Reflections on 2013, resolutions for 2014

2014. Wow! As usual on the first day of a new year, there were many social media posts and articles about new year's resolutions. I like setting goals and making resolutions for myself with each new year and reflecting back on them at the end of the year.

Last year, I resolved to continue the three resolutions I had made in 2012:

1. Keep exercising
2. Eat more vegetables
3. Enjoy the moment

In addition, I added three more specifically for 2013:

1. Rock my new job. The transition to being a nurse practitioner wasn't always easy but I'm enjoying it more and more. Luckily, I had an amazing mentor to help me out for my first few months. Now I'm serving as that mentor for my new coworker. There are days I really love my job and days I really don't. Overall, I think I do my job really well.
2. Make a baby. This resolution will be staying around for 2014 as it hasn't happened yet. We're still having fun trying though. Hopefully we'll have good news soon!
3. Explore (more of) Chicago. John and I did a pretty good job of this in 2013. We discovered a new favorite restaurant in Greek Town, went to a couple sporting events at Soldier Field, enjoyed some of the free events at Millennium and Grant Parks, went to our first Bulls game, and enjoyed restaurants in other neighborhoods.

Today I saw an article and a tweet that inspired two of my resolutions for 2014. 

What's your New Years resolution? Mine is to keep learning new things, eat less sugar and be thankful everyday for something
— Tyree Brown (@RealTyreeBrown) January 1, 2014

(This from a 9 year old star of Parenthood, one of my favorite TV shows.)

My resolutions for 2014:

1. Keep exercising. I've sort of lost my exercise routine lately but am determined to get it back. Luckily, I've found a running friend in my building to help motivate me. We meet every Tuesday evening so I usually get in at least one run per week.
2. Eat more vegetables. I think I'll be able to keep this on my list for the rest of my life. I do a pretty good job of this now but I think one can always eat more veggies!
3. Enjoy the moment. This one is going to be especially important for me this year. John finishes his post doc position in May and has applied to new jobs. Now we wait for news of interviews and job offers. The waiting is so hard for me! I need to remember to enjoy the moment and not look too far ahead.
4. Make a baby. As this hasn't happened yet, it's staying for 2014. Hopefully this will be the year we conceive. Here again, I need to remember to enjoy the moment!
5. Read for pleasure. This is the resolution that resonated with me from the article referenced above. However, I think it will be just as pleasurable to read from my Nook as it would be from a real book. My plan is to get ready for bed 15 minutes before usual so that I have 15 minutes to read before going to sleep. And, although I really need to catch up on my Sports Illustrated magazines, I'm reserving this time solely for books.
6. Give thanks every day. I really enjoyed the 30 Days of Giving Thanks I did in November. I'm going to try to do that every day this year. So, there are going to be way more blog posts from me than ever before. I probably won't remember to write a post every single day but I'm going to try to find something that I'm thankful for every day and write about it, whether I'm writing in real time or retrospectively (within a few days). 
7. Explore (more of) Chicago. I want to continue to explore this great city we live in, especially since we may only be living in it for six more months. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! We hope this letter finds you well. It's hard to believe another year is almost upon us. Here is our 2013 in a brief review:

Em – I started a new job as a nurse practitioner at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I've learned so much, many thanks to a really amazing coworker and mentor! My mentor relocated out-of-state in September so I've recently transitioned to being the go-to person in Health Services. It's definitely been a challenge! I've also tried to continue running, though that has suffered a bit with the cold weather. Our building started a running club so I've made a new runner friend who keeps me motivated. John and I have also participated in the Pizza in the Park fun runs hosted by our local running store. This year's races included Goofy Challenge at Disney World in January, Shamrock Shuffle, Crazylegs Classic, Big Ten Network 10K, Hot Chocolate 15K, and Turkey Trot in Oshkosh. John actually joined in for the last two, running a 5K and a 2 mile run. I'm also volunteering with Chicago Scholars for the second year and volunteered for the Chicago Marathon and the Chicago Architecture Foundation's Open House Chicago weekend. It's been fun to get involved in the community.

John – John is thoroughly enjoying his last year as a postdoctoral professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. This fall he has been busy applying for tenure-track professor positions at universities all over the continent, from UC-San Diego to Emory University in Atlanta to the University of Waterloo in Canada (also many schools closer to home)! John spoke at conferences at UCLA, Urbana-Champaign, Memorial University of St. John's in Newfoundland, and Louisville this year. He has started working out regularly and is better about it than I am...such a change from previous years. John went out to Montana twice; once in the spring to check on the farm and go skiing and again in the summer to visit the farm and hike in Glacier National Park.

Travels – We went to Disney World twice this year, once in January for my races and again in May with John's family. We found out that 4 nights just isn't enough! We also spent a long weekend in Boston after I attended the American College Health Association Annual Meeting. It was great to explore the city with our amazing guide, my cousin Jenna. We spent 12 fabulous days in Costa Rica in July. Laura and Paolo were married on July 12^th. We arrived a little early to spend time with them and then spent a week at a resort on the beach. It was great to be back in beautiful Costa Rica to spend time with my Costa Rican family, my parents, and Aubrey and Andrew. We ventured to Long Island, New York for Aubrey and Andrew's wedding in September. It was a short trip but an absolutely wonderful wedding and a great time. Besides these bigger trips, we made many trips to Wisconsin to visit family and friends and celebrate special events, and one trip to Minnesota to visit our friends' new baby girl.

Chicago – We've really enjoyed getting to know the city of Chicago a little better and taking advantage of its offerings. This year we watched the Wisconsin men's hockey team play at Soldier Field (and went skating on the ice a couple nights before the game), watched the Wisconsin men's basketball team at Northwestern (OK, that's technically in Evanston but Northwestern is “Chicago's Big Ten Team.”), went to a US Soccer viewing party at Grant Park, watched the US Men's National Team win the Gold Cup at Soldier Field, and saw the Broadway shows The Book of Mormon, The Jungle Book, and Once.

Grandpa John – John's grandfather passed away this year. He was a good man, a very friendly and welcoming man, who made me feel like one of his own grandchildren. We miss you, Grandpa John.

2014 – We're looking forward to lots of changes in 2014. John will have a new job, most likely in a completely new place. We hope to expand our little family. And, we hope to see many of you!

30 Days of Giving Thanks

Friday, November 1, 2013
I'm thankful for my family and my friends. My mom, Angie, Gwen, and Kayla are visiting for the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K this weekend. We had such a great time chatting tonight!

Saturday, November 2, 2013
I'm thankful for my physical health. We walked over 9 miles today! We went south to McCormick Place to pick up our race packets then back north to Macy's to see the Christmas tree and finally back to our apartment. After a little break, we walked to Lou Malnati's for dinner. Whew!

Sunday, November 3, 2013
I'm thankful for beautiful fall weather. It was perfectly sunny with a very light breeze for the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K this morning. We could not have asked for a nicer day!

Monday, November 4, 2013
I'm thankful for my husband. After a day where I felt annoyed with so much at work, it was so great to come home, vent about it for a few minutes while my husband actually listened, and then forget about it. He may not be perfect, but he's perfect for me. I'm so thankful I was reminded of that tonight.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013
I'm thankful for my education. I may not always love (or even like) my current job but I love my profession. I'm thankful that I can help others with my knowledge.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013
I'm thankful for being involved with the Chicago Scholars organization and the relationships it has helped me develop. Tonight I had dinner in the Metropolitan Club on the 67th floor of the Sears (well, now Willis) Tower. Pretty amazing!

Thursday, November 7, 2013
I'm thankful for my friends. I received an early birthday card in the mail from Lauren, a friend from Champaign-Urbana, and exchanged a couple of text messages with her as well since it was her birthday. Lori, a friend from college at UW-Madison, was in Chicago for business so took me (and John) out for an early birthday dinner and spent the night with us. I'm so lucky to have sch wonderful friends!

Friday, November 8, 2013
I'm thankful for a quiet day at work. Quiet isn't a word nurses usually say out loud for fear of jinxing it.

Saturday, November 9, 2013
I'm thankful for an alma mater that is so fun and welcoming to go back to visit. I'm also thankful for a wonderful husband and in-laws. John and I met his parents before going to the Wisconsin football game and then met his little sister Natalie for dinner after the game. Natalie also got me some pretty sweet cookie cutters for my birthday!

Sunday, November 10, 2013
I'm thankful for my godson, his brother, and his wonderful parents. I guess this sort of fits into the "friends" category too but the Kurth's are so much more than friends. I'm so glad it worked for me to spend the night with them.

Monday, November 11, 2013
First and foremost, on Veteran's Day, I'm thankful for those who have served and currently serve our country. It's certainly not an easy task and takes a very special person to do. Secondly, I'm thankful that I was able to spend the day on the UW-Madison campus with the admitted students from Chicago Scholars. The school really put on a great day for the scholars. I'm proud to be affiliated with both UW-Madison and Chicago Scholars!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013
I'm thankful for the North Harbor Tower Running Club. Our building's new fitness club manager started the club a little over a month ago. It's been great to get to know other runners in the building and have a little motivation and company for Tuesday evening runs.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013
I'm thankful for Universal Sole and their fun runs. It was great to get out for a run again tonight and then have free delicious chili for supper afterwards.

I'm also thankful for starry nights. They help me remember just how much is out there in this big, big world.

Thursday, November 14, 2013
I'm thankful for old co-workers who have become friends. A three-hour dinner and chat session was just what I needed tonight.

Friday, November 15, 2013
I'm thankful that I have enough...enough food, enough water, enough shelter, enough clothing (sometimes too much). These are the most basic needs and I'm thankful I have never not had enough of them.

Saturday, November 16, 2013
I'm thankful for a day with no plans. I had plenty to do at home but did not have to be anywhere at any particular time.

Sunday, November 17, 2013*
I'm thankful for finding a delicious recipe for supper.

Monday, November 18, 2013
I'm thankful for chai lattes. My chai this morning made my Monday that much more bearable. Thanks, Starbucks!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013
I'm thankful for the decision-making authority to pause the implementation of our new electronic medical record at work after a day and a half of frustration.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013
I'm thankful that I'm heading to bed early tonight. Apparently I need some extra rest!

Thursday, November 21, 2013
I'm thankful for smiles. There's a homeless man who hangs out on Randolph St. I see him almost every day on my way home. He always smiles, says hello, and asks how my day was. His smile makes me smile. This simple exchange makes me thankful for all I have.

Friday, November 22, 2013
I'm thankful for Friday, the last day of the work week. It's been a long week but today was a good day. I'm thankful that I have the next two days to get things done at home, do a few things I want to do, and spend time with my husband.

Saturday, November 23, 2013
I'm thankful for sunshine on this chilly day. The sun made it just warm enough for me to have a pleasant run outside while all bundled up.

Sunday, November 24, 2013
I'm thankful for my weekly conversations with my parents. Nearly every Sunday evening they call me and I talk to both of them. It's a tradition we started when I went away to college and it has continued the 11 years since.

Monday, November 25, 2013
I'm thankful for my friends, again, but different friends this time! I had lunch with a former manager turned friend and her new baby boy which was a wonderful way to break up the workday. Tonight, I got a text with great news from another friend. So lucky to have these lovely ladies in my life!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

I'm thankful for a good day at work. A day where I got a great compliment from a student. I'm also very thankful that tomorrow is my last day of work for the week.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

I'm thankful for a safe and relatively easy drive from Chicago to Oshkosh to celebrate the holiday weekend.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

I'm thankful for starting the day off with a Turkey Trot, enjoying time with family, and eating lots of delicious food.

Friday, November 29, 2013

I'm thankful for family traditions. Today Natalie and I continued the tradition of making candy with Grandma on the day after Thanksgiving.

Saturday, November 30, 2013
I'm thankful for college football. It was a day of exciting games. And, while our Badgers lost, it was fun to watch the games with the family. I hope those players, especially the seniors, know we love watching them whether they win or lose...and hopefully we'll get to see them win a bowl game yet this season. I'm also thankful that my husband drove home tonight.

*I wrote almost every entry on the actual date. However, I opened my computer on November 20th and realized that my entries from November 14-19th were gone. I recreated them as best as I could except for November 17th which I could not remember at all so I came up with a completely new one.

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty in every age of life really never grows old. 

 

~Franz Kafka, writer 

This seemed particularly fitting when I saw it today since I just turned 30.

I never thought it would be this hard.

This trying to conceive business is not for the weak. I never thought it would be this hard, this frustrating. Even though I've had friends who took almost a year to conceive, I've known so many more women who have become pregnant so much sooner. I always thought I would be one of those women.

The hardest part for me is not knowing, waiting. It's the feeling of something different or something new, a stomachache or nausea, and wondering "Could I be pregnant? Could this be it?" I'm a bear the two or three days before my period.

Then today I found out that I wasn't pregnant. Again. But today I felt better emotionally than I have the last few days. I know. Now I can look forward to next month. To trying again.

I keep telling myself that there's a bigger plan. A reason. It will happen when it's supposed to happen. I keep praying.

Still not...

pregnant. Nope, not yet. But, I thought I better update those of you who may have mistaken my silence for a positive that I was waiting to share. And, while Aunt Flow took her time this month and got my hopes up and then crushed them, my spirits are still pretty high. See, we're leaving for Costa Rica tomorrow to celebrate this beautiful girl's wedding. I absolutely cannot wait to celebrate this special day with Laura and her husband-to-be Paolo. Today, Laura started a group chat in WhatsApp. Most of it is in Spanish and I can understand some of it but not all of it...but it's been so fun to be a part of the excitement already.

And then, when Laura and Paolo go off on their honeymoon, we're going to the Occidental Grand Papagayo in Guanacaste for a week. Check it out:

 

This should be good for baby-making, right? ;-)

The Happiness Initiative

Back in late April I saw this article and took the Gross National Happiness survey the article discusses. Here are my scores:

I wasn't really surprised that I scored pretty high on everything...I'm generally a happy person. Interestingly to me, my lowest scores were work and time balance, probably because there are about a million things I'd rather be doing than working even though I like my job. I also found it interesting that my raw score for environment was a 70 but my normalized score was a 50. The other raw and normalized numbers were much closer.

Grist readers scored below the national average on everything except material well-being.

The biggest gap, not surprisingly, was on satisfaction with the state of the environment. We can only assume that you’re better informed about environmental problems than most people, thanks to Grist, which is a good thing! But all that knowledge is bringing you down, man, which is a bad thing. Sorry.

At the end of the survey, the authors gave a few suggestions for increasing happiness.

I love that people are doing research on this!

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

~Joseph Addison, British essayist, poet, playwright and politician

Cade and Blake's first birthday

Cade and Blake are one year old! They turned one on June 19th and we went to their party yesterday. They're such good boys and they've grown so much. They're really starting to move now. Blake does an army crawl and Cade kind of scoots on his butt. It's pretty funny. Cade did get in a few hands-and-knees crawls while we were there. I really need to figure out how to see them more often!

In their new Badger beanbags from Mom and Dad.

New cars!

Why are all these people singing? Cade devoured his cake. Blake smashed his a little and then started crying. Poor guy. I think he wanted chocolate!

Cade getting every last bit of his cake.

Me and my godson, Blake.

Scariest moment of my life

I'm going to skip ahead in time here now because this is so fresh in my mind. In fact, I'm not sure I've actually processed it completely yet. Last night, on our way home from Cade and Blake's first birthday party, we got in a car accident. It was the first accident for both of us (minus spinning out into the ditch and a minor incident with a deer), and, while we escaped with only minor bruises and scratches, it was terrifying.

I was driving. I keep replaying it in my mind. What could I have done differently? We exited the highway in search of Noodles & Co. for dinner. Our GPS lost it's signal so we missed a turn and got rerouted. If we hadn't missed that turn, we wouldn't have been on the road we had the accident on.

We were on Illinois Route 72, a four lane road with a speed limit of 55 mph, in South Barrington, IL. A car pulled out in front of us to turn onto a cross street. We didn't have a stop sign or stop light or anything. I remember thinking something along the lines of "What is this idiot doing? Oh sh**!!" I'm not sure if I said it out loud or not. I'm not sure how long I kept my eyes open. I heard the crash of metal as the two cars collided. The airbags deployed. The car stopped. I think I said out loud, "I better put it in park." I did not turn the car off. All I could think or say was "We gotta get out of this car." There was smoke, from the airbags, I think. John asked me a couple times "Are you OK?" "Yes. Are you? Let's get out of here."

Luckily, there was a car of three people who sort of saw what happened. At first they thought we had barely missed each other. They got out of their car and helped us and the elderly woman from the other car. They called the police for us. One of them even gave the police officer her name and number to give to me in case we needed a ride.

The South Barrington police were so nice. They took our statements, helped us get our things out of our car (we had gone shopping since we were out of the city with a car), and called paramedics to make sure we were OK. The accident was completely the fault of the other driver. Once the investigation was complete and the cars had been towed away, they took us and all of our stuff to the South Barrington Police Station so we would have a safe place to wait for a ride home. That was my first ride in the back of a police car.

John got on the phone with the rental car company almost immediately. They were not too efficient or helpful. John was on the phone for a long time trying to figure out if they were going to bring us another car so we could get home. Instead we called Keith and he came and got us "on his way home" from St. Louis. We're pretty lucky to have such an awesome friend.

I made it until we got home and I got in the shower before I completely broke down. I couldn't help but think that it could have been much worse. What would I have done if it had been worse? Thankfully, it wasn't. Thankfully, we just have bruises and scratches. Thankfully, my husband is still right beside me and me beside him.

RIP Grandpa John

I woke up and got ready as usual on Thursday, April 25th. But, when I checked my phone and saw that I had two missed calls from my father-in-law, I knew something was wrong. When I talked to him, he told me that Grandpa John had passed away that morning, as he and Grandma were getting ready for John and Kathy to pick them up to go to the airport for John's cousin Samia's wedding. In John's speech at the funeral, he thanked Samia and her husband for having their wedding, for giving Grandpa something to be so happy and excited about in what would be his last days.

Of course, the funeral was sad. But, the speeches made at the lunch afterwards were very reflective of this wonderful man. I only knew him for a short time, not quite 8 years, but he always made me feel like I was part of the family. My Grandpa John had passed away not long before I met John's Grandpa John and he was just the kind of grandpa I needed in my life.

Grandma Jo, Kathy, me, John III, John II, Grandpa John

 

Crazylegs Classic 2013

We met Mark, KJ, and Marissa in Madison the last weekend in April for our second annual Crazylegs Classic. This year, we had beautiful weather! It was a great weekend with great friends!

I thought I might be able to set a new 8K PR but it was a little too warm and the course was a little more hilly than I remembered. I did set a new Crazylegs PR though!

 

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

~George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright

My bad!

I had a nasty cold last week and then we went up to Oshkosh for the weekend so I didn't exercise at all after the Shamrock Shuffle last Sunday. I had a bit of a scolding email from dailymile today. Here's to waking up early enough to work out tomorrow before work!

Shamrock Shuffle

I ran the Shamrock Shuffle this morning and now have a new 8K PR! It was a beautiful day for a run, the race was very well-managed, and I made a new friend! Now I'm even more excited for the Crazylegs Classic 8K in Madison later this month!

In the start corral

My official race time and stats

Stepping up the TTC notch

I bought this Friday night, after finding out I wasn't pregnant this month. Boo! But, the reviews on this stuff are great! I'm really excited to try it out in the coming weeks. I found out about it from Baby Making Machine's blog post back in June when she was TTC baby #2. She had a beautiful little boy on Friday...so maybe this worked for her too!

Marriage equality

Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments for and against California's Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. Human Rights Campaign urged supporters of marriage equality to change their Facebook profile pictures to red equal signs. I did so, in support of many of my friends and family. I've wanted to blog about my feelings on marriage equality for awhile. And now, while the subject is in the news again, seems like the time to do it.

I can sort of understand the traditional religious views of marriage being between a man and a woman. I'm not saying it's right, but I can understand the argument. However, there is a separation of church and state in this country, and same-sex marriage laws do not require all churches and clergy to open up their doors and perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples. The laws legalize same-sex marriage and give same-sex couples the rights afforded to opposite-sex couples. Rights like receiving social security survivor benefits, employment benefits like health insurance, and hospital visitation rights. I remember an episode of Grey's Anatomy involving a gay couple who had been together for years. The patient had been disowned by his family years before he had fallen ill. He and his partner had discussed his last wishes. But legally, his father, not his partner, was his power of attorney. Of course, this being a TV show, it turned out OK in the end, but it made me think of the rights same-sex couples are really fighting for that others may take for granted.

I remember using the word gay with a negative connotation when I was in high school. I hope I didn't make anyone feel that being gay was a bad thing. I've grown a lot since then. And, while changing my Facebook picture may not be a huge thing, at least it helped to spread the word, to make my Facebook friends aware of what was going on. I know so many people who are affected by these laws and I will do what I can to help them, by doing my own research, by supporting leaders who support LGBT rights, but most importantly, by treating every single person with kindness. We're all people and we should all be equal, no matter who we love.

*Check out Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's song "Same Love" which I originally saw after John's cousin Michele posted it on Facebook.

runDisney's new race

Just over a week ago, runDisney announced that they were adding a 10K to Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and, with that, the Dopey Challenge. At first glance, I was hoping the Dopey Challenge would be like the Double Dumbo Dare at Disneyland, the 10K plus the half marathon. But, no, the Dopey Challenge is the 5K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon! 48.6 miles in 4 days! SIX medals! I think it's crazy, but someday, I might just be crazy enough to try it...after all, I've already completed the Goofy Challenge.

TTC Update

Some of you may be thinking I'm pregnant since I didn't mention not being pregnant this month...but I'm not (or, at least, I wasn't in early March).  However, this time, not being pregnant was actually kind of OK. I mean, I would have preferred that I was pregnant, but not being pregnant meant I got to enjoy a couple of beers with former colleagues in celebration of graduation. And, the very next day, I drove up to Madison to spend the weekend with Jamine and her boys. I don't think there is any kind of bad mood that two adorable almost-8-month-old boys can't cure! The heart-to-hearts with my BFF helped quite a bit too!

Cade - So big!

Cade: Ugh, brother, I really want that toy!

Blake, my godson

The last couple of months, I've been using an ovulation kit thanks to my friend Jackie (she passed it to me a few months into her pregnancy). Last month, I got the smiley face on Day 9 of my cycle which seemed a little early and was not in sync with what the WebMD Ovulation Calculator had predicted.

This month, the smiley face came on Day 13 which was exactly what the WebMD Ovulation Calculator predicted. Very interesting, huh? (And nerve-wracking!) In a week or so I'll have my answer...but you, readers, may not have your answer for a few months if all goes well! ;-)

My husband

One of the things I love about my husband is that when he's interested in something, he researches it until he knows all about it. Lately, he has begun working out. He used to occasionally go down to the gym and use the elliptical but recently he's been lifting weights as well. Before he started, he found an app on his tablet. He researched a bunch of the different exercises/weight machines. He found out about supersets, intervals, and the best post-workout nutrition.

He works out 3 days a week most weeks. I work out with him on the weekend. This 1.5 hour block of time with him has become one of my favorites of the week. A couple weekends ago a couple of friends visited us. John talked Mark into working out with him. While they were gone, KJ expressed her surprise that John was working out and so into it. Proud moment for me!

He's been pretty awesome in other ways lately too...doing chores and stopping for groceries without being asked (or without being nagged, at least). I feel pretty lucky lately!