I gave up a lot of hours over the past 2 weeks, hence my online absence. But if you weren't aware, the Olympics has been on.    It's been a rough go staying up until midnight every night to see Olympic stars like snowboarders Hannah Teter and  Kelly Clark and Sean White win medals in the halfpipe, Lindsey Vonn overcome injury to finally win a gold, and it's been stressful every time Apollo Ohno steps on the rink for big race- even in the heats, my heart rate increases by 30 beats a minute! (Can you tell I might be obsessed?) 

The Olympics give people and countries a chance to come together and celebrate so many beautiful forms of athleticism and competition. Some athletes are there representing a country that's never before been represented like "The Snow Leopard," the first Ghanian to ever represent his county at the Winter Olympics.  Others, though, are seeking only one thing, the gold medal, which is often times, the one thing that continues to elude them after a successful career in a sport.  I'm still a little bitter that Michelle Kwan, winner of 5 World Figure Skating Titles, somehow, never achieved Olympic Gold.  

Even besides the competition, every Olympian has a story.  Dan Jansen is a US speed skater that lost his sister the day before he skated at the Olympics in 1988.  This year he was able to reach out to Canadian skater Joannie Rochette when her mother passed away the day she skated her short program.  She also went on to win a bronze medal last Thursday night.  The men's nordic skiing team made US history by earning medals in the sport for the first time ever.

My only criticism is the money involved with the production of the Games.  Canada spent $40 million on the opening ceremony alone, and then when it was time to really cap it all of with the torch lighting, they had a mechanical error.  Apparently, Greece is now several decades into debt to the EU because they still owe so much money for Athens.  Perhaps in the future, they could award the Olympics to a city with the most sustainable plan, both economically and environmentally.

But for now, as I watch the gold medal USA v. Canada hockey game, which is tied by the way and just got even more exciting,  and prepare for the tonight's Closing Ceremonies, I will mourn for a few minutes that I can't watch any Olympic event again until London 2012, but also be relieved that I can get back to a normal routine.  

Economic news

I'm sure it was the first time I've heard to a lecture given by a Nobel Prize winner.  Earlier this afternoon,  Elinor Ostrom, the first female winner of the Nobel Prize for economic sciences presented her lecture to the Indiana University campus.  Her lecture, entitled, "Beyond Markets and States: Polycentric Governance of Complex Economic Systems," was given in layman's terms, unlike the official lecture she gave in Stockholm when she was awarded the 2009 Prize.

Ostrom and her husband, Vincent, have had significant impact together on the economic field and on the IU campus, and for that, they were awarded the University Medal together by the President.  The Medal has only been awarded 10 times in University history, so it was pretty neat to see the historic event. Read more about it here.

Las Cataratas

Meaning waterfalls in Spanish, and this is the pretty frozen one in front of Oliver.  Beeea-utiful!

In other news, my dear friend Sarah and I may or may not have stumbled on to the homepage of the Chicago Marathon and made another commitment to a marathon within 2 years.  Are we crazy?  We'll tell you in the 247 days, 6 hours, and 47 minutes when we're at the start line.  I'm also recruiting any and all runners (casual, amateur, pro) to run it with me, so beware! If you see me any time soon, I will be mentioning this and asking you to also participate.

LGG Winter Farmers' Market in full-swing!

Saturday morning gave Brian and I the opportunity to visit the Winter Farmers' Market hosted by the Local Growers Guild, and pick up some yummy stuff.  Included on our shopping list this week was Brown County coffee beans but we found a few extras. We discovered Brown County coffee early last fall, and we love their beans.  We are starting to become more chummy with owner, Nick Schultz, and this week he gave us a free sample of the Ethiopia which was really tasty, but we're also really happy with our Papua New Guinea.  I bought some honey produced by a local bee farm from Martinsville, and we also picked up some farm-fresh eggs and made our favorite breakfast on Sunday using the eggs.  We dice a couple potatoes, chop up peppers, onions, and garlic, and throw it all in a skillet with olive oil and add plenty of spices.  Then, throw pre-cooked sausage in to re-heat.  After the potatoes are cooked through (we like them crunchier),  cook eggs over-easy on top the potatoes and sausage.  Finish off with some cheese.