New Ride!

2007 Jeep Compass

Heated leather seats

Moon roof

Nothing else matters!

This is what just came out of my oven! I am not too fond of the French, but their bread is pretty darn tasty!

Crusty French Bread

By PCrocker on October 07, 2004

About This Recipe

"This recipe produces two crusty and chewy loaves that are so very good and so much better than store bought."

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 -5 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water (110 degrees) and sugar in large bowl; allow yeast to proof or foam (about 10 minutes).
2. Add salt, oil, and 3 cups flour; beat for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in 2 cups flour to make a stiff dough.
4. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Place in oiled bowl, turn dough to coat all sides, cover and let rise until doubled.
6. Punch down and divide in half.
7. Shape dough into two long slender loaves.
8. Grease and sprinkle with cornmeal either a french bread pan or large cookie sheet.
9. Place loaves in pan and cut diagonal gashes on top of each loaf (I use scissors).
10. Cover and let rise until doubled.
11. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
12. Note: You can sprinkle or spray water on the loaves during baking if you want a really crunchy crust.

Found at http://www.food.com/recipe/crusty-french-bread-101476

2012

I keep thinking of bigger and better goals for this year. In 2010 I achieved my goal of running a 10k. In 2011 I ran 365 miles. In 2012 I will run a half marathon. Aside from running I also want to take a picture every day, most likely on my phone. I haven't decided where I will post them yet, but I think it could be a great way to remember the small things that make me happy.

Here are the first three:

January 1, 2012: Bowling at Holiday Lanes with Mel, Sarah, and Andrew. I am Sausage and I bowled a 100.

January 2, 2012: Dinner with Mel at Sushi-ya. Gay couple with cute Chinese baby.

January 3, 2012: Back to work at Neogen. I am survived after a night of insomnia resulted in 1 1/2 hours of sleep.

Stay tuned for more!

That was close

I’m a bit behind on my blogging, and I have already procrastinated this post since last year. For 2011, I made one goal. That was to run 1 mile a day, or 365 miles in one year. I’ve already blogged about my slow, or rather nonexistent start, so I’ll start where I left off about a month ago. Going into December I had more than 75 miles to run in order to achieve my goal. The month started out slow, but the fact that I was without a car and running to work really helped me out this week, and all month. I got back on track, logging a few long runs in addition to my 12 mile commute to and from work each week, and by Christmas I had just under 16 miles left. I previously decided to take Christmas off, so I was down to 6 days. But then I woke up Monday morning with a stomach flu. I went back to Lansing on Tuesday and considered running, but I was too exhausted and it was already dark when I woke up from my nap. I was feeling alright, but I had no energy for anything. I woke up Wednesday and ran to work. It was probably a bad decision, but I had to get some miles in. It took a lot out of me. I used all my energy up by the time work was over so I got a ride home. All of the sudden it was Wednesday night and I only had 1.2 miles for the week. I had to run 15 miles in 3 days. That usually isn’t a problem, but I had no idea if I would feel up to running. I was so close to 365; I had to do it. So I cranked out the miles. I ended with a 5 mile run on New Years Eve as my grand finale.