No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anyone but oneself.
~Virginia Woolf, British writer

III Forks

A couple weeks ago, John, Keith, and I went to III Forks, a steakhouse that opened up in our neighborhood last fall.  We've been wanting to try it out and, since John helped Keith move the weekend before, Keith said he'd treat John as a thank you...bonus!  I had one of the specials, the petite filet mignon, and the guys had the prime rib.  It was absolutely delicious...and probably one of the most expensive meals I've ever eaten...but sometimes, it's worth it.

It was a fun night with great company and excellent food...yum!

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.
~Corrie ten Boom, Dutch writer

I need to remember this some days...

Brewers Mini Marathon

The Brewers Mini Marathon weekend was awesome! I ran a personal record of 2:02:00, and John and I had a great weekend in Milwaukee. The recap:

Friday afternoon we took the train to Milwaukee. After checking into our hotel, we decided to walk to Miller Park to pick up my race packet and have dinner at Friday's Front Row.

Saturday morning we left the hotel by cab at 6 AM. The race was delayed by about 20 minutes due to lightning. By the time we started, the rain was done. It was still chilly but at least we didn't get wet! There were over 5,000 runners from 32 states. The best part for me was that it definitely didn't feel crowded. The route was extremely well managed and we had plenty of room to spread out. I absolutely loved the route though I had no idea how hilly Milwaukee was until I was running through them...it was great! I've never really run hills as both Champaign and Chicago are pretty flat, but I seem to do really well on them. The hardest part for me was when we ran through the stadium right before the end...I didn't realize how much of the race remained after the stadium and expended a little too much of my energy before the end. Oh well...I still finished pretty strong! Like I said above, I ran a PR of 2:02:00...and that included a bathroom break at Mile 3!

Top left: Ready to run; Bottom left: Running through Miller Park; Right: Finisher!

 

After the race, we walked back to the hotel. We took a different route than we had the night before, through Marquette University this time. After showering and cheering on the Badgers, we headed out for lunch at Ryan Braun's Graffito. We enjoyed a delicious lunch, and possibly the best mozzarella sticks I've ever eaten, and then explored the lake front. We found an extremely long line of people and later determined that they were waiting for an event by President Obama. We decided to spend our afternoon in the Milwaukee Art Museum...very cool!

John along the lake front, with the Milwaukee Art Museum in the background.

A gigantic stein at the Milwaukee Art Museum

This was made with steel nails...crazy!

A bunny, perhaps, made entirely of bottle caps

John on the other side of the Milwaukee Art Museum

Sunday, we explored the city on foot again.  Here are the photos from our adventures:

John at breakfast at The Knick

The Milwaukee lake front

Not sure what this building/mansion was but it was beautiful!

Beers at the Lakefront Brewery...the pumpkin was my favorite!

John with Bernie Brewer's old stein from County Stadium

Out front of Lakefront Brewery...with the interesting artwork!

They call these giant things Larry, Moe, and Curly

We had a really great weekend.  Sometimes I forget how fun my husband is...it was nice to get away just the two of us.  And, I know that he really loves me because he got up before 6 AM and sat in Miller Park by himself for nearly 3 hours while the race got started and I ran...and he barely complained at all!  Oh, and we walked a TON...I calculated that we walked approximately 18 miles in addition to the 13.2 miles that I ran!

Almost forgot...my loot!

My official race stats:
Distance: 13.2 miles
Chip time: 2:02:00
Overall place: 1730/4272
Gender place: 764/2647
Division place (F 25-29): 159/607
Pace: 9:19

Randomness

Two days in a row, I randomly crossed the paths of people I knew. First, I walked by one of my Chicago Scholars students on my way home, as he was coming back from football practice. His school is downtown so I've seen other students from his school (they wear uniforms with their school name on the shirt) but I had never randomly seen him before...until that night. He stopped and chatted with me for a bit and gave me a hug. It was so sweet!

Then, the very next day, John and I got on our train to Milwaukee and I sat kitty-corner from a guy who lived in my dorm freshman and sophomore year in Madison. We stayed in contact through mutual friends in college and still keep track of each other on Facebook...but I hadn't seen him in years. It was just so surprising to see him...and great to catch up!

It's amazing and awesome to me that this happens in life...so cool!

Weekend with the Kurth's

The weekend of September 15th, Angie and I spent the weekend with Jamine, Brandon, and the boys.  This was part of our baby shower gift for Jamine way back in May.  While I definitely got a little less sleep than usual, this weekend was just what I needed.  It was pretty relaxing...good to catch up with friends...and great to snuggle with two adorable little boys!

Angie and I took over for the majority of the day on Saturday so Jamine and Brandon could get out, run some errands, and have some fun.  Angie was brave enough to let me go for a 5 mile run.  Apparently the boys woke up right after I left...oops!

Me, Blake, Angie, and Cade

To top off a great weekend, I was able to meet Natalie for lunch at UW-Madison.  I wasn't there very long as she had to get back to the library...but it was great to be back on campus.  I'm even more excited for Homecoming now!

I'm not sure what it was about that weekend...but, despite the slight lack of sleep, I felt very refreshed. 

I'm back!

Oh my!  It has been so long since I've posted...sorry!  I'm going to try to catch up tonight...which means I'm going to blow up your RSS feeds (if you use them)...again, sorry!

Here we go!

Why Ask Why?

This week I read this article from Sports Illustrated's 8.20.12 issue.  It was fantastic!  I was in nearly in tears multiple times...gotta keep it together when you're reading on public transportation.  The guys in the story have such amazing attitudes...it's so great to see in young men who've had to deal with life-changing events.  Made me miss my days working with spinal cord injury patients on the Carle Rehabilitation Unit...

Preconception visit

**Disclaimer: This may be too much information for some readers!**

On Friday, I had a preconception visit with a nurse midwife.  Last January, my doctor suggested I make such an appointment so that I could get to know a potential pregnancy provider before actual pregnancy.  I'm so glad I did this!  I absolutely loved the midwife I chose...or actually, the midwife I was randomly assigned to.  

Basically, we're on track within about a month of when I had thought we could start trying to conceive (or TTC in the lingo).  I've been talking to one of my coworkers about this...asking for her advice on questions I should ask, etc. and she mentioned waiting 3 months to build up the necessary vitamins, minerals, etc.  That didn't seem as important to me as I have a pretty healthy diet already.  But, my midwife told me it's best to wait 2 to 3 months after stopping hormonal contraception to help build up the lining of the uterus in order to have a healthy pregnancy...now that made sense to me!

Other take-aways: I need to start taking my vitamins more regularly.  I went out and bought prenatal ones hoping that will help (plus the ones I had didn't have enough folic acid).  So far, so good!  I also asked about my upcoming Goofy Challenge race in January.  While the midwife thought I was insane, she said there's no medical contraindication, just that I might not feel so great and that I'd need to keep my heart rate under 140.  (I'll have to work on the heart rate part...I wore my heart rate monitor for the first time on Sunday and, while I'm not convinced it was entirely accurate, my HR average was 169.)  I probably won't need to worry about this as I think we'll be more likely to conceive after the new year.

When the appointment was over, the midwife said, "Well, I'll see you when you're pregnant!"  That really made it hit home...we're really starting this journey soon.  I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself!

I'm a proud, proud wife!

Awhile back, John told me that I could keep up with his publications by adding an alert in Google Scholar.  I had completely forgotten about it until this appeared in my inbox last week:

 

I have absolutely no idea what it means, but I have heard some of the words before (during his doctoral defense).

Another one came today:

I'm so, so proud!

Brewers at Cubs x 2

Last week we went to two Brewers at Cubs games...on Tuesday night and Wednesday night!  Tuesday night we met a couple of friends there and had $11 tickets which were pretty great.  Wednesday night we splurged for $20 tickets and were in the first deck...not right next to the fence, but less than 20 rows back.  It was pretty sweet!  The Brewers won both nights too...can't get much better than that!

Tuesday

Wednesday - The photo on the upper right is without zoom and cropping...that's how close we were!

It is better to fail in originality 

than to succeed in imitation.

~Herman Melville, American writer and poet

I wish the students I work with would understand this...

Annie's bridal shower

Candy skewer favors

Fruit skewers

Oreo pops

This is just a sample of the deliciousness we had for Annie's bridal shower last Saturday.  The candy skewers were completely my idea.  I saw a pin on Pinterest and went with it.  They turned out well but were way more difficult than they looked!  The fruit skewers were super easy...I'd definitely do those again!  Natalie and Kathy found the Oreo pops online...and I made them with Natalie's assistance.  They were super easy, fun to decorate, and extremely delicious! 

To top it off, Annie seemed to enjoy it all...score!  Now, we just need to get her bachelorette party figured out...

Cade and Blake's baptism

The Sunday after we got back from Montana we borrowed a friend's car and headed up to Columbus for Cade and Blake's baptism.  The boys were so good during the whole ceremony, even when the water was poured over their heads.  Actually, they both seemed to like the water part.  The poor little guys were really hot and sweaty in their long baptismal gowns though.

It was great to be around Jamine, Brandon, and the boys...and their families too.  Jamine's mom says I'm officially part of the family now...and I couldn't be happier!  I look forward to watching both boys grow and (hopefully) forming a special relationship with Mr. Blake.

Jamine's side of the family

Brandon's side of the family

The sponsors: Me, Bryan, Melissa, and Jake with the Kurth's

Jamine with Blake and Brandon with Cade

Lenz Montana Trip 2012

For the third August in a row, John and I made the drive out to Montana with his parents...the first year, John's sisters went along too and we went backpacking in Glacier National Park...but these last two years, it's just been John, me, and the parents-in-law.  We had a really good trip...but I was glad to be home at the end!

Salem Sue in New Salem ND, just east of our destination for the first night, Medora ND

After breakfast at the Cowboy Cafe in Medora ND

I got a lot of reading done in the car...many, many magazines...two books completed and started another.  I also watched 5 or 6 TV shows...it was great!  We spent the majority of our time in Fort Benton and Chester, Montana.  The whole reason for the trip was so John, his dad, and his uncles could check out the wheat farm they own and help with the harvest as needed.  They had a busy few days as the harvest was well underway.  My entertainment during those days was John's cousin's 5-year-old daughter, Journey...and the wheat farm operator's kids, Wrien and Lex.  My favorite moment was when Journey got hurt on the trampoline and I was checking her out to make sure she was OK...and Lex came over with his toy stethoscope to listen to her heart...adorable and hilarious!

The Fort Benton bridge

Lex, Journey, and Wrien

Journey and me

The last morning at the farm, John was disappointed that I wouldn't get to ride in the combine with him.  Everyone else had left by then and we only had one vehicle.  John's mom and I didn't want to spend the whole day on the farm so we were going to stay in Fort Benton...but instead, John's dad came to get us around lunchtime so we could spent a little bit of time on the farm too.  It was fun!

Riding in the combine with John...he was concentrating on keeping it straight!

Miles and miles of nothing but wheat...still beautiful in its way.

After leaving the farm, we went to Yellowstone National Park for a couple of days.  The landscape at Yellowstone is so much different than at Glacier National Park...but beautiful nonetheless.  It was cool to see Old Faithful again too.

Kathy and John on the balcony of our hotel in Gardiner MT.

 

 

Old Faithful

Old Faithful at sunset

The Yellowstone National Park post office.  I mailed my mom a postcard from here.

John at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

John and I during our hike

John and his dad on the suspension bridge we crossed during our hike.

John in Hellroaring Creek

John (father-in-law) and I hiking back

Antelope

A buffalo crossing the road!

Humongous herd of buffalo

John at the Northeast Ranger Station

Leaving Yellowstone

We took a "scenic byway" from Yellowstone back to Interstate 90.  It was a very interesting route...and a little scary as clouds and fog started to roll in as we got to the highest elevations.  I want to go back and see it when it's clear though!

Below the clouds again

All in all it was a good trip...though life has been crazy since we've been back!