Happy holidays!

Happy holidays, everybody.  I'm way behind on this blog...but hopefully will be able to catch up next week.  For now, here's a copy of the card and letter we mailed out this year.  Enjoy the holidays!

 

2011 was another eventful year for us...though not quite as busy at 2010.  We rang in the New Year with friends we hadn’t seen in awhile...and hoped for a Rose Bowl win for the Badgers.  Maybe we’ll have better luck in this year’s Rose Bowl!  Continuing the trend of seeing old friends, I traveled to Colorado to spend the weekend with my mom and our former exchange students, Ale and Laura.  I had seen Laura in July 2010 when we traveled to Costa Rica but I hadn’t seen Ale since the summer of 2004.  It was crazy how we were able to pick up right where we had left off almost 7 years before.  My relationship with those two girls is just so special!

In early April, John successfully completed his thesis defense.  We celebrated with champagne in his advisor’s office.  He graduated with his PhD on May 15, 2011.  I was (and am) such a proud wife!  We had a great (though chilly) day with both of our families.  John’s family drove down very early on Sunday morning so Natalie could attend her junior prom on Saturday night.  Early last spring, John accepted a job as a research assistant professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC).  The Friday before graduation, we signed the lease on our new home in Chicago.  Finding an apartment was a stressful experience but we ended up with a great place!  After much drama (lots of interviews, starting a job and quitting it two weeks later), I found a job that I absolutely love.  I am the academic success coach at Chamberlain College of Nursing.

At the end of May, we headed down to Disney World with the Lenz Family.  The weather was nice and hot...and it only rained once!  Once again, Le Cellier Steakhouse in Canada (Epcot) was our favorite meal.  We’re already looking forward to next time.

We moved to Chicago on June 22nd.  Thanks to my parents who helped us pack up the old apartment and to John’s parents who helped us unpack the new apartment.  The moving in part was the easiest ever!  We’ve explored a little since moving in...went to Taste of Chicago twice, saw the Broadway productions of Beauty and the Beast and Peter Pan, experienced Taste of Greece in Greektown, went to Jazzin’ at the Shedd, ate at Girl and the Goat after a two month wait, and checked out the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival Parade.  I’ve also done yoga at Millennium Park and thoroughly enjoyed having the Lakeshore Path for my running route.

This year I ran my first and second half marathons, the Illinois Marathon Half Marathon in Urbana and the Monster Dash in Chicago.  Next up: the Crazylegs Classic 8K in Madison in April and the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K in Chicago in November.  My mom and I also completed the Challenge Walk MS in Door County in September.  Thanks again to all who donated!

We’ve had quite a few visitors since moving to the big city as well.  We love visitors!  John’s sister Annie and a friend came in September to go to the Wisconsin vs. NIU game at Soldier Field.  It was so good to be at a Badger game again!  We also thoroughly enjoyed watching the Brewers in the playoffs this year.  We were able to go to a game at Miller Park with John’s dad and Natalie and another one at Wrigley Field during the last week of the season.

We hope this letter finds you all well and that 2012 will bring much happiness to you and your families.  Our 2012 plans: skiing in Idaho in January, Tampa in March, celebrating the marriage of Annie and Ben in October, and hopefully lots of great other memories too.  Go Badgers!

Fabulous brunch, fabulous company

Last week, one of my former clinical students from U of I emailed me out of the blue and asked to get together while she and another student were home for Thanksgiving break.  It was SO good to hear from this student...and SO awesome to actually catch up with both of them yesterday. 

First of all, they really made me feel good about myself.  I told them about my whole job drama this fall and they were so positive about it.  One of them said she was so impressed that I just went for what I wanted and got it.  "The stars have aligned for you," she said.  I never really thought of it that way, I guess.

They also expressed that they really appreciated what I had taught them.  One of their current clinical instructors told the student that her care plans were very thorough...and she attributed that to me!  The other student mentioned that she really appreciated that I even corrected her grammar.  I guess she "got" that I cared and wanted her to do it right...I don't think she gets that now.

Part of this made me a little sad because they're getting a little down about school stuff and being a nurse...some things slipped through the cracks and now they're catching up.  But, I'm glad they still see me as a resource.  I really love being their mentor...and hope that I can keep in contact with them as they begin their nursing careers.

On Wisconsin!

This is another long-overdue post.  Way back in September, John's sister Annie and her friend Kristen came to visit for a weekend...and to go to the Badger game versus Northern Illinois at Soldier Field.  We had such a great weekend...ate breakfast at Yolk, enjoyed a great football game, took fun pictures at the bean, got Annie up in the ferris wheel at Navy Pier, and enjoyed the fireworks and a couple of beers.  It was fun to spend time with Annie again too...I miss her and our Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice/McAlister's dates!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Kristen, me, and Annie

Go Badgers!

Me and John

My attempt at a panoramic photo...not too bad

The best band in the land!

Our seats were right behind the band!

Kristen and Annie with the bean

Kristen, Annie, and me with the bean

Me and Annie

A ticket from the Ferris Wheel

Annie not too pleased to be on the ferris wheel...she made it though!

Fall in Chicago

September 26, 2011 - Beautiful rainbow after a rainy morning

October 7, 2011 - Changing colors along Lake Shore Drive

October 9, 2011 - View from our window on a sunny fall day

October 30, 2011 - Gorgeous fall leaves in the park

I just found this post...I didn't realize that I hadn't published it yet.  So, here it is!  It's been an absolutely beautiful fall in Chicago.  I can honestly saw that today was the first time I was really cold...and that's probably because I was wearing a skirt and my tights weren't really a match for the chilly wind leaving work tonight.  The forecast is still extremely mild (mid-50s) even into the end of this week.  I can't believe it!  I'm definitely not complaining though...not like John, who keeps asking when it's going to snow.

milque·toast

I came across this word in my Sports Illustrated the other night and just had to look it up...I had never seen it before! 

According to dictionary.com, it is a noun that means a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated and is pronounced [milk-tohst].

I LOVE when SI expands my vocabulary!

"When faced with a challenge, 

look for a way, not a way out." 

~David L. Weatherford

*Erin Andrews retweeted this today.  Love it!

A friend posted this on Facebook.  Love it!

Girl and the Goat

At the end of September, John and I went out to eat at Girl and the Goat with our friend Keith and one of his friends.  Keith made reservations way back in July.  The food was delicious!  Here's a sample...

We had bread with peanut butter butter and honey, the roasted cauliflower from the "v" section, the steamed mussels and sautéed Hawaiian sunfish from the "f" section, and the ham frites, goat chorizo flatbread, and wood oven roasted pig face from the "m" section.  Oh, and we also had dessert...a yummy chocolate brownie.  Delicious!

Goat chorizo flatbread

John and I

Brit and Keith

The Brewers

It's been an exciting fall for the Brewers...clinching the NL Central, winning the NLDS vs the Diamondbacks, and now playing in the NLCS vs the Cardinals.  Unfortunately, they're not playing as well in this series and have had some pretty bad losses against the Cardinals.  We're still rooting for them though!  Hopefully they will play a good game tonight and push the Cardinals to a seventh game...and win that too! :)  Gotta stay positive.

Pig pile after winning the NLDS vs the Diamondbacks in Game 5.

John and I went to one of the last regular season games against the Cubs here in Chicago.  Going to a game at Wrigley was on my bucket list since moving to Chicago...I didn't really think we'd be able to see the Brewers since those are usually pretty big games.  We got tickets for about $30 each and were in the first level, behind home plate, a couple sections up.  It was great!  I was surprised by how small Wrigley was...but it was a neat experience!

John and I at Wrigley.

Wrigley's old school scoreboard.

The Hunger Games

 

I started reading The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins during my time off between jobs.  I made it about 50 pages in to the third book before I started working at Chamberlain.  I was out of town for the last couple weekends so didn't really have any time to continue reading...but I fixed that this weekend!  I read a big chunk of the book yesterday and then finished it off this morning.  The series was so good!  I really, really enjoyed it though it was a really disturbing idea...children forced to fight to the death for the entertainment of the elite class in the Capitol...and the eventual war between the haves and have-nots.  I was glad that the ending was happy though...and brought decent closure too.  I really thought all of the characters were extremely well-developed...I absolutely adored Katniss, Peeta, and Prim.  I definitely think this is a series I'll be able to read again.  I highly recommend it!

Academic Success Coach

I've been at my new job as Academic Success Coach at Chamberlain College of Nursing for 3 weeks now...and I absolutely love it!  My boss is great as are most of my coworkers.  The environment is so positive and pretty relaxed.  I love that I can wear pretty much whatever I want as long as I look professional...which means I wore skirts and dresses almost all last week when the weather was beautiful.  I haven't been introduced to all of my duties yet.  So far, I really enjoy tutoring students and helping them understand how to take nursing exams...reading the whole question and all of the answers, picking out key words and distractions, and applying the nursing content they've learned.  I've also read some research about using standardized exams during nursing school (Chamberlain uses the HESI which I will be in charge of eventually.) and how they correlate with success on NCLEX.  It's really interesting to me.

Inevitably, people ask if I want to go back to school.  Chamberlain will be starting its own DNP program sometime soon (and I'll be eligible for tuition reimbursement after a year).  My boss told me that if I'm interested in nursing education, I should look into a doctorate in education (EdD).  Hmm...decisions, decisions.  For now, I'm extremely happy right where I am!

I really wanted to be able to take public transportation to work.  I took the train for the first three days of my new job and then had to drive on the fourth day because I was leaving to go out of town right after work.  The time spent driving was under half the time spent walking/riding the train...so I've been driving.  I can make it door to door in about 35 minutes in normal traffic.  Much better than the 75+ minutes it was taking to ride the train.  However, I've promised John that I will take the train if (well, when) the weather is really bad...but hopefully school will be closed then anyway!

My first work trip is coming up the week after next.  It's just to St Louis but it's still exciting (to me, at least).  It's a national meeting for faculty/staff from every Chamberlain location.

Challenge Walk MS: Day 3

Ahh, today was a nice, easy (well, relatively) morning of walking.  We slept in a little, ate a good breakfast, and then started out on the route.  There were just a few sprinkles while we were out on the route...and then a little downpour once we were done.  It cleared off enough for the Victory Mile to be quite enjoyable.

Last night we found out that 43 people with MS were involved in the walk...either walking or volunteering.  Impressive!  Also, we met two women with MS who crossed the finish line together in first place (even though it wasn't a race) yesterday.  They were such an inspiration!  Additionally, the WI Chapter of the National MS Society raised over $350,000 this weekend.  Wow!

Thanks again for your donations!  We hope that you will be as generous the next time we do this! :)

Day 3: Start Line

Mom and the sea of orange during the Victory Mile.

We did it!  50 miles in 3 days!!!

Challenge Walk MS: Day 2

Well, what a feat (feet, wet feet)!  It rained ALL day long...the whole 20 miles...but we made it!  Today's walk wasn't quite as fun as yesterday's but the weather probably played a big part in that.  We still met a lot of great people and had a delicious lunch.  There is at least one other mother-daughter pair here as well as a father-daughter duo.  Our reward for sticking with it was a wonderful 30 minute massage...ahh!  Now we're warming up with some coffee/chai at The Chocolate Chicken.  There are only 10 miles left for tomorrow...should be a breeze!

Near the start...already raining.  Sunglasses on in hopes of sunshine.

Mile 40 finish line...completely soaked.

Challenge Walk MS: Day 1

We survived Day 1...20 miles down, 30 to go.  No blisters so far, just sore feet.  We're now relaxing at The Chocolate Chicken, enjoying a warm beverage and some fudge.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful as the trees are just starting to change.  The weather was perfect.  To top it off, the support staff was amazing.

We're looking forward to the dinner and award ceremony tonight and to meeting more of the people supporting this great cause.

Thanks again for your donations.  We will definitely sleep well tonight!

The start line

Rest Stop #1: Irish

We hiked up this viewing tower for a little extra cardio.

The view was totally worth it!

The finish line...20 miles down!

Challenge Walk MS is almost here!

Here's a copy of the email I sent out to our donors.

Hello family and friends,

First of all, we want to thank you all again for your support for the Challenge Walk MS.  This is the week!  We will be arriving in Egg Harbor on Thursday night and walking Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  We've trained hard for this all summer.  Jul walked 408 miles and Emily walked 242 miles...with 3 more miles scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  It's been challenging but invigorating as well.  We can't wait for the experience of the actual event.

Jul even put her craftiness to work and made shirts...with a little design help from Em:

We'll try to update you after each day of the walk.  You can also see the route maps for each day at this website.

Thanks again for all your support!

~Jul and Emily

Depend upon yourself. Make your judgment trustworthy by trusting it. You can develop good judgment as you do the muscles of your body -- by judicious, daily exercise. To be known as a man of sound judgment will be much in your favor.

~Grantland Rice, American sportswriter

North end of Lakefront Trail

I walked 20.48 miles yesterday (well, OK, I ran 6 of them and walked the rest).  I made it all the way to the north end of Lakefront Trail (about 8 miles from my apartment).  It was a beautiful, windy day.  I thought I did pretty well...only my feet hurt when I got done.  This morning, a lot more hurt...but I walked to do my errands and seem to have gotten all the soreness out.  I'm feeling pretty good about handling the Challenge Walk MS (50 miles in 3 days...20, 20, 10) on September 23-25th.  Woo!

P.S. Balance bars and GU sport gel are my friends!

North end of Lakefront Trail

 

My view

At about mile 9...still smiling!

August fun in Chicago

Yoga in Millennium Park...so awesome!  I was able to go August 13th and 27th and September 3rd.  Can't wait for next summer to do it again!

We saw Peter Pan at the threesixty Theatre.  I loved it!

We came across a flash mob on our way to Taste of Greece.

John and I in Greektown for Taste of Greece.

John and Keith

John and I in our neighborhood on the way back from Taste of Greece.  Artsy photo courtesy of Keith.

John with a pretty garden in Millennium/Grant Park.

Night view of the city from the Shedd Aquarium.

John and I after Jazzin' at the Shedd.