Spring in Chicago

I didn't realize that I hadn't posted about going to the Brewers at Cubs game in early April...oops!  Our leasing office had tickets for $5 so I bought four of them and John and I met Keith and Nate at Wrigley.  It was a chilly night but the seats were perfect...high up in the first deck (200 level) so that we were protected from the wind.  We had a great time!

 

Keith, Nate, John, and me

The week after Easter, John's parents, little sister Natalie, and Natalie's friend Stephanie visited us.  John's dad had a meeting to go to in Joliet so the girls took the opportunity to do a little shopping downtown.  We went to see the musical Fela! one night.  It was great...and so moving...I had no idea about the history of that volatile time in Africa.  We all really enjoyed it.

Natalie's illegal picture of the show

Me and Natalie

Me, Natalie, and Steph after the show

John and I discovered the Chicago Architecture Foundation's model city last week.  It was pretty cool...and must have taken someone a lot of time!

And a few more random photos from the last couple months:

The girls at Easter in Oshkosh: Annie, me, Natalie, and Michele

The "kids": Annie, John, Natalie, Ben, and me

Scooter, the CAS pet, molted and got humongous over night!

Pretty flowers on Michigan Avenue

My manager brought me back a Tokyo Disneyland pin...so awesome!

A beautiful spring morning in Chicago

Expanding my vocabulary

I learned three new words in the last week:

• autodidact - [noun] - A person who has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher; a self-taught person.
• parkour - [noun, slang] - The sport of moving along a route, typically in a city, trying to get around or through various obstacles in the quickest and most efficient manner possible, as by jumping, climbing, or running.
• copacetic - [adjective] - Fine; completely satisfactory; OK.

Autodidact and copacetic showed up in my Sports Illustrated magazines.  I love when Sports Illustrated expands my vocabulary...happens almost every issue.  Parkour was written by a blogger I follow...she insisted it was a real word and challenged readers to look it up.  Perfect!

Weeks nine, ten, and eleven!

Whew!  Three more weeks of exercising reports to load.  Saturday is the 8K I've been training for and then I'll stop uploading these.  I'll have to get into a new routine but I think I'll pretty much keep doing what I've been doing with this training program.  Plus, I signed up for the Brewers Mini Marathon on September 22 so I'll have something else to work towards.

I did really well April 2-8...over 3 hours!

I had more miles April 9-15 but less total time...most likely due to my 1.76 mile daily walking commute.  I don't count that as cardio though...just mileage. :)

A little better April 16-22...

So far this week I have two and a half hours of time in...but an hour of that was yoga.  My goal is to do three hours of cardio a week...gotta get back there!  Wish me luck for the 8K on Saturday...it's supposed to be cold and rainy in Madison on Saturday...ick!  But, I'd rather have it be a little chilly than really hot!

Surprise...twins!

My best friend is pregnant...with twins!  She told me she was pregnant in January...and I was SO, SO happy and excited for her and her husband.  Three weeks ago she called me, on the day of her 20 week ultrasound, and asked if I could keep a secret for a little bit...I figured either they decided to find out the baby's gender or she was having twins.  Turned out, it was the latter...surprise twins at 20 weeks!  Last week, she had her twin ultrasound and found out she's having identical twin boys.

I went up to see her on my way to Oshkosh a couple of weekends ago, the week between the two ultrasounds, and she and her husband seemed so, so happy...a little nervous, but happy.  "Go big or go home" her husband said.  Ha!  They have a bunch of stuff picked out for the nursery and it's going to be so cute.

All this baby news is making me even more ready to have a baby.  A lot of my friends...and just people I see and don't even know...are pregnant...and there are babies everywhere in my neighborhood!  My bff told me it would be tough once I really wanted a baby...and she was right.  Our plan right now is to start trying/stop preventing this fall...and I'm so excited!

Can we go carless?

John and I are seriously considering going carless.  Up until the past week and a half, I used the car to drive to work every day (parking is free at work) and we used it to get out of the city to visit family and friends, mostly in Wisconsin.  Once gas prices started to rise (they're considerably higher in the city than in the suburbs/Wisconsin), we gave it another thought...and considered our other options...

Driving to work takes me about 35 minutes in normal traffic.  It takes about 50 minutes to an hour to take the train and bus (the Red Line not the Brown Line that I first took when I started my job...that route took about 75 minutes and turned me away from public transportation in the first place).

We can sign up for igo or zipcar...and John can write them off as a business expense.  Both car sharing options are located really close to us...there are a couple of zipcars in our garage and there are igo cars next door.  Though we haven't dived deep into calculating the costs of these programs, it seems as though either program would cost approximately what we're currently paying in parking each month...and that includes gas and insurance!

So, our first step...well, my first step...was determining whether I would actually take public transportation instead of driving.  Two Mondays ago I was running late and it was really windy and cold outside...so I drove instead.  On Tuesday, I really wanted to make sure I was home for yoga at 6:30 pm so I drove.  But, on Wednesday, I finally took the train/bus...and I loved it!  Last Friday was my real test...it was thunderstorming out when I left in the morning...but I did it!  And, I only got a little bit wet.  This week I took public transportation all four days (I had today off)! 

I actually really enjoy it...I get to read on the train and then check my email/Facebook/Twitter on the bus (there's no signal on the train because it's underground for most of my ride).  I'm much more relaxed...and I don't spend as much time on the computer at night when I get home.  I think I'm a public transportation convert...so now, are we ready to sell our car?  Stay tuned!

Bridesmaids

We went bridesmaid dress shopping a few weekends ago for Annie's wedding.  It was a really fun but exhausting day!  It was my first experience being a bridesmaid in this situation...I went with my bridesmaids (well, three of the four of them) for my wedding...but they were the ones picking out the dresses...and for Jamine's wedding, she picked out our gorgeous dresses for us.  Annie had already picked out the color, and, amazingly, the five of us pretty much liked the same style of dress so it was pretty easy to make a decision.  I'm very excited about our choice!

After the shopping was done we all hung out at Annie and Ben's condo...had beer floats (surprisingly good), played games, ate Ian's-like pizza, and watched The Muppets.  All in all, it was a great day!

(I do actually have pictures of this day but they all include Annie in her wedding gown so I can't post them...sorry!)

St. Patrick's Day Weekend/Mom's Visit

John left for Montana for spring break and Mom came to visit me on St. Patrick's Day Weekend.  Mom and I had a great time!  We were really busy on Saturday...we left home about 9 am for the river dying ceremony and didn't return until after 5 pm!  After the river dying ceremony we went to the parade with a million other people, then grabbed lunch at Corner Bakery on our way to Navy Pier for the Flower and Garden Show.  I couldn't believe how many people were around!  It was an amazingly nice day, sunny and in the 70s.  We also saw my friend Dana at the parade.  It was so good to catch up with her...and have brunch with her on Sunday too!  Overall, it was a fabulous weekend.  Plus, I think Mom was impressed with my cooking skills...especially the sweet potato tacos!

The river dying ceremony

Here comes the dye

Mom with a beautiful blooming tree...she thought it was a Magnolia...

Bright blue sky in the city

The green Chicago River

Mom touching a tarantula at the Flower and Garden Show

Beautiful tulips at the Flower and Garden Show

Tampa

John and I went to Tampa in early March.  He spoke at a math conference at the University of Southern Florida on Sunday (and attended the conference on Saturday).  We flew down Wednesday after work and spent a couple of nights on Siesta Key.  We were out on the beach all day on Thursday...it was beautiful!

On our way to the beach

I love the beach!

Yummy Siesta Key pink lemonade at the Sniki Tiki

John: "Do you want to go see the sunset? It's happening in five minutes."

Our clams...they were pretty good...but not my favorite!

Friday morning, after I ran 3 miles on the beach (my first outside run of the year), we ate at an adorable little breakfast place that was previously frequented by Dickie V!  Then we drove up to Tampa and spent the afternoon at Busch Gardens.  I was beyond excited to see that there was a McAlister's Deli right next to our hotel...and talked John into taking me there for dinner even though he's not a big fan.

We got to watch them feed the elephants...it was pretty entertaining.

My favorite animal, the giraffe

A real giraffe!  The safari train ride was pretty cool...almost on par with Disney's safari.

The most awesome roller coaster I've ever been on...the Cheetah Hunt.  It had three "speed bursts" and was just awesome...very smooth and not too much spinning...my kinda ride!

Mmm...McAlister's sweet tea, how I've missed you!

My usual, the McAlister's Club

Saturday I met my Uncle Mark and Aunt Trina for lunch near Orlando.  It was really good to see them again...but unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures on my camera.  Hopefully I'll get to see them again this summer...or sometime soon!

Sunday John and I went to Plant City to visit some old family friends...Mary and Tom and their daughter Jess.  Luckily, Jess and her husband Darren were home for a wedding that weekend.  It was SO good to see them and to meet Darren...I hadn't been to their house since Jess graduated from high school almost 9 years ago...and I think I'd only seen Mary and Tom once since then back home in Wisconsin.  It's really amazing to have friends like that...who you can just pick up with like you saw them the other day.  Mary fed us a delicious lunch...and we got a tour of their llamas.  I'm lucky to have such awesome friends!  (But, unfortunately, no photo evidence.)

Cooking

I've been doing a lot more cooking lately...trying quite a few new recipes thanks to Skinny Taste and Pinterest.  Here are a few of my creations...

Sweet potato fries...John wolfed these down!  These were pretty much my own creation.  I didn't want to add too much to them for the first time so I just used a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano.

A delicious pasta with spinach and cherry tomatoes...and asiago cheese!  See the recipe here.

Just some rice and beans with green peppers and onions...and Lizano salsa...yum!

I made sweet potato tacos without meat when my mom visited but wasn't sure John would like those so I tried them again with ground beef.  Delicious!  Basically, it's ground beef, onions, green peppers, sweet potatoes, and black beans...and some of that delicious Costa Rican Lizano salsa.

Skinny Green Tropical Smoothie - I made this 3 times this week (2 servings per batch) and it was delicious...until I decided to add wheat germ to it.  From now on I'll leave the wheat germ for the granola and oatmeal!

I also made Dirty Brown Rice with Shrimp, Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Soup, and Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole for suppers as well as Arugula Salad with Penne, Garbanzo Beans, and Sun Dried Tomatoes for a potluck at work.

The Dirty Brown Rice with Shrimp was really good but made a really big batch...I'm going to have to work on cutting that down the next time I make it because we were both a little sick of it by the time it was gone...and the shrimp only tastes good for so long.

The Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Soup was good...and a little less greasy than the recipe I usually make.  I only made it once because it got warm pretty early this spring (actually, it wasn't spring yet) though it's chilly again now.  I have a few ideas for ways to make it better.  I added vegetables to it (carrots, green peppers, celery, and onions) like my old recipe but I didn't put them in at the right time.  It will be better next time!

The Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole was absolutely delicious...even as leftovers.  It was pretty time intensive though so maybe next time I'll make a double batch so I can freeze some for the following week.  I also made shredded chicken in my crock pot which was super easy...and tasted much better than canned chicken (which I honestly didn't know existed until I saw it in a recipe a few years ago).

The salad was also good...but it made too much for my potluck and it sat out for hours so I had to throw it out.  I think it would be better in a smaller batch or for a party/holiday.

I have a few more recipes on my Pinterest recipe board to try...and I get daily updates from Skinny Taste.  I still need to work on planning ahead though...I'm hoping to come up with a bi-weekly rotation or something so that I don't have to think about ingredients every time we order Peapod or go to Mariano's.  I'll get there!

Chamberlain

Wow, I hadn't really realized that I've only posted about my job a couple of times...weird...and good too, I guess!

There have been a lot of changes at work in the last few months.  Starting in late December, Shannon took over as the manager of the Center for Academic Success, the department that I work in.  The transition was a little rough on her since she was still working her other position, teaching pathophysiology, as well...but she did it very well and we've made a lot of positive changes to the CAS.  It's really amazing how well Shannon and I get along...and how "on the same page" we are.  At the end of last semester we had an off-site team building day at the Shedd Aquarium with two of the peer tutors...it was awesome!

Jellies make particularly excellent photography subjects.

 

Shannon and I topped off the day with a trip to the Old Town Aquarium where we rescued this red lobster, since named Scooter, from it's tank with the blue lobster.  Scooter was missing his front claws, presumably snapped off by the blue lobster, so we felt he needed a new home.  He has since molted and grown...and seems to very much like being in his own tank in Shannon's office.

I know I referenced awhile back that we went to Sky High Sports, a trampoline gym, and said I would post pictures.  Here they are:

Me and Jeff, Chamberlain's registrar

Trying to coordinate it so we're all jumping at once.  Jeff is the ringleader.

The whole group

This was a Chamberlain staff/faculty event and it was so much fun!  I couldn't believe how sore I was for the next couple of days though...must have burned a lot of calories!  There are actually trampoline fitness classes at this place which I think would be lots of fun...too bad it's out in the 'burbs.

Recently, there were also changes at the President level on the Chicago campus.  Patrick, who opened the campus, finally agreed (after three offers) to take a position on the national level...and his assistant left with him.  We had their going away party last week and it was a very tearful affair...I don't think there was a dry eye in the room.  It's amazing how much the Chicago campus has grown just since I've been there...I can't imagine what it's like to build it from the beginning.  Right now we have an Interim President who is supposed to lead another campus once it opens this summer.  I like what I've seen of her so far...she's very open, knowledgeable, and gets things done.

Shannon is back to teaching pathophysiology as of Week 4 of this session (two 8 week sessions make up a semester at Chamberlain) so it's been a little crazy in the CAS lately.  She's doing a great job though!  Her birthday is this week so we had a surprise party for her at work on Monday and then a surprise dinner (she thought it was just going to be her and me but the peer tutors were all there too) on Wednesday.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures...but it was lots of fun!  Shannon's on her way to Japan now for a week-long vacation...and she certainly deserves it!

Recently someone asked me how John and I were liking our jobs and thought we were so lucky to both really enjoy our jobs.  I suppose it is pretty rare...and I'm so grateful!  I've found a really amazing group of people at Chamberlain...and hope to be a part of it in some way for a really long time!

Workouts: Weeks seven, eight, and nine!

I did pretty well in Week 7, really got back into a routine...but then fell way off in Week 8 mostly because I worked 9 hour days so I could leave work early on Friday...not the best decision for keeping up with my workouts.

Week 8 was fabulous and so far I'm doing pretty well in Week 9 too.  The nicer weather is definitely helping...as is taking public transportation to work and walking 1.76 miles/day in addition to any workouts.  I walk fast too!  (And wear my Pumas.)

I'll probably stop posting these weekly snapshots after the Crazylegs 8K on April 29th...they're getting a little boring to me...and probably to you too!