How much wood can a woodchuck chuck in 11 days?

Dear Maine,

As you know, my employer is based in your fine state. So I am very lucky that I get to see my family more often than I would if I was employed by a west-coast company. The challenge that I face is how to fit everything and everyBODY in during my trips to your state! I leave tomorrow for a total of 11 days. Within that time...I have 2 days of travel, 7 days of work, 2 days with the Felders, and every evening filled with dinners schmoozing with colleagues and reconnecting with old friends (my personal favorite). Since these days are typically long, jet-lagged, and calorie-filled, I have to get my workouts in early morning. No joke. My days are like 16hrs long. So to all my friends that I missed during this trip, please accept my sincerest apologies. You didn't make the cut this time. I'll try to schedule you in next time.

Love,

Isolde

I heart SIRIUS satellite radio

I am going on 4 years with satellite radio and I would like to consider myself a longtime listener. 4 years and I am still never bored with the stations and the programs. It's where I get all my new favorite bands and try to stay moderately cool and up-to-date. Here are a few favorite radio shows that can't get enough of:

Rosie Radio: Her morning show is great! I never thought I would like listening to Rosie O'Donnell...but she's SO good on the radio. I especially like her points of view on parenting teens and family relationships. She has poignant and inspiring guests and I am constantly impressed on how intelligent and passionate she is. I also like that I laugh out loud constantly! I suggest checking out the show.

Theme Time Radio with Bob Dylan: No, it's not a station of Dylan songs (snore). It's a funny and quirky Spectrum channel program narrated by Dylan's deep slurry voice. He picks a theme for the hour....say "Love", for example. Then he'll play all his favorite songs from the 40's and 50's about Love, with interludes of clever facts and music trivia about that era or artist. What a great show!

Broad-Minded on Stars: Don't be fooled by the title. It's show narrated by two broads...hence the name. It's like reading US Weekly or People Magazine without actually reading it. They are super shallow and star-crazed broads. It's intelligence killing...but entertaining.

Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Fresh Air: You can also catch these on the NPR channels from your traditional FM radio or online. Wait Wait is so funny. I love that the winners on the trivia show win a voice recording from the semi-celebrity panel member that you can use on your answering machine. Do people even HAVE answering machines anymore? Would you have to give them your password to your cell voicemail?! As for Fresh Air....well, I like to listen to the celebrity interviews. I get a little sleepy listening to the interviews with authors or politic figures. I am trying to stay awake behind the wheel, remember?!

For all you iPods....you will never take the place of my satellite radio player. I will always prefer real-time entertainment with uncensored music and spoken word.

Soup's on

It's my favorite time of year for soup. The winter rain has started, ugh. So I cook soup. If there was a breakfast soup, I would eat that, too. Eric is my taste tester for my hot pot creations. For those of you who aren't familiar with Hot Pot....it's an asian thing. My old roommate, Amy, turned me onto this a couple winters ago when she took me to a restaurant called Hot Pot City. It's when you put a pot of broth (your choice) on a stove burner or portable burner for the table, then you have dozens of fresh ingredients that you keep adding to it. It's so delicious and fun. At home, I typically choice a low sodium chicken or vegetable broth with lots of asian-inspired ingredients, like ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, fish oil, mushrooms, lite coconut milk, rice noodles, lime, shrimp, bok choy, and whatever else I can find! If I am not doing a hot pot creation, these are my favorites to cook: Tom Yum Goong (LOVE this when I have a cold), Brazilian Seafood Stew, and Chicken Curry Soup. I try to make the soups with lots of extra broth, so I have a tasty new broth to work for the next time.....however, my taste tester tends to finish off the batch before I can store it for later.