This is a great post on How to Save Your Health and Wealth at the Same Time over at Marc and Angel Hack Life. They have some really terrific suggestions for staying healthy and saving money without feeling like a shut-in, such as this one:
"#9. Stay In and Hang Out – Your home is your haven. It’s the safest, most comfortable environment to relax and socialize in. It also happens to be a far cheaper alternative to the local bars, pubs and clubs. You can save money on gas and entertainment costs while avoiding a lungful of secondhand smoke. So login to eBay, sell some stuff you don’t use, buy yourself a Wii and invite over a few of your favorite people. Don’t forget to crank-up the tunes."
There is one tiny addition I would make to this particular suggestion: start having small dinner parties. No more than 6 or 8 people, use your good china if you have it or just enjoy the cozy, casual everyday pieces. You can grill, you can have a potluck, you can do it all yourself - but having people you enjoy over for a meal is always great fun, especially if you pick dishes that aren't too finicky or that guests can help make. Dinner parties can be as casual or as fancy as you like! But if you are feeling a little dressier, just throw a little cocktail party with a signature drink and some munchies, asking everyone to bring a bottle of wine.
In-home events are always worth the cleanup afterwards because they bring people together in a safe, fun, cheap environment and you can always just push the cleanup until the next morning if it gets too late. Or, if someone has too much to drink, they can always just crash on your couch. Maybe this way you'll inspire others to start entertaining again, too...
Thursday, June 26, 2008
and invite over a few of your favorite people. Don’t forget to crank-up the tunes."
Made it safe and sound
CAMBRIDGE, England
With flights as expensive as they are right now, I was extremely worried when this trip came up that I simply wasn't going to be able to afford to go. But when Mobissimo popped up a flight on Air India for even less that what Darcy and I had been paying in the spring, I jumped on it. I was a little worried about the flight, having flown a few overseas airlines that were HORRIBLE (*cough* Air China). Boy, were my fears unfounded! The personal in-flight entertainment systems were already turned on even while sitting at the gate and worked perfectly throughout the entire flight. The dinner was terrific Indian food - zippy chicken curry, a spiced cauliflower dish, and better rice than I've had in many restaurants along with a fresh little salad, a cup of rich plain yogurt, and halva. The seats had plenty of legroom, as well as foot rests which allowed you to give yourself a bit of a foot massage by rolling the soles of your feet on them. It was definitely the shortest-feeling flight to England yet!
Immigration was, unfortunately, rather the opposite. With all the redeye flights seeming to get in at once, the lines were horribly, horribly long, but it still only took me 3.5 hours from time of touchdown to get through immigration, across London on the Tube, onto a train at King's Cross, onto a bus in Cambridge, and into Darcy's house. The timing for all the different forms of transportation was just about perfect each time - green lights all the way, with just enough time for tickets but not enough time for a snack or water, unfortunately. Still, I made it in, and was greeted with a printed banner over the couch that read "Hello Kiki!" and all sorts of funny little notes about how to work the television, where to find snacky stuff, and so on.
But the best part? When I told Darcy he was a rock star for taking the time to do all that for me, he simply beamed at me and said, "I like you." How cool is that?
Off again tomorrow for Porlock!
With flights as expensive as they are right now, I was extremely worried when this trip came up that I simply wasn't going to be able to afford to go. But when Mobissimo popped up a flight on Air India for even less that what Darcy and I had been paying in the spring, I jumped on it. I was a little worried about the flight, having flown a few overseas airlines that were HORRIBLE (*cough* Air China). Boy, were my fears unfounded! The personal in-flight entertainment systems were already turned on even while sitting at the gate and worked perfectly throughout the entire flight. The dinner was terrific Indian food - zippy chicken curry, a spiced cauliflower dish, and better rice than I've had in many restaurants along with a fresh little salad, a cup of rich plain yogurt, and halva. The seats had plenty of legroom, as well as foot rests which allowed you to give yourself a bit of a foot massage by rolling the soles of your feet on them. It was definitely the shortest-feeling flight to England yet!
Immigration was, unfortunately, rather the opposite. With all the redeye flights seeming to get in at once, the lines were horribly, horribly long, but it still only took me 3.5 hours from time of touchdown to get through immigration, across London on the Tube, onto a train at King's Cross, onto a bus in Cambridge, and into Darcy's house. The timing for all the different forms of transportation was just about perfect each time - green lights all the way, with just enough time for tickets but not enough time for a snack or water, unfortunately. Still, I made it in, and was greeted with a printed banner over the couch that read "Hello Kiki!" and all sorts of funny little notes about how to work the television, where to find snacky stuff, and so on.
But the best part? When I told Darcy he was a rock star for taking the time to do all that for me, he simply beamed at me and said, "I like you." How cool is that?
Off again tomorrow for Porlock!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Creative Dining: Fruity Arugula Salad with Chicken
Dateline: Manhattan
Leaving again for the airport in a few hours, so it's time for a lunchtime Creative Dining for One post! This fruity salad is a great combination: the sweetness of the fruit and the creaminess of the cold cooked chicken balances the bitterness of the arugula perfectly. A few splashes of vinegar on the top adds another note of flavor and keeps the fruit from being too sweet and cloying. Perfect summer salad that is different from the same old usual salads!
Ingredients:
big pile of arugula
5 strawberries
12 blueberries
1/2 pear
bits of cold cooked chicken
balsamic vinegar
Arrange arugula on plate. Wash all fruit, throw on blueberries, slice or coarsely chop strawberries and pear. Top with bite-sized bits of chicken, splash a little balsamic vinegar on top. Sit in the sun and enjoy!
Leaving again for the airport in a few hours, so it's time for a lunchtime Creative Dining for One post! This fruity salad is a great combination: the sweetness of the fruit and the creaminess of the cold cooked chicken balances the bitterness of the arugula perfectly. A few splashes of vinegar on the top adds another note of flavor and keeps the fruit from being too sweet and cloying. Perfect summer salad that is different from the same old usual salads!
Ingredients:
big pile of arugula
5 strawberries
12 blueberries
1/2 pear
bits of cold cooked chicken
balsamic vinegar
Arrange arugula on plate. Wash all fruit, throw on blueberries, slice or coarsely chop strawberries and pear. Top with bite-sized bits of chicken, splash a little balsamic vinegar on top. Sit in the sun and enjoy!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Meet Mr. Darcy
Dateline: Manhattan
You could say that my love life over this past year has been somewhat complicated. From being royally dumped in November, to a brief and tumultuous rebound fling in January and February, to the date from hell in March. But somewhere in the middle of all that I met someone who has become rather special, and if you believe in Fate, this is a pretty good story.
In September, one of my senior colleagues suggested I apply for the Mellon grant at Cambridge that I mentioned recently. Over the winter, in grand twenty-first century style, I met a guy online and we started doing a good bit of e-mailing and video Skyping. Only catch that kept us from meeting in person was the distance: I was in Boston, and he was in Cambridge, UK. After much discussion, the setting of many ground rules, and a legitimate need to spend a few days at the institute at Cambridge offering the grant, we decided to meet in the UK. It turned out that his office is a five-minute bike ride from the institute where I needed to be. We had a terrific week that included a lot of playing outside, plenty of great food and many wonderful conversations. But because of the distance, my wacky travel schedule, and the fact that we met unconventionally, actually starting something needed much more thought and discussion.
So we continued writing and video Skyping through the spring, and right after I moved to Manhattan, he came for a visit. Another dreamy week of playing outside, great food and wonderful conversations, and at the end of the week, despite all the impending time and distance complications, we decided that we would regret not giving a relationship a chance. And then my Mellon came through, meaning that I would have ended up at Cambridge in the winter regardless.
The funny thing is, even if we hadn't met over the winter, we would have met in the long run. Every Tuesday, at the halfway point between his office and my institute, a burrito truck sets up shop at lunchtime. I love Mexican food, and would definitely have gone for burritos every week, which means that we would have encountered each other there. Whether we would have worked up the nerve to talk to each other is another story. Yet I can't help believing that the universe is perhaps making just a little bit of a point. Of all the places in all the world to apply for (and win!) a grant, and then to meet someone completely randomly who lives and works right there...it's rather a large coincidence, if I do say so myself.
I've been thinking for a while now about what his pseudonym should be. Something involving climbing or rowing, two of his favorite activities? Some pun using the word "Brit"? Some multipurpose descriptive adjective, like Thoughtful? Nothing felt right, until Optimista and I ended up watching the tail end of Bridget Jones's Diary and sighing over Colin Firth. Then I caught a cold, and needed more comfort films, which means Colin Firth. And who is everyone's favorite romantic hero? Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, of course. Everyone, meet Mr. Darcy, new love interest and all-around great guy with quite possibly the cutest accent ever.
Tomorrow I'm off to England for two weeks, to spend a week with Mr. Darcy and a group of his friends in a great big house in Somerset. We'll be hiking, climbing, and generally getting plenty of fresh air at Exmoor National Park. My mother's response was this youtube video from her favorite musical. Not quite what is planned, but still amusing. Next post will be from the UK...
You could say that my love life over this past year has been somewhat complicated. From being royally dumped in November, to a brief and tumultuous rebound fling in January and February, to the date from hell in March. But somewhere in the middle of all that I met someone who has become rather special, and if you believe in Fate, this is a pretty good story.
In September, one of my senior colleagues suggested I apply for the Mellon grant at Cambridge that I mentioned recently. Over the winter, in grand twenty-first century style, I met a guy online and we started doing a good bit of e-mailing and video Skyping. Only catch that kept us from meeting in person was the distance: I was in Boston, and he was in Cambridge, UK. After much discussion, the setting of many ground rules, and a legitimate need to spend a few days at the institute at Cambridge offering the grant, we decided to meet in the UK. It turned out that his office is a five-minute bike ride from the institute where I needed to be. We had a terrific week that included a lot of playing outside, plenty of great food and many wonderful conversations. But because of the distance, my wacky travel schedule, and the fact that we met unconventionally, actually starting something needed much more thought and discussion.
So we continued writing and video Skyping through the spring, and right after I moved to Manhattan, he came for a visit. Another dreamy week of playing outside, great food and wonderful conversations, and at the end of the week, despite all the impending time and distance complications, we decided that we would regret not giving a relationship a chance. And then my Mellon came through, meaning that I would have ended up at Cambridge in the winter regardless.
The funny thing is, even if we hadn't met over the winter, we would have met in the long run. Every Tuesday, at the halfway point between his office and my institute, a burrito truck sets up shop at lunchtime. I love Mexican food, and would definitely have gone for burritos every week, which means that we would have encountered each other there. Whether we would have worked up the nerve to talk to each other is another story. Yet I can't help believing that the universe is perhaps making just a little bit of a point. Of all the places in all the world to apply for (and win!) a grant, and then to meet someone completely randomly who lives and works right there...it's rather a large coincidence, if I do say so myself.
I've been thinking for a while now about what his pseudonym should be. Something involving climbing or rowing, two of his favorite activities? Some pun using the word "Brit"? Some multipurpose descriptive adjective, like Thoughtful? Nothing felt right, until Optimista and I ended up watching the tail end of Bridget Jones's Diary and sighing over Colin Firth. Then I caught a cold, and needed more comfort films, which means Colin Firth. And who is everyone's favorite romantic hero? Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, of course. Everyone, meet Mr. Darcy, new love interest and all-around great guy with quite possibly the cutest accent ever.
Tomorrow I'm off to England for two weeks, to spend a week with Mr. Darcy and a group of his friends in a great big house in Somerset. We'll be hiking, climbing, and generally getting plenty of fresh air at Exmoor National Park. My mother's response was this youtube video from her favorite musical. Not quite what is planned, but still amusing. Next post will be from the UK...
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Carrie Bradshaw Syndrome and Mad Money
Dateline: Asheville Regional Airport
The great failure of the American educational system is the lack of instruction young women receive about personal finance. At no point in college is there a class that teaches you about investing, managing debt, saving for a first home, and the like. Financial freedom is incredibly important, especially for women, and unless your parents explain that, you might just find yourself with Carrie Bradshaw syndrome: the tendency of young women to acquire thirty pairs of shoes before they acquire $30,000 in retirement assets. If you shop at Marshalls or TJMaxx, acquiring thirty pairs of shoes is as easy as rolling out of bed in the morning.
It's hard to enjoy putting that pair of strappy clearance-rack sandals back on the shelf and tucking the money into a retirement account. But this post, over at Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, presents the idea of "Mad Money." It's a girl's escape fund to help her out of a bad situation and to rely on for herself alone in case of emergency. It's not a shopping fund, or to pay for that last-minute weekend deal to the Caribbean. It's to help ensure a woman's financial freedom in case something goes horribly, horribly wrong and she has to get out fast.
It comes down to a question of personal safety: a girl wouldn't (and certainly shouldn't) walk through a dark parking lot alone at night without her keys ready in her hand, her senses on full alert, and maybe even a can of pepper spray. The same idea applies in taking full care and responsibility for one's personal financial safety. The author of the post points out that perhaps you won't need your Mad Money - maybe you save it up for ten years and use it for a fabulous anniversary vacation. But it should always be there as an emergency fund. As the author says, "You can’t buy security, but you can make yourself feel more confident and secure. Confident, secure women have healthy financial lives and happy relationships. And if by some freak of bad fortune they don’t have these things, they have Mad Money accounts to help them get back on track."
The great failure of the American educational system is the lack of instruction young women receive about personal finance. At no point in college is there a class that teaches you about investing, managing debt, saving for a first home, and the like. Financial freedom is incredibly important, especially for women, and unless your parents explain that, you might just find yourself with Carrie Bradshaw syndrome: the tendency of young women to acquire thirty pairs of shoes before they acquire $30,000 in retirement assets. If you shop at Marshalls or TJMaxx, acquiring thirty pairs of shoes is as easy as rolling out of bed in the morning.
It's hard to enjoy putting that pair of strappy clearance-rack sandals back on the shelf and tucking the money into a retirement account. But this post, over at Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, presents the idea of "Mad Money." It's a girl's escape fund to help her out of a bad situation and to rely on for herself alone in case of emergency. It's not a shopping fund, or to pay for that last-minute weekend deal to the Caribbean. It's to help ensure a woman's financial freedom in case something goes horribly, horribly wrong and she has to get out fast.
It comes down to a question of personal safety: a girl wouldn't (and certainly shouldn't) walk through a dark parking lot alone at night without her keys ready in her hand, her senses on full alert, and maybe even a can of pepper spray. The same idea applies in taking full care and responsibility for one's personal financial safety. The author of the post points out that perhaps you won't need your Mad Money - maybe you save it up for ten years and use it for a fabulous anniversary vacation. But it should always be there as an emergency fund. As the author says, "You can’t buy security, but you can make yourself feel more confident and secure. Confident, secure women have healthy financial lives and happy relationships. And if by some freak of bad fortune they don’t have these things, they have Mad Money accounts to help them get back on track."
Product Review: Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser
Dateline: Asheville
With all the travel restrictions on liquids, creams and the like, I'm a complete sample-size junkie. Often these are sent to me through the mail by my mother, the Queen of Free Samples. This weekend, I was impressed to discover that my Asheville hotel's sample-size offerings were all Neutrogena, including the Fresh Foaming Cleanser, that claimed to remove makeup and cleanse simultaneously.
As a Noxzema lover with dryish skin, I was rather skeptical that the Neutrogena would take my eye makeup off without leaving me looking like I'd been scrubbed raw. And I hate washing my face before bed, because I can't stand all the steps required when I do wear makeup. But wow - the Neutrogena cleanser took it all off, including eyeliner and mascara, and didn't even leave smudges on the towels. I've used it for three days straight now, and it hasn't dried out my skin or left me with raccoon eyes to scrub away in the mornings before a run. Very impressive! Definitely a keeper.
At this point I've pinched enough of the sample-size cleansers from the hotel to last for quite a while. But this product is good enough that it is a strong contender for the international toiletry list that I'm working on decluttering my toiletries down to for August.
With all the travel restrictions on liquids, creams and the like, I'm a complete sample-size junkie. Often these are sent to me through the mail by my mother, the Queen of Free Samples. This weekend, I was impressed to discover that my Asheville hotel's sample-size offerings were all Neutrogena, including the Fresh Foaming Cleanser, that claimed to remove makeup and cleanse simultaneously.
As a Noxzema lover with dryish skin, I was rather skeptical that the Neutrogena would take my eye makeup off without leaving me looking like I'd been scrubbed raw. And I hate washing my face before bed, because I can't stand all the steps required when I do wear makeup. But wow - the Neutrogena cleanser took it all off, including eyeliner and mascara, and didn't even leave smudges on the towels. I've used it for three days straight now, and it hasn't dried out my skin or left me with raccoon eyes to scrub away in the mornings before a run. Very impressive! Definitely a keeper.
At this point I've pinched enough of the sample-size cleansers from the hotel to last for quite a while. But this product is good enough that it is a strong contender for the international toiletry list that I'm working on decluttering my toiletries down to for August.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Globetrotting 2008-2009
Dateline: Asheville
By now, you know how Yogademia works - it is unusual to find me in the U.S. for extended periods of time. But it can be difficult to justify living in First World countries for research when your Ph.D. has to do with China. However! Because I work on European influence on imperial Chinese art, I've finally been able to include a few places on my research roster where I don't have to carry my own toilet paper.
In a welcome change from my tendency to hang out in the Eastern hemisphere for years at a time, this go round I'll only be there for the autumn. Starting just before Christmas, I'll be at Cambridge in the UK with an ultra-sweet Mellon grant. For at least the winter and spring of 2009, I'll be based in Cambridge, UK, although I will have to do a month in France at some point for some more research, as well as some time in Italy since it's just right there (!).
So here's the rough travel schedule:
England: two weeks, starting on Wednesday.
New York: one month, from mid-July to early August.
England: one week, early August.
Taiwan: week or so, middle of August.
China: less than four months, late August to Christmas
England: several months, Christmas to late spring
France and Italy: late spring
Summer 2009: TBD
Living out of a suitcase is getting old, I have to admit. But when your research-travel plan for the upcoming academic year looks like that one, life could be a whole lot worse. And of course, any time spent living in a foreign country means you have to travel to the nations that border it...
By now, you know how Yogademia works - it is unusual to find me in the U.S. for extended periods of time. But it can be difficult to justify living in First World countries for research when your Ph.D. has to do with China. However! Because I work on European influence on imperial Chinese art, I've finally been able to include a few places on my research roster where I don't have to carry my own toilet paper.
In a welcome change from my tendency to hang out in the Eastern hemisphere for years at a time, this go round I'll only be there for the autumn. Starting just before Christmas, I'll be at Cambridge in the UK with an ultra-sweet Mellon grant. For at least the winter and spring of 2009, I'll be based in Cambridge, UK, although I will have to do a month in France at some point for some more research, as well as some time in Italy since it's just right there (!).
So here's the rough travel schedule:
England: two weeks, starting on Wednesday.
New York: one month, from mid-July to early August.
England: one week, early August.
Taiwan: week or so, middle of August.
China: less than four months, late August to Christmas
England: several months, Christmas to late spring
France and Italy: late spring
Summer 2009: TBD
Living out of a suitcase is getting old, I have to admit. But when your research-travel plan for the upcoming academic year looks like that one, life could be a whole lot worse. And of course, any time spent living in a foreign country means you have to travel to the nations that border it...
Reclaiming July
Dateline: Asheville
I've noticed that I feel crummy if I don't get in some sort of exercise each day. But with all the traveling in the last month and then moving near Central Park, finding 25 minutes of time to kick the pavement has been more enticing than finding 25 minutes of time on the mat. (The people-watching opportunities have been better, too.) But luckily, just when I was feeling a little disconnected from the mat, Yogamum over at yoga gumbo named July as a new daily practice goal for the WoYoPracMo crowd.
She reminds us, "This isn't about competition or winning a prize: this is about finding what works for you, right now, in your own life. As several people have noted, the practice IS the prize!"
Right now I'm in Asheville, North Carolina at a wedding taking place on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate. Holy cow, is that a large house. They bill it as the "largest house in America!" - including the exclamation point. It is truly a monument to the Golden Age of new money in the United States. But even out in the mountains I'm still enjoying a little bit of Central Park: Frederick Law Olmstead designed both CP and the Biltmore's extensive gardens.
I've noticed that I feel crummy if I don't get in some sort of exercise each day. But with all the traveling in the last month and then moving near Central Park, finding 25 minutes of time to kick the pavement has been more enticing than finding 25 minutes of time on the mat. (The people-watching opportunities have been better, too.) But luckily, just when I was feeling a little disconnected from the mat, Yogamum over at yoga gumbo named July as a new daily practice goal for the WoYoPracMo crowd.
She reminds us, "This isn't about competition or winning a prize: this is about finding what works for you, right now, in your own life. As several people have noted, the practice IS the prize!"
Right now I'm in Asheville, North Carolina at a wedding taking place on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate. Holy cow, is that a large house. They bill it as the "largest house in America!" - including the exclamation point. It is truly a monument to the Golden Age of new money in the United States. But even out in the mountains I'm still enjoying a little bit of Central Park: Frederick Law Olmstead designed both CP and the Biltmore's extensive gardens.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Creative Dining: Keema Mattar
The next installment of Creative Dining for One! I'm leaving for a trip on Wednesday and having just returned from one last night, I'm trying to eat out of the freezer to save having to buy groceries. Not much fresh right now, and not much in the freezer either, so here we go...
Keema Mattar (Ground beef with peas)
Ingredients:
1/3 lb frozen ground beef
frozen peas
fat-free plain yogurt
Tandoori spices
Lee Kum Kee chili and garlic paste
Defrost beef and brown in frying pan. Meanwhile, defrost approximately the same amount of peas in the microwave. Drain cooked beef if necessary, and add a good dose of spices. Stir in peas, more spices, and a good spoonful of chili paste, depending on how spicy you like things. Stir well to mix in all the spices. Turn off heat but leave pan on burner, add a solid 1/2 cup of plain yogurt and stir well to combine and heat through. Would go well with rice, couscous, pitas, naan or any sort of flatbread.
Keema Mattar (Ground beef with peas)
Ingredients:
1/3 lb frozen ground beef
frozen peas
fat-free plain yogurt
Tandoori spices
Lee Kum Kee chili and garlic paste
Defrost beef and brown in frying pan. Meanwhile, defrost approximately the same amount of peas in the microwave. Drain cooked beef if necessary, and add a good dose of spices. Stir in peas, more spices, and a good spoonful of chili paste, depending on how spicy you like things. Stir well to mix in all the spices. Turn off heat but leave pan on burner, add a solid 1/2 cup of plain yogurt and stir well to combine and heat through. Would go well with rice, couscous, pitas, naan or any sort of flatbread.
Epic exercise in Central Park
This morning, I went out for a jog, and decided at the point that I would otherwise have stopped that I would just keep going and walk the rest of the park. It was as good a day as any to do the entire East Drive and then come back! The training log on Runnersworld.com estimates the whole thing at 6.25 miles, which seems a little generous, But even if you calculate it simply in city blocks (20 north-south Manhattan blocks to the mile) it comes to at least 5 miles, so I'm rather pleased.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
2009 Europe Travel Stash
With no car, no mortgage payments, no dependents and no debts, the little I earn each month goes very far. I've even been able to save a rather respectable amount. But my financial weakness is clothing clearance racks, especially now with all the summer sales. Between that and the fact that I'm moving abroad again in August, knowing that I won't be shopping all autumn while in China makes me want to ransack every clearance rack in sight. It's exactly like hoarding food for a long winter, except it's clothing, which I cannot own more of. Literally: airline baggage restrictions mean I can't take it with me, and so there is no point in acquiring more. Plus, if I'm trying to declutter like a Bond Girl should, acquiring more things is not the productive track.
I needed a savings goal. I have a retirement account with monthly infusions, an investment account for my first home, an IRA and a six-month emergency unemployment fund. There is no particular thing I wanted to save for. But after spending some time in a bookstore last week reading How to Pee Standing Up: Tips for Hip Chicks and discovering their suggestion of a "See Ya Sucker Stash" travel fund, the idea of saving up for specific trips has been sticking in my mind. When I get to Europe at Christmastime, I fully plan on taking advantage of the travel opportunities. There is a week-long cycling trip already on the agenda, as well as a weekend mini-break or two in classic Bridget Jones style, and there could easily be much more given the means. But since the dollar is so depressingly low against both the Euro and the Pound, saving now means I can actually take some fun trips later.
So I've started a 2009 Europe Travel Stash. I've got a high-interest account set up, and the plan is that every time I go into a store thinking of buying some new piece of clothing, I'll put whatever the cost of the item is into the travel fund. It's much easier to be frugal when you have a goal in mind, and easier to be creative now knowing that later on it will bear real fruit. It will also encourage me to be that much more creative and resourceful when I want that summer dress on sale or that pair of clearance-rack sandals, neither of which I actually need. And planning a series of European vacations is so much more Bond Girl than another pair of black pants, especially if it means you don't have to share a 10-bed dorm room in a hostel.
At the moment, my favorite research source is the Frugal Traveler blogging his experiences doing the European Grand Tour on 100 euros or less per day. If anyone has suggestions for particular trips or interesting websites to check out, please drop me a line! I'd love to get the inside scoop on interesting or unusual places to visit in Europe.
I needed a savings goal. I have a retirement account with monthly infusions, an investment account for my first home, an IRA and a six-month emergency unemployment fund. There is no particular thing I wanted to save for. But after spending some time in a bookstore last week reading How to Pee Standing Up: Tips for Hip Chicks and discovering their suggestion of a "See Ya Sucker Stash" travel fund, the idea of saving up for specific trips has been sticking in my mind. When I get to Europe at Christmastime, I fully plan on taking advantage of the travel opportunities. There is a week-long cycling trip already on the agenda, as well as a weekend mini-break or two in classic Bridget Jones style, and there could easily be much more given the means. But since the dollar is so depressingly low against both the Euro and the Pound, saving now means I can actually take some fun trips later.
So I've started a 2009 Europe Travel Stash. I've got a high-interest account set up, and the plan is that every time I go into a store thinking of buying some new piece of clothing, I'll put whatever the cost of the item is into the travel fund. It's much easier to be frugal when you have a goal in mind, and easier to be creative now knowing that later on it will bear real fruit. It will also encourage me to be that much more creative and resourceful when I want that summer dress on sale or that pair of clearance-rack sandals, neither of which I actually need. And planning a series of European vacations is so much more Bond Girl than another pair of black pants, especially if it means you don't have to share a 10-bed dorm room in a hostel.
At the moment, my favorite research source is the Frugal Traveler blogging his experiences doing the European Grand Tour on 100 euros or less per day. If anyone has suggestions for particular trips or interesting websites to check out, please drop me a line! I'd love to get the inside scoop on interesting or unusual places to visit in Europe.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Love Affair with Central Park
Every day, I become more and more enamored with the Park: running in the morning, working in the afternoon, people watching and listening to the buskers, even packing up my dinner tonight as a picnic and taking it to eat on Cedar Hill. Here's the view from dinner, with my little picnic tray in the bottom corner: 
Central Park has just so many great things going for it, especially now in the summer when people are more relaxed, kids are playing everywhere, lots of people are out walking their dogs or just dozing in the grass. Today I stopped to listen to a jazz quartet just north of the Zoo.
It turned into a dance party for the three-year-olds in the audience, which gave the rest of us both a concert and a comedy show, because the kids were hysterical. About 15 minutes after I started listening, a guy walked up to buy a CD, then sat down on a bench to listen to the group and check his blackberry.
It was Alec Baldwin.
After dinner, as I was walking home, I ran across hula practice. Practicing the hula in central park at dusk, that is so cool.
Have I mentioned that I love Central Park?
Central Park has just so many great things going for it, especially now in the summer when people are more relaxed, kids are playing everywhere, lots of people are out walking their dogs or just dozing in the grass. Today I stopped to listen to a jazz quartet just north of the Zoo.
It turned into a dance party for the three-year-olds in the audience, which gave the rest of us both a concert and a comedy show, because the kids were hysterical. About 15 minutes after I started listening, a guy walked up to buy a CD, then sat down on a bench to listen to the group and check his blackberry.
It was Alec Baldwin.After dinner, as I was walking home, I ran across hula practice. Practicing the hula in central park at dusk, that is so cool.
Have I mentioned that I love Central Park?
Creative Dining for One
With the notable exception of pizza, I have a hard time with leftovers. There's just something about eating the same thing multiple days in a row that leaves me disgruntled. I think it stems from a childhood Christmas when we had a supergigantohumongous ham for Christmas Day dinner, and we ate ham leftovers at dinner for ages afterwards. My brother and I swear we ate ham for six weeks after Christmas, in every permutation possible: ham sandwiches, ham and eggs, layered salad with ham, macaroni and cheese with bits of ham, pea soup with ham, ham salad, and so on. But was the daily sandwiches that really killed me. Every day, it was a ham sandwich for lunch, with lettuce and cheese. Drove me crazy. And because I was too small to pack my own lunch at that point, there was nothing I could do about it. It is infamously referred to as The Ham That Would Not Die.
So what does one do with leftovers that your budget and your conscience won't let you ignore? Or the portions of meat that you've put in the freezer? Or the fruits and vegetables that need to be eaten TONIGHT? How does a girl on her own eat her leftovers without losing her mind?
She gets creative.
This is a new feature on Yogademia: Creative Dining for One. At least once each week, I'll be coming up with an entire meal for one based on the odds and ends found in the fridge and cupboard. My creativity is best expressed in the kitchen, but my pantry is barely stocked: only spices I have right now are tandoori seasoning and herbes de provence. Not even salt and pepper. There is also an extra challenge: this summer I'm making do with one omelet pan, one small saucepan, a small cookie sheet, and a broiler pan. But necessity is the mother of invention, and if we're supposed to do at least one creative thing each day, then cooking in my Manhattan mini-kitchen is it.
Today's ingredients:
1 tomato, becoming squishy on one side
Three-inch heel of bread, slightly too crispy
1/3 lb. ground beef barely rescued from freezer burn
3/4 cup cooked red rice
End of a can of whipped cream
2 plums that won't last any longer
Result: Meatballs with chevre, pan con tomate, provencal tomato salad, plum rice pudding
Meatballs with chevre
Form ground beef into 5-6 small balls or patties, seasoning to taste if desired. Fry in small nonstick pan, 4-6 minutes per side. Top with dabs of herbed goat cheese.
Pan con tomate (a Barcelona favorite)
Cut bread into thin slices. Slice tomato in half, setting good half aside. Slice squishy end off the other half and rub the cut side of squishy end onto the slices of bread, pushing into the bread to really get the juice out of the tomato and into the bread to soften it. Any seeds that make it onto the bread are a good thing. Add a little butter on top if desired.
Provencal tomato salad
Cut remaining tomato, minus the now-used squishy bit, into quarters, sprinkle with herbes de provence.
Sweet plum rice
Pour a little milk and some sugar over the rice. Cut plums into bite-sized chunks, being sure to cut over the container with the rice to catch all the juices. Sprinkle in more sugar, mix well. Top with remnants of whipped cream in can, forgetting to step back from the counter at the end when it tends to spray all over.
So what does one do with leftovers that your budget and your conscience won't let you ignore? Or the portions of meat that you've put in the freezer? Or the fruits and vegetables that need to be eaten TONIGHT? How does a girl on her own eat her leftovers without losing her mind?
She gets creative.
This is a new feature on Yogademia: Creative Dining for One. At least once each week, I'll be coming up with an entire meal for one based on the odds and ends found in the fridge and cupboard. My creativity is best expressed in the kitchen, but my pantry is barely stocked: only spices I have right now are tandoori seasoning and herbes de provence. Not even salt and pepper. There is also an extra challenge: this summer I'm making do with one omelet pan, one small saucepan, a small cookie sheet, and a broiler pan. But necessity is the mother of invention, and if we're supposed to do at least one creative thing each day, then cooking in my Manhattan mini-kitchen is it.
Today's ingredients:
1 tomato, becoming squishy on one side
Three-inch heel of bread, slightly too crispy
1/3 lb. ground beef barely rescued from freezer burn
3/4 cup cooked red rice
End of a can of whipped cream
2 plums that won't last any longer
Result: Meatballs with chevre, pan con tomate, provencal tomato salad, plum rice pudding
Meatballs with chevre
Form ground beef into 5-6 small balls or patties, seasoning to taste if desired. Fry in small nonstick pan, 4-6 minutes per side. Top with dabs of herbed goat cheese.
Pan con tomate (a Barcelona favorite)
Cut bread into thin slices. Slice tomato in half, setting good half aside. Slice squishy end off the other half and rub the cut side of squishy end onto the slices of bread, pushing into the bread to really get the juice out of the tomato and into the bread to soften it. Any seeds that make it onto the bread are a good thing. Add a little butter on top if desired.
Provencal tomato salad
Cut remaining tomato, minus the now-used squishy bit, into quarters, sprinkle with herbes de provence.
Sweet plum rice
Pour a little milk and some sugar over the rice. Cut plums into bite-sized chunks, being sure to cut over the container with the rice to catch all the juices. Sprinkle in more sugar, mix well. Top with remnants of whipped cream in can, forgetting to step back from the counter at the end when it tends to spray all over.
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