Currently

A short report of what I've been up to, in handy list form! The categories are in groups of three, which I heard once is the most memorable number for writing and speaking. So, go forth and memorize!

Eating

1) I've officially been tinkering with a Cooking Light recipe for baked ziti with summer vegetables. I made it just before we left for Washington, and it turned into a very nice little casserole.  But midway through the preparation steps, it smelled so good that I wanted to stop the process and eat dinner then and there.  Last night, I tried just that, and it turned into a good mix of pasta, vegetables (summer squash, zucchini, onions, and tomatoes) with basil and garlic and oregano, minus the baking and ricotta-adding.  I guess I learned that both "Baked ziti and summer veggies" and its friend "Ziti and summer veggies" are great dinners. As an added bonus, I was on the phone with my mom while I was cooking and thus gleefully eyeballed all of the herbs and spices, and it still turned out edible.

2) I got a big bag of green beans from the CSA box late last week and just love them. It reminds me of the long rows of green and purple beans that we used to pick in the garden at home, except this time I don't have to pick them and chop the ends off--I just get to eat them!  If summer had a taste, it would be a real battle between green beans and watermelon.

3) Popcorn.  Its inclusion here could be misleading because I haven't actually had popcorn in the last month, but some friends recently were talking about being on major make-your-own-seasoning kicks, using different combinations of herbs, butter, cheese, etc.  I vow to get on a similar kick. Suggestions welcomed.

Reading

1) Sisterhood Everlasting, the latest book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants saga. I am not part of the Harry Potter craze, but I guess you could call this my equivalent, if only I were actually a young adult when I started reading these books. (I have a hunch that I was firmly in "adult" range.) My sister and I love them fiercely (even though, yes, our ages add up to 48) and we were practically breathless--her in Germany, me in St. Paul--when the book was released in June. I was able to wait until our flight to Washington, read 93 percent of the book on the plane (thanks, Kindle), and finished it while we were waiting in line for a ferry.  Then I regaled Josh with the summary and I think he was thrilled.

2) Maine was next on my vacation fiction list. It tells the stories of three generations of women in a family that makes annual summer trips to a beach house on the Maine coast. I enjoyed the book a lot, but even more importantly, I would really like to summer on the Maine coast. (And yes, summer as a verb, too.)

3) Next up: Little Bee, recommended to me ages ago from my friend Meghan.

Watching

1) I saw "Bridesmaids" over the weekend, and since I'm not really one to compile lists of things that I hate, you can probably deduce by this point in the post that I loved it. Kristen Wiig cracks me up. I was that weirdo in the theatre who laughs longer than everyone else.

2) "Next Food Network Star" is my current guilty pleasure on TV. Josh and I love it but we can't seem to find anyone else in the United States who also watches it.

3) It's Tour de France time! I've followed this magnificent race in varying degrees of detail for the last 10 years, but lagged this year because of our trip's timing. I turned on the television yesterday and got sucked into a very exciting stage. Today's a rest day for the cyclists, but tomorrow I'm back in. It's an enormous spectacle, a beautiful race, and dare I say, one of the most incredible athletic achievements on earth. It's great.

Doing

1) Running club session #2!  I did my long run on Saturday with the group and got to explore trails on the other side of the city that I rarely encounter on my own. It was muggy, muggy, but I felt pretty good and loved my new fuel belt that I got last week. So comfortable.

2) Dinner with family on Friday night: the first time all five of us have been in the same place since January!  Welcome back, Sis.

3) Trying to stay cool: It's really summer here in St. Paul, with temps in the upper 80s and low 90s and humidity and dew point charging to keep up. Last night, a big thunderstorm rumbled through and broke some of the humidity. Before that, Josh and I went for a walk around our neighborhood and made a sharp turn to cut our route short because we were melting. Hence, all of the TV and movie references earlier in the post!

Instead of saying goodbye, a friend of mine signs off from a conversation with, "Happy days."  So, happy days.