Fitbit

Back around Thanksgiving, rackham and I picked up new phones... and they happened to each come with a Fitbit Flex. I slapped mine on my right wrist (where I usually wear a watch), dithered over which setting to use when it came to handedness and finally settled on "dominant" (since they're both dominant, so it shouldn't matter which hand it's on) and proceeded to go walking everywhere with Rackham, who was getting almost twice the step count I was (even though I have a shorter stride). ( Having worn pedometers in the past, I knew mine wasn't right. )

So, that was one bit of helpful surprise info... but I also started using the other function on the Fitbit: the sleep tracker. Wow. I probably like that more than I do the step counter! I've found that it generally takes me less than ten minutes to fall asleep after I put it into sleep mode (sometimes as little as five minutes, which completely shocked me). Also, I definitely do my best with about six and a half hours of sleep... and when I'm home, I wake up a lot less than I thought I did.

The other rather cool thing is that I was already using Runtastic on my phone to monitor my walking and hiking, then a month or so ago started using MyFitnessPal to monitor food and overall exercise... and all three (MyFitnessPal, Runtastic and Fitbit) will interface with each other! It makes things so easy to track! I find I'm doing more and enjoying it all a whole lot more, too.

( I've also found that it's not terribly difficult to reach 10,000 steps. )

Crossposted from my Livejournal.

Mystery recipe... what does it make?

I've been going through my grandma's recipe box recently, which is cram packed full of mostly handwritten recipes for cookies and cakes (with the occasional main dish thrown in for good measure). Today, I came across this list of ingredients written on the back of a ticket for the 24 July 1969 Pioneer Day Celebration Ball Game between Idaho Falls and Ogden:

10 oz Butter or margarine
1.5 lbs sugar
6 large eggs
1 lb 4 oz flour
1 oz baking powder
3/4 Tbsp salt
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp vanilla

There are no instructions and no indication what this is supposed to be making. Anyone have any ideas? I may just have to try mixing it up and see what comes out... although I do wonder if there might be a particular method that would work better.

The other amusing thing I've come across are the number of recipes that make 150 servings or more. My grandma was a lunch lady at school back in a day when they actually made everything from scratch.

Crossposted from my Livejournal.

And the Mystery Recipe is...

Spongecake. I think. It's very tasty, but the texture isn't as smooth as a regular cake. I don't think it would work very well with frosting, but suspect it would be fantastic with a glaze of some sort (lemon or pineapple, in particular) or perhaps just with some berries on it or both.

( Method to my mixture. )

( And here's the finished product. )

Final verdict: I would definitely make this one again!

Crossposted from my Livejournal.

More Flooded Valley

I know, I know... I'm really spamming my friendslist with posts today. I've just ended up with a lot to say!

The fog finally lifted enough for a few minutes this afternoon (and it really was just a few minutes before it was all completely gloomed over again), so I grabbed the camera to get a good photo for the day.

( Really, that's not supposed to be a lake. )