Vida

Did you guess me? You're wrong. Today's my big brother's 30th birthday! 30's a pretty big deal.  At least I think so.  He's in a good place for a 30 year old.  I can only hope I have my life as together as he does on my 30th birthday.  Only time will tell... Mom & Dad with baby Jeffrey In honor of his birthday, I have some awesome pictures of him as a baby.  Like 30 years ago!  (Wow, that's weird when you think of it like that.) 9 months Yeah, I'm standing like a pro. I'm going to walk a little.  No sweat. (It's pretty crazy how much his son, Charlie, looks like him when he was a baby.  See bottom.) I like to play a game with my friends where on their birthdays (or birthday celebrations) I like to make them list the best 5 things about the year before.  (I make myself play this game on my own birthday as well, in my journal.) 1 year Some friends love it.  Some friends hate it.  It usually depends on t...

If you were at a store and there was ice cream, frozen yogurt, popsicles, custard, soft serve, gelato, etc., what would you pick? I would definitely pick either the frozen yogurt or a popsicle.   Pretty sure usually I would say frozen yogurt, with all the frozen yogurt places popping up all over the city (and especially in Lakeview), it's hard not to love.  Although lately (as in a few days) I've been wanting a popsicle and exploring making them from home. With the weather warming up, who wouldn't go for some sort-of frozen treat? As I mentioned, frozen yogurt seems to be everywhere right now.  I'm not going to complain becuase I love it and  apparently Chicagoans agree with me. Last summer I made it a point to branch out and try as many different frozen yogurt places as possible.  But I'm pretty sure I've found my favorite so now I usually just go to that one. (to be revealed at the end) This week I went to Pinkberry with a friend.  (I'm neve...

When you walk to the produce section at your grocery store, what's your strategy? Do you walk right to your favorites, grab it and walk away? Do you walk straight to the organic produce? Do you walk back and forth comparing prices? I would probably fall in the walk back and forth.  I'd like to buy organic all the time, but I just can't seem to.  Call me frugal, call me what you wish. I read the Environmental Working Group's list of the pesticide levels of common fruits, ranked from 1 (lowest pesticide load) to 100 (highest load). Here are the results: YES (splurge on organic fruit) -Peaches,  100 (yeah, the highest possible...) -Apples, 89 -Strawberries, 82 -Pears, 65 -Grapes, 43 -Oranges, 42 NO (not necessary for the splurge) Blueberries, 24 Bananas, 16 Pineapples, 7 Well, that's sad.  Especially since most of my favorites are in the yes list and I very rarely, like very very rarely, buy organic produce. I'm going to look at it as an i...

Some artists I can't get enough of right now: The Wombats I'm loving all the songs on their The Wombats Proudly Present CD.   Here are a few: Techno Fan 1996 Jump Into The Fog Wolf Gang King and all his men Ball Park Music It's Nice To Be Alive I even made a playlist 5.19.  I never make playlists... and I now play it on repeat.  Sorry neighbors, I'll try to keep the volume down. (in addition to above) Entire The Wombats cd Ifly - Ball Park Music Need Your Love - The Temper Trap Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap Shuffle - Bombay Bicycle Club Tightrope - Walk the Moon Anna Sun - Walk The Moon Next in Line - Walk the Moon It's Time - Imagine Dragons

The Cardinals have been a bit slumpy lately.  I talked to Dad about it Saturday and when I said that he said, "Uh Yeah!"  Then we agreed it doesn't help that so many key players are currently on the DL (disabled list).  But last night was a great game ! I listened to the game on my app and Dad was even there !  So jealous!  I even texted him during the game (Dad does not text) and he texted me back!  It may have been short, but I could tell he was excited too! Cardinals fans need that curtain call! I woke up this morning and knew I had to figure out when I get to see my first game in person!  Can't wait!   I love listening to the games so I can follow what's happening, but nothing  compares to seeing a game in person in the lovely atmosphere! I'm going to focus on last night's very exciting game, rather than all the injuries, and hope our slump is turning around!

Thank you, nice person, You probably just got your bike stolen, but you took the time to write a note to your fellow bike riders.  Your note is quite effective because I haven't seen a bike locked to that particular pole since I noticed your note and it's on a very popular corner. Thank you for being so considerate. Sincerely,  A fellow bike rider who doesn't want her bike stolen and isn't the most diligent person about checking for screws on the poles.

I can't decide if today was more spring or summer, but it was pretty awesome.   After initially being upset because my volunteer activity was canceled (because of NATO), I didn't let it keep me down too long. I started the beautiful day off with a lovely longish run!  Perfect. There's this blooming bush about a half mile from my place and it smells SO good right now.  I have no idea what it is, but it's the perfect beginning and end to my run. it's on the path near Diversey, in case you're wondering Then I made it to the Farmer's Market for the first time in 2012! I love the farmer's market.  And I love that I didn't have to go at 8am while the vendors were setting up and hurriedly grab things on my way to work.  Yea for not having to work Saturdays! There are a few changes this year, but change happens. I walked away with tomatoes grown outside, asparagus, and bread for $11.   Which tomato would you rather have? The one from the gr...

I made Vegetarian Tinga for a mexican pot luck I went to on Tuesday. Many people have never heard of Tinga, let alone knowing you can make it vegetarian style.  You absolutely can!  And it's so easy. Traditional tinga is made of shredded chicken with chipotle flavoring.  I used cabbage instead of the chicken. I looked at a lot of different recipes online, but couldn't find a recipe for the veggie tinga I had in mind, so I ended up combining the guidelines of those recipes and making my own. Here's what I did: 1 onion 1 head of cabbage 1 7oz. can chipotle (the peppers in adobo sauce) 5 ish roma tomatoes olive oil -Saute onion in olive oil. -Chop cabbage (I used youtube to help me figure out the best way to do that) add to onion and saute. -Blend the chipotle and tomatoes in blender. Note:  Some people only like to add the sauce from the chipotle peppers.  I added the entire can (including the peppers themselves).  It's up to you depending ...

I have a hard time being dependent on another person. I had this box that I needed to get to UPS If you notice, it's quite large. At first I looked into ways ups would come to my place and pick it up.  No luck.   Then I started thinking about who I could ask to help me. Then I decided.   I am doing this myself! So yesterday for my lunch break, I strapped on my new sandals and went for a walk.  I made it.  (maybe like a half mile)  I was happy I did it myself. And also very happy with my new sandals.  Check them out! (clearly I took these on the way home) I kept seeing awesome things about Salt-Water Sandals for kids and then I saw some for adults!  Thank you Modcloth , I love them.

Friday the Cardinals retired Tony LaRussa's #10. I watched the video of the ceremony and I may have gotten teary eyed.   Congratulations Tony! there it is It was fun in the video to see some of the old Cardinals too, like Jim Edmonds and David Eckstein. check out the field! "I think a baseball player here in St. Louis has got it probably as good as you could ever have it." -Adam Wainwright If you care to watch the video, like I did... you can watch here

First order of business on this very special day... Happy Mother's Day!    Love you, Mom! Now on to Mr. Bike.   I mentioned a couple weeks ago about my bike's wheel problems.  I've been riding my spare bike that I use for friends and visiting people to ride while they're with me (which I personally don't love the feel of) in the meantime.   After looking at a bike store a couple weeks ago, I fell in love with a bike there and the salesguy was super nice changing things as I requested it.  (Apparently, I've become quite a picky biker.  I guess that's what happens when you ride all the time.)  It was $600ish and I just couldn't justify that.  If it ever got stolen, I would be crushed.  So I kept exploring other alternatives.  There's a used bike store in my neighborhood and there's this awesome co-op in Pilsen:   Working Bikes .   Yesterday was the big day for the co-op trip.  The plan:  donate Mr. Bike to...

Portland, Oregon that is. Taken on one of my morning runs on the river so many beautiful bridges! Work sent me to Portland this week for orientation at headquarters and I had a little time to explore. So here are a few notes: 1- Such a laid-back atmosphere .   The first couple interactions I had I kept thinking, "They're talking sooooo slowly."  And reminded myself I'm in Portland.  Honestly, I was surprised because I consider myself a pretty laid-back person. It was lovely! I heard one horn honk the entire time I was there.  I'm not exaggerating.  I didn't realize it was missing until I heard one and, shocked, commented to one of the employees in Portland.  She said whenever they hear a car horn they always say they must be from Washington or California... or the suburbs.  =) 2- So bike friendly ! There are clearly marked bike lanes on every street!  They even have bike boulevards!  Even the public transportation trains ha...