Thursday, June 5, 2014

11 Questions

Nora and Stephany both did this post recently, so I thought I'd play along and post my answers!

1.   What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? 

Check my emails/whatsapp messages/texts and look at my sleep ap stats to see how high or low my sleep quality was.

2. What do you eat for breakfast? 

On week days I usually have GF oatmeal with a banana in it and coffee.  On a weekend I will make scrambled eggs with salsa if I have time for a bigger breakfast.
3. What’s your go-to weeknight meal?

In the summer I tend to grill a chicken breast or pork chop and usually zucchini or some other vegetable.  In the winter I eat leftovers or microwave a baked potato.  A lot of times I do not even cook during the week, though, as I try to make a couple of big meals on the weekends and eat the leftovers during the week.

4. Do you do any kind of journaling or memory keeping? 

I try to journal when I am on vacations but for the most part, my blog is my tool for keeping track of memories.

5. How do you fix your coffee, or do you prefer tea (or neither)? 

I make my coffee at home 6 days a week and treat myself to a skinny vanilla latte on Fridays.  I am picky about my coffee and will only buy whole bean coffee so I can grind it myself.  I like my coffee with International Delights Fat Free French Vanilla creamer, but will drink whatever flavored creamer that is available.  I am sure flavored creamers are full of chemicals but it's one of the few processed foods I eat.

6. What’s the last good book you read?  

The last book I read that I gave 5 stars to was Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.  It's pretty dark and kind of intense but so well-written.  

7. If you had a day all to yourself with no schedule, how would you spend it?

I'd start my day with a long run along the chain of lakes/Minehaha Parkway trail in Minneapolis.  After showering, I'd walk across the river to get brunch at Wilde Roast Cafe where I'd have an omelet and a latte.  Then I'd wander through the farmer's market by my condo and pick up some veggies to grill for dinner later that night.  The afternoon would be spent reading on my patio or on a bench in a local park and I'd snack on some macarons.  In the evening, I'd grill dinner, play a couple of games of cribbage with Phil and we'd watch an episode of House of Cards.

8. What are three things on your life list? 

Be completely debt free, take a month long trip to France, and climb Machu Picchu.

9. When you really need to relax or de-stress, where do you go and what do you do? 

Go for a long run, preferably by water, read a good book, take a long hot shower, talk to a friend, or go to my parents' lake home.
10. What’s on your nightstand?

My glasses, sleep mask, ear plugs (yes I am a high maintenance sleeper), hand lotion and nook or latest book I am reading.
11. What’s the last thing you do before you go to sleep? 

Check my email one last time and set my sleep ap alarm.

Ok - your turn!  Answer some or all of these questions in the comments or on your blog.  I'm particularly interested in hearing what 3 things are on everyone's life list!

14 comments:

Jeanie said...

I might not get to this one right away but it would be fun to play along! I always learn fun things about my blog friends with these and haven't done one in a long while! Thanks for sharing all these fun parts of yourself!

Marlys said...

I love reading these posts and learning more about people! I would fill it out, too, but some may find it boring! I will check back and see if I should chime in!

Nora said...

D is a whole bean coffee person, too. The only way he will have it is if he can grind it himself.

Also, I'm pretty sure your mom should chime in with some of her answers =)

What season of House of cards are you on? We recently finished season 1, haven't started season 2 yet. It's so intense I can't take more than one episode a week. Ha.

Abby said...

This is fun! I will probably steal it and do a post on my blog to answer the questions ;)

Your 'free day off' sounds amazing. Some day...we're going to do a sisters trip, and that I think that should be on our agenda one day! ;)

Linda said...

Three things on my list: take vacation with parents, Italy, 50 states.

Anonymous said...

My blog is my memory-keeping tool, too! I always feel extra smart for keeping a blog when I go back to my posts to figure out when something happened.

The last good book I read: Me before You, Jojo Moyes.

Three things on my list: go back to South Africa and take a proper safari, have a subscription to the Sunday NYTimes, see all three Triple Crown horse races in one year.

Anonymous said...

I'm a sleep stat junkie too! Last night was 79% and I was in bed for 7h 23m. Not too shabby! ;)

Stephany said...

So cool you played along!

I'm SUCH a nerd at checking my sleep stats. It's so interesting to see how it fluctuates from day to day. :)

Stephany said...

Oh, and I, too, vote for your mom chiming in! :)

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Yes, your mom should chime in!
In fact, your mom should be a guest poster on your blog :)

I will definitely answer these questions at some point!

Elizabeth said...

I am so the same way about my processed creamer. I know it's not very good for me but I figure I might as well. :)

Major Allen Espy said...

2. What do you eat for breakfast?

oatmeal with gogi berries and raw honey

3. What’s your go-to weeknight meal? Anything Thai my wife cooks.

5. How do you fix your coffee, or do you prefer tea (or neither)? I brew Sumatran coffee at home. Dynamite brand. A bit of sugar and half and half.

6. What’s the last good book you read? The Great Seducer, a biography of Jack Nicolson

7. If you had a day all to yourself with no schedule, how would you spend it? Ideal: I would be dropped off in any city in the world with a fair amount of money. And I would just walk, observe, sightsee and eat. In Asheville: maybe go hiking, eat a couple of good meals, rent a movie, share a pint of ice cream with my wife, relax in bed.

8. What are three things on your life list? trans-Mongolian railroad, write a book, build a banya (Russian sauna) in my backyard.

9. When you really need to relax or de-stress, where do you go and what do you do? massage, hike, express myself on my blog, watch a movie, sleep

10. What’s on your nightstand? herbal throat spray, a small pic of me as a boy my mom kept on her nightstand for most of her life, snacks, books on Russia, white noise machine and something that might embarrass you and your readers. :-)

Amber said...

This is a really fun set of questions! I think I might do them later this week!

Three things on my life list: travel to Africa, Asia and South America, continue my education in some way (not sure what that will look like yet) and own a house/cabin/property on the water some day!

Lesli said...

Hi, Lisa! I am going to do this when I finally blog again and get back in that groove. Oh, when will that be?? Glad you are home!