Even vegetarians – but it can be hard for it to get! Luckily there’s Soul Vegetarian, which is in a terribly inconvenient location for me, but available for greens-n-sweet-potatos emergencies.

I went there a while ago, but here’s what I remember: the people were really nice, the portions were very generous, the food was a bit on the salty side for me but otherwise tasty and very filling, and everything was super-healthy without being super-boring and tasteless. I hope to make it back sometime.

See more progress on: Soul Vegetarian

I went to the BHB’s newest branch, the one in the old Bulldog Bakery at Belmont and Damen. (43T won’t let me add a new branch to this location). The aesthetic is very diy/crafty (craft-iy?) from the rubber-stamped bird labels for the goodies to the pink and pistachio T-shirts saying, “Never mind the Preservatives . . . Here’s the Bleeding Heart Bakery!” They have truffles, peanut brittle (they make their own!), cake, quiche, muffins, cookies, creme de pots, and all the other usual suspects, plus the standard coffee and other beverages (curiously, not organic). they also have these towels, this chocolate, and other local/handmade/organic/vegan/otherwise virtuous wares for sale. Also, you are encouraged to watch the chefs and bakers at work through a big plexiglass window.

As for the experience of eating there, it was pricey – sometimes frightfully so. $12 for a loaf of bread? $6 for a small creme de pot? Yep, but consider this: the creme de pot is perfectly delectable, and it’s topped with fresh vanilla bean whipped cream, mango fans, and pomegranate seeds, all organic. Also consider that BHB is a registered nonprofit, that it’s involved in some program which helps low-income people train for successful culinary careers (at least, that’s what I’ve heard on the radio, but I can’t find any information about this online), and that their staff are super-cool.

Unfortunately, the quality wasn’t consistent. Hubby’s quiche was exceptional, but he reported that his dessert was “like regular icing on a stale cake.” A sampled pound cake was heavenly; a ginger snap was super-gingery but very dry. At BHB’s prices, I don’t want to try stuff that may not turn out to be excellent, so this is going to be a once-in-a-while place for me.

See more progress on: Bleeding Heart Bakery

OK, I’m changing my end date to December 21, since that’s the official first day of winter. I think it’s going well. . . .

Things to finish (2 out of 6 done):

• Have my ring resized.
• Create an altered book.
• Practice discardia.
• Write a letter to Cindy Sheehan.
• Reflect on my first year in Chicago.
• Challenge myself this fall!

Things to make specific progress on (6 out of 10 begun):

• Read 43 books about my city Read 3 more. Working on one right now.
• Explore 43 new places in my city Add 6. I think I’ve already got there, just need to post them.
• Get the medical care I need Get this MRI bullshit figured the hell out! Also, begin bodywork/massage therapy. Made new neuro appointment; tried a massage therapist but she was so-so, so I’m still looking.
• Stick to my FlyLady routines like glue Build an evening routine which I can live with, and stick to it. Doing the routine most evenings and it’s helping a lot!
• Volunteer Post about most recent experience; decide whether to start a new volunteership or take a break.
• Not have a headache. Get a follow up CT scan and discuss with doc.
• Have a better relationship with my brother Get through the current horrific family crisis without causing any further damage to an already strained relationship. Had an exhausting but important visit, and had some really good talks with my brother. Still tentative, but it feels like we’re both reaching out for the first time in . . . well, ever.
• Find alternatives to Google products. At least post about the alternatives I’m already using.
• Get strong Keep riding the bike as late in the year as possible. Rode yesterday! Hopefully will ride some more this week.
• Be a better friend Remain close to caught up on returning emails and phone messages.

Ongoing things to do (1.5 out of 3 going well):

• Journal Not so much.
• Stick to a budget So far so good!
• Accomplish 3 things every day Well, not every day, but this is happening lots of days.

Next steps . . . post about Chicago books and places; try to break through whatever block is keeping me from feeling creative at all, so I can get back to journaling and deal with the altered book project.

See more progress on: Challenge myself this fall!

Here is what I’m aiming for by December 15. I’m trying to be more realistic than I was with my summer challenge.

Things to finish (6):

• Have my ring resized.It’s at the jeweler’s – just need to pick it up.
• Create an altered book.If I don’t get this done by December 15, so help me god, I’m giving up.
• Practice discardia.I already did this over the weekend! And I’m going to do it a bunch more.
• Write a letter to Cindy Sheehan.Or else give up.
• Reflect on my first year in Chicago.This will hopefully turn into a blog post.
• Challenge myself this fall!

Things to make specific progress on (10):

• Read 43 books about my cityRead 3 more.
• Explore 43 new places in my cityAdd 6; this can include new places I go or writing about the places I’ve been but didn’t add. Events don’t count.
• Get the medical care I needGet this MRI bullshit figured the hell out! Also, begin bodywork/massage therapy
• Stick to my FlyLady routines like gluebuild an evening routine which I can live with, and stick to it.
• VolunteerPost about most recent experience; decide whether to start a new volunteership or take a break.
• Not have a headache.Get a follow up CT scan and discuss with doc.
• Have a better relationship with my brotherget through the current horrific family crisis without causing any further damage to an already strained relationship.
• Find alternatives to Google products.At least post about the alternatives I’m already using.
• Get strongKeep riding the bike as late in the year as possible.
• Be a better friendRemain close to caught up on returning emails and phone messages.

Ongoing things to do (3):

• Journal
• Stick to a budget
• Accomplish 3 things every day

That’s 19 things total, compared to 26 from the summer, and only 6 to fully finish, as compared to 12 before (and really one of the 6 is already done). I think this is really do-able! Here I go!

See more progress on: Challenge myself this fall!

Well, I’ve totally dropped out recently, which has sucked. But I still kept on track with some things. Here’s my final assessment of my accomplishments:

Succeeded:

• Have my ring re-sized.
• Get people to fill out this johari and nohari thing.
• Tell my father I love him.
• Give up gluten for one month. (Either do this, or take it off the list, or change it to a more useful goal.)
• Survive my first Chicago Spring.
• Buy a bike.Yay for Chapman!!!
• Use del.icio.us.
• Synchronize my 43T things and Remember the Milk tasks.
• Challenge myself this summer!
• Practice discardia. Do this at least one more time.
• Get the medical care I need. Get back on antidepressants; get more help with my neck and shoulder (meds, therapy, or both).
• Get my LCSW. Find out what this entails in Illinois.
• Adopt 2 children. Make a short list of 3 to 5 adoption agencies that might be good matches for us.
• Get strong. Have a plan by the end of the summer.
• Be a better friend.
• Volunteer

Failed/Gave up:

• Organize my Issues of Vegetarian Times by August of 2007.
• Create an altered book.
• Post 100 quotes that I like for whatever reason! Get up to 60.
• Stick to my FlyLady routines. Continue doing my morning routine most mornings. Have an evening routine and do it most evenings.
• Read 43 books about my city. Read at least 3 more.
• Explore 43 new places in my city. Add at least 6 more.
• Be sexually healthy. Figure out what what will help me achieve this goal.
• Journal
• Learn CSS
• Quit my job.

So, that’s 16 goals which I either accomplished outright or met my summer milestones for, and 9 which I either failed at or gave up on. That’s not bad . . . but I think I’ll be less ambitious/more realistic with the fall challenge. (Yes, let’s do a fall challenge!)

I’ll post specific things under each actual goal. Although I only accomplished a little under 2/3 of my goals, this was extremely helpful for me. It really helped me prioritize and focus, and everyone’s encouragement was really motivating. Plus, just posting the updates was great, because often I didn’t even realize how much I was accomplishing until I wrote it all down.

Yup . . . worth doing!

See more progress on: Challenge myself this summer!

Chicago: City on the Make: 50th Anniversary Edition, Newly Annotated

by Nelson Algren

I generally mark everything I “consume” as being worth it, because if it wasn’t I wouldn’t finish it. That said, this was a tough one to swallow. Algren was clearly angry and bitter and seemed to have pretty much given up on Chicago by the time he wrote this. He spends most of the book detailing how clout, corruption, and greed have shaped the city from day one, but I couldn’t even understand a lot of it because at least every other sentence refers to some person, event, or scandal that might have been familiar to people in his time, or historians, but means nothing to me. Having the annotated version helped with this, but it was still slow reading.

On the other hand, Algren obviously loved the people of the city, although he might not have had much faith in their ability to ever make good. This is the essay where he gave us this immortal and beautiful line:

“Once you’ve come to be a part of this particular patch, you’ll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real.”

(This is the inspiration for the title of Never a City So Real.)

I enjoyed the stories of the wacky Chicago characters the best. Many of these are referred to only in passing by Algren, but are fully explained in the annotations. Just one tidbit: Streeterville is named after “Cap” Streeter, who parked his boat offshore and claimed a sort of island, which had been created by landfilling in the lake, as an independent province. He refused to pay taxes, and the city took him to court. There were also gun battles in the area as he held off law enforcement. Eventually, Chicago won, but a neighborhood near all these shenanigans still has Cap Streeter’s name.

Reading this has definitely led me to look at my new home differently. This city has a hell of a lot of heart . . . but how about a soul?

See more about Chicago: City on the Make: 50th Anniversary Edition, Newly Annotated

The Recyclery
The Recyclery, a non-profit (501c3) collective, seeks to build community through the restoration of donated and discarded bicycles. With these bikes we offer a sustainable form of transportation at little to no cost. We wish to further open ourselves and our resources to the community at large with programs that teach bicycle maintenance, safety, and environmental awareness.

Working Bikes
Working Bikes is primarily volunteer-driven. Currently it receives no government or foundation money. All its operations are funded through the sale of bicycles at its storefront. Working Bikes uses that money to provide bicycles to charity organizations within Chicagoland and to ship bicycles to the Gulf Coast, Cuba, Guatemala, Ecuador, and many other places of need.

Easy Rider
Easy Rider Bike Shop was Established in 1974 and has serviced
thousands of customers. We sell new and used bikes and repair all makes. If you are looking to replace your old bike, come trade it in.

See more progress on: buy a bike