Don’t listen to me, listen to Him! You’re beautiful.
Happy Wednesday to you all! Love, Jasper
grandmama’s apple pie!
There might be nothing more fun than to spend an afternoon with Grandma and her little movable kitchen island. The sweet cutting-board-pastry-platform would come in handy in ay home or kitchen, mind you!
Now just because I am calling this apple pie “Grandma’s,” does NOT mean that it has not or cannot be adapted…every pie reserves its maker the right to “spice” it up a little…and for this pie, the story’s no different!
Begin with:
6 medium-sized Granny smith apples
1 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 t. Jamaican Island Spice seasoning (cinnamon, clove, allspice and nutmeg combo)
instructions: peel and slice apples…toss around in sugar + spices + salt…set aside.
for the crust:
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
10 T. butter cut into small piece
4 T. + more ice-cold water
instructions: cut butter pieces into flour with pastry cutter. slowly add T. by T. of ice cold water to mixture, working dough together with hands until just combined. Be careful to not overwork the dough…roll dough out onto floured surface after dividing dough ball into two separate pieces.
instructions continued: after gently placing bottom crust into pie pan (or pottery pie dish) empty apple mixture into pie crust and then finish the job with the other pie crust…decorate or sculpt pie crust to desired appearance. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degree oven. Cool before serving….or…
…you could also serve the pie as our family does…
…and THAT’s warm/hot with vanilla ice cream!
It’s a funny thing, really…this pie was for my cousin Sara’s birthday celebration…after which I attended this youth leaders meeting with a sort-of cute guy leading a I looked like such a slop…oh well!
At LEAST the pie was perdy today
yummy curried hummus
As I focus on BEING IN THE PRESENT today, I shall, not, let the glowingly yellow color of my hands stop me from tasting this recipe…nor would it stop me from sharing the recipe with you!
The other night I wanted to make a little appetizer to preface a WONDERFULLY delicious meal by Auntie Sharon…so I though “curried hummus!” Oh yes, indeed!
The Line-Up:
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1/4 c. tahini paste (pulverized sesame seed)
3 T. white vinegar
2 T. Rajah (da good stuff!) curry powder
1/2 lemon’s worth freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 pinch of salt
Directions: blend all ingredients in food-processor (any sort of food processor will do! – Jasper uses her Hamilton Beach for smoothies to create hummus!)
There, you’ve got some delicious curried hummus!
Serve as appetizer to complement wonderful meal! –perfect for holidays, too!
Make sure to garnish with something pretty!
Have a Happy Monday all!
hiding in there…
This morning at work I fixed the copier! That things is ABSOLUTELY CRAZY but I managed to hang in there and find every one piece of paper that had jammed into almost every corner of that machine! One day I might create an entire post devoted to my relationship with the office’s copier. Beware paper, Jasper’s on the looose!
Speaking of little things hiding in the corners around here! check out my little flax, flax egg, roasted kasha buckwheat groat and raisin bar that is hiding under a pile of raw almonds and fresh (store-bought) strawberries!
how to lose your patients in 10 seconds
well ladies and gentlemen, I’ve wasted, only, three hours of time to the ftp client formatting wizard whatever the stink custom design tool with which I’m trying to work…and I wonder: “should I be sleeping right now?” SO I am going to sleep 
… first, however, I wanted to upload these photos of lunches at work lately…it’s funny to me that I can come up with the weirdest tastiest combinations…and then am tickled enough with the whole deal to take a photo…oh jasper..night night!
the crafty one
so I’m thinking of making these little psuedo-diy craft kits for the faint-of-heart-diy-ers…what’dya think?!
also… here’s a little scavenger hunt for ya…if you can even BEGIN to guess what I’ve been up to this week! … that is, in between writing papers…seriously…don’t EVEN ask 
…
Wednesday…
for real?! bacon?! answer: yes
not enough heme ?! big frowny five minutes from this photo when turned down by the red cross collectors 
…
that’s ok! cuz iron …
+ vitamin C …
= happy jasper donating blood to ARC very very soon!
craft time …
tea time …
bar making time …
looks gross i know! …
but they are yum yum tasty! …
just relaxin’ … shootin bbal up side a school …
happy friday! ~ mucho love-o – jasper
james bakes!
Who knew that this little guy could make these?!?!?!
You’ll never believe it, folks! …but I think I will get to see little James! and of course, Tim and Kate this weekend!
On the day after Christmas, James helped me bake chocolate chip raisin oatmeal cookies!
James is two. And he is not so into the idea of being friends with his step-cousin-Jasper…but I am TOTALLY into the idea of being friends with James! I thought, “perhaps I’ll try luring him in with cookies?!”
James is so curious about every little thing. I mean every little thing. It’s a wonder he’s not developing his own set of scientific theses at this point…probably his parents wouldn’t want it going to his head, just yet. For know, he’ll just inspire me to study, more, my own surroundings as he does.
Look at how the ingredients combine in such a sticky manner!
James does like cookies but he prefers bleu cheese with dinner crackers. Plus bacon. Plus organic ice cream. So James does not find it a problem to forego sneaking a bite of raw cookie dough…
“Master James” as some, do, call him, presents his head to those willing to bestow upon it a “farewell” or “greeting” kiss.
James favors a kiss from Grandma.
And before you know it, just when you think he’s not had enough of your crown kiss, he’s off for the next adventure!
note: he was not in charge of this photo, for which, though, he did provide the cookies
the parfait
My friend Wendy commented that she “recognize[d] less than half of the items in [her] refrigeration…creepy?” I don’t think it’s so creepy, especially when she can hear me using the blender in the kitchen! She’s got to have some inclination that I mightn’t be filling her fridge with weird concoctions
Here’s one of the creations, just one of my gifts unwrapped today and this week
So I took this cloudy photo while in an airplane and I think that airplanes are some of the finest places for photo-ops! Try it next time you fly.
In this post inspired by Tuesdays Unwrapped, I’d to include this Tim Keller quote from a sermon of his to which I recently listened “The difference between a limp-along life – a common life – and a transformed life – a life just SHOT-THROUGH with thanksgiving and JOY – is NOT just the difference between not believing in God and believing in God, rather it’s the difference between not believing in God and WORSHIP. Worship – to see and grasp His worth in such a way that you begin to live in accordance with it – its existential essence; it’s ascribing ultimate value to God in such a way that it galvanizes, electrifies and changes your whole life, that’s what worship is!”
“So why should we worship this?” Keller asks why should we want to see what God is worth and GIVE Him what He’s worth!? to GRASP his worth!? Well, we worship plenty of things people and places don’t we? And Keller also points that there are some practical approaches to knowing how-to or whether we are actually experiencing worship He mentions making sure we’re in community, around people and understanding submission to a self-revelation of God. It’s beautiful that the psalmist is struggling, and probably struggling more than I’ve struggled today or any day, yet never asks for a change of circumstance “O come, let us sing unto the LORD…For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods…let us kneel before the LORD our maker!” Psalm 95. This morning my purse fell in cedar shavings which, if this has ever happened to you, is about as difficult to get out of cloth as glitter is to get out of hair…and ALL day yesterday and today my abdomen has been aching!!!!!!!!!!!! And how many times have I cursed God for the pain I feel? – too many times (and one would be too many, mind you I’ve cursed Him more than once). Perhaps today a part of my gifts would be unwrapping hope that I will worship and connect with my maker no matter what “feelings” come along.
Perhaps you, too, could read Psalm 95 and let us know your response to the scripture…then post it here
or you can just let me know if you think my parfait looks GROSS or looks YUMMY
little secretary
So when I was a wee 9-yr old, my BIG DREAM was to be a secretary. Maybe I watched the movie Working Girl too much – I might add that no 9-yr-old should be allowed to watch, even the edited-for-television version of, Working Girl. Nonetheless, I’d set up my grandmother’s typewriter on our rickety, old, wooden piano bench and would break out the stapler and, occasionally, the adding machine, pen-cup and ruler (for good measure, of course ) – did anyone catch that ? Well NOW, that I just finished with my Facilities Management “Ergonomic Evaluation,” I realize that my childhood dreams have come true. Now all I do is run around trying to avoid the work I once idolized: a cubicle of my own and a copy machine to crouch over…yipppeeeeee?!
And I find friends at the office to whom I’ve come in to work dressing identically?! Freaky…: D…
I believe in basil
There is a neat little store in Truckee, California called “New Moon.” I will take a photo of the quaint little natural foods and supplements store as soon as I can! New Moon can be found in Reno, Nevada, Tahoe City, California and around Lake Tahoe, as well. I went to rendevouz with my Aunt Debbie for 5 minutes at Emerald Bay last Friday and on my way back I, so muchly, looked forward to shopping in New Moon. Quickly, I parked my car and skipped to the door, but they had just closed! “Oh well,” I thought. One of the best parts of experiencing such a neat little store is in anticipation.
Finally, I went into New Moon last Monday. Before New Moon, I sipped a latte at “Wild Cherries,” another neat shoppe in Truckee, California. Gary and Kathy were just a few of the folks I got to chat with there, as many Truckee locals hang out at Wild Cherries. And at the coffee station, one seasonal Lake Tahoe resident shared with me about his trips to Alaska. He doctored what he called a “poor man’s latte;” a mixture of coffee, milk and cocoa. The man was 79 years-young and rocked a cute, Alaska-flagged trucker cap.
Natalie joined Gary, Kathy, JD and I for a chat. She shared all about these esteem-boosting hoola-hoop classes she desired to teach local, Truckee toddlers. JD asked her how her husband that she joined in Patagonia for the last 8 years was doing and Natalie began to cry. “Oh no, tears, tears, they can come…” JD stumbled over his words. Natalie carried on for a bit about her life’s drama. “I just want happiness…I hope that’s not too much to ask.” It’s not too much to ask, Natalie. She is not alone if that is what many others, like her, desire.
Gary, always ready for comic relief, mentioned moments after Natalie’s exit that “JD [is] a real buzz kill.” hehe
After some community, I skipped over to New and found the door open (not locked). There, I found natural soaps. One smelled JUST like oatmeal cookies!
shipments
Upon my friend JD’s arrival back home from his 3 week stay at the hospital, he was waiting for a few packages. Some of his packages were for business and some were for pleasure (Costco shipment). After days of waiting, JD decided to track the packages. To begin with, I was not really listening to the list of stops his packages had made, “Duluth, Minnesota…Columbia, South Carolina…Pike’s Peak, Colorado…” But it did not take long for his rattling off delivery-stops to catch my ear… “Jackson Hole, Wyoming…Sacramento, California…Costa Mesa, California…”
“hehe.”
That is all I could think. Can you imagine all of those stops if you were JD’s packages?! How tiring. Here is a photo of one package arrival. JD ordered wine and I wanted to celebrate the package’s arrival with a shoot.
microwaves
Sometimes I wonder about microwaves.
I feel badly about the number of microwaves I have thrown away. The Dawson family had six microwaves in their garage at one point. I’m quite positive that each of those microwaves went to the landfill. Microwave companies make a killing off of consumers heading to the local Wal Mart to purchase a 15$ microwave. Ask ANY ONE of your neighbors for a microwave and I am sure they have a spare one for you. They might even have two just collecting dust in their garage. I won’t venture to say that microwaves are evil or hateful, even. I’m no communist. But they surely will DESTROY whatever you put in them. Really though, think of your healthiest little friend. It’s usually a cute little bean blonde who jogs all day long and shops at the farmer’s market. Her name is, most likely, Tori. And she says “I like to eat all organic foods.” She smiles and giggles and is super cute. Could you imagine her saying “…and the fastest way to cook all of my food is in the microwave.” What?*&%!!? She would never say that. If anything, she might say “yeah, the fastest way to DESTROY my food is in the microwave.” Am I especially inappropriate to call microwaves evil? They are, indeed, a wee bit destructive. Kids put shrink-wrapped packages full of Peeps, chicks and bunnies, both, into microwaves across this globe and watch them EXPLODE! With entire cartons of eggs, too! I suppose I am being somewhat or, even, exorbitantly subjective about this, for children destroy toys and animals with fire and b. b. guns, daily. I mean, no one is calling fire and b.b. guns evil. Wait.
I think we could all go on about microwaves. When you really think about it, there are certain things that should just not be pt in the microwave. Putting wonderfully and lovely dishes of deliciousness into the microwave seems so backwards. Why ruin wonderful treats that are food? One of my Sierra Sportbike Association friends, Luke, uses microwaves for the right reasons. He heats up the knee grip-pads that suction to his bike in the microwave. Those grip-pads can handle the waves that are micro and destructive. Lusciously fresh asparagus…delicately harvested oats…lovingly crafted thai noodles…succulently fresh new potatoes and heirloom tomatoes
… DON’T put these in that microwave!
outhouses
Last week, I was invited to dinner at Tové’s. I went for a run around Donner Lake before heading over to her house. And towards the end of my run, I realized a certain urgency for a bathroom. I mean, I had to go! Now, Tové is a very environmentally-friendly being. Perhaps some might call her “granola.” But when making my mental preparations for attending a dinner party at her home, I got carried away. ”I sure hope Tové doesn’t have an outhouse.” Can you believe I had that thought?! I am still surprised at myself. Hopefully Tové never uncovers this blog, for my thoughts are quite embarrassing. You tell me?
Tové has a beautiful home…but no outhouse. If she did, however, I am sure it would be lovely.
Actually, the previous owners said a chipmunk crawled into the downstairs bathroom last winter while they were on vacation. The little munk got stuck in the bathroom and attempted to gnaw its way out through the bottom of the beautiful solid-wood door. The little thing never escaped and only left a GIANT dent in the bottom corner of the bathroom door. The chew mark represents a descent soft-ball-sized amount of wood this pitiful chipmunk consumed. I giggle just a little bit when I envision the family returning from vacation to find a wood-stuffed chipmunk left breathless on the downstairs bathroom entryway. A wee tragic, really.
The night was lovely. Tové roasted this lime-red wine-mandarin orange-lemon-basil-stuffed chicken aside a wild rice pilaf with pan-seared button mushrooms and perfectly-crunchy onions. The chicken was more tender than butter (if butter can be considered tender) and I put this picture so you could see the chicken plus an amazingly artistic red wine-stained roasting dish in the backdrop! Yummy!
great music
Last week I was able to help out with a highschool youth group. Afterward, leaders and some of the students head to Buffalo Wild Wings to hang out. We had so much fun. Meeting news friends and sharing in laughs is all part of my experience in this new city, Reno, NV. Friends, Ursula, Ashley and Dan shared many funny stories about their year of living together last year. Dan said, at one point during our late-night snacking, that he had never seen Ursula “laugh [that] hard in a long time.” We were all in stitches just sharing stories. One time Dan, Ursula and Ashley were moving this couch into the house from the back yard and Dan made a funny noise when the couch hit his hand. The actual story wasn’t too funny, but Ursula, Ashley and Dan laughing about it had us all giggling.
At the end of all of these stories and laughter, I asked “why did you all have to stop living together.”
They replied, “the lease ran out.”
For some reason, this tickled me too.
I was asking all of them about good music that I should listen, for this crowd is into some really awesome artists. That night I went home and bought a Red Umbrella album per their recommendation and it is SO GOOD.
taste buds
I am grateful for EVERY taste bud that I have.
My taste buds appreciate many things. CHEESE is one of those many things. I saw one of my coworkers at the hospital eating Swiss cheese with crackers and I was overcome with excitement. I did not want to eat his cheese and crackers, I just wanted to explain to him my thoughts and excitement over his snack. I went so far as to say that he was “the smartest man in the room…eating Swiss cheese and crackers…that’s the MOST AMAZING snack…the MOST AMAZING taste…” Did I get a little carried away? I don’t think so. At that moment, my heart told me that savoring Swiss cheese and crackers WAS the most incredible activity in which to be partaking for Bryce, so I shared my thoughts. And he agreed wholly! I wish I had a picture of Bryce eating those cheese and crackers now. It might make you hungry. In fact, I am going to take a picture of some cheese this week and put in on here to make you hungry…goat cheese with cranberries…roasted Brie with button mushrooms…perhaps even a block of extra sharp cheddar?
My taste buds also appreciate lattes. Soy vanilla. Soy caramel. I also recently discovered pumpkin spice latte, although I know it has been around for quite some time. My friend Justin once said that “Starbucks is solely responsible for America’s economic crisis.” ”True, perhaps,” I thought, as I swung open it’s door, hurling my legs forward to purchase my venti mocha. 
tasty things
I am always thinking of things to eat and things to cook! This past weekend I was able to prepare a few neat dishes because I was cooking for John Davis. Cooking for others always helps inspire ideas and creates some pressure for making something nice or, at least, palatable. John Davis is very complimentary so it seems I could prepare a dirt casserole and he would say “This is delicious!…really good flavor!…really great texture!…I love it!…How did you do this?!…what did you put in it?!”
I made stuffed shells and grilled asparagus with fresh tomatoes, fresh spinach and six different kinds of cheese! (Asiago, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Romano, Caprino, Smoked Provolone)
I made a fresh vegetable omelette with a spinach and olive tapenade and freshly cut fruit. Also, I made blueberry pancakes. JD asked for a chocolate cake with whipped cream icing. My first attempt did not go so well but I will try again soon! The cake was nice, but the icing fell: I did not whip the heavy cream enough, so when I folded it with the buttercream, the whipped cream lost all volume. Oh well!
The night I was making the cake, JD’s friends Tom and Tally Brand came to visit. They are very special friends of his and very fun! I would not have been able to grill the sausage and whole grain buns (I keep getting these ideas about fresh tomatoes, fresh onions, chopped olives and dijon mustard on grilled sausage!) that I wanted to make for JD had Tom Brand not been there to man the grill. Really, I was clueless with the grill and JD would have gone hungry but Tom saved the night! Here is a photo of Tom after his finding JD’s grill set. The set included a chef’s hat. Baller.
Tom and Tally also helped straighten JD’s new clock. This clock is one of the few items decorating his house, making it quite the small talk item. Almost every one of JD’s visitors comments on the straightness or crookedness of the clock. I try to not pay attention to the clock, leaving me with little opinion or awareness of its straigh/crooked status. Tally thought it hung a little to the left and Tom thought it looked level. Tom hung the clock using a level when JD first moved in, so his opinion was a little less subjective than Tally’s.
The whole weekend, I thought of just a few of my favorite snacks. Funny, two of my favorite people in the WORLD introduces me to my two favorite snacks.
1. Miss Bria Cook: lovely, gorgeous, blonde, and legs for days introduced me to DRIED CHERRIES!
2. Miss Kathrn Dawson: funny, saavy, cute, and fashion guru introduced me to EMERALD COCOA ROAST ALMONDS!
I wish that anyone reading this could have been there the day I tasted a dried cherry for the first time. It was truly magical. My experience with dried cherries, still today, is cosmically magical. If you have never tried a dried cherry, please go get some and have YOUR moment. The flavor dances on your tongue and makes your heart and feet do a little jig. For the moment of bliss that a dried cherry is in your mouth, you’ll wonder why all tastes couldn’t explode and impress like this one. Not everyone likes dried cherries like I do, true, but one could always experiment. I’m convinced there is no other experience that quite captures joy in the way dried cherries. Perhaps you could eat a dried cherry across from a mirror while watching your face illuminate with happiness.
I can not WAIT to get get some dried cherries and cocoa roast almonds today so that I may upload a photo. Beware, the photographs might make your mouth water!
