is anyone into spinning? i don't understand why there are no landmarks or numbers for the resistance. wouldn't you want to know that a comfortable "level ground" speed for you is a 7? so you can adjust based that rather than how it feels? and maybe notice over time that ou can work at an 8, then a 9, or whatever? my problem with spinning is that i can never get the resistance right. either i am not working as hard as i think i should be (and/or i can't sprint as fast as we're supposed to because i don't have enough resistance for it) or i'm torturing myself. i have to constantly fiddle with the knob. nobody else in class does. how do they get it just right? it baffles me.

also my spinning instructor today was like a motivational robot. he rotated among ten stock motivational phrases throughout class, usually repeating each one twice in a row, with the cadence of his words matching the rhythm of the music. creeeepy.

also i borrowed shoes that clipped into the pedals. not a fan. i mean maybe i would be if i had some that fit me perfectly. but it just meant that instead of the source of problems being between my foot and the pedal, which i'm used to, it was between my foot and the shoe, which sucked. my left toes fell asleep (as they often do in ice skates), while my right foot sloshed around in its too-loose shoe, a problem i wasn't aware of till we were underway and there's really no stopping once you're underway. bleh.

i will tell you more later but oh man, yesterday i went to a totally worthless yoga class that had three students total in it and today i went to one with about 60 students, mats nose to nose, and it was excellent. i have a hard time with celebrity yoga teachers with really expensive haircuts who teach wearing skinny white jeans and own studios that sell yoga supplements for $3 a pack, but i can see why she is so popular. the instructor of the former class has only been teaching for a year and a half and the difference between them was night and day.

pumpkin pie mileage:

1. pumpkin butter left behind after straining out the solids from what we cooked down on the stovetop
2. pumpkin milkshakes made with leftover filling that wouldn't fit in the crust + raw milk + ice cubes
3. pumpkin cookies/candy created by the filling that spilled out of the pie pan and onto the cookie sheet as i carried it into the oven and caramelized there
4. the best pumpkin pie ever

also, a word of warning:

don't use green & black's "baking chocolate with 72% cocoa content including extra cocoa butter for easier melting" in your flourless chocolate cake unless you want to take it out of the oven and find it swimming in oil. we blotted up like eight paper towels' worth. after letting the cake sit overnight as per the recipe, will it be edible? what do you think? i baked it for a potluck on saturday and i can't decide whether i need to test it before i go or if it's preferable to bring a whole uncut cake and hope for the best.

now, a word of delight:

the dish i was most skeptical about, sweet potatoes with thai red curry paste and coconut milk (i feel that everything in thanksgiving should be made of food that, if not local, could be sourced locally; we're talking pilgrims and indians after all), turned out to be one of the yummiest. i think this is the first time i've made sweet potatoes as part of my thanksgiving at all. i'm a believer.

and finally, a word of gratitude:

my kitchen is so good for cooking in (there is an endless amount of measuring spoons, wooden spoons, spatulae, pots, pans, and mixing bowls, plus a kitchenaid mixer) and heather is so good for cooking with (despite using the endless amount of aforementioned items, the dishes never piled up; also i think i would have gone into hysterics on the cake without her presence; also, someone to make grate/great puns with; also, etc.) and homemade food is so good for eating. bonuses: handstands with reb first thing in the morning. boggle breaks during cooking. rachel's, sarah harmer, anne & pete sibley, veda hille, and other good music. baking with white sugar for the first time in close to a year. plenty of containers to store leftovers in. elbows, knees, dreams, goodnight.