December 2011
50 posts
Reasons Why I Had To Change My Clothes When I Got...
1) We’re getting our tree tonight and decorating the apartment for Christmas. So of course I needed to put on a holiday-themed outfit. Obviously.
2) This little monster.
Her name is Molly. She’s 14 years old. She belongs to this professor I TA for who brought her to the last day of our “Adulthood and Aging” class as an example of, in her words, “aging and dying...
November 2011
45 posts
“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money...”
– Maya Angelou (via urbannativegirl)
Watershed
Last night, I braved the cold and wind to head down to Watershed. If you haven’t been, get there. After only two visits, it’s become one of my very favorite Chicago spots. It’s small and cozy and way less pretentious than I expected. Plus…you know I love this…most (all?) of their food and drinks come from the watershed of the Great Lakes. Get it? (I’m...
Garrrrgh. Paid my first traffic ticket EVER today. Chicago’s making me an obnoxious driver.
Healthy and Unhealthy Habits
It’s late Saturday night. I’m home in bed. My husband, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law are out listening to a cover band and drinking beer. I could neither keep my eyes open by the end of dinner nor imagine stuffing anything else into my entirely too full belly. So I sent the three of them off and caught a ride home with my mother- and father-in-law.
I was (and still kind of am)...
Time Mismanagement
My goals for my break (Tuesday - Sunday):
Revise course objectives for my college teaching certificate program
Make my advisor’s suggested changes to a paper we wrote together and submit it for publication
Make my second reader’s suggestions for my trial research and turn it in
Read and summarize 7 articles for my course outline
What I’ve done so far:
The course objective...
“I reject the idea that doing well in school requires stressful overwork…do...”
– Cal Newport of Study Hacks
I love that my grandpa’s in the next room reading the paper and drinking coffee.
I love that he now has a couple of favorite restaurants in town and is a regular at a local chocolate shop. (He apparently just stops by occasionally to pick up half-pound boxes for all of us to share. Just for fun. He’s partial to anything with pecans or caramel.)
I love that he likes to go on drives...
It’s funny how much you appreciate simple activities when you don’t get to do them often. Right now I’m reading blogs - or maybe I’ll even watch a TV show on Hulu - for as long as I want to, in the dark (so I don’t have to get out of bed to turn off the light - duh), in my sister’s old bedroom at my parents’ house. I never, ever get on the computer in bed...
A New Morning Tradition
About a month and half ago, my husband got a new job. One particularly cool perk is that his building has a gym with a shower room he can use for a small yearly fee. He’s always wanted to be able to run to his office, so a couple of times now when I’ve had a slow morning we’ve loaded up the running pack I bought him for Christmas last year with his work clothes and some warm...
You all have such great taste. And a family Christmas shopping trip this weekend is getting me in the holiday spirit. And I have some money to spend on iTunes.
So tell me…what holiday or winter-themed albums should I buy?
(P.S. To those of you who, like me, wait until after Thanksgiving to start thinking about Christmas, I just want to stress that I’m preparing to celebrate, not...
Ever since Veggie Thanksgiving, I have fallen off the self-control bandwagon big time. I hit a low point last night standing with a fork over a plate of leftover pumpkin bars sporting my most unflattering sweatpants and greasy hair. So I vowed today I’d do better.
And I did! It was one of those perfectly balanced productive/fun days. I got up early and ran. I had green tea, fruit, and two...
I think I may have to give up How I Met Your...
I’ve watched every episode, and I’d love to follow it through to the end. I like the characters. I think there are episodes that portray city living really well. Sometimes I feel like the creators just get our generation. I want the big payoff - seeing how Ted actually meets the mother. Etc.
But…It just doesn’t feel right anymore. Because I swear 99% of the jokes fall...
“Rest does not need to hold hands with guilt. We do not have to pay for rest when...”
– Melody and Kathy
Editing a paper + watching The Holiday > Just editing a paper.
But…
Editing a paper + watching The Holiday < Just watching The Holiday.
It’s a glorious feeling to close your email knowing you have no intention of logging back in for at least 36 hours.
What's the deal with Google+?
My cool cousin invited me to join it, but I seem to remember hearing Tumblr complaints. What should I know? Should I join?
Yesterday, someone two years younger than me was...
This young lady.
Can you believe that? I was home visiting my friends and family when the results were coming in, and no one seemed to think it was a big deal. But it sure seems like one to me - this isn’t a big city by any means, but it’s not tiny. I think the population is like 25,000.
Pretty amazing, huh?
What a phenomenal weekend. It started with a study date with bimsk, which involved both “Cali Chèvre” sandwiches at Pastoral (outside, in the sunshine) AND peanut butter chip Bobtail ice cream. When Kevin came home he and I headed to Ciao in Logan Square for buffalo mozzarella pizza and roasted beat and marscapone risotto and then followed that up with drinks (straight bourbon for me,...
Where should I go to dinner in Chicago?
I kind of want to explore a more far-flung neighborhood. I’m feeling adventurous, we’re going to be in our car anyway, and we have no plans tonight besides eating somewhere awesome.
Anyone have any suggestions for me?
“I do not want you to give in to the pressure of the moment. When you’re hurting...”
– Captain Joe Maguire, to Navy SEAL hopefuls
(via fuckyeahyoga:)
The wrong side
Oh wow did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I was grouchy last night and thought a long sleep would help, but I’m still pretty annoyed at the world this morning.
And, for whatever reason, I’m paralyzed. I can make no choices, not even simple ones like do I like or not like the rug that Kevin brought home from CB2 the other day. This small-issue indecision grows and grows and...
We’ve been working the last few days on booking an apartment in New Orleans for a four-day stay over New Year’s Eve. I’m psyched, of course. But I’ve been really surprised at what an ordeal this has been.
All of the places we’ve inquired about are three times more expensive than advertised because we’re staying for a “special event.” Every property...
My stomach is a bottomless pit.
I swear.
I’ve been trying to lose a couple of pounds that have crept back on post-marathon, so I’ve been paying extra close attention to my diet to try and figure out where I can cut back. Health is really my number one priority at this point in my life, so I don’t want to do anything JUST to lose weight. I want to make changes that I can stick with long-term.
So, like I said,...
