i’m listening to a little bill withers right now. i’ll tell you, he’s quite a singer.
i may have written about this before, but here goes:
growing up, i don’t remember listening to much music. when i hit middle school, i remember having pearl jam ‘ten’ and nirvana, screaming trees, etc. but i don’t have a stockpile of knowledge of the beatles or beach boys or cream or the dead.
against all odds – as my parents love music – we (as a family) never listened to music.
it’s weird to think back on it, now. but i really wish my parents would have listened to bill withers – so i wouldn’t have just started listening. i mean seriously, ‘just the two of us’ wasn’t just in austin powers . . .
peace out.
lean on me
dressing up
i’ve got this big thing to go to tomorrow night with dick vermeil. it’s a rotary function where we get to eat some delicious food and listen to an inspirational talk by the former coach.
here’s the thing: there are not too many events in gallup to get dressed up for. seriously, i’m talking like maybe three or four per year – at least the ones i’m invited to . . .
i get excited to dress up, but i never know what people will wear – which is what make it funny. some people throw on a bolo and some boots and hit it hard, others wear a button down shirt and khakis. still others wear a full suit. you never know what you’re going to get in gallup, when the event calls for dressing up. it’s an awesome time.
peace out.
two runs
i ran yesterday and today.
i only ran 2 miles both days, i figure it helps to keep track somewhere. and here is as good a place as any.
sunday: 17 minutes (yes, exactly)
monday: 15:43
when it just doesn’t fit
i don’t know how to explain what i’m thinking. i’ve never been that great with words, anyway.
i’m not sure why life sometimes feels ‘off’. everything is seemingly in the proper place . . . God, family, work, love, hobbies, etc. but it just doesn’t seem to work sometimes.
it’s probably because i can’t think of something i’m supposed to be doing. or maybe it’s because i have these things in the wrong order or i forgot one completely.
who knows. i just know the feeling i have right now, comes and goes. and it’s affecting my brain, too. anyway, you’re probably confused if you’re reading this. and you should feel that way – because what i’m writing doesn’t make sense to me, either.
maybe after i eat something i’ll have an answer. one can only hope . . .
pasta, chicken, beans and more!
I was listening to the “splendid table” the other day on NPR and heard an awesome new recipe. I mixed it up a bit, and you need to try it. Here it is:
* 3 quarts heavily salted (about a handful of sea salt) water in a 6-quart pot
* 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 large sweet onion, sliced into thin half-rounds
* Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
* 4 large garlic cloves, fine chopped
* 2 tight-packed tablespoons parsley leaves, coarse chopped
* 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
*2/3 cup water
* One 15-ounce cans cannellini or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
* 16oz. corkscrew pasta; whole wheat, preferred
* 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup shredded cheese (i used monterrey jack)
* One fully cooked chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
1. Bring the salted water to a boil.
2. Combine the oil and onions in a sauté pan, and set the pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the onions with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Sauté until the onions are softened. Blend in the garlic, parsley, tomato paste, chicken and the 2/3 cup water. Stir and simmer until most of the water has evaporated.
3. With a wooden spatula, gently fold in the beans, and simmer for 2 minutes so they absorb the flavors. Taste for seasoning, adjust as necessary, remove the pan from the heat, and cover.
4. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes, or until it is a little firmer than you like it. Scoop up about 1 cup pasta water and save it; then immediately drain the pasta in a colander.
5. Reheat the sauce, adding the reserved cup of pasta water to the pan. Stir gently, scraping up any glaze on the bottom of the pan. Cook for a minute or so to blend, and to slightly reduce the pasta water. Fold in the pasta, warming it for a few moments. Blend in the cheese, and taste for seasoning. Turn the pasta into a serving bowl. Serve immediately.
oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day.
i love early mornings. i love the first cup of coffee, i love seeing the hogback light up when the sun hits it, i love to hang out with tana, too.
i know all of these things (and more) about why i love the mornings, but i love staying in bed, too. in fact, i probably love being in bed with heather just as much as i love getting up and looking at the hogback with my coffee – but i can’t stay in bed forever.
an after the new year resolution
i have a couple of these resolutions to talk about today.
#1 – i’m going to write more on this blog. and yes, i know that i always say that. but this time, it may prove true for a longer period of time.
#2 – i’m going to start running. now, i’m saying that out loud because i really need to start. i even ordered some new running shoes to help me stay psyched about it – and to make me feel guilty if i am not using them.
however, i don’t have a ton of time to write at this time, so maybe i’ll write more tomorrow. until then, happy trails.
being busy: a badge of pride
This past week I heard something that made me stop and think.
This is always a great thing.
I talk about being busy a lot. Actually, lots of people do. We wear our busyness like a badge of pride. As if to say, ‘I’m busier – and therefore more important than you’
It’s wrong. Pride always comes before the fall.
Therefore, with the New Year fast approaching, I’ve decided to not use the word ‘busy’ anymore when referring to my work life. Maybe even life in general, we’ll have to see.
But, I will no longer wear my pride on my sleeve. Instead, I’m going to take it slower, listen more and talk less.
It should be fun.
feeling better
when i’m sick, i literally can’t do anything. now, i don’t know if that’s because I feel like i’m normally going 100 miles per hour, or if it’s because i’m a wuss.
but it’s one of those things. when i’m sick, i just want to lay on the couch, eat toast and watch movies. so, my being sick is really good for 24 hour video express and bread companies.
now that i’m finally starting to feel better. i realize i’m probably behind the 8-ball again with the magazine. not only do we have another issue out in a couple of weeks, but we’re also trying to plan a killer annual party for a bunch of people, get the coffee truck started up and getting the plan in place for a favorite pastime of the journey.
oh yeah, we’re tiling our bathroom shower, too.
i’d rather be busy than sick, though.
nate.
i was thinking . . .
what would life be like if we lived each day as if it were our last?
yesterday i had two really crazy thoughts.
the first occured while i was watching ‘two towers’ (the best of the lord of the rings). I was sprawled on our red bean bag (my grandma got it for us as a housewarming gift for our last house) and heather was running this way and that – cutting tiles for the bathroom, feeding joel, entertaining tana, etc. I was just laying there on the bean bag.
now, i am still pretty sick. my throat is swollen and my body is more achey today than after we played football on thanksgiving – which is saying something.
but i realized right then and there that i needed to take advantage of every moment, lest this sickness be my end.
and then, later in the evening, i watched part of ’secret millionaire’ with heather. and like any of those shows (extreme make over, extreme make over home edition, etc) i feel great about humanity after watching them. i feel like, if someone is out there getting the job done – you know, giving instead of taking, helping instead of hurting, maybe there’s hope for all of us.
but then, in the next instant, i realized something. i realized that i was super-glad that somebody else was doing it. i was thankful that i didn’t have to get out of my own comfort zone. do you realize how easy it would be to help someone (granted on a small scale – but what does small scale even mean?) just once per week?
we could make soup and give it away when it’s cold out or volunteer to help at boys and girls club or drop a few bucks off for someone who really needs it.
this shouldn’t be rocket science. i shouldn’t try to think about it so hard. it should just get done.
i’m happy where i am. many of us probably are. it’s easy to maintain the status quo.
but i’ll tell you what. it’s lame.
the funny thing is, even after writing this all down, i’m going to have a hard time actually putting something into action.
but maybe this time, it’ll be different.
talk with you soon.
keep thinking.
nate.
