I had a nice weekend. My husband and I drove 280 miles each way to spend the weekend in his hometown in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It was a great time. I went biking for the first time in over a year. My husband went fishing with his dad.
Archive for May, 2010
Happy Memorial Day
Monday, May 31st, 2010Happy Friday!
Friday, May 28th, 2010I usually don’t care much for Fridays as I generally work on Saturdays and Sundays. But tonight, I am flying to Chicago to see my husband. So, today is a good Friday. Tomorrow morning, Ben and I will drive to La Crosse, WI (Ben’s home town) to attend the graduation celebration of his cousin, Ellie. I am looking forward to a scenic drive and time spent with my husband. It’s been a tough 3 weeks apart, but hopefully this summer, we can spend longer periods of time together (instead of just 3 days weekends). I must start writing my research proposal for jobs this fall and I think writing in Chicago will be refreshing and productive.
One week without coffee
Friday, May 14th, 2010It has been exactly one week since I last consumed a coffee-containing beverage. I’m feeling slightly de-toxed but still kind of lethargic and tired every day. That might be due to the grey weather or not getting 8 hours of sleep every night. Since I stopped drinking coffee, I’ve been in bed (usually reading to watching hulu) by 9 pm every night. I’m usually super-exhausted and they turned off the heat in my apartment, but the weather has been unseasonably cold so the warm bed is the best place to be in the evenings. We shall see how much longer I can hold out. I think not having weekly science seminars in the summer also helps my health because there are fewer temptations such as free coffee, donuts or cookies.
Weekend with Ben
Sunday, May 9th, 2010Ben came to visit me this weekend. We had a very relaxing weekend. Lots of eating and hanging out at home. A little adventure checking out the Baltimore Farmer’s market this morning. Not the best place to buy produce (unless you go early) but still an interesting, crowded market, even on a cold, windy Mother’s Day. We tried the pit beef sandwich. It was awesome. Worth a trip to downtown Baltimore in the space underneath the highway. Here are a few photos of Ben cooking fish and duck breast (two separate meals). We also ate a ton of ice cream at Pitango Gelato in Fell’s Point and a gluten-free pizza (just to see what it tastes like). This morning, I made some duck fat fried potatoes. They were as tasty as they look.
Day Two: Espresso
Saturday, May 8th, 2010I caved in on day two of my coffee fast and had a single espresso shot. It was tasty and my stomach didn’t go nuts. Ben came to visit me this weekend and I took him for a visit to the Baltimore Museum of Art next door to Johns Hopkins. We had a lovely sip of coffee/tea at Gertrude’s, the restaurant inside the museum. We also enjoyed a productive trip to Wegman’s where I again found ramps! These ramps were half the price of those sold at Belvedere Square (Planet Produce) and don’t require calling ahead in order to buy them.
Day One: Without coffee
Thursday, May 6th, 2010
I have to admit my addiction. I love to drink coffee. I am not too picky about drip coffee versus single-cup coffee versus instant coffee. I love it all. But it’s time to take a few days off. This morning, I didn’t drink coffee for the first time in several months. To help with the caffeine headache, I slept an extra hour (until 7:30 am).
It’s 7 pm, and I’m feeling really good, after a few cups of earl grey tea. No terrible headache and still relatively productive at work. The best part of my coffee fast is that my stomach hasn’t troubled me at all today. For the last two weeks, I’ve been having discomfort after breakfast almost every day. I tried to change what I ate for breakfast, but it didn’t help. My husband suggested that it may be the acidity in my coffee, but I tried to deny that option. I so love coffee, not only for the taste and caffeine, but for the warm feelings the smell and hot beverage brings me.
But my good digestion today without coffee may prove that Ben was right about my coffee addiction. I wonder if the acid has burned a little hole in my stomach lining? I will see how long I can go without coffee/espresso drinks.
Speaking of such wonderful things, I went to the new Spro coffee shop in Hampden last weekend. It was so-so (espresso-wise), and was in a cute space, but the beans were from Intelligentsia in Chicago, which I thought was odd. Are there no good coffee roasters in Baltimore? I don’t like Zekes, even though I’ve tried very hard to like it.
I am amazed at the far-reaching influence of Intelligentsia, whose coffee roastery is located on the same street that Ben lives on, just about 1 mile west. I clearly remember how fun it was to take a tour of their roastery several years ago. Ben and I drank Intelligentsia coffee while we were in New York City at the Chelsea Market. OK, no more coffee talk. Back to my decaffinated green rooibos tea.
Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race
Saturday, May 1st, 2010I went to see the floats/bicycles at the Kinetic Sculpture Race near the American Visionary Art Museum this morning. It was very fun to see people’s artistic hardwork in action. I was impressed. I also learned that even big events in Baltimore don’t really generate that much traffic. I guess crowds and traffic are judged on a “relative” scale and Baltimore is relatively small. It has less traffic on an event day than Chicago has on a non-event day.
For more photos, click HERE.