from scratch. every day.

So, plenty of things didn’t go as I’d planned in ‘09. I didn’t really start running consistently again; I didn’t end up doing that 50-mile bike ride; clearly I didn’t write in this blog as much as I wanted to. But, but, BUT…I did accomplish heaps. And I love year-in-review lists, so let’s take a look at the positives, okay?

• I signed up for a CSA and learned to cook and love greens.
• I learned to make homemade yogurt and kafir.
• I went to hot yoga at least once a week, unless I was sick or traveling, and I’ve improved my practice by a lot.
• I started working out with a personal trainer and saw the tiniest bit of a six-pack in my abs.
• I went to fitness Boot Camp at 6 a.m. and survived. <–Would like to do that again (and again and again) in 2010.
• I biked 32 miles all at once.
• Other than my summer of partying like a rock star, I did better with moderation this year.
• I learned to play blackjack and actually won some $$$ at the tables in Vegas.
• I saw my favorite band of all time and made loads of happy memories with some of my favorite people at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Lollapalooza in 2010, perhaps?
• I ate one of the top 10 meals of my life in Charleston.
• I found many fabulous vintage frocks and had so much fun with dear friends in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• I watched Barkley and Bella frolic in the snow for the first time in North Carolina.
• I got a promotion and was happy at my job, despite making less money.
• I appeared on the radio multiple times, got a story on the news, secured coverage in the local paper and learned a lot about how to use social media effectively, all for ACEL. And I was honored with ACEL’s President’s Award for all my contributions. Very proud!
• I figured out how to use Twitter, professionally and personally.
• I read 44 books.
• I tried out purple, red, blue and magenta highlights in my hair.
• I expanded my shoe collection, including these, which were the perfect Christmas present from Tony.
• I bought a new car, for the first time in 10 years. Hoooray!!! Check it out:

Here I am in my hybrid on my way to the farmer’s market to pick up my locally grown produce. Oh, boy.

I’m enamored with the idea of a brand new year (and decade!). Starting with a clean slate is so appealing, and I do have a couple of goals/resolutions: 1. Be kind, always. 2. Floss, seriously. 3. Yoga, yoga, yoga. 4. Visit somewhere I’ve never been. 5. Really learn to use my camera.

Happy, happy New Year!

The most frequent question I’ve been asked about the CSA is whether I used all the items in my basket of veggies. I’m happy to say that the answer is yes, mostly. I have one sweet potato left from last week, but that’s it.

What did I do with all that produce, you ask? Well, let me tell you. As planned, I did make a pesto-inspired arugula, basil and avocado sauce and served it with cold roasted chicken. (It was meh; as hard as I try, I still don’t like avocado.) I also cooked a fantastic pumpkin curry and pumpkin soup, radishes sauteed in brown butter (heavenly!) and roasted sweet potatoes with greens, peppers and bacon.

I don’t have experience with turnip greens (or many other greens either, for that matter), and I was quite skeptical. The raw greens are rather prickly, and I was afraid it would be like eating a plate full of weeds, but they cooked down to be tender and lovely. Which is a good thing, because turnip greens made an appearance in my CSA basket this week as well, along with: arugula, a mix of lettuces and herbs, more sweet potatoes, more radishes, lemons, pomegranates, Chinese Honey tangerines and sweet peppers.

Speaking of greens, I also just discovered that it’s possible to eat the green tops of radishes too, which makes sense, but it never would have occurred to me to try and cook those before. I’ve always tossed them into the trash. Whoops.

I have a feeling we’ll also be eating a few salads this week; perhaps I’ll make a pear, blue cheese and walnut salad with pomegranate seeds and tangerine vinaigrette. Doesn’t that sound good? Otherwise, I’m not sure what to do with the other pomegranate or all those sweet potatoes, but figuring it out is all part of the fun.

I am so pleased to be participating in a CSA (community supported agriculture). I just love the idea of getting a surprise box of produce each week–whatever’s growing at the farm–and trying new things while literally learning what’s in season. Today I picked up my first crate of vegetables. Let’s look at what was inside, shall we? Pumpkin, sweet potatoes, arugula, kale, collard and turnip greens, basil, sweet peppers and radishes: I can’t wait to cook up some of this stuff. I’m already thinking of arugula/basil pesto, roasted sweet potatoes, greens with bacon and balsamic, and coconut/curry pumpkin (one of the recipes that came with the veggies–bonus!) or perhaps a fresh pumpkin pie. Drooooool.

Ever since the first Lollapalooza when I was in 10th grade xxx years ago, I’ve wanted to go to a music festival. For one reason or another, it’s never worked out–until last week when I was fortunate enough to attend the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. It was four days of sweaty, camping fun with some of the most fantastic live music (and most horrifying port-a-potties) I’ve ever seen. Shall I break down my favorites for you?

Best Overall: Nine Inch Nails
I’m sure this comes as a surprise to exactly no one. It’s true, I’m a big NIN fan and would have enjoyed the show even if Trent Reznor sang a duet with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (more on that later), but this performance was phenomenal. They sang almost all of my favorites and didn’t play Closer, which I thought was kind of awesome. Trent Reznor said it was their last show ever in the United States, and I’m very glad that I got to see it.

Best Stage Presence: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
It is so nice to see a woman with as much rock star power as Karen O. Her outfit was amazing, and she was lots of fun to watch. The band played an impromptu, acoustic version of Maps that just blew me away. We stood through the awful Animal Collective show in the hot, hot sun to get close to the stage for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and it was worth every minute.

Best Surprise: Raphael Saadiq
I’m not really a fan of R&B, but I thought Raphael Saadiq and his band were great. I really like watching musicians like these who clearly love what they do and enjoy performing.

Second Best Surprise: The Dirty Projectors
This was another band with powerful women on vocals, and they had David Byrne of the Talking Heads join them on stage for one song.

Best Show: Of Montreal
Of Montreal always puts on a really creative, theatrical show, and this was no exception. They were having problems with the sound, and the band members seemed to be getting more and more irritated. I think that’s the reason they smashed all their instruments and jumped into the crowd while playing The Past is a Grotesque Animal at the close of the show.

Best Seen from Far Away: TV on the Radio
I really like TV on the Radio, and I thought we were in a perfect spot to see the band right up front. I was wrong. Although we had a great view, the bass was enough to rattle my eyeballs in my skull. I couldn’t handle it and had to move way to the back of the crowd, where I enjoyed the music a lot more.

Like it but Didn’t Love It: White Rabbits, Heartless Bastards, Chairlift
For these shows, either I was too far away to see properly or the bands didn’t interact with the crowd much, which made it more like listening to a CD than being at a live performance.

Too Crowded to Enjoy: The Beastie Boys, Wilco, Public Enemy
The area surrounding the main stage was massive and packed with about a million people for all of the acts who played there.

Best One-Man Band: AA Bondy
You’d never guess AA Bondy was such a talented musician; he looks like he should be working in a gas station. But I loved his soulful voice, and I’ve listened to his CD a bunch of times since I’ve been home.

Sorry I Missed It: Lucinda Williams, The Mars Volta, Ani DiFranco, The Features
With a festival of this size, there was bound to be some scheduling conflicts, and I missed out on a few of the bands I would have liked to see.

Biggest Disappointment: Neko Case
I love Neko Case, and maybe if I’d seen her on Day 1 instead of Day 4 I would have liked her show more but probably not. It really seemed as though she didn’t want to be there. She let her back-up singer do almost all of the talking, she kept fanning herself and adjusting her bra, and she’s the one who did the unforgivable duet with Triumph–Swing Low Sweet Chariot while the dog puppet was humping a puppet of Yoda. I am not making this up. Ick.

Even with the crowds, the mud, the heat and the hippies, I had such a fabulous time at Bonnaroo, and I’ll never forget it.

Psst…you may have noticed that I haven’t exactly been keeping up with posting here. I’ve totally been cheating on this blog with Twitter. If you want to hear from me every day, please follow me at www.twitter.com/colleen1112.

Oh, my goodness. My schedule has been even more packed than usual lately, y’all. Between work and ACEL, I have been one busy bee. For ACEL, I helped market and promote a panel discussion on Gainesville’s ever-controversial Charter Amendment 1, and as part of those efforts, I appeared on NPR twice AND on a conservative talk radio show (which could have been very interesting, but my goal was only to promote the event, not to debate the host). Although things got pretty tense between the panelists, the event turned out quite well, and all the PR attached to it was good experience for me.

And, now that it’s over, I have some much-needed spare time, which I spent recently making the most fabulous cupcakes and cookies that doubled as ice-cream sandwiches. Swoon. Otherwise, I’ve just been whiling away the hours by window-shopping on the Interwebz. Would you like to see some of the ultra-posh fashions I’m enamored with lately? Check it.

spring outfits - by Colleen Raccioppi on Polyvore.com

Take that, economic downturn.

I live about 500 yards from the best barbecue place in town. Because I am lazy and because it’s so convenient to saunter across the street to Chunky T’s, I don’t cook barbecue at home very often. But today, the sun came out, and after a week of frigid-for-Florida temperatures, we’re finally having some beautiful weather. It’s the kind of day that practically commands you to spend time outside with a beer and a pulled-pork sandwich. Unfortunately, Chunky T’s is closed Sundays through Tuesdays, and my barbecue craving can’t wait three more days to be satisfied. So, it seems as though if I want barbecue pork, it’ll have to come out of my own kitchen.

Luckily, it’s a pretty easy dish to make, especially if you have a slow cooker. I followed a loose interpretation of this recipe from Epicurious, except I used (gasp!) bottled (organic, naturally sweetened, of course) barbecue sauce. I normally wouldn’t condone that kind of cheating, but as I mentioned, I am lazy, and it’s really nice outside. Homemade barbecue sauce just wasn’t an option today.

The finished pork didn’t quite match up to Chunky T’s quality (my crock pot simply can’t compare to their awesome smoker), but it was still very delicious.

I never used to be a breakfast person. I’d had my heart broken too many times by Pop Tarts, Nutri-Grain bars and Jimmy Dean. It wasn’t until about seven years ago, when I was living alone for the first time ever, that good breakfast food and I became reacquainted. It started out with a bowl of cereal now and again, and soon we were seeing each other every day. I changed my eating habits so much for the better that year, in no small part due to the positive influence of a nutritious breakfast.

Luckily, there is room for more than one love affair in my life, and I ended up marrying someone who’s just as smitten with breakfast as I am. To this day, Tony and I have breakfast for dinner at least once a week. And, like all good love stories, this one must have a happy ending. So, let’s talk about some of the things I like best to eat in the morning (and afternoon, and evening), shall we?

• Blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup. Fancy crepes and healthy whole wheat flapjacks just won’t do. Simple, delicious and almost completely devoid of nutritional value, Martha’s buttermilk pancake recipe (plus blueberries) is where it’s at. And, please, please no artificially flavored Aunt Jemima syrup. Real maple or nothing, baby.
• Plain yogurt with granola. I’ll admit that plain, unsweetened yogurt is an acquired taste, but I love it, especially drizzled with the tiniest touch of honey or agave nectar. And, when paired with 101 Cookbooks honey-toasted granola, it’s pure bliss.
• Peanut-butter toast. The bread varies (it’s usually some kind of sprouted grain). But, let’s be honest, the toast half of the pair is the Andrew Ridgeley of this breakfast. Peanut butter is the real star, and the bread is just a delivery vehicle so that I don’t feel guilty about licking peanut butter right off the spoon.
• Cereal or steel-cut oatmeal with bananas. I adore all cereal, even Shredded Wheat, All Bran, plain oatmeal and any other kind that moms everywhere have to force their kids to eat. I like it best with sliced, *thisclose* to overripe bananas.
• Any combo of eggs/cheese/bacon/sausage/veggies. Seriously. Frittata, quiche, omelet, whatever. It’s all awesome to me.

Flixster - Share Movies

Recently, Tony compared the way he helped me become tech-savvy to that scene in Clueless where Alicia Silverstone gives Brittney Murphy a makeover to help her become popular. After I got done making fun of him for knowing the plot of that movie so well, I had to admit he was right. When he and I first transitioned from “friends” to “couple” almost seven years ago, I didn’t even have a home Internet connection, and these days, I’m all over the World Wide Web.

I use an RSS feeder to make sure I never miss a post on my favorite blogs. I participate in not one, but two, social networking sites, although I’ve mostly stopped using MySpace in favor of the slightly more grown-up Facebook. I have a personal Web site (obviously) and we post videos to You Tube. And recently, I started using Twitter.

I still don’t fully understand Twitter and all its uses, but the basic idea is simple enough: Send a short message (”tweet” in Twitter-language) about what you’re doing out to a bunch of people (”followers” in Twitter-language) at the same time. It’s strangely addictive, and even the most mundane actions seem Twitter-worthy. Watched a lame movie? Oh, I should tweet about that. Have plans for the evening? I should tweet about them too. It’s raining outside? Put that up on Twitter. You get the idea.

I may have been slow to get on board with this whole computer thing, but I’ve fallen hard for Web 2.0. So, if you’re interested in reading even more of the random stuff I’m doing, go to twitter.com/colleen1112 and become one of my followers. Because, like Miss Silverstone said, “I actually have a way normal life.”

EDIT: Tony tells me it’s called an RSS reader, not RSS feeder. What-ever. I suppose I’m not as savvy as I thought.

I pretty much lived in three-eye, black Dr. Martens during the early and mid 1990s. I wore those shoes everywhere: to school, to work, to concerts, to weddings. That last one really is true, unfortunately. I wasn’t always as fashion forward as I am today, but eventually, I left behind my baggy jeans, band T-shirts and pink hair. As part of my style evolution, I traded chunky, manly shoes for prettier, girlier styles like these and these.

Even though I don’t wear them very often these days, I still have–and love–my old, beat up Dr. Martens. So, imagine my delight when I came across a totally gorgeous, feminine pair of Docs while searching for boots on Zappos recently. Of course, I had to have them. A girl needs a well-rounded shoe wardrobe, after all. And, maybe it’s because ’90s style seems to be creeping up everywhere lately (Mini backpacks? Seriously?), but these 20-eye, red ones also look awfully cute to me. What goes around, comes around, eh?

Oh, my. For the last couple of months I’ve been way too distracted by shiny things, pretty dresses and holiday festivities to do much blogging. The season of cheer has been wonderful, though. I spent great times with family and friends, I ate pounds and pounds (literally) of amazing food, and I am still enjoying the last few extremely lazy days of a two-week vacation from work. (Why, yes, I have been wearing these same pajamas since yesterday morning. Shut up.)

Santa was pretty good to me too. Some of the thoughtful and generous presents I received were pasta-making attachments for my Kitchen Aid, snazzy yoga gear and a bunch of accessories for my iPod, including the Nike+ chip that syncs my running shoes to the Nano. Craaazy technology.

I am not at all sad to see the last of 2008; it was tough for me in a lot of ways. Both Tony and I lost family members, I was disappointed by quite a few things that didn’t work out the way I’d hoped they would and, of course, the troubled economy had everyone on edge. But I’m excited for the beginning of the new year, and this would probably be a good time to write down a few of my goals for 2009. Are you ready? Let’s get to it.

• Run another 5K. Now that my sneakers hook up with my music, I have no excuse to skip running.
• Go to hot yoga once at least once a week. Even when I don’t feel like it.
• Cycle the 55-mile portion of the Horse Farm Hundred bike ride from Gainesville to Ocala.
• Get back into eating healthy. The holiday festival of carbohydrates is over.
• Learn to make fresh pasta. Umm…this might be at odds with the one above, so I also need to…
• Have more self control. I’m 32 years old; it’s about time I learned moderation, no?
• Get my hair cut even shorter a la Victoria Beckham. Ooh, did I really just say I want to look like Posh Spice? Embarrassing. But I can’t help it; her new pixie cut is super cute.
• Write in this blog more often. Letting my site sit idle for two months is shameful.

I’m sure the list will change and evolve as the year goes on, but this is a good starting point, and, with any luck, it will help keep me honest when I feel like slacking. Before I go, I’d like to wish everyone I know the all best health and happiness for ‘09!