Tomato Tomato

One of my favorite things this summer was making my own caprese salads (tomato, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil). I'll miss these! Love the colors.

Cheese Heads

Joe and his brother Andy got the chance to be on the sidelines for the Saints v. Packers game in Green Bay a couple weeks ago for the NFL kickoff game. Ben went too but he got a ticket instead and sat with his Aunt and Uncle instead of being on the sidelines. Andy is a huge Packers fan, but he had to pretend to be a Saints fan for this game. :-)
Their cousin Paul works for the Saints and he is able to get people to help him run photos to the players and coaches during the games when they travel. They had a blast... they got to be in the locker room with the team - thats right, lots of huge naked football players... awkward! (....wait, why didn't I go?...) and they were on the sidelines with the team for the whole game. We DVR'd the game and we caught a few glimpses of Joe from the shoulders down, but they never showed his face except for from super far away. Oh well!
Here are a few pics that Joe took. View all the pics HERE.

band of brothers

Joe's brothers, Steve, the oldest, and Andy, the youngest, came to visit us 4th of July week. Unfortunately, Joe's other brother, Ben, who is in Las Vegas for the Air Force couldn't make it this time.
We had a fun and jam-packed 3.5 days...
Cubs vs. Sox game at Wrigley Field, thanks to my awesome in-laws for the tickets!!
It couldn't have been a more perfect day for a Cubs game. The weather was great and there was a nice breeze once we got inside. This was Joe and my first cross-town classic, where the Cubs and White Sox play, and also our first Cubs game where they have actually won! Woo-hoo! We got to hear (and sing) the "Go Cubs, Go" song that they play when they win (the song was stuck in our head for their entire visit, one of us was always singing it! ha ha!). Andy and Steve really enjoyed getting to see Wrigley from the inside. It is amazing place to watch baseball and to people watch too, truly an experience. We had some hot dogs and enjoyed game.

Later that evening we visited the one of our favorite places for the best gourmet burgers in Chicago, DMK Burger Bar. Steve and Andy both enjoyed it a lot, it's SO good!
We had fun at Montrose Beach, played Frisbee in the water and enjoyed a nice day. We played tennis and Frisbee at Winnemac Park near our place on the 4th of July and went to the Field Museum to see the Whales exhibit. It was really cool to see the gigantic whale bones, too bad I couldn't take photos of them. The rest of the museum bores me to tears, but luckily I brought my camera and was able to keep myself occupied taking photos of the museum's architecture and playing with my camera settings. I was able to get some pretty good shots. Afterwards we walked around Museum Campus and took in the great views of the city and lake. Six years living here and the view of the magnificent Chicago skyline and lake never fail to impress me. LOVE this city.

The boys had some time without me at the U2 concert at Soldier Field and they had a blast. Joe and I saw them there a couple years ago, so I opted not to go a 2nd time. They enjoyed it.

We also managed to squeeze in a little kayaking on the lake before they left on Wednesday morning. We had fun paddling around and enjoying the water from a different angle.

 See all the photos from their visit HERE.

busy busy

I haven't posted in a while because it seems like I've been so busy lately. Between IIDA Board stuff, interviews, working at school and trying to have fun I haven't had much time to post.
It's a nice weekend here in Chicago. Cooler and in the 70's....I'm loving it. We've had a nice weekend so far.

Friday night I had dinner with my friend Sarah and her friend Kelly. We went to the Thai place down the street where we often get take-out from, but this time we went for the authentic Thai dinner experience. Since Kelly is from Thailand she was able to order off of the official "Thai Menu" that is daunting to most Americans. It was certainly a fun experience, but proved to be too much for me. I get Thai food all the time but I get the more Americanized Thai that we are all used to. The true Thai dishes were so different. It was hit or miss for me, I liked a few things, but I couldn't handle some of the others. Traditional Thai food is super hot and spicy and some of the flavor combinations just didn't jive with me. I'm ashamed to say I think I'll be sticking to the standard menu next time I visit. Glad I tried it though! :-)

Last night Joe and I went to our friend's Birthday Party + Marathon Fundraiser. He and his partner throw  great parties every year and we always attend. This year my friend Dan is running the Marathon for T2 - Team to End Aids and he was raising money for his team. I admire anyone who commits to running a Marathon. They have a great roof-top deck in their building, which is a great location for parties in the summer with great views of the city. Last night turned out to be a little chilly and windy when the clouds rolled in, but we had a great time anyway. Lots of our friends were there and we had fun.

Today we took the dogs for a long walk around the neighborhood. It's a beautiful sunny day.

I had two interviews this week, both at good firms. Both went well but positions are dependent on what happens with their projects. They are busy, but they are sort of feeling it out before hiring. So we'll see what happens. I am feeling positive and hoping something gives pretty soon. I also got a call from someone I used to work with who asked me to work with him on a project as an independent contractor. He has his own firm now and is getting very busy. I wouldn't want to work for/with him on a full-time basis, but this is something that could be fun and I am probably going to do it (if he in fact wins the project). It should be a good opportunity to do a little bit of design on my own...kind of.

Here are a couple pics I've taken over the past few weeks.

May Flowers

Spring has finally sprung in Chicago! I have been in awe of all of the trees and flowers blooming in our neighborhood and around the city over the past few weeks. The tulips downtown in the planters have been just gorgeous. I haven't taken my good camera downtown to capture them though, so you'll have to take my word for it. I LOVE spring in Chicago. Though it has been a rainy one so far, we've had a few nice warm days. I was able to get out with my camera a couple of times around our 'hood, both times it was pretty cloudy though, but I still got some great photos. Flowers are by far one of my favorite things to photograph. I love the color, the textures, the variety.  I would love to get a good macro lens for my camera so I can capture even more detail. I love seeing things come to life here in the city. It's got to be one of the best times in Chicago.
To view all of my spring flower photos click HERE.

Sammy

I love Salmon. We have it at least one a week. Took some photos when I was cooking the other day. Enjoy.

Raw

Cooked

Lemon Bars

Tonight I made lemon bars for my friend's birthday party tomorrow evening. I had fun taking photos with my DSLR camera along the way. Fun! They turned out great! My mom's recipe...my fave. Enjoy the pics.

Merry Christmas!



First Photo with New Camera of Cathy's Tree

Wow! I realized it's been a while since I posted. December just flew by...I had a crazy busy month with working at Harrington, tutoring like a mad woman, finishing up teaching the tots art class and Christmas shopping. It was nuts...and now it's almost over! I can't believe Christmas came and went already! This year I just couldn't believe it was Christmas time and now it's done! Geez, time flies!

We just got back from a nice week in Omaha for Christmas. We stayed with my sister at her new house. Her house is really nice! It was also super nice to have a place to stay with our own room and bathroom..oh and a garage spot! We had fun shopping one day and getting our nails done too!

 We spent Christmas Eve with my Mom and Cathy in Omaha, doing our usual routine of eating at Biaggi's and opening gifts at Cathy's. This year we went and saw a movie too, Little Fockers, which wasn't that great, but it was fun anyway.  We spent Christmas Day with Joe's family and extended family in South Dakota. We also had another "Christmas Eve" with Joe's parents the day before Christmas Eve. We went out to Big Fred's for pizza with some friends had lots of fun. It was nice visiting family and friends, but the time always goes so fast. So many people to see and things to do. We did get some time to just hang out and relax, which was nice.

Frosty Morning in Flandreau, SD - 12/26/10

We got some great gifts for Christmas this year! I was super surprised to receive the Cannon DSLR camera that I put on my "wish list" thinking I would never get that in a million years. Joe's parent's always spoil us. I still can't believe I got it. They are WAY too good to us. I have been playing with it ever since I got it and I took lots of pictures in South Dakota. I think I want to take a class or get a book on it so that I can learn all of the fancy tricks to taking good photos. We'll see. I will be sure to post some pictures.

Joe got all of the toys he asked for to go with his new guitar. Now he should have everything he needs! We always get so much nice stuff for Christmas, from all of our family. I feel guilty coming home with a trunk full of new toys, but it sure is fun playing with everything this week!

More soon and more pics, I'm sure!

Here is the slideshow of some of the photos I took. Hover  below and click on the play button to play on this blog.
Or view full size on my picasa page here: http://picasaweb.google.com/116844502255534108940/Christmas2010NewCameraPics?authkey=Gv1sRgCKmwss_TqLuQwAE&feat=directlink