Hot, Hot Organic Grocery Mommies

I do believe spring is on the horizon. A few hints:

• Maybe the weather? It was about 35 when I woke up at 8 a.m. Damn!

• Everyone hauling their ice-fishing houses around the county today. Lake ice must be getting thin.




• Smoke coming from the sugarhouse chimneys. Sap is rising fast. Might be hope for syrup this year, after all.




• And, of course: Hot, Hot Organic Grocery Mommies at the co-op.
  

I wanted to make granola, so I went to a little co-op about 20 miles from the house -- it's a little closer than the nearest Whole Foods. Picked up rolled oats, vanilla extract, canola and chocolate chips. Generally, the women in the store range from, um, those who are mildly unattractive to those who fell from the ugly tree face-first, hitting every branch on the way down.

Not so much today. That's all I'm sayin'.

(Note to hot, hot organic grocery mommies: I'm thinking Justin or Chad or Brittany really isn't going to be that excited about the sugar-free spelt and maple granola for breakfast. Again, I'm just sayin'.)

Also grabbed some cilantro, since I had ambitions of whipping up firecracker shrimp on brown rice before dinner, since I was going to take John to see '300' and didn't want to be tempted to consume, oh, 6,000 calories of popcorn. I'm a bad parent -- it's R-rated, and he's 15 -- but I'm a firm believer in giving adolescents all the beheadings they can handle at an early age.

Stopped on the way back to run my 10-K. Reasonable time, about 54 minutes. It must've been about 40 by the time I ran, warm and overcast. First time since January that I've run without gloves and ear warmers. The dirt road was a little slushy and muddy, but that was just the middle two miles. Couple of people were out walking dogs, and an older couple, walking together with one on on a walker. Everyone enjoying the warm weather.

Made it back home in one piece, started some laundry, had lunch. Hauled five trash bags to transfer station, went to gym, swam .7 miles in about 40 minutes. Which for me is pretty damn good. Didn't even come close to drowning more than once or twice. There were kids there, but they were of the small variety, and didn't cause much in the way of tsunamis. Sat in the dry sauna for 15 minutes, showered, and came home. All told, I'm figuring about 950 calories (600 for the run, 350 for swimming). Let's call that three glazed chocolate donuts from Krispy Kreme, shall we? Give me six months, I'll be doing 1,000 calories on long days.

Outrage du jour:

http://www.ninaberman.com/index3.php?pag=prt&dir=marine

Good God. What if you were either of these kids' parents? There's not enough we can do for these kids, and we're doing damn little. I think I'd start by booking flights to Washington and Baghdad. And taking both places apart. With my bare hands.

After I finally got home, put together a nice dinner -- firecracker shrimp over brown rice. It came out well. Diet stats for the day:

Breakfast: Nature Valley maple granola bar
Lunch: One-pot pasta
Afternoon snack: Banana
1 c apples
Six wheat crackers, 3 oz chedddar
Dinner: Firecracker shrimp with brown rice

Started a load of laundry and took John to see "300." Think Braveheart in Speedos with Boobs. Went to the grocery store afterward to get Diet Coke, talked about potential jobs for him (historian, geneticist). Asked him if he thought we (the United States) were the Spartans or the Persians. My 15-year-old thought for a minute, and swear to God, came up with this beauty:

"I think we're more like the Athenians during the Peloponnesian Wars."

Shut me up until we got home around midnight. Car is stuck halfway down the skating rink that is currently the driveway. It'll thaw tomorrow. My day of rest.