Yoga - good or bad? Discuss.

My brain works a mile a minute. At any one time I'm thinking about a project at work, the food I'm cooking for dinner and the rest of the week, and, oh yeah, the fact I haven't yet made the bed. It's tough to let the mind be still, which is probably why I like running so much. There's something that seems to happen chemically that slows the mental gears down, at least during the time I'm doing it.

Another tool for quieting the brain is yoga, which I recently picked up again after a hiatus. During yoga you focus attention on your breath as you go through specific poses. Focusing on each inhale and exhale keeps you from thinking about other stuff (or at least it does until those dinner thoughts sneak back into your head and you shoo them out again.)

The problems often begin with the attempts to properly do various poses. As a runner, I experience tightness in my quads, hamstrings and calves while having extremely flexible hips. Inevitably, I end up with strains and even tendinitis from yoga class. And I go to a gentle yoga class!

This past Saturday, I ended up with ankle twinges because of some lunges we were doing. Previously, I mashed my hip on several occasions. The funny thing is that I haven't had a real running injury in years; yet I'm repeatedly inflicting pain on myself with yoga. Why? And should I continue? Or should I just switch to meditation instead? For now, I'm going to continue, but if I get one more serious problem, I may just spend class in "child's pose" or just curl up in a fetal position and count sheep.

Greatest thing ever - the personal pie machine

My tiny kitchen was the site of a culinary electrical storm last weekend. At one time, I had all of these gadgets chugging along:

• My Zojirushi bread machine
• Presto waffle maker
• Cuisinart coffee maker
• CrockPot slow cooker

and last, but certainly not least, the Breville personal pie maker. At risk of sounding very 2006, I've got to say this thing is the bomb. No, it's da bomb.

If you've never seen one, here it is.

It changes piemaking from a chore to kitchen fun. You basically buy pre-made pastry dough (at least I do ... if I weren't fully employed, maybe I'd make it myself, but seriously...they sell this stuff) and cut it into circles for the tops and bottoms of the pies. Then you either use a recipe from the book they provide or you ad lib to create your own pie fillings. Each pie contains about 1/3 cup of filling.

So far I've made beef and mushroom, chicken and leek, chicken/onion/asparagus/turnip green, Italian (imagine pizza toppings in a pie) and burrito (think Mexican burrito fillings inside a pie). Oh, and on my husband's suggestion, we even had a curry chicken/potato pie. Much to my surprise that was absolutely delicious.

During this same time period, I've been trying to gain some weight, and maybe not coincidentally, I've gone up by about a pound and a half. Coincidence? You be the judge. All I know is that I've found a kitchen helper that's brought piping-hot deliciousness into my household, and I am pleased.

I'll post the recipe for my next pie creation the next time I make them.

Introductions

I've been asked before why I don't blog. I mean, I'm a writer/editor, so I write for a living -- so why don't I have my own virtual soapbox?

I guess I've just felt like I don't have that much to say. Either that or I don't want to give it away for free. Well, probably the former.

In any event, it doesn't matter, because I've given in. Within the postings that will follow, I'll detail the daily doings and musings that go through the head of a long-distance runner, frazzled editor and cooking devotee. Hopefully you'll enjoy some of the recipes and running stories coming your way, and hopefully I don't blow up our kitchen.

A sneak peak at the coming days:

• Fun with the best gizmo ever: the personal pie machine (see below)
• A year ago in my running life - what a difference
• Yoga - good or bad? Discuss

Hasta la pasta,
Lici