Dana Burland

I hate when I find a really good recipe online but lose it. This chili recipe I've made twice now, but even on its maiden voyage the family confirmed "yep, this one's good".  There's nothing wildly special about it--except for a unique step at the end. It's just good. Ingredients are simple and make sense, is cooks up fairly fast/easily and it's yummy. Right now there's a container of this in the fridge for dinner next week and another container in the freezer as a gift to my future self. With a cornbread muffin on the side, this dinner will keep the troops happy all fall and winter long. Classic Chili Adapted from The Wholesome Dish Ingredients   1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium yellow onion - diced 1 pound 90% lean ground beef 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 2 tablespoons ground cumin 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 1/2 teasp...

I didn’t grow up cooking for the Jewish holidays with anyone. We’d arrive at either Auntie Rae’s or Auntie Marian’s and the spread was laid. Their homes on those nights were warm, the air itself was almost savory, the tables were leafed and extra extended with long tablecloths and card tables butted up to the big table always creating an uneven surface and fault line to watch out for. I always assumed the matzo ball soup we started with was a secret special recipe. My grandma had a special way to make hers, which she was happy to loudly gossip just one room out of earshot from Auntie Rae was better than Auntie Rae’s. We all knew, it in fact was not. I’ve now come to learn they all (minus my grandma) basically made the matzo ball soup from the box you can buy at the grocery store. What a wonderful revelation there’s no special secret I missed out on here–I can do it myself with the dump of two powder pouches and 20 minutes. The brisket though– that was an Auntie Rae special. I’m lu...

And just like that, it’s been 1 year working at BISSELL . In my first year I feel like I’ve built a pretty solid foundation. I don’t know everything but I know enough to do my job, lead my team, participate in bigger projects and get the routine “yes, good job” from my boss. I’m responsible for the product support experience, which includes everything from thousands of troubleshooting articles to designing ways for consumers to return, replace and get help with products on their own. I oversee a team that helps me with this, which has been rewarding and challenging. I have excellent, beyond capable hands in the kitchen and honestly they know their way around way better than I do. I also want to be a manager people want to work for–and that takes a lot of work in itself. What’s most thrilling about working at BISSELL is that it’s fast paced, new ideas are often green-lit and there’s plenty of room to get involved. I love that almost all the time, and in the moments when it’s less t...

This year was the garden that wasn't. I bought plants and seeds. Things grew. Some were picked, more rotted on the vine, and even more were stunted in potential due to lack of attention.    I wasn't into it this year. I just couldn't be.  On my mind was the new pool membership we had. Triathlon training. Demands at my work job. Demands at my home job. A summer schedule that leaned more toward "yes" than it should have.  In the ground I  started off on bad footing . I didn't do any Spring prep to the soil or plant planning. I left tons of open dirt where crab grass quickly took hold, choked out my plants and rooted itself so deep I could barely hand pull it.  Even without looking out the window, the wildness felt more like a choke than adventure. All summer I tried to ignore it, even though I could almost hear it taunting me through the wall.  Today I faced it.  I've got the time thanks to a positive COVID test and quarantine from my family. It's m...

ALERT! ALERT! I absolutely rocked the EGR Sprint Tri, AND placed 3rd in my age group! How did this happen!? I swam strong. Quickly after the start I was toward the front of the 35 & up women's heat. Open water swimming is so challenging, every stroke felt tough. Still I kept form, buoy sighted evert 4-6 strokes and about 1/3 of the way I started catching heats before me. The last 20ft were in shallow, weedy water so my sprint finish was mostly out of disgustion.  I was slow in transition for sure. How does one put on spandex bike shorts while sopping wet and out of breath quickly? I took my time as fast as I could, if that makes sense. Immediately on the bike I was ready to fly. This was my first race on my new bike. I love going fast on that thing. 1 mile into the 12 I knew I was going too fast. I went too fast the whole time, but couldn't stop myself, I was having too much fun. The bike course had some challenging hills but I'd been training it and knew what I was...

It still feels like the ground is moving under me after a 800ish mile, 13 hr, 4.5 day road trip to the UP and back. Using a previous northern lower peninsula trip as bait (https://dbur023.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-short-guide-to-michigander-conversion.html), I lured my Pennsylvania friends back to MI (plus my brother!) for an even grander trip. And I think it paid off. Day 1 We mostly collected people, rental cars, snacks and headed north. We were all enamored by the sweet little A-frame we rented in Harbor Springs as a quick touchdown spot.  Day 2 First, a quick tour of Harbor Springs. The cookie shop was closed, but a very big boat was there (which I feel like is a pretty standard recap of H.S.?). Then to Mackinac City to snap some pics of the bridge. Then, OVER the bridge and straight to Tahquamenon Falls.  I always forget how big and majestic the falls are. Plus, it seems they've added way more walking trails to see much more of the lower falls since my last visit. A futu...

And just like that we're 1.5 weeks away from race day. The last 3 weeks especially I've been putting in hard, hard work.  5am treadmill runs I didn't think I could finish. Brick workouts (bike + run) daunting on paper but within the realm of my capabilities. Swims... well, it pays to be a former competitive swimmer even though I'm still scared of seaweed.  This training plan is still a challenge for me. I'm grateful for that. I love showing up each day to something tough and knocking it out. The training remains as much, if not more, enjoyable for me than the race itself.  Maybe harder than the physical work was last week's unplanned rest. I got knocked off my feet for a few days and needed some actual, do nothing rest days. I'm not a good rester outside of training. It took discipline to sit and ignore a few workouts. Probably because I did exactly that, when I got back to it this week it was no big deal. No great fitness lost. An interesting, important...