Certified D.V.M.?

I had another very short work week this past week...only three days cause of the Jewish holidays. Win.

Unfortunately, my poor little Bell has been sick for over a week, and I spent a lot of the time back and forth from the vet's office. She has/had pancreatitis, which is not the same as it is for humans, just a more intensified stomach bug that basically is caused from the pancreas. I feel like I've been to vet school with all my new-found knowledge on the canine digestive system. Mark and I had been planning on taking a mini trip to Madison, WI this weekend, but we decided to postpone til Bella gets better. Luckily, she seems to be doing better now. Here she is playing Twister...

C'mon... how cute is that?

Anyway, Mark and I spent most of the weekend in relaxation mode; we watched some good TV, went to dinner and saw some friends. The place we went to dinner is called Bridge House Tavern, and it's one of my new favorite spots in Chicago. It is so cute and intimate, and right on the river. Plus, the food/drinks were good. Definitely going back there soon.

This week should be pretty busy with work stuff, but hopefully we can do something Halloween-ish over the weekend. I am going to be Sookie from Trueblood, Bella is going to be a Chicago-dog (hotdog), and Mark, well, he probably won't dress up. We may only be wearing these costumes for a little while, but the pictures are totally worth it.

Happy Halloween!

I'm-a-pumpkin-pickin

Well the last week or so has been quite eventful. I had a three day week last week since I work for a religious organization, and buh-da-da-dum... I have another three day week this week! This has given me some fun extra time to relax and try to get better from my millions of ailments. This past weekend, I did some good shopping, went to a girls' night wine and dinner party, and was all over Chicago seeing people. Not to mention, Mark and I drove out to a pumpkin patch. That is one of my favorite fall activities, so I was really glad we were able to go this year.

I love being able to act like a kid, while watching millions of kids. Yes, it is slightly weird for a grown woman to love the pumpkin patch, but that's me. Unfortunately I dropped the ball this year on going to the Renaissance Fair, so that will have to wait til 2012.

Poor Bella has been sick for the past week, she has some kind of stomach bug. So sad. It just so happened that my back, and Mark's ear infection decided to make a relapse at the same time. Awesome week for the fam. Anyway, we are probably going to go to Madison this weekend, for at least one day, since Mark and I have an extra day off from work. I'll keep you updated if we make the road trip.

Three things I'm excited about this week:
1. The lovely fall weather
2. My pretty new purchases from J. Crew
3. I only have two more days of work this week!

Not a vacation, but home

Last week Mark and I got to go home for the second time since being in Chicago. We had a late night flight back to DC on Wednesday, and it was way more complicated than I would have imagined. For those of you who do not know, I have been very fearful of flying in the past. Over the last two months I have been working on curing my phobia and I really think it is working well. My stress for the flight actually stemmed more from the fact that Bella was flying with us. It was her first time flying, and she did NOT like being zipped in that carrier. Luckily, unless we were being yelled at, we let her head peek out from the bag, and she was okay with that.

The few days home were completely exhausting. Thursday, we went to Rosh Hashanah services, saw some friends, and went to dinner with Mark's family. The next day we saw more friends and my mother-in-law hosted a giant dinner of extended family. Sorry fam, but we will not be doing that every time we go home, it is just too stressful.

 Bella was very excited to see her best friend Lily again!

Saturday, Mark and I spent the entire day driving to and from Harrisburg, PA for a high school friend's wedding. The wedding was beautiful, the bride and groom are very cute together, and we got to see friends, so that made it worth the trek.

Sunday, we saw more friends and had some more family time, then flew back to Chicago at night. Busiest four days ever (or at least I say that until we are home for Thanksgiving). Still, there is something to be said about being at home.

But for now... back to the grind!

Jam-packed weekend

What an awesome weekend!

Friday night we went to dinner at Carmichael's which was really great and then went to the Caps v. Hawks game with another couple. We had a great time minus the fact that the Caps lost. Boo. Somehow out of all the people in Chicago, we ran into Mark's cousin Nick at the game who was there for a bachelor party. Small world.

Saturday was crazy busy. Michigan Avenue was a mess and I somehow deemed that the appropriate time to run around returning things. From there, Mark and I went to Lakeview and Lincoln Park to look at houses for a few hours. We found two in the same building that we really love and are hoping one works out. It's hard to buy a house with four months left in your lease. From looking at homes we ran to our apartment, walked the dog, and went right back to Lincoln Park to Emily and Mike's place. We had a delicious dinner party with them and Deanna and Brett. Yummy food and lots of fun!

Love these girls!

Yesterday was my lazy Sunday and I got to re-watch Bridesmaids, which was just as funny as ever. My back was so sore after running around all weekend so I'm so happy to go to PT today.

Highlight of this week has to be that I am going home in a few days!!!! Can't wait to see people and go to Josh and Sam's wedding!

Bear Down

Sorry I have been neglecting the blog. This has been a crazy few weeks. I am like a 90 year old woman and hurt my back. Ironically, the doctors seem to think it was from my attempt at running again (see C25K blog post). So I am back in PT for a few weeks, but it seems to be helping. My interpretation of this injury and my past knee injury is that God just doesn't want me to be athletic. Never was, and maybe never should be. I think I'll stick to yoga and pilates when I recover.

Since NFL season started again I decided to (at least try to) be more into football. With that, I am now a Chicago Bears fan, as well as a Redskins fan. But being a Bears fan is kind of more fun while living in Chicago. I even sort of learned some rules! Sort of. The one sport I do enjoy watching is hockey, and am super excited to go to the Caps vs. Blackhawks preseason game Friday night. Go Caps!!!!!

My family came this past weekend, plus one set of grandparents, minus my brother. Dan: you were missed. Being here makes me miss my family, but seeing them reminds me even more how much I miss them. We had a gorgeous weekend here in Chicago- probably one of the last. Luckily, we are going home in a week and I get to see everyone again, including Mark's family. Super exciting!

Right after these pictures were taken I changed my hair back to my natural color- dark brown. Other people seem to like it, but it's still growing on me and is hard to get used to. I'll take some pictures soon and post them with the next blog post.

And suddenly... it's Fall!

After a week of both Mark and I being sick, we were back with a vengeance.

On Saturday we went with a bunch of our friends to see Guster at Ravinia. The concert was amazing, and they were even better than I remembered them being five years ago. It was such a fun night. Good music, good company, good snacks/drinks.

On Sunday Mark and I walked around all of Lincoln Park to get a better idea of where we would like to look for homes. We definitely know what area we like, and are hoping we can find something in that area sometime soon! Later that night, my friend Shira came to visit while on her crazy tour across the country, working. It was so nice to see her. I love being with high school friends, and anyone I've known that long; it brings you back to reality having someone who knew you when.

Monday was Labor Day and we did the brunch thing. We had originally planned on being at the beach that day, however, Mother Nature decided that Chicago only functions between hot and cold...not in between. So it was 65 degrees and the beach was a no-go. We relaxed, then went to The Whiskey Bar, then to dinner at Tavern on Rush, where the lovely (just kidding) Reverend Jesse Jackson was at the table next to us. I'm not a big fan, so it wasn't exactly a celebrity sighting.

Later this week, Mark's oldest friend Danny is visiting on his way to California. He is moving there and we are the stopping point. It's always so nice to see everyone.

Have a great week!

The Sky's the Limit

This past weekend was very relaxing, yet busy. Mark's aunt and uncle were in town and we got to spend some time with them, which was really nice. Saturday we took it easy during the day, and ran errands. This weekend was also the Air and Water Show, which for those of us who live here = hell. For the entire week, my office was shaking during the practice as the planes kept flying by, and it really freaked me out. Our apartment, also was very loud all week from the practices and the actual show. Take that, and add 1.5 million tourists, and you are not happy.

At night we went to dinner and then to Second City to see the show "The Sky's the Limit: Weather Permitting." I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. The show was SO funny, and definitely kept your attention the whole time. All of the actors were very talented, but a few were amazing. One, Brendan Jennings, is (in my opinion) the next Chris Farley. If you live in Chicago and haven't seen the show, you really need to. Definitely the best comedy show I have seen.

Sunday was interesting. It took me half an hour to walk to the movie theatre, which usually takes me ten minutes. This was due to the thousands of tourists who apparently have never been in a city, and don't know how to walk. Fun times. Emily, who was meeting me there, had to take a bus, walk, and take the el just to get there in time. Awful. On a good note, we saw The Help, and it was amazing. It was very close to the book, and really well adapted to a movie. I really hope all of the actresses are nominated for awards, because they really deserve it. After the movie we grabbed some sushi while our men were off galavanting finding the White Castle in Chicago. Apparently, this White Castle excursion will be an annual event.

Yesterday Mark left for a business trip, and I embarked on my second C25K run... with Bella. She is usually such a good runner when she goes with Mark, but with me she was dragging. She was not having it after the first ten minutes. However, we did complete the second day. I really like it so far. Hopefully, I can keep up the program!