Anne on Tap

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T06:46:00.002-06:00

Tom and I celebrated Valentine's day Saturday night...really, just an excuse to eat pizza and bake cookies :) We were going to do our usual Pizza Hut dinner date, but decided to make a homemade heartshaped pizza instead. I had some of Pioneer Woman's pizza dough frozen in the freezer (well, my pizza dough, her recipe) and so we made artichoke, chicken, pesto & mozzarella pizza. Yum.

10 Years ago, Tom and I had only been dating a few months and he was living in Pottstown doing a co-op and I was still at Penn State. I drove down to visit him for the weekend and made him heart shaped cookies with little phrases on them like the Candy Hearts. I had some leftover sugar cookie dough from my Christmas Baking extravaganza, so we decided to make heart cookies again. They are so good! We were kind of in a hurry when we were decorating them because we just wanted to eat them, so you'll have to excuse the fact that it looks like they were iced by a four year old :)

CSM in Chicago = Busy Week!

2012-02-11T09:36:00.009-06:00

This week was crazy busy, but very fun. Over 10,000 PT's flooded Chicago this week for our national PT conference (Combined Sections Meeting). This week was probably one of the busiest work week's I've had in over a year too, so I'm so thankful for having this weekend to recover and rejuvinate!

Monday night I went downtown to have dinner with my director from Children's in Bham. We ate at the Atwood Cafe. It was fancy schmancy and quite delicious. I got the scoop on what's been going on since I left and updates on how all of my coworkers in Bham are doing. (I miss you guys if you're reading this!!)

Thursday night I went downtown (for the 2nd time that day - first time was to tour our new Children's Hospital...more on that later), to meet Curry and Julie (friends from PT school) and attend our Drexel alumni reception. It was so great to catch up with Curry and Julie (I wish we had more time to talk!) and to chat with some professors as well. Here's a pic of us from Thursday night, (with one of our Ortho professors) and then below that is a pic from the last time we were all at CSM together. 2005 in New Orleans...SEVEN years ago! I can't even believe that was 7 years ago.

Friday night Tom and I both went back downtown (yes, the 4th time in one week...normally I go downtown like once/month if that!) to meet one of my favorite (Hi Dorothy!) former PT students. We enjoyed a (couple) beverages at Rock Bottom Brewery (Thanks Dorothy!) and then went to Xoco for dinner. It was packed and delicious and the perfect place to catch up with Dorothy and escape from the snow for a little while!

Target Ad and the Puppy Bowl

2012-02-05T17:18:00.000-06:00

Tom's mom sent us this picture of a Target ad the other day, with a comment that says "Anne and Tom, haha!" I can't help but think she is somehow a fly on the wall in our apartment, as this couldn't be more accurate! I'm always lounging on the couch on Dell mini and Tom always vacuums. Although for the record (and so you don't think I'm a complete bum) I am usually somewhere else in the apartment cleaning when Tom is vacuuming.
Today Bailey and I watched the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. At first she was more interested in the squirrels in the tree outside the window than the adorable puppies on the tv.

But then she finally decided to watch. I think she was trying to figure out where the squeaker toys were hiding. She could hear them but the only thing she could find on the floor was what's left of her raccoon carcass from Christmas.

Project Goal Update and a few more goals

2012-01-29T18:00:00.007-06:00

I'm happy to report that I have crossed several things off of my To-Do list! Here is an updated list, plus a few more goals for the month of February.

~~Take down the Christmas tree~~
~~Put away Christmas decorations~~
Go through stuff and make another trip to Good Will
Organize coat closet (This should probably be done before the Good Will trip)
~~Reorganize 2 of our kitchen cabinets and find homes for everything (just about everything) that has been living on the countertop for the past month~~
Go through my file drawer
~~Move my desk contents over to Tom's our desk (we consolidated to 1 computer)~~
~~Decorate for Valentine's Day~~
~~Plan and cook meals for February vacation~~
~~Inventory the freezer contents~~
~~Plan meals for upcoming busy week nights~~
Do our taxes
Apply for promotion at work
Apply for Early Intervention credentialing in the state of Illinois

And here's a pic of my "splurge" at Home Goods last month. I LOVE it. I think maybe because we don't really ever have any red in our decor, it just looks so pretty in the hallway. The pic is a little blurry because it's from my phone.

Photo Update: Snow, Bars, iPhone, JoePa, Dad

2012-01-24T21:16:00.007-06:00

Last Friday we got several inches of snow. Bailey had a blast, as always. She loves "attacking" Tom and trying to steal his gloves.Friday night we ventured out in the snow to Beckett's Public House to celebrate our neighbor's birthday. We had a good time hanging out with the neighbors and swapping stories...I'm sure going to miss them when they move!

I broke down and ordered a new iphone cover a few weeks ago. I've been wanting it for a while but have resisted buying it....until now. It came in the mail this weekend and I love it!!

And of course, we've been in mourning since the passing of JoePa. Regardless of what he did or didn't do, it's still a shame that the last few weeks of his life had to play out like they did. My heart breaks for SuePa.

When facebook flooded with Joe Paterno and Penn State comments, I thought it only fitting to change my profile picture to this one of me and my dad (circa 1984ish I think??)

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T07:46:00.001-06:00

Project Goal Update: Kitchen Cabinets

2012-01-14T19:54:00.001-06:00

So far, so good! Here are some before (brace yourself) and after pics of re-organizing the kitchen cabinets. I actually forgot to take a before picture of the main cabinet...which is a shame because it was a mess and that was the biggest project. I'm so glad I was able to get some of the STUFF off of the countertops. I LOVE how it looks so neat and clean. We'll see how long that lasts ;)

Some Project Goals

2012-01-07T15:13:00.007-06:00

So I feel as though I'm a pretty goal oriented person, however I have kind of been slacking on my monthly goals for the past, oh I don't know, year and a half! I think I've been a little hesitant to keep up with my monthy goals because I have a tendency to put too much on my plate and then stress out when I don't accomplish all of it, even if there aren't "real" deadlines associated with it.

With the new year comes my rejuvination for being organized and productive, and with being organized and productive comes (my favorite) lists! I thought about making a weekly post with one project goal that I would like to accomplish each weekend, but again I don't want to put any time constraints on this and the last thing I need to do is stress out over it. So here is my list of weekend projects that I hope to complete over the next few months (some obviously sooner than others).

Take down the Christmas tree

Put away Christmas decorations

Go through stuff and make another trip to Good Will

Organize coat closet (This should probably be done before the Good Will trip)

Reorganize 2 of our kitchen cabinets and find homes for everything (just about everything) that has been living on the countertop for the past month

Go through my file drawer

Move my desk contents over to ~~Tom's~~ our desk (we consolidated to 1 computer)

Decorate for Valentine's Day

Plan and cook meals for February vacation

Inventory the freezer contents

Plan meals for upcoming busy week nights

2011: Year in Review!

2012-01-02T14:38:00.002-06:00

January

Matt comes to visit

February

The Blizzaster strikes Chicago Bham Reunion in Milwaukee

March

We became Chi-rish New couches

April

Matt visits again We experience burger bliss

May

Brie & Margaret come to visit Penny comes to visit Grilling out with the neighbors

June

5 Year Anniversary and Trip to Michiana Shores

July

Birthday Week and Bailey's 1st trip to the lake Jess's 4th of July Party Mini Family Reunion in Chicago

August

Paw Paw Vacation

September

Milwaukee trip New Furniture

October

Penn State/Northwestern Game Halloween with the neighbors

November

10 Years Together

December

Holiday Party Jess's Party Christkindle Market Sweatpants NYE & Paige visits

Sweatpants NYE & Paige's visit

2012-01-01T13:51:00.017-06:00

Happy New Year!! Here's hoping 2012 is an amazing year for everyone! We've had a fun NYE Weekend so far. Our friend Paige and her fiance were in town Friday night so we took the train down to meet up with them. They were staying at The W, so we figured we would go have a drink in the lobby while we waited for them to arrive. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. Here's a pic of the giant lamps and disco ball themed lobby.
After they got settled, we went to Rosebud Prime for dinner. Everything was delicious and we couldn't believe the restaurant was practically empty on the Friday night of NYE weekend. We ate and drank and talked and laughed and it was so so good to see Paige again!! I can't wait until she moves to Ohio and can be our halfway stop on the drive home for Christmas next year!! (And Bailey can finally be reunited with her BFF Jack!!)
A few weeks ago we had the ingenious idea of celebrating NYE with our neighbors and thus the idea of Progressive Sweatpants New Year's Eve was born. What can be better than hanging out with friends, not having to leave the building, AND getting to wear sweatpants all night?! We started out the night at our place for appetizers. For the main course (homemade tomato soup and some amazing grilled cheese) we went downstairs to Catherine and Brad's apartment, and for dessert we went to the "Party Room" which is attached to Michael and Leslie's apartment. We went back to Catherine and Brad's to ring in the new year because we didn't want to wake Micahel and Leslie's baby. Good thing we did or else we would have missed the classy people ringing in the New Year on our sidewalk jamming to the music they were blasting out of their car. I'm not sure why we thought it was a good idea to go outside and Cheers them, but I don't think they minded us crashing their "party." We had a great night and I am so thankful we have such great neighbors living in our building!!

Today and tomorrow are going to be spent watching football and lounging on the couch. I can't think of a better way to kick off 2012!

Merry Christmas Weekend!

2011-12-26T18:53:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a happy Christmas Weekend!! We enjoyed a lovely, quiet, and cozy 4 day weekend here in Chicago. Friday we both took the day off of work and headed downtown for a little Christkindling and holiday shopping in the Windy City. We were hoping that the Christkindle Market wouldn't be crazy crowded like last year, but alas, we were wrong. We were also disappointed to learn that they ran out of their famous "boot mugs" about a week earlier. So we had to enjoy our Glühwein from styrofoam cups. We still had a good time and enjoyed some yummy German brats.
We wandered down to Macy's and did a little spontaneous shopping. Tom got two...wait for it....black hoodies and I bought a couple long sweaters and a shirt for work. On the walk home from the train, we decided to carry on the German theme of the day and stopped in at Mirabell, a local bar that we've passed a million times but have never been to. We loved it! It was cozy and Christmasy and everything in it was very German. We drank some Zwick'l and enjoyed the holiday spirit.
Speaking of Christmas Spirit, I had volunteered to work on Saturday (Christmas Eve) for my friend/coworker who is 8 months pregnant (but who has been having contractions on and off for the past 2 weeks). I was dreading going into work, but I knew if I were in her situation, I would be dying for someone to volunteer to work for me. Everything actually worked out perfect, because another therapist was asigned to work as well, and she said she could really use the money (and there was only one kiddo who needed to be seen - everyone does their best to get as many kids out of the hospital at Christmastime as possible), so long story short, I didn't have to work! Saturday we got caught up on some stuff around the house and went for our 2nd Annual Christmas Eve Walk to the park with Bailey. Unfortunately it wasn't covered in snow like last year, but we still had a good time. (I love that our shadows make us look like giants ;) Christmas Eve we enjoyed eggnog and a cheesy ABC Family Christmas movie (LOVE LOVE LOVE cheesy Christmas movies!!!). We were dying to open up some presents, and it just so happened that a package arrived from my parents while we were on our walk, so we opened a few presents while sipping our eggnog. My favorite? Beer and wine soap!!
On Christmas Day we enjoyed some yummy coffee (DD and Starbucks were on super sale during the weeks leading up to Christmas) while we opened presents. Bailey had a blast opening her presents. Her favorites were her racoon (see below) and the bone she got from Jackie and John Thomas. We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas day, and topped off the holiday by watching Christmas Vacation (which was finally on tv Christmas night!)

Monday I did some post-Christmas shopping and scored some good deals! I finally found some Christmas stockings that I like, and just our luck they had an "A" and a "T" embroidered on the front of them. I also got some new clothes for work, a Christmas wreath, some completely teeny-bopper slipper boots (that I love!), and some clearance Yankee candles.

Bake Fest 2011

2011-12-23T07:51:00.002-06:00

So last Sunday I spent the entire afternoon baking tons and tons of goodies for Tom's lab. I'm most excited about my chocolate dipped pretzel rods with candy cane sprinkles! I was pretty sure I was going to mess it up, so I googled a few different recipes and followed the instructions from good ol' ehow.

Other goodies included:

Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Grandma Borys's sugar cookies

Carnation Famous Fudge

Peanut Butter Fudge (same recipe except I used 1 cup of PB and omitted the chocolate chips)

Mom's no-bake cookies

I had thought I would try to plan ahead and whip up a batch of the sugar cookie dough and chocolate chip cookie dough a week in advance, freeze it, and then just bake it on Sunday.
Well, the sugar cookie dough made it through the week, but the chocolate chip cookie dough somehow disappeared a little bit each day from the freezer....oops. I didn't even care about the risk of salmonella from the raw eggs. It was so good it was worth it!!

So a few hours and 10 pounds later, I officially declared Bakefest 2011 a success :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......

2011-12-18T20:16:00.000-06:00

We've had a busy/fun/holiday filled past few days. Last Thursday night we went to Glascott's, a bar near work because they were having a huge Toys for Tots drive (with free drinks if you brought a $20 toy). Everyone from work goes every year because my co-worker's husband has always been in charge of organizing it, but this year was extra special because it doubled as a Going Away party for our co-worker Neal, who is leaving Children's (sad). It was packed to the brim, so much that I began to have claustrophobia and I wondered how on earth I ever liked to go out when places were so packed. Regardless of my personal space issues, it was a good time, complete with a little person who dressed up as an elf and threw candy to everyone from atop the bar.
Saturday night our friend Jess had a Tree Decorating party at her house. She said she got "inspiration" from my holiday party. Whatever, she took my "idea" of labeling things and, as Tom said, made it a million times better! (I had 2 things labeled "Wine" and "Beer is outside.") Jess even had little drink recipes printed out and placed on the bar!! Too cute! We had a great time and enjoyed hanging out with people we've met through Jess.
Here is our attempt at a "family photo," except Miss Bailey seemed to be more interested in sniffing my boots than smiling for the camera.
Today I spent the afternoon baking for Tom's lab (more on that later) and filling out Christmas cards. Next year we are definitely just snapping a photo and stuffing it in the envelope...way easier!

Happy 3rd "Birthday" to Bailey!

2011-12-16T07:38:00.001-06:00

Well, she's technically 3 and a halfish but 3 years ago today we adopted Bailey from the shelter! She got to celebrate by spending the entire day on the couch yesterday because Someone forgot to put the pillows down. Oops!

The cutest tights in the world

2011-12-13T06:33:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I went to a baby shower for a friend from work. It's fun hanging out with the work crew outside of work, and there is never a dull moment. It was at a country club in one of the suburbs so it was all decorated for Christmas and was so cozy. The food was really good and Jen got a lot of great gifts. My favorite part, however, was when my coworker's baby, Liv, decided to pee through her diaper and ruin her Christmas dress. Why was that my favorite part?

Because she got to wear her back-up Santa tights!

Look at that belt!!!! Hhahahahaha. Too adorable. Also, Bailey now thinks that anytime there is a wrapped present around, it's for her. I guess that's what we get for letting her open her own Christmas presents every year ;)

Happy (Belated) Holiday Weekend

2011-12-11T13:14:00.002-06:00

The first weekend is December is traditionally our Holiday Weekend and kicks off our holiday season. This year we had a small Holiday Party at our place and invited a few friends from work, our neighbors, and the few friends we have in Chicago (which is about to shrink as one of my friends from college is getting ready to move to California with her husband).

Anyways, we started the day by getting our Christmas tree, because what would a holiday party be without a Christmas tree?! I decorated it while Tom went to meet our friend Brian and his crew for a few drinks (they were in Chi-town for the day for Brian's 30th birthday). Although it was a small gathering, we had a really good time and Bailey LOVED all of the attention. I'm looking forward to the rest of the holiday festivities this year!!

Wordless Wednesday: She stole my slipper

2011-11-30T06:36:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving Vacation Everyone!!

2011-11-27T12:30:00.015-06:00

I hope everyone had a restful and filling Thanksgiving break. I know that I absolutely needed a break, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Thursday I woke up and immediately went to CVS to score a ton of stuff for practically free...you can read all about that here. After ~~my crazy calmed down,~~ I got back from CVS, we enjoyed coffee and a favorite breakfast casserole that I had thrown together the night before. I cooked our turkey and whipped up a few delicious Thanksgiving staples in between watching football and relaxing on the couch.

Thanksgiving night we had a massive Pre-Black Friday FAIL all because of a stupid tiny baby food processor. A few years ago I bought one from Walmart on Black Friday and it quickly became one of my favorite kitchen appliances. It died a month or so back, so I figured I would wait until Black Friday to see if Walmart would have it on sale again. They did, and so we trekked out to what turned out to be not really the best neighborhood in Chicago Thursday at 10 pm to try to get the food processor. We severely underestimated the insanity of Walmart in Chicago on Black Friday. We couldn't even get into the parking lot, so Tom dropped me off and waited a few blocks away. I can't even begin to describe the chaos that was happening in the store, but somehow I managed to circle the whole store twice (in 40 minutes) and couldn't find a single baby food processor :( So we went home empty handed.

After that debacle, I was a little weary of going to Home Depot Friday morning to get some $0.99 white pointsettas that I had my eye on, but was pleasantly suprised to find it pretty quiet at 8 am. I was excited with my Christmas decor purchase and love our decorated mantle.

Friday afternoon we relaxed, watched more football, and I made some of our all time favorite meals (and extras to freeze) with our leftovers. Curious what they are? Pioneer Woman's ~~Chicken~~ Turkey Pot Pie and Paige's Best Ever ~~Chicken~~ Turkey Noodle Soup. Also, it turns out that Friday night is an excellent time to go to Dominicks and Costco, in case you're in the Chicago area next Thanksgiving weekend :)

Saturday we woke up early and went to Ikea to pick up a new rug for our office. It's the same one we have in our bedroom, just a different color. We love it so much, but I think Bailey loves it the most, especially when the sun shines through the office window (since she thinks she's a cat).

The rest of Saturday night and all day Sunday were spent watching even more football, organizing some out of control areas, cleaning up my giant cooking messes (thanks Tom!!) and enjoying being home and able to relax. Hope everyone had a great break!!

It turns out, we've been busy

2011-11-20T18:51:00.006-06:00

Sorry I haven't updated with anything exciting lately! We've actually branched out a little bit (never mind the fact that we've been here an entire year) and have been hanging out with some friends on weekends. A few Thursdays ago we went over to a coworker's house for dinner and drinks. Another one of my coworkers came too, with her twins (who technically weren't even supposed to be born yet at that point) and her husband. We grilled out (yes, 40 degrees is still grilling weather in Chicago) and drank entirely too much wine. It turned out Tom and I were the only ones who had to work on Friday (boooooo) but it was still a lot of fun.

Last weekend another coworker had a surprise birthday party (although I'm still not sure throwing a Surprise party for a 29 week pregnant woman is the best idea in the world). Thankfully no one went into preterm labor and we had a good time hanging out with the people I work with outside of work.

Tonight (today, rather) we went over to one of Tom's coworkers house for LOTS of food and some football. I should mention that his coworker is Italian (and his name is Luigi=awesome) so we literally had a feast and I don't think I have to eat again until Thanksgiving Dinner! They had plenty of appetizers (chips and salsa, fruit and dip, etc) out to snack on when we arrived. Almost immediately they served two large pizzas. I was getting kind of full when they brought out the cannelloni, but I sucked it up because how can you pass up such yummy italian food? Next came the lasagna. Next? Homemade pasta with sauce straight from Italy. I'm not even kidding, I thought I was going to explode. And for dessert? No less than 3 pies, 1 pumpkin roll (courtesy of me), and homemade tiramisu. A little bit later came some espresso, complete with a dash of Punch Abruzzo (a very strong, but very "cozy" liquor from the part of Italy that Luigi is from). Seriously, just looking at the picture on the label makes me want to cozy up by a fireplace and watch the snow come down for hours! And for a nightcap and to celebrate a Bears win? Of course, some Limoncello. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to bed :)

Happy 10 Year Anniversary!

2011-11-14T19:40:00.004-06:00

Ten years ago tonight, Tom and I had our first date :) He came over to our apartment in H Alley, we watched Dumb & Dumber and drank Labatt Blue. What can I say? We're classy like that, and the rest was history ;)

Wordless Wednesday: Sorry guys, I'm obsessed with this tree :)

2011-11-09T06:09:00.001-06:00

Trick or Treat!!

2011-11-05T15:49:00.009-06:00

Last Monday night we put on our "costumes" and headed downstairs to celebrate Halloween. Our neighbors joined us, and we had a good time:

handing out candy

eating candy

seeing all of the cute kiddos in their costumes

reminiscing when the teenagers showed up with their pillowcases

reluctantly giving candy to the 2 hispanic women who were definitely over 30, not even dressed up, and were using plastic bags to collect their candy

enjoying hot chocolate

learning that I should buy some stock in Thundershirt because it really does work, or maybe not since the $0.74 banana peel costume served the same function

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T06:22:00.005-06:00

I really hope some of my patients come dressed up today when they come see me :) Tom and I plan on handing out some candy tonight with some of the neighbors. Here are some Halloween pics of the neighborhood!

The first picture of this tree was taken last Monday (one week ago) and the second was taken on Saturday...the leaves are changing fast!

One of our neighbors put a barfing pumpkin out front :)

Penn State takes Chicago!

2011-10-24T17:05:00.001-06:00

We've been looking forward to the Penn State/Northwestern game ever since last year. Mom and Dad were going to drive out with a few other family members/friends and we were going to spend the day tailgating and enjoying that it wasn't 100 degrees outside.

Enter our family and our HORRIBLY designed backs. Dad hurt his back and thought it would get better, but unfortunately it kept getting worse. It was so bad in fact, that they couldn't make it out :( He's doing better but still in a lot of pain....I hate that I can say "I know how you feel" and really mean it! We were looking forward to seeing everyone (and Tom was looking forward to having someone to converse with regarding the mess that is Penn State Football).

So instead Dad overnighted the game tickets and we bought tickets for the 5th Never Annual Zombie Penn State Chicago Tailgate. We went with a few of our friends from Penn State that now live in Chicago and had a blast. The weather was unbelievably perfect...who would have thought you would be hot wearing a T-shirt and jeans in October in Chicago?!

We had pretty good seats at the game too (Thanks Dad!) right in the heart of the Penn State section. Ryan field was small, but it was actually nice because it seemed like everyone had a good seat. We were excited to cheer on the winning Nittany Lions!!

Our Weekend: In pictures

2011-10-16T20:03:00.008-06:00

Friday was beautiful and I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the weekend than to take a walk by the lake.

Saturday night we enjoyed the pretty fall colors in our apartment :)

Sunday afternoon we took a drive up to the Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, WI to pick up some yummy treats for the tailgate this weekend.

Tom was in heaven with all of the mustards!!!

We also stopped at the Apple Holler to pick up some fresh apples!! They're Honey Crisp apples...and I haven't decided yet if we're just going to eat them as-is or if I'm going to try to make something out of them.

Dear One Year Ago Me

2011-10-12T20:49:00.004-06:00

I wrote this in a blog post exactly one year ago today

"...I am out of work (temporarily), in a lot of pain (when I'm not laying down), and about to move across the country but have no idea where we're going to live or where I'm going to work, have nothing packed, have not hired movers, and am in too much pain to start packing,..."

It all turned out okay! More than okay! You've been really smart about your back in the past year, and when it begins to hurt, you have learned to take it easy and rest. You've also been better about working out in the past few months, which has been great for your back (and your confidence, considering all of your pants still fit). You have a wonderful job with the perfect amount of autonomy, cute patients, and awesome coworkers. You live in a pretty kick-ass apartment, with pretty much the best group of neighbors you could ask for (I mean, they all watch Always Sunny and drink wine...how could you not all get along?!) And you don't have to worry about moving (for better or for worse) for quite some time! So No Worries One-Year-Ago-Anne!! Everything turned out perfect :)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T06:43:00.000-06:00

I am obsessed with Fall

2011-10-09T08:08:00.000-06:00

As you already know (from my many fall-loving posts), I'm quite obsessed with fall. I think I've become more infatuated with the season this year because we haven't had a true fall in over 5 years! I've been going on a lot of walks lately and feel completely mesmerized, like a child, by the beauty of the leaves. Thursday and Friday morning I was able to get up early and go for a run/walk along the lake before work. It was so perfect! The sunshine, the lake, the city, and of course, the pretty leaves!! I'm trying to soak it all in now since Chicago is predicted to have one of the worst winters in the country this year!!

I did quite a bit of baking this weekend too. We had some friends come over for the Penn State game on Saturday and I made Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Slow Cooked Stuffed Apples. Today I made a Pumpkin Roll and Pumpkin Bread. And now I'm sitting on the back deck enjoying a glass of Hallowine. I wish I had my iphone or camera with me when I was by the lake, but I didn't feel like lugging it along. Here are a few pics of fall that I've snapped so far this year.

Currently

2011-09-30T15:50:00.001-06:00

Excited about A weekend with nothing to do, Cooler weather, Christmas
Worried about My coworkers twins.....the nuggets were born at 33 weeks (and we blame her premature labor completely on the horrible seats at the course we all took last weekend)
Reading Eat Pray Love....don't judge, I take a while to read things
Creating Lists on all of my various iphone apps
Loving My iphone!
Hating That The Office reruns on Tuesday nights have been replaced by other reruns
Wondering So many things
Craving DP Dough
Hoping For a snowy Christmas
Watching on TV Always Sunny, The Office, Parks and Rec
Listening to Oh my gosh I can't even believe I'm going to tell you this......Christmas music!! (Just one time on the ride home from work in the 'burbs Wednesday night, but it must have been a Christmas miracle because for the first time since I've been commuting out to the suburbs there was NO traffic!)
Cooking All kinds of fall favorites...Crockpot chili, Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup, ribs
Looking forward to Our 10 year (dating) anniversary this fall

Updates: Work, iPhone, Bailey

2011-09-25T14:16:00.005-06:00

Not much to update this past week because I've spent more time at work this week than at home! We had a course this weekend that we hosted so we were all pretty much expected to go. It ended up being really great, a TON of information that sparked a lot of treatment and assessment ideas, but by mid day on Sunday our entire department was ready to head to the bar for lunch (which we may or may not have done).

Let's see, what else has been going on in my life......I did go ahead and get my iphone and I absolutely LOVE it!! My favorite app so far is MiMeals (which also happens to be the only app I've paid for so far) but I love love love it. It makes meal planning SO easy and keeps the kitchen free of my scrap papers that are always floating around with random meal ideas on them. I also really like Grocery IQ, which lets me build my grocery/shopping lists for different stores that I go to and also lets me add frequent purchases to a "favorites" list. (MiMeals does the same thing...allowing me to add common meals to a list). Anyways, I'm really enjoying my latest purchase.

Bailey is finally recovered after her acute GI illness. Let me tell you how fun that was *eyeroll* Actually, I have to credit Tom here because I didn't really do anything except pet her, crate her, and make her boiled chicken and rice while Tom had the lovely job of cleaning up her accidents. I'm not sure how she even got sick but I'm thinking she must have eaten something in the back yard that the alleycats or the squirrels drug in.

Also, Bentley must have filled Bailey in on how much fun it is to hang out in random places (At our last visit to Anne and Brian's, we learned Bentley decided her new favorite spot is in the corner behind a chair).

New Furniture!!

2011-09-18T11:56:00.019-06:00

Tom and I have slowly been trying to replace some of our old/donated/worn out/cheap/free furniture that we've collected over the years (which we are very appreciative of and have never taken for granted). We bought new couches back in March and have been making mental lists about other things we wanted to upgrade (or buy in the first place, like a bedroom set). We set out with patience, a budget, and a little determination and amazingly we were able to find exactly what we wanted AND stay under budget (well, almost).

We wanted to complete the living room, which basically meant finding an entryway table and some nicer lamps (instead of the $10 Walmart floor lamp that we've had for 5 years). It also meant finding something in dark brown to replace our black fish stand/table that doesn't match everything else.

We wanted a place near the door to sit down to remove our snowy/rainy shoes and a place to hide them as well. We thank Target (and their nicely timed 15% off furniture sale) for our new entryway table and lamps (in the living room) and entryway bench (near the back door).

Next up? Our bedroom. We've been wanting to get actual bedroom furniture for a while, but just didn't feel like it was a necessity. We shopped around and found a really good deal on a set at....are you ready for this? Costco! We figured what the heck. It was exactly what we wanted and too awesome of a deal not to pass up. So far we are loving it!!

Finally, Tom has been on the search for a full length runner for our hallway for months now! Previously we had two 8' runners from Ikea, which were just about the first thing we bought when we moved here last November. So anyways, turns out it's pretty difficult to find a runner that is longer that 16 feet and doesn't cost over $500. We finally went to our local Home Depot (literally less than a mile from our apartment) and found runners that they will custom cut for you....and they're relatively inexpensive!! Win!

We are settling in nicely to our "new" apartment and loving finally having some nicer upgrades. I think the fact that we have waited so long to buy some of this stuff makes us appreciate it even more!

Weekend Fun

2011-09-11T18:01:00.004-06:00

This weekend we took a trip up to Milwaukee to visit our friends Anne and Brian and see their new baby, Ellie. The Phillies happened to be playing the Brewers this weekend, so we got to finally wear some of our Phillies gear (my shirt was from Tom's sister Lisa after the Phillies won the World Series and Tom's jersey was a groomsmen gift from his friend Jay's wedding).

We snapped a few pics with the sausages on the way to our seats. We were a little late to the game but (thankfully) didn't miss the sausage races in the 6th inning!! Chorizo won. They're all lined up and ready to go!

The Phillies took it into extra innings but thankfully pulled it off (I don't know if we could have handled another loss after the shame and embarrassment that Penn State put on us earlier in the day).

We had a really good time visiting with everyone. On the way home we finally stopped at the Mars Cheese Castle. We've driven past it the past few times we went up to Milwaukee and kept saying how we wanted to stop, but we always had Bailey with us. We figured she would be fine in the car after her busy day of playing with Bentley, so we ran in real quick for some cheese and other goodies. This place was so awesome that we decided we have to come back and stock up on a few items for the Penn State vs. Northwestern game next month!

Happy Pumpkin Spice Candle Day

2011-09-01T18:05:00.002-06:00

Picture me doing this right now:

Jumping for joy!!! It's September. Football is on. Pumpkin Spice candle is lit. Pepperoni calzone is in the oven (with homemade pizza dough). And Tom is putting together our new entryway bench and table. Life is good right now :)

We're not in Paw Paw anymore

2011-08-30T17:08:00.000-06:00

So for our End of Summer vacation this year, we went to the sleepy little town of Paw Paw, MI. We rented a house (and I use the term "house" loosely) right on a small lake. The scenary was BEAUTIFUL. The house? Well, it was fine. After I had my initial freakout and disappointment because I was on vacation and how was I supposed to relax in a non-pristine, non-brand new, non-super comfy cabin? So anyways, once I got over my issues, we had a really good time.The first thing we did was check out our private dock and teach Bailey how to swim in the lake. She took some convincing, but was leaping into the lake from the yard by the second day. She LOVED the dock! (I let her out to go to the bathroom one morning, went back inside to grab my coffee, came back out and this is where I found her)! She never did learn how to jump off the dock, but we decided that was probably okay since she would venture out there throughout the day to get closer to the boats (and the dogs on the boats) and she seemed to love running out there at night in the pitch-black too (thankfully she never "fell" in).The shallow part of the lake right by the "shore" was all sandy on the bottom so that made it a lot more appealing to swim in. Here she is "biting" the lake. We enjoyed all of our meals, including our morning coffee on the outside deck. We grilled out for dinner each night and just loved staring out at the peaceful lake. Saturday we headed down the road to Kalamazoo, MI, somewhere I had always wanted to visit because it sounds cool and somewhere I will never visit again (because it's actually kinda shady). But the real reason we went there was to go to Bell's Brewery. We didn't go in, because we had Bailey with us, but we did stock up on some Oracle (for Tom) and Oberon (for me).Bailey loved this mini excursion because she finally got to ride in the car with the windows down (too hot for that in AL). Notice her ears aren't pointing straight up like usual, so I had to snap a pic.At night we sat outside and watched the sun set, followed by dusk, followed by the stars slowly coming out. I don't think I've seen stars at night since last year's vacation in Blue Ridge, GA! Saturday night we built a bonfire (or bomfire, if you're the kid who wrote in the guest journal). We roasted s'mores (yum) and watched Bailey prance around on the edge of the dock in complete darkness. We had a rowboat available to us so we took it out on the lake each day. We referred to ourselves as the "poor folk" on the lake because everyone else had a big fancy boat :) Bailey didn't seem to mind. We weren't sure how she was going to do in the boat but she seemed to enjoy it. By the end of our vacation, I was completely refreshed and reengerized. Bailey on the other hand, was completely exhausted and slept for a day and a half. Here she is the last night at the cabin.

One last video of the Bailster. She LOVED to run down the dock after she jumped out of the lake every single time. I think it's safe to say this was her best vacation ever.

If you don't have an iphone.....

2011-08-30T08:33:00.007-06:00

...you're me. At least that's what I always say whenever that commercial comes on "If you don't have an iphone..."

Sunday night (the last night of vacation), I was down on the dock, snapping a few pics of the sunset with Bailey laying next to me. I bent down to pet her and give her a kiss (and of course she turned her nose away) and then I heard a "PLOP!" I immediately looked at my hand that my camera was in, thinking somehow I accidentally let go of the camera string that was tied around my wrist, but saw the camera. Then I remembered my phone was in my pocket because I was waiting for the owner to call me back (I mean, who rents out their house/cabin and doesn't give any instructions on where to leave the key when you leave, what to clean up, etc). I looked into the lake and saw my phone, open, staring back up at me.

I started laughing and couldn't stop...which is a weird response for someone who just dropped their phone in the lake. I ran inside, got some tongs, and "fished" my phone out of the lake. Then drove the 2 miles into town, bought a bag of rice at Rite Aid (the only place open in Paw Paw on a Sunday night), and submerged my phone into the rice to allow it to sit for a few days (the rice is supposed to draw all of the water out of the phone).

I think I was laughing initially because I've been toying with the idea of getting an iphone for months now (if not years). I just couldn't justify the extra $30/month for the data plan, but I also kept thinking of excuses as to why I needed to have an iphone and how to justify the $30. Tom says I wouldn't have driven into town to get rice if I really wanted the iphone, I would have just let my phone be and got an iphone when we got back to Chicago on Monday. I say that I wanted the rice to dry it out enough so they could get all of my phone numbers, etc off of my SIM card.

When we got back and I checked our mail, the first thing on top of the whole pile of envelopes was from Verizon, offering a $100 Verizon gift card if you trade in your old phone and upgrade to a smart phone. I read the fine print, and didn't actually see anything that said the phone has to be in working order :)

Also, it's kind of ironic that a week after I wrote this post, about how facebook was so annoying to me, I now have to rely on it as my primary means of communication with the outside world.

I think for now, I'm going to just let my phone sit in the rice for a few days, keep thinking of pros and cons of the iphone and the extra cost, and then make a decision at the end of the week. Any thoughts???

Top 10 Things I Learned on Vacation

2011-08-29T13:02:00.003-06:00

10. Accidentally dropping your phone in the lake is a surefire way to confirm that you really should go ahead and get an iphone. How much more of a sign could you ask for? ;)

9. You get what you pay for. And apparently we paid for wood paneling, a horrifying sound coming from the water heater closet every time you flushed the toilet or took a shower, and a scary deer head that stared back at you every time you tried to enjoy the peaceful view of the lake from the kitchen or dining room.

8. I want a simpler life. I really do. I just want that simpler life to be filled with nice things :)

7. I NEED to stretch my calves after every run.

6. Watching the stars at night makes me feel like a kid again. And are shooting stars ever not awesome?

5. Bailey thinks the lake is her own personal water bowl. And she learned how to doggy paddle…while simultaneously drinking the lake, then hacking up air and lake water until she could breathe again.

4. We would much rather enjoy the outdoors through a screened in porch than by getting viciously attacked by bugs. Man, does that make us old or what?!

3. Some people wash their cars on vacation.

2. When a little kid spells “Bonfire” with an M (bomfire) in the guestbook/journal, it’s really, really funny and every future reference to the bomfire must be said bomfire, not bonfire.

1. In the words of Homestar, swiss cake rolls ARE bad for you!

Stay tuned for the full report!

Vacay Time

2011-08-26T07:50:00.000-06:00

I couldn't be more ready to go on vacation! I hope it's as fun as last year's end of summer trip! We'll be internetless for a few days but expect a full report upon our return! I better get packing, because someone is impatiently waiting for us to leave :)

9 out of 10 Facebook Status Updates Annoy Me

2011-08-22T18:33:00.001-06:00

**Disclaimer** PLEASE don't anyone get offended by this. Facebook has just been annoying the crap out of me lately so I decided to blog about it (in case you haven't noticed, I've been lacking in the blogging creativity department lately). I myself am guilty of posting some of the exact statuses below, so again, take no offense :)

1. I don't care what you had for dinner, nor do I need to see a picture of it

2. You don't need to wish your 6 month old happy birthday, I guarantee they won't have any idea what Facebook even is for quite some time, let alone be able to read the message. The same goes for leaving messages directed at your pet. Pretty sure they can't read, or manipulate a mouse, or log onto facebook.

3. Yes, we know you are "truly blessed" and appreciative of all of the birthday wishes

4. Great job, you're letting everyone know that it's "Five o'clock somewhere" and you're starting to drink mid-afternoon

5. Song quotes really aren't necesary...just go listen to the song and sing out loud

6. I get it, you are redo-ing your house/yard/garage/just bought a new house - I know, how many trips to Home Depot can one person make?!

7. Congratulations, you just booked your 4th vacation of the year. Yes, we are all jealous.

8. I'm so sorry you have the tough decision of only being able to bring 4 pairs of shoes on your vacation because that's all that will fit in your suitcase. Life must be really, really tough for you. Somehow you'll pull through.

9. Change your profile picture to a cartoon character or your favorite "fill in the blank." It will put an end to everything bad in the world!

10. My husband/wife/mom/dad/sister/brother/friends are the best in the whole world! I love you so much! Just tell that person. No one else cares.

Well, look at that, I guess it's 10 out of 10 status updates that annoy me.

Friday Night Art Project

2011-08-19T18:22:00.005-06:00

So I've wanted to get a fall wreath for quite some time now but had a specific vision in mind. Unfortunately my "specific vision" runs somewhere between $60 and $80 at Pier One or Pottery Barn. I started googling "DIY berry wreath" and thought it seemed easy enough. So after work I swung by JoAnne Fabrics and they happened to be having a 50% off sale on all fall flowers/decor. I picked up all of my supplies for under $25.

Walking out I kept second guessing myself thinking that I spent too much money and could probably find something similar to what I'm looking for for less than that. I stopped at Home Goods on the way home to check out their furniture, and of course found a fall berry wreath for $15!! Grrrrrr!! It wasn't exactly what I wanted but it was probably close enough. I decided to stick with my original crafting plan and didn't buy the wreath from Home Goods.

I laid everything out on the counter when I got home, said a little prayer (crafting requires patience and patience is something I tend to lack...especially when it comes to crafting) and an hour later, I had a masterpiece!!!

Fall Teaser

2011-08-14T16:34:00.004-06:00

After last week's post about my obsession with fall, I've been thinking of more and more reasons why I can't wait for fall (mainly new Office and Always Sunny episodes and Sunday and Monday night Football). This morning we woke up and it was cool enough that I had to put a sweatshirt on to have my coffee on the back deck!! Love it!! I almost busted out the Pumpkin Spice candles but I'm making myself wait until September 1st.

Not much has been going on around here. Thankfully my back is better!! I managed to catch the end of Bailey entertaining herself with her new toy on video. Normally she brings us the toys so she can either play tug-of-war or chase it down the hall, but with this ball she loved to toss it around to herself.

Ruined Weekend

2011-08-07T17:42:00.000-06:00

This weekend we were all set to go visit our friends Anne and Brian in Milwaukee and see their new baby, Ellie Anne. Then Friday morning I bent over to pick up one of my patients (a baby...but a big baby) and immediately felt an intense pain in my low back. My stupid back :( I hobbled through the rest of the day. Thankully Fridays are a short(er) day for me and it was my student's last day so she was pretty independent with all of my patients.

But unfortunately I didn't think I would be able to sit in a car for four hours and be able to go back to work on Monday. I've been taking it easy and taking some leftover pain meds from the last time this happened, and thankfully I think I'm on the mend.

Today we had planned on checking out Retro on Roscoe, a local festival that we've heard good things about. But due to some unpredictable weather and me still not feeling 100% we decided not to go.

Hopefully this week won't be too crazy at work and I'll keep getting better. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Is it Fall yet?

2011-08-02T06:21:00.000-06:00

Every year around this time I start to get excited for Fall. I'm ready for the cooler weather, football season, pumpkin spice candles, being able to wear jeans, a tshirt and flip flops and be completely comfortable, yummy fall foods like soups and casseroles, pretty leaves, baking, and the list goes on and on. I would have to say Fall is my favorite season (although I kind of like all of them, and am very happy to be back where we are able to experience all four seasons).

Great Food Weekend

2011-07-31T20:18:00.006-06:00

We ate GREAT this weekend! From start to finish it was pure yumminess! Driving home from work on Friday I couldn't figure out what I wanted to make for dinner and had to strongly resist the urge to stop at Pizza Hut. Then it hit me....SUSHI! Thanks to Kelly and our sushi adventure last year, I am now a pro at making homemade sushi! I had most things at home, so I stopped to pick up an avocado and some seaweed wraps. It was so addicting that I made it again for lunch the next day!

Saturday night we had a few beverages and grilled some lemon chicken and red peppers while Bailey stared down the baby birds in the back yard (there are some in the birdhouse above the garage and some more in a nest under the stairs...hopefully they won't fall out like last time).

Sunday I made Paige's Best Ever Chicken Noodle Soup complete with the secret ingredient (Tiger Seasoning) thanks to Paige!! Snacks for the weekend included some of my new obsessions: Skinny Pop popcorn and Trader Joe's Wasabi peas, as well as the remaining fudge bar that was in the freezer. Looks like someone will be strapping on their running shoes come Monday!!

Vacation Countdown!!!

2011-07-28T19:28:00.003-06:00

Sorry I've been MIA lately...we had bad storms last weekend that knocked out our cable and internet for a few days...how ever did I survive?! ;) Also last night we had the craziest lightning storm I've ever seen....it was just constant lightning for like 20 minutes...I can't believe we didn't lose power. Funny that we've seemed to get crazier storms since we've been in Chicago than we ever experienced living in the South.

ANYWAYS!! Vacation! 27 days!! I can't wait!! We're renting a little house right on a lake in southwest Michigan. I hope Bailey learns how to run off the dock and jump in the lake!! I'm even contemplating buying a hammock for the sole purpose of having one on vacation (I'm kinda obsessed with them). Here's a pic from the VRBO website. We can't wait!! :)

Things I am Loving Right Now

2011-07-17T14:48:00.001-06:00

Trader Joe's Wasabi Peas

Yuengling

Skinny Pop popcorn

Sons of Anarchy

Sitting on the back deck enjoying a cup of coffee

Taking an accidental break from couponing

Bailey playing in the lake

Grilling dinner with Tom while Bailey runs around in the back yard

Mojito's

Getting back into running

LONG tank tops

$2 Jeans

Teen Mom (Can't help it!!)

Lazy weekends

The Dog Days of Summer

2011-07-15T16:18:00.009-06:00

Last night we went to a fundraiser for a local shelter with our friend Jess. She doesn't have a dog (YET!!) but has volunteered at various shelters and supports our furry friends just the same. It was held at Schuba's, which I had actually been wanting to check out because we used to drive by it all the time on the way home from work (recently we started taking a different way home). It was fun to actually get out and do something on a week night! It reminded me of when we lived in Philly and would actually go out and do stuff (my couch is just sooooo inviting these days I can't seem to pass it up)! And by "these days" I really mean "the last 5 years."

Anyways, the mac and cheese bar that was promised was slightly disappointing (I thought it would be a variety of mac and cheese, not just 1 kind of mac and cheese with a variety of toppings). I survived ;) I also tried to channel my inner Paige to win something during the raffle, but alas, no luck there either. And I told Tom it didn't feel the same without our Birmingham crew there with us! I kept waiting for everyone to walk in with Stacy smuggling Casper in her purse! A good time was still had by all!!

Family Reunion - Chicago Style

2011-07-12T17:41:00.003-06:00

This weekend my parents came to visit. My cousin Laurel lives in Indiana, just south of Chicago, so her parents (my aunt and uncle) and my other aunt and cousin all came out too. So we had a full house! Friday night my parents and my cousin Jamie drove up from Laurel's to hang out and spend the night at our place. They arrived with no less than 2 cases of our beloved Yuengling compliments of Aunt Judy. We can't get Yuengling in Chicago :(

Saturday morning we all met up at our place, then started our trek downtown (past Wrigley Field and via Lakeshore Drive).

First stop? The Bean! Of course we had to take a family pic in the Bean.
The Gold Coast Art Fair happened to be going on in Grant Park a few blocks away so we walked over to check that out. We enjoyed a cool beverage and some live music while we relaxed for a few minutes in the shade.
Mom stayed at the art fair while the rest of us walked down to see Buckingham Fountain. Next we walked along Michigan Ave and made our way down to the River Walk. After all of this walking, we were all getting quite hungry, so we hearded the troops and thought we would check out Navy Pier real quick on the way to get some Deep Dish. Navy Pier was of course PACKED (and annoying) so we decided we had seen enough just trying to drive past the front of it, and we didn't even bother to get out of the car. We drove back up Lakeshore Drive and found 2 parking spots literally right in front of Giordano's.

The pizza was awesome and this is definitely our new favorite deep dish pizza place!! After pizza we all went back to our place and had a little birthday celebration for my Aunt Shirley (who is turning 60 in a couple weeks) complete with Middle Sister wine (since she is the middle sister)!

We just hung out and enjoyed spending time together while watching the Pirates/Cubs game on TV...which was kind of ironic considering my entire family that was visiting are Pittsburgh fans and Wrigley Field is about 3 miles from us on the same street (the game was in Pittsburgh). Sunday we drove down to my cousin Laurel's house for a final family breakfast and said our Goodbye's. What a great weekend!

Awesome Birthday Weekend

2011-07-04T10:20:00.014-06:00

How can a birthday weekend go wrong when you kick it off with flowers and dinner at an Italian Restaurant?! Friday we had big plans originally to go check out Taste of Chicago, but after virtually every single person we talked to gave a resounding "NOOOOOOOOOOO DON'T GOOOOOOOOOOOO!" we started to rethink our decision. That and the fact that it was supposed to be 97 degrees on Friday. I won't quote my co-worker OR the opinion column in the Red Eye, because someone will probably get offended, but let's just say they didn't make it sound too appealing. So we decided that a cooler (and cheaper) option would be to take Bailey to the Dog Beach instead. Well, as it turns out, we got some pretty crazy storms Thursday night and Friday ended up being overcast and kinda cool, with the potential for rain at any moment. We ended up having an extremely ~~lazy~~ relaxing day on Friday and didn't do a single thing except grill out for dinner.

Saturday morning we got up and went to Panera for breakfast. I know, all of the fabulous brunch places in Chicago and we go to Panera. I had been wanting eat at Panera every day for the past 6 months because we always drive by it on the way to work. After Panera we packed up Bailey and our towels and headed off to the Dog Beach. She was a little unsure of the water at first, so we took her over to a "corner" of the beach so she could explore the water on her own terms. It didn't take long until she was frolicking in the lake, drinking the lake water, and trying to do the Basenji 500 twenty yards out from the sand.

We got quite a chuckle (quite a chuckle? What am I like 80?) out of this funny bulldog with a lifevest (just like FTT's!!). First of all, he's wearing a lifevest. Second, he tried to crawl up on the ledge (the one that Bailey has her paws up on) but kind of half fell off, then just stayed there for like 30 seconds, half on/half off. Third, his dad had to carry him off the beach via lifevest handle as they were leaving, and about 30 seconds after he put him down he barfed all over the sidewalk. Too funny!

Saturday afternoon I had wanted to do some shopping for my birthday, but it was too hot, so I did some online shopping and ordered 5 shirts from Gap/Old Navy and got them all shipped right to my door for less than $9/shirt (including tax and shipping!!). We also finally booked our August vacation in Michigan. I'm so excited and I had been stressing about this for months! It will give us something nice to look forward to after this awesome 4-day weekend ends. For dinner we decided to check out this sketch Mexican restaurant that is right at the end of our street, The Burrito House. I had actually been wanting to check it out for a while but Tom thought it was too shady. A few weeks ago our neighbors told us how great it was, so Tom agreed to eat there for dinner...besides, how can he say No to me on my birthday ;)? It was actually pretty good!

Sunday afternoon our friend Jess hosted a cookout for the 4th at her new apartment. We grilled out, ate A LOT, and sipped some cool beverages.
Sunday night we sat out on our balcony and watched numerous fireworks displays from the comfort of our own deck chairs. Apparently everyone in Chicago sets off huge fireworks like it's no big deal. Our apartment faces directly west and we could see no less than 10 different displays (most obscured by houses and trees, but hey, no traffic or masses of people so that's just fine by me!) Of course the only pic I snapped was of a tiny firework but it at least gives you an idea of our little view :)

Today we're having a mish-mash of a day complete with a little bit of productivity and plenty of relaxing on the back deck. Happy 4th everyone!!

It's that time of year again!

2011-06-30T19:29:00.009-06:00

It's Birthday Week! If you're unfamiliar with Birthday Week, please read this. I was having "one of those days" at work today and just trying to make it through the day to get to the weekend. Tom surprised me after work with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and reservations at this cute little Italian restaurant that's right up the road from his work, Sapori. We both had lobster ravioli for dinner and I enjoyed caprese salad for an appetizer and coconut sorbetto (in a real coconut!!!) for dessert! After thoroughly enjoying our Memorial Day 3-day weekend, we decided to take tomorrow off (in addition to having Monday off)! Yay 4-day Birthday Weekend!!

Accidentaly Domestic Weekend

2011-06-26T16:16:00.007-06:00

When Friday rolled around I had absolutely no plans of being productive, let alone domestic, this weekend. It's so much better to have nothing planned and accomplish a lot than the other way around. Here's a list of all of the domestic-type activities I did this weekend without even planning to :)

Did all of my laundry

Ironed enough clothes for the next 2 weeks

Made Mint Syrup...then proceeded to spill 3/4 of the mint syrup when I was trying to put some on my canteloupe this morning :(

Made Tomato Sauce (with tomato paste and water and sugar...because I was out of tomato sauce)

Made Taco Soup for the freezer

Made my own bread crumbs (Ummm, we were out and I needed some for the burgers. Besides, we had a few hot dog buns that needed to be used up).

Made burgers from scratch

Divided and froze the 6 pounds of ground beef we got from Costco (well, 4 pounds after the burgers and the taco soup)

Cleaned out my computer

Ground up 2 lbs worth of whole coffee beans in the blender (we got free coffee from Costco...wooo!)

Okay, I think that's it! It doesn't sound like much now that I listed it all out....but now all I have to do is sit back and relax for the rest of the evening (and "supervise" Tom while he grills our burgers).

Today's Mission: Back That Computer Up!

2011-06-25T09:08:00.006-06:00

My computer (as of a few weeks ago) is officially 8 years old. It's been a good computer but lately it likes to make so much noise that it sounds like it might just take off at any given moment. I really have no complaints about it, but I need to get everything and anything important off of it (you know, like my illegally obtained free version of Snood) and backed up on one of our hard drives just in case.

My computer has been through a lot. The Love Virus of 2004/5, a few RAM boosts thanks to Tom, and multiple moves (8, to be exact). I'm in a race against time to make sure everything is saved, then all I have to do is sit back and enjoy however much time I have left with good ol' Compy. Who knows, by cleaning him out I may get a few more years out of him!

Currently

2011-06-18T14:46:00.000-06:00

Excited about my birthday 4 day weekend!
Worried about a relative going through a difficult time
Reading Eat Pray Love
Creating a work out schedule that I will actually stick to
Loving that it isn't completely dark at 9:00 and that it's cool enough to sit on the back deck and relax
Hating days without a single cancellation or no-show (although I guess that's a good sign for job security?!)
Wondering when I'm going to find a suitable vacation rental for our August vacay
Craving Havarti dill cheese and rosemary garlic triscuits
Hoping to be better at menu planning this month
Watching on TV ID Network, Always Sunny reruns
Listening to Nickelcreek, a bunch of old mix CD's
Cooking honestly? Not much of anything lately! We've been grilling a lot of meat and veggies whenever we get the chance!
Looking forward to a little bit longer of a vacation in August, Mom and Dad visiting in July, My Birthday

Weekend Getaway

2011-06-12T17:05:00.015-06:00

We were finally able to sneak in a Mini Vacay this weekend! We rented a house in Michiana Shores, IN...a little over an hour from Chicago. We arrived Friday afternoon and enjoyed a quiet, relaxing evening. We grilled out, watched Bailey "protect us" from the deer, and later enjoyed some good conversation on the screened in porch. Bailey sniffed the perimeter and kept watch from her "perch" at the edge of the deck.Saturday we slept in, enjoyed coffee, and wished real hard that the sun would come out so we could take Bailey to the beach. Well, we didn't wish hard enough, because the weather was absolutely miserable! You can't even see the lake, can you?!It was cold, misty, and foggy. We went to the beach anyways, and couldn't even see 100 yards in either direction.Bailey wasn't too sure of the water. Tom tried to take her in, but she kept running away whenever the waves would crash. She did like the sand, however, and kept trying to bury her nose in it apparently thinking she would find something. After about 15 minutes we had all had enough (or at least I had), so we headed back to the house to warm up with some hot tea.Saturday evening my cousin Laurel (who lives in Indiana) drove out to have dinner with us and spend a few hours catching up. It was so good to see her! There happened to be a convenient little wood-fired pizzeria down the road so we ordered a delicious meal (complete with prosciutto, rosemary, and pistachio pizza and various flavors of gelato).

Sunday (of course) was bright and sunny, but still a little cool. We packed up and headed home to get caught up on a few things and enjoy the end of our weekend. We're very much hoping to have a slightly longer vacation in August but this was a nice little treat! We feel relaxed and refreshed and ready for some warmer weather!

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!!

2011-06-10T12:00:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been 5 years since we got married!! What a blast that day was! I mean, a day filled with friends and family, 37 cases of beer, and Velveeta....how could it not be awesome?! Happy Anniversary!

Remember how we're not allowed to paint?

2011-06-04T10:12:00.004-06:00

Well, it turns out, we don't care :)

Last weekend we learned that our downstairs neighbors were allowed to paint....well, not technically. But they were allowed to choose the paint colors and have the painters do the painting before they moved in. So I said "Screw it" and we decided to paint one measely wall in our bedroom. I love it though, it makes such a huge difference!

Our "landlady" is so confused that we can just tell her it was like that when we moved in and she probably won't even bat an eyelash. Or we can just say "Remember how we had to call you 10 times in a matter of 3 weeks for you to get someone to come out and fix our air conditioning? And then remember how you said someone would be out on a particular Wednesday so Tom took the whole day off work (using 8 hours of his own PTO) to wait for a guy that never showed up? And then he had to call you to see if they were going to come or not? And then you told us to turn off our alarm system on a particular Thursday and that you would personally come in with the repair man so our dog wouldn't flip out...and then we got home and it didn't look like anyone had been there so again we had to call you to see if you even came out? And then the next week you sent a guy out and he didn't fix anything? And then you didn't return Tom's calls for 2 days and he had to call you AGAIN to finally confirm that someone will be out this Thursday at 9 am? Remember that?" To Be Continued.....

But in the meantime, enjoy a pic of our newly painted wall :)

Memorial Day Birthday Weekend

2011-05-30T20:29:00.001-06:00

I think there should be a mandatory 3 day weekend every single month. It's so refreshing! We kicked off the weekend celebrating Tom's birthday on Friday. We had a low-key, relaxing night and enjoyed just being at home. Saturday and Sunday the weather was awful. Everyone keeps telling us "Ohhh, you're going to love Chicago in the summer!" If April and May are any indication of what the summer is going to be like, I'm not sure I entirely agree. 52 degrees and rainy kind of sucks. It rained so much Sunday afternoon that our street flooded! Only temporarily, thankfully.

It managed to clear up by Sunday evening and the sun even graced us with it's presence for an hour or so. Our new downstairs neighbors hosted a cookout, complete with dueling grills and a flagpole with an American flag and a Chicago flag (who knew Chicago had it's own flag?!) We enjoyed some good food and it was fun to meet some new people. We even got to experience the midwest's version of cheap local beer....Hamm's, otherwise known as a "Hamm Sandwich." I had bought a 6-pack of it because I have been wanting to make Beer Can Chicken for weeks. We never have any canned beer in the house and it was only $3.49 for the 6-pack at Dominick's.

Monday the weather finally started to turn around. Sunny with a high of 92 degrees. We enjoyed a little bit of outdoor time, but frankly it was kind of hot (I know! I can't have it both ways!!) Bailey was a little perturbed that we were here on a Monday, interrupting her busy day of lounging on the couch.

Things I'm addicted to lately...

2011-05-28T18:19:00.011-06:00

ID Network (specifically Disappeared and 48 Hours Mystery)

Finding a vacation rental with the following requirements: Bailey friendly, less than $200/night, less than 7 night minimum requirement, semi-secluded, with a hammock, on Lake Michigan

Izze's

Online shopping....adding things to "my cart" and then closing the internet before I buy them

The super far-off extremely distant idea of working part time

My morning coffee

3 day weekends

Getting stuff for free with coupons (Frugal Made Fun style, not crazy Extreme Couponing style)

Mad Men

Increasing our Savings

Parks and Recreation

Aussie Leave-in Conditioner

Salsa with cilantro

Febreeze Luminaries "Yumberry Sangria" scent

Relaxing, Impromptu Freezer Cooking Day, Fun with the Neighbors

2011-05-22T21:55:00.001-06:00

This weekend was great. It was the perfect mix of productivity, relaxation, and fun. We accomplished A LOT on Saturday...mostly "catch up" stuff that had been piling up for weeks. But I dove in and took care of it all. Saturday night we relaxed on the balcony. It was nice enough to sit outside, but cool enough to actually enjoy it. I pretended like I was on vacation (as you read about here). It was perfect.

Sunday I ran a few errands in the morning (my new favorite drink...Izze's....were on sale at CVS so I made sure to stock up) and then I had an inpromtu freezer cooking day in the afternoon. I made 2 recipes of Pioneer Woman's pie crusts (which makes 4 crusts), followed by 2 broccoli quiches (we had a lot of eggs we needed to use up) and a ham pot pie and a chicken pot pie. I had a tiny bit of pie crust left over, so instead of throwing it away I decided to make a mini dessert pie. I baked the crust, and then mixed frozen strawberries and some whipping cream in the blender and stuck it in the freezer for an hour. Yum!

Sunday night we grilled out with all of our neighbors and it was a blast! Everyone in the building is "normal" (compared to some of our previous and surrounding neighbors). We sat in the yard and enjoyed stories, beverages, and the smell of everything grilling. I think it's going to be a good summer.........

I need a vacation

2011-05-21T17:53:00.000-06:00

*Warning* I'm going to be a bit of a whiner in this post. I am ready for a vacation! Usually by now we have gone on at least a long weekend to Destin, FL. It's a bit (just a bit) farther of a drive from Chicago so we didn't go this year. We were hoping to take a mini-vacay for our FIVE year anniversary in June, but I've been informed no one else is allowed to take time off in June at work, so that's out of the question. *hmmph* We've been looking for a place to rent on Lake Michigan, but everything we've found is either too expensive or you have to go for the whole week. And if I'm going on a week long vacation I'd rather be in Mexico or the caribbean. *Sigh*

We're still trying to swing something in August, but in the meantime I think we're going to have a Staycation Memorial Day weekend or 4th of July weekend. As a matter of fact, I'm pretending to be on vacation right now. I'm lounging on our back deck with a glass of champagne pretending that I don't still have laundry to put away from earlier and trying not to think about the pie crust ingredients that are sitting out on the kitchen counter because I had big plans of making 4 pie crusts today for future dinners.

Also, Tom and I have different ideas of what a "Staycation" is. I think it means we should go do fun things in Chicago and come home and relax but not do anything productive (like clean, cook, or organize). He thinks it means stay at home and do whatever you want...which is pretty much what this weekend has been so far. Regardless, I'm looking forward to our 3 day weekend next week!

Penny's Visit!

2011-05-16T17:41:00.000-06:00

My friend Penny (from Birmingham) came to visit this weekend! Her husband is here for an orthodontic conference all week so she snuck up for the weekend. Friday night we went out to a little place over in Lakeview called Rock's. We actually went there when we were here on our whirlwind trip trying to find a place to live last October. Saturday Penny and I did a little shopping, then grabbed some lunch at Mana. Saturday night Penny and Nick went to the Cubs game (with the rest of their group from Birmingham) in the freezing cold and rain while Tom and I relaxed for a little. Sunday morning we grabbed brunch at The Uptowner Cafe before heading to the airport. It was so good to see Penny's smiling face!

Top 10 Things I am SO excited about right now!

2011-05-12T20:59:00.002-06:00

10. Basil plant is sprouting!! (It hasn’t even been 2 weeks!)
9. The weather has been awesome this week! (Too bad it will be crappy again this weekend)
8. Sitting outside and enjoying dinner in *perfect* spring weather
7. Free stuff
6. Chicago Craft Beer Week (just in time for Tom’s bday!)
5. New (yet to be purchased) patio furniture
4. Friday Night Lights is back on
3. We reached a new savings goal this week
2. Red Velvet ice cream from Berry Moon
1. My friend Penny is coming to visit this weekend!

Mags and Brie Take Chicago!

2011-05-08T13:34:00.012-06:00

This weekend my good friends from college, Mags and Brie, came to visit us in Chicago. Margaret was originally supposed to come back in February, but rescheduled for May (and what we thought would be a nicer weekend-weather wise). Friday night we just hung out at the apartment and caught up.

Saturday we woke up early to head to our first destination, Hot Doug's. Our friend Kedar also drove down to join us for the day. Typically we wouldn't be eating encased meats for breakfast but 1) Hot Doug's had limited hours, 2) The later in the day you go, the longer the line, and 3) We had to go early to get to our other planned events. We got to meet Doug himself and he didn't even flinch when Brie ordered a Vegetarian Dog. Of course there was a line (even at 10:00 in the morning, a half hour before they opened), but we made some friends in line and the food was well worth the wait. They had quite the selection of specialty sausages!!With grease filled bellies we walked to the train station and made it downtown and to Navy Pier in enough time for what we thought would be a peaceful, relaxing, arhitectural boat tour (like the one Tom and I took a few years ago when we came to visit Chicago with friends). Wrong. I bought the tickets through Groupon a month or so ago and figured that all architectural boat tours were pretty much the same. Wrong again. We were on a "speed boat" that decided to take us on not one but TWO speeding adventures up and down Lake Michigan in 55 degree rainy weather before heading to the river for the architecture tour. And our tourguide was one of those kids that tried real hard to be funny, but was just bad. We bundled up and went along for the ride and were just thankful to grab some hot chocolate as soon as we got off the boat!We had originally planned to check out a Polish Festival that was going on in Millenium Park, but it was misting and FREEZING and we all decided we should head somewhere indoors for a little bit. So what better thing to do then go enjoy some deep dish pizza?! We decided on the Original Pizzeria UNO, because Tom and I have recently had Lou Malnati's and Gino's East, plus we couldn't really remember what Pizzeria UNO tasted like...because the last time we were there we were enjoying quite a few pre-dinner drinks with friends while we waited for a table. After stuffing ourselves again, we tried to walk around on Michigan Ave, but again, it was just too cold and rainy, so we headed back to the apartment. Our friend Jess came over and we spent Saturday night reminiscing and laughing until we practically cried (let's just say we're thankful that we didn't have digital cameras and facebook when we were in college). Sunday morning we went to Bakin' and Eggs for breakfast. There are seriously so many brunch places in Chicago! And so far they all seem to be really, really good! Bailey loved having her new friends here, and it was so great to catch up with them again!

Spring is in the air! (?)

2011-05-01T13:51:00.007-06:00

We had another beautiful spring weekend here in Chicago. Sunny (for the most part) and mid 60's! FINALLY there are leaves on the trees out front! Which means we can open our windows and have a little more privacy.

We took this opportunity to start our "garden" on the back deck. Tom's friend Ben sent us some chili pepper seeds and a packet of Basil for me (since that's the only thing I seem to be successful in growing). As luck would have it, our (loud) neighbor moved out yesterday (yay!) and left his giant planter that was out back (double yay)! We bought new soil and Tom planted the pepper seeds....remember how big his plant got last year? We've got high hopes for these little seeds in this planter!!

Tom will be taking orders for his homemade Hot Sauce as soon as we see the first sprout ;) I also bought a cilantro plant and I'm pretty sure it's not already 97% dead like the one I bought last year (and unsuccessfully tried to nurse back to life).

This week: In Pictures and Recipes

2011-04-24T13:14:00.006-06:00

What better way to start this beautiful week in April than to wake up to SNOW Monday morning?! (note sarcasm!) Thankfully it was just a little bit, and it all melted within a couple of hours. The rest of the week proved to be rainy and cold, but it warmed up nicely (low 60's) for the weekend. This time last year we would already have our air conditioning up and running!

I tried a few new recipes this week, and they were both so yummy I have to share them with you. The first one was Zucchini Alfredo. It was easy and different than what we usually eat pasta with.

The second was ham that I decided to cook for Easter. I wanted to make it in the slow cooker so I went searching for a recipe on my favorite recipe site. I found one and boy is it good! It made A TON of ham, so we're going to freeze it in smaller bags and use it in soups and casseroles over the next few weeks. It needed to cook for 10 hours so I let it cook overnight. It was done just in time for me to make ham and cheese omelettes for breakfast. Bailey didn't leave my feet while I was dividing it up!

This past Friday was Earth Day, and Starbucks was offering 20% off all of their coffee tumblers. I desparately needed a new one, since mine was cracked up the side and leaked every time I tried to take a sip of coffee. They didn't have any that I particularly liked, but they did have a plain black one and you could "Design your own insert." I have a few 8x10 pics that I've had blown up over the years so I cut this one (from our honeymoon) to fit the insert and Voila! Instant awesome coffee tumbler! I can't help but smile every time I see it :)

Tiger Seasoning!

2011-04-21T07:35:00.000-06:00

Our awesome friend Paige sent us a surprise package the other day.......complete with Tiger Seasoning!!! I am *so* excited! This is the secret ingredient in her Best Ever Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, and it also happens to be the most difficult thing to find in grocery stores EVER! I haven't even tried to look for it here, because I couldn't even find it when we lived in Birmingham. I'm so excited to own a whole big bottle of it and can't wait to try it in other recipes!!

Mini Freezer Cooking Day

2011-04-18T17:08:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I had a mini freezer cooking day. I've been meaning to have one for quite some time, but to be honest the thought of all the work that goes into it has been keeping me from following through. I planned all of my recipes, and even divided up the weekend so I would have all of the prep work done before I actually cooked everything....but without my Freezer Cooking partner in crime, Payton, the task seemed daunting :( So instead I decided I'm just going to do 2 mini freezer cooking days instead! Yesterday I made this recipe, homemade spaghetti sauce with turkey meatballs. Except I made it in the crockpot instead. Yummo! I only made 1 other recipe (but 2 batches of it), Paula Deen's Broccoli Casserole, with some chicken mixed in there as well. Tom's sister Jackie sent this recipe to me a few years ago and it's been a regular in our house ever since. I did some prep work for the week for a few other meals and chopped up all of our fruits and veggies so they're ready to eat. I didn't take any pictures since spaghetti and meatballs aren't that exciting!

DMK, Happiness, & Warmer Weather

2011-04-16T10:03:00.006-06:00

Yay! We finally did something fun! Friday night we went out to eat with my friend Jess from PSU and a couple of her friends that we have gotten to know through her. We went to DMK Burger Bar, and had some of the best burgers and fries I've ever had! (Warning: This claim may change after we finally get around to eating at Kuma's Corner....apparently the BEST burger joint in all of Chicago, that happens to double has a heavy metal bar).

It is finally beginning to warm up here in Chicago (although again, I'm not holding my breath). It's amazing how much of a difference the warmer weather has on my mood. The other day I was just thinking about how content I was and I think I finally realized why. Not only is it starting to warm up, but we are finally settled! I am out of my "orientation phase" at work (that lasted 3 months, but was well worth it). My Probationary Eval went exceptionally well and I finally feel like a "real therapist" again. My schedule has picked up significantly and I'm thoroughly enjoying my job, both the outpatient setting and the supportive environment. Tom's job is going well too. He recently returned from AACR and he's been keeping busy in the lab.

I'm really looking forward to summer in Chicago. We don't have any vacations or mini-vacations planned yet, but we're starting to look at some options. Hopefully everything will fall into place!

Spring Teaser!

2011-04-09T14:27:00.010-06:00

It is a balmy 62 degrees right now in Chicago and I'm sitting on our back deck enjoying the weather. Bailey is basking in the sun (she really missed her calling as a cat) and somewhat keeping me company (except for when she escaped down the stairs and did the Basenji 500 in the yard before I could get the gate up to keep her up here with me).

My brother is currently hanging out with us for the weekend. He stopped on his way back from Dallas where he had to go for work training. We're having a much more low-key visit instead of seeing all the sights of Chicago like last time. Matt thinks he is the dog-whisperer since he somehow tricked Bailey into cuddling with him on the couch (twice).

It's supposed to be 81 degrees tomorrow! We'll see how long this nice weather lasts....I'm not holding my breath!

Is she really from the South?

2011-04-03T15:15:00.006-06:00

I'm beginning to question whether or not Bailey is a southern dog. Yes, we adopted her from a shelter in Alabama, but given her love of snow and today's events I'm thinking she was born elsewhere and somehow ended up in the South at a young age.

It reached 60 today in Chicago so I decided to take her for a long walk. We've taken this walk many times before, but the warmest it's ever been here on our walks is probably about 40. We got home and she was panting so much I thought her tongue was going to fall out of her mouth! For like 20 minutes, she kept trying to lie down on the floor, then she would get up and walk around and then try to lie down somewhere else. It was like she couldn't get comfortable. She scared me for a minute, but I think she was just hot. But seriously? We would go for walks in 100 degree weather in Alabama so I don't know what her problem is. In other news Tom's parents sent me a plant this week as a "Happy Spring" gift. It was a nice suprise, and I had actually been thinking about how we needed to get some plants in our apartment. When I called Tom's mom to thank her, she was telling me how she likes to have plants in the house to purify the air and how she hasn't gotten sick all winter. It was perfect timing, since I've been fighting off a sore throat, stuffy nose, and "bleh" feeling since Friday morning!

Not very bloggy

2011-03-29T19:44:00.008-06:00

Sorry I haven't updated much lately. I just haven't been feeling very bloggy. That and we haven't really had anything exciting going on lately. The most exciting things that have happened to me in the past week are Bailey jumping out of the bath tub when I was in the middle of giving her a bath and Bailey cuddling with me on the couch for A WHOLE HOUR last night!

My work schedule has changed a bit too, making it pretty hard to update during the week. I work until 7 on Tuesdays and 6 on Wednesdays out in the suburbs so by the time I get home, I pretty much just eat dinner and then I need to go to bed. The commute is hit or miss, there is no logic to Chicago traffic. At times that you would expect it to be super busy I can fly up the interstate without a problem and at the times you would think it would be free flowing it's bumper to bumper!

We are thoroughly enjoying our new couches. Bailey has fully adjusted to them, and much to my dismay they are dog hair magnets :( But it's super easy to clean them with the one vacuum attachment so that's good at least.

I'm hoping to do another Freezer Cooking Day in the next few weeks. I just have to pick up a few small ingredients and then get motivated enough to cook everything!

Hopefully things will start to get more exciting as the weather warms up here in Chicago! We have some friends coming to visit (and possibly my parents) in the next few months and there are a ton of festivals this summer we are hoping to check out. Thanks for reading during the boring times too! :)

Earth Hour Tomorrow!

2011-03-25T17:42:00.007-06:00

Every year (well, the last 2 years at least) I have wanted to participate in Earth Hour, but only realize it has happened right after it happened!

What is Earth Hour, you ask? Well, it happens to have it's own website! Saturday night, from 8:30 to 9:30, everyone is encouraged to "switch off" for the hour. That means no tv, no internet, no lights, for one hour. One hour without electricity should be nothing compared to how certain areas of the world live all the time.

So we're going to participate tomorrow. I encourage you to participate as well! And if you are busy during Earth Hour, I'm sure you can make it up another hour of the day!

Happy Weekend

2011-03-19T19:03:00.019-06:00

This weekend has been wonderful. It's been filled with the following things that just, well, make me happy :)

New couches Bailey moping around because her old beat up couches are gone (Okay, this doesn't make me "happy," but it does make me laugh to see how dramatic a dog can be) Tom playing the guitar Highlighting the teams I picked to win in my bracket Catching up with good friends on the phone Sweet mini peppers Tom imitating me on the couch "Lying there, typing on Dell mini, asking him to get me an Izze/tea/chapstick" (I happen to be lying on the couch right now, typing on Dell mini, drinking an Izze) Homemade pizza dough and calzones Coffee Going through 2 boxes worth of notes/papers/etc and recycling the majority of them, filing the rest ID Network Taking Bailey on a long walk to the park Thunderstorms Great deals Freshly washed linens Best Ever Chicken Noodle Soup

The moping didn't last long. She quickly found her new favorite spot ;)

The Chi-rish Experience

2011-03-13T13:25:00.021-06:00

This weekend Tom and I decided we would experience St. Patty's Day Chicago-style. We planned our day to start early and end early, partake in a few Chicago traditions, and meet up with some friends along the way. We woke up early Saturday morning, donned our green, and walked literally around the corner to Christina's Place, our neighborhood bar which happened to be offering a FREE irish breakfast (and $2 Guiness pints). (Leave it to me to find what yelp.com calls "....the best deal in Chicago.")

We walked in at 8:30 in the morning to find the place PACKED, wall to wall, with fellow Chi-rish. The line for breakfast took FOREVER because there were only 2 people cooking as fast as they could in this tiny room with 3-4 slightly-larger-than-George-Forman grills. It was worth it though, because breakfast was yummy and did I mention FREE?

With full tummies we walked to the train station and headed downtown to see the famous Chicago River get dyed green! We walked the 2 blocks to the river and were slightly disappointed at first because the green hadn't made it down to where we were standing...but we could see it coming!

We walked a few blocks up along the river with several hundred others but luckily there were enough viewing points that it didn't seem crowded at all. We stopped for several photo ops and waved at everyone going by on boats through the green river!

Did I mention it was a bit windy? Next on our plan was to stop in and have a drink at a bar downtown before we headed back up to our neck of the woods. We were bracing ourselves for crazy mobs of people since that is what everyone told us to expect. The first bar we walked past was practically empty but fully ready for St. Patty's Day. We enjoyed a few drinks there and took advantage of their all-you-can-eat $9 St. Patty's buffet while people in green filtered in and out.

Our final destination was a bar called The Abbey Pub which happened to be about a half mile from our apartment. Earlier in the week they had a Groupon for their "St. Patty's Festival" so we decided to check it out.

Again, we were bracing ourselves for a bar packed full of drunken college kids but were pleasantly suprised to find quite the opposite. There was plenty of room and we even got a table. Instead of college kids, there were regular kids (like less than 10 years old) running around everywhere and dancing to the irish music that was being played on stage. I had no idea it would be such a "family themed" event but apparently the Chi-rish like to start young. We each had a green beer (free with our Groupon!) while we waited patiently for our friends to join us.

Stef and Sam finally arrived and we hung out for a while listening to the next Irish band that came on. Sam didn't get the memo that you are supposed to wear green on St. Patty's Day!

We decided that we were officially old because we thought the music was too loud and we couldn't even carry on a conversation. It went something like this

Sam: Do you think the music is too loud?

Me: What?!

Sam: I think the music is too loud, are we old?

Me: What?!

So we decided to leave and walked back to our place where we enjoyed a nice quiet dinner and some good conversation. We also thought we should have at least one of our meals not in a bar. Tom and I are glad we were able to experience being Chi-rish but maybe next year we'll settle for something a little more low key :)

We're Chi-rish this weekend!

2011-03-11T06:50:00.001-06:00

We're going to experience St. Patty's Day Chicago-style this weekend! We're hoping it won't be as crazy as the St. Patty's Days of 2007 and 2008, but looking forward to having a little fun :) I'm excited to see the green river! Stay tuned for pics!

Bailey's Busy Day

2011-03-06T16:57:00.006-06:00

Saturday we woke up early to take Bailey to the vet. We haven't been since we've moved here and we were overdue when we moved. So needless to say it was a busy visit for Bailey. Lots of shots (3) and checkups. She did great, but she was a little confused when a woman brought in a cat in a box and she couldn't figure out why the box was meowing.

Later Saturday morning the plumber stopped by to fix our kitchen sink which was leaking into the cabinets below (another bonus for renting = free plumber :) Bailey got super excited when he came in, thinking that he was there solely to play with her and not realizing he was there only to fix the sink. She spent 30 minutes in the "office" with me, staring at the closed door.

Saturday evening when she went outside after dinner she was ecstatic because it had snowed Saturday afternoon. It was enough to cover the ground and enough to make her super excited.

Needless to say she was exhausted by Saturday night. Tom was lying on the couch and got up to check something in the other room. When he came back a few minutes later, this is where he found her...and I don't think she moved until we went to bed.

Currently

2011-03-02T18:07:00.000-06:00

Excited about Spring, Chicago in the summer, the Chicago river being dyed green for St. Patty's Day
Worried about If we're going to go on vacation this summer (I know, what an awesome thing to be worried about ;)
Reading The giant stack of magazines that have been building up under our coffee table, Hyperbole and a Half
Creating A schedule at work that satisfies their needs and makes me happy
Loving The awesome deals I got at Target last week (including a FREE pair of jeans!), Sleepytime tea
Hating The fact that warm weather is still months away!
Wondering what the next year has in store for us
Craving Clementines. I've eaten two 5lb boxes in the past week!
Hoping I continue to enjoy my job as much as I have the past 3 months
Watching on TV HIMYM (How I Met Your Mother), Mad Men (On Demand), Gossip Girl, My Life as Liz
Listening to My own created radio stations on pandora.com
Cooking Lots of veggies, things in the crock pot, Best Ever Chicken Noodle Soup (Hoping to have another Freezer Cooking Day this month!)
Looking forward to Sitting on the back deck drinking coffee in the mornings, friends coming to visit this spring/summer, taking Bailey to the Dog Beach

Some things are just not meant to be

2011-02-26T13:20:00.012-06:00

Disclaimer: This title may lead you to believe that this post is going to be about serious life events. It's not. Sorry for tricking you.

My friend Margaret was supposed to come visit this weekend. Earlier in the week we started planning what we would do for our fun weekend in Chicago. I asked Mags what was on her list, and was thinking I would plan everything around that. The only thing that was a must for the weekend was a stop at Hot Doug's. Which sounded perfect because my friend Jess had been wanting to go there as well and it's actually pretty close to our apartment. So I went to check out their website to see what their hours were and this is what I found:

Epic Fail #1.

So I continued to look for fun things for us to do and came across this comedy/improv/interactive show that looked like a blast. I sent an email out to our other friends to see who wanted to join us. Later that night I heard back from everyone and went online to book the tickets. I clicked "buy tickets" but it wouldn't let me complete the order. I went back to the main page to try again....and the Saturday night show was "Sold Out."
Epic Fail #2

This weekend marks the end of Restaurant Week here in Chicago so we began looking at different restaurants to see if any of them appealed to us. I found this "Pop up Restaurant" that was going on near our neighborhood and thought that would be a fun and different experience. Cost wise it was similar to restaurant week. I heard back from all parties involved and went to their website only to find out that they had stopped taking reservations the day before.
Epic Fail #3

I told Margaret all of this and she said she didn't care, it would just be fun to hang out and spend time together! We still planned on going ice skating at Millenium Park, having a drink on the 96th floor of the Hancock Building in the Signature Lounge, and checking out a couple of popular brunch places.

Friday evening I got a call from Margaret (who was flying standby) that ALL flights out of DC were delayed because of 70 mph winds! She hung around the aiport to see if she could get on any of the later flights, but because of all of the delays all of the flights were overbooked by at least 20 people, so there was no way she would get a seat.
Epic Fail #4!

We're hoping to reschedule for sometime in April! Hopefully the weather will be a little nicer and we'll be able to book everything at least a week out!

Beer-filled Weekend in Milwaukee

2011-02-21T19:42:00.016-06:00

Saturday morning we drove up to Milwaukee to visit our friends Anne and Brian. Our friends Matt and Kendal (who recently moved from Birmingham to St. Louis) drove up as well, and our friend Kedar (who was a post doc in Tom's lab in Bham and now lives north of Chicago) joined in on the fun too! We decided to meet up at the Dranka residence because Brian finished brewing his first batch of homemade beer! Mitochondriale Brown Ale! (He's a scientist).

Before we could sample Brian's fine beer, we had to "warm up" by doing what our group does best....go on a brewery tour. (It's kinda our thing...like here or here). So we went to Sprecher Brewing Company in Glendale, WI.

We went on a little tour and then got to sample some of their fine brews. In addition to the 15 beers that were on tap, they had 8 varieties of soda...which was great considering 2 people in our group were pregnant (not me).

Although when two more tours come through after your tour (they run hourly), it's probably time to go home. (Or when random people start getting in your pictures....)

So we headed back for some grilled burgers, Mitochondriale (quite good!), and a skype session with Kelly, Emily, and Stacy (the remnants of our crew still in Birmingham). (Kelly had to get really close to the computer so we could hear her...so we got a nice close-up of her whenever she talked to us :)

After dinner, the guys helped Brian start another batch of brew. I forget what it was called but it was extremely hoppy (needless to say, Tom loved the aroma).

And of course, the puppies had a blast! Bailey even played "nice" with Bentley and didn't try to rip her face off with her teeth like how her and Jack used to play! (Although she did rip the head off of one of Bentley's bobos and partially gutted 3 others...Sorry Benny)! Bailey was so tired she didn't move from the couch all day Sunday when we got home!

We had a great weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T16:59:00.023-06:00

Saturday night Tom and I celebrated Valentine's day the same way we have for the past 3 years....Pizza Hut takeout and drinks :) (With plenty of everything leftover!!) It warmed up a bit too this weekend...to a balmy 37 degrees, but it doesn't even compare to the Valentine's Weekends in Alabama when I could go for a run in shorts and a t-shirt and be comfortable!

We didn't really get gifts for each other this year (actually, I think we never give gifts for Valentine's Day....except for flowers...which is perfectly fine with me!). We have been talking a lot about a few minor things we want to get for the apartment. For example, I hate our bedroom. It just doesn't feel cozy and it doesn't feel like a bedroom. We rearranged a few things in the bedroom and took a few things out. Today we went to Ikea and Home Goods to pick up a few things to make the bedroom more "cozy." We bought full length brown curtains (instead of using the ones from our old apartment that barely covered the windows. We bought a cozy fluffy brown rug to go under (and around) the bed. (There were seriously some nights where I wouldn't get up to pee because I didn't want to touch the cold floor with my bear feet)! Finally we moved the mirror from the living room and put it above our bedroom dresser and bought a new (and much bigger) mirror for the living room. I love it!

We did a few other (free) things to the room including changing the duvet cover, adding a few throw pillows that were sitting in the linen closet, removing the tv (I've only watched it twice since we moved), and added a lamp to one of the bedside tables (I didn't think we needed it because the room has overhead lighting, but it really does make a difference!). I forgot to take any "before" pictures but here are the "after" pics!

(Sidebar: We're not allowed to paint in this apartment, otherwise that would have helped a ton!)

Weekends January through March

2011-02-12T10:48:00.000-06:00

College football is over. Pro football quickly dwindles away. It's cold, dreary, and snowy. There's nothing to do on these weekends.

And I absolutely LOVE it!!! I used to dread these weekends in the first three months of the year. So much that this was part of the reason why I got a second job soon after we moved to Birmingham. But this year (for the first time ever I think ), I am LOVING them! I am enjoying the relaxing, the getting caught up on laundry and housework, running a few errands with Tom. I actually like there not being something that we HAVE to do every weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I am very much looking forward to warmer weather, exploring Chicago in the summer, going to the lake, taking Bailey to the dog beach, and the list goes on and on. But for now, I'm very much enjoying these weekends with nothing (or little) to do :)

We've been getting in some good friend time during these weekends as well. A few weekends ago we went over to my friend Jess's house for Game Night and last weekend we had my friend Stef and her fiance over for dinner. Next weekend we're trekking up to Milwaukee again to visit with some good friends, and the weekend following that my friend Margaret is coming to visit! Then we just have to get through March and hopefully April will bring us a glimpse of spring weather :)

Top 10 Things I miss about Birmingham

2011-02-09T18:18:00.002-06:00

I had originally meant to write this post before we moved, and just realized the other night that I never wrote it. Looking back, I guess the weeks leading up to our move were a tad bit busier than I thought they were while we were going through it!

10. Sweet tea
9. Warm weather beginning in February
8. Sunshine! (and the lack of frequent winter gray skies)
7. No aiport traffic....ever
6. Publix
5. Our balcony (especially drinking coffee on the balcony on cool spring and fall mornings)
4. Being so close to the Gulf Coast
3. Cheap gas
2. Bailey's friends (her besties (Jack and Casper) and her neighborhood pals!)
1. Our friends!

Because SOMEONE said the pics of Bailey aren't big enough....

2011-02-05T15:34:00.004-06:00

This one is a little blurry...at some point I dropped my glove. Bailey stole it and it instantly became her favorite new snow toy.

I'm a stylish blogger!

2011-02-04T17:31:00.001-06:00

Guess what? Chi-town Southerner gave me a Stylish Blogger Award! As with any really awesome award, there are some responsibilities that go along with it. They are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award
Thanks Chi-town Southerner! I'm glad I stumbled across your blog while googling random words to try to spark creativity for my new blog name when I moved to Chicago!

2. Share 7 things about yourself
Well, I shared with you 25 random things about myself back in March of 2009, so I'm going to try to come up with 7 new things without looking back at this blog.
1. Lately I've been loving rocking out to Chicago's "Rewind 100.3" Best of the 80's and Today radio while I'm in the kitchen cooking
2. Tom and I are starting to look for a house....well, maybe...
3. Knitting stresses me out
4. I drink Sleepytime tea every night
5. I've only been doing yoga about 1x/week (oops)
6. When I was little I cut my dad's hair while he was zoned out watching tv
7. I aspirate a lot...I should probably get that checked out

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
Okay, most of the blogs I follow are not "recently discovered" but I will award my favorite blogs to read:
Kelly at Iowa Girl in Bama
Anne and Brian at The Drankas
Libby at Don't Waste Your Cancer (Okay, I'm sure she could care less about a Stylish Blogger Award, as she has many other things on her plate, but I can't stop reading her blog! And I think she's pretty stylish ;)

Hmmm, every other blogger that I read either A) already has 18 million followers or B) only blogs once every 3 months (Stacy!). One of my favorite, favorite, favorite blogs (that I recently discovered at least) is Hyperbole and a Half. My particular favorites are Dogs Don't Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving, The Party, The God of Cake, and This is Why I'll Never be an Adult.

Blizzaster Fun!

2011-02-02T12:39:00.011-06:00

Happy Winter Storm everyone! I am writing from home in the middle of the day on a Wednesday because it is a State of Emergency and no one could go to work! So far we have 20.5 inches of snow (according to the news). The third largest snow storm in Chicago history! Right now the sun is shining but we're supposed to get some more "Lake Effect Snow" this afternoon. I am loving my day off mid-week but not loving that my PTO balance will drop even further into the negative! Here are some picture collages of all of the snowfun! The picture to the left is our kitchen window this morning...we could barely see outside!

This is the view of our street from our living room window for the past 24 hours. My favorite is the little white car in the middle that slowly disappears :)

This is the railing on the back porch.

And finally, pics of the pup! She (of course) absolutely loved the snow. She tried to help Tom shovel, and at one point snatched my glove and ran around with it like it was her most favorite toy in the whole world!

And I couldn't make a snow blog post without a video of Bailey running (galloping) through the snow!

Snowpocalypse, Snomageddon, Blizzaster...

2011-02-01T19:55:00.018-06:00

Those are just a few of the words that are being used to describe the massive snow storm we are getting right now in Chicago. I've never heard of any of them before (which is weird because I grew up in a town where we had at least 3-5 snow days to make up every single year). Although I think my favorite happens to be found on a t-shirt....

The front: Chizzard 2011

The back: Hide yo kids, hide yo wife

Hahhaha. If this isn't funny to you, you missed out on this original video and then the remix from nowhere else than my former state of residence, Alabama (there is also a Christmas version if you missed it last month).

Anyways it's hard to tell how much snow we have right now because it's so windy that the snow is drifting all over. We got a couple inches last night and then it started around 2pm and has been going strong ever since. I also learned what exactly entails a "blizzard:"

1) Visibility less than 1/4 mile

2) Winds over 35 mph

3) Snow and the above two things for 3 hours
We're supposed to get around 24 inches by tomorrow afternoon, have some thundersnow, and wind gusts are supposed to reach 60 mph!

Bailey has been LOVING it. She runs in giant circles and then crashes into a snow drift. I can't wait to take her out again tomorrow!

This Week at Work....

2011-01-29T11:05:00.014-06:00

Welcome to a new series I like to call "This week at work." (Okay, I lied, I'm not going to make this a new series....but saying that just makes this post a little less random :)

This week at work...

I met a fellow Penn Stater
I spent a day in inpatient and didn't like it at all (3 months ago I never thought I would have said that!)
I covered ortho clinic (by myself) for 3 different docs who saw 52 patients (Normally this clinic is covered by no less than FOUR different PTs throughout the day)
We finally got to check out the little bar with a Penn State flag in the window that I drive past everyday for an after-work happy hour event
I volunteered to stay until 7pm one night to learn!
In the same day, I was told by one person that they could "hear the Birmingham" in my voice and I was told by another person that "they thought I was from central Pennsylvania by the way I talked." (Just wait until I'm here long enough to add a midwestern component to my voice!)

My nose gets cold too

2011-01-26T06:01:00.001-06:00

We have a programmable thermostat in our apartment so Tom has programmed it to drop down to 65 when we leave for the day and come back on before we get home. The other morning I had to drive out to a satellite clinic for work so I left a little later than usual and the temperature had already started to drop. I came out to the living room and this is what I saw. Hopefully she doesn't get too cold during the day!

Peewee Hockey...a new reason to exercise!

2011-01-23T16:04:00.009-06:00

The gym that we decided to join is a small little fitness center that is part of a local Chicago Park District. It's only a few blocks away, and was super cheap compared to the other big name gyms. Sure the equipment is a little old, but there is rarely anyone else there when we go so it's been kind of awesome. As if all that isn't enough, the fitness area overlooks a regulation size ice hockey rink, so there is usually something entertaining to watch while you are running.

My favorite? Peewee hockey!! We've seen them practicing a couple of times, and yesterday when we went there was a peewee hockey game. They were so cute!!! The majority of them weren't even as tall as the goal. My favorite is the little squirts who go speed skating down the rink only to belly flop and slide the rest of the way on the ice.

We had a pretty good weekend despite the frigid weather! Friday night we went to a place called Tiny Lounge to meet our friend Jess but left soon after we arrived because the place was packed (apparently they had a groupon that expired Friday). We went next door to a place called Bowman's because it was empty and looked warm. Turns out it was a Chicago/Iowa sports bar so our friend Kelly would have loved it! We had some great appetizers and met up with one of Jess's friends, so (excluding work) that brings the grand total of people we know in Chicago to 4.

0 Degrees right now!!!

2011-01-21T07:12:00.000-06:00

Little penguin

2011-01-17T14:32:00.000-06:00

So, yesterday Tom and I went to Old Navy since they were having 40% off all of their clearance items. Tom found quite a few deals, and I found a banana peel Halloween costume for Bailey (for $0.74!!) and 2 little stuffed penguins for $0.38 each. I knew Bailey would destroy the penguins but for $0.38 I thought it was worth it. I don't know if the first one lasted 5 minutes!! Here is her nice, pretty, new toy. And here is what it looked like 5 minutes later.

Matt Takes Chicago

2011-01-15T19:56:00.011-06:00

My brother came to visit on his way back from a work training trip to Dallas. He flew in Friday night after we got off work. He FINALLY got to meet Bailey and of course, she instantly loved him! He tried to turn her into a cuddler...but she really must have personal space issues because she just wasn't having it.

We went to dinner at this restaurant that Tom and I drive past every single day and always say we should try, Chief O'Neill's. It was cozy and still decorated for Christmas and we left with full bellies and platefuls of leftovers. After dinner we just hung out at the apartment and Bailey and the boys played in the snow in the back yard for a little bit. Bailey was so thirsty after playing and running the Basenji 500 that she ate a TON of snow.

Saturday we went downtown to Millennium Park and played around at The Bean and watched a bunch of eager ice skaters take the ice after the zamboni finally finished cleaning the rink.

We grabbed dinner at Gino's East and then got Matt to the airport in time for his flight. Tom and I are slowly eating our way through Chicago's Deep Dish Pizza and I am loving every bite of it!

Random List of Updates

2011-01-08T13:28:00.015-06:00

Because, as you all know, I love making lists!

(In case you didn't notice) I changed my blog name and header again! The creative ~~Brian Dranka~~ Anne Dranka came up with the name (Thanks Anne!), and I played around with Google's Picasa until I got something I liked.
Last weekend we drove up to Milwaukee to ring in the new year with our good friends, Anne and Brian, who moved to Milwaukee last January. We had a wonderful evening starting off at the Milwaukee Ale House where we enjoyed some flights and appetizers. Oh, and a Keg Christmas Tree. We went back to Anne and Brian's house for a cheesy goodness dinner and spent the rest of the evening hanging out. The puppies enjoyed reuniting and Bailey had a blast devouring her rawhide while Bentley was just not as "in" to her rawhide. We tried some of the new "Champagne Beer" made by Sam Adams, and it was quite good.
Tom and I are officially residents of Illinois! We've been putting it off since we moved, but finally decided we just need to bite the bullet, wake up early Saturday morning, and get new drivers licenses and tags for our car. It was actually not bad, except for the small amount of anxiety we both experienced when they told us we had to take a written test! Fortunately, we both passed, and an hour later we emerged with Illinois drivers licenses, new car tags, and are now registered to vote in Illinois.
My brother is coming to visit next weekend! Matt recently got a job with United and will be passing through Chicago Friday night on his way back from training in Dallas. We're planning to go exploring in the city and of course hit up another deep dish pizza place! I'm thinking Gino's East but we'll have to wait and see.
I'm taking a little "break" from my frugal blog. I really do enjoy keeping up with it, but lately there have just been too many things on my plate. We're going to change up our "plan of attack" for grocery shopping, which I am so excited about because it has been stressing me out more than you can imagine (Publix...I miss you!)
I love edamame! Okay, for some reason Tom thinks that probably everyone doesn't want to know this, but this is a big step for me! I don't like beans (unless they're all mushed up from the food processor or immersion blender), and I've never been crazy about soy, but for some reason, I have been obsessed lately with soybeans!

2010 Year in (Picture) Review

2011-01-01T15:52:00.001-06:00

This year flew by and brought about quite a few exciting changes and adventures for us! Here is our 2010 in pictures!!

January

My pedometer obsession began DC Trip to visit Mags & Brie Drankas move away
February

Freezer Cooking Day is initiated John Mayer Concert
March

Ashley’s Baby Shower and the Antishower
April

Sushi Night Jamie’s Wedding

May

Destin Trip

Do Dah Day Rogue Fest Tubing Tom's 30th BirthdayMike comes to visit
June

Sarah & Pat’s Wedding Annual Conference in Boston
July

30th Birthday AOTR
August

The Chins get adopted Blue Ridge Mountain Trip
September

Penn State game in T-town
October

Fun events with friends Tom’s Defense Move to Chicago
November

New apartment New jobs Bailey LOVES the snow
December

Holiday Weekend NYE

Christmas in Chicago!

2010-12-25T18:29:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas!! Tom and I had a very peaceful, relaxing Christmas day here in cold, snowy Chicago! We spent Christmas Eve watching two of my favorite Christmas movies, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Bad Santa. Bailey even cuddled with me for a little while...I guess that was her Christmas present to me ;)

Christmas Day we enjoyed coffee and a breakfast casserole while watching the Yule Log On Demand and looking outside at the snow covered trees and street.

We didn't get each other a lot of presents this year, but the ones that we did get were useful/cost efficient and special. Tom's present from me in the foreground ;)

And of course, Bailey loved opening her presents from us and Aunt Jackie.

Here is a video of her opening her treats from Aunt Jackie.

For dinner we had a marvelous turkey complete with homemade gravy that I made from the pan drippings at Thanksgiving. We had a few sides, but kept it relatively simple. It was so delicious. I hope everyone else had a marvelous Christmas too! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Merry Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T20:13:00.003-06:00

Today we went for a long walk over to a nearby park and Bailey had a BLAST running the Basenji 500 in the snow!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Happy Holiday Weekend!

2010-12-19T15:08:00.001-06:00

We had a fantastic holiday weekend! Friday after work we enjoyed a quick drink at a bar right across from where I work. It was all cozy and decorated for Christmas and a perfect way to kick off our Holiday Weekend. Saturday our friends Anne & Brian drove down from Milwaukee and our friend Kedar drove down from the northern suburbs to meet us and spend a fun day in the city.Of course all of the things we decided to do were outside and I'm not sure if it hit 20 degrees all day. We went to the Christkindlemarket in Daley Plaza. The cold weather did not seem to hinder anyone else's plans either because the place was packed!There was a variety of german food, Christmas ornaments, and of course, hot spiced wine served in a boot mug!!The wine was so hot, but after about 5 minutes the boot was too cold to put to your lips! We enjoyed some brats and stuffed bread and then made our way to the "warming tent" (which was also overcrowded) to try to warm up a bit. We had some time to kill before our next Christmasy event so we walked a few blocks to the giant Macy's for some warmth and holiday spirit (and a bathroom break). There were so many decorations and it was so cozy inside!Then we drove to the Lincoln Park Zoo to see the zoolights! They put up all these lights all over the zoo...it was so pretty! But soooo cold!! We defrosted at Lou Malnati's with some classic Chicago style deep dish pizza. Sunday Tom and I ran a few errands, watched the Eagles game (what a game!), and baked some cookies for his lab. We made Mom's No Bake Cookies, Luscious Lemon Bars, Peanut Butter Cup Cookies, and Sweet & Salty Christmas Wafers.

I wish weekends like this could last forever!

Hmmmmm, what to say....

2010-12-16T23:53:00.003-06:00

So I really don't like to talk much about work on here, for several reasons, but I started my new job this week and I have to say I am exhausted! The first two days were general hospital orientation that is similar wherever you go, so that was pretty monotonous. Then I met a woman who gave me the biggest pile of orientation information I've ever seen in my life. I have to meet with various people (who I don't know), observe with various people (who I don't know), attend lectures with various people (who I don't know), and get people to sign off on stuff they observe me do. And I have to complete it all in 3 months and set most of it up myself.

Not that I'm complaining. I'm not, I'm just voicing that I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed at the moment. I know at the end of the 3 months I'm going to have learned SO MUCH and will be a much better clinician from it. When I'm up and running in a few months I think it's going to be really great. So don't be surprised if you don't see as many blog updates in the next few months. I'll try to be on top of it but I also want to be on top of my sanity :)

7 Weeks Flew By

2010-12-10T15:38:00.016-06:00

Today is my last (week)day off before I start working again. I can't believe how fast the past 7 weeks have flown by! I guess when you add a Public Defense, a move across the country, looking for a job, and getting settled in a new state your time gets filled up pretty fast! In retrospect, I'm really happy that I had that much time off, I think I really needed it. I feel refreshed and reenergized and ready to start working (and making some money) again!

So aside from all of the things listed above, there were a few other things I have been able to check off my "To Do" list....some of which have been on there for quite some time! I was able to cross off 8 of my 10 goals:

~~Iron enough work clothes to last me through the rest of the year...all 3 weeks of it ;)~~
~~Read MOST of my magazines that have been building up~~
~~Organize my coupons - shouldn't be hard, since I haven't been getting them in the Sunday paper >:0~~
Change our car tags
Change my drivers license
~~Change our insurance~~
~~Finish painting our small, side coffee table for our new "sitting area" in the living room~~
~~Write and mail Christmas cards~~
~~Take huge pile of stuff in kitchen corner to Good Will~~
~~Take suit and cute holiday shirt to the dry cleaners~~

Also, I finally organized all of my recipes! Well, all of the recipes that I had ripped out of magazines or printed out or photocopied at some point in the past 5 years. I organized them into genre, and then put them all in page protectors (101 to be exact), and into a 3 ring binder. I am so excited that they are organized and I will be able to easily find what I'm looking for! I just have to keep it up now when I find new recipes. (Well, they are almost organized. I threw away a TON of dividers when I was cleaning stuff out when we moved, and now I am kicking myself). And remember almost 4 years ago when I ran the Disney Marathon? Well, we bought this Christmas ornament to always remember the event (as if I'd ever forget) and every year I have been meaning to get a picture off one of the hard drives, load it onto a USB drive, take it in to a store to print it out, come home, and put it in this frame. And I finally did it :) My mom gave me a "#1 Pet" oranment that is a picture frame as well, but the picture I printed of Bailey was too big to fit in the little frame. I've only had that frame for a year though, so according to my plan I still have 3 more years to print out a picture for it :)

It's December alright!

2010-12-05T15:17:00.010-06:00

I was looking back through old posts on my blog this weekend and I came across this post, from three years ago. I can assure you that is not the case in Chicago! We got our first snow late Friday night. It was anywhere between 3-5 inches. Enough to cover everything and be beautiful and remind me of how much I missed snow! Enough to make it annoying to wipe off the car and get all slushy/dirty gross and remind me how much I didn't miss snow ;) Bailey thoroughly enjoyed it. The video below is from this morning, so she's not quite as energetic as she was yesterday when she saw it for the first time. Tom said she went CRAZY! Eating it, licking it, running in it, sliding in it, and digging in it.

Friday night Tom put together our chairs that we ordered to complete our living room. We made a little sitting area with two chairs that I found on the super cheap at Target.com and a table that I re-painted (and sanded, and primed, and painted, and polyurethaned). I love it!Saturday we got our Christmas tree, but we couldn't decorate it until Sunday because it was covered in snow and we wanted to make sure it all melted off the tree before we plugged in the lights! Bailey took this opportunity to curl up on the tree skirt thinking it was her new sitting area ;)

Namaste

2010-12-02T18:03:00.007-06:00

So, back in September and October, before I hurt my back, I was really getting bored with my exercise routine. I pretty much stopped doing my core stabilization exercises (paid for that one big time) and I was down to running like once or twice a week....and for 20 minutes at the MOST. The gym was boring, outside was boring, the treadmill in our PT gym at the hospital was boring. I needed a change, but I just couldn't motivate myself to figure out what I needed.

Then I hurt my back and I was unable to exercise, let alone remain upright for more than an hour or so, for a while. Since the move I've started to run once a week, but not very far or long, obviously, since I have no endurance built up.

I've been saying that I wanted to try yoga for a while now, but could never make it to the classes at the gym with my work schedule. When we got our cable set up I was flipping through the channels and I found an Exercise TV channel. I think it's called FitTV. They have various exercise programs on all day, including yoga twice a day. I did one of the sessions, and then found more yoga On Demand. I've been doing it a few times a week and I really enjoy it! It's so hard, because I'm so inflexible, and I've gotten tighter as I've gotten older. Especially my postural muscles, so it's felt good to challenge my body in a way other than cardiovascularly.

Sometimes Bailey tries to do yoga with me and other times she passes out on the couch...I think the soothing voice and music puts her to sleep. I'd much rather have her sleeping on the couch than trying to participate, because it's hard to maintain Downward Facing Dog when your own dog is licking your arms and trying to walk underneath you!

Anne on Tap

Happy Valentine's Day!

CSM in Chicago = Busy Week!

Target Ad and the Puppy Bowl

Project Goal Update and a few more goals

Photo Update: Snow, Bars, iPhone, JoePa, Dad

Wordless Wednesday

Project Goal Update: Kitchen Cabinets

Some Project Goals

2011: Year in Review!

Sweatpants NYE & Paige's visit

Merry Christmas Weekend!

Bake Fest 2011

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......

Happy 3rd "Birthday" to Bailey!

The cutest tights in the world

Happy (Belated) Holiday Weekend

Wordless Wednesday: She stole my slipper

Happy Thanksgiving Vacation Everyone!!

It turns out, we've been busy

Happy 10 Year Anniversary!

Wordless Wednesday: Sorry guys, I'm obsessed with this tree :)

Trick or Treat!!

Happy Halloween!!

Penn State takes Chicago!

Our Weekend: In pictures

Dear One Year Ago Me

Wordless Wednesday

I am obsessed with Fall

Currently

Updates: Work, iPhone, Bailey

New Furniture!!

Weekend Fun

Happy Pumpkin Spice Candle Day

We're not in Paw Paw anymore

If you don't have an iphone.....

Top 10 Things I Learned on Vacation

Vacay Time

9 out of 10 Facebook Status Updates Annoy Me

Friday Night Art Project

Fall Teaser

Ruined Weekend

Is it Fall yet?

Great Food Weekend

Vacation Countdown!!!

Things I am Loving Right Now

The Dog Days of Summer

Family Reunion - Chicago Style

Awesome Birthday Weekend

It's that time of year again!

Accidentaly Domestic Weekend

Today's Mission: Back That Computer Up!

Currently

Weekend Getaway

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!!

Remember how we're not allowed to paint?

Memorial Day Birthday Weekend

Things I'm addicted to lately...

Relaxing, Impromptu Freezer Cooking Day, Fun with the Neighbors

I need a vacation

Penny's Visit!

Top 10 Things I am SO excited about right now!

Mags and Brie Take Chicago!

Spring is in the air! (?)

This week: In Pictures and Recipes

Tiger Seasoning!

Mini Freezer Cooking Day

DMK, Happiness, & Warmer Weather

Spring Teaser!

Is she *really* from the South?

Not very bloggy

Earth Hour Tomorrow!

Happy Weekend

The Chi-rish Experience

We're Chi-rish this weekend!

Bailey's Busy Day

Currently

Some things are just not meant to be

Beer-filled Weekend in Milwaukee

Happy Valentine's Day!

Is she really from the South?