To lamely paraphrase lame philosophers everywhere, “when a snow day falls on a holiday, is it really a snow day?” Regardless of how you choose to answer that question, when it happens, I feel like we should get the following day off, just for good measure. Who’s with me?! Yes, Monday was President’s Day, and we in the DC area awoke to a couple inches of snow and the prospect of not being able to go anywhere because no one in this area knows how to drive in moderately inclement weather. At least it wasn’t another Snowzilla.
Life
Would you believe it if I told you that we had more projects to do around the house? This time, repainting and wallpapering a bathroom. On that subject, when you move a washing machine to paint behind it, is that OCD or just being thorough? Regardless, attention to detail is important, amiright?
Booze
Our halfhearted plans for a Grammy Awards drinking game were basically put to rest by the paucity of awards actually given out during the broadcast. Looking up who won this or that award before the ceremonies is decidedly anticlimactic and would also lead to consuming large quantities of alcohol very quickly, which was never the intent. So instead, just good whisky for me during that glorified music festival.
Yamazaki 18 Japanese Single Malt Whisky
While the Grammy festival may have been a dud, our own housewarming party was a resounding success. We made a batched cocktail inspired by this gin-elderflower-strawberry concoction that was so popular it required a second batch. Recipe coming soon!
Food
One pot chicken lo mein might just have the best flavor-to-difficulty ratio of anything we’ve ever made. Just throw everything in a pot and wait? It’s a veritable epiphany! What’s more, the concept is so versatile that it’s sure to be the basis of many meals and recipes to come.
One Pot Wonder Chicken Lo Mein | Photo & Recipe: The Wholesome Dish
A party at our place means baked goods, and even though most of our guests were unaware of that, I couldn’t let them down. To that end, oatmeal raisin cookies and a brand new cupcake creation. And let’s not forget the homemade hummus, a charcuterie spread, and chili lime drumsticks.
Oatmeal raisin cookies
Where cupcakes come from
Recipe posts are already in the works, so stay tuned!
[UPDATE] Sweet Baby Jesus! cupcakes recipe is live!
Fitness
After suffering from serious fatigue issues a few times recently, I decided it was time to change up my routine a bit. I didn’t so much change what I was doing as the order in which I was doing it, building in more recovery time between hard efforts and worrying less about “filler” workouts. It largely paid off. I hit a recent squat PR, and I continue to get faster on interval and tempo runs. My long run didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, but not every workout can be a winner, and it’s important to always focus on the big picture.
Interwebs of Intrigue
New “feature” this week: A list of stories/videos that caught my attention over the the past seven days, generally but not always related to the theme of this blog.
- The Chemistry of Whiskey [Compound Chem]
- Garmin Finds its Way (but FitBit and GoPro are lost) [Bloomberg Gadfly]
- Heavy Lifting for Endurance Athletes, Part I [TrainingPeaks]
- The Mad Men era of drinking is upon us (but deaths from drunk driving are down) [Wonkblog]
- The Parmesan Cheese You Sprinkle on Your Penne Could Be Wood
- This Ice Ball Cocktail Is the Coolest Thing [Gizmodo]
- Watch Cyclists Get Blown Backwards in a Race Because the Wind Was Too Strong [Gizmodo]
- What actual “caveman” DNA says about the Paleo movement [Wonkblog]
See you next week!
