Vida

Monday I spent some time in my place to get things in order and get ready for the upcoming week in the kitchen too.  i actually really enjoyed it.  at the end of the day I officially knew my mind's converted to fall. I got back in the kitchen and made Tempting Tempeh Chili.  I was a little nervous because I've never cooked with tempeh before.  But it turned out really good.  I'm not quite sure how you can mess up chili.  Oh man is it filling. It was my first recipe from my 1,000 Vegan Recipes book (thanks borders and dad). a nd I didn't even stop there.  I made some delicious cookies .  i left out the chocolate because i don't like super sweet.  the salt on top makes a significant difference (i did some of both because i didn't really trust it).  my taste buds say a good difference.  yum.

CARDS WIN!!!  BRAVES LOSE!!!  WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS!! Usually I tune in via my app and listen to the game's broadcasts.  Last night I was out with a friend for the first inning so I got to watch the first inning there (if you missed it, it was a big one).  Then it was the free game on mlb.com last night so I got to watch the rest when I got home.  So Fun! After an amazing run of a month (September).  Now we play on Saturday against the Phillies in the playoffs!   "On the morning of Aug. 25, the Cardinals were 10 1/2 behind Atlanta and 10 games behind the Brewers in the National League Central.  They had dropped to four games over .500 following a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers, and their manager, Tony La Russa, was genuinely afraid they might finish with a losing record." ( via ) "We weren't supposed to be here I still don't know how we did it but we did it Rock 'n' Roll You never know what can happen" -Sk

this weekend was so lovely! one of my friends from my dorm freshman year, Marianne, came back to visit.  friday night nez (another friend from seton), marianne and I hit up some mexican food (margaritas of course) and then headed over to rocks for some girl catching up and chatting.  it was so much needed.   saturday i had work (which was insane, i don't want to talk about it).  so i missed out on the day fun, but i forced myself was able to meet up with them at night.  and i am so glad I did. we went to fountainhead  near inez's place for dinner.  they had a book of beer and alcohol to pick from.  needless to say, i was completely overwhelmed and didn't even know where to start.  so i talked with my waitress and ended up with a North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner and I really enjoyed it.  the next day i even saw fountainhead is listed as #4 for overall beer selection in chicago.  i'm not surprised.  it was a great atmosphere. then we headed downtown to a

i have a lot of updates on the weekend.  (it was a great weekend!)  i just have to say something about the cardinals at this point.  so the weekend update will come tomorrow. it's a nerve wrecking time for us right now.  overall we're doing really well, but we quite literally have to win every game.  we lost two in a row thursday & friday.  i won't lie, the thought crossed my mind that it was over (as it did in august too).  then after winning saturday (very dramatically) and sunday (with some homers) and some losses by the braves we are only one back for the wild card. i keep tuning in on my phone to listen to the games and man oh man is it exciting.  so even if we don't make it to the post season, they definitely made it exciting. one thing to note about sunday's game.  remember the drama i mentioned about pujols at the beginning of the season.  well, now it's back.  sunday was his possible last game at busch as a cardinal.  every time he cam

One of my co-workers left for France on Wednesday and another one is leaving for Argentina at the end of this week.  Somehow they got a show operator to agree to let us go on the roof of the planetarium Wednesday.   I honestly didn't know where we were going and just followed along, but it was so fun.  Me, Liz, Elsa, Kyle I may not be super happy at my job, but I really try to make the best of it.  This was such a fun day.  We also took pictures around the planetarium, which we signed and gave/will give to Elsa and Liz when they leave. Current AEs (Assistant Educators) Rubina (Informal), Elsa (Outreach Assistant), Liz (Interns), Kyle (Formal), Me (Outreach)

the top fall fashion trends via time out chicago bright hues i like this one A LOT! maxi skirts and chunky knits polka dots i could totally get into this one and this one was the most surprising to me camouflage choose as you wish...

sunday i went to a vintage bazaar at congress theater.  i definitely had fun, but i didn't walk away with any purchases and i have several excuses reasons for this: -what i liked wasn't in my size -or before i got back to buy it, someone else did.  One time I walked over while a girl tried it on so I creapily stood off to the side... until she bought it.  boo. -i get overwhelmed in places like that.  I don't have a talent in shopping.  I get bored and plainly, overwhelmed. the first thing i saw when i walked through the entrance was this blue travel case my mom has and takes everywhere.  I continued to see them throughout the bazaar in different colors.  When I told my mom about this she said, "oh you should get one of those because they're awesome!"   i also saw cups that my grandma has and uses. monday i went to my favorite thrift store:   crossroads trading co.   and i did awesome.  i don't didn't have many work clothes for fall/winter so that&

i finished my 3rd and final 30 mile weekend (10 on saturday, 20 on sunday) before the big day.  it was exciting.  it felt easier and i went faster each time.  just how it's supposed to be. i didn't even need to pull myself up the stairs at my place at the end! sunday i ended up running with the Ready To Run 20 miler race (same time, same place thing).  Except I only ran with them for 10 miles and then turned around the run the 10 back.  They were fun though.  I loved seeing one of their loved ones waiting for them in the rain (did i mention it was raining).  it was super cute.   and karen even ran a 5K sunday morning.  i've been trying to get her to give running a chance for awhile now so i was super excited.  we decided (i decided and told her) we were going to run a thanksgiving 5K together.  so she did sundays as practice.  and you know what she said?  "it was fun."  yes, she most definitely did! now i have two weeks of not as far mileage before oct. 9th!

this week after living in chicago for years, i saw the buckingham fountain lights and music show.  not just once, but twice!  and it wasn't planned at all, i just happened to be biking by.  it was funny.  so yes, i'm thankful i finally saw that... but this week i'm most thankful i saw a wedding on the beach.  yeah, here in chicago.  on my run south i saw people gathering by the water, but i didn't know what was going on.  then on my way back home i saw it was a wedding.   it was so cute.  there were 30-50 people there.  no chairs.  ribbons to mark the isle.  my kind-of scene.   one of my fellow runners yelled "congratulations" it was at like 7am (maybe there's some law about that). but it was precious and so intimate.  and beautiful

2 years ago, last night i was standing in the zocalo celebrating mexican independence day.  when i think back to that night (actually the whole week) i feel so happy.  that was a really happy, exciting time for me.  it's strange how happy you can feel when you understand so little of what the people around you are saying. last night on my bike ride home silly things kept reminding me of that night.  the most obvious were the mexican flags people were flying outside their car windows.  i saw the buckingham fountain light show, which sort-of reminded me of the lights in the zocalo.  no, there weren't fireworks or yelling, "viva mexico."  although, to be honest i did speak out loud in spanish the whole way home (the path was deserted) and may or may not have yelled "viva mexico" myself, alone on the chicago lakefront path (i did).   good times what else have i been up to this week? beer tasting at haymarket , which was super fun!  to be honest, their beer

I woke up cold without a fan and my window open. I had to wear gloves on my bike ride to work. Sad, sad day for me. i can't believe monday i was at the pool

the lacuna - barbara kingsolver this ended up being such a wonderful book.  it's a historical fiction book that i loved.  the setting is in mexico (mostly mexico city) and the east coast of the us.  i loved when HS (the main character) described areas of mexico city and i could see them.  this book was more than that though.  it took looks at so many different historical events.  this is just how i like to read history.  it's weaved into a story.  and it has a lot of parts to get you thinking about humanity, which is a bit scary, but necessary. the most important part of a story is the piece of it you don't know. if i loved you, i would tell you this - robin black a book of short-stories about tough love.  no, not the love you see in movies.  and many different types of love.  full of was in concluding, heartbreaking love stories.  this one wasn't an uplifting one. ghost world -daniel clowes i decided to try out a graphic novel.  it is definitely different than what

This weekend was the Lakeview East Art Fair  and my parents came to visit.  The art fair was less than a block away so we definitely spent some significant time there.   There were so many awesomely unique artists!   David Mayhew , James Allen French , just to name a few. maybe i'll even get something pretty from the festival for christmas/my bday ;) The main stage was even on my block.  Basically all day Sunday, after my parents left, i watched different bands.  It was lovely!   Paper Thick Walls , Cole Degenova & the People's Republic , and a teensy bit of Dance Floor Plans with my parent's in town we checked out several restaurants.  some were like better than others.   the flower flat , wilde , ann sather's (of course), yoshi's cafe (japanese, by the way).  at yoshi's i ate out of a pumpkin.  yes, seriously.  i'd never eaten a pumpkin before.  it was quite filling. mom embraced her photography skills during the weekend and took lots an

i realize i've done an awful job at cardinals updates this season.  and there is a very clear reason for this:  jinxing.  I didn't want to jinx anything.  yes, i thought about saying more, but i would stop myself.   i won't change this tradition this late in the season. i just want to share this article.  (i even put off reading it for a couple hours because i didn't want to jinx anything... seriously) ( via )

This may be a strange thing to say today on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.   To stray away from my topic for a minute.  People said 9/11 would become Kennedy's assassination for our generation.  Remembering exactly where you were and how you found out.  I was in gym class, freshman year of high school.  Ms. Rosie told us as we were getting ready to go back inside something happened.  Then the rest of the day we watched the news in all of our classes as everyone tried to figure out what was going on.  It's strange how we remember where we are when traumatic things happen in our lives. Columbine.  Yep, I remember where I was, etc. for that one. When my grandpa was in the hospital and took a turn for the worse.  I could basically retell every detail of that time. But the happy things... harder to pinpoint.  Why is that? I'm sorry, I'm doing a very poor job of staying on topic today.   What I'm thankful for today is our ability to forgive.  Could you imagine

even with the shocking 20° drop in temps from sat-sunday i've gotten out to enjoy the fall weather quite a bit. it's just so lovely. i had my first (of many) experience going out of my walking path to crunch a particularly crunchy leaf. monday karen & i walked over to the lake for a fun little picnic.  the waves crashed onto the sidewalk in front of us and we could watch them crash alllllll the way down the path.  that was fun. yesterday i had a department retreat for work (which may I say was basically pointless and pretty awfully planned... but) we went kayaking for our "bonding" part.  i got to share a kayak with one of my favorite co-workers who i don't get to socialize with very often. she's super competitive so i had to warn her i am not, but we did pretty well.  afterwards other co-workers said how we were "beasts" (not the word i would have chosen).  i said, "yeah, we kept up with with boys."  we did go pretty speedy if I say

i'm not sure you're going to believe me:  seaweed .   yeah, you read right.  like the stuff that's in the sea. i keep reading more and more about the nutritional benefits of seaweed.  they seem endless.  as one site summed it up: "The best seaweed health benefit is that it is one of the best sources of nutrient rich, non-toxic foods with which we can nourish our bodies - a food that hasn't been tampered with or altered with genetic modification." a small sampling of the benefits listed: removes residue of radiation in the body (wow) improves water metabolism (hmmm) a lymphatic cleanser strengthens the thyroid (a bit random) i promise the list goes on and on so of course i had to give it a try and for 99¢, this is an indulgence i can make. so it might look a little weird and i'm not quite sure how to explain how it tasted.  besides saying it doesn't really have much of a taste... why not give it a try?

seriously, pumpkin spice lattes are the only reason i'm ok saying good bye to summer. that and crunching leaves.  sunday karen and i took a bit of a walk through a few different neighborhoods of chicago and i was quite excited to step out of my way and crunch my first leaf of the season. but... this weekend the weather was a bit of a slap in the face.  it got cool, super fast.  maybe a teensy bit too fast for me.  i love summer.  i love the heat of summer.  i love the sun of summer.  but i know that each season will come to an end and pumpkin spice lattes help to make that transition a little easier. to be honest, my f av coffee place has pumpkin pie lattes (which are basically the same thing) all year.  i just can't seem to bring myself to drink them in the summer.  they're just best in the fall apparently, chicago and two other cities got the starbucks pumpkin spice latte a week before everyone else.  because we love it the most. (?)  i have no idea how they deter

i realize i've been awful about updating on my marathon journey.  woops.  oh well.  better late than never. so the journey started back in february when i registered, of course.   it's funny because i found out my sister-in-law, greta, was pregnant a couple weeks later and she's due right around the time of the marathon.  we're both on our very own, very different journeys, but journeys none the less. yeah... her's is a lot more important than mine. as i come to the end of my training i'm starting to feel ready for the race.   anyway so as i go along, i don't want to jinx anything, but things seem to be falling into place. i got new shoes about a month ago so they are nice and fancy.  although apparently after this marathon, technically, i should have to buy new ones again.  whew.  whatever, i'll enjoy them while i can. i decided to give up coffee about a month ago as well.  this decision doesn't have all that much to do with the marathon, but

as i've mentioned, i don't pay for apps.  free apps all the way.  (except for this one) i found this new app:  retro camera.  i got it last week and i'm in love....   check out some of the photos and yes, it was free

i have always loved ripping the month off the calendar to start a new one.   i think i loved it so much when i was little because i was just happy the month was over. now it amazes me how fast the months go.  i mean really, it's already september.  last night i went for a walk and saw all these moving trucks.  'why are all these moving trucks out?'  oh yeah, it's september.  crazy.   it's like a brand new start. What comes in September? ~Labor Day & the official end to white pants (not sure I completely agree with it.  but i understand it) ~harvesting month for beer ~apples ~meteorological fall starts today ~football starts september should be lovely, but i'm still trying to hold on to summer with all my might. just for fun the first week of september (2-8) is national waffle week.  (i'm not quite sure when the last time i had a waffle was... HAPPY SEPTEMBER