Away

Been gone, been busy.
I feel like I say that a lot.
And I do because I am.

And I'm leaving again this weekend.
So I leave you with this, (more to come when I am back next week)

May you always have
enough happiness to keep you sweet;
enough trials to keep you strong;
enough success to keep you eager;
enough faith to give you courage;
and enough determination to
make each day a good day.

~ Proverb

I Heart the Internet

Those of you who that read this blog, or at least those of you that read it and let me KNOW you read it....know I'm into taking photos these days. I still have SO SO much to learn. And often yearn for more time to read about it, practice, etc.

So it should come to no surprise that I am slightly obsessed with this amazing photo project.

The 50 states Project is described as:

Each photographer lives in one of the 50 States and during the year long project each photographer will represent the State where they currently live. Every two months each photographer will be sent an assignment by e-mail, they then have two months to produce one image in response. The images must represent both their style and their State.

This is just so brilliant.
I love looking at these photos.
Each of them has so much meaning and a story to tell.
It's like you can take a tiny little peek at what makes up all 50 glorious states without even leaving your seat.

Enjoy.

Sunny Sunday with S&A

Last weekend we had the pleasure of brunch with two of our favorite people Shanna & Andrew.
They introduced us to a great brunch spot.
We all cracked up as the waitress had been at the table for about 2 seconds when Finn, shouted "Pancakes please!" She said, "Well I guess he is ready to have me take your order!"

The food was delicious and so was the company.
We ducked into the amazing clothing boutique, I loved EVERYTHING inside, Finn found a little step stool to take a rest on...

And as we feasted on brunch in the outdoor patio, I spotted a Chicago bakery icon, Dinkel's on the horizon. So it wasn't ENOUGH for me to enjoy a gluttonous brunch, I suggested that we walk over to the bakery AFTER WARDS to secure even more baked goods, (for later in the day naturally!). I purchased a doughnut and cupcake for me, and an ice cream cone cookie for Finn.

Little did I know that Andrew also had purchased a cookie for Finn....
Hopefully his Papa never sees THESE photos :)


It was overall just a beautiful day. Finn is so taken with Andrew and Shanna...and we love any and ALL time spent with them.

Wordless Wednesday

Books! Summer Recommendations

I have been asked by a couple of people to give some casual reviews of the books I've been reading lately. I am glad to oblige. So of the past 10 or so...here are the 5 worth reading and why I think so.

1) Still Alice - by Lisa Genova

This is the book I just finished. It's excellent. It comes highly rated by my sister and my mother.

It is a story about a successful professor at Harvard that falls ill with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. The story hits close to home, even though remotely, for me seeing as Alzheimer's is fairly prevalent in both sides of Nick's family.

It's also just real reminder, reality check if you will about how delicate life is and how there are just so many small details in life to be thankful for. Something I think we can ALL use a reminder of from time to time.

2) The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel

This book is about a young writer in New York that stumbles upon a woman's diary. This woman had such a cool life....she was progressive, kind of wild...a socialite, what I would imagine a mid 1900s Gossip Girl to be. She talks all about young love, her education, her lofty dreams and goals. It is SUCH a wonderful time in someone's life and her story was engaging and very fun to read. I loved the old photos, and finding out how her life ends up, after her teen and college escapades.

3) Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

An up and coming Chicago author writes this dark mystery novel. This also was a fast read. I liked the main character and while I felt like I had figured out the 'who done it' character early on, it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page.

4) What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakauri

Now I wasn't sure if I would love reading about running as much as I love actual running and I have found out that I do. This book is WONDERFUL. There are so many moments when I'm reading it that I'm like, YES.....this guy totally gets running/runners. I have SO had THAT thought, or this thought, etc. I would suggest savoring this book. Read slowly alongside something else. It's dense and has a lot to offer. If you run. Read this.

5) Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Reading this now! And already feel like I can recommend it :)
It's about the holocaust....a roundup in Paris by French police, where they took mainly Jewish women and children and sent them to concentration camps. It follows the story of one of these young girls, and the story of a woman in modern day Paris as she unravels clues about this date in French history.

The chapter I read yesterday brought me to tears. It heart wrenching, but well written and it's totally sucked me in. Can't wait to finish it. This is the pick (Greta's) for Books Over Brooms. I can't wait to see what Mom and Gert think.

ENJOY!
When you finish one - come back and let me know what YOU thought.
(JESSICA!) ;)

List of 8's

From the lovely ~ emily
Things I'm looking forward to:

1. The next time I get to see my Mom, Dad, Greta and Nate
2. Not working this weekend
3. Having another baby (sometime...ie. I am not pregnant at this time)
4. Opening Open Books' bookstore
5. Nick getting his letter from the Fire Department
6. Planning a tropical vacation
7. Getting a pedicure
8. Going to bed early tonight
   

Things I did yesterday:

1. Slept in instead of going for a run.
2. Did some Marketing/PR/Event Committee planning
3. Wished I was at the swimming pool with Nick & Finn
   
4. Talked to my Mom who is in Hayward.
   
5. Wore a fancy dress.
   
6. Ate a $50 steak.
7. Attended this amazing show.
8. Saw a gorgeous yellow moon rise over Lake Michigan.
   

Things I wish I could do:

1. Clone myself.
2. Be more patient.
3. Be in multiple places at multiple times so I could spend gobs of time with all the people I love. (see #1)
4. Not overreact so often.
5. Travel the world.
6. Read on a beach.
7. Fix the Economy.
8. Buy as many songs on iTunes as I wanted.
   

Things I will never do:

1. Skydive
2. Eat my own poop.
3. Wish I was living someone else's life
4. Stop loving being a wife and mom.
5. Stop running or appreciate runners, (physically I hope I can say never!)
   
6. Miss working for Lisa Stricker at Woodfield Mall.
7. Give up my hopes and dreams to travel the world. :)
8. Have enough words to tell or show how much I love my family and friends.
   

Share yours! On your blog or in the comment section.....

I Heart the Internet

I realize it is going to be tough to top the bling-wonderful picture of Greta lookin' gangsta'
But this site that I came across today satisfies another part in me entirely.

This is the part of me that loves clothes, fashion, getting dressed every day and helping other people.

I present to you:

The Uniform Project

In summary, this girl:
Who is just as cute as a freakin' button I might add has set out to wear the same dress EVERY SINGLE DAY for a year, that is 365 days people... to A) promote and exercise sustainable fashion and to B) raise money to buy children in other countries uniforms, as this adorable sketch below illustrates!

I am already impressed with the variety she has come up with, she is already 62 days in! I am eager to watch as she transforms this simple dress day to day and also check some great resources, stores/artists/shops to score some amazing accessories!

I absolutely adore, adore all of the looks she puts together. I HEART THIS GIRL!

FOR EMILY > THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE :)
May 8 and June 11th close runners up!

Fourth of July!

I hope everyone that reads this blog had as nice of weekend as I did.
It was just filled to the brim with relaxing....enjoying family.... spending quality time with friends...EATING....and drinking...and of course remembering and appreciating all of the freedoms that we enjoy living in our fine country.

Friday night we headed over to Moe and Jim's house for their annual Fourth of July bash.

Finnegan has taken to calling his Great GrandPapa, Papa Francis! Francis is his middle name....and calling them both Papa was a little confusing, so now we have a Papa Francis.
Here is a photo of these fine gentlemen.
There was also the awesome light up flag Moe gave Finn.....Mama's saxophone must have made quite the impression on him the other week because Finn can be found taking almost any object around the house and making it into a saxophone. He puts it up to his mouth and toots away....humming is more like it. When they picked me up from work tonight Nick had taken an empty paper towel roll and had drawn keys on it. Finn serenaded me all the way home.

Is it a sweet light up flag.....
Or killer sax?

Finn also played with chalk....


And so did his Daddy...(Mike is his brother....real nice Nick) :-)


Thanks for such a great party Moe & Jim!
And then the very NEXT night we had another awesome party to attend, this time at Erin and Neal's. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate as well (lame) but that didn't dampen anyone's spirits. All of the kids had a blast playing in the rain.I had a few of Erin's now famous Pink Panty Pull Downs! heh....and Finn really enjoyed seeing all of his cousins!

The Host and Hostess!

Jen is ALWAYS good for a laugh....here are her and Finn playing with the table confetti.
Note: Finn does NOT have his ear pierced...


And to wrap up the weekend Nick's Aunt Moe and Mom Kathy were kind enough to treat Erin and I with tickets to see Mary Poppins, the Musical.

It was SO SO good. You just FORGET how many amazing songs there are. Feed the Birds? Step in Time? Chim Chimeree? Just to name a few! It was colorful and bright and wonderful. The kids in it....blew. me. away. After the show we went and ate at an amazing Chicago steak joint right on the Chicago River...it was a gorgeous evening so we sat outside and took in the view. It was a really wonderful afternoon. Thanks again Kathy and Moe!

I will close the post with a great photo of Nick and his brothers...why? Because they are just cute and rarely ever in a photo together all looking the same way...or smiling...etc. This is a somewhat major photographic milestone.

Beach!

We have had a WONDERFUL weekend.
All starting out with a trip to the beach.
It was a cloudy and overcast morning but that didn't stop us.
Clearly it stopped everyone else, as we were the ONLY ones there.
We decided to check out the 39th St. beach, newly done this summer.
It was very nice, especially since it was like having our own PRIVATE sandy lake shore to enjoy.

The water was freezing cold seeing as we haven't had very many warm days this summer, but that didn't stop Finn! He was still all about it. We ran up and down the beach, dug a trench and buried Finn's legs. Chased seagulls and were SUPER thankful when the sun decided to stop by to warm us.

Finn loved the feeling of the sand on his toes, was brave in the water, and loved running around in the tide. I certainly will be wishing for some warmer days so we can go back soon.

I took a lot of photos, check them out on my Flickr page. Here are some of my favorites!
More from the weekend to come soon ;)

For Todd

WHOA it's been a long time

HELLO WORLD!!!!
Are you out there?

Dear Family, Friends and others that read this blog.
I am sincerely sorry for the length of time that it has taken me to get a new post up.
Thanks for checking back...
It is inexcusable the amount of time that has past....and my lack of posting has been sitting like a big fat black cloud over my head for weeks.
But! I am back and planning and am motivated to load this cyber-journal of space full of things to amuse you, or at the very least provide you with pictures of my adorable 2 year old.

I love you and have missed you ALL!

You can expect!
Madison Marathon Highlights!
Finnegan Update: Notes from the field of being a 2 year old
What I've been Reading
Army Adventures 2009

And we have a fun weekend planned so I hope to take tons of pictures to show you all.

I also am going to try and blog more often....just in general, and am hoping to adhere to some type of schedule so I don't get stumped or bored. I have said this before....but this time I mean it.

I love my friend Emily's Wordless Wednesday's and want to copy her. And I love how she struggles to make it with no words...(that would also be my problem I am sure).

Who knows. I am also rambling...a sure sign I haven't done this in awhile.
SO for now.
Peace out, and here are some photos to tide you over...more to come soon!


And just because I laughed out loud at this: