nunc est bibendum

We had a great time, much pork was eaten and many beverages drunked up. That pork shoulder must have been 15 to 20 pounds...sheesh, 10 1/2 hours on the smoker!

Memorial Day 2008 Pulled Pork Party

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The rivalry heats up

2008-05-22T21:06:45Z

So the Joel Gott Zin is Josefa's and the Graziano Zin is mine...ooh, bring it on, yo!
Sent from my Crackberry

Josefa vs Mark.jpg

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The running has begun...

2008-05-18T20:48:35Z

Okay, Mark here...I never thought I would say these words until they passed my lips last week: "Josefa, I need to start running." I recently left the restaurant industry and that changed my "exercise regimen" if you want to call it that. I was running around a dining room 5 nights a week until mid-January, then abruptly switched to driving around Chicagoland all day in a car. Over the course of three months I have managed to gain about 10 pounds...so "watching my weight" has become quite easy, as my paunch has made itself more visible - especially when I am sitting down.

Yes, I used to go to a gym, but I hate gyms. I hate the hamster-life that these places emulate. I need to be outside, whether it's roller-blading, riding my bike, walking, etc. So here's where running comes in: we live about 2 miles from the lakefront, and when I lived by the lake I used to roller-blade quite happily and easily. Now, since I hate "going places to exercise" like a gym, or carting myself to the lake to roll up and down the shoreline paths, I figure that I need something to do that requires minimal preparation and forethought (I am very lazy and have incredible inertia). So...hmmm, there's a park close to us (Humboldt Park is beautiful and large); I have a pair of cross-trainers (running shoes await once my cashflow increases); Josefa has clothes that I can wear, and the only thing keeping me in is the door.

So I blazed a trail today. Not physically, but mentally. I have not run willingly since P.E. and that was 25 years ago, and that wasn't very willingly either since it was required! Josefa threw me a shirt, shorts and socks, and off we went. She coached me on running/walking intervals, which I happily took advantage of since I'm extremely out of shape. My body isn't really meant for that jarring impact stuff, but I kept it mellow. Eight minutes jogging, two minutes walking, etc.

So how did I do? I managed to run three miles on my first day out. Wait...THREE MILES??? Are you kidding me? I thought I'd get to one mile and fall into the gutter shouting "go on without me, save yourself!" I didn't run the entire distance (I guess about 3/4), but hey it's a start! I did plenty of stretches afterward, and we had a nice breakfast to celebrate.

Now, all I have to do is keep my 5k route going every other day (or more, who knows!) and see where the wind takes me.

- M

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