Vida

this week i'm especially thankful for my freedom and flexibility.   friday the cardinals won the world series.   saturday morning i found out the parade would be sunday.   i decided to go.  (thanks for making my dreams come true  megabus .)   i told my dad.  he laughed and said, "you're just free as a bird, aren't you?"  at first i was offended.  then i realized how lucky i am.  no, i guess i don't always want to be as free as a bird, but while i am, i better take advantage of it. then i decided to go visit jeff & greta next weekend.  and meet baby charlie! Karen asked me why i decided to make these sudden decisions.  honestly, i felt so jealous that everyone in my family was meeting charlie (and i still don't know if they're going to let me off work for thanksgiving, when i was supposed to meet him) and i was jealous i couldn't be in st. louis when the cards won.  (and i'm a pretty impulsive person.)  so i decided it was

And it's all over. And we are the champs !  Craig came through big time:  homer and this picture of him stealing a homer from the Rangers with that catch. Not to mention the rest of the team.  Everyone shined in some way or another (I just spotlighted Craig because he's my man).  It was so refreshing.  That's why we made it here, not by one player or another. The whole team! Fans outside Team rushing out from the dugout. Yadi's reaction No one believed in us.  Everyone thought we would lose.  Bam! It was surreal in the very best way!

Seriously! Game 6 of the World Series Cards win with a walk off in the 11th! My throat hurts and I think I may be a little sore tomorrow from all the screaming tonight.   The cardinals definitely took us on a ride and it was stressful and honestly pretty weird for a few innings. And then we turned it on! So many different players contributed and it was so so so exciting! Freese (he grew up in St. Louis) hit the walk-off after coming through to extend the game in the 9th as well.  His quote after:  "I'm just glad I had the opportunity after I blew that pop-up."  It's ok Freese.  You're forgiven!   One of my favorite parts.  Before the game the way the newscasters were talking they thought the Rangers would win no problem.  I was pretty annoyed.  Then I really enjoyed after the game listening to them again.  Ha!  Take that!  The Cardinals have been proving everyone wrong for 2 months.  I don't think it's very smart to count us out. " The C

fleece navidad -maggie sefton grandma lent me this book of mystery.  (her favorite type)  along with the story though there were lots of references to knitting (making me want to knit) and the holidays.  i know the holidays will be here before i know it, which kind-of scares me.  where did this year go? one day -david nicholls hmmm... don't really know what to say about this one.  heartbreaking, just like the movie.  the book was better than the movie (as usual) with the addition of several other characters thoughts and descriptions. it looked different on the model -laurie notaro Karen and i both said our "funny books" were the best.  Mine-Me Talk Pretty One Day.  Karen's-this one.  Coincidentally we both got each other's respective books from the library at the same time.  I kept telling her this one was ok, but it had nothing on Me Talk Pretty One Day.  My favorite stories were the ones involving the author's parents, especially her Mom.  Ma

lately i've been listening to my itunes music on shuffle.   this may not seem odd to you.  it is for me. i have songs on my iphone and listen to them (in order) on my bike rides to and from work.  and that's what i do.  i even listen to them in the same order to the point where when one song ends i know what the next one will be. then if i'm in my place i listen to pandora .  ( matt & kim station) this week i just decided to mix it up. so i thought i'll share a few fun ones with you: one song i heard in the summer that still makes me happy when it comes up in my music.     Orange Tree by paperthickwalls   and this one's just for fun =)

I mentioned how sad I am with the end of summer.   But I keep reminding myself each season brings new things along with it (anyone else have the rent song playing in their head?) -who wants iced anything in January?  not me.  who wants a hot drink in the afternoon on a summer day?  not me. -now is pumpkin anything time, which i love.  pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin spice kisses (surprisingly hard to find), pumpkin cookies (like oreos), pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup... -the leaves are beautiful -and now it's halloween time. i was a little halloweened out after Adler After Dark's Spooky Space last week.  And I hadn't even dressed up yet.  Although it was funny last week when we visited a school and talked about what you can learn at the planetarium (kindergartners): stars, the moon, etc.  one kid said, "halloween" after those things were listed.  i laughed a little.  you know what those kiddos have on their minds.  (did you know:  apparently, chicago is the

there sure are! and if i had any doubt saturday night karen & i went to sedwick's (the only cards bar I know of in the city) and it was PACKED!  and everyone was wearing cards gear. (i will say i was a little nervous about going since the last time karen & i went the cards lost.  but karen ensured me i was being silly and i need to start controlling some of my superstitions.)  when we were leaving someone asked "wow, is this the landing ?" yes, we could have gone anywhere and actually sat down.  (we stood the whole time because there weren't any seats.  we felt lucky to find a spot to lean against the wall.  it was a four hour game.  it was a long game.)  but the atmosphere was pretty awesome. especially at the end when the fair weather fans left. and what did they play when the cards finished their record breaking, 16-7 win? not an annoying song.  a nice, classic song.  just like the cardinals.

I've been super involved in the world series this week so blogging has gone to the side so i'll give you some snippets from my week: *wednesday and thursday the weather was pretty awful here in chicago.  wednesday i biked through the strong winds and rain, but thursday i was forced on to the bus.  it was a very sad day.  the first bus to work i've had in a very long time.  (they closed the lakefront path for real this time.  i saw it on the news that they weren't letting anyone by.) *the wind thursday night blew 3 sailboats in the harbor by the shedd into the wall.  friday i saw crews working on getting them out and this morning they were still working on it.  i feel sorry for those boat owners. *today one of my co-workers (he works in a different department so i literally only talk to him on saturdays when it's so quiet and there aren't many staff members here) comes down the hall while i'm getting water and starts jumping up and down raising a box in

"cardinal fans can't believe what they saw the last 7 weeks.  no one in st. louis thought we would be here, at the world series." could you imagine going to a world series game?   after a day full of very windy, wet bike rides, lots of pumpkin gutting and helping carve some very creative pumpkins (for Adler After Dark) i was ready for game 1! watching the little commercials, building the excitement was awesome.  my favorite had "meet me in st. louie" playing with classic pictures and clips of st. louis.  watching the lineup announcements was awesome. it was so exciting sitting on the couch with a friend. i can't image what it must be like to be there! cards tickets are $280.  i looked.  i entered a contest for free ones.   i guess i'll just have to enjoy the games with my chicago crew.  i'm excited either way.  but could you imagine being there??!!?!  that would be amazing! WE WIN GAME 1!!!  The sports casters said we wouldn

who would have thought a month and a half ago that we would go to the world series!!! yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! GO CRAZY FOLKS, GO CRAZY!

this weekend was reunion weekend at depaul .   i went to the young alumni reception friday evening at luxbar   saturday em picked me up from work (we threw my bike in the back of her car).  thanks em!  and we pushed the wedding parties out of the way so we could take the typical chicago skyline picture.  "best view of the skyline in the city (at the adler)."   we were there... why not?   Saturday night was at the Drake .  it was great to catch-up with old friends and meet new ones. i figured pictures spoke louder than words this week but i will say one thing.  that father holtschneider  sure can give a speech. and the night ended with probably the nicest cab driver i've had...ever.  i'm thankful for him too!

First Torty the Turtle .  Now the Rally Squirrel . they even gave out rally squirrel towels last night. i guess in high school (maybe middle school) the volleyball team i was on had a stuffed duck that we took to every game.  i don't remember how it started. maybe i think it's a little bit silly, but it seems to be working and it makes people laugh and it's all in good fun.   hey, why not?  ;) do i mind being the underdogs (for over a month)? "9 out of 10 cardiologists do not recommend being a cardinals fan" =)

( warning:  this is a long one ) so i didn't pr.  i didn't get my goal.  but i had so much fun!  and finished my 3rd marathon. i started fast.  too fast.  like 6 min miles.  for the first 4 miles ish.  and then i felt like i was going to die.  i kept going at like 8 min miles for several more, but i just kept getting slower and slower.  i didn't want to take the chews or gels (nothing felt good in my mouth).  i actually threw up some chews and couldn't even finish one gel and was very tempted to spit it out. around 14-17 miles i wanted to quit and i felt awful. and then i decided i would have fun.  i realized i wasn't going to pr.  nor was i going to get my goal so i would enjoy myself.  i have endurance, i don't have speed.  the last six miles i totally hammed it up  and i felt pretty awesome too (after I recovered from the start). *i went out of my way to give high fives (the kids loved it) *i talked to several spectators *i danced when i passed mu

*cardinals are in the division series!  we had a bit of a rough night last night, but it was the first game.  i made buddies with some old men at the bar though so that was enjoyable.  (they were cards fans of course)  I'll be watching tonight. *i finished my 3rd marathon.  not quite what I expected, but I did it.  (i'm going to do a recap of the marathon in a couple days) At the expo on Friday.  (Thanks Renee) *I'M AN AUNT!  This is my feature for this week.  Greta & Jeff had their little baby boy on Saturday afternoon:  Charlie Robert. It was nice that Karen & I were together so we could put everyone on speaker phone and we all knew the same info at the same time.   Karen's super excited she gets to meet him this weekend and I'm going to meet him at Thanksgiving!  (although I still have to get those days off work...) Good thing Charlie has some Cards onesies! Precious Baby Charlie in Jeffrey's hand ( via ) Today I'm off to hav

Today is the first astro overnight of the season (which if you forgot this means I work a shifted schedule for the day).  AND more importantly, means I get to go to my fav yoga class!!!!  I haven't been able to go since May (it ends at 9 and when i need to be at work at 9, that's a challenge) so I couldn't wait to see how it went. With it being a "rest" day and the late arrival to work, it was exactly what I needed. So I have several stories to share ONE I made "confidence" my intention.  For several reasons.  I'll share one. I've had a bit of a shaky week, making me nervous about the race Sunday.  My body's literally been shaking.  It's not uncommon for me (it happens sometimes), but not something I want to happen marathon week.  I've been doubting everything: 'I didn't feel as well as I should have after that short run.'  'What should I eat, what should I eat.', etc.  I need to trust what I've done an

The other night I was out with some co-workers and a question came up.   What is your guilty pleasure TV show? Lot's of shows I hadn't heard of before came up:   Dance Moms , Toddlers & Tiaras , etc. Immediately I said The Office .  Everyone groaned and informed me 'that's not a guilty pleasure show, that's a good show.  There's a difference.' Ooohhhh, but I love it, it's so funny. p.s. i still love the office, but i still miss michael scott So I stopped and listened. After more thought I think these are my guilty pleasure shows: Project Runway - For some reason I enjoy this show.  Even though after almost every episode I complain about how unnecessarily mean the judges are, especially at the beginning of the season.  I guess I forgot from last summer. Mondo - my favorite Project Runway designer... ever full disclosure: I've only watched a few seasons Ellen -Um yeah.  I love Ellen!  Really the only good thing about having a sh

So I'm going to dedicate some time to the playoffs... because i'm super excited Last night was game 2 of NLDS Cards vs. Phillies.  We lost the first game of the series on Saturday, but we won last night in a come from behind, bit of a nail bitter, 5-4. Craig got on base on a triple as the go ahead run and Pujols hit him home in the 7th. Maybe this is too soon to say, but let's look back ... sneak peak into the texting back and forth between karen & i Oct. 2, 2011 9:29 PM Me:  Yessssssssssss! Karen:  Ate you breathing? I know she meant "Are."  She was excited.  It's ok. Me:  I'm screaming Karen:  Lol.  The cards are coming alive now.  I can't believe skip slid to first.  I can just see you holding your breath in anticipation. 9:47 PM Karen:  Go Craig! I was concentrating too hard and excited to respond. 11:00 PM Karen:  Yes!!!!! Me:  Wahooooooo   I was in the middle of writing mine when her's came through So exciting!  Gam

First of all... Happy October!   Fall has definitely arrived in Chicago.  And we've had some crazy weather arrive with it.  Friday the waves were crashing so high on the lakefront path they actually closed it by the afternoon.  Personally, I found it pretty funny because I thought the waves were bigger & badder in the morning than the afternoon, but in the afternoon they decided to close off parts of the path that I rode that very morning.  But I digress... Let's talk thank yous.... The marathon is quickly  approaching and I'm so excited (partly because Karen's coming to visit!).   But my co-workers were so sweet and made me a marathon care package.   *Pasta for pre-race (all-natural, wheat-they were trying to show how well they've gotten to know me by pointing all this out).   *Gels and blocks for during the race. *Beer from local breweries (the nice stuff that I don't splurge on unless it's a special occasion) for after. *A super sweet card.