Jump start on life...

Today was itchin' for a bloggin'.

The day began at 3 am when a teacher called to let me know that she was too sick to go to work. Now I understand wanting to be prompt and professional, but really, 3 am?

7 am I got another call from another teacher who was going to be out sick.

7:19 I ran to the cleaners to pick up my pants (they are open from 7 am-7 pm so it was my only chance) and the door was locked. No pants.

8:28 I got a call from another teacher who was stuck in traffic and would be late.

8:31 another teacher arrived in tears because she had fainted and fallen while walking to the train station this morning. She was ok, but naturally quite shaken about the whole incident. After feeding her cheerios and juice, I called the on-call nurse hotline (aka: Mom) to give her some peace of mind about the whole thing.

After that the morning plodded along until the late afternoon when another teacher was confirmed out the next day and we had to start calling families to cancel programs. My favorite part of the job!

6:00 rolled around and everyone left except me because I was supposed to be going on a date at 6:30. Except that my date neglected to tell me where were meeting and when I still hadn't heard from him at 6:45 I went home.

At home I didn't even take off my coat because I had to go to the grocery store and return my Blockbuster rentals (today was the day they would charge my card if they didn't receive them by store closing!) When I got in the car, I turned the key in the ignition, and the "sound of silence" took on a whole new meaning.

I called home while sitting sadly in the cold, silent car, and my life advisors told me I had to call AAA to have them come jump it.

And now I sit here and wait.

2007 Discoveries

New things I've learned this year:

1. My winter clothes weigh 7.8 pounds.

2. You can carry your umbrella when it is snowing too.

3. Zucchini tastes good sauteed with thyme and sliced almonds.

3. Don't accept dances with men who have lips tattooed on their necks.

4. It is possible to sprout oregano in Chicago in January.

Dance Baby Dance

We know you may not think this is as funny as we do, but we thought you would enjoy it anyway. Just remember, you saw it here first. It is funnier when you watch it multiple times...check out that hip action...and make sure you have the volume up.

New Year's photos part 2

Wishing on grapes under the table...
Ready for love and travel in 2007!
Happy New Year! 

New Year's photos

These are a few photos from our New Year's gathering on Eastwood Ave. Everyone brought something to share and our breakfast table ended up with quite an ornate spread!







Finally, a photo of my roommate, Colleen! She really exists after all!

It was a night filled with a mixture of traditions... including the grapes, the yellow underwear, the backpacks, salsa lessons in the kitchen, etc, etc.

New year, new hobby

In line with my new year's resolutions (cook once a week and get a life), I've taken up a new hobby. I've decided to become a gardener. Today I went to the garden center of Home Depot to outfit myself with the necessary tools. I called Mom for advice since she has a well-known green thumb, and she warned me that January in Chicago is an unusual season to take up gardening. However, I am determined. I bought the following:

a watering can
a few pots
a mini herb garden (the add water and watch it grow kind)
a few packets of seeds
potting soil
a bonsai

Since I don't have a patio of any kind and because it is January, all the growing will take place indoors. Currently I am waiting for my mini greenhouse's peat pellets to soak up some water, and then I'll plant the herb seeds. Maybe if they grow, they'll inspire the cooking portion of my resolutions. Good luck to me and to my plants, I'll let you know if anything lives.

Happy New Year!

According to South American tradition, if you want something specific in the new year, you have to do certain things at the stroke of midnight. My Chilean friends filled me in on a few things during the day, and then my Peruvian friends added onto the tradition last night. Apparently if you want to find love you have to wear yellow underwear. I didn't have any, but Colleen did, so I put hers in my pocket. If you want to travel, you are supposed to wear a backpack or carry your suitcase. Then there's discrepancy because the Chileans said you are supposed walk outside with your backpack or suitcase, and the Peruvians said you're supposed to run around the block. They also brought a bunch of grapes over because at midnight everyone is supposed to get under a table and eat 12 grapes. One for each month, and make a wish on each one.

We counted down to 1, banged on pots and pans with cheese graters and avocado slicers because we didn't have enough spoons, toasted with champagne, hugged and kissed everybody, got under the table, ate our grapes, and ran around the building with our backpacks on. It was a busy New Year! I realized this morning that we forgot to sing Auld Lang Syne. Next year I'll sing it twice.

Happy New Year and an Auld Lang Syne!

Christmas

I thought I would just post a few pictures from Christmas. We had such a good time. The first picture is from walking in the prairie with Ivy. The second is Elinore all dressed up in her Christmas dress. My mom made that and I wore it when I was her age! The third and fourth were from the Bodine Girls photo shoot. I miss you all already.

 

Heat or no heat, that is the question.

One of the things I've been getting used to now that I live in an old building in the city is life with radiator heat. Ever since the heat was turned on in mid-October, the radiators have been prime topic of conversation between my roommate and I. It seems that they work only on two settings--cold and out of control. The issues, however, stem not just from the temperature, but the noises they emit! I have lain awake many a night in my flannel pajamas, socks and ski hat on, underneath a pile of blankets, shivering to death while my bedroom radiator happily stays barely warm. Poor Colleen has lain awake even more as the clanking and clattering sounds like someone is throwing her bedroom radiator down a flight of stairs. Both of us have walked around our apartment wearing all of our winter clothes at once to combat the chill.

We've been complaining to the landlord since November that there must be a better way, that this is just really no way to live. His answer, until recently, was basically that we needed to suck it up. He mentioned a few options like covering all the windows with plastic to eliminate the draft from so many large windows. We finally were able to convince him to come LOOK at the bedroom radiators 1. to see about Colleen's clanking, and 2. to see about mine getting all the way hot. Last week he came while Colleen and I were out to inspect and improve the "tilt" (which actually meant shoving 4 stacked up pennies underneath on of the feet).

When we got home later that day, we opened the apartment door, and a literal heat wave struck us. Our apartment was actually a RAINFOREST. It was about 95 degrees, the windows were completely fogged over and dripping water, all the radiators were scalding, but the bathroom radiator was screaming like a tea-kettle and clanking horribly. As we approached it actually began to shake and spit boiling water onto the bathroom floor. We debated taking cover wondering if it would explode, but then reconsidered and called the landlord. He said lacsadaisically that he would stop by next time he was in the area. Plan B was to call Dad. Dad said to call the fire department (or to call the landlord back and threaten to do so..) We decided to try shutting the valve and after 15 minutes the hissing died away. The apartment, however, was still 95 degrees. I slept that night in a tank top on top of all my covers in a jungle.

So I will be careful from now on what I wish for, but knowing that we are only at December 29th, I have a feeling that our adventures with the radiators are far from over...

Working Woes

I really don't like working! My body is taking a beating from this job. My feet are sore and I have blisters all over. My knee is all swollen like elephantiasis and my back is killing me :-( What was I thinking?????

Happy Holidays!!

Well everyone, I just thought I would let you guys know that I have officially been accepted to the London Summer Program!! I got a call this morning informing me that they had received my application and that I had been accepted and my acceptance packet would be arriving in the mail soon. So yay!

Mike and I spent the day in the city yesterday and we walked from the Field Museum to the Cheesecake Factory and after a phenomenal meal we walked from the Cheesecake Factory to the Lyric Opera House. The city looked really pretty with all the Christmas Lights and such. Caitlyn, you're right the first window of the Mary Poppins display does look like she's hanging from the cloud! The opera was great, although a bit long. Our seats were pretty high up but they turned out to be pretty good because you could see the entire stage. Last night was Romeo's first performance and the women playing Juliette ended up not being able to perform so her understudy played the role. Overall it was a really great show.

By the way, after my ridiculous semester I do believe I shall be making it on the Dean's list again. I ended up with a 3.7 in Neuroscience after getting a 97 on the final, a 3.7 in Developmental psych, a 3.7 in Spanish with a 94 on the final and I am still waiting to hear about Invertebrate zoology but I am guessing I will end up with either a 3.0 or a 3.3. Can't wait for everyone to be home for Christmas and hopefully we'll get some more snow soon it all melted :-(

Caitlyn's Christmas Wish List

long johns
snow hats/nightcaps
ear muffs
liner gloves
thick socks
woolen slippers
rubber-soled, fur-lined boots
electric blanket
face mask

The Sled

Up until we had snow, the sled Elinore got as an early Christmas present has been in the playroom. Everytime I peek in their, she is playing in it. Sometimes she's climbing all over it (she loves to climb), sometimes she's stacked all of her stuffed animals into it, and sometimes she's laying in it staring up at the ceiling. I was almost hesitant to take it outside, but she had just as much fun riding it through the snow. 

The Cooking Group

My roommate Colleen started a cooking group of which she, two of her coworkers, and I are members. This week is my week to cook for the group, and I had chosen Wednesday and Shepherd's Pie. Knowing that Tuesday evening is already booked, and Wednesday I would get home too late to start, I planned to make everything tonight and then just bake it on Wednesday after work. According to schedule, I drove to work today so I could pick up a few groceries on the way home.

I would like to preface the cooking group experience by saying that when I arrived at work this morning after a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving weekend, death was all around. All the potted plants were on their last limb (so to speak), and there was the very pungeant and distinct odor of a critter (probably one of those colossal street rats) who had come to work to die over the weekend. After going through half a bottle of Febreeze, two separate children kicked me today. By 6:00 I was not to be reckoned with.

Little did I know that the entire city of Chicago with a day job does their grocery shopping on Monday nights. And as if the amount of people and grocery carts wasn't enough, the employees decided that tonight during "rush hour" would be a good time to restock shelves! We were in single file lines going both directions down the aisles, and every time I stopped to examine a product, the people behind me sighed, rolled their eyes, and stamped their feet impatiently. I could feel my brow creasing, my eyes narrowing, and my lips pooching out as my face sunk deeper and deeper into an authentic bah-humbug scowl. I finally made a dive for the meat section after circling it 3-4 times only to find that there was no ground beef left on the shelf! I sacrificed for ground turkey and high-tailed it out of there (as fast as you can high-tail when you have to wait in the check-out line for 20 minutes).

Back at the ranch I had to figure out how to quickly thaw the frozen pound of ground beef that I did have. Floating it in luke warm water was not working fast enough, so I ventured the old microwave method. However, being the technical wonder that I am, the microwave didn't heed my 30% power command, and 4 minutes into the defrost, the edges were cooked and the middle was still frozen. Meanwhile I began chopping the onions and actually had to leave the room twice to wash my face because my eyes were stinging so much.

I overcooked the meat, undercooked the onions, and forgot to mix everything in the skillet before putting it in the casserole dish. Suddenly it occurred to me that cooking groups were probably designed for people who are good at cooking. At my lowest point, I called Mom to wonder aloud about what I had been thinking. If it's possible, I may actually be kicked out of the cooking group come Wednesday. Please send me strong vibes of savory filling and fluffy mashed potatoes.

BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy birthday Jen!!! And it's a golden one too. I'd put up pictures from Thanksgiving except that once again I brought my camera home and forgot to take pictures...whoops. I hope you're having a magnificant day!!

Elinore turns 1!

Elinore turned one on Saturday, and we all went over to Michigan to help celebrate. Jen made an awesome cow cake in honor of Elinore's favorite animal sound. She sat down to a piece of cake after opening all her presents, and spent a full 3 minutes staring at it, trying to decide whether to give it a go. Finally she dug in, and ended up liking it.

Its hard to imagine that a year ago we were all sitting around marvelling at the tiny baby we were meeting for the first time. Elinore loves to give hugs and kisses. Her kisses however involve leaning in toward an object with her mouth wide open, and a hug means putting something up to her ear. Surely, she'll get it all straightened out someday!


 

Tis the Season...

Last week at work, a 2 yr old and his mom walked into the center. The child approached me with his mother, looked at her, then pointed at me and said, "Santa?" This is a new low.

Yesterday I noticed a new ad on the community board at work. It caught my attention with the title "Tennis, Anyone?" I got excited over the possibility of having someone to play with. I read further.. "..looking for someone to share court and coach fees. We meet twice per week at the blah blah tennis center..." good.. "..My daughter is 5 and a half and an intermediate player. Your child should be between 5 and 7 with tennis experience.." I guess I'd forgotten which Chicago neighborhood I work in.

Mom met me downtown yesterday to kill some time in the Loop before catching the train to Michigan for Elinore's birthday. We decided to go to the former Marshall Field's (now Macy's) to check out the animated Christmas windows. The story this year is Mary Poppins, and unfortunately they were a bit of a disappointment. Not sure if this is a product of the new ownership or just an off year, but the first window really set the tone for the lot of them. The scene showed the two children peeking down the stairs as the front door blew open and Mary Poppins with her umbrella appeared behind the open door flying through the air. Note to the animators: Next year, connect the rope to Mary's waist rather than her neck to maximize that holiday cheer.

No me gusta!

Last week was my week from hell. I had so many projects, papers, and exams. To give you an idea:
Monday: Spanish exam (somehow I got a 91), meet with my spanish group for our presentation
Tuesday: Bio collection and working on group presentation again
Wednesday: Bio collection due, Spanish group presentation, Spanish essay due
Thursday: Developmental psych exam, riding lesson, spanish tutorial
Friday: Neuroscience final paper due, Spanish composition re-write due, Biology exam

I made it through the week alive, however, last night my throat started to hurt and later I woke up with a fever. So after going to my 9 oclock class, I have an exam Friday, I went to health services and they said well we think it's the flu. This was not the end to stressful week I was hoping for.

City Life

Friday I woke up early and decided I had to buy milk before doing anything. On my way to the standard Jewel, I passed a smaller grocery store that I'd been meaning to try. Some of you may be familiar with Aldi's, but I was not. I parked at 8:45 and walked up to the doors which were still locked (until 9:00). There, I struck up conversation with the 70 yr old woman with no teeth and a mustache who was also waiting for the store to open. I marvelled at the baskets all chained together, and thought they must be to keep the carts together during the night when there is wind. (What a quaint suburban thought!) I studied them trying to figure out how to un-chain them, when another 70 yr old man came up and fed the box a quarter. Immediately the chain released and I looked away as if I'd known that was going to happen all along.

Finally the door opened, and we filed in to what looked like a Latin American convenience store. Everything was in boxes and cans, with lots of cardboard containers holding it all together. When I got to the milk section, there was one little grocery freezer section devoted to my only 2 choices. Whole. or. 2%. I picked one, and made my way to the checkout where you have to pay for a bag if you want one. What a unique experience, thought I, until I talked with Jennifer in Holland, MI who knew all about Aldi's. So much for my insights into big city culture.I have to admit that I did find it refreshing to have half of my choices eliminated for me. As a product of the obsessively indecisive culture caused by spending 20 minutes in the toothpaste aisle debating about whitening vs. tartar control vs. contains baking soda vs. sensitive teeth vs. mint vs. cinnamon vs. cheap vs. expensive vs. crest vs. colgate etc, etc, etc, I enjoyed the freedom to make an authoritative decision without question. There was no buyer's remorse after the milk.

Later that day I saw my first city rats scuttling around near the dumpsters at work. They were smaller than the reputation that preceded them. I was expecting rats the size of house cats who attacked pets and small children that were left out overnight. The signs posted on the telephone poles in my neighborhood informing the public about the rat extermination in July depict a rodent with huge ears poised for attack and baring its fangs. It wasn't exactly the "welcome to the neighborhood" that I was expecting. 

Snugglesuit

We've had a few nice days here in Michigan lately. I think it is supposed to get to 62 degrees today. We always look forward to a chance to get outside. Kevin always thinks I have Elinore bundled too warmly. I think that is one of the greatest concerns of parenting young children. How do I know if they're too cold or too warm? Is she wearing enough layers? Should I take her sweater off? Should I put a hat on? And not only are you making the choice, but then everyone who sees your baby at the grocery store or on a walk is judging you on whether your baby is warm enough. Anyway, we call this the snugglesuit. (Sometimes I call it the supersuit). It is nice and snuggly warm, but not so thick that she can't move. It has been great this fall. She certainly is cute in it!