Cooking Early: Pros & Cons

My routine has changed a bit in that this past month I've found myself exercising more in the late afternoons, around 4-5 pm. Since I still do most of my workouts in Greensboro, this means I've been getting home around 6 pm and guess what? The last thing on earth I feel like doing when I'm tired, hot, and sweaty is to stand over a stove and cook a healthy meal. This has meant a lot of PB&J or bad snacking dinners.

My solution? Cook early. I take a break after my morning writing session and, where before I would exercise, now I find myself chopping onions and sauteing mushrooms around 10 am each day. 

The good part is that I love having a meal ready to eat when I come home tired and hungry. I dig into the fridge and bam! Three minutes later food is on the table. 

The down side is that there's something not quite as satisfying as reheating food in the microwave vs. serving it hot from the pan. Also, I find myself doing a LOT of preview "taste testing" of our meals. Eating Black Bean Cocoa Quinoa (sooooo good, btw) and roasted brussel sprouts with garlic and lemon at 10:30 am? Sure! Why not? I'm eating forkfuls of each while standing over the kitchen sink, so the calories from this side meal don't count, right? Right??

Anyway, it feels... I don't know... almost ridiculously luxurious to have the option of cooking the evening meal before I've eaten lunch and sometimes--if I know my day is going to be busy--before I've even had breakfast. 

Does anyone else do their cooking at odd hours? 

Cheers,

Dena

Who Moved My Mouse: The Russian Edition

Good news! My editor e-mailed yesterday to say that my newest book, Who Moved My Mouse? A Self-Help Book for Cats has been purchased by Exmo Publishing House, a Russian publisher. Soon, all of Moscow and St. Petersburg will be abuzz about the funny cat book written by that crazy cat lady. 

I hope. 

Cheers (and vodka shots all around!),

Dena

Smug Marrieds: Random Post

Cleaning off my desk today, I found I note I'd made to myself this past winter for a blog post. Blair and I are the typical couple in that I'm always cold and he's always hot. We're in a constant battle over the thermostat and when we'd go to bed in the winter, I'd complain about the sheets being freezing cold.

I've always wanted flannel sheets but Blair protests that he'd flat out melt in the bed if we got them. So we go to bed one chilly winter night and I'm kicking the sheets with my legs, trying to generate a warm spot. 

"If you ever die, I'm getting flannel sheets," I said. I turned and smiled at him. "Do you ever think about things like that? Like the small, simple changes you might make if I died?"

A slow grin spread across my husband's face. "Daily." 

Huumph. I think I remember now why I decided not to post this...