Update: 7 weeks since I started the blog

On September 8th, I rode my bicycle in the New York Century Bicycle Tour as planned.  None of the people who I've rode with in the past were riding this year, and I decided to go for 75 miles instead of the 55 miles that I had been planning to ride.  I love riding with friends, but I also was kind of relieved to be able to ride at my own comfortable pace.  I decided on the option to start at Prospect Park this year, rather than the usual Central Park start/finish.  Since there are different routes that you may pick from on the day of the event, I wanted to keep my options open in regards to total mileage.  Izzy actually woke at 5 am that morning to ride my bicycle to the starting line just so that I could ride the Vespa and start totally fresh.  Who's better than this guy?

Izzy is the best and most fun fiancé in the world.  Thank you sweetheart!

Obligatory bicycle tour photo in front of Verrazano Bridge.  One hell of a bridge to bike over, but I didn't do it that day.

I saw chickens, ducks and rabbits on this farm we passed in Brooklyn.  I LOVE chickens!

In front of The Cyclone in Coney Island.

Near the end of my bicycle tour on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The weather was absolutely perfect, and I ended up riding 75 miles.  Not the most I've ever rode, but not too shabby either.  Especially considering that I've done very little bicycling this summer, at least for me.  The last mile home I could not sit on my seat at all, and I had to ride the entire mile standing up.  I didn't even have a victory beer or tacos, and I went to bed early.  The next day I went to work, but felt like I was coming down with a sinus infection, possibly because of all the shit that I breathed in for 11 hours.  I made an acupuncture appointment, which instantly cleared my sinuses.  Problem averted, but I took it easy that week as my body was still adjusting back to normal.

The following weekend I went on a shortish run, and I felt good.  But that week I definitely came down with something, my co-workers even sent me home from work one day.  As soon as I recovered from this sickness, my shoulder injury flared and seemed to make other parts of my body ache and I felt tired overall.  I errered on the side of taking it easy once again...

Since the bicycle tour, I have had 2 weekends completely filled by family visits.  Though I enjoyed this time (and all the yummy food that I got to eat!), I started to feel like I am not living my life with as much intention as I would like because I've made compromises with my time.  I know that I am being critical of myself, because I actually do accomplish a lot, so I thought this would be a good time to check in and update some of the things on my "40 list" that I've been working on.  It's been about a month since my last blog, so I guess I'll just jump right back in.

• I started taking a 10-week Spanish class.  In addition to that, I play a game on my iPad called Mind Snacks (I've mastered over 350 words so far), and I have another app called Rapid Spanish Earworms, which is music with repetitive words that you can listen to anywhere.  I also got to practice this past weekend with Izzy's family, who were visiting from Mexico.
• Starting Monday, I am commiting to waking up to run 3 days a week before work, even if I only do 2-3 miles.  I have not been participating in any running events since earning my guaranteed entry to the 2014 New York City Marathon.  On October 13th, I will either run the Staten Island Half Marathon or the Get To The Point 5k in Greenpoint.
• My push-ups goal is seriously on hold for now, due to shoulder injury.  Physical Therapist doesn't even want me doing push-ups against the wall, but I've been sneaking them in here and there.  I have not been going to yoga either.  I now have referred pain and other muscles have been overcompensating for the weak injured muscles.  If I get the OK from the rehab doctor this Saturday, I would like to start swimming at the YMCA.

All things considered, this has been an eventful year.  I went to a gorgeous wedding in Palm Springs, CA.  I went to a Yankees game AND a Mets game.  I saw the Phantom of the Opera, and I'm going to see Buena Vista Social Club next weekend at Lincoln Center.  I went to a Hot Sauce Expo.  I got into the {invite only} Christian Louboutin sample sale.  I saw a Mexican surf rock band open for a Mexican ska band.  I drank fine champagne and expensive scotch, and plenty of it.  

Izzy (on the left) at the Lost Acapulco / Panteon Rococo Show.

Izzy and Neftali, after the concert at the rooftop bar at The Press Lounge.

The hard lesson that I've learned over and over is that it's important and rewarding to push yourself to he limit, but rest and recovery are just as important, for your body and your mind.  I have this voice inside my head that still tells me that I could push harder or accomplish more, that I can get more hours in the day by seriously sacrificing sleep or that I need to exercise almost every day or bicycle or run the most miles.  But I've never felt so balanced in all aspects in my life as I do now, and it's because I've chosen quality over quantity and I've let go of the idea of perfectionism.  I am being a little bit more selfish with my time and spending it wisely. 

With that said, looking forward to getting back into running this Saturday morning.  If we are Facebook friends, cheer for me on Runtastic if you have the opportunity.

Wine at The Mets game, cheers!

The Homemade Tortilla Diaries, Part 1

My friend Rose brought back homemade tortillas from a recent Arizona trip, and invited me and Izzy over for tacos.  I did a little research and found out that it's pretty easy to make your own tortillas.  I bought a cast iron tortilla press at Sur La Table for $20 and a bag of Bob's Red Mills Masa Harina at The Garden in Greenpoint for less than $4.  Izzy has made these when he lived in Mexico, but I did it mostly by myself.  He provided some guidance as he watched over my shoulder and helped at the final stage by toasting the tortillas on the stove.

I'm not very good at following other people's recipes verbatim.  My technique is to research many recipes, eliminate anything that is too complicated, or any extra ingredients that don't seem necessary that I don't feel like buying.  I usually splice and re-combine 2 or more recipes.  This cut and paste technique is actually very close to how I design textiles, LOL.

I found a very simple recipe that did not require my cut and paste technique: 

2 cups Masa Harina 

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/3 warm water

Mix it in a bowl (use your hands), then roll it into a log, cut into 12 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball, flatten and arranged on cutting board.  Cover the cutting board with plastic for 15 min.

To prevent the tortilla from sticking to the cast iron, there needs to be plastic between the dough and the press.  I found suggestions like covering each plate with a plastic bag, or using wax paper.  Izzy saw me struggling to cover each plate with plastic wrap, my plan was to tape the plastic wrap with blue tape (LOVE that stuff!). He stopped me and showed me his way, which is to lay down a big piece of plastic wrap, then the dough, the fold the plastic wrap over.  Then press!  After a couple of tortillas, I figured out how much space I had to leave to the fold of the plastic wrap so that my tortilla was not misshaped.

Izzy and I had an assembly line going...  I pressed the tortillas, and he toasted them on pans on the stove.  He had 3 pans going at once on medium heat, and used a spatula to flip the tortillas periodically.  As each tortilla was finished, he put them in a folded towel to keep warm, then he would start another tortilla.  Also inspired by Rose, I ordered a Day of the Dead tortilla cozy from Amazon, which I have not yet received.  When I post one of the other tortilla recipes that I am going to try, I will include a photo of the cozy.

Our first batch of corn tortillas was a huge success!  We dipped these in Izzy's homemade tomatillo green sauce, so we weren't so particular about the size and shape of the tortillas.  These tortillas were thicker than what I am accustomed to, and had much more of an earthy corn flavor.  Masa harina comes in golden, blue, and white varieties, we used the golden this time.  All of Bon's Red Mills products are made with non-GMO products only, but i am disappointed that their masa harina is not organic.

Bob's Red Mills offers a gluten-free version of masa harina.  The difference, at least as far as I can tell, is that the GF version is made in a factory that is not contaminated by products made with wheat. I would have bought the GF masa harina if it was available at the store that I went to, just because why not?  FYI, in NYC the Westerly Market in Hell's Kitchen has a much more extensive selection of Bob's products.  Amazon has a great selection of Bob's Red Mill products organic and gluten-free masa harina.

If anyone has ideas or experience pre-making and storing homemade tortillas, please leave a comment.