Winter roundup

B and I have lived together for almost four years now -- and like any roommate situation one between people (even married types) can be sticky.

We've learned to give each other space, appreciation and our own moments to shine. This is more important than it sounds in a house with two competitive people who both enjoy cooking during a blizzard.

You see, I've been the cook around here lately and B's been without the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with cooking.

As delicious as my meals are (and they're delicious!) we don't agree on the details of everything: My pizzas are funny-shaped, B's are round.

So, during the blizzard it was settled: B makes his round pies as our head pizza chef.

I, on the other hand, bake the muffins (blueberry, lemon poppyseed or pumpkin spice) even though baking is more B's forte. He just finished a heavenly batch of peanut butter cookies, in fact.

Exciting news in our neck of the woods...

• Our car is officially buried - we'll hope for some warm days in the weeks ahead, but hop the bus/train until then. We drive probably once a week anyway, so it's not debilitating to be car-less, but it's annoying.
  
• My new job at the Y is really fun. I work Mondays and Wednesdays. I've signed up for the Y's Lazyman Triathlon so I'll be doing a lot of swimming, running and biking (much of it indoors) between now and March 27. Yay!
• Trivia championships are coming up next weekend -- we'd better get studying Canadian geography.
• I'm participating in another medical research study -- this one involves riding an exercise bike for 16 minutes. Wacky science!
• We're watching Ken Burn's Baseball documentary - it's rather amazing. While I can't always concentrate 100 percent on it, I've definitely learned a lot.
• Our mayoral (and aldermen) election is coming right up - February 22. I'm a pretty solid fan of Rahm and I'm working as an election judge again. Hooray for voting!