What lies beneath: Oh the joys of preparing a house for sale

This is probably a time I shouldn't open my house to visitors via my blog, but the process of preparing my home for sale has unearthed some surprises like this old Netflix DVD that I never returned. I vaguely remember paying a late fee a long while back, which I suppose means I get to keep it. And yet, I never watched it. I found it while cleaning out my desk a couple of weeks ago before putting it in storage to make our second bedroom/office look bigger.

I have time now, so perhaps I should take advantage of it
and finally watch the movie everyone else has seen: Slumdog Millionaire.

Tales of a Novice Mountain Biker: Fixing a Flat

You would think that I would have fixed a flat on my own before today, but I haven't. I'd helped my husband do so ... but I had never had a flat while alone. That changed today. I went to get my bike down, and the tire was flat. I was home alone, so I set forth on changing that tire. I wasn't going to let a flat tire keep me from getting out on the trail today.

Shots from the Trail: Greenbelt/High Plains

Some shots from my quick ride south of Boulder today on the Greenbelt and High Plains trails. Not difficult, but a quick, fun ride. Perfect for my current fitness level!

Suffering from a severe case of under-seasoning

I have had so much steak in the past month or so, and while I recognize a regular diet of steak is not necessarily a great idea, I do love a good steak. It's the Nebraskan in me. But I apparently suffer from a severe case of under-seasoning. I watched my brother season some steaks this weekend when I was in Nebraska for a mini-vacation, and he – the king of cooking meat – seasoned those steaks like mad.

Steak with a beer and brown sugar marinade: Oh how I love cooking with beer

If you haven't figured it out yet, I have not tapped the Betty Crocker cookbook in awhile. I wasn't satisfied with the first few recipes I tried, and so I've decided to use it for comfort food and baked goods, and to use the goodness of the web for everything else. In fact I am using the Betty Crocker chili recipe as a base for a pot that I have cooking right now.

Last Thursday night, I decided to take my friend's advice and make steak to supplement my iron levels for giving blood the following day. Really I love any excuse to make steak, and I feel like I am steadily improving my steak-grilling skills. I have not overcooked a steak in awhile.

Thursday I found a simple marinade: Beer and Brown Sugar Marinade.

Another book down: Atonement, by Ian McEwan

I bought this book
on my Kindle
from amazon.com.

It seems somewhat ironic (if not purposeful) that a critique of one of the characters in the most recent book I finished - Atonement - also fits the first pages of the book itself.

"Such writing can become precious when there is no sense of forward movement. Put the other way round our attention would have been held even more effectively had there been an underlying pull of simple narrative. Development is required."

While each scene was beautifully described, it was, to be blunt, boring.

Shots from Doudy/Springbrook Trails in Boulder: A good & easy first ride

I got out today for the first time this season on my mountain bike ... and the trail was much nicer to me than I expected it to be. I did not stay in shape this winter, so it was a surprise when the uphill of the first half of my ride - pretty much par for the course on a Front Range trail - did not kill me. In other words, I was able to make it a fair distance before stopping for a drink of water and to catch my breath.

This trail is not difficult technically, but it is a good time if you're looking for a quick ride after work or an easy ride at the start of the biking season. The latter was me today. I tend to stay away from Doudy Draw/Springbrook trails as they are also popular with hikers, runners and even horses. I was fine with this today, as I wanted to take my time and enjoy being back on my bike again.