Where does time go? Honestly. I'm not sure how the month of January has escaped so quickly. I guess research and writing will do that. With only one class this semester, I don't have much of a schedule to keep up with. I almost never need to pack a lunch or a snack, because I'm never at school long enough to warrant it. There were a couple of days when Rob and I were getting a lot done and we ended up ordering food to campus, but for the most part, we've been eating at home.
I have done a few fun things this month, besides research. Last weekend, after lamenting to my physics friends that my girlfriends were too busy to do something, I ended up going skiing with K- and hiking with J-! Skiing happened purely by accident. I ran into K- at the coffee shop on Friday night when Rob, Mark and I were doing physics in public (PhIP). She said she was going skiing with the kids tomorrow, but wouldn't have anybody to ski with. I've skied all of once, but decided to go along anyway! It was a blast! I was super tired by the end of the day, both physically and mentally, but it was worth it. My awesome bento lunch kept me full too. (More about the food in a minute...)
The next day, J- and I decided to try and hike Harney Peak in the snow. I've never hiked Harney when there was snow on the ground. After spending an entire day in the Northern Hills playing in snow, I was convinced that we would have to snowshoe the entire thing and it would be too snowy to get very far. As it turns out, the Northern Hills and the South-Central Hills get VERY different amounts of snow fall. We had WAY more gear than we ever needed. Seriously, I think we had enough stuff that we could have slept overnight and still been okay. Maybe a little cold, but probably no worse for wear! We made it about two miles (on the three mile trail) before deciding to turn around.
So, what did I pack for these outdoor excursions? Tomato soup and sandwiches. I know, it's not the best "bento" food, but it was still a delicious packed lunch! I made two sandwiches on hearty wheat bread: turkey with mustard and pepperjack, and hard salami with mayo, mustard and pepperjack. Both sandwiches stacked nicely in my EcoLunchbox container, and I had just enough room to tuck a square of Ghirardelli chocolate along the edge. I bought a 10-ounce Thermos which held the perfect amount of tomato soup for both dunking and drinking. I didn't finish the tomato soup either day because I packed way more food than I can usually eat in a sitting. But I figured, in the cold, extra food is better than not enough food!
I was impressed with the new little Thermos. I pre-warmed it with hot water while I was making the soup. The soup was heated much hotter than I would ever consider eating it off the stove, but by the time I got to it 4 or 5 hours later, it was the perfect temperature! With such a tiny Thermos, I was afraid it would be cold or worse, leak. At the end of the day, my soup was nice and hot, and my bag stayed dry. Yay!
