ready for what’s ahead.

Morning, chickadees!

After a long, relaxing weekend in MI, it’s back to the hustle and bustle of the city.

Also, April has decided to show its face, and although I am brutally aware of the fact that it is only 22 degrees out today, I have the utmost confidence that this is the month in which it will decide to be spring.

You guys are with me, right?

In other news, this weekend I decided to start my giving campaign to Cory Booker’s Senate race, because I think he’s a guy who’s doing great things, and also, I’m maybe a tiny bit obsessed with him.

Maybe a little more than a tiny bit.

In any case, after donating, I threw a tweet in his direction, and two minutes later, my phone beeped with a notification.

 

How’s that for a beautiful end to an Easter weekend?

Other than that little one word gem (that I will treasure until the end of time, or at least until Cory and I become best friends in real life, which will probably be soon), I’m ready for one big week in front of me, opening day of baseball (I’m giving myself at least one whole month before I fall into a Cubs’ despair), and the promise of above freezing.

We’re pretty sure we’re gonna get there at some point, right chickens?

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it today!

spring in my step

Hey there chickadees!

Sorry I’m a little late this morning, but we’ve got the day off over here, so I slept in before packing it up and getting ready to go to MI for a few days.

Sometimes it’s best to leave the concrete jungle behind you for just a few hours.

I’m a firm believer in switching up your scenery for a change in perspective.

In other news: thanks for all the information about being gluten free yesterday, chicks. I received a whole slew of texts and messages about the pros and cons of all of this, and I’m taking it under consideration.

It seems my people know a lot more about this than I do, which honestly, is a relief.

It’s nice to have resources, you guys.

My bossy little sister has already set up a Pinterest Board for me around acceptable foods for my RA.

Check it out here.

And now, I’m off to finish packing, supervise JW’s idea of acceptable weekend wear, and hit the road for a weekend of blue skies, fresh air, and visiting family.

Not much to complain about from this angle, my friends.

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it (and we’ve got it, today).

 

 

till what you’re looking for finds you

Welcome to a new week, chickadees!

And in honor of this year’s early pledge to be a little more mindful, here’s something I found to start this day off right:

“If you are not willing to look stupid, nothing great is ever going to happen to you.”

True story, chickens. Sometimes you have to be willing to take a risk to get it right.

And luckily, most things that go wrong become moments to look back on and laugh about with our friends.

And now, on this cloudy (in Chicago), cold (almost everywhere) Monday morning, I’d like to recount the weekend in pictures, worth far more than the words I’d come up with to share.

 

Next up, after a lovely weekend that was over far too fast, I’m headed straight into a busy, busy week full of meetings and visitors and getting.it.done.

Also though, full of bendy yoga poses, meals with friends, and swinging kettlebells.

And best of all perhaps,  joints that are working mysteriously well despite still not figuring out what kind of meds might work for my stubborn body.

There’s nothing better than having something easy to be grateful for first thing, chicks.

Enjoy what’s ahead of you- hope the first weekend of 2013 was lovely.

 

Full weeks and snowy streets

Morning chickadees!

I’m hoping you’re all having warm, fun, relaxing weekends during this first seven days of the new year.

JW and I headed east to Michigan yesterday morning so that we could spend some long overdue holiday time with family, which has meant delicious dinner and ice cream cake and cookies and silly games and gifts and laughing and teasing.

One of my favorite kinds of days.

This morning, we’re drinking coffee, reading papers, and then bundling up to see my pal LB in Ann Arbor while we’re both in the same time zone.

Which is always a treat, especially when it involves the possibility of falafel.

 

This is a picture of LB, her husband Nate, JW and I in an alternate universe far, far away.

Many moons and Miller Lites ago.

I’m always being bullied, chicks.

In any case, I’m looking forward to another day of relaxing before calling this holiday season officially over and really dragging my feet across the 2013 line.

Enjoy this one, chickens, before heading back to full weeks and snowy streets.

 

 

 

 

every moment is an experience.

Hey there, chickadees.

This weekend, I rode in a tow truck.

For the first time!

It was actually a fairly nice experience.

Should I back up?

You got it.

******

Saturday morning, bright and early, JD and CC picked up JW and I to get an early start on our weekend getaway to Michigan.

7:38, that’s our official start time, said CC as we pulled out of the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot.

JD and I stretched out in the back seat with iced coffees and magazines.

The road trip had commenced.

*****

About two-and-a-half hours into the four hour trip, we made a quick stop for snacks and water, and cruised back to the highway in under ten minutes.

Paw Paw! JD and I shouted, making fun of the cute little place we’d landed in for our break.

If only we knew how quickly we’d be back in town.

*****

About fifteen minutes later,  we suddenly slowed down for no apparent reason.

I have to pull over, Chris said.

We parked on the side of the road, alternating between attempting to turn the car back on (nothing) and feeling the vibration of  semi-trucks whizzing by the narrow shoulder we were planted onto at the moment.

At least we have snacks, JW said.

I knew there was a reason I loved that man.

*****

After a half hour or so, a nice man named Warren peered into our car, and frowned at us.

Let me call another truck, he said.

It turns out tow trucks are not spacious vehicles.

We required two.

*****

Eventually, we all piled into two (spacious! clean!) tow trucks, and headed to Tapper Ford in our just-visited Paw Paw, which was a dealership where we were sure we could fix our problems (whatever they might be. We’re city people. We don’t actually, at this juncture, have any idea what might be wrong with the car).

 

******

When we arrived at our destination, I lumbered down from the giant truck, and watched Warren unhook the car, wave, and drive off.

It was at this point that we noticed the car repair portion of Tapper Ford was actually closed.

Until Monday.

We walked into the dealership and explained our dilemma.

I could get you a new car in an hour, if you wanted to buy one, the salesman said.

At this point, that seemed like a viable option.

*****

I asked to use the bathroom and was taken through a hallway that reminded me vaguely of 1960.

This is what I found hanging outside the restrooms.

 

 

When I got back, none of my friends seemed to be in the lobby.

They left you here, one of the salesmen chuckled.

You can just work here, he laughed.

I smiled and hightailed it outside.

*****

Several phone calls later, we had secured a rental car at the Kalamazoo airport, which was about a half hour away.

Unfortunately, we had no way to get there.

Is there a cab we can take, someone asked.

We’re city kids, through and through.

*****

Eventually, a nice salesman offered to take us to our destination, so we piled in his car and chatted about new Ford features as we made our way toward Kalamazoo.

Sir, what’s the mascot of Paw Paw, JW asked.

The Redskins, he answered.

I thought it’d be something with paws, I whispered to JD.

*****

The Kalamazoo airport, it turns out, is a very nice place.

It’s lovely here, I told JD, as we huddled on a bench and waited to find out where our rental was.

Actual passengers looked at us like we had two heads.

Two hours from the side of the road incident, we couldn’t care less.

*****

20 minutes and one Chevy Malibu later, we were back on the road, with the promise of a return trip (to pick up the car OR a shiny new model) next week.

In my head, I’m already getting a new car, JD said.

I want it to say Paw Paw on it. The people of Paw Paw are so nice, she said reflectively.

You learn something new every day, chickadees.

 

i can see clearly now.

Morning chickadees.

Early morning.

On a Saturday.

But I don’t mind. I’ve got my bag packed for a quick, relaxing trip to MI and the lake.

That’s something I can rise early for.

I’ll be floating in the water for the next 24 hours.

In other news, last night JW was kind enough to snag my new glasses on his way home from work last night.

Did you look at them already, I asked.

He nodded.

Are they too hipster, I said, eyeing the case with suspicion.

I’m worried I’m not cool enough for my spectacles.

He told me I should probably just put them on my face so he could get a better look.

This is the lowdown.

 

What do you guys think?

Aside from the fact that I’ve had no coffee this morning and I’m not really sure how to use Photo booth properly.

Ignore those items, please.

I think they maybe say part hipster, part aspiring urban.lady.author.

A girl’s got to dream, right?

In any case, I can see, and that seems to be the most important thing here, I think.

I feel more creative already.

Also, less apt to run into things.

It’s a wonderful world when you can kill two birds with one stone, I think.

Enjoy your weekend, chickens- we have arrived!

 

Good morning, chickens.

And welcome to the nearing of the end of the week.

The weekend is in sight.

And that, I think, is a good thing.

Which means it’s the kind of day to reflect on five.good.things.

So without delay, here we go.

1. This little guy.

 

Logan Michael was born last week, and I feel like I haven’t given him enough screen time.

He’s adorable, obviously. And the sixth of my first cousins, once removed (which by the way, sounds silly. He doesn’t feel removed. So I won’t call him that again). Welcome to the world, dude. We’re so glad to have you!

2. After many unsuccessful attempts this week, I finally pulled myself out of bed early and hit up the treadmill before work, getting in a little over 4 miles.

Was it pretty?

Not really.

An accomplishment?

I’d say so.

3. This week, I will have been treated to a total of three lunches.

Take that, writers of the adage “There’s no such thing as free lunch.”

I beg to differ.

4. JW and I have been watching The Hatfields and the McCoys this week, which means approximately six hours of watching backwoods West Virginian and Kentucky residents of the 19th century take each other out over seemingly trivial matters.

I think, if brought back to life and forced to watch the series, these families would feel a little silly.

It still makes fairly good historical fiction fare for a weeknight of lounging.

5. This weekend, we’re headed to Michigan to get in some sun, lake, and relaxation prior to the business that September’s about to bring to the world.

September is a month of getting things started.

August looks more like this.

 

Enjoy the sunshine if you’ve got it, chickadees.

heating it up and cooling it down.

Good morning from the lake, chickens.

We’re in Michigan, enjoying the sunshine and the water, readying ourselves for a family wedding.

Not a bad sight to wake up to, right?

Last night, we visited with familiar faces, ate a delicious dinner basically on the lake, headed out for a boat ride, and finished the evening hanging out in my hilarious friend MW’s pool.

As long as the temperature stays below 100 degrees, things are looking pretty good here.

Hot weather on the lake feels a little less stifling than hot weather in the city anyway.

In fact, as JW and I headed out of the city yesterday, we received a call from our neighbor.

To tell us that our deck caught on fire.

And that the firefighters were at our apartment.

Panic ensued for a second as I envisioned my building going up in flames, but once T sent us some pictures of the aftermath, we realized that the damage wasn’t too bad, aside from the fact that we lost a chair in the blaze.

This hot weather is a crazy situation.

I look forward to 75 degrees, whenever that decides to show up.

Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.

Stay cool today, chickadees.

five good things: let’s do this one more time edition

Hey there, chickens.

And welcome to Thursday morning.

Because I’ve been a little under.the.weather attitude-wise the past couple of days, I thought I’d try and rise about it with a healthy dose of five good things this morning.

So here goes nothing.

1. Last night was A’s confirmation, during which I had flashbacks of his First Communion, which I swear was literally just last week.

He was shorter than me then.

A is hurtling toward high school at this point, something that I think I’ve almost made peace with, except that his sister KD is right on his tail.

Luckily, I have this guy bringing up the rear.

T- I forbid you from getting older than 3. That is all.

2. In two days, the Farmers’ Market opens. This is awesome, because I assumed it would start next weekend, when I was in Philadelphia, and I had already resigned myself to missing the first one, which is basically a religious holiday in my home.

Although I have about 18,000 things to accomplish Saturday, I don’t see how I can’t add this one to my list.

When I found out yesterday, I literally wrote an e-mail to Ky titled: EMERGENCY VEGETABLE DISCUSSION

I hope you like me enough to look past that.

3. President Obama, I already thought you were pretty cool.

And I know some people think you’re pandering.

But I think you’re just telling us what we suspected was already true, despite the fact that some people won’t like it.

I’m down with that.  Thanks for doing your part.

Someone once told me that in response to people noting that social issues aren’t the biggest on the table right now that her take was “You wouldn’t think that if it was your civil rights that weren’t being recognized.”

It’s a good point, chickens.
4. This weekend is heavy on the family, with JW’s parents heading in from MI and giving us an excuse for a full schedule of fun events. Pizza, grilling, and brunch, here I come.

Please note these events center around food.

Is anyone here surprised?

5. I have nearly perfected my iPod shuffle’s playlist. It is now suitable for commuting, running, and traipsing around the city at large. My new favorite track? It’s a tie between Fun & Nicki Minaj, so I leave you with both of them.

I dare you to be in a bad mood after listening to those beats, chickadees.

Get out there and have a good one!

so put on your best boys.

And what a lovely Easter weekend that was.

I woke up Sugarloaf lake-side Saturday and Sunday, ran loops around a park in the sunshine (running without dodging cars hiding in alleys- ingenious), finally took care of my frightening-looking feet (too many miles, not enough pedicures), watched Ghostbusters (which is still pretty awesome, in case you were wondering), drank wine and lounged on couches, sat by bonfires, and celebrated the holiday by eating a delicious brunch and then playing a combination of soccer, frisbee, and football.

Don’t ask. It got kind of hard to keep up with, but I’m pretty sure everyone got hit with at least one object one time.

After a pleasant morning and early afternoon of eating, playing , and relaxing, we packed up the car, met up with my baby brother, and headed back to Chicago.

We made it back in record time, and then joined my parents and Ky  in the neighborhood to hand off my brother and enjoy a couple of Easter drinks.

Maybe also french fries.

Holiday french fries are important, in my expert estimation.

Spring’s edges are blurring into the coming summer, and I am 100% on board with that, chickadees.

And now I’m relaxed and ready to start a week that involves four thousand meetings, running 9 miles in one sitting, and getting back in my kitchen.

Enjoy the beginning of your week, chickens!