A Look Back at 2007

2007 has been a big year for us. In trying to decide what to post for New Year's Eve, I considered copying my friend Michelle's great idea, a Top 10 List, but decided I should probably think of something myself. Unfortunately, I am having a creativity block, so I've posted my own version of Michelle's list (Meesh - yours is much more creative and humorous). So, here's our Top 5 of 2007:

5. John learned to play the guitar. He's getting quite good, and I'm considering hiring him out to Potbelly Sandwich Works to play music during the lunch rush.

4. I had my gall bladder out (you laugh, but I feel SO much better).

3. I've made some really awesome friends this year. Moving to a new city can be tough, and it's hard to meet great people when not thrust into traditional social situations (i.e. school), so I'm very thankful for my fun girlfriends.

2. John got the perfect job (finally!)

1. Buying our first home! The move was stressful and it took a long time to get things the way we wanted them, but we absolutely love our new condo!

I wish I could have included "Finally learned how to parallel park," but it just wasn't THAT great of a year. Happy 2008 everyone!

More Merriment...

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Our Christmas was merry for sure, but certainly not little as we had 4 different family celebrations. Lots of presents (John's fave) and even more food. Hope everyone had a good one, and here are some pics of all our celebrations.

Funny!

So, John's mom wanted to find an easier way to get out a Christmas card this year. She stumbled upon some Web site that let you create your own animated card. I've posted the URLs below -- I have to say, I'm impressed with my own moves.

Elf Dance One

Elf Dance Two

P.S. You must have Flash to see the e-cards.

Leather

Today is our third anniversary, and guess what the traditional gift is: leather. Could be worse, I suppose - who ever heard of getting your spouse paper for your anniversary? Anyway, I can't believe it's been three years! They've gone so quickly! It's amazing how time flies when you're out of school and part of the daily grind. I'm not sure what we're going to do to celebrate this occasion, nor do I know what I'm going to get John (leather wallet, perhaps?). But I do know that it's been a long (and fun) road, and I can't imagine traveling it with anyone else.

Final Countdown!

I would say "10 Day Countdown," but apparently we've missed it. Anyway, I can't believe Christmas is a little over a week away! We're still not finished with our shopping! It's nice and Christmas-y around here. Lots of snow was dumped on us this weekend, so it's a winter wonderland! We'll be home in less than a week and can't wait to see everyone! Thought the corresponding picture pretty much summed up the current sentiment at our house.

Another Favorite: Rockwell's Neighborhood Grill

It's been a while since we posted about a favorite spot, so we thought we would post about a new favorite -- Rockwell's Neighborhood Grill. We recently started going here for a quick dinner because it's right across the street from my yoga studio. Rockwell's boasts that they make the best burger in Chicago, and John will agree with that. They also have lots of great salads, which makes me happy. Everything we've tried there is great, so Rockwell's is definitely a keeper!

Ice Storm in Oklahoma

To all our friends and family at home --
Stay warm and be careful!

Cookies, Cookies Everywhere!

I hosted my first cookie exchange this weekend. For those of you who aren't familiar, each person brings a different kind of cookies, and everyone shares cookies - that way each person will go home with the same number of cookies they brought, but all different kinds. Anyway, I only invited 6 people - this way it wouldn't be too out of control. It was still a ton of work, though! Since the cookies were for take away, I had to make all sorts of other apps to eat at the actual party part. It was a really great time, and a nice laid-back way to celebrate Christmas with friends. I've posted a few pictures, including a before photo. The girls who attended are Liana, Sarah, Sam, Erica, Beth and Nicole. Such fun! Now John has the hard job of eating all those cookies!

Barack Rocks!

Last night John and I attended the Barack Obama Change Rocks event at the Riviera Theater. I wasn't so excited when he told me he got us tickets - those of you who know me well know I'm supporting another candidate - but we had a really great time. Several bands played - a couple of local acts, a couple of guys from Third Eye Blind, Jill Sobule, Macy Gray, and John's favorite band, Wilco. I will say that Barack is a really inspirational man. He has lots of energy and a knack for capturing a crowd. He may have even won me over. He has some really great ideas, respects the Constitution, and is really smart -- three attributes that are absolutely not possessed by the current administration. I know a lot of our family and friends don't particularly share the same views as us, but that's the great thing about being an American - the right to have and speak one's own ideas without shame or retribution. Here are some pictures from the event. We didn't take them - Chris Sweda from the Chicago Sun-Times did.

Let It Snow!

During the past 24 hours, Chicago has turned into a winter wonderland! We got about 6 inches last night and are expected to another 2-4 inches tomorrow! Pictures to follow... Brrr!

Happy December!

Seasons Greetings everyone! We've been really busy, so sorry for the lack of posts lately! Here are some holiday photos of our place and cats! Also, it started blizzarding today so here are some pictures taken out our front windows. It's a nice and brisk 26 outside, but inside, it's so delightful! Not too hot, though. Isn't it nice when the ice in your water doesn't melt? Ever?

Long Time No Post

Sorry we haven't posted for awhile! We've both been super busy at work, I've had lots of social things going on, and John's had a cold. But, after Thanksgiving we will turn over a new leaf and post more often with more pictures! So, I'm posting a picture of my friends and me from a holiday charity cocktail event we attended last Friday.

Hope everyone has safe travels and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Local Favorites

We started this blog in order to inform family and friends we don't see often of the things we are up to here in Chicago. So, we've decided to highlight a few of our favorite places every now and then. A new favorite for us: the Davis Theater, located right around the corner from us on the main drag of Lincoln Square. We had been to the Davis once before, but John being the movie theater connoisseur he is, promised we would never be back because it didn't meet his standards. The place certainly isn't new. It evokes feelings of the old Annex 7 or Fox 4 in Tulsa. Old, kind of moldy-smelling -- definitely not the huge-screen multiplexes we are used to frequenting. But, I finally talked him into returning, and I'm happy to say John is now a Davis devotee. I would like to say it's because he has gotten over his movie theater snobbishness, but I think it has more to do with the powdered popcorn toppings they offer. You can get nacho cheese, white cheddar, or caramel. We got white cheddar, and it was delish! What's even better is that the concessions don't cost an absolute fortune. They don't take credit cards, but like I said, they haven't quite made it to the 21st century.
So, I'm happy to say that the Davis is now on our list of haunts.

How to Tell If You're an Okie

Attorney outside Megan's office: Gee, I really like your bright orange couch.

Megan: Do what?

Attorney: Oh my God! You're not from Oklahoma, are you?

Megan: Yeah, actually I am. How can you tell?

Attorney: Because nowhere else on the planet do they respond to questions with "Do what?"

More Pics of the New and Improved Condo!

Miraculous!

As many of you know, John and I recently moved in to a new condo in a great new neighborhood. The new place is a bit of a downsize for us, and we struggled with fitting in all of our junk and still making it look nice. Enter the fabulous Cindy Wilcox, John's mom's friend and a great decorator in Tulsa. She and Stephanie came up on Tuesday and whipped our place into shape in less than 24 hours! What a difference a professional's expertise makes! We are very grateful to Cindy and Stephanie for making our condo feel more like a home. We're now ready for visitors!! For those of you unable to take the trek to Chicago for a visit, we've posted some pics of the newly improved place.

We've Closed!

Not closed down, mind you, but closed on the contract to our new place! Yay! We have started moving select boxes over ourselves, ones with crystal and china and other breakable things we will never use. Someday, maybe! German American Fest was going on last weekend, so trying to park without running over drunk people with huge beer mugs was difficult, but we managed! The movers come this weekend.

We tried doing some laundry in our brand new washer/dryer, but we didn't know that the vent was not open. Thankfully, we didn't die of carbon monoxide fumes. So, we moseyed down to 24 Hour Laundry World. Not the best place, but it is interesting to people watch there. The TV was playing the Disney Channel, and needless to say it made me miss the good old days of Pinwheel and You Can't Do That on Television. There was a dramatic dirt-skateboard race set to heavy metal music going on in the TV show. Of course the young kid beats the scruffy looking hipster. Parents, don't let your kids grow up to be hipsters! Plus it's always more dramatic when the loser of the race gets arrested at the end. Too bad the volume was down, I'll never know what he did besides leave the safe confines of Wicker Park...

P.S. Pictures coming soon!

Packing Woes

Megan here. As you probably know, we are in the process of purchasing a condo and close September 14. Being the high-strung, type A person I am, I've been packing for a couple of weeks. Having moved about a million times, I thought I finally had it figured out, but this recent move isn't without its problems. First, we're trying to be thrifty with this move, so we've been collecting boxes from our respective workplaces for a couple of weeks as well as stealing them from the new neighbors who just moved in across the hall. Sounds good, right? Wrong - the boxes are all weird sizes and some of them just hold one item. Initially I had told our movers we would only have about 40 boxes for them to move, but seeing as how we have that many packed already, it's looking as if I will be calling and changing that number. Also, because I am so anal, I've managed to pack quite a lot of stuff, stuff that we still actually NEED, like mixing bowls and cookie sheets. I'm not about to unpack them (1) because I'm not sure where they are in the pile of boxes in our office, and (2) I'm not so sure our second-hand boxes could take the abuse of being opened again. So, no cookies for us until we move. I'm sure there will be a few more posts about this move as it progresses, but as with anything we do, this adventure doesn't seem like it will be without its annoying little complications. Wish us luck!

First Post!

Welcome to our new blog! We are still thinking of what to post about, so stay tuned for great posts coming soon.