Life 5.4.20 - 5.10.20

Life

Been in the office 2x now. L drove me again due to crap weather. I hope to take a bike next time if the weather is more agreeable. 

The one highlight of having to go to the office is being able to go to Whole Foods on my lunch break. They are doing a great job at making sure the store is not over crowded and have also made aisles one way- which I didn’t notice until I was checking out. I don’t generally shop in the middle of grocery stores- but occasionally I get some pasta, chips or other non perishable stuff, so it’s a nice feature. Everyone had on face coverings which was great. 

Ze is happy and lives a very easy life. I put his racquet balls into the volcano and in true millennial fashion, started whining when he couldn’t get them out. 

He sulked by the volcano for a while and then took a nap because being pissy takes effort. 

Food

Zé ordered takeout for us Friday night. 

We’ve been cooking during the week and ordering out a few times on the weekends.  Highlights from this week- a rhubarb pie from Marz, bbq from Marz, pasta from firehouse and egg sando post run from spoke n bird. 


We also enjoyed some Big Mich Michelada. 


Since we weren’t at MBCC, I used the glass to drink my evil twin seltzer. 




We made pizza Sunday night. A prosciutto, fig Jam pizza and pepperoni & ham pizza. Both came out great. I really enjoy making pizza at home- the dough is scratch made from my sourdough starter and I love putting new combos together. 

Workouts

I hit my goal of cycling 100 miles and was happy to run more this week than most of the preceding weeks. 

We are 10% across the state of Tennessee right now and expect to finish before August 31. We count our running miles as well as our walking miles for this as 5 miles a day running will break us both. 



We are getting creative with our running routes. 


It was nice to run with L a few times too. The weather was a bit chilly, but perfect for running. Last week we were wearing tank tops. 

More fun loops 


I’m still shocked at the selfishness of people who don’t wear a face covering while outside. We encounter enough people while running or walking that we leave our coverings on the entire time. The amount of people who feel above wearing a covering is so gross. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. 


I completed my first virtual Ironman event last week- a 3km run, 40km bike, 10km run. It was fun to run with L and Ze for this challenge. 

Goals for this week: 

• complete the Ironman Virtual Race 7

• complete organized strength work 

• continue to gradually increase running miles + speed work 

Thoughts

Incompetence sums it up again nicely. Seeing other countries with leaders who give a damn about the people makes me want to move elsewhere. USA is basically a 3rd world country (with a white picket fence American “dream” facade). You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. We don’t have universal healthcare, we don’t have paid family leave, we don’t have free education. I don’t understand why people think this is acceptable. Current status: raging dumpster fire. 

I also found This Article Very interesting. 

Basically there are 2 pieces to how pandemics end- when the actual sickness is eradicated and when people’s fear of it goes away. 

Mas

8:30pm singalong is still happening. It brings some smiles after long days. 

I feel quite bummed we weren’t in Copenhagen and Stockholm this past week. I’ve looked forward to this trip for the past 6 years- and to not be there is sad. I always feel renewed and inspired when I return- inspired to be better- to cook better food, to live more simply. To not have this reset is gnawing at me. 

MRC copenhagen x chicago 


Until then, I’ll just start making food out of my cook books and continue reading blogs about the places I want to go. 

Food from cafe baryl 2018, Copenhagen. 

Life 4.27.20 - 5.3.20

Life

7 weeks of WFH- not much has changed except I now go into the office 1x a week. I had originally planned to run commute, but my bag is too bulky/heavy. I then decided biking would be good-  but the weather was crap so I got a ride from L. 

I felt overwhelmed being at work despite there being only 20% of the normal workforce. I feel it is too early to return. I felt overwhelmed when I went to the grocery store on my lunch hour to pick up a few things. Previously I had gone to Jewel once around Easter and was in/out so fast I didn’t have time to process. This time at WF was my second time in a large grocery store since March 13. They were counting the number of people in the store and nearly everyone had masks on. It was nice to browse and pick up a few things- but so weird to be in a big space like that. 



I really enjoyed the reflection of the buildings in this puddle on Michigan Ave last week. 



Ze is a happy boy and we are thankful he is in our lives. 

He got some refills of baby Dinos this week. 


He loves carrying them around in his mouth and chomping on them to make them squeak.  He also shoves them at us or another toy when he plays- vs biting directly. He’s fun. 

Food

We are continuing to cook during the week and only order carry out Friday evening - Sunday. 

I made (heated up) bbq jackfruit, and made rice bowls with various veggies. 

Our carry out routine was comprised of Firehouse for their amazing chocolate cake, grilled cheese and chicken sando. 

Chocolate cake from Firehouse. They have a new dessert special every week and without knowing what it is, we always order it because they have all been amazing. 

On Saturday we picked up food and drinks from Marz (our usual Sunday funday place pre covid) and then stopped by Centennial for a crowler + some Hop butcher. 

On Sunday, L drove to 18th street to pick up their Bloody Mary trio + some food. I stayed home and cleaned our place. I was so happy I decided to stay home and get something done. I knew if I went with him I wouldn’t have gotten anything completed. 


Sunday night was pizza night. I made a mushroom pizza- sautéed mushrooms in butter, garlic, thyme and some sherry and used gruyere/Swiss cheese.  L made a ham and pepperoni pizza. 


We bought the pizza oven 4 years ago after visiting friends in Berlin who had a similar model. It has been so wonderful to be able to make fresh pizza frequently  on the balcony the past few months. 

Workouts

Woo Hoo! I completed one of my highest mileage running weeks in a while. 20 miles. Lol. The Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee has helped Ze and I get out of the house more to run  and log miles  

Ze and I ran a few times before work. He gets so excited when we go for runs. 


I hit level 25 on Zwift and got a new kit to wear. 


We took photos with the Art institute lions- they both received masks but some asshole jerks stole one of them. 


We celebrated our first Saturday MRC run with a 10k to keep the Mikkeller Running Club Spirit alive. We miss the group runs and post run beverages So much. 

Goals: continue to build running miles to achieve around 35-40 miles a week running+ walking

Cycling- 100 miles a week (down from 150)

Strength- be more consistent and use the apps I’ve got and log my time. 

Thoughts

Nothing new to report on. America is still a raging dumpster fire thanks to incompetent “leaders.” 

Mas

On Saturday, we should have had our first Saturday event with MRC Chicago. That night we should have been on a plane to Copenhagen. Sunday we should have been able to sit at the Mikkeller CPH airport bar for a few hours before our flight to Stockholm. 

This would have been L’s first time to Stockholm and my second. I always wanted to return after I visited in 2002. 

Pictures from 2002

I’m quite bummed to not be in Scandinavia this week- for the past 5 years we’ve gone to Copenhagen for the beer festival  (and sometimes someplace else). It’s one of the best weeks of the year- we try new beer and see so many fun people. We hope to be able to go later in the year but I’m not looking too far ahead at the moment.