Mandasaurus Roars!

Help The DI

2012-02-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

The Daily Illini could stop publishing. And that's terrible.

The DI is where I met my best friend Julie, my best friend Cindy, MDS who performed our wedding, everyone I've ever shared an apartment with, dozens of amazing friends who continue to do amazing things, and where I met my husband, B (he's pretty awesome too).

The DI gave me the best summers of my life. The DI gave me the courage to call people out of the blue and ask for their opinion, for information about their friends, to let me come to their homes, to tell me about their lives, to let me drive around campus in a garbage truck, whatever. The DI taught me how to teach. The DI taught me how to listen. The DI taught me how to do a beer bong, how to plan a bar crawl and how to make hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps.

When I worked at the DI it was at 57 E. Green St., an address I couldn't forget if I tried. I started as a reporter during the first week of my freshman year. The best move a freshman could make. My dad was excited because he loved the DI as a student at the University of Illinois and now I was writing for it.

I learned to write. I learned to ask questions. I worked hard. I won the Raymond Clamage Award, which is for a non-senior staff member who contributes to the newsroom twice. (Roger Ebert only won it once, but that's cool.)

I was promoted to development editor and trained new reporters. It took me a little while, but that experience showed me how much I love teaching and helping people. Then I became managing editor, which was one of the best jobs I'll ever have. Ever.

At the DI, I met Gov. George Ryan, author Dave Eggers who stole my "tear the book in half" compromise idea for his book You Shall Know Our Velocity, almost every shady guy who owns a bar in Champaign, quite a few University of Illinois administrators, several political candidates and the terrific people who turned the power back on after an outage at the University power plant.

Now I'm in nursing school. Working on career No. 3 of my 31 years. But I still carry the DI with me. I'm still fearless about talking to people -- doctors, patients, professors, whoever. I'm still a good listener. I can still detect press-release-bullshit from a fair distance. I still love to write.

I still love to help people, even if just a little bit, but hearing their stories and doing what I can -- whether that's telling their story, teaching them something or helping them to heal.

I doubt anyone who worked at the DI could find words to describe what the DI did for them. But I can find some money to help them out. The idea that some freshman will find the DI booth next year on Quad Day and start an adventure like mine is too precious to lose.

Thanks, DI. Xoxo.

A totally dull image, right? Well, it's a DI logo. I wanted to find a good photo of me and DI friends, but then I realized nearly all of my photos are of DI friends and me. And I guess that's what the DI means to me.

Here we come!

2012-02-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

To San Diego! B and I are hitting the road for my spring break -- to the sunny California coast.

We've got three nights scheduled at a motel on the beach within a quick walk of several bars (including a favorite of my parents') and a Trader Joes, a visit from BFF Julie, and plans to do nothing. It's pretty exciting.

My semester has slowly revved up to a busy one -- I'm loving clinicals but there's a ton going on besides the fun patient time. A big community assessment, online tests, teaching projects, documentation, a drug book to make, etc... Whew!

B and I have been properly holed up in our apartment. It's been terrific, really. I didn't realize how nice it is to be a homebody. But by the time our trip comes around -- I'll be ready to put my toes in the sand and be out of the house.

Delicious!

2012-02-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

I love food. I love talking about food, reading about food, watching food shows, planning food for parties and eating food.

B and I have food traditions aplenty. And there are unwritten rules about who makes what -- B always makes chili, rolls out pizza dough and makes peanut butter cookies. I always make B's favorite pasta dish, juevos rancheros (tacos with eggs, sort of), salads, and pies. Lots of times we help each other out, other times we try to replicate what the other one has done with our own tweaks.

Our kitchen is a fun place. I love food traditions -- like niece Nora's pancake Thursdays. We don't have anything so scheduled yet, but we do have some favorite routines:

Saturday Afternoon Soup -- a hodgepodge mix of beans, leftover meat, a can of tomatoes, veggies, chicken stock and chips. Usually this ends up as a tortilla soup, but it varies.
Brunch -- a total B specialty. B will whip up eggs, french toast, cheese grits or whatever strikes him on a weekend morning. He also makes himself oatmeal pretty frequently during the week. What a way to start the day!
Lunch-packing -- I've been awesome at carrying a meal along with me everywhere I go this semester. I always have some raw carrots, along with some cheese, crackers/pita/bread, and a random other item (clementines, yogurt, cookies, craisens, whatever). It's no tradition, I guess, but it's a nice thing regardless.
Pizza nights -- B makes dough with half-whole wheat flour, then we top the pie with pizza sauce, cheese and prosciutto (thin-sliced Italian ham-bacon-goodness). Often we eat our pizza with salad greens on top, like they serve at a restaurant we like called Frasca.
Criner traditions -- When we visit my parents we eat well. My mom will put together a terrific dinner with an entree (chicken cordon bleu casserole, Hawaiian chicken, pork chops, etc...), veggies, fruit, rolls, etc... There's something special about mom-cooked food -- especially my mom's! Last weekend we had a breakfast of dad-made scrambled eggs, toast, grape juice, coffee, sausage and orange slices. Divine!

Thankful (again)

2012-02-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

I spent my fourth Tuesday with patients and I come away feeling more and more thankful that being a nurse is something that makes my heart sing -- rather than making my heart crumble.

I can't say much about my patients at all. But I can say, safely, that I've seen people with all sorts of maladies -- the type that creep up as a surprise, the sort that people wait for, the kind that have a clear answer and the ones that perplex everyone. I've seen patients who are hopeful, patients who are depressed and patients who shrug their shoulders about the facts of their lives.

Being with people during their tough times is amazing. I'm proud that I'm the sort of person who can make them smile, or listen to their worries, or explain things well, or just clean them up so they feel a little better. I've done some mildly medical stuff as a student nurse, but I'm absolutely positive that the diaper-changing, smiling and conversations matter more.

I could definitely the hospital feeling defeated. It's rough. Lots of people are hospitalized for a mess of ailments that don't have a good outcome. At rounds everyone talks about helping patients heal, but there are people who don't heal no matter what happens.

I come home (today after donating blood -- seriously long day) feeling like nursing is right for me. Feeling like my communication skills, strong stomach, understanding of science and smile can do a lot for people.

That, and a hot shower, sound pretty good right now.

Lesson #1

2012-02-01T21:21:00.001-08:00

In nursing school we talk a lot about what to expect from patients and how to handle what we see. There are risk factors for everything. And there are plenty of problems that come upon people without any reason whatsoever. But, from spending time in the colorful world of clinicals -- with real people experiencing real disease right before my (or my classmate's) eyes it's crystal clear that the decisions we make determine a great deal about our health.

We talk about 89-year-olds who don't want to use canes because a cane would make them "look old." We talk about patients in their 60s with laundry lists of problems -- obesity, diabetes, immobility, infections of many sorts. My own grandfather is still working going on age 92.

What's the secret? I certainly don't know how it all works, but I do know that there are a few things we can do to make our lives long and terrific...

Do not smoke. Anyone who has taken A&P can tell you it degrades almost everything in your body. Smoking doesn't correlate to anything good.
Exercise, move, whatever. Keep all those parts working. I can't count the number of times people have said things to me about how they can't exercise, but I still don't buy it. Swim, stretch, jump, walk, dance, touch your toes or just walk really slowly. The more you keep your body working, the better it will work.
Go to the doctor. Ask the doctor questions. All the questions you have -- ask them. Don't ignore symptoms. I'm a big fan of having a healthcare notebook -- I've got one place where I write my questions, jot down my lab values and keep a log of what goes on with my doctor. It impresses my doctor (who brags to her med students about me) and it's pretty great when I want to look back at how I'm doing.

Is that innovative? Nope! It's pretty standard advice, but it's not common practice. I probably won't shut up anytime soon about how much behavior and lifestyle choices mean to what life turns out like. There's lots more to it, of course, and not everyone who gets sick behaved badly and not everyone who behaves badly gets sick.

But seeing patients firsthand makes me want to take walk.

Not-so guilty pleasures...

2012-01-28T21:02:00.000-08:00

It might be sick. But there are things I love... that I know aren't terrible, but that are still a little creepy. So, here's my fess-up...

I love Law & Order. LOVE. B and I watch Law & Order together on Netflix. We enjoy the one-liners from Detective Lenny Briscoe, certain defendants, predicting the outrageous antics of Jack McCoy, admiring Assistant District Attorney Jamie Ross and discussing the cases.

I love reading about surgery. It's really, really amazing that doctors can cut someone open and fix them, sometimes. Here's a secret: nurses help! There are scrub nurses and circulating nurses, and nurse anesthetists, and others. Surgery is as sterile as can be (though, really -- we're filthy dirty things, us people -- nothing is really clean.) and the rules to keep it sterile are really strict and serious. This semester I get to stand-in (I don't think there's any sitting in surgery) on a surgery.

I love to read People magazine.

I could get up to dance and sing to The Little Mermaid and Beauty & the Beast (which stars Detective Briscoe -- no joke!). In fact, after visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium on our honeymoon, B and I listened to the Little Mermaid soundtrack on our way to our next stop. I'm proud to say I know all the words to many of the Little Mermaid songs, and I have since I got a tape of the soundtrack for Christmas in 1990 (along with some awesome markers).

I like to eat peanut butter off a spoon. I typically make my own peanut butter, which is sick and totally grosses most people out. My peanut butter is just peanuts. Seriously. I take a bag of peanuts and grind 'em up in my food processor. It's gritty and peanut-y -- nothing else. I like to eat a spoon with breakfast -- it keeps my blood sugar levels even and gives me a nice dose of protein. But I know that's skeevy to some people, so here it is.

While we discuss food, I love candy. My dad does too. Maybe it's genetic. I don't eat a ton of candy, obviously, but I love the 25 cent boxes of Ferrara Pan candies from corner stores or bodegas. It's hard to find places that sell Lemonheads, Red Hots, Orange Heads and such, but those spots are my favorite. I'm a loyal customer to any place that sells these treats. The candies are the best for walks. I like to open a box in my pocket or in my shoulderbag pocket, then grab a candy one by one as I move. I swear Ferrara Pan confers magic walking powers.

Amazing

2012-01-27T17:16:00.000-08:00

Life is pretty amazing these days.

I've been able to walk home from school twice this week -- a terrific treat in January. And, I've walked 10 miles this week. Tomorrow should be warm so I might get closer to a summer-caliber walking score for the week.

Clincals are terrific.

I've been able to show off my skills with little ones in community health. My group sees some toddlers with asthma. It's not a lot of medical work, but it's a lot of relationship building and communication, both things I'm good at. Adding the medical stuff to something I'm already comfortable with is great.

My clinical at the hospital is really amazing. This week we saw a complex, interesting case with one of the sweetest sick people I've ever met. I felt more confident getting vitals and talking to the patient this time. We heard what the doctors had to say to the patient and we sat in on the floor's daily conference with nurses, doctors, social workers, pharmacists, etc... (Yeah, seriously, they meet and talk this all out! Who knew?!?)

I'm feeling really good. Life is busy, but getting into a decent swing. We've got our slow cooker bubbling away with some chicken for tacos. We're hanging out on Saturday with no major to-dos. Hope you're feeling good too!

Winter Must-Do List

2012-01-21T15:24:00.000-08:00

Before spring creeps up...

Go ice skating -- B and I both have our own skates.
Take several snow walks -- We like to venture out in the snow and work our legs with a walk. It's amazing how much work it is to walk through that fluffy stuff.
Use the slow-cooker more.
Drink more cocoa, tea, and coffee drinks.
Use my new bathtub goodies from my sister-in-law (tonight!?!)
Not drive my car during inclement weather at all. Hooray for the El train, buses and my own two feet!
Eat more citrus since it's in season. I've got some clementines and a few grapefruit, but I should probably make lemon-y or lime-y dishes or drinks.
Bake cookies, muffins, and a pie. Not all at once.
Make some plans for spring break.
Clean my closet!
Stay at home all weekend (might be accomplishing this presently).

Happy winter!

Semester 2, Week 1 - done!

2012-01-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Since I'll be a nurse in less than a year, it seems very reasonable that things are getting a bit intense on the school front.

This semester I have just three classes, two with clinical components. I've got school 5 days a week, but my Friday afternoon class only meets in-person once more so I'll still have an early start to the weekend. My classes will definitely be tough, but since I'll be seeing patients and feeling more like an almost-nurse I'm feeling pretty confident:

Community Health -- This class goes over school nursing, home healthcare nursing, healthcare law and lots more. We have a handy course packet and our professor is terrific. She's taught the course for years and since it's an extension from last semester's community class it's not all-new. The clinical component for Community is also wonderful. I'll be seeing a child with asthma at her home on the north side. We work in groups so I'll see another little one with asthma as well as an older man.
Med-Surg/Adult Health -- This is a biggie. The lab component for Adult Health is on a real floor of a real hospital (Northwestern Memorial for me) with real patients. There's a lot of hard work ahead for this course, but it's the nitty-gritty of nursing and I'm excited for it. Plus there are about 40 little writing assignments -- hooray for a little thinking and writing!
Pharmacology -- I should love this since my grandpa is a pharmacist! We learn about pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug interactions, all sorts of crazy chemistry, as it applies to patients. I've got to keep up with the readings, use the study guide and figure out some smart drug-learning techniques too. But I will get to learn why insulin has to stay in the fridge, so that's exciting.

This weekend B and I are hunkering down at home with public television food shows, home cooked food, studying, laundry and wine. Hey January, we've figured you out!

Clinicals = Excellent

2012-01-17T13:44:00.001-08:00

My first day of clinicals was terrific!

I could hardly sleep the night before. I kept waking up thinking I might be forgetting something or sleeping past my alarm.

I finally stopped pretending to rest at about 4:30 a.m. I got dressed with longjohns under my scrubs, combed my hair into ponytail, packed my white shoes in my backpack along with my lunch, and felt ready to go.

I headed out the door, then realized it was raining. So I ran back upstairs for a plastic bag to put my shoes in, just in case.

I headed out again, got halfway down the block and realized I left my cell phone and my continuous glucose monitor on my beside table. I ran back for that stuff, and a hat, while I was at it.

I dashed (literally running more than halfway there) to the bus stop, hopped on and got to the hospital early enough to grab a coffee before things got underway.

The morning went quickly. A classmate and I shared a patient, who was very nice. I got an ID badge. I got to know my clinical instructor -- a neurosurgery advanced practice nurse. I ate lunch in the cafeteria. I learned the routine and the schedule, a little bit.

I've got an online hospital orientation, IV lab, classes aplenty, community health clinicals, a 9-page critical thinking worksheet to fill out, and some readings to pick up, but I've already knocked on my first patient door, introduced myself to my first patient, taken my first real set of vitals, taken my first listen to a stranger's lungs and heart, and did a good job at it. And that's big.

One day to go...

2012-01-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I start spring semester in a serious way. I'm meeting my clinical instructor at 6:30 a.m. at Northwestern Memorial and starting up my Adult Health clinical rotation for real. I'm very excited! I'll report back on it post-haste. Before school starts tomorrow my list includes:

a grocery trip -- we need to do some serious stocking up!
cleaning up some junk, including all remaining holiday decor.
set up the printer -- check! Now I can print wirelessly.
clean the bathroom
order textbooks -- check! Thankfully this semester I only need to get two packages of textbooks (with study guides and whatnot) -- one is on its way from Amazon right now.
rest!
keep making plans for working out at school, bringing snacks to school, staying on top of my studies...
clear my head. That might be the toughest thing on this list. Yikes.

LA, CA -- Beautiful! (And warm!)

2012-01-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

California is beautiful. How beautiful, you ask?

Amazing! At every turn there is something decidedly beautiful and unavailable in Illinois:

Sunsets along the ocean!

Rolling hills!

Vineyards along rolling hills!

Vineyards!

Huge mountain/hills (involving switchbacks and a lot of might from a Ford Fiesta) with beautiful views, lakes, forests, farms, etc...)

On Monday Julie and I had a terrific journey to Santa Barbara wine country. We drove through some winding hills and amazing views. We sipped some decent wines. We ate some delicious sandwiches (at a cafe and homemade for a picnic). We listened to ridiculously wonderful Julie & Amanda music in the car.

Here I am at a lookout along the way home from Santa Barbara Wine Country. Below is a vineyard in January -- pretty sad. Don't worry though, they'll perk up and make some terrific grapes to make into terrific wine soon. These vines belong to Cambria, a Santa Barbara winery that's actually sold in stores nationally.

Tuesday Julie had to go back to work. I decided to go walking in Los Angeles. Besides a few wrong turns and confusing a golf course for a park because of Google Maps mis-labeling, I had a delightful walk. I walked up and down Larchmont Avenue where there are tons of shops and cafes. I walked through a fancy neighborhood and sat in a lovely park reading.

When Julie was done with work we drove to Griffith Park and took a beautiful vista-view hike. We had Korean noodle soup for dinner and went to bed early.

Here's Julie along our hike. The trail was pretty wide and easy, but we covered a lot of elevation (especially for Illinois-born people unaccustomed to hills and whatnot). Below is a view from the hike. City, smog, hills, sunset -- wow!

Wednesday we're up early and here at KPCC! Southern California Public Radio is pretty cool, even though Julie won't explain anything to me about how all this works though.

A Bowl of Roses and Fleas!

2012-01-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena isn't too far from Julie's house and it's really close to her workplace. Despite my confusion about maps and directions, and the general confusion surrounding all these ridiculous freeways, we found the Rose Bowl, parked and paid our $8 to get in to the monthly flea market.

What do they sell at the Rose Bowl Flea Market? Everything. Seriously. New stuff, old stuff, really old stuff, newer old-looking stuff and weird stuff from around the world whose age I cannot determine. We considered buying embroidered pillowcases, beautiful glass bowls, a toilet-shaped plant pot (Julie shut it down - sad!), rusty keys, fancy old dresses, tiny speakers to be hooked up to iPhone, some cool succulent-type plant, ruffly aprons, giant shoes and creepily long scissors.

Julie and I saw maybe a third of the stands, but we go the idea of the place. It was incredible fun to look at all the odd items for sale, check out what people were buying, and barter for a few great things ourselves.

Julie bought a terrific green glass jar, which she plans to use to make either pickles or infused vodka. Yum! I got a few little Pyrex bowls and I almost got a juicer (not a machine, just a glass dish made for squeezing lemons) but the price was too high.

We got to sit inside the actual Rose Bowl stadium for a little while and the weather was perfect. Afterward we ate lunch in Pasadena and went to Trader Joe's for groceries. Now we are at Julie's California apartment in Koreatown considering some dinner-making, movie-watching and chit-chatting.

Here are some photos from our day:

Behind the glass boots are a bunch of cool cartoon character glasses for sale for $15 or more -- I swear we had several of these when I was a kid!

Julie considers some glassware -- near these fine pieces we also saw a set of glasses by the Florida Egg Commission which detailed what personality traits your egg-preference indicated. Sunny-side up mean you're happy and wise.

These are Buck Boxes, which as far as I can tell are just full of rusty junk. I took this photo for B!

Some roses in front of the Rose Bowl. The flea market surrounded the stadium. Even in January there were some beautiful roses around the grounds.

LA, CA - Day 1

2012-01-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

After two very uneventful plane rides and quick change of clothes in an airport bathroom, I was sitting outside in flip-flops (and a little bundled up, but whatever).

Julie and I headed up the Pacific Coast highway to Malibu (where Barbie hails from). We ate a late lunch, then checked out some Malibu homes from the beach. We also stopped for a cocktail at a sushi restaurant where celebs have been spotted, but we didn't see anyone famous - totally OK. We also got a beer with a former DC-collegue of Julie's at a new brewery near train tracks. When the train honks and goes by everyone clinks glasses, that's a thing!

Today we are off to the Rose Bowl Flea Market.

It's definitely not warm-warm, but I can still get away with flip-flops. More importantly I'm having some wonderful far-away-from-everything time before 2012 gets busy.

A wonderful lake

2012-01-03T20:25:00.001-08:00

It's just Lake Michigan - the Chicago side.

But it's just beautiful.

On cold days, warm days, stormy days, windy days, calm days, whatever. And it's completely unpredictable -- despite a sharp cold outside and a mild breeze the lake was calm and blue today. And there are sunny days when the lake looks mad as hell.

There are plenty of things I love about Loyola. Particularly that I'll be a nurse in a year, that I can get there by train or bus or foot or bike, and that it's a terrific school. But sitting in the library to study with Lake Michigan right out the walls of windows? It's just wonderful.

Thankfully living in Chicago means we've got lake paths to bike or walk down, Lake Shore Drive for the best drive ever, and plenty of fun to have along the shores of Lake Michigan.

I stopped by Loyola today and it's desolate there since hardly anyone is in class right now. The library was nearly silent and the lake reminded me that I can't wait to get back to classes. Even if it's just for the breaks when I can find a good seat and stare.

Exactly 16 days of break left...

2012-01-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

Break started with (apparently) just enough time to get Christmas in order, then Christmas rolled quickly into the week-between of seeing friends and staying with family. Now it's January 2 -- I've got 16 days before I'm back in the swing of nursing school, complete with clinical rotations and pharmacology. Here's what I've got planned:

A trip to Los Angeles to see the wonderful Julie! I head west January 7-12 and I'm excited for some sunshine, some LA-wackiness, time with by BFF and new adventures.
Book-buying -- To be ahead of the game, I plan to get my book-buying -- or at least my plans -- in order. I'm also trying to sell at least a few of my old books. It only took me 31 years to realize that no one looks back at old textbooks, ever, for any reason. Except for Abnormal Psych, because it's helpful when diagnosing crazy people you meet.
A new bank -- B and I have chosen a local bank nearby to replace Citibank. Citibank sucks for many reasons and we are (finally) getting ourselves settled at a new bank so we can feel a little better about where our money sits. I also get to re-organize our online bill-paying stuff, so that will be nice.
Cooking -- While I'm hanging out I'll also get us stocked on some food. I'll make a big batch of granola, check out any long-lost goodies in the freezer, and maybe make some frozen items for easy reheating on busy nights.
Laundry -- Boring! I'll do all the big stuff like sheets, blankets, coats, etc...
Gym -- Not as part of some goofy resolution, I just want to get myself to the gym more frequently. I'm actually quitting the neighborhood gym in favor of the gym at school where I'll do some between-class swimming this winter.
Toss old junk
Drink coffee
Get a massage (an awesome friend got me a massage as a gift -- my first ever!)
Send thank you notes
Use my slow cooker for something awesome
Revise our recycling setup
Throw away some containers -- I'm fearful that they'll attack us in the night -- there are so many of them.
Keep reading all my library books
Take down Christmas decorations (sad!)
Work on my blog!

2012 - Let's Go!

2012-01-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Somehow it's 2012! Happy New Year!

We're happy to welcome the new year with a few days of laziness at home. This year is going to be an exciting one -- we need to rest up:

This year I will finish nursing school! Less than 360 days until I'm done! I'll have clinicals all year -- first at Northwestern for adult health and also all over Chicagoland for community health.
On May 26 I'm going to run 10 miles. I signed up for the Soldier Field 10 Miler. I've already started my "training" with some jogs around Winnemac Park. I'm excited for the race as a motivation for me and to get running back into my routine. It'll be a nice break from schoolwork. B wants to do a few 5K runs in the spring too -- awesome!
I'm reading more this year. After a pretty terrific run at the library I've got a nice stack of books for the rest of break. And I've realized that no matter how busy life gets, it's heavenly to go to bed with a book.
As usual I get to start fresh with a new Moleskine planner -- no matter how much technology we've got, I love having things organized on paper. And my planner is good place to put stickers, notes and other goodies.
B and I plan to keep up our excellent eating! B's been loving Brussels Sprouts and I'm committed to doing something interesting with cauliflower this month. Maybe something interesting every month with a new veggie. Who knows.

And now, I'll get back to my relaxing -- I've got a David Baldacci, Law & Order on Netflix Watch Instantly, an awesome husband and a glass of chardonnay! Happy 2012, friends!

Holly Jolly

2011-12-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas flew by and now we're in that lull before New Year's. Nothing seems crowded - even Target. There's no presents to get, but you do have to decide plans for New Year's Eve. Resolutions haven't set in, if that's your thing, so people eat cakes and stuff, I guess.

We had a terrific Christmas and I'm enjoying my break with many great bits of life:

B made sugar cookies for Christmas Eve. He makes amazing sugar cookies! I helped ice them -- orange for the Illinois cookies, white with colorful sugar for the Capitol buildings, stars, hearts. Yum!
I did some gross-cleaning -- and now it's done!
My BFF Julie flew into town for the big holiday weekend. She was in town for the holidays and I'm going to visit her in Los Angeles in January. We picked up Julie on the way to a suburban Christmas Eve party on the way to Christmas at my parent's house. Julie enjoyed the babies, food, silliness and joy of Christmas in Illinois.
We attended a stellar Christmas party on Christmas Eve -- pulled pork, family galore, lots of love, a book exchange and candy bags to take home. Yum. We got to spend time with some awesome family members -- including our new nephew who thinks Christmas is a bit of a doze. We got a memory foam bathmat from B's mom -- no matter how that sounds to you, let me assure you -- it's awesome. As the party winded down we headed west to my parent's house and we got there in excellent time.
When we arrived at my parent's house on the Eve, Christmas was in full-swing. My dad was jolly'd out in a reindeer tie, a vest and a santa hat. My mom wore a santa hat too! My brother is too cool for santa hats. We enjoyed Tom & Jerry's and the Christmas ambiance of my parent's home: a 12-foot tree all lit up, Dickens villages, candles and even lit-up wine bottles (a Criner craft! Want one?). A cocktail with family after shopping busy-ness, driving and partying is just perfect.
We did the holidays up in the traditional Criner manner this year. Mimosas & cinnamon rolls, opening presents, then an afternoon dinner. My mom really knows how to make a meal! The holidays winded down with football, reading and gift-enjoying.
After celebrations aplenty we are home and settled back into life. Julie and I visited with friends. I took a terrific run in the abnormally warm weather today. Mostly I've been taking it easy with Netflix, cleaning, organizing and reading. Tomorrow we have a pizza party with some family.

Phew! Just enough time to get ready for 2012!

This is from the big February 2011 blizzard -- we haven't had more than a dusting of snow so far. But I like the doors in this photo anyway.

So far, so lazy

2011-12-22T19:14:00.000-08:00

I've taken several naps since my semester ended, but I've also accomplished quite a bit. B comes home from work and doesn't notice all these accomplishments but whatever to him. Among my accomplishments:

I've started watching Bones Season 6 on Netflix Watch Instantly. Bones is my guilty pleasure -- I love it more than any other crime show. It's sometimes gross, with lots of medical talk, and it's hilarious. I stumbled upon Bones while packing last spring, and I love it dearly. I realize it's a dumb show to some, but I love it.
I've laundered a lot of stuff. And cleaned! Oh, have I cleaned! The bathroom, the floors, the bits of dust that float about our home, the closets, the heaps of stuff, the fridge, the couch, the stack of magazines I've been paging through, the extra room and some other stuff too.
I recycled my shoes at the Nike Store -- this has been on my to-do list for ages.
I've done some stealthy Christmas shopping using coupons, deals and other promotions to save some money.
We used some of the longtime residents of our pantry for meals. I've also been looking in my cookbooks for ideas for more winter meals. We also enjoyed B's favorite veggie: Brussels Sprouts! Yum!

There's more on my agenda, but first we've got the holidays! Have a merry one!

And done!

2011-12-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

I'm all done with school -- one semester of nursing school finished! Three semesters to go!

And, if you need an even scarier measurement: about 364 days until I'm done with nursing school and graduating.

Bonus: If you attend my graduation you can see the Loyola University nativity scene (which I haven't exactly located yet) which is being approached by enormous wise men (which I've walked by -- they're totally taller than me) riding faux camels! Oh Holy Night!

During my no-school month I shall do some serious relaxing, use a massage gift certificate for a backrub, watch the new season of Bones on Netflix, clean, organize and celebrate. Hooray! Watch out closets, cupboards, shelves, old notebooks (which I had intended to refer back to... but who does that?), mis-fitting clothes, and strange array of bathroom items -- I'm after you!

Sorry to ruin the surprise -- here is your Christmas present! A cat.

And a Holly Jolly Home

2011-12-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

B and I have spiffed up our home into a holiday happy place.

This is terrific because I need a little something to cheer me up during my holiday studies. We've got our new tree, some beautiful ornaments (Barbie and her Storm Trooper boyfriend!), lights, a little village on top of our cupboards, and some garland near the stairs.

I've been up to my elbows in studies lately. But with four classes done, three A's in the bag (yes!), and two tests to go, I'm psyched and proud.

This first semester of nursing school has been rough. (Not nursing school's fault.) And as happy as I am to fight through sadness to work toward becoming a nurse, there's still plenty that can knock me down.

But every day I feel stronger. Every day I feel happier to become a nurse, a little less heartbroken to not be a mommy-to-be yet, and ready to conquer what's in front of me.

Even when I'm studying kidney dysfunction or infant respiratory distress, I can take a deep breath and do it. I might still cry a bit. I might still cry a lot. But I'm stronger. And when becoming a mom is in front of me again, I'll be stronger and ready to do that.

Holly Jolly Finals!?!

2011-12-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

Did you know that in the midst of the fun of holidays -- tree-decorating, cookie-baking, village-setting-up -- college students have tons of exams and studying to do? I think this happened when I was an undergrad, too. What mis-scheduling, right?
Anyway, I'm keeping my head up as finals attempt to knock me on my butt (B says I shouldn't be wearing sneakers in the snow, anyway). I've got some nice plans for our long break, and I've already got a few accomplishments to feel good about:

A terrific time at B's work holiday party. Fantastic appetizers, including little corndogs, tiny tomato soups with grilled cheese and bacon-wrapped somethings. Fantastic drinks. Fantastic people to talk to -- I chatted with a librarian pal, someone with a doctorate in pharmacology who takes care of mice at her job, one of B's handsome colleagues and other nice folks. I also got to rock a 10-year-old awesome dress, bare legs (in December? Yes!), fancy shoes, a little fur scarf-type-thing, and lots of jewelery. We had a delightful time -- and here's a photo of me waiting for the CTA Holiday Train to pick us up.
A huge victory in my foundations class! For our lab final we had to handle a scenario -- mine including a abdominal assessment, a skin assessment, giving my "patient" insulin, and inserting a urinary catheter (in a mannequin). This skill is sterile and requires a dexterous hand as well as a fair amount of setup. I did it all almost perfectly, explained my challenges and got a "wonderful job" from my surly lab instructor. My biggest lesson from the whole exam was to speak my mind. I had questions that my instructor couldn't answer -- he was just an observer -- but I still vocalized them, and I explained every challenge I came upon calmly and like I knew what I was doing. Victory!

Two tests down -- Wellness and Research! Plus an 'A' locked up in Intro (which doesn't have a final). Pardon my blog-absence -- I've been in test-mode, but I'm a tiny-test break right now.

Three tests to go -- Nutrition, Pathophysiology and Foundations. I've got lots of studying to do but I'm feeling pretty good about my performance so far. My last test is on Saturday morning and some classmates have already planned for a bar crawl starting at 11 a.m. Whoa!

My closet - for the win!

2011-12-02T19:51:00.001-08:00

Oh friends, I did some shopping today. Some serious, ridiculous shopping.

I went to Water Tower Place and cruised through The Body Shop, Sephora, Forever 21, The Limited and stopped in Macy's. Phew. Then I headed south on Michigan Avenue to The Gap and another Forever 21.

What did I buy? Earrings. And a necklace. Spending a grand total of $11.

I tried on dresses and tops. I considered jeans. I seriously thought about a sherbet-colored t-shirt and a colorful plaid scarf -- both sunny as can be for gray winter days. I waited 15 minutes to try on sparkly shoes, which looked pretty terrific but hurt my toes.

Defeated, I shuffled back home and started trying on some items from way back in my closet. Success!

My pre-wedding dress -- total possibility. My favorite black dress -- still fits like a dream. A dress I bought in Las Vegas in 2001 -- a complete holiday party contender! And reversible! (Red or black?!?!) A simple swingy navy blue dress I've worn to weddings and to the beach -- still lovable.

Turns out I do know where to shop!

Here's me with B before we were official. Tomorrow he's my date to a swanky holiday party!

Dressing Up

2011-12-01T20:27:00.001-08:00

B's work has a raucous, swanky holiday party every year. I'm psyched for Saturday -- cocktails, appetizers, dinner, a bag you pick a giftcard out of, more cocktails and dessert!

Plus it's a chance to dress up. This is big news for me -- I wear maroon scrubs once a week and the dressiest I get is jeans. I carry a backpack almost everyday.

So makeup, lipstick, a purse, heels, a dress and fancied up hair!?! Fantastic fun!

I'll post photos!

Winding down semester 1

2011-11-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

I'm three weeks away from finished with my first semester (of four total semesters) of nursing school. The end of the semester means a lot of wrapping up of projects, a few papers, many tests, a lab test where I show off my clinical skills, and many other to-dos big and small.

B and I will keep up our successful-so-far routines of spending most evenings immersed in schoolwork and work-work, taking breaks for eating together and often doing something fun like taking a walk or watching something together. And as the holidays approach we also have time for some exciting non-school merriment:

The big Cousin's Party for B's family next weekend. I'm an organizer of this fun event, but fortunately I'm a smart organizer who teamed up with others to cater the party rather than cook up a storm. I'm psyched for this good time, particularly without the added bother of hauling a crockpot full of food to the party.
B's work party -- swanky! Last year B's work party was both swanky and fun. We had amazing food -- including a mashed potato bar, champagne with candied hibiscus (what?!?), and kindhearted people with trays of food walking around! Swanky! I'm excited to dress up, have a few beverages, win a prize (!?!), and maybe even do some dancing.
Shopping! B and I are still making our own traditions at Christmastime. This year we're getting a new tree since we trashed our old one when we moved. We've got some new ornaments from my family -- my mom scores the best, oddest ornaments each January. We'll also probably do a Friday evening downtown to stroll and shop. And we'll do some local-shopping in our neighborhood. If you get gifts from us at Christmas expect some treats from Amy's Candy Bar -- lucky you!
Cooking -- we've got to dust off our slow cooker and get some meals going when we leave the house in the morning. I think we'll get moving on some soups, roasted meals and perhaps some of B's secret recipe hot chocolate.
And we must not let a Christmas season go by without stopping at Miller's Pub for Tom & Jerry's. This is crucial for holiday happiness.

Thankful

2011-11-23T22:29:00.001-08:00

We're still sad, and that's probably not going to change for awhile, but in the midst of all this we're also pretty thankful and on Turkey Day Eve, we might as well say so.

Thank you to awesome family and friends who call, visit, mail cards and make sure we know we're loved. Especially when we're feeling defeated. We had a terrific lineup of meals this week courtesy of people who somehow knew that cooking wouldn't come easy this week, even though I'd have argued with them if I hadn't been told to allow people to help me.
Thank you to amazing doctors and nurses and everyone at Northwestern Prentice Hospital.
Thank you to teachers and coworkers who send flowers. It's a little ridiculous how beautiful flowers can make sad times seem less sad.
Thank you to other things that we can focus on. Being busy is just the ticket these days.
Thank you to my body for working so nicely now. I wonder how long I'm going to be appreciating my kidneys for their pee-making skills. Absence does make the heart grow fonder.
Thank you to B, the wonderful love of my life. We went through one of the worst situations imaginable, but we went through it together. B has been everything I've needed - he's jumped on problems, tackled awful tasks with gusto, and made sure I've had time to cry/laugh/do schoolwork/go shopping/whatever. Tomorrow is his big Turkey Bowl football game and you can bet I'll be cheering my heart out for my awesome husband.

As B says, Thanks for Happy Giving!

Feeling sad

2011-11-21T20:02:00.000-08:00

We lost the baby.

I don't know what to say about that just yet. It's devastating and heartbreaking.

I'll share more as I get a little distant from it and it doesn't flip me upside down to retell the story.

For now, I'll say that I'm feeling much better than I was when I was sick with preeclampsia. As much as my body feels better -- my blood pressure is down, my kidneys are working properly which reduces my swelling, and my body is slowly moving back to its normal self.

I'll also say that we received the best possible care at Northwestern's Prentice Hospital. We had amazing nurses, doctors and the best possible care during one of the worst times of our lives. We're very grateful for that.

We're heading into Thanksgiving weekend feeling thankful for our health, thankful for our amazing friends & family, and sad that we won't get to know this baby we were so excited to meet.

I'll write more later, but I wanted to pass along the news and to at least start to write out all the feelings floating in my head.

Growing

2011-11-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

Being pregnant is phenomenally weird.

I've been feeling great -- a little exhausted here and there, but happily able to keep up with my walk-a-lot, study-a-lot, eat-good-food, have-lots-of-fun lifestyle. I've been walking more than 10 miles each week, cooking a lot, packing some decent snacks for school, and done really well with school so far. Happy alert!

I've definitely noticed that I'm more hungry lately -- scarfing down a plate of food more quickly than B is evidence alone. My blood sugars are cooperating pretty well -- though I've been hanging out on the low-side for the past few hours despite eating Goldfish crackers, orange juice, rice pilaf, Brussel sprouts, Hawaiian chicken and pretzels (normally pretzels spike my blood sugar like crazy). I'm going to just assume that the baby-to-be is hungry.

I feel like I'm growing, which I am. This is good, despite the fact that it feels so strange. I'm definitely out of regular jeans for now and feeling very comfortable in maternity jeans. I can still wear regular tops, but I'm trying out some prego tops too.

We've even done some baby-planning -- we looked over cribs at Ikea and picked one we like. We've talked over all the details we can manage so far. And, perhaps most importantly, we've gotten to that happy place where we have ideas of plans but no plans for when the baby arrives.

By the numbers...

22 weeks pregnant
12 trick-or-treaters came to our house this year
10 apple cider donuts made it home from our stop at Edward's Apple Orchard
98 percent on my last Wellness exam (awesome!)
1 photo book almost done (serving the double purpose of documenting our honeymoon and being a classy way to display photos without being crafty) as part of my massive list of projects to conquer before a baby arrives
5.4 my last HA1C - a measure of 3 months worth of diabetes control - excellent!

Full of ideas: Money for Chicago!

2011-10-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

I love my city.

Chicago is beautiful. Our neighborhood (Ravenswood, North Center, Lincoln Square -- whatever it's actually called) is awesome. We love it here.

And Chicago needs money. Like most things in this day and age, the city is short on money and long on this list of things that need the money.

But wait! I've got some solutions! These aren't just solutions for money problems, they also fix some problems beyond money. Mrs. Skerkoski, my third grade teacher, would call this feeding two birds with one cookie.

My brilliant idea is this: Enforce laws on the books. I'm talking stop signs, yielding to pedestrian, not having car alarms honking all day, drivers chatting on cell phones, and all such laws. Laws that make our streets, sidewalks and bike lanes safe. Just enforce them.

Certainly police officers might not have time for this, but I think and hope that enforcing regular laws can make Chicago a better place to live, which is good for police, city pocketbooks and everyone who spends time in this fair city. And, I suggest that a non-police crew or some sort of cadet squadron to do the job.

A few ideas for the Chicago Police, or their representatives:

Sit at any 4-way stop and watch! No one stops. Most people roll through stop signs unaware of other vehicles, people and life outside of themselves. Cha-ching!
Observe how drivers treat pedestrians in crosswalks. In Washington, D.C., our nation's capital, pedestrians are held in high regard. Cars stop at crosswalks and walkers can make it across a road with carefree ease. In Chicago crossing at a cross-walked intersection is risky. Chicago Police have ticketed before for this infraction and I think they should do so again -- all the time. I'm not trying to slow down everyone driving in the city -- honestly. Drivers may not do the math but I do: You are hurrying up to get to the next red light! You are not slowed down by slowing down on a regular city street. Slowing down is built in.
Cell phones -- If I were deputized to only give tickets to drivers who are talking obviously on cell phones while driving I'd make the city about a grand each month.
Ticket people who do not control their car alarms. No one objects to this. No one. It's the best idea ever.
Jaywalking -- Here I am siding with cars! Jaywalking should be curtailed -- too often I observe people (sometimes with children or cell phones stuck to their ears) darting across busy streets when stop-lighted crosswalks are nearby. Get yourself to a safe place to cross, people!
Asshole behavior -- There's not a specific law against that, but there are laws against many asshole behaviors like being loud, littering and zipping a scooter through traffic.

Enforcing these laws sounds stupid maybe but it's not. The Broken Windows Theory says big problems follow small ones. To make Chicago a nicer place to walk around, drive around means a lot. And to make some extra money for schools, police, parks and other wonderful Chicago things. Come on Chicago - what do you say?

I'm so hungry!

2011-10-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

Being almost 20 weeks pregnant means you're supposed to eat a lot. 300 extra calories a day, even if you don't feel like it. (Note: 300 calories isn't a ton, but it's a decent amount of extra food, but not a whole pizza.) I've been feeling hungry for specific things lately, which probably just means I've fallen victim to advertising, but still I can get a little credit for some awesome pregnancy cravings, right? Things I am wanting right now:

Fritos - Salty, greasy chips! Dipped in something, please.
Dinkels cake - Specifically our wedding cake. Which we didn't keep and freeze. That seemed really smart until I decided I wanted cake during high winds and rainstorms. I'm going to find some vanilla icing before the week is out. Come high winds, high water, whatever.
Cheese - I almost always want cheese. This is not new.
Chocolates with caramel... or peanut butter... or Butterfingers. Anything in a Halloween multi-pack really.
Halloween Oreos - Love the orange cream, love the large amount of orange cream, LOVE!

Writing this was almost painful. Now I'm off to hunt down something at the library that will fulfill my wishes.

The sea is angry...

2011-10-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

The weather forecast tomorrow, from the Chicago Tribune:

High wind watch for lakeside counties and lakeshore flood warning begin Wednesday afternoon. Morning showers build to steady wind-driven rain. Blustery, chilly. Highs in the upper 40s --- first sub-50 degree high since May 26. Northeast to north winds increase to 30-40 mph with gusts more than 50 mph in the afternoon. High waves could cause shore erosion and flooding. Rain, heavy at times, overnight. North winds 30-40 mph with gusts more than 50 mph.

B loves Tom Skilling, who reports on the weather and writes poetry like the forecast for tomorrow. I think Tom Skilling is wrong a lot, but that's OK. Tomorrow is a day for scrubs (since I have lab!), my yellow rain slicker, a hoodie and possibly more layers. I'll check for shore erosion and crazy waves from the safety of the library at school. Yikes!

What does this pickle need?

2011-10-11T08:22:00.001-07:00

We get a weekly email about the growing baby-to-be (fetus, technically) -- how big it is, how I might be feeling, what new things the baby is growing or doing.

The emails are pretty cool, even though they don't usually match up to exactly how I'm feeling and sometimes the size comparisons are not foods as we prefer (gummy bear, Kit Kat, Brazil nut, martini olive, baked potato - all excellent). The most recent report says that the baby has expanded from being the size of a baked potato to the size of a "pickle from the corner deli" which isn't really a size difference I understand.

But the pickle email also said that we should start thinking about what the baby needs once its evicted from its current home.

The baby is fine just handing out here with me, but in less than 6 months the baby will need clothes, a bed, stuff to play with, diapers and all sorts of baby-accessories. And the baby probably won't like to share his or her (we'll know in less than two weeks) room with random coffee tables, boxes of books, purses, shoes, a wedding dress and several winter coats.

We've got to figure out what babies (our baby really) needs -- what we should buy, what we should skip, what we'll do that no one agrees with and what will fill up the little blue room, no longer full of junk.

Awesome autumn

2011-10-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

Fall hit Chicago like a ton of bricks these last few weeks. We've gone from steamy summer to brisk, breezy fall. And it's heavenly.

B and I have been taking more walks, dusting off our soup-making skills, and finally turned on the heat (B thinks 58 is too cold for inside our house -- hrmph). I've been walking a lot, and mapping it all on Daily Mile to see how far I go - 14 miles so far this week.

School is excellent. It's tough and I've already started planning for when tough gets ridiculous when baby-to-be arrives in the middle of spring semester when I'm doing clinicals for adult health and community health, and taking pharmacology.

But school is terrific. I'm happy to be moving toward becoming a nurse, being challenged and seeing myself rise to the challenges. I got a 100 percent on my nutrition test. I did about average on my first pathophysiology test, but now I've got a plan in place to do better now that I know what to expect. (The director of my program said "that'll just go up" when I told her how I did on the patho test - good news!)

My lab instructor is a nurse at Children's Memorial and is the coolest guy ever. He makes me feel confident, answers all our questions and tells us how it really is to be a nurse. Now I'm home from a long walk, making a study guide out of some patho lecture notes, watching cooking shows on PBS, and thinking about making a pie... soon!

Here's my beautiful new niece Penny and me cheering on the Bears. If you want to get a person used to watching the Bears with Bears fans -- shouting, yelling, stuff-throwing and all -- you should start young. Penny is just 6 days old here! Go Bears!

Learning, learning, learning

2011-09-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

School is fantastic.

I've got lab tomorrow, so this will be fast. We're learning the basics of taking blood pressure -- totally exciting. I've been practicing and learned that it's definitely harder than it looks.

Life is good. A few things I've learned about being pregnant in while in college:

There's absolutely no decaf on campus. Like, none. And the two pop machines that sell Diet 7Up or Diet Sprite never work. College kids aren't looking for caffeine free, except me.
Being sleepy is totally normal on campus. Hooray for that. Even though I'm not too tired these days it's nice to be among other sleepyheaded people.
Taking nutrition class, learning basic nursing skills and pathophysiology makes me pretty excited to have a little one. I'm eating well and happy to be working hard at baby-growing. Plus I'm pretty sure this little person will let me practice skills on him or her.

Baby alert

2011-09-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

Yup. We're expecting. A baby. In March.

This is pretty exciting. And so far it's been smooth sailing by all accounts. My blood glucose control is tops -- thanks in part to B's dedication to checking my continuous glucose monitor frequently, careful meal-planning and my dedication to eating spoons of peanut butter for protein.

We're psyched. It's a little scary too and even scarier if I start thinking about the logistics of a newborn arriving during my 16-month accelerated nursing program, but it's awesome. We'll plan and if our plans change, that's cool. It'll work out. Babies, I hear, have a magical way of making things work.

Currently the plan is for the baby to bounce right along with me in nursing school. By March I'll be in class less and in clinical settings more. Hopefully I can bulk up my clinicals before the baby comes, or bulk them up after the baby is settled into our lives. Other people have had babies in nursing school without going crazy, so can I.

We're very slowly cleaning out our extra room so there's space for a baby and a minimal amount of baby stuff. I'm trying to eat well and pop goodies in the freezer for crazier times as we go. I'm taking life a little easy -- more naps, earlier bedtime, and packing good lunches.

I'm getting pretty experimental with non-alcoholic drinks. Right now I'm sipping a seltzer water with a dash of elderflower syrup (from Ikea). I've been tossing everything in sight into seltzer -- grapefruit, pineapple, berries, fresh mint, and lime. And I've got minty sun tea ready to simmer in the morning.

We'll continue to post about how things are going with this growing baby-to-be. And, now I'm off to whip up some peanut butter toast. Somebody's hungry.

Not-so-lazy Sunday!

2011-09-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

It's just mid-day and we're already rocking out the productivity of our Labor Day Sunday.

This is excellent news -- tomorrow we're headed to the Cubs game with the Criners!

So far today...

I've listened to two pathology lectures! And taken good notes. (I'm a total note-snooper during class and I seriously question some people's note-taking skills! Notes are critical, at least for me -- writing means learning.)
B has tidied up and let the cats play in the backyard.
We turned off the air-conditioning because it's a delightful 70 degrees out.
My school area is becoming a little happier -- less junk, more order. I filled up my toolbox with pens and supplies - it's a perfect desk topper.
We planned meals for at least part of the week! Victory over "snack nights" and evenings where we resign ourselves to eating cereal at 9 p.m. instead of cooking.

We're also taking a walk, stopping at the grocery for some bread to eat with baked tomatoes, and relaxing with some breezy movie watching later! Happy Labor Day weekend!

Settling into school

2011-09-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Nursing school has been great and incredibly overwhelming. I feel more assured that this is the right direction for me and that Loyola's accelerated program will be a good fit for us.

I'll admit that my to-do list is a mile long. I've got no idea how to organize all these calendars with assignments, projects, skills labs, papers and exams.

I finally settled on a notebook system -- a big notebook for the two big classes (Pathophysiology and Foundations), a 3-subject notebook for the less intense classes (Nutrition, Wellness & Community Health, and Intro to Professional Nursing) and an old legal pad for my research course, which is almost completely online.

My uniform, stethoscope and sphygmomanometer (BP cuff) arrived today.

We're settling into school life at home too. I take the train with B in the mornings, we pack lunches after dinnertime and this weekend we've got big plans to stock the fridge with even more goodies for school/work. Now, time to study!

The photo here is not snakes, but purple green beans (they turn green when you cook them). We tossed those in tonight's stirfry. Delicious.

Day 2 - So far so good

2011-08-30T08:27:00.001-07:00

I will not report such things from each and every day of my 16 months of nursing school, but I've decided that my utter shock at being back at school with undergrads, welcome events and the modern amenities of modern higher education is worth a post or two.

My classes are excellent so far. My professors are cool -- we're supposed to ask questions, reading is critical and organization is even more important. Books are expensive but everything seems to be working out swimmingly.

The scene here at Loyola is different from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Tufts University, Truman College and most other schools I've visited during my nationwide tours of colleges.

Loyola is urban -- seriously urban. Crossing Sheridan Road (which is what Lakeshore Drive turns into this far north) is a challenge. The CTA Red Line tracks weave through the edge of campus and I got a U-Pass (free CTA!),'
Undergrads are as ridiculous as ever. They smoke (!), wear silly outfits, line up for odd happenings, suggest laminating their U-Passes (no!), and using cell phones constantly. I guess I'm an undergrad too, but not so ridiculous as all of these youngsters. My silly outfit, however, is maroon scrubs with all-white shoes. Egads.
The Illini Union Bookstore has spoiled me for all other bookstores. The Loyola University Bookstore doesn't have a million types of pens, an acceptable variety of university-themed notebooks or cool bright orange bags. It's a Follett bookstore and I'm an IUB girl -- what am I to do!?!
The library here is, however, superior to the underground Undergrad of my favorite alma mater. It's a big glass building, with windows facing the (tiny) quad area and the lake. Beautiful. In fact, I think I'll spend much of this afternoon staring at the lake and reading Pathophysiology.
It's nice to go home -- I'm lucky to have a sweet B, a non-undergrad apartment, my own kitchen and my setup to come home to. Our new apartment has plenty of study space, a kitchen I love to cook in and just the space we need right now. Hooray for peace at home.
Living the undergrad life is pretty sweet.

This photo is the Loyola Library -- fancy! It does cast a shadow though, not on any experiemental corn fields, but still... a shadow!

Lesson #1

2011-08-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Should have listened to my dad's wise advice years ago and not brought books to class.

They're heavy and probably unnecessary. And even if I need them, they're still heavy.

Good news from campus -- I rode my bike here successfully along Chicago's beautiful lake path, picked up my U-pass (free CTA!), and found my way (at least a little). Now, awaiting my first nursing class.

Weird news from campus -- the guy next to me has two cell phones, connected to each other, and is hunt-and-peck-typing as he surfs eBay. The library has come a long way. He's also wearing slippers, socks, basketball shorts and Marc Jacobs sunglasses inside. Where am I?

No bad news from campus yet -- except for that I'm older than almost everyone I see, under-dressed compared to most people and a little lost. But I've got my trusty map -- it's cool to carry a map around, right?

School supplies

2011-08-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

I love back-to-school shopping. I don't love the heaps of pencils and folders appearing at Target after July 4, but I do love the act of preparing for a new year.

New pens, new notebooks full of crisp college-ruled lines, new folders for new sylubi, and new supplies. I've become a re-purposer lately -- using freebie highlighters instead of new ones, using Clinique Bonus containers to hold all my pens & pencils, keeping a stack of stuff I need to read in my folder so I can make use of downtime during class. I've been in school long enough to know what I want and what I need to succeed:

College-ruled notebook with tough cover (usually plastic, making it easier to carry everywhere I go). College rule rules.
A backpack with tons of pockets.
Good pens. Right now Precise V5 Extra Fine Pens in Blue (B uses black -- we can't share because I "press too hard." Hrmph.
Post-its, notecards, and odd-sized paper.
My Moleskin Planner to note important dates.

Now that I'm about to start nursing school the supply list has become a little more involved. And the things I'm looking for are making me realize I'm really, actually going to nursing school and I'm going to be a nurse - for real. Yesterday I got word that I need:

A stethoscope.
A blood pressure cuff.
Bandage scissors.
A white lab coat (!).
A uniform including wine-colored pants and top with pockets (for all my supplies).
All-white-shoes (what?!? Hopefully I can get these at Kohls.) And all-white socks! I might have to buy some bleach and start washing "whites loads."
Wristwatch with second hand -- ordering this!
Penlight.
Pocket-size notebook.
Black Pen (oh no!).
Simple calculator.

Better get shopping. This nursing thing, it's actually happening.

Diabetes & Being a Rockstar

2011-08-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

B calls me a diabetes rockstar. Especially when I get news like the news I got today:

My Hemoglobin A1C (a picture of what my blood glucose levels have looked like for the past three months) is 5.7 percent. Below 7 is awesome for someone with insulin-dependent diabetes. Below 6 is what people without diabetes expect.

5.7 (with a 6.1 a few months ago and another 5.7 before that) is awesome. It's no small feat, though. I don't want to make this a diabetes blog, but I will say that we work really hard at this -- B and me.

B is my backup -- reminding me to take insulin 20-30 minutes before we eat, helping me respond to highs and lows reasonably (especially when I want to rage bolus), and being a good diabetes cheerleader.

Among the many things we've been doing to rock out the diabetes, just to prove this is worthwhile hard work:

Eating a spoonful of peanut butter with breakfast to slow down notoriously spikey breakfasts like cereal.
Using lots of whole grains like whole wheat pasta and whole wheat flour in zucchini muffins.
Taking walks.
Packing lunches (and sometimes dinners) so that I know what I'm eating, and so B also gets a hearty meal mid-day.
Cooking more.
Testing more.
Waiting more.

Sorry to toot my own horn so much, but this is too awesome to be quiet about. Diabetes is a jerk sometimes, but my diabetes team and I aren't letting it get me down.

Pictured -- the starting lineup for my diabetes team. Go team!

Sweet Sunday

2011-07-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those delightful days with no obligations on our agenda, coffee brewed, B cooking eggs-in-the-hole for breakfast and me working on a decent (but no insurmountable) to-do list. Plus we get to keep up with lawmakers working on the debt ceiling.

I'm going to try my hand at making zucchini bread today -- I made some last summer and this year I'm sharing it or freezing it (instead of hiding it in the fridge until it a pre-honeymoon cleanout). Zucchini bread is healthy because there is zucchini in it, of course, and it's delicious because almost everything else in it is also in cakes. Yum.

Also on the docket for today:

Clean up the yet-to-be-unpacked extra room.
Clean up the random "I'll deal with this later" heaps I've left scattered around the house.
Find a hat for the Day at the Races Party next weekend for B's work. There is a hat contest and I must win! I love hats and they fit me well.
Figure out some heavy school stuff -- mostly how exactly I'm paying for school. I'll need to apply for a private loan, it seems, but I've got to look over some other options as well. This is certainly not a roadblock to starting school in three (!) weeks, but it's a critical bill to figure out.
Cut coupons and find the best deals ever for things we need using my awesome Sunday Tribune. Notably we need colored pencils (for the Anatomy and Physiology coloring books I ordered on Amazon for review and a coloring fix before school starts).
Correspond with people to whom I write letters.

Hope your Sunday is marvelous!

Produce and accomplishments

2011-07-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Phew! I've got one statistics class left! There's plenty to keep me busy until then, of course. But just one class left -- I am thrilled. A few highlights from our past weekend of merriment:

A delightful trip to Michigan -- We were able to enjoy the fun of Lake Michigan and a pool with one of our awesome nieces and fun family. We also enjoyed sitting around, reading, sleeping late, playing Scattegories and being silly. A wonderful break.
A visit to Big Head Farms while we were in Michigan! This is where our Community Supported Agriculture share comes from. We drove over to the farm, picked peas and peppers until it rained, and got to see our farm friend's operation at their home. It's pretty spectacular. We came away with even more appreciation of what it takes to grow food, a desire to never become farmers, and a renewed commitment to eating all our veggies.
One last Michigan bit -- I snuck away from the family for a bit to work on stats. I found a perfect little cafe where sat outside and chugged along at my work. I had an iced coffee and a cookie. I set up my laptop, my headphones and all my school supplies. I must work remotely more often. It was superb.
One year down! We got married a year ago Sunday! We celebrated with dinner at Mrs. Murphy's Irish Bistro -- the "scene of the crime" as my parents say. Our dinner was summer-fresh perfection, plus we had a sweet treat to end the meal. I can't believe we've been married for a whole year -- how'd that happen?

Back to my studies for another 40-some hours. Here's a pic from the farm -- I'll post more soon, I think.

Phew!

2011-07-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Almost done with my stats class -- 3 classes (and two tests, several online assignments and two projects!) left!

This weekend we're off to Michigan for a weekend of relaxing by the pool or lake, buying fruit, and reading non-school reading. Hooray!

In happy apartment-improving news:

We've got a new couch on its way!
We've got a new shelf in the pantry room, which makes the kitchen about a billion times less clutter-filled.
We've got big plans for the (current) junk room, which shall soon turn into something not-full-of junk.
We're love, love, loving the air conditioning. Central air is a pretty amazing thing and we're absolutely loving it right now.

Keep cool, friends!

Food!

2011-07-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

I'm proud to say that in the B & Mandasaurus house eating has been good lately.

Some of the highlights:

This evening B made pesto using sweet basil from our CSA. He tossed it with some pasta for a delicious dinner and saved a bunch more for future yummy times.
I used my ice cream machine to make a batch of strawberry ice cream. I'm not sure words can describe how rich, sweet and creamy this stuff is. It's made from strawberries, sugar and a ton of cream, half & half, vanilla and some sugar, which means a tiny bite is super satisfying. Next we're hoping to make a sorbet.
My lunches and dinners (for the days when I work and go directly to stats class) have been top-notch. We've prepared pasta with peas, pasta with tomatoes & prosciutto, rice pilaf and other standout dishes that take easily to being carried across town and microwaved. I also like to carry snacks like yogurt with berries, crackers with hummus, carrots, radishes, and the like. This makes the days when I leave the house at 7 a.m. and return at 10 p.m. much more bearable.
Fizzy water cocktails -- I've been really into the hydrating power and bubbles of seltzer water lately. I toss just about anything in with it -- berries, orange slice, peaches, juice, herbs. It's a bubbly treat -- one that even pleased B's 89-year-old Grandma Fergie (who thought it was wine).

Happy Monday -- hope you get a delicious treat today too!

Spa-rrific

2011-07-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

As part of my terrific birthday gift from B, I had the most relaxing night ever. B bought some awesome goods from Lush, cleaned the tub, set up candles where we normally have bottles of soap and drew (you draw a bath) me the best bath ever. Half an Avobath Bath Bomb and half a Freedom Foamer Bubble Bar = best bath on earth. And Freedom Foamer supports marriage equality! Hooray!

We've got a spa tub so the bubbles were out of control. I felt like a movie star -- surrounded by bubbles in the best way possible.

I'm a huge nerd who believes in the power of relaxing (whether you relax by cracking open a beer, taking a run, cooking, napping or whatever). This bath was as good as it gets. I felt all the stress in my legs and shoulders melt away, all the sticky marks from my bionic diabetes stuff disappeared, and all the things running around in my mind calmed down too.

I hope you get a bath (or some kind of relaxing something-or-other) soon too, friends!

Correction to image: We don't have a claw foot tub or a puppy. But Mr. Meowgi did think the bubbles were pretty cool.

Long weekend long on fun

2011-07-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today is a free day -- all day, no major to-do lists or obligations. This is excellent news for B and I who've been ridiculously busy lately. Hooray for free time. This three-day-weekend, though, has been a complete blast --

Friday night - Taste of Chicago with Courtyard Hounds! We went to the Taste despite wacky weather reports and it turned out uncrowded and lovely. We enjoyed some Taste portions (sample sizes - one of the Taste's best features) and a concert by the Courtyard Hounds (2 of the 3 Dixie Chicks).
Saturday - I volunteered with Chicago Cares serving lunch at a women's shelter with one of my awesome mom-to-be friends. We had an excellent time and did some good. Also, I got over my fear of macaroni salad by making it. Afterward we went to a family event and got to spend some quality time with one of our awesome nieces.
Sunday - My parents came to town. My Dad and B had tickets to the Cubs-Sox game. My M.O.M. and I went along breakfast at The Salt & Pepper Diner and a few beers at Murphy's Bleachers and the fest in front of the ballpark. Then my M.O.M. and I set to work. We made a headboard for our bed. We used an old, unattractive headboard my M.O.M. got for $5 at a garage sale. We covered it with foam, then fabric (actually a tablecloth), staple-gunned it all together and stuck it on the bedframe. It looks awesome - as B says "It makes the bed look like a bed!" And we can lean on it. And admire it. And gloat about making it. After our craftiness my M.O.M. and I took a stroll and found a yard sale with Fiestaware - $10 for 16 pieces! Whoa. We carried our gear home and met up with the baseball fans for dinner and beers.
Monday - An awesome day so far: grocery-buying, lounging, silly DVD-watching and letting the cats run around in the backyard. B talks about getting a grill, but I think we're way too wrapped up in lounging to buy a grill or do whatever it takes to make a grill work. Not that I don't like grilling...

Let's go to the mall!

2011-06-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Big adventure day today.

I drove to work in Evanston and after a day of 5-year-olds I headed a bit northwest to Old Orchard Mall. I made my stop swift, not because it was raining or because there are enormous goldfish at the pond there (seriously, those could eat someone!). I got down to business at the mall, here's what I did:

Clinique Bonus - A wonderful double-bubble. I got my favorite moisturizer and sunblock with a sweet bag (yes, I have like 12 other sweet bags, but I'll eventually figure out a use for most of them) full of goodies. This Bonus included a C (for Clinique or Criner!) keychain and a teeny-tiny sunblock.
Free Birthday Gifts at Sephora and The Body Shop. I got a "Happy Birthday Beautiful" Philosophy bottle of soap (aww, shucks!) and a sweet grapefruit scrub for getting all the diabetes-related stickies off my belly. Just for turning 31!
I headed a little further north to Wilmette to Bed Bath and Beyond. My MOM helped me figure out some household purchases including stools for eating at. B is still working on putting those together and they might not be The Stools of Our Dreams, but that's for another day. Sidenote: It's funny to watch B put things together.
I also got a new shower curtain and a tablecloth to use on a project with my MOM this weekend.
I also stopped in at a groc - who doesn't love visiting a foreign grocery store?!? (I love the grocery. I used to work within walking distance of two groceries and spend probably half my total breaktime from work visiting one or both of them.) I got a red pepper, some ground pork from a meat man, a bottle of Rex Goliath chardonnay for dinner.

Now I am home. And very happy. It's a pretty nice treat to get some goodies and some much-needed-house-stuff, right?

That's my Clinique favorite. I love it.

Birthday fun

2011-06-28T07:02:00.001-07:00

Today I turn 31! Yikes!

10 years ago I went to Vegas where I sat by the Paris pool, drank from an Eiffel Tower jug, won a little bit at blackjack and was serenaded by an accordion-playing fella. Excellent!

Today I'm spending time with my niece (it's our usual Tuesday arrangement) - we're going to the splash area at the park, doing some shopping at Target and possibly picnicking along the way. This evening B and I are dining al fresco (how fancy!) at a restaurant we've walked by approximately 6,341 times but never eaten at. We have a Groupon and wine is half-off so this counts as our big celebration dinner for Loyola nursing and for my 31st. Awesome.

Work and stats are keeping me very busy, but I've got some big plans for the rest of this week. Hopefully these won't be thwarted by my new ice cream & sorbet making machine...

Thursday after work I'm off to the mall. I work in Evanston, which is apparently close to a big mall where I can claim my birthday prizes from a few stores, hit a Bed Bath & Beyond for some household goods and maybe some just-for-fun shopping too.
Saturday we pick up our produce and then B heads to work. That leaves me with the apartment to organize all by myself. This is huge -- I need to carve out a space for my school stuff, clean and get a bit more unpacked. We are still couch-less but we are making progress.
My parents come to visit July 3 for Cubs-Sox for B and my dad, and fun for my mom and I. I've got to scout out what we'll do with our afternoon. Maybe some thrifting, definitely a crafty project (old headboard from garage sale + new fabric + staple gun = beautiful headboard for me!) and a stop at Amy's Candy Bar!

I'll post more - with an updated photo - later today hopefully.

A Day OFF?!?

2011-06-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

Thursday I've got an entire day off. A day without class or work or any scheduled obligations. Holy Cow! What shall I do?

Unpack more so I can pass along boxes on Friday to a family from my preschool class -- hooray for reuse and fewer boxes here.
Write a few thank you notes (very belated) to awesome folks, including the California State Park Ranger who hooked us up with a marvelous campsite on our honeymoon.
Do some Stats homework or studying.
Cook! On the agenda: granola, muffins, salad, radish top soup. We also just started a few potted plants in the backyard. I'll water 'em so our tomatoes, jalapenos, basil and petunias flourish.
Sleep a little late. Drink coffee from a mug, not a to-go cup.
Clean the fridge and bathroom. Newsflash to B & me: Even our new clean apartment needs a little love in the way of cleaning.
Pack for this weekend's camping and graduation party fun.

Sounds busy, but I promise I'll find time for a doze, a stroll to Amy's Candy Bar (a new shop in our neighborhood that sells chocolate seashells and gummy butterflies!), and maybe even a summer pedicure.

Another best Chicago day!

2011-06-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there are multiple Best Chicago Days each year?

There are. Allow me:

Sunshine, cool breeze.
Outdoor seating at bar.
Wonderful friends.

After an excellent baby brunch shower (brilliant idea!) we spent time with two Chicago-DC friends at Daily Bar & Grill. We chatted, laughed, caught up and ate guacamole. We had an awesome waitress (who brought us sunblock!) and an awesome afternoon.

Last weekend my parents came to town and we enjoyed a similar lunch-dinner then.

We've done this before -- and it's always sensational. Thank you Chicago -- these afternoons make you awesome.

Deadlines!

2011-06-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

Our first houseguest is coming this weekend -- Thursday even! This means the box room or the pilot (pile-it) room needs to transform into a sleep-able place.

Surely this can happen.

B and I discussing mattress-purchasing tonight as we walk to the Cubs game (and pick up dinner along the way to bring in -- totally allowed. Really!) and making a decision. Our houseguest might have a box headboard, boxes for a bedside table and a box-lined path to the door, but she'll have a place to sleep.

In other new, so far stats is fine. I bring a lot of busywork for myself to do during class -- four hours of sitting in a classroom after a 9 hour workday! Yikes. I've got just 12 class meetings to go now and I'm taking that number very seriously. All my online homework and quizzes for stats are due July 25, so that's another deadline. I've already aced three homework assignments. Yay!

Go Cubs!

Home: it's where we live, actually

2011-06-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

After work yesterday, B and I headed to the almighty Ikea in Schaumburg. Secret tip: Ikea is not crowded on Friday nights. We got some goodies: boxes, a replacement to a closet organizer that didn't survive the move, some kitchen stuff to make our shelves usable, a stepstool and a bathroom rug that appears to not clash with the bathroom floors. As I watch B put an Ikea shelf together (he doesn't have my Swedish know-how with furniture assembly) I actually feel like this is home. Sure, we've got no couch, several unpacked boxes, a camping chair used as indoor furniture and very little sensibly organization happening. But it's awesome here. We've had a few visitors already and tomorrow my parents come to check the place out and bring some garage sale finds to spiff this place up. I just did a little unpacking and it's possible our place will be ready for the beautiful DC duo of Cindy and Erin who are visiting next weekend. We're getting closer to making a decision regarding the couch situation, definitely have a workspace (for B and me - schoolwork, bills, blogging, B's work from home, etc...) and our kitchen already feels like the happiest place I've ever chopped an onion. Before next weekend's visitors we have a checklist though, and in usual Mandasaurus fashion, I'll share it:

Clear out the extra bedroom so a bed can fit.
Get a bed(!?!?) for our bedroom.
Switch out our old mattress into the extra room, new mattress in our room.
Or just get/borrow an air mattress.
Find a shower curtains that looks right in the bathroom. (Possibly at Target.)
Buy baby shower presents -- Cindy and Erin are visiting for a baby shower! My niece and I have a date to go to Babies R Us (the most confusing store ever) on Tuesday.
Work
School! OH! I passed the placement test so I'm now enrolled in a slightly miserable stats class. Bad news: It's stats, with an odd, chatty, joke-telling professor. Major bad news: It's stats. Good news: Jokes, oddness, online homework, classroom where eating is allowed, and only 14 total class meetings. That's 13 to go, if you're counting.
Cooking - We've realized that our summer schedule -- with me working and in school, and B working a lot with a big project -- leaves us without much cooking time in the evenings. I'm planning to fix that by using weekends to bulk up on food choices for the week. That means Sunday night will involve pizza-dough making, muffin-baking and such.
Getting excited about Loyola. This is on my to-do list for the rest of summer. Whenever I'm feeling frustrated with cooking, stats, hauling myself around far north Chicago, etc... I think about starting nursing school at Loyola. I'm so excited. It'll be 16 busy months, but completely awesome too. I've been working toward this for two years, and I haven't wanted to turn back once. I get emails from Loyola ABSN people now and it just makes my heart sing. It's not just awesome to have a plan for this whole becoming-a-nurse idea, but it's awesome to have an excellent program too. Go Ramblers!

Summeresolutions

2011-06-03T20:06:00.001-07:00

Yes, I've made that into one word: Summeresolutions.

And I've got some. This is my summer before nursing school, after all. (Getting used to the fact that I am going to nursing school in August is this amazing, beautiful addition to my life. Me - a nursing student! Yes! Talk about working toward something... two years of science classes! I'm so happy!)

Here are my resolutions for this summer:

Run. I plan to sign up for the Fleet Feet Women's 10K -- it's a great run and B always comes along to watch the start. Because I'm so athletic, and because he likes to sight-see at this very womanly run. I'm really excited to do some running at my new park - Winnemac, just a few blocks away with windy paths, a track and a prairie-type area.
Enjoy Chicago like crazy. Fests, walks, the Brandi Carlile concert at Millennium Park this week, and even a picnic at Promontory Point!
Cook! Tomorrow is our first produce pick-up and I'm excited to use our goods for good stuff.
Math. Yes, I'm taking a stats class this summer, as long as I rock out my placement exam tomorrow or manage to sweet talk someone into letting me in.
Make our new place excellent. We've got houseguests coming mid-June so that gives me a good deadline for making this place un-crazy. We're getting boxes unpacked, stuff stored in our space and do a little beautifying. It wouldn't hurt for us to pretty up our lives a little -- an Ikea run and some art-posting are on the agenda too. Yikes!
Work. I'm working this summer to save up some extra dough for when I'm in school. Additionally I'm going to sign up for the Y's 100 Days of Summer to earn a few Y-prizes and work out in the air-conditioning as needed. Hooray.

That sounds like enough... back to studying math for me!

I will keep our standards reasonable and use the Hearst Castle as inspiration for my new apartment. :)

Awesome!

2011-05-29T22:02:00.001-07:00

First, we are moved into our new place -- it's wonderful, despite all the packing, unpacking, cleaning, scrubbing, realizing that bleaching floors makes them stink if there's any dust about (there's something that makes the whole situations smell like dirty dogs).

So here we are. The kitchen, television, Internet, bed and a-little-bit-of-everything else are set up. To be exact, we're able to cook good food, put drinks together, take a shower (or a whirlpool tub! yes!!!), sleep, go online, watch television and walk about (since we put a lot of the stuff in the extra room) without too many boxes in the way.

We've got a long list of things to make this place excellent, but so far it's pretty great. When we left our old place it felt like we were ready for the new one. And even though I might get a little teary when I remember our view or how long we loved living in the old place, I'm really happy for this new, cleaner place. And that's not just my whirlpool buzz talking.

In further awesome news... I've been accepted into Loyola University of Chicago's Accelerated Bachelor's of Science in Nursing program for Fall 2011!

Loyola's nursing program is wonderful, a fast track to becoming a nurse, offers chances for advanced programs and is just what I'm looking for. I can't wait!

Things are turning up pretty great here --- hopefully on your end too.

A jolly good list

2011-05-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of some things that are bringing me great joy despite my moving anxieties:

B has new shorts - they're red athletic shorts. And he continually pairs them with green t-shirts. His Christmas style in May always give me occasion to say something silly.
Windows open! Our new place isn't so window-heavy so I'm savoring the swift winds of Montrose Avenue. Will Damen Avenue be as breezy?
Dizzy (our disabled cat) finds moving supplies to be the best thing to play with. He likes to find bubble wrap, packing paper and boxes to knock around when he wishes for us to address his needs. This is mostly annoying but also funny and cute.
I've been working in scenic Evanston since January but just recently it's become a beautiful place to hang out. I've been seriously enjoying my walks -- even the ones with a troop of 2.5-year-olds. There are big houses, interesting houses, interesting big houses, beautiful buildings, flowers galore, tree-lined streets and eventually I'll stumble upon Northwestern University. Right?
A democrat just won in New York! Whoo!

That's enough out of me! Back to packing! Or something. GO CUBS!

Who do I think I am?

2011-05-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

I'm having a moving-induced identity crisis, at least sort of. I've packed tons.

In fact, I was just admonished by B for leaving him zero rocks glasses, which are "what a man needs after he makes his wife rice pilaf." Both of us are living in the yucky mid-move land of packed stuff, boxes everywhere, piles of things to "think about" and strange things to finish up before we move (anyone interested in Julie's ramen noodles, some walnuts, or a strange variety of frozen fruit?).

Last night really did it for me. I've got some boxes, like five of them, containing important, unsorted stuff. Ticket stubs, greeting cards, maps, letters, newspaper clippings, buttons, stickers, photos, receipts, papers from school...

I'm not ever going to scrapbook this stuff. I don't think there's big money on eBay for random used tickets to college football games. Since I've worked with kids for nearly ten years without consulting my graduate school paperwork I probably won't consult it anytime soon (and isn't that stuff all online?). Beyond the obviously dated stuff in my files, containers and boxes (like all my paychecks from 2007 - what?!?), I've got to come to terms with either collecting something or not. I'm either taking the tickets and doing something with them, or not.

B's got some of the same stuff. We both have a beautiful, amazing and preposterous collection of Daily Illini paraphernalia. And all of it's pretty great. Quotes hung on the wall, old Blue Rice comics, awards, notebooks... We met at the DI, so it's not like this stuff doesn't hold something great in it, but there's got to be a way to not just toss it in a heap.

I don't want to forget any of this awesome stuff, but I don't want to lose my hope of an organized, streamlined clean present for my mess of memories.

This photo is from Moab, Utah, where I enjoyed an amazing peanut butter wrap (yes! peanut butter, granola, banana, berries wrapped up! heaven!!!). Such fuel might make this move possible.

Whoa. Where'd all this stuff come from?

2011-05-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Totally realizing that despite the large number of boxes packed, there's a ton of stuff in this apartment. It's only got to move four blocks, so even some of the maybes will be moving north just so we can figure it all out.

Seriously though, there's a ton of stuff here. There are chairs, blankets, coats, shoes, pint glasses and strange containers full of things I've sorted over the last four years. (I've got a container full of sunglasses! I love them all. There's also my pen case. And a case of non-pen office type things. And a box of paper, envelopes and cards. Lord help us.)

We've got lots packed -- for real, tons. More to do, of course. Tomorrow is judgment day for a ton of my clothes and a lot of the random crap that needs dealing with. We'll also do some serious cleaning, recycling, planning and probably some dancing to Taylor Swift music.

And we can't wait to be in our new place and unpack them. Right?

Here are the kitties. They're excited for the move - swear.

How much crap do we have?

2011-05-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

A lot.

Like so much that I tossed a 13-gallon trash bag full of clothes today. I'm feeling guilty for buying so much and much more firm in my promise to only buy good stuff (as in nothing at Old Navy). I'm also feeling super excited about moving.

We just found out today that we can move into the new place before we get kicked out of the old place -- this is fantastic as we can move without being homeless for a Tuesday night or moving at warp speeds on a Wednesday. The new place has plenty of room, mind you, but not room for our junk. Purging the crap we don't need is refreshing. B and I moved in from separate places, both with plenty of opportunity to take more than necessary and zero interest in digging through stuff once it was moved in.

So today's (or rather, this month) the day for tossing, organizing and packing. We're glad it's here.

Road trip rundown

2011-05-08T18:11:00.001-07:00

Julie and I had a fabulous roadtrip - six days of travel with my best friend through some of the country's best sights (save Nebraska)... here's the highlights, with some photos to help tell the tale. We made a few visits on our way -

DeKalb, Illinois to see my brother.
Moline, Illinois to see Julie's Grandma Jane.
Omaha, Nebraska to see Julie's uncle, cousin and her sons.
Edwards, Colorado to see my BFF Dana who lives in one of the most beautiful landlocked places to ever have delicious sushi.

After Colorado we were out of friends to see (and stay with) so we had to get thinking. We headed down Utah 128 -- one of the best drives there is, I think. We headed to Moab, Utah, a touristy hippy town situated near only beautiful places like Utah 128, Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. The next day we explored Arches:
Arches was beautiful. As we drove to our next stop: Bryce Canyon, we passed through the desolate land of Southern Utah. It's completely gorgeous: rocky rolling hills, valleys, cows on farms and huge expanses of dry land. Julie shared her impression of Utah: "This is a beautiful area but I'm also sure people are killed here and never found." Totally. The desolation of Utah is both breathtaking and scary. Next, we upped the ante and headed to Bryce Canyon National Park, also in Utah. Bryce Canyon -- unlike Arches -- is like being on the moon, or something. It's a complete trip: Not the moon, just a canyon full of hoodoos here on Earth. Amazing. To counter all the good all that nature and beauty was doing for us, we headed to Las Vegas. I prepared for my endocrine exam poolside, drank cocktails, ate French food at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris hotel, watched the fountains at Bellagio and took full advantage of Vegas' open container law (what's better than strolling past a dancing fountain? Strolling past a dancing fountain with a cocktail!). We headed to Los Angeles after two nights at Bally's Las Vegas. We didn't deal with too much of that famous LA traffic and got to move Julie into her adorable little bungalow without any trouble. We did a little shopping and then I headed to LAX for my redeye flight back to Chicago/reality. I'm proud to say I came home ready for my test and got an 'A' on my endocrine exam! Just a few more things about our trip:

Julie's new Ford Fiesta has a sweet Sync system - Julie's iPhone lead the way with its navigation system, I hooked up my iPad to play music (Taylor Swift's new album was a favorite).
We listened to a lot of music, NPR, some country radio (we were in country radio territory for quite a while), several Stuff You Should Know podcasts and a audio version of Sweet Valley Confidential (hilarious and juicy).
I did a lot of studying on the way -- it's a little tricky to get my setup of notecards, notebooks, a textbook and papers situated in moving vehicle packed full of stuff, but I definitely managed all right.
I can't wait to go back to California, by plane, to see Julie! Despite Utah's beauty I don't think we'll be making the trek there by car anytime soon.

A parting shot of BFFs on vacation. Hooray!

Road trip!

2011-04-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

I wasn't feeling totally road-trip ready until this evening. I attended a meeting -- a meeting featuring Power Point presentations. Power Point presentations read aloud to me. Garrrrrr! Power Points are not meant to be read aloud. It's an aid! Not a set of visual notecards. Honestly. I am no public speaker, but I don't read to people unless I'm, you know, reading to people. I'm awesome at reading to people. But not at meetings.

So BFF Julie is moving to California, just bought a car (today!) and is heading this way to pick me up for the ride from DC.

We'll drive there -- we've got a few routes to choose from, a new stereo to test out, cup holders to fill, BFF-fun to have and miles to go. I'll do some studying as we go, breathe some fresh non-Chicago air, see some parts of the world I've never seen and fly back home to my B after a few days. Can't wait!!!

This pic, like most of the ones I post - since 2011 Chicago isn't super photogenic just yet - is from our honeymoon. After two nights of camping at Channel Islands National Park we spent two nights at the Kon Tiki Inn in Pismo Beach. It was heavenly -- like the perfect four-day combo with delicious clam chowder as an extra-special bonus. California = awesome.

Signed a lease... what's next?

2011-04-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

We signed a lease for a new apartment. It's different than our current home in a lot of ways -- it's rehabbed, modern, spacious in sensible places (not spacious in the dining room, which becomes a haven of crap) and totally, unexpectedly exciting.

It's the top floor of a two-flat, a little north of where we are now. Still really close the the Brown Line, walk-able to the grocery, near a few bars, on a street with a noisy bus, just how we like it.

Now that we've got a lease signed I can start planning for our new space!

Ideas rumbling through my head:

Buy some Ikea storage to house our computer stuff so it's not all cord-crazy and dusty looking.
Post some art -- specifically photos. We took some great pics on our honeymoon and still need to give wall service things we've bought and never posted. We'll either take action on that stuff or pitch it, as we can't hold on to awesome posters forever. Even if they are awesome. (This means my grand plan to have Ork Poster's heart and brain framed side-by-side will probably wait... but that's a-ok.)
Keep the bedroom calm and serene. It's already a beautiful shade of blue, so we can just roll with that, keep things simple with neutrals. We might even get a headboard for our bed, which sounds pretty darn grown up, if you ask me.
Possibly get Brother-In-Law Charlie to make this for the cats! Especially since all their favorite things will be tossed when we move. I'm not moving gross cat stuff further than the alley. It's not totally offensive-looking, right?
Buy a couch. A new couch!?!? We've never owned a new couch. In fact, I've owned a used couches from my family, a red Salvation Army couch, a couch from a pre-owned furniture place (where Tony Four-Fingers worked), a friend's sectional couch passed along, a used Ikea couch carried several blocks by Julie B and I, and our current couches which were moved here from across the hall when our neighbor-friend moved. A new couch might be pretty awesome. I'm actually certain of that.
More stuff, and much more tossing of stuff. The tossing is pretty important -- especially when we realize how much passed along, used, why-do-we-have-this? type stuff we have here. I'll keep thinking! Hooray!

A Transcript Evaluation (How awesome is college?!?)

2011-04-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I loved it. I continue to love it. I have a Illinois garbage can, an Illinois welcome mat, about 20 hoodies/t-shirts and a degree from a school I truly love.

I met my best friends in the world at Illinois. One of them is a beautiful adventurer who let me visit her mud hut in Mali, lived with me in DC and is letting me help her move to Los Angeles. The other is the most humble brilliant person I know (especially at law, international studies, grammar and trivia) who always finds time between her studies, work and rocking out to send me sweet emails. I am a better person for knowing these two. I'm lucky to have many other amazing friends from Illinois to boot.

I met my husband at Illinois. It wasn't love at first sight, but I was hooked.

I met our friend who performed our wedding. He wore an Elvis-style leisure suit my first Halloween on campus. He wore a seersucker suit to a play with me and BFF Jules. He ran through The Daily Illini newsroom with blue icing smeared on his face quoting Braveheart. Today he's still one of my favorite people - he always makes me laugh and he always makes me think.

I met mayors, Pulitzer Prize winners, cartoonists, racist crazies, state reps, candidates of all sorts, police officers, scholars, bartenders, drunks, churchy folks, the president of CNN, drag queens and Illinois Gov. George Ryan (before he was a crook).

If you look at my college transcript you won't see that. How can that be?

That 'C' in Astronomy 121: The Solar System? Look at the feature stories I wrote for The Daily Illini as a freshman. I woke up at 3 a.m. to ride along in garbage trucks! I loved it.

I didn't rock out at Econ? I can tell you how Champaign-Urbana promotes the drinking culture of Illinois. I can explain the liquor licenses, enforcement patterns and bar practices that all work together to keep bars running and college students paying fines. Between the University and the two cities, it doesn't seem like many people figure this silliness out, but I can. That's better than understanding silly supply and depand charts for sure.

A 'B-' in Political Science 355: Constitution & Civil Liberties (I've got a minor in Poli Sci -- I think this is the only place where I can brag about that!) is hot shit! It's excellent. A 'B-' sounds so terrible, but seriously that wasn't easy potatoes. It was a hardcore lecture class with just two exams all about U.S. Supreme Court decisions. I can tell you at thing or two about the Supreme Court.

I can tell you that a day after 9/11 my (very conservative) Political Science Professor told us: “This is the time to stand up. Enough already. We either have the will or we have no will.” I took three Political Science courses with Ira Carmen. I still consider him a great mind and someone who speaks without candor. And I'm still proud of my non-A grades in his classes because I learned so much. Seeing that people who disagree with me might have an intelligent reason for doing so, that one side isn't right or wrong, that basic ideals dictate how we perceive situations is still important to me. But it's not on my transcript.

That 'A' in Journ 380: Reporting 2?!? That was everything to me. I worked harder than I thought possible. I made connections about housing policies and how those policies affected poor people. I called Professor Leon Dash (who is incredibly intimidating, awesome and really nice when you bother him on a Saturday) when a source for my story asked me for money. That grade looks just like the other 'A's on my transcript but it's NOT like those grades. (Certainly not like my 'A' in Kines 104: Ice Skating!) That grade was a triumph. That 'A' meant the world to me. It still does.

I'll take a little bit of pride in that 'C' in EEE 104: Environmental Biology because I don't think I went to that class more than twice. Seriously. Shameful? Nah. I'm sure I was doing important stuff instead of going to class.

Surely there were moments when I was lazy or drunk or stupid or ridiculous. I completely admit that while college was work (especially for someone who happily worked nearly-full-time outside of classes), it was also a ton of fun.

I kissed boys. I sang karaoke. I ate frozen yogurt for dinner and questionable pizza at 3 a.m. I volunteered. I took adventures. I expanded my mind. I questioned everything.

I learned to state my opinion. I learned to run a meeting. I learned to teach. I learned how to hide a fake ID and avoid police (and then proceed to almost collapse in fear of almost being caught). I learned that weather experts can't predict the weather very accurately past 3 days ahead. I learned that at a certain point a city can send your parking tickets to whoever owns your car, which might be your parents, which is decidedly uncool.

I take all those moments - stupid, smart and otherwise - and feel proud. I see orange and blue and I smile. I send my transcripts along to schools who I want to accept me into nursing programs and hope they see all that's between the lines. There's amazing stuff there.

Good grief!

2011-04-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

Lots going on... definitely some shining moments of triumph, but also some downers lately... To list it out for you all:

I didn't get into University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Nursing. This continues to be pretty awful. It was my top choice for many reasons -- but I'm on to whatever's next. Maybe UIC will be a choice for something later on (how many degrees do I want?!?). From the website, it appears I'm in at DePaul, so that's something. DePaul isn't nearly as good a program as UIC or as affordable. I'm still finishing up my Loyola application (second top choice) and have Resurrection University and Rush University to consider as well. The worst part of this: the torment of thinking that my grades from 10 years ago are affecting my life. I wouldn't take back a moment of undergrad -- those were some of the most educational, awesome years of my life -- but I hate that someone takes something serious away from those grades... for another post...
We took the cats to the vet. As much as a fan I am of doctors and medicine for humans, I'm not as into kitty-doctoring. Mr. Meowgi appears to have asthma. Dizzy hardly has any teeth. (What?!?) I don't know what to do with all this information from the vet... but I do know that Meowgi's been a little sick for the last few days - poor pal! He's moving along to feeling better, but for now I'm blaming those quacks at the vet for our sad cat.
I started riding my bike again! Hooray! On Tuesday I was reminded of the perils of biking in the city -- I almost hit a cab that cut me off (making a right turn in front of me) and then about a half mile later as I slowed down to arrive at school a guy opened a cab door on me. I tumbled very safely off my bike, swore, freaked out a bit and was completely unharmed. Phew! I truly bike carefully - I obey traffic laws and watch myself. Just the same it's rough out there. Thursday, though, my ride was perfect!
I've got a sniffly combo of a cold and allergies. I blame cabdrivers.

This upcoming week is my spring break - excited to get a ton done. Want to know what? Sure you do!

Body Worlds Exhibit at the Museum of Science & Industry - for a school project.
Clean oven, bathroom, fridge, etc... to make moving day a tiny bit easier. Also clean fans with awesome fan-cleaning device lent to me by my fam!
Run!
Buy a new helmet for biking. I hear that helmets can handle one fall so my awesome pink one is out of business.
Pack! Four boxes down...
Throw away stuff! Where did all this stuff come from?
Study.
Finish school projects.
Find a new apartment - we're on the hunt!

This is from our post-game (actually it was during the game, since it was freezing out) Cubs celebration. I'm reminded to maintain my Go-Cubs-Go-attitude. Go Cubs!

April showers... approaching

2011-04-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

It's about to storm and I'm going to bed as soon as I can, but a quick post.

Julie is visiting Chicago for her birthday - hooray! We had a fabulous weekend -- visiting the fam in Rockford (hibachi grill, birthday cake, a fire outside, lounging, shopping, delicious food, cocktails and wine!), dinner with friends and Clinique Bonus-ing.

Tomorrow I've got a crazy-good day. The schedule:

5:45 - leave to take the train to Evanston
6:10 - arrive in Evanston, dash to swimming at the Y, then to work by 7 a.m.
7-5 - work! Dash out a little before 5.
5:02 - Take the Metra back to Chicago, go home/to the car and pick up the cats from the vet.
Then finish these things as soon as possible: drop cats off, change clothes, hop on train.
Head downtown for Julie's birthday dinner! Celebrate and fine-dine with my BFF on her birthday. Wonderful!

Julie leaves Tuesday and we're going to make the most of the next few weeks - packing, organizing, purging, running and finding a new apartment. In less than a month I'll be finished with (hopefully) my final pre-nursing course! And getting ready to move to a new place! Hooray!

Here are the cats - they're hoping for a two-level home.

Whoa!

2011-04-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

There are windows open in our house! Open windows!

It's almost certainly momentary -- but it's something.

Today we spent a lot of time strolling and running in our neighborhood - leaving us feeling all the more like staying here forever, but not sure about affording/wanting the place we want around here... Oh! Apartment hunting...

We also cleaned out a pit of a hall closet - leading us to toss several pairs of crappy shoes, some never-used reusable grocery bags and other crap. Moving will go smoothly if we keep up with this tossing behavior.

Anyway, best friend Julie is coming to Chicago tomorrow. I'm meeting her downtown and staying at her Hard Rock Hotel room Monday night. Then B and some friends and I will go to the Cubs game while Julie is at her interview. Busy indeed!

Things I see while running

2011-04-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot that running is like taking a little adventure. Like urban hiking. I usually just weave along side streets in my neighborhood, listening to my iShuffle and checking out everything I pass.

Today on my run I saw:

That B's car has four flat tires. He's left it parked on a certain side street since September. Seriously. I'm completely uninvolved in this and think it's ridiculous, but 4 for 4 flat tires is pretty outstanding, right?
A few apartment buildings to check out.
Ravenswood Billboard Factory - from a distance. It's really hard to find the actual building though. I'm looking this one up. I saw the upper part with all the windows, but not the base of the building. Where the hell is it? (Note: Ravenswood Avenue is on both sides of the Metra tracks, near the El and little tricky. I will find it.)
Some hints of spring like flowers starting to pop up.
A nice big dog whose owner kept it from getting close to me. Thanks!
Swings tied to tree branches - fun!
Too many Chicagoans wearing winter coats. It's warm out! I wore shorts! It's April. C'mon.

Another run tomorrow... Yay spring!

This photo is from our honeymoon when we visited Ravenswood Winery in Sonoma. We love their wine and I usually wear my Ravenswood Winery hat (from my parents) when I run in my neighborhood, Ravenswood!

Waiting to hear!

2011-04-02T09:18:00.001-07:00

I applied to the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing in January. This month - "the end of April" - I'll hear whether my essays, transcripts, recommendations, resume, writing and potential for leadership make me a good fit for their small, well-regarded program. I'm very nervous.

I feel like I'm a good fit for UIC, but I'm aware that many others might be good fits too. So the wait is on...

Today I'm taking a run in the warm weather, meeting a former work collegue for dinner and using a Groupon I bought this week. BFF Julie comes to Chicago Monday for a week, then B and I plan to head to DC for a weekend.

All this should make the waiting easier, right?

Photo above is from my trip to DC last fall. We were at a bar, not "back in Panama" as Cindy said at the time. I guess the scuffed up wall is decor.

Thanks silly rabbit!

2011-03-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today was a day that seventh grade me would have hated. But 30-year-old science maniac me woke up excited.

Today we dissected rabbits in my Anatomy & Physiology class.

It was smelly, weird, intriguing, surprising (livers are enormous and glandular tissue is pebbly), and wonderful.

My lab partner and I had a good rabbit -- it took the dye well so most of its anatomy was pretty clear. With my diminutive sense of smell and obsessive interest in medicine I was keen to check everything out. We identified all the elements of the cardiovascular, digestive, urinary and respiratory systems. We saw how everything fit together, how the large and small parts are, and how interconnected all the pieces are.

When people in my class were grossed out or being too gentle with the rabbits, I stepped in. "Find the spleen!" I encouraged. "Go ahead, check out the nervous system." The rabbits weren't there to be coddled - we were learning.

If I could, I'd tell my seventh grade self how much I learned today. And how words, diagrams and charts can't tell the story that this rabbit told me today.

I'm proud to say that my grandparents gave their bodies to science. This excellent article that my dad sent me chronicles how important and respected these donations are for medical students.

Thanks rabbit.

Ready

2011-03-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling ready.

I'm ready for spring.

I'm ready to hear from nursing schools (though I actually still have time to apply to Resurrection University, Loyola University and Rush University). I'm ready to find out what the hell is going to happen with my/our life(lives) and what's next. No matter how qualified I am, how much I think I've got to offer nursing schools, I'm still freaked-the-hell-out about what's going to happen.

I'm ready for moving! Moving! Yes. We are moving from our view-of-the-skyline apartment (with its craptastic kitchen, creaky floors, lack of heat and horrifyingly fungal bathroom) to someplace new. We're continuing the rental ride so we aren't looking for The One, but we are looking for a place that will work for the next several years. We're hoping for a 2-bedroom place, with a nice kitchen, modern amenities (especially a dishwasher and a clothes washer/dryer) and a location near the train. We saw a place last weekend and another today -- both duds, probably. But it's fun to look, consider the options and find what's next. Exciting!

I'm ready to run. It's just wonderful to run. We're experience our last cold spell and I'm going to the gym as much as possible, swimming every Monday and preparing to run something interesting. (Women's 10K in July or Soldier Field 10-Mile in May? We'll see.) Swimming - each Monday after work - is heavenly. I do about a half-mile swim which takes me about 25 minutes. Though I assure you I can pull a full-size person off the bottom of a pool (as a lifeguard), I prefer to swim a reasonable breaststroke, between laps of intense freestyle, my sad attempts at butterfly and a few random swimming moves. Anyway, swimming makes me feel like $1 million bucks. It's wonderful!

I'm ready for our Community Supported Agriculture share to start! We love supporting community agriculture, Big Head Farms and farmers farming good food. I'm excited for new food to try, the delicious bounty of summer and our continuing evolution into better cooks/healthier people.

I'm ready for what's next. For real! :)

Whew!

2011-03-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

Life is excellent! Can I tell you why? I shall!

My best friend Julie is in town! Her workplace recently imploded so she's enjoying life as a hot journalism commodity. More specifically, she's enjoying being a hot commodity from Chicago -- we've shopped, ate good food and worked out so far. Up ahead - pie-making, game night, movies, shopping more, niece time tomorrow, and some serious cocktails.
My job is awesome -- it's strange to have a job that I'm both good at and completely unconcerned about. Don't get me wrong, I am focused on the kids while I'm there -- we paint, play, use our words, have a great time -- but I don't take work home. I don't worry about that place besides when I'm there. Heavenly!
School is super. We just finished the digestive system (and the corresponding trickiness of nutrition). Though the urinary system is decidedly less delicious I'm enjoying all of this. Physiology is awesome.
Spring is near!
Debt is gone! B and I ran into a little debt and just knocked it down! POW! It's a wonderful feeling. I can't recommend Mint.com enough -- it's an excellent way to see where the hell all your money goes and make smart decisions with the facts in front of you.
Two of my favorite people are celebrating awesome birthdays next weekend -- my MOM and one of my delightful nieces. I love parties and I'm helping to plan both!

A wonderful, busy life

2011-02-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

We've been very busy lately -- with work, school, applications to school and other such busy-activities -- but life has maintained its wonderful-ness nonetheless.

How? You ask and I'll tell. No matter how busy we get, we eat together. Just to give a rundown of the last week:

Monday -- B put together some seriously simple, but scrumptious pasta. We had leftovers for his lunch the next day, too.
Tuesday -- I worked late as an Election Judge and felt completely wiped out. B used some pizza dough that we made a while back, tossed in the freezer and defrosted. His pizza is a favorite of ours -- prosciutto, sausage, cheese and topped with arugula (a delicious, spinach-type green that goes with pizza like a dream) -- it's just amazing.
Wednesday -- We made stir-fry after long days at work for both of us. We tossed carrot, garlic, ginger, snow pea pods, peas and some Trader Joe's wontons with sesame oil, soy sauce and spices.
Thursday -- I went to class in the morning and spent the afternoon relaxing, studying and finishing up my application to DePaul. For dinner though, I put together Shepard's pie (for my Irish husband, you know) -- it turned out a little soupy, but delicious. A wonderful meat-veggie stew with a creamy layer of mashed potato goodness baked on top. And really good the next day as leftovers, too.
Friday -- We put together a spicy mac-n-cheese from scratch while sipping cocktails and catching up on our financial life. It was easy, but not uncomplicated.

The food is really besides the point (I might just enjoy bragging about our week of successful eating) -- the point is that we build-in this together time. Sometimes it's just the time it takes to eat, sometimes it's all the prep-time too. We talk about what's happening, our plans, work, life, politics, science, silly stuff and food (of course). Tonight (Saturday) we ate salad with some crusty bread and Dominick's chili-lime crusted tilapia. It's one of the few prepped foods we adore - but we figure the fact that we're eating fish makes up for the processed bit (and it's not too processed). Tomorrow I'm making pear granola breakfast crisp which is mostly an outstanding excuse to use pears. Pears are so yummy, but not so pretty so I'm hopeful that this will make me a better pear-friend. There's a magic in putting together a meal at the end of the day -- it's an accomplishment. And eating together means we're talking, smiling, listening and stopping whatever other crap that's going on. And that's pretty nice.

Pictured is a rainbow of beautiful Fiestaware -- we love our peacock, shamrock and colbalt pieces. I hear white place-settings are most flattering for food, but I'm certain our food prefers these gorgeous shades.

If we don't stick together we're nothin' (Newsies quote!)

2011-02-21T19:15:00.001-08:00

I'm a union gal. OK, so I'm not in a union, but I'm the sort who supports unions, including teacher's unions and unions like AFSCME which support civil servants.

As a little girl I had union stickers on my Little People Schoolhouse. My dad struck (striked?) as part of a teacher union. I worked at the Dept. of Labor preschool and union friends helped all us teachers through a crazy transition between companies, making sure we had exceptional benefits and generous pay increases.

These life experiences cement my view as the type who supports workers, and not everyone agrees with me. I'm rather opinionated about the union issues happening in Wisconsin of late, and in the U.S. in general. And, because I spent more than 9 hours today with 2-year-olds I hope you'll forgive me for listing my points:

If you don't want teachers to be treated well I suggest teaching for a day or two. I'm a part-time teacher, but in my 9.5 hours of work today I changed about 12 diapers, cleaned one bloody nose, sang five songs, switched shoes to the correct feet on three kids, rubbed one child's back to help him fall asleep, asked 18 questions about the weather, filled out 10 daily forms explaining everything that happened to each child I was with for their parents, and cleaned up 7 milk spills. I love my job and I'm glad I have it. But I deserve to be treated well.
Balance is everything. My job comes with all the silliness listed above, but it also comes with a lot of fun, a free membership to the Y and a schedule that works impeccably with my school-life. People who chose to teach (or plow snow, patrol streets as cops, etc...) do so understanding the balance between their interest in teacher/public works/safety, the downsides and upsides. Everyone does this -- the argument for public employee's benefits and wages is a public one.
Is it extreme for teachers to demonstrate their power with sick-in protests? Yes, it is. But it's a mighty powerful way to make a point. And to quote B: As for the teachers, I can’t think of a better lesson to teach our children than to exercise your constitutional rights stand up for what you believe, especially since we don’t have civics classes anymore. While you may view this as teachers simply wanting to preserve their “cushy” benefits, as I said before many union members believe their right to organize is a fundamental one, and a sick-out is a very small sin in the larger scheme of things. Certainly the labor leaders of generations ago, who were beaten, intimidated and killed, would have found it relatively minor.
Give a little, take a little, right? That's what negotiating is. If a union (or an individual for that matter, private sector employees) can't come to the table and discuss giving and taking -- there's a problem. I believe in compromise and I believe in giving with you take, or taking while you give.
If we want to spend money on anything - anything at all - please let's agree it's on children and learning. Consider the remarkable teachers you've had (Mrs. Sker!) and the moments of your childhood that made you who you are. If anything is worth every penny it's education. I believe that. I don't think I'm alone. Education and other public services are being (and have been, for years) shorted in favor of less-worthy things. Let's put our money where our mouths are, or where our kids our, or where we were as kids - whatever. It's worth it.

I'm certainly rambling here. I'm a little stir-crazy from a day inside with 2 year olds, a nursing school info session this evening and preparing for Election Judging tomorrow. But I'm a proud friend of unions and children. I hope you are too.

Giant Raccoon!

2011-02-20T09:14:00.001-08:00

Last night I dashed out for some beer while we watched The Social Network.

I jogged over to our bodega - a lovely convenience store that has almost everything you'd ever need in a pinch (pudding? yes! chips? yes! Middle Eastern rice-a-roni? yes!) at a reasonable markup.

As I passed the Senior Center a few doors down Montrose I saw an animal barreling about. The Giant Raccoon - with it's striped tail and enormous middle - limbered across Montrose Avenue behind a car!

We've seen Giant Raccoon before - when I accidentally left some aromatic garbage outside our backdoor. We also saw Giant Raccoon (or one of its relations) in a tree walking home from Truman College one night.

Giant Raccoon - and the hilarious troupe of men who work at the bodega - are things I love about my neighborhood. Giant raccoon, the bakery, the nice man who works at the El station, the new bar and the funny kids who we can watch from our window chasing each other with shovels in the snow. All those things make up for driving around for a parking space, the gastropub we can't stand and the silly vegan restaurant.

We are the champions

2011-02-12T17:22:00.001-08:00

My friends, parents and I won first prize at the city-wide trivia tournament today! To be fair, we won first prize at one of two trivia tournaments today, but first prize is a championship - no two ways about it. Our victory was a perfect example of team work, proper communication and good juju (special thanks to the Lou Gehrig sign on the wall next to our table, which sealed the deal for the MLB record-holder for most career grand slams). Here I'll share a few questions and how our fabulous team answered them. To allow you to play trivia yourself the answers are posted at the bottom of this post.

What two actors won best actor and actress at both the 2010 Golden Globes and Oscars?
What is currently the top-visited airline website?
Are the main islands of Hawaii north or south of the Tropic of Cancer?
Who married Marc Mezvinsky on July 31, 2010?
What temperature is the same in Celsius and Fahrenheit?
How many original articles are contained in the US Constitution?
St. Apollonia is the patron saint of what medical profession?
What Texas Instruments product does E.T. use to phone home?

Final question: Place these cities in order by distance in air miles from Chicago:

Charlotte, North Carolina
Kansas City, Missouri
Buffalo, New York
Birmingham, Alabama

There were plenty more question, too, including a far-too easy To Kill a Mockingbird question (who the hell doesn't' know Atticus Finch's profession?!? C'mon!). The answers are listed below, along with a little play-by-play about how we came to them.

Sandra Bullock & Jeff Bridges. We'd not have come up with Jeff Bridges if B didn't say "Oh, it's that dude," which prompted my dad to think of The Dude, played by Jeff Bridges. We remembered Sandra Bullock from a previous trivia question about which women in Hollywood made the most money in 2010.
Southwest. After much debate we decided it was either Delta or Southwest. As I dashed the answer to the front I erased Delta in favor of Southwest for reasons I cannot explain.
South. We drew a picture of the globe, included the equator and tropics, then started talking about Hawaii's distance, sunshine and what sort of things the pilot points out as you fly there.
Chelsea Clinton! We all shrugged our shoulders for a few minutes. Despite my getting married one week ahead of Chelsea I was drawing a blank. My mom jumped in with the answer. Of course!
-40. My dad knew this one right away. J did the math and confirmed. As we discussed the differences between the two measurements of temp we were careful not to give away our answer.
Seven. B thought and thought - he carries a constitution around with him, but gave an unsure five for his answer. Both J and E came up with seven -- it's almost always a sign to listen to if two players just "know" something like this.
Dentistry. We totally bombed this question -- one of the two non-bonus questions we missed. Who knew?
Speak-n-Spell. Weird!

There were two bonus rounds - one where we chose which of two brands (Oreos or Chips Ahoy, for example) made the most money in 2009. We correctly guessed - seriously guessing is all we could do - seven of twelve. (Seriously, who eats Chips Ahoy? How can they sell more than Oreo? This is unreasonable!)

The second bonus round involved airport codes. We correctly guessed all but one airport. Here are some of the codes - guess the city they belong to:

Airport answers:

Frankfort
Paris
London
Amsterdam
Madrid
Beijing
Hong Kong
Tokyo

Final question - a complete clusterfuck of ideas, opinions and dissent. These cities are REALLY close together. We guessed and held our collective breath. We got the final answer right and held on to our first place position. Amazing! The answer - which isn't something any non-cartographer should know - is:

Kansas City (closest)
Buffalo
Birmingham
Charlotte (farthest)

Our team was pretty phenomenal. I don't think I've ever seen my dad as excited as he was when we won. It was a wonderful afternoon of us all putting our knowledge, experiences and ideas together. Even though trivia is pretty ridiculous and random, our team left feeling like champions. And that's pretty nice.

Winter roundup

2011-02-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

B and I have lived together for almost four years now -- and like any roommate situation one between people (even married types) can be sticky.

We've learned to give each other space, appreciation and our own moments to shine. This is more important than it sounds in a house with two competitive people who both enjoy cooking during a blizzard.

You see, I've been the cook around here lately and B's been without the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with cooking.

As delicious as my meals are (and they're delicious!) we don't agree on the details of everything: My pizzas are funny-shaped, B's are round.

So, during the blizzard it was settled: B makes his round pies as our head pizza chef.

I, on the other hand, bake the muffins (blueberry, lemon poppyseed or pumpkin spice) even though baking is more B's forte. He just finished a heavenly batch of peanut butter cookies, in fact.

Exciting news in our neck of the woods...

Our car is officially buried - we'll hope for some warm days in the weeks ahead, but hop the bus/train until then. We drive probably once a week anyway, so it's not debilitating to be car-less, but it's annoying.
My new job at the Y is really fun. I work Mondays and Wednesdays. I've signed up for the Y's Lazyman Triathlon so I'll be doing a lot of swimming, running and biking (much of it indoors) between now and March 27. Yay!
Trivia championships are coming up next weekend -- we'd better get studying Canadian geography.
I'm participating in another medical research study -- this one involves riding an exercise bike for 16 minutes. Wacky science!
We're watching Ken Burn's Baseball documentary - it's rather amazing. While I can't always concentrate 100 percent on it, I've definitely learned a lot.
Our mayoral (and aldermen) election is coming right up - February 22. I'm a pretty solid fan of Rahm and I'm working as an election judge again. Hooray for voting!

Let it snow

2011-02-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

Chicago is rarely knocked over by weather.

In my 3.5 years in this darling city I've seen Chicago handle rain, wind, cold, heat, snow and storms gracefully. Even a sinkhole a block from our place wasn't anything to hoot about.

But this storm - Snowtorious BIG, as some are calling it - is occasion to pause. I mean it - pause! Stay home, don't go to work, don't even consider driving (why would you even consider that?!?), drink hot chocolate, watch movies, and relax.

The city is handling this quite admirably so far as I can see from my fourth floor view. We've seen plows chug by, watched plenty of buses cautiously run their routes and heard sirens too.

Last night we took a walk to pick up a prescription and some groceries. It was delightful and treacherous. A bar we passed offered us a free second drink if we came in - we declined. Along Lincoln Avenue we ran into a woman who works at our grocery store and helped her walk the few blocks she couldn't handle in the wind.

We got home safely (and with ingredients to make stew today) and we're planning another walk for today once it calms down a little bit. (Is this Lake Effect? Who knows.)

Happy Snow Day!

For serious!

2011-01-22T19:17:00.000-08:00

Recently the temps warmed up, melting snow and allowing rain to fall on Chicago's fair streets. Shortly thereafter the weather returned to wintery normal: very cold.

This phenomenon known as winter weather (which occurs annually!) causes all sorts of havoc, such as ice, snow, slippery conditions, cold and even shivers! Anyway, the rain, followed by the cold formed many patches of treacherous ice on sidewalks. (Not streets so much, as they are well-salted.) Furthermore, snow that fell yesterday has now covered the ice, causing hidden ice! Yikes!

All my civilized readers are probably saying, Hey, shouldn't someone take care of these sidewalks? Like, maybe the people who live in the homes adjacent to them?

Yes!

Dear property owners, inhabitants and likewise, it is your responsibility to keep your sidewalk clear. And, if you at least try to, I can't even sue you when I fall on my face/knee/rear.

This brilliant Chicagoist post sums it all up, law-wise. Seriously: you are obligated to shovel and clear your sidewalk. Legally obligated.

And you should also shovel because falling isn't fun. Even if you drive everyplace you go, it's good for you that everyone doesn't. I completely realize that shoveling and clearing ice is a bother. But it's good for the rest of us. It's good for our community -- I'd love to think my neighbors love our neighborhood and Chicago enough to clear their walks and keep passersby safe and happy. That's a pretty nice notion, isn't it?

I've found awesome Thank You For Shoveling sign from the city! I'm going to try to print some and pass them around my street to my good neighbors!

(Granted, I live in an apartment building that does the clearing for me. They also do beautiful gardening for me in the summer! Renting isn't so bad, sometimes.)

I'm hoping to get deputized by Chicago's next mayor so I can issue citations for not shoveling, parking like a jerk, blatantly using your cell phone while driving, leaving sprinklers so they spray water on sidewalks and such offenses. Watch out!

Taking it easy

2011-01-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

B and I are on a serious 2011 calm-down streak. After the mayhem of the holidays, we're thrilled to spend time at home taking it very easy. This weekend we had friends over for wine-drinking on Friday, did very little on Saturday and watched the Bears game with family-friend-types on Sunday. Perfectly relaxing.

I'm starting both school (my LAST class before nursing school!) and a new job(!!!) this week. This means I'll be a lot busier than I've been. I've been, a welcome change of pace. We've been doing a lot of cooking, movie-watching and book-reading. Here's a run down of the highlights:

Presently I am watching the amazing movie Clue.
I'm also enjoying re-watching 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother, at least the episodes we have on DVD.
I've got a queue of books headed my way through the library. I just finished Atul Gawande's Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science - it's a great account of the way surgery works and the difficult questions in medicine.
Now I'm reading Gimme Shelter by Mary Elizabeth Williams -- an interest story about buying homes. It takes place in NYC, which I think is a whole 'nother ballgame compared to any other market, but it's still a good read.
We've cooked our share of soups - yum!

Lots ahead -- but I think our restful ways are preparing us perfectly.

Leftovers

2011-01-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

Our New Year's Eve party was a perfect event - lots of guests, lots of drinks, lots of fun. Sadly the lots of food we prepared was not required - our guests showed up fed and late (but we are still happy that they showed up).

This means that dinner all week is delicious stuff like bacon-wrapped dates and mini-pizzas made from pitas. Delicious! Not totally nutritious, but we bought a bag of spinach for salads, so that counts for something.

I've got a job interview(!!!) tomorrow for a part-time position at a Y nearby working in their preschool program. Hopefully this is a good balance of work, but not too much - allowing me to continue to watch my niece, study, work on nursing school applications and be just a little lazy sometimes. I'm really excited about the interview - a reason to dig out my dress clothes! Seriously, I literally haven't worn dress pants since May.

It's still cold out - the radiator is hissing away right now, but the snow melted during the tropical heat wave of New Year's Eve. Chicago is ready for a new blanket of pretty snow - no crunchy gray stuff for our streets!

This post isn't focused whatsoever - my apologies. I've got school applications to do, a dear friend in town on break, jobs to interview for, bad television shows to put on at the gym while I work out, wine to drink, books to read and all that. There's a lot ahead for this 2011 business - and I like it.

The photo here was taken on our honeymoon at Channel Islands National Park in California. It's got nothing to do with 2011 except that I think it's a cool photo and it's my blog, so I do what I want. Might as well share good photos, right?

Why I want to be a nurse

2010-12-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

I'm working on my nursing school applications -- odd things, these applications.

UIC (my top choice) decides almost completely on essays - your writing skills and leadership potential count for 2/3 of their decision. Truman College (a good choice, despite this chilling fact) only determines admission based on grades, coursework and an odd calculation of life experience. The other contenders want a mix of an application - essays, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and all that.

I'm writing essays, re-reading what I've written, editing and thinking about all these questions. I think about reasons I want to be a nurse -- helping people, working hands-on, utilizing my toughness regarding/interest in all things gross and all that. I'm not a nurse and I can't be a nurse until I'm a nurse. Before I was a teacher I taught. Before I took a single journalism course I wrote. But I won't know what it means to be a nurse until I'm a nurse or at least a nursing student.

I read this column in The New York Times and it's a nice picture of what it means to be a nurse. I want to be that person who helps when you're sick.

I want to be the nurse who explains what all the beeping is when your dad is hooked up to six machines. I want to be the nurse who laughs along with you as you and your husband talk about getting married even if his face isn't moving as long as he can shower and drink at the wedding. I want to be that nurse who calms down people without discounting them. I want to be a nurse who helps and comforts. I want to be the nurse who answers questions even if they've been asked a hundred times. I want to be a nurse who is tough, kind, brave, competent, learning and unafraid. I've seen nurses like these - and so have most people who spent time in a hospital.

I want to be a nurse.

I hope I can put those things into words. And for places that don't care about those things - places where grades are worth more than caring or tenacity - I'll apply and see how it goes. But I'm watching my words and hoping that I can paint myself as someone who will be a great nurse because of my experiences and because of who I am.

New Year's Party - le menu

2010-12-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

We are excited to host New Year's Eve again this year. We're trying to keep things under control, but also festive and merry. Right now, our menu:

Crackers with cheese
Crackers with onion dip
Crackers with more dips (dips, dips, dips!)
Bacon-wrapped dates
Mac-n-cheese bites - made by dear friend Karin who is a cheese expert
Roasted nuts
Frosted sugar cookies by Brian

We might need more food... but I think we're OK.... Still figuring this all out.

These are a few of my favorite things

2010-12-28T22:14:00.001-08:00

Feeling superbly recovered from the whole sick thing of recent days. Feeling so good, in fact, that I'm writing a list of things that bring me cheer.

Diet Ginger Ale
Diet Squirt or Fresca (refreshing diet grapefruit pop!)
The Bears
The new boots which I will pick out and buy tomorrow, perhaps
Hosting a New Year's Eve party
Deciding a menu (which will surely include crackers and dips and wondrous treats) for a party
Coffee - We use our Mr. Coffee Thermal - the java stays warm from B's early rising to my less-early-rising and into the morning.
Moleskine books - my planner, my new address book, my new notebook. I don't have a smartphone so I actually use these devices to keep track of my life. It's actually quite wonderful.
Mail - I've been to the post office several times these last few weeks and I declare that I am the most postal-competent person my age. No one seems to know how to handle mailing anything at my post office.
Working on my nursing school applications - complicated and scary, but exciting.

Recovery

2010-12-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

After feeling sick for a few days - just an upset stomach and some aches - I'm on the lovely, speedy road to recovery. Thankfully my mild illness didn't keep us from an incredibly fun whirlwind of Christmas. According to the song there are 12 Days of Christmas. According to our lineup, we had just 5 days of Christmas, followed by 1 Day of Bears. Here's the rundown:

B's Dad's Family Christmas Saturday - The furthest from our home, this celebration was a fun time with our nieces hopping around, dogs running around and a good time for all. After lots of food, lots of puppy/baby time and a long drive we rushed home, hopped into bed and rested up for...
Cousin's Party Sunday - This is a huge tradition in B's family. It's planning has been - somehow, sneakily - passed down to B's generation. As a planning type I took command of the food and Cousin's Party was a little work. We set up tables of food, a lineup of crockpots, dishes, napkins, etc... This year's fare was summertime eats so we at Vienna Beef hot dogs with fixings, pasta salads, fruit, sandwiches and more. It was terrific! We also had a crazy Junk Auction. This celebration is an event - and it's always fun. We had a few day's respite until the long and treacherous...
Princeton Trip - B and I drove out of the sunshine of Chicago into the rain-then-snow of Rockford. Then the whole family piled into the car to drive through the snow to Princeton to see my extended family in all their glory. The trip was snowy and slow, but we had a wonderful time seeing everyone, drinking a few beers at the Princeton Inn, singing carols with family, and all that fun stuff. We snuck away a little early to get back on the road. We made it home in good time and dozed off as Santa stopped by for...
Criner Christmas Morning was quite laid back. Fancy breakfast casserole, orange rolls, toast with jams, bacon, juice, coffee - fantastic! Everything my mom cooks is amazing to me, even with a stomach bug. We opened presents in traditional Criner fashion and a good time was had by all. Then we were on the (well-cleared) road again. To...
B's Mom's House for turkey dinner and family congregation. Turkey dinner was super laid-back, delicious and calm. We sipped a little wine, relaxed by the tree and chatted with family. Before too long we rushed out the door to meet my brother at our house for Bear's Game Eve.

The Bears Game isn't a Christmas Event, but it was the day after Christmas. We got ourselves bundled up and stomped through the snow to O'Donovan's - a bar we love that has a brunch special and a shuttle bus to Soldier Field. We hopped the shuttle (Eric manned the keg on the ride there - a school bus with a keg!) and cheered ourselves silly at the best Bears game of the season. Bear Down! Now we are truly relaxing - an easy pasta dinner, a bottle of wine, a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, lots of lounging... Christmas can wipe you out.

Pedestrian outrage: Shovel your f-ing sidewalk!

2010-12-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

Several factors contributed to my fall last night.

I was dizzy and feeling sick. I've since spent more than my fair share of time in the bathroom and realize it's some stomach bugginess.

I was wearing sneakers, which may not have been entirely well-advised given the snow of recent days. And the important fact that several assholes in my neighborhood do not shovel their walks.

This is a big deal to me. I'm not an invalid. I run (I actually ran 1.5 miles just hours before I fell). I traverse sidewalks, paths, stairways, and anything Chicago can throw at me - without incident.

Last night was different. I felt dizzy and weak. I slipped on some icy-snowy-crap and fell on my face, scraping my forehead and cutting my nose. Grrrrrrrrrr!

People don't usually fall on their faces - because it makes far more physiological sense to fall on your butt or your torso, bracing yourself with your arms and legs. Naturally it's hard to go from an upright position to almost the complete opposite - face on the floor.

I fell because of negligence! I am not calling for a lawsuit. No, no!

The City of Chicago should ticket and fine people who do not tend to their walks. These asshounds choose to own property. I do not own property, so when it's snowing I do not give the idea of shoveling a second though. I clean my car windshield with a flip-flop. (Yes, I keep flip-flops in the car.)

From my frequent winter walks (bike rides and runs) I can assure you that the City would make a pretty penny indeed.

I'm sure that some property-owners ticketed under my new law will protest. "Wah, wah, I don't like to shovel," or "Boo-hoo, shoveling sucks," or "I am 100 years old - I do not wish to shovel my days away!" To them, and to the city - for their phamphlet about this new legislation - I offer a list of people who could shovel for these lazy, careless folks:

Children/teenagers
Unemployed people - put an ad on craigslist!
Volunteers - don't teenagers have to volunteer?
Shoveling companies (for real! Like Mr. Plow!)
Mayoral candidates
Kind neighbors
Small-time criminals who need community service credit
Your own child or pet, with training

I hope that Chicago's mayoral candidates are interested in this topic. I hope that you are too - whether you walk a little or a lot, or whether you like shoveling or not - it's important that we keep whatever bits of our neighborhoods safe.

By the way, B met me, cleaned up my wounds and helped me to bed. I spent today resting and I'm feeling much better.

Lucky ducky!

2010-12-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

This can only be a sign of good things to come...

Today I dashed home from watching my niece to change clothes, put away clean laundry and rush to meet some friends from my old job for dinner. I dawdled a bit - put on makeup, received a shipment of wine from our wine club and left thinking I'd be a dab tardy.

I hustled to the train, right behind a fancy-booted woman. I heard the train approaching. Fancy boots gave up her chase, I ran! Fast! As I saw the train pull in I feared the worst - could I make it?!? I zoomed up the stairs and hopped on the train - magical.

Seriously, I hopped on the magical CTA Holiday Train - the best train ever. The holiday train spends a few days of the holiday season on each train line, only makes a few runs and is a truly magical sight. It makes the most serious train-riders smile. It's got a beautiful holiday glow and chugs along, with Santa sitting atop one car (flanked by a couple union-type fellas) waving to all.

My dinner was wonderful too, and I'm not playing the lottery. I'll let my holiday train luck ride.

Suddenly December

2010-12-07T18:52:00.001-08:00

I don't want to alarm you, but it's actually December.

Yes, friends. It's December. Chicago is newly covered in crunchy snow and patches of un-shoveled-snow-turned-to-ice. Christmas is rapidly approaching, it starts getting dark at 4 p.m. and I start trying to figure out how the hell I kept warm last year.

Aside: Chicago Mayoral candidates, I will vote for whoever of you promises to fine these idiots who do not shovel properly - leaving a path of danger for walkers and joggers. Also, they are the same jerk homeowners who run their sprinklers over the sidewalk all spring, summer and fall.

School is nearly done - just one more test! Next semester I'll dive into the juicy material of Anatomy & Physiology II! We finished A&P I with the nervous system -- whoa! I'm a terrible student of muscles and I cannot understand how all these bones have all these parts -- but the nervous system? It's true love!

I'll get a pretty lovely break for the holidays. My plan is to hunker down to an extent -- I'm going to clean, toss junk, plan a kicking New Year's Eve party, apply to jobs and such things. B and I are enjoying the winter lifestyle dictated by our drafty apartment - lots of blankets, soup and hoodies.

Along with recalling the basics of winter (where are my gloves? do I have gloves?) from 9 months ago, I'm also trying to figure out how to keep up my bicycling to class without freezing myself silly. This is a work in progress.

I plan to blog a lot whilst on break. I gotta keep my amazing brain working, right?

Catch up!

2010-11-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

I've been enjoying fall, school and free time something fierce.

B and I had a terrific Thanksgiving - a little extra driving meant I helped my mom cook, practiced pie-crust-making, participated in the annual Criner Night Before Thanksgiving Dinner Out, met B at his family's annual Turkey Bowl, showed off my game by catching a pass for a first down, ate turkey dinner with my family and enjoyed a few days of relaxation with my parents. Compromise might actually not be so bad.

I've got finals fast approaching along with B's work Christmas party - a much anticipated occasion to wear my pre-wedding dress - which only got about an hour's worth of wear in July and desperately wants out of the closet.

I'm going to be a blogging machine starting next week when my classes are over. Now I'm off to dedicate some time to flashcards, nerves (that's what I'm studying in anatomy) and figuring out what my unknown bacteria might be in microbiology. (Science is secretly exciting, no?)

Impressions of Election Judging

2010-11-03T17:46:00.001-07:00

I started to put these on my last post, but I think they deserve their own.

Voting makes people feel good. People felt proud to vote. That makes me feel good too.
Illinois voters had two ballots this year. That's annoying, but people did pretty well with them. I still maintain that the amendment is stupid.
The Chicago Board of Elections is really organized. I'm sorry, Chicago Board of Elections/Cook County Board of Elections. We didn't do the best job on our paperwork. Too many cooks spoil the paperwork. Next time, I'm taking charge. And maybe yelling.
Our precinct had about 50 percent turnout. At 5:30 p.m. we had 164 voters - I hollered at everyone that we'd get to 200 and we did! 204 voters, plus 51 early voters. In a precinct of about 430 voters on a mid-term election that's excellent.
People are pretty patient. We had lines and some people had to wait a while for us to figure out exactly what they should do (especially when people recently moved). But no one was angry or upset. Hooray for that.
People are very punch-ballot focused. At least five people told me they knew how to punch the ballot, which is not how we vote here anymore. Thankfully we just connect two lines with a "special voting pen," as I call it, and it's not too tricky.
I thought all the election judges would be old, but they were not. They were all pretty weird though. And all were either easily confused or surly about confusion. I was - without a doubt - the friendliest election judge. But the judge in charge of my precinct was very friendly to all female voters, which counts for something, I guess.
Voting is awesome.

Life as an Election Judge

2010-11-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

The biggest deal about being an Election Judge is that you work all day. That's the worst of it. I was happily able to spend the day after Election Day sleeping late, but I could have managed a real workday if I needed to. Here are the highlights of my big day:

4:40 a.m. - I'm the first person in my precinct to arrive! Everyone is already at the other precinct and they're completely set up. They do not seem to care that I'm wandering around unable to do anything. Everything is locked up.
5:15 a.m. - We start setting up, which isn't too hard. The biggest challenges come from people being sleepy.
6 a.m. - The polls are open! Our first voter used the touchscreen - she was the only one to do so all day! (Touchscreen voting isn't any better than traditional ballot voting, plus it takes forever. We are told to "discourage" it, but if someone wants to do it, it's allowed.)
7 a.m. - We've got some flow, everything is moving along. Lots of voters. Plus coffee and donuts from the Democratic Party. Thanks, friends!
Silly republican judge seems to bother people more than necessary. I ignore him for the most part. He makes people fill out annoying paperwork which seems to follow the rules, but also seems to be stupid. One voter tells me, "That's how republicans are," as he rolls his eyes and completes his affidavit. Ha!
Pizza for lunch. Yum.
Fellow election judges are much hungrier than I am. They eat almost all the pizza and donuts throughout the day.
Mid-day I do some homework. We have a steady flow of voters, but no lines until about 5 p.m.
Lines are not too bad, mostly longer because of a few provisional ballots and incredibly confused voters. One lived in Berwyn.
Person who voted already comes back concerned that she wasn't supposed to vote at our polling place. Republican judge wants to give her provisional ballot. NO! I say. I tell concerned woman that she'll have to sort it out another day - you can't un-vote!
6:45 p.m. B comes to vote! I try to challenge his citizenship, voter status, identity and signature. He still gets to vote.
7 p.m. - Polls are closed. Everyone is very concerned about dismantling voting booths.
Paperwork takes forever. It's not complicated, but it's a lot of paperwork. All the judges have to sign just about everything. Closing paperwork should have been started at like 2 p.m., it seems.
8 p.m. - Almost out the door, everyone seems annoyed with each other. But everyone says goodbye and hopes to see everyone else next election.
8:30 p.m. - For an extra $20 I help deliver the results - as messy as they are - to the Receiving Station. It's a testament to the complexity of organization. All the envelopes we put together are sorted with every other precinct in the ward's. There are about 30 people working to organize and receive all the stuff we bring. We wait in line for our checklist to be completed. I'm completely amazed at how many people it takes to run an election. Wow.
9:15 p.m. - Home! B is in the kitchen making dinner. Hooray!

Live from Election Judging!

2010-11-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

A few notes from my ballot-distributing seat as an election judge.

People who bring kids with to vote = awesome.
People who bring dogs with to vote = silly.
Ratio of people who bring kids: people who bring dogs = about 1:1.
Food provided by democratic poll watchers = donuts, coffee, pizza, cake, pop.
Food provided by republicans = NONE! They haven't even stopped by to say hello yet!
Animosity between Precinct 10 and Precinct 28, which share the same large room for voting = unexciting and mild.
Number of weirdos = Lower than expected. Or maybe people have better manners when voting.
Evidence that being a competent person is rarer than it sounds = plentiful.
Silliness of our lone republican judge = high, but bearable.

Back to work for me!

Spare time

2010-10-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

For better or worse, I've got a fair amount of free time these days. B says it's my last stand - the last time I'll have a ton of time to myself for a long while. This is true, if things go according to plan I'll be in nursing school next fall and a working nurse two years later. The fact that I have free time now is a blessing and a treat.

What the hell, though, am I supposed to do with the time I've got on my hands? Here are my ideas, and I'm happy - THRILLED - for more. I swear, I'm not hating on free time, but I am not the best at dawdling the hours away. I'm a busy gal, what can I say?

Cooking - I'm trying to make something of all the food we've got. Sometimes that's just chopping food to pop in the freezer. Mostly though, I'm making muffins, pies, pasta, peanut butter, crackers and other things that turn out a special when you make them from scratch. I mean, how impressive is it to make your own food? C'mon. This week I've roasted pumpkin for... well, we've got pumpkin from our farm share, I'm not entirely sure what I'm using the heaps of pumpkins for. Right now I'm roasting some pumpkin seeds in the oven.
Baby-minding - I spend time with my nieces, which is most wonderful. I'm excited to spend my first day with NG next week and AJ and I have spent time together for many weeks now. It's a nice downtime, since generally babies are less busy than adults. AJ and I did venture with dear friend MDS to the suburbs for a Shiva. It was an adventure we'll speak about years from now. Usually, though, we venture to Target, Walgreens, the library and the park. Last week we visited Grandma Fergie - bringing a baby niece to a place with mostly older folks is akin to bringing a celebrity to a middle school. Very silly, delightful and mildly overwhelming.
Election Judging - Tomorrow I am being trained to be an election judge in Chicago. I'm very excited. I've always dreamed of such a position. It's a volunteer gig, and I think it's important. Hooray process, right?
School. Very important.
The usual. I try to be a good friend, a letter writer (yes, I am the youngest person who buys stamps in the U.S.), a recycling person, an organized sort, a chef, a random sort who can get a pedicure mid-day on a Wednesday, an off-busy-time shopper, a reader, a stroller, a runner, a work-out-er, a calm, happy person. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

Routines: What do you read everyday?

2010-10-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

I'm a reader. I've been a reader since I was a small person. I used to read Babysitters Club books and mysteries of any sort (but not scary books). When I commute I read the free commuter daily (Washington DC Express - awesome, Chicago Red Eye - less awesome). Every possibly Sunday morning I sit on the couch with the Sunday Tribune, making stacks of what I read, what I don't and paging through it all. I imagine most people who read blogs are also readers and I - truly - want to know what you read. Especially online. I find myself at a loss for what exactly to glance over sometimes, especially when I'm trying to read a bit between activities or get my brain moving in a particular direction. I'll spill my favorites - I must admit, it's almost like the blogs I read are my secret friends that I don't quite want to share. But sharing is caring. Here goes:

Six Until Me - This is a thoughtful blog about living with diabetes. The writer, Kerri Sparling welcomed a baby girl this spring and is joyfully candid about life with Type 1 diabetes. This is my diabetes community fix. Kerri Sparling talks about things like the beauty of showering with out anything attached to you (free showers - a rare delight for people with continuous glucose monitors and pumps/pods) and the frustration of high blood sugars of unknown origin. Six Until Me has made me feel so normal, even about things that are not.
Cupcakes & Cashmere - Now for something completely different. Californian Emily writes about fashion, home decorating and cooking. She's made homemade Oreos, which is a dream of mine, and she loves Halloween. I don't wear the clothes Emily wears, like at all, but I enjoy her perspective, and the fact that she bakes things I will never bake. Seriously.
Smitten Kitchen - This cooking blog is honest, funny and makes your tummy growl. I've made Deb's black bean soup, blueberry muffins and spinoffs of a few other things. I love the photography, the humor and the happiness of a successful meal.
Bittman - All right. I'm a little into Mark Bittman. He's a food writer for the New York Times and proved to me that I can make my own crackers. I can. That's pretty revolutionary. I read Bittman, even though sometimes I think he's a jerk. I read his recipes just because I think he's thoughtful and cooks like I cook. "Don't want to add that? Don't!" and "Use this or that, whatever - the idea's there." I read Bittman on his own site because I do not care about restaurants in New York, though I do like FloFab's advice.
FitSugar - This website about being healthy is sort of dumb but always catches my attention. It's got lots of ideas and encouragement, which can be helpful.
For news I look at the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Google News, New York Times, TBD (where BFF Julie runs things, she's bigtime!) and People magazine. I read People as an antidote to reading all other celeb news. It's possibly the least awful of them all.

I'll add as I think of other favorite things I read. What do you read? Tell me! I might want to read it too.

Since you asked, vaccinations...

2010-10-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

I don't have any kids, and I'm not a doctor. You all know this, but I'm just saying. I've read with interest quite a bit about vaccinations (here, for instance).

Some people think vaccinations are bad, or the number of vaccinations children get is too high or that vaccinations aren't right for their kids. Legally, families can choose to vaccinate or not - states require certain waivers and doctors are also instrumental in such decisions. I say vaccinate. I say this for several reason, not least of which is my recent study of science nor my work at preschools. Let me lay it down for you:

Vaccinations are remarkable. Microbiologist Edward Jenner figured out vaccines after a milkmaid said she didn't get smallpox after being exposed to cowpox. Jenner got a "volunteer" (an orphan) injected some cowpox inside him and then exposed him to smallpox later - no smallpox for the brave volunteer! Bravisimo!

If we all get vaccines we are all helped. Most of us can survive a bout of measles or mumps. Many of us enjoyed a week of from school with chickenpox (watching The Princess Bride and using the cool crayon-pencils my mom bought me!). But, some people get very sick from the diseases we are vaccinated for. Those people are most often immunocompromised - for whatever reason it's easier for them to get sick and easier for being sick to turn into being very sick (or worse). Immunocompromised individuals are worthy of your sympathy - they are very young, very small, very weak, very old, or very compromised. Being compromised means that the body prioritizes one thing (like fighting cancer or a serious infection) over something else (like growing hair or fighting tiny viruses). We aren't vaccinated just for ourselves.

Travel. What's eradicated? Smallpox. That's it. People on earth still get polio, malaria, yellow fever, rubella, tapeworm, mumps, measles, rubella and tons of other infectious diseases. Eradicating smallpox was the biggest deal since... well, eradicating smallpox. It's a big deal. If you aren't vaccinated you can't travel. When I visited Mali in West Africa you can bet - even at the worst airport in the world - they checked my World Health Organization vaccination card to see my yellow fever vaccine.

Trust your doctor. I love my doctor. I ask her questions, she answers me, we talk. I know not every doctor is as great as mine, but it's important to trust your doctor and trust medicine. My doctor says it's smart for me to get a flu vaccine so I do. B's doctor doesn't think he needs one so he doesn't. We're both fine, and even if we're not we trust that our doctors helped us make educated decisions. The same is very true for parents, I think. According to peer-reviewed studies published in scientific journals vaccines are wise and safe. Doctors can alter vaccine schedules and help families choose vaccines that work for them (use the oral polio vaccine instead of the inactive-injected one, or skip a vaccine until later).

Lastly, get vaccinated for what we don't know. We don't know how viruses and bacteria can change. For instance, we know that rotavirus - a gastrointestinal bug - can seriously harm infants. Babies can get sick and dehydrated and, in some cases, so dehydrated and sick they die. If you chose not to get your child vaccinated for rotavirus your child might not get sick, but could easily pass rotavirus along, or just help rotavirus get stronger. Microbes are tricky.

This is my own rant - we don't know how strong bugs can get, or how they get strong exactly. But we do know that vaccinations help. If we can say that we want to help anyone - anyone at all, in the whole world - I think the idea of helping kids be healthier is one we can get behind. We can get behind it because we know it works. Science - and its dear friend history - say so.

I know there's a lot to the argument for vaccines (and really - truly - very little to say against vaccines as a whole, according to science). As a friend of little ones and a friend of science I wanted to say my piece.

Reclaiming my life from the clutches of Organic Chem

2010-10-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy to say that last Wednesday I took my Survey of Organic and Bio Chemistry exams.

The tests were really hard, ridiculously challenging considering the time since I last sat in a chem class (end of July), but I was as prepared as I could be. I'm relieved and feeling incredibly happy and free.

Among many other things, I now have time for:

Blogging.
Studying Anatomy & Physiology, especially with these cool online games we've got.
Running. (Yes.)
Shopping - especially for shoes that are not falling apart. B tossed the sneakers I wear for bike rides and rainy days because they're disgusting. Rude!
Organizing myself - my heaps of paperwork, my closet, our wedding cards/gifts/stuff, our meal plans, etc...
Reading! I just started a Stephanie Plum novel - a complete delight.
Cooking more. I've been a dinner-making machine, but now I'm going to put a little more heart in what I'm doing. Plus I can practice pie-making.
More walks, bike rides, city-enjoying, etc.
Since I took my test I am NOT (decidedly NOT!) feeling frustrated, sad, guilty, upset, angry or down about my summer of mediocre grades and extended Organic Chem misery. What's done is done. I'm rocking out at my current courses, still madly in love with science (and B) and ready to handle applications for nursing school.

Tomorrow I'm studying, reading, enjoying the suddenly warm weather, making peanut butter, cleaning a bit, and possibly figuring out something with the Kitchen Aid Mixer in my trunk. Hmm.

Pies in the oven!

2010-09-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

It's fall, when farmer-types harvest their bounty and people who were super-excited about a farm share are overwhelmed.

We have a hundred tomatoes. And a million peppers of all sorts (included the hottest peppers known to man! Yikes!). We also have three squash-pumpkin-looking things, funny-shaped sweet potatoes, basil (yay) and various fall bounty. It's awesome, even when the squash look a little bewitched.

B's brothers and their exceptional wives, B's mom, B's mom's boyfriend, the nieces and I are starting a monthly dinner tradition. Tonight is our first go at it. I've made two pies - a pumpkin and an apple - for the occasion.

My studying for Organic is going good so far. I'm hoping to take the test this week or next. I'm trying to get out of the house when I hit the books. On Friday I arrived at the restaurant where B and I were meeting for dinner and studied at the bar for an hour!

This is pretty random, but life is wonderful. Hoody season is upon us, cool breezes are whipping through our apartment and we get to eat pie tonight! Yay!

What's up.

2010-09-20T21:37:00.001-07:00

Me-oh-my. I used to teach with a woman who used that term as a "watch yourself!"-type warning. She really rocked it, even though it's a silly phrase.

I'm trying to watch myself a bit these days - I've got big goals, big plans - and I need to accomplish these so I can get on with my awesome life.

I must finish Organic & Biochemistry, which I took an incomplete in this summer after B's second Lyme disease hospitalization. This incomplete is looming over my head and I just need to f-ing finish it. Or else. My plan, which earns more credence when I post it here, is to study like it's my job and press on as though I'm about to take the bar/boards/whatever. I can do this. I just need to hunker down and do it. Tomorrow I'm going to leave the house after I finish classes and study, study, STUDY.
Once I finish Organic I can move along and start applying or preparing to apply to nursing school! Yay!
After I apply or at least get all this in better order, I can get a part-time job. Doing something.

I've got plenty of other goals, including playing defense for the Chicago Bears, running a lot more, and making a decent-looking pie crust - but those are the crucial ones. Tomorrow is Super Serious Study Day 1. I know I can do it and I'll report back about my progress.

(Between B and myself I've been promised a pedicure, dinner out, new clothes and permission to ready trashy novels once I finish Organic. I can do this!)

It's not like I have a problem with carbon. I love carbon. I actually think Organic is really neat. I'm definitely not discounting carbon.

Cooking

2010-09-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

I love to cook. B does too.

Most of our favorite wedding gifts involve our kitchen and we try to make dinner (with plenty of leftovers for lunches) several nights a week. B can whip up a mean brunch. I've written about food a bit, in part to show off but also to share ideas.

I try to be fearless in the kitchen. My mom is an amazing cook and her mom never cooked! Seriously! Her best recipe, as recalled at her memorial service when I was in elementary, was to preheat the oven and call the local fried chicken place. (You keep fried chicken crispy, warm and happy in an oven, you know.)

While I was growing up my mom made everything... pumpkin bars, cookies of all sorts (especially chocolate chip cookies, which come from the best dough EVER), casseroles, kabobs, pasta, lasagna, stir fry, oven fried chicken, and so much more. There's no possible way to describe my mom's cooking. She's just wonderful - one of those cooks who tosses things in, just knows when things are done, cooks with a rhythm. (I think she shivers when she sees me peeling potatoes - but she still lets me help.)

B and I are bold cooks. We eat late in the evening - grating Parmesan freely, stealing basil from our neighbor, forgoing recipe rules and laughing at each other. B's still not at all comfortable with all my additions and omissions - I can admit I once made brownies, as a preteen, without oil thinking they'd be healthier (they're actually so terrible that you consider eating a stick of butter - lesson learned). But I'm smart cook these days.

B even gets nervous when I'm making my mom's recipes. She tends to assume we all know what she knows - "Cook them until they look done" or "Add 2 tablespoons or more."

At this very moment I'm attempting to replicate Kolokytho Keftedes from a Greek restaurant we love. I googled the dish and found exactly one recipe. I got the basic idea, made something approximately like what the recipe described and I'm going to cook them. Until whenever they look done.

Today's photo demonstrates another important element of delicious-meal-making, or enjoying. Whatever. It's actually from Bin 36 and I can't wait to go there again!

Retirement and filling your time

2010-09-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

My awesome DAD just retired at the end of July. Yay!

He told me that many people ask him what on earth he'll do with all this free time. His answer made me laugh and feel proud at the same time:

"First, what's it to you? Second, I'm NOT working. Third, I'm going to a lot of ball games. Then they ask if I really like ball games that much."

I think my dad is a little exasperated, as am I, with the idea that we need to be so damned busy. I'm three months into the jobless life, taking exactly 8 credit hours, and can't believe how much stuff - mostly stupid stuff, some real need-to-get-dones, but lots of little things to do - fills up my time. I'm trying to be a person who enjoys life more, takes it a little slower and takes time to rest, write and do what's good for myself.

For my dad retirement means watching Westerns, fixing things around the house, attending a lot of ball games, reading and hanging out. Nothing ridiculous and definitely something wonderful.

As for me, retirement is a ways off - but today I've made use of some leftover veggies, baked crackers, finished a lab report, thoroughly enjoyed a half-pot of coffee, met with a professor and chatted with my sister-in-law for a spell. There are certainly moments when I feel bored, but I think that's something I'm going to combat - with cooking, cleaning, organizing, studying, walking, biking, reading, and even a few ballgames.

The photo here is a gang of harbor seals we saw on our way to Channel Islands National Park (by boat). Harbor seals, and other seal-types, are - by my observation - very good at hanging out.

Home!

2010-08-21T22:54:00.001-07:00

We are home.

Our honeymoon was exactly the proper length and entirely wonderful - full of adventures, book-reading, roughing it, luxuriating, walking, seeing scenes, drinking wine in Napa, drinking beer around campfires, eating amazing food, hiking, biking and more.

I promise to share many, many details and photos - especially if you have any wish to visit California and make a trip along the coast. I think we did it up right.

For now, we are unpacking. Some highlights...

Four bottles of wine and one non-wine bottle all survived a long plane ride and taxi ride in checked luggage.
Two wine glasses and two sparkling wine flutes also survived to tell the tale.
B is certain that he can smell campfire on clothes still. He's probably right. Campfires are awesome but infectious.
Two happy kitties welcomed us home - bravo to the amazing Debo for taking care of them while we took off during the hottest weeks of August.
My strong runner/walker/biker legs learned thing or two about hills in the beautiful but astounding San Francisco.
When we landed we were excited to receive word that our wedding photos are available for review online. What a treat!
Tomorrow we will say a sad goodbye to Big Red Suitcase, whose handle stopped moving up (so you could us it without being really bothered by it) on our first day of vacation. We will also finish the unpacking that we started tomorrow. And NOT eat at a restaurant. Weird what we get to appreciate, no?
Someone left cold beer, cold Diet Coke and easy eats for us at home! Hint: It was me! Hooray for this miraculous situation!

This photo is me in our perfect hammock, a gift from our friends who a true appreciators of things like hammocks. We set this up at our campsite near Big Sur, next to a babbling brook and enjoyed the most relaxing day ever.