29 years old today. And 29 1/2 weeks pregnant. Life is good! Despite the new aches and pains I’m feeling this week — discomfort in my lower back, cramps in my legs, pokes in my ribs — I couldn’t be happier. 29 is going to be a good year!

My morning commute is not always full of blue skies and sunshine. Sometimes I cruise above thick fog. And enter Happy Valley like a hobbit going to battle. While wind turbines pass by en route to mountain ridges.

Thanks to the lovely ladies who participated in last week’s giveaway. You made my heart warm and my mouth water! From Sarah’s black bean salsa to Maggie’s backyard pig roast to Emily’s butter cookies to Alyssa’s seafood linguine to Stephanie’s cinnamon rolls to Melissa’s chicken noodle soup to Beth’s Yankee doodle bake to Gcroft’s spicy [...]

There are some changes going on ’round these parts. Do not panic. The Culinary Couple will be back up and running soon! Happy Summer!

It’s a blessing that my professional life is so closely connected to my personal interests. But it’s also exhausting. By day I manage the online presence of a public broadcasting station. I promote local TV and radio programs and community events. I develop and edit content and write scripts. I produce faculty interviews and educational [...]

My self diagnosis was correct. I have an inflamed iliotibial band. So what does that mean, exactly? Well, IT Band Syndrome is very common among runners, so I’m not alone. From Wikipedia: “The band stretches from the thigh to the calf and is crucial in supporting the knee during running. However, repeated friction and extension [...]

I want to run a marathon. It’s on my bucket list. And I want to run one in the rock ‘n’ roll series. Because, really, what could be more motivation than live music at every mile marker and a party at the end? Oh, maybe microbrews and salmon and Mt. Rainier cherries? Sign me up! [...]

I’ve never been a morning person. In high school, I rolled out of bed, jumped in the shower, pulled my hair into a ponytail, and grabbed a Pop-Tart on my way out the door and into homeroom. In college, I scheduled my classes after 10am — with the exception of an 8am Psych class during [...]

Today is our final day on Locust Lane, and it is bittersweet. I’ve lived in this building for 5 1/2 years — first upstairs in an efficiency and then on the second floor in a one bedroom apartment. I started my adult life here. For the first time I paid rent and electric along with [...]

Nick is in Charlotte this weekend hanging out with the guys, watching basketball, drinking microbrews. It’s his final weekend before rejoining the working world, and so it seemed only fit that he get away before he’s held in place by things like job responsibilities. Of course I miss him (and I thoroughly enjoyed finding the [...]