Wino

Tonight I'm going to a slumber party that will mainly involve pizza and wine, which means I need to bring some wine to share with the group.

On my way home from work, I stopped at Byerly's to get my standard Bota Box and discovered that they were having a buy one get one half off sale. Score! I grabbed another box.

Which was all well and good until I got home and thought about the fact that I just purchased six liters (eight bottles) of Chardonnay, which Art does drink. And Kurth doesn't even drink. So unless this party gets really out of hand, I'm going to have to consume the bulk of this wine by myself.

Stand back folks, I've got some drinking to do.

You have to let bacon shine.

Last night I got pho with Nicky (a.k.a. Formica Dinette) at Pho Quan. My guest review is coming at Pho-Qs, but in the meantime, I thought I'd share a little moment with you.

As we ate, Nicky starting pondering her dreams of making bacon pho. We discussed different issues such as textural problems, whether the broth would be bacon-based, and if bacon bits could replace bean sprouts as a crunchy topping.

Then, in a fit of emotion (or as much emotion as she could express in a somewhat creepy establishment that made us both feel like we had to whisper at all times), Nicky said:

I just don't want to set up bacon to fail, you know?

Amen, sister. This is why I'm hesitant to resurrect bacon vodka.

Kitty Banking

Note: After posting this I realized that I was going to have to change my picture and phrase, which made me sad. But then I found something BETTER!. So don't go hacking into my bank account.

For some reason, it makes me strangely happy to see an angry kitten every time I log into my U.S. Bank account (click on the image to see the anger in more detail).

Twin Cities Thursday

1. The Metblog covers Mark Cuban dropping in on MSPTweetup.
   
   
2. I Am Dez confirms that we must clone a T-Rex!
   
   
3. Andy Sturdevant shares some important architectural trivia.
   
   
4. Kaeti considers going carless.
   
   
5. Glimpses of Soul makes me a little misty with photographs of animals at a wonderful local rescue organization.
   
   
6. Art embraces me being an unemployed nerd all summer.
   
   
7. The Heavy Tables shares its nominees for the best new establishment in town.
   
   
8. Across the Great Divide speaks to Give to the Max's success and confusion.
   
   
9. Overheard in Minneapolis discovers where to meet single men.
   
   
10. But if that doesn't work, Conner would like a date.
    

Bacon Wednesday

So the other day, my cousin's boyfriend Colin, a fellow lover of bacon, sent me a picture message on my phone. Since I'm not technologically advanced, my phone does not receive picture messages, but when I was finally able to receive the picture via email, it was upsetting.

Stephanie agrees.

-Emily

Bacon Wednesday #36

Walking the Walk

or

Not Everything Should Taste Like Bacon

There are some things in life you just don't joke about. For me, those things are childbirth (scary!), a sudden allergy to all Mexican food (scarier!), my cat not being soft (she is the softest cat ever, okay?), and my dedication to bacon (vast, unwavering, true).

So every (-ish) week when Emily and I join forces to speak to you about our favorite smoked pork product, we're not kidding. We just don't say we like bacon, we go out there and spread the word.

Now that we have established that I like bacon, no joke, I have to say something I never thought I would (sorry, J&D): Not everything should taste like bacon.

To wit: An e-mail Emily sent to me yesterday. It's a picture of a bacon lollipop, which, okay, is maybe not my cup of tea but there's nothing wrong with it.


Here's what Emily had to say about this picture:

When this was first sent to me I thought it was a bacon condom and was truly horrified.

Yours in bacon,

Emily

All I can say (and again, you know this is not for lack of bacon dedication) is: Thank GOD. Guys, bacon is great. But some stuff just shouldn't taste like it. And I unapologetically place "business" firmly in that category.

Yours in bacon,

Stephanie


Like what you've seen here? You can read what Stephanie thinks about things that are not bacon over at How Does She Do It?

My History with Running

My admittedly distant (yet very real and very scary) commitment to run the half marathon has made me think about my history with running lately.

Mainly the fact that I've nearly always hated it.

When I was in middle school, the most traumatic time of the year for me (and many of my classmates) was the annual "cross country unit" in gym class.

During this unit, we would run the mile every day for what seemed like an eternity. Afterward, we were required to shower together, which was traumatic in its own right.

But we're talking about running here.

At my school, there were usually 75-100 kids in a gym class, and classes were taught by three teachers. After the first day of running the mile, the three teachers would split us into groups:

Mr. F's Group
These were kids that could run the mile in like seven minutes (a pace that, to this day, seems like an unreasonable human land speed). These were tiny, scrappy girls that played soccer and lanky boys who'd hit puberty early. I resented them.

Mr. R's Group
This was the middle of the road group, one I actually worked my way into by the very end of the eighth grade. These kids weren't the star athletes, but they maintained a reasonable level of physical fitness. So I resented them a little bit too.

Mrs. K's Group
And then there was my group. The group full of chubby and/or nerdy kids that were clocking 14-minute miles (and sweating pretty hard when they finished them). It was all very awkward and embarrassing. Not an awesome prelude for having to get naked in front of all your classmates.

Anyway, I'm sure this is only part of the reason for my hatred of running (a long term aversion to physical activity in general probably played a part), but it didn't help.

So the fact that I'm actually started to enjoy my runs? It just doesn't feel quite right.

Twin Cities Thursday

1. Kurth sent me an email demanding that this Heavy Table interview with Matt Fisher of France 44 be included this week, and I am honoring his request.
   
   
2. Stuff About Minneapolis points out signs that you might be a Twin Cities redneck.
   
   
3. Bill Roehl does what he does best, pointing out South Metro bureaucratic ridiculousness.
   
   
4. The Hot Dish names the top five local restaurant names.
   
   
5. Overheard in Minneapolis breaks the news that the gays are now allowed in Caribou.
   
   
6. Andy Sturdevant defines the Mike Whiskey.
   
   
7. MNSpeak lists some unexpected effects of the housing crisis.
   
   
8. Art discusses being a famous radio personality and meeting Internet people.
   
   
9. Twin City Sidewalks asks if the LRT is a gentrification machine.
   
   
10. Stephanie plans a very adult holiday season.
    

Bacon Wednesday

In this edition of Bacon Wednesday, Stephanie issues a challenge for me to help her recreate our bacon vodka fiasco. I am alarmed.

-Emily

Bacon Wednesday #35

Faith, Restored.

After Emily's and my brief dalliance in boutique liquor, I eased up on my bacon Bloody Mary fervor for a while. But then I started noticing them everywhere, especially after Bakon made it onto Conan O'Brien. Suddenly, the bacon Bloody Mary was the mojito of summer 2009.

I didn't sample one. The suspense of waiting three weeks to see how the vodka turned out, added to the disappointment of our lukewarm, iceless attempt at a cocktail, left me burned out on the whole topic. But then!

This past Sunday, some of my college friends and I took a walk through the U of M campus to get all nostalgic. We stopped at Blarney's in Dinkytown for lunch, and they were still serving brunch as well. And on their drink menu was a bacon Bloody Mary. Still a little gun shy after my last experience, I let my roommate order one so I could have a sip. And friend, this was a beautiful Bloody Mary. Instead of sundry skewered meats and cheeses, it came with a piece of bacon for a stir stick. It was gorgeous! And the taste did not disappoint. It was a tasty Bloody Mary regardless, but after a few seconds the bacon flavor emerged, just as a little smoky kick of a finishing note. In short, it was all Emily and I hoped to achieve but didn't.

All in all, this was a very positive experience, for two reasons. One, I have tasted a delicious bacon Bloody Mary and know it can be done. Two, I now have a metric against which to measure our future efforts. And there will be future efforts, because I must have more. Emily, you game?


Like what you've seen here? You can read what Stephanie thinks about things that are not bacon over at How Does She Do It?

I am musclebound.

With all the running I've been doing recently due to both pants fitting goals and half marathon anxiety, I've been expecting to lose some weight.

And when I first started working out I did lose a few pounds right away, but it's pretty much stalled from there.

Now, I know I should be focusing less on what the scale says and more on how my pants are fitting (and they are looser), but it still bothered me that the numbers weren't changing. That, and I was just sort of baffled by it.

Until Friday.

I was heading to a rehearsal dinner and decided to wear a pair of knee-high boots. In the past, these boots had always been a bit too loose because I've always had scrawny, childlike calves, but this time, I couldn't even zip them up a third of the way.

I, without realizing it, had become the owner of a pair of giant, thunderous calf muscles.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure all the missing stomach fat I've noticed has been canceled out by leg muscle, meaning I should probably just throw the scale away, right?

The whitest thing that's ever happened?

Yesterday Zach and Julie got married (hooray!), and during the reception, I witnessed a dance off.

A Wisconsin versus Minnesota dance off.

To "Bust a Move."

With each team consisting of one teenage boy and one senior citizen.

It was amazing.