Saturday, April 26, 2008

Spring Cleaning

We spent the day running errands and cleaning every blade of every blind in our living room. I guess we should have considered our cat hair issues when deciding that dark wood blinds were a good idea. Anyway, we rewarded ourselves with a yummy hamburger cookout - the inaugural hamburger event with our new grill. Next up on our spring cleaning list - windows!


The grillmaster, making the yummy burgers




Simon and me, hanging out inside and waiting for our dinner.
(Notice all the contraptions on our sofa - all meant to keep the cats off the furniture.)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Earth Day

So, yesterday was Earth Day, and I got to thinking of what John and I do for the environment. I realized we really don't do enough, and I have resolved to make our house a little environmentally-friendly. Here are the things we do actually do:

1. Use compact fluorescent bulbs wherever possible.
2. Take public transportation to and from work and on all errands where it's feasible.
3. We drive a Hybrid car.
4. We take our own reusable bags to the grocery store and Target.
5. We barely use any heat in the winter (although you wouldn't be able to tell by our gas bill).

I know we could definitely do more, like recycle. The City of Chicago has not come up with a city-wide recycling program, so recycling here can be quite inconvenient. Taking your recyclables and driving to the recycling center is a bit nonsensical in my opinion, so hopefully the City will be up to speed soon.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Lions and Tigers and Earthquakes, Oh My!

It's been a really strange week here in Chicago. It started with reports of a large wild cougar roaming the city. The police ended up killing it in the neighborhood just south of ours. Apparently it was on the attack. Then, about 4:30 this morning, we awake to our closet doors rattling around and our bed shaking. John suggested it was a ghost, so I spent the rest of the morning wondering how in the heck we were ever going to be able to sell our condo with it being haunted and all. It turns out all that rumbling was an earthquake! Who knew we had earthquakes in Chicago? The true quake hit West Salem in southern Illinois, so we only had vibrations stemming from that. However, the earthquake was a 5.6 on the Richter Scale. None of my co-workers felt the quake, but the ladies in my office are convinced it's the second coming. Ha!

I hope the earthquake was the end of the strangeness that has been going on this week. Otherwise, I'm nervous for what's next!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Le Weekend

It was a pretty boring weekend around the Beck household. The weather was totally yuck (rain and snow), so that probably contributed to our lack of activity. Probably the most exciting part of the weekend was seeing the governor run by while having coffee with a friend at our neighborhood Starbucks. We also did MAJOR housecleaning this weekend since Megan's mom is coming this week (and bringing her white glove along, too).
In other news, in our continuing attempts to keep the cats off the furniture, we finally found a bed that ultra-finicky Sofia will lay in.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

10 Years!

Some think it's weird that we celebrate our "dating anniversary." We don't actually celebrate it, per se - mainly we just recognize it. Today is our 10 year anniversary of being together. It's gone by so fast! Coincidentally, it's Simon's sixth birthday, so we have another excuse to celebrate.

Our high school graduation photo, nearly 10 years ago.

The birthday boy!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!


I don't think it could have been a more exciting game. Unbelievable.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Happiness is...

...the first warm day in Chicago. Today was the first spring-like day we've had in forever, and people came out in droves to enjoy the weather. We strolled around our neighborhood and did our usual Saturday errands. It's definitely a welcome change - hope the nice weather is here to stay!

This is the view from our front windows. The sky was so clear we noticed for the first time that we could see all the way to the Sears Tower. Who knew?

Waving the Wheat


Another sweet victory for the Jayhawks! KU beat UNC to go on to the NCAA finals. John wore his "Game Day Shirt" all day today, and people were stopping him on the street to cheer on the Jayhawks.
ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK KU!

Kansas fans take to the streets of downtown Lawrence. (AP Photo by Orlin Wagner / April 5, 2008)