June recap

Wow...June flew by!  It seems like it was just June 1st...and now it's already July 7th.  Time flies!

June 8-10 - We rented a car and drove up to Oshkosh for Natalie's high school graduation.  She was a salutatorian which I didn't know until right before the ceremony...such a smart girl!

Natalie and her boyfriend, Race

The family: Ben, Annie, Kathy, Natalie, John, Em, and John

Grandma Jo, Natalie, and Grandpa John

Saturday we helped prepare for the party on Sunday...and spent the afternoon poolside at Annie's apartment.  It was a gorgeous day!  We saw lots of family and Natalie's friends at the party on Sunday...and a couple of teachers too (including one who also taught John and Annie)!

The newest Badger in the family!

She was pretty happy with the Wii...those are tears in her eyes!

June 16-18 - We flew up to Minneapolis to spend time with Mark and KJ and Conor and Lisa...and watch the Brewers beat the Twins at Target Field.  The girls ruled baseball bingo...I got first place and KJ got second.

John's panorama of Target Field

Em, KJ, Mark, and John

Target Field

KJ, Em, and Lisa - Post-game beers

After the game, we met up with Karen and Matt for dinner at Cafeteria.  Karen and I were in the nursing program at UW-Madison together...it was so great to see her again...it had been quite awhile!

Karen and Em

Sunday we just hung out with Mark and KJ.  We attempted to go to the zoo but it rained while we were at lunch so we opted to stay inside instead.  We also played beersbee, a Frisbee game where to try to knock an empty beer bottle off a pole.  It was pretty fun!  We flew back to Chicago early Monday morning...I went to work on the way home and was only 15 minutes late!

June 19 - Jamine texted me the evening of the 19th to let me know the boys had arrived that morning.  I talked to Brandon for a few minutes to get all my questions answered.  The boys still hadn't been named as Jamine hadn't held them yet...but they named them later that night.  Cade Jefferson Kurth was born at 11:07 am, weighed 5 pounds 1 ounce, and was 18 inches long.  Blake Luther Kurth was born at 11:08 am, weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces, and was 17 inches long.  So exciting!  (Photos in a new post!) 

June 21 - I'm so glad I subscribe to the Explore Chicago Events RSS feed...I've found out about so many cool things!  June 21st, John and I went to the Adler Planetarium for Adler After Dark.  It was pretty cheap and really fun!  We even got to see Mars, Saturn, and Mercury through extremely powerful telescopes.  It was awesome!

Trying out the astrolabe

June 22 - A college friend was in Chicago with her family for the night so we all got together at Millennium Park for music, drinks, and appetizers...and then dinner at Sweetwater.  It was so good to see them all and catch up again!

Em, Vibha, Mona, Jess, Anit, and Jess's mom

#CHI 100...still haven't figured out what that meant!

Vibha, Anila, Sarita, Anit, Jess J, Jess S, Tara and Em

June 22-24 - Annie came to visit us for the weekend!  Saturday morning we went to yoga and Zumba in the park...with a break at Caribou in between.  Then, we had lunch at Lizzie McNeill's on the riverwalk and did a little shopping.  Saturday evening we had dinner at Harry Caray's on Navy Pier and then saw Cirque Shanghai.  Cirque Shanghai was amazing!

My first yoga at Millennium Park of the summer!

Em and Annie after yoga and Zumba at the park

Cirque Shanghai: Year of the Dragon

Sunday we had breakfast at Wildberry (our favorite!) and then went on the Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise.  The river cruise was great...we were just glad it was mostly cloudy so we didn't get too hot!

Annie and John

John and Em

Example of a building with reflective glass

Willis Tower and River City

Merchandise Mart - This building is so big it has its own zip code!

Our neighborhood from the very east end of the river

June 27 - I met one of my Chicago Scholars and another mentor for dinner (more about Chicago Scholars later) and my scholar mentioned that there was going to be a live ballet performance in the park later that night.  I walked over with her on my way home and ended up staying for the entire performance...standing on the edge of the Pavilion near the front.  The performance was a simulcast of the Paris Opera Ballet's Giselle which was going on at the Harris Theater, underneath Millennium Park.  I've never seen the Pavilion so packed before.  It was awesome!  Such a great, free experience for everyone there!

 

June 29-July 1 - My wonderful husband turned 29 on June 29th!  My mom also visited for the weekend.  Friday evening, we went to Elephant and Castle for John's birthday dinner.  It was really yummy!  We sat outside with the train squeaking around the corner every few minutes...a little annoying but pretty cool too.

Saturday morning Mom and I did yoga and Zumba in the park.  It was a lot of fun but it was hot!  The three of us met Keith at the Cubs game to celebrate John's birthday.  Luckily we were in the shade.  It was a fun game though...the Cubs won and Mom enjoyed her first trip to Wrigley!

Em and Mom in front of Wrigley

Blast Houston into the AL...haha!

 

Try a thing you haven't done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.

~Virgil Thomson, American composer and critic

This is very interesting advice...I'll have to keep it in mind!

Be happy.  It's one way of being wise.

~Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, French novelist and performer

For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work.

~Doug Larson, American newspaper columnist

No kidding...where does the time go?

Healthy eating

One of my New Year's resolutions was to eat more vegetables (more of those resolutions soon) and I'm doing a pretty good job at it.  Sure, some days are better than others, but overall I'm doing much better.  If I don't have leftovers for lunch, I usually walk over to the grocery store and get soup (with vegetables) and a pretzel bun.  Lately, I've been substituting a salad for the pretzel bun.  Most recently, it's been far too hot for soup so I've been eating a nice, big salad with lots of raw veggies on it.  I love it!  I've also been making green monster (spinach) smoothies to eat between breakfast and lunch.  I'm getting there!

Here are a couple of blog posts that I've come across that I found interesting:

1. Disney Goes Healthy - Disney World, Magic Kingdom specifically, has added fresh veggies and flatbreads to its menus.  I've gone to Disney World with John's family three times in the last five years.  I can't remember when I first noticed it, but they've had healthy options for quite some time.  John's sister, mom, and I usually get the kid's meals just because we don't need as much food as the adult portions give.  The kid's meals default to healthier options for sides and drinks (grapes, apple slices, carrot sticks, milk).  There are less healthy options available (fries, cookies, soda) but you have to ask for them specifically.  Disney is also getting rid of junk food ads during their programming.  True, this won't go into effect until 2015...but it's still a pretty big step in the right direction!

2. Veggie Prescriptions - What a great idea!  Most people know that they should eat healthy.  Some can't afford it.  I learned in my FNP program that exercise prescriptions work for people...why not veggie prescriptions?  Plus, this program makes the veggies (and fruits) more affordable through vouchers.  Very interesting idea!

Stay healthy, my friends!

May recap

Oh my, it's been so long since I've posted.  We've had a few busy couple of months...life is good!

[I actually composed this post awhile back but have been waiting for the photos...I'll make a couple edits but leave it essentially how I wrote it a few weeks ago...]

The third weekend in May I went back home to Cochrane for my best friend's baby shower.  It worked out perfectly for me to stop at her house near Madison on Thursday night and then drive with her the rest of the way on Friday.  Plus, then we got an extra 6 hours of chatting time total!  I can't believe how much those twins are growing...and how great she looks!  We got to see another one of our high school friends at the shower too...and she's pregnant and looking fabulous as well.  It's so exciting!  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to document this event.

I do, however, have a few pictures of the golf course from my beautiful hometown.  I walked along with Mom as she golfed 18 holes on Friday...it was hot but gorgeous!

  

I was a little worried about being able to get back to our apartment on my way home from Cochrane as the NATO Summit was going on May 20-21st.  I timed it perfectly though and made it home without a problem!  There were protesters blocking my regular route home after work on Monday though...as well as a large contingent of police on my street waiting for commendation from the mayor.

 

Memorial Day Weekend, John and I also went back home to Cochrane.  We were able to have dinner with Jamine and Brandon in Madison on our way north on Friday.  Saturday we went to my high school's graduation ceremony.  A couple of the kids I used to baby-sit graduated this year.  I feel so old!  I baby-sat one of them from the time he was two years old until he was 10 or so...and I still keep in touch with him on Facebook.  He's a great kid...a very tall kid...and I'm so proud of him!

Me and Ryan...I look so short!

Chelsea, me, and Ryan - Yes, I'm still standing on the ledge...they're both so tall!

That Sunday I tried to run 5 miles but didn't quite make it.  Luckily Mom timed it perfectly on her way home from church as she stopped at the stop sign just as I was running up to it and gave me a ride home!  I saw the mom of one of my classmates along the way and she mistook me for one of the former cross country stars...she said I had good form!  I'll take the compliment!

Later that afternoon, I walked along with Mom and John as they golfed 9 holes.  It was so hot...but I learned my hubby is a pretty good golfer!

We were able to visit with my grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousins before we left on Monday.  It was so good to see them again!  Then, on our way home, we stopped at the World's Largest Brat Fest in Madison...John's favorite place!

 

The weekend after Memorial Day (technically June) we relaxed!  We tried out a new (for us) place for deep dish pizza, Pizzeria Due, and will definitely be going back.  It was a gorgeous afternoon and we were able to eat outside...all this after John patiently came along with me to do a little shopping.  He can be such a wonderful hubby!

Crazy...nuts...goofy!

The Friday before Memorial Day my manager and I signed up for the Walt Disney Marathon Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge.  We'll run the half marathon on Saturday and then the full marathon on Sunday.  This will be my first full marathon!  I'm super excited but also a little nervous.  We set our goal time to be 5 hours, 45 minutes...so nothing spectacular.  Shannon ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon a couple years ago and said it was a really laid back and fun race...so we're just going to have fun with it...and hopefully finish within the 16 minute/mile time limit!

Crazy...maybe.  Nuts...maybe.  Goofy...definitely!

We sold our car!

On Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 we sold our car.  That 2006 Honda Civic had served us well, for over 90,000 miles.  We are now officially car-less and no longer have to pay $235/month for parking...yay!

Brand new (well, almost) with Wisconsin plates nearly 6 years ago

I honestly think we'll really like being car-less...plus, I now owe less than $10,000 on my graduate school loans...woohoo!!!

Nurses Night at the Ballpark

This week was Nurses Week.  One of the way Chamberlain celebrates is with Nurses Night at the Ballpark.  Students, faculty, and staff receive tickets to a game (in Chicago, it's a Cubs game).  There was also an information table set up so people could learn about nursing and Chamberlain.  Shannon and I were honored by our campus president and invited to be on the field before the game started.  We were also invited to eat and drink in the VIP area before the game.  It was an awesome experience!  Here are a few photos from the game...with more to come.  There were so many pictures taken that I felt like I was getting married again...haha!

Shannon and I showing off our VIP passes

The Chamberlain group

Our student throwing out the first pitch!

P.S. Don't worry, fellow Brewers fans, I have not converted to a Cubs fan.  I thought the least I could do was buy a Cubs shirt since they were letting me on the field!

Word of the week

gad·fly, noun

1. any of various flies, as a stable fly or warble fly, that bite or annoy domestic animals

2. a person who persistently annoys or provokes others with criticism, schemes, ideas, demands, requests, etc.

I came across this word while reading my May 7, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated, in the section discussing the role of fathers after Title IX was introduced.  Great issue, as usual!

Week twelve!

This is the last dailymile report I'll post...for now, at least!  I think I have a routine down...if only I can make myself get up and do it most mornings.  My next race is the Brewers Mini Marathon on September 22nd.  I'm going to use a new training program this time, Jeff Galloway's Half Marathon Training Schedule.  Training starts May 29th...we'll see how it goes!

Crazylegs 2012

Last weekend we went back to Madison for Crazylegs 2012.  We had a great weekend!  We started off by meeting Jamine and Brandon for dinner at the Great Dane...such a yummy place and such wonderful company!

Jamine (and the babies) and me after dinner

Saturday, I ran the Crazylegs Classic 8K and John, Mark, KJ, and Marissa walked the 2-mile walk.  It was rainy and cold...but a lot of fun.  The first wave of the run started at 10:00 but I didn't start until almost 10:40...brr!  But, I got to high five a Badger hockey player and basketball player Mike Bruesewitz before crossing the starting line...that definitely put a smile on my face!  I was really impressed with my run...thought I started out too fast but the adrenaline kept me going.  My splits were 9:28, 9:17, 9:16, 9:06, and 8:28.

After the race, we checked out the new Union South...it's awesome!

Mark and John

John and me

The new climbing wall

After the race, we hung out with Mark's friend Noah and played Settlers of Catan, spent some time in the hotel pool and hot tub, ate at Casa de Lara (one of our Madison favorites and the site of Mark and KJ's first date), and had a couple of drinks at the Tipsy Cow.  It was a great weekend!

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