bubble tea for you and me

Moving on.....

2010-11-16T21:53:00.002-06:00

Hello my few lovely and wonderful blog readers!
I'm moving on with a new blog :)
bubble tea for you and me is no longer.....

but!

I am happy to introduce -
http://thesum.tumblr.com/

My new blog!

Hope you enjoy it.
I will be posting soon directions on how to leave comments as it is a wee bit different.

<3 Becca

He has arrived...

2010-09-09T19:51:00.001-05:00

Feeling sentimental

2010-08-23T20:54:00.007-05:00

I think this is probably normal....
Right before a major life change....
To stop, reflect, and take in what is around you.

And what around me is this:

and this:

My first born.
Finnegan.
Just him.

and so very soon....that will simply not be the case!
There will be ANOTHER....
Imagine.
Another little BOY to add wonder, excitement, challenge and laughter to our lives.

And THIS little boy....

(Who is now FULLY POTTY TRAINED by the way - BOOYAH)

Is all I know.
And I have loved him with all my heart since his arrival.
I hope he stays the same, and doesn't lose the amazing things that make him, him.
His love of people
His friendliness
His outgoing and giving nature
His easy going disposition
His ability to play and chill and be on his own.
His willingness to say, "I love you" unprompted....all the time.

I can only hope and wish and hope that this new baby is HALF as kind and wonderful to us as you have been Finn.
(Like when you slept through the night...remember?! RIGHT away?!)

Sigh....soon soon, time will tell what changes are in store for us.
But what I DO know...is that there is a very real excitement and love already stored up for this new baby.

So come new baby!
Let all of us love you.

Testing...1...2...3

2010-08-03T20:50:00.004-05:00

We are all about doing things at our own pace around here.
Nick and I are not big on reading books on following methods, rules, looking up studies, worrying about much of anything when it comes to milestones.
This is where our parenting styles align, and it works for us so we roll with it.

Potty Training.

It's gotta happen.
It's going to happen....right?!?!
I mean...this kid is not going to be pooping and pissing his pants in college right?!? (well unless he drinks WAY too much, but that is something we can cover a little later)

However, with this particular task, I'm feeling the last grains of sand leaving the hourglass.
I am imagining an infant. ALL the glorious infant diapers.
And the large, near man-size turds that we are cleaning out of a diaper now from our 3 yr. old.

Dr. says, if he hasn't been trained by now...don't even THINK about it....he'll regress when baby gets here....

Who knows!
We're just rolling with it at this point.

Finn asked tonight to sit on the toilet. The Big Potty and the Little Potty...
He's testing them out!

Let's start there....

Ready for baby...

2010-08-01T15:35:00.001-05:00

Remember this?

2010-07-29T17:15:00.006-05:00

Well!
My friend Gina sent me a link to a photo contest a few months ago...the topic of the contest was to submit a new perspective of Chicago's vast architectural offerings. I was totally flattered that she sent it to me and quickly realized that it was a ridiculous idea for me to enter, seeing as I really only have a few photos that even feature Chicago's amazing buildings.

The photo was taken on a TOTAL whim last December from the sky deck at the John Hancock Building. We were there taking Finnegan to see Santa and I remember thinking it was cool to see the skyline so flat lying over Lakeshore Drive and North Ave beach below....see the snow and teeny tiny cars?

This was the only photo I had.
I read more about the contest and laughed, deeming it a TOTAL long shot, and just decided to submit it. Why not right?

I found out today that I got an "honorable mention"!! Holy shit right?!?
My photo and byline are going to be PUBLISHED in an actual photography coffee table book.
And I got invited to this cool reception where the photo will be on display and my husband can drink enough complimentary martinis for the both of us.

I guess they got over 3,200 submissions...
I realize I AM bragging a little bit here, but with that being said, I totally feel undeserving and in shock that it got picked in the first place, for ANYTHING!

Anyway.........
Damn. Guess the lesson here is to just go for it.
Or Just Do It, as Nike would say.
:)

Visitors make us Very happy - with a capital V

2010-07-27T21:04:00.008-05:00

The Keaty Family has been very fortunate to have had visitors TWO weekends in a row.
Last weekend! Auntie G flew in from the North and spent 3 wonderful days with us.

We hit the beach...
And also spent some time with our cousins Meghan and Emily shopping! Eating with Greta's friend Lindsay at a GREAT Indian restaurant, and sought out A/C whenever possible. We took Finn to his second movie, Despicable Me, and really just enjoyed our time together.

This past weekend we enjoyed a visit from Mom and Cathy! Mom and Cathy have been friends for a really long time....and I can remember many memories of my childhood that involve her spending time with my Mom, sister and I.

So it may not be a surprise to any of you that Chicago has a LOT to offer in the food department.
I personally have a list 60 miles long of all the restaurants I would like to try.
And people often come to visit with places to eat in mind.
Like my sister! and Veerasway...the amazing Indian spot
Cathy! Wanted the best deep dish pizza Chicago had to offer.
Mom! Wanted Garrett's famous cheese and caramel mix.
Me! I wanted to try this little pie shop that I've been reading so much about.

Everybody got their wish.
And I documented the PIE!

Banana Cream - delicious.

Cherry Berry - so FORKIN' good

Love that little boy and his coffee mug....

Don't know how I managed to not get a picture with Cathy. Haven't been taking my camera out much these days , to not add any EXTRA weight to carry around. But we also had a great time catching a Second City show, a BEAUTIFUL day at Millennium Park, dinner at Chinatown and a quiet night in watching A Girl With A Dragon Tattoo (great book AND movie by the way)

And the cherry on top of this visitor's sundae?
The chocolate mousse on this Old Town salad bar?
I get to see my family AGAIN this weekend for some wedding celebration in Milwaukee.
YES.......

Chicago Beach Days

2010-07-18T21:39:00.004-05:00

And of course....a few Finnegan photos.
For all the fans out there ;)

2010-07-18T20:58:00.002-05:00

Teeth WERE harmed in the making of this photo.

And.....I'm back.
More coming your way soon.

Summertime

2010-05-24T21:50:00.002-05:00

Cousin Time

2010-04-26T19:09:00.008-05:00

Before this slips TOO far off of the list of recent events, I would like to share some photos from a recent brunch date with cousins Meghan and Emily.
I always look forward to catching up with these girls, and appreciate Meghan working us into her action packed schedule when she came back to the CHI from the LOU :)

The Girls picked a GREAT spot to eat:

FRUSHI - (sushi like rolls made from fruit flavored rice and delicious fruit!)

FRUITY PEBBLE BABYCAKES w/fruity pebble infused BUTTER - for Finn

CINNAMON ROLL PANCAKES for ME ;)

And the only thing better than the food was the company.
I always love catching up with the girls.
They are at such a fun, different stage in life than I happen to be. And hearing about all that is going on reminds me of all the things I miss and don't miss about being younger.
And there is not much I don't miss.....
Can't wait to see them both again soon!

one big ass photo test

2010-04-26T19:03:00.002-05:00

Beauty is....

2010-04-23T11:03:00.002-05:00

Gone for Army Training this week....
Thought I would share this poem that a student of ours at work wrote recently.

******************************
Beauty Is, by Jasmine Holloway

Beauty is a newborn baby.
It is a woman in her wedding gown.
It is my mom when she’s happy.
It is the start of a new beginning.
Beauty is creating a new family.
It is God when he created earth.
It is when it is the end of winter and the first blossom has grown.
It is the giggles of a baby.
Beauty is a newborn baby.

******************************

And I would like to add, that beauty is sharing the first felt kick of an unborn baby with a best friend.

So happy to share the moment with Emily last night....I am getting SO excited about this new baby....

More when I'm back next week!

I couldn't believe my eyes...

2010-04-14T21:20:00.003-05:00

Tonight. Usual routine.
Finn eats dinner.
Mama runs bath.
Finn and Mama play while Finn takes bath.
NEW: Finn and Mama talk to Grandma, and Grandpa and Nate on Skype! (loving it)
Finn and Mama read two stories.
Mama puts Finn to bed.

Mama goes into the kitchen.
Cleans up dinner.
Fires up the computer.
Folds some laundry.
Hears the usual, "Mama!? Mama?!" coming from Finn's room.
Mama chooses to ignore the cries in the hopes that Finn will just go to sleep.
Mama hears again, a little voice calling her name.
But THIS TIME, the voice seems a little louder?

This Mama turns around to discover FINNEGAN, standing IN THE KITCHEN, with this shit eating GRIN ON HIS FACE, pacifier still in his mouth, but beaming. EAR TO EAR.

Mama hears little Mr. Grin face say, "I don't wanna go to bed Mama!"

I just about had a heart attack.

For the following reasons:
1) This is the FIRST time Houdini has ever attempted to crawl out of his crib in his 2 years and 11 months of life. Let ALONE doing it with such grace and stealth that he didn't make a PEEP.
2) It was like he appeared out of thin air. It scared the DICKENS out of me.
3) He's big enough and old enough to want to get out of his crib!!! (Disclaimer: I REALIZE that most kids are crawling out of their crib WAY earlier than this) but this was truly such a shocker.

And that's all I have!
Just as a bonus to this story, here are a few of my favorite photos from a weekend with my family in Viroqua.
And ACTUALLY this is the only picture you're going to get tonight, because I have exceeded my 1GB limit for photos through Google. Better purchase some MORE BANDWIDTH!

Fun with Technology

2010-04-10T14:09:00.003-05:00

As I sit here, in my parents kitchen....there is an energy.

There is an energy from my father who has JUST found the amazing thrill of instant purchasing on iTunes.

There is an energy FROM this energy as Dad discovers and rediscovers tunes he hasn't heard in ages and determines them an "automatic buy"

There is an energy from us daughters because they have INTERNET.

There is an energy from discovering the fun photo capabilities of my laptop web cam.

Exhibit A.

I am excited for my parents.
There are SO many cool things to learn and love.
Welcome family.

This is how you eat a peep: by Finnegan Keaty

2010-04-06T21:07:00.008-05:00

Look them over...notice how they nicely they match your Easter outfit.

Taste a small portion, learn that they are made of marshmallow and sugar.

Carefully consider the amazing consequence that marshmallow and sugar are individually two of your all-time favorite things.

Take another bite for a thorough assessment of its deliciousness .

Devour and revel in the sweet sugary goodness.

More Music!

2010-03-31T20:25:00.009-05:00

This past Saturday, we went on an adventure to check out an Open House put on by the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute.

Thought this would be a great opportunity for Finn to see and hear other kids playing instruments and maybe get his hands on a few himself!

And the morning was just that.....really fun, and educational.

These are the youngest kids, I think they were all 4 year-old's. Stop my heart. They were so talented, and precious! They played a number of versions of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Complete with a little bow at the end.

This guy was SO serious, and adorable. He's playing the viola.

And then Finnegan got his turn on a CELLO! My favorite of the string instruments. It has just the most gorgeous sound. Wouldn't mind hearing that in the house some day.

Carefully, checking out the strings.....doing some plucking....

And THEN the violin, this sweet lady handed it to him, and like a natural put it right up to his chin like he's been playing it for years. He kept saying, "I need a stick! I need a stick! (A bow)" This cracked up the sweet lady, and she said, "This guy knows what he's doing!"
Sadly they don't give out bows to beginners.

But as you can see, that didn't spoil the fun. He was beaming ear to ear.
With a violin in between.

Always something new

2010-03-25T15:39:00.007-05:00

It's one of the reasons I love my job so much.
No day is alike.
And there are certain days, that I'm really amazed and thankful for all of the cool people I get to work with and the things I get to do.
Case in point, this past Saturday we had some cartoon artists come in and paint a custom mural in the store.

Phil Yeh, one of the artists on the project has traveled all over the WORLD and has painted 1,800 different murals promoting literacy. His friend Geoff Bevington is from the area and he too came out to paint and promote the premiere of their new comic book which is set in Chicago.

I thought you might like to see how it all turned out!

Here is the progress from the first day. To see these guys work was pretty mind blowing. They just free hand draw the black outline with Sharpie!

We had lots of adorable helpers stop by to join in the fun.

I ended up painting quite a bit! Loved it.

After the painting - it's all gone BACK over a second time and is outlined by hand in either black paint or Sharpie.

Love this flying cat...

Navy Pier! Chicago Skyline!

The mural took about 20 + hours to complete. Here it is finished with the artists!

I love how colorful it is, that it's so CHICAGO!
Can't wait for you all to see it when you visit the store.

At our house...

2010-03-24T21:30:00.005-05:00

We play instrument solos on YouTube.
It is one of Finn's favorite past times.
He plays along.
He requests:
Trumpet!
Flute!
Violin!
Clarinet!
French Horn!
And so on....

I am looking forward to finding new ways to keep his love of music alive, because music always brings so much joy to my life.

Bonus Post! 2nd Annual Dells Trip!

2010-03-16T19:44:00.011-05:00

That's right Mom!
TWO POSTS :)
Here are some photos from our 2nd Annual Trip to the Dells.
It's always a really fun time, and this year was no exception.
With a villa upgrade, a birthday to celebrate, bunnies to kill and Finn's increasing enjoyment of the water, we had a blast.
Check out my sister's post too!

There is one thing that does stay the same, no matter what we are doing, it's just fun to be together. Enjoy the pictures!

Swimming with Grandma!

Enjoying bowls of delicious AND nutritious CHEERIOS!

Birthday Cupcakes for Nate!

Testing the waters!
Poolside Respect!

Begging, Pleading, Whining, Subtle Hints, Reminders and Friendly Requests

2010-03-16T19:32:00.005-05:00

Yes, I have been gone for a LONG ass time.
As my mother reminded me AGAIN today, my last post was in January.

It think this might be the longest time I've gone without posting!
Hmmm!

Well - Here I am.
I apologize! :)
I am eager to get back to sharing random and collective things from our lives.

Since I've been gone, I can ASSURE you I have not been leisurely lounging around or been so busy that I can't function.

But I HAVE been up to SOMETHING.

I'm pregnant! And thus my full time job is making a new baby :)

I will partially blame this unborn child for some of my absence.
Unlike when I was pregnant with Finn, I was much more ill this time, and coupled with the normal knock you flat on your ass exhaustion, I was in bed at 7:30 or 8 pm most nights the last month.

But! My energy is slowly returning, I am still running and spinning. And my belly is growing.

I am not sure that Finn is ENTIRELY aware yet, what is about to happen and all, but when we asked him what he'd like to name the baby, he immediately said, Texas Santa Claus.

Other questions you might have!?:
I am due September 10! (another Virgo...I know...Lord help us)
We are not finding out what we are having.
We do have a girls name picked out, still on the fence about a boys name...so send in your entries.
I am also looking for stylish mumu's in flower patterns for the summer time...let me know where I can find some.

Work is good!
Finn is still amazing....
Nick is eagerly awaiting his next letter for CFD! (any day really)
Wallace just had major surgery :( and is fine and recovering
And we're having a baby! Those are PRETTY much the highlights

Glad to be back.

Finnegan.

2010-01-25T20:15:00.020-06:00

I realize that it is LONG overdue for a good, lengthy Finnegan update.
So here....you.....go!

Finn. Approaching 3 years old in 3 months and some change is a little BOY.
For the most thing he is all the things boys are:

high energy

curious

rambunctious

LOUD

jumpy

happy

challenging

comic inspiring

Let's start with his talking:
He talks ALL the time. He never stops. This MAY be one of the ways he takes after me...sure :) He's really getting into questions:

Mama, what's that building - in the morning on our commute to Open Books, he asks what EVERY building is on the Chicago skyline...we have to say "condo building" A LOT.
Mama what's that noise?
Mama, where you going? To the gym?
Mama what's that?
Mama what you doing?
etc. repeat. etc.

He picks up our bad habits:

Not shocking I realize…but for the MOST part, Nick and I have done a pretty good job at cleaning up our language around Finn. Except maybe for when we are in traffic. Finn has been hear d to say:

Look at that fucking guy! (said by Nick, to a guy that was honking and acting a fool in traffic)

Eat a dick! (Also said by Nick, in reference to a guy that cut us off in traffic)

And most recently, and thank GOD more G rated –

Are you kidding me?! (Something both Nick and I say, daily at some ya-hoo on the road) It really is Finn’s inflection that makes this adorable

Here is the most frustrating conversation you can have with Finn

It goes a little something like this.

Me: Finny – do you want mac n cheese for dinner?

F: No

Me: You don’t want mac n cheese?

F: Yes

Me: So you do want mac n cheese for dinner?

F: No

Me: Do want to eat dinner at all?

F: No

Me: Well how about mac n cheese?

F: Yes

**You could apply this to about 20 conversations a day.

We are trying life without naps

Nick commented that Finn kind of seems to be done with naps! So we’ve been trying it out. He still get some down/”quiet” time every day. Some days it works out alright, and some days end like today…Finn totally passing out in a deep sleep on the car trip home from work, and having a TOUGH time easing back into the evening.

Photos for an example:

His love for music is VAST and I LOVE it.

I love that he knows the difference not only by sight and shape but the SOUND of all these instruments

Trumpet, tuba, French horn, oboe, clarinet, piano, guitar, bassoon, trombone, saxophone, flute, cello and violin

His first tower that he built out of Leggo’s – I came into the living room and said, Finn! What a nice tower, and he said, “NO MAMA! It’s a bassoon.”

Just as I sat down to work on this post – the movie I’m watching has a jazz soundtrack and from his crib, Finn yells, “MAMA! Is that a saxophone?!” (swoon)

Our new favorite activity is watching instrument solos on YouTube and Finn will gather up his toy instruments or make shift alternatives and play along. “MAMA! I wanna try oboe next!” Lots’ of fun!

He loves to sing! I would like to remember and let it be known that the two favorite songs to sing in the car are the following:

He really gets into the guitar playing

AND - click play at the bottom of the video box.

So his music tastes should be pretty all encompassing I would say!

He still is such a wonderful, little boy:

He really does bring so much joy to all those around him. He is always quick with a hug or kiss, a hello!

Doing or saying something ridiculous, making us laugh.

We are SO lucky to have him. He’s just awesome.

So even after this tantrum above, 15 minutes later, after a dinner of mac n cheese, here he is back to his normal self, happy as a clam. And we’re always glad to have him back.

What I Do

2010-01-15T09:50:00.004-06:00

Sometimes it's easier to explain the work I do, and other times not so much.
When people attend an event, it's like a light bulb goes off.....
You can see an ad that we've placed and know that Stacy designed it, and I helped getting it placed.
The PR portion of my job is always a little bit more elusive.....and it's is by far the hardest to come by. But I am excited and proud to share with you two REALLY great segments that I got our organization this week!

This video appeared last night on WTTW Channel 11

And here is a link to a piece that will run in today's New York Times! OH YEAH! ;)
http://www.chicagonewscoop.org/fighting-illiteracy-in-chicago-with-enthusiasm/

I even made it in a photo - peeking out of our sweet little house in the children's section!

Lucky to have a team that is so photogenic and well-spoken!
Lucky to have a mission and I job that I love working for and believe in pitching to the world!

My Favorite Christmas Photos

2010-01-13T18:56:00.016-06:00

to make up for my whining.
and to share before it's Valentine's day for cripes sakes.

A nice one of Nick and I by the tree...

A new book!

On Finn's list to Santa: Cars, Animals and Cookies.

It was almost as if he wasn't sure if he could REALLY eat the cookies for breakfast...but he quickly warmed up to the idea.

There was a nice time had at Nick's mom and dad's. Lots of music playing!

We had Christmas TWICE this year....yup, it can be done ;) and it was just as warm, and fun and special both times around. There was time with Grandma and Grandpa, learning the finer art of passing out and opening gifts.

And there is a nice picture of Auntie and Finn in Christmas pajamas....classic.

Warning: Unnecessary Complaining to follow

2010-01-13T18:48:00.004-06:00

I am about to rant and complain unnecessarily....if you'd like to skip this paragraph...PLEASE feel free to do so. If you'd like to read and tell me to shut the hell up, calm down or offer helpful suggestions, please do.

I am so sick of my blog.
I am totally uninspired by it. However, I love everyone else's blog. This is a theme. I feel bad about complaining about it, therefore giving you the previous warning. I am always copying what I love about everyone else's blogs but never love what I do on my own....
Case in point - the new blog from one Steph
Awesome! Another blog for me to like more than my own. I sound SO WHINY.

So here's the thing.
I need to either start liking....or stop doing it.
Because I feel guilty when I don't do it, instead of enjoying it.
I hate mine when I enjoy reading others, etc.
So how do I fix it? Do I need to try and do some every day? What?
I am thinking about moving this ship to Wordpress...the platform Steph uses, maybe starting over? Blogspot seems so slow sometimes....

Who knows.
Bleh

You can help Open Books!

2010-01-05T11:02:00.004-06:00

Check it! :)

Open Books is in the running against a bunch of other fine literacy organizations to receive a $20,000 grant from the fine people at Better World Books.

We need this money people.

All you have to do is VOTE.

Click here.

Bookmark it!
For those of you that know what that is. (Dad could be a new tech lesson for you!)

Don't let the little word verification thing throw you....call me if you need assistance.

I think you can vote as many times as you want. So get on it! Vote early and often.
I thank you, Open Books thanks you, and all of the super adorable kids that are going to learn to love to read will thank you.

20 G's! WOOOOOOOO! Vote right now!

12 months of Finnegan

2010-01-04T19:56:00.005-06:00

I know I owe everyone a holiday re-cap post.
I probably owe everyone a New Years resolution post.
But! For tonight, I am going to start with a rip off post....stolen from my dear friend Emily!

So behold - 12 months of Finnegan....

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-30T15:34:00.002-06:00

Lefse Fest 2009!

2009-12-21T20:08:00.006-06:00

I began the preparations for Lefse Fest with extreme trepidation.
I had concerns you see.....because I decided to try a new recipe.

I had to shield my eyes, from the hand written recipe....made out by my Grandma Ekern.
With her cute smiley face at the end, and the word AMEN! written nice and big.

It was not out of disrespect, but I guess a decision that is matching my overall mood.
Nothing is the same. Everything is different.
Lots of things are sad.
What is REALLY important?
What isn't??
What matters?
Lefse recipe? Let's try a new one.

And we did!
I was scared, that the angry viking members of my heritage would strike me down for abandoning the family recipe....but that didn't happen!

Making it every year is something I look forward to...because it is something I do with my dear friend Maggie. Maggie and I are friends from college, we worked at Roses R Read together and have made Lefse Fest a regular tradition. One thing that I had forgotten about traditions is that they are such a great time for reflection. Looking back to last year, I was thinking about how Maggie and I both had long hair, how Finn was just kind of toddling around, and where I was at that point in time.

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.
This year we added heavy cream and butter.
Yum.
Refrigerated the dough overnight.
And kept the rolled out balls refrigerated as we cooked some..seemed to keep them from getting too sticky.

For whatever reason....it was easier to work with. We cranked it out like naturals. Check out the size and perfect round shape of THIS one!

Finnegan was helping out by taste testing, but actually stayed out of our way most of the day!

We baked over 55 pieces and wrapped them up with delight. And oooohhh man, when you eat that last piece, and you watch the melted butter seep into it, and you roll it up and sink your teeth into it, it's a tradition you look forward to, year after year.

Santa

2009-12-14T15:15:00.003-06:00

Does "Knucks" now.....

Awesome.

Live from the field - an EMERGENCY

2009-12-09T19:19:00.006-06:00

So tonight I bring you some action blogging, complete with iPhone photos.

So there is this new creature in our lives...his name is Cheers.
He's an elf.
He is an awesome elf, that came with an awesome book and he is single handed-ly persuading Finn into a 1st class model citizen, based completely on his arresting manner.

You see! Cheers (named by Finn) is a Santa spy......at night he high tails it for the North Pole to check in with Santa, doing the usual naughty or nice reporting. And then in the morning when Finny wakes up! Cheers can be found in a NEW location in the house.

Well! I must say that Cheers, just tonight has overseen Finn picking up ALL his toys, eating a HUGE dinner (usually an enormous feat) and handing out LOTS of extra please, thank you's and some additional hugs and kisses. And it's SO darn cute, because after he knows he's done something well...he glances up at Cheers outta the corner of his wee little brown eye.

So TONIGHT! When Finn gobbled down the delicious dinner Nick made us......he wanted a treat! Pretty standard in our house....since dinner time can be rough. Finn gets a treat when he eats a good dinner. SO....good dinner! Good manners, good consumption.....Finn is giving Cheers the thumbs up...."Mama! Get a Treat!"

So I start looking. If you know Nick you know he has a MAJOR weakness for sweets. That is why we don't have any in our house. I am digging through cupboards, checking shelves, freezer for some summertime leftover ice cream sandwiches.....NOTHING.

And then I remember this:
Given to me by dear friend Kresha...I had been hiding it away from NICK for my own chocolate emergency and it ended up that Finn needed it more than I. So we cracked it open, and the emergency chocolate bar SAVED the night.

This is Mama Keaty, reporting live from the kitchen in somewhere Hyde Park, Chicago, Il
Good night.

We Share A Love of Music

2009-12-07T19:06:00.008-06:00

December is the anniversary month of my enlistment in the military. This is my 14th year of playing the saxophone for the US ARMY. It is always hard leaving Nick and Finn for my monthly drills, so I thought this month I would surprise Finn by bringing my saxophone home to show him.
He was PUMPED.....immediately telling me to "put it together Mama!"

His arms aren't quite long enough to reach the keys while his yap is on the mouthpiece, but I am sure soon enough they will be. He loved breathing/humming into it and also listening to me play rousing editions of British Eighth, On Wisconsin, and the Beer Barrel Polka. I am sure our neighbor upstairs was THRILLED. The dog maintained a safe distance...

The other day when he was at Open Books with me, Kevin, our store manager was playing a jazz album through the store's sound system. Finn stopped and said "MAMA! Listen!! (pointing to his ears) SAXOPHONE!" and then "I'm gonna find it Mama!"

Poor guy was running up and down the rows of shelves looking for the saxophone. It became pretty clear that it was going to be tough to explain to Finn how the music was actually an mP3 file....put onto an iPod, playing through speakers....etc! So we quickly gave up our search.

But I will say that I was PRETTY proud that he can pick out the sound of the instrument I have been playing since I was in 5th grade. I wonder if Finn will want to play one someday...only time will tell!

Inspiration

2009-12-02T10:08:00.007-06:00

If you are struggling to get in the Holiday spirit this year like I am, you too might be searching for inspiration.

I LOVE getting Holiday cards, but always find myself scrambling to figure out what to do for our own! I always have grand ideas in my head of these beautiful works of art, that I never seem to get the time to create.

Take a look at these beauties.......

Thanks to the Smithsonian web site for sharing these Artists' Homemade Christmas Cards.

I especially like this one....
How are you, my dear readers getting the spirit?

Open Books is OPEN

2009-11-30T19:27:00.010-06:00

You may have already read about the opening here, and here...
But I know that I need to also share some of my thoughts about the Grand Opening!

As I said in my little speech at the Friday night party....words are hard to come by in describing what this milestone means to me.

I have been working on Open Books for 3 1/2 years. It has been absolutely a labor of love.
I have watched it grow from 2 women in a basement, to where we are today! 9 full time staff members, an army of interns, 2,300 volunteers/supporters, over 300,000 books collected and this beautiful store, here NOW, not sometime, unknown. NOW. It's here. It has finally arrived.

I think Emily's description (while way too flattering) comparing me to the night of my wedding is very accurate. At many moments during the planning I compared the process to planning my wedding. The invites! The guests! The food! The moment your heart stops because you don't think the photo slideshow is going to work! The dress! (which it deserves to be mentioned, that I have ALWAYS said, that if and WHEN we open this damn store, I am going to Anthropologie , my favorite store of all time, and buying a brand new dress, not even on clearance. And that is exactly. what. I. did.)

But more than the dress, the food, the guests, what made it feel most like my wedding night was that I was marking a moment in my life that I will never forget, because it was a moment in time completely dedicated to things I LOVE! (Yes, just like my love for Nick...)

My love of books
My love for the journey and process of starting an organization.
My love of the amazing working relationship I've been fortunate to have with Stacy, our founder.
My love for all of the amazing people I've met along the way, partners, interns, some of them have become my closest friends!
My love for such an IMPORTANT cause.

I don't think I stopped smiling the entire night Friday night.
I will soon share some of my favorite photos from the evening (besides all the GORGEOUS one's emily took) that were taken by a lovely woman, who donated her talented eye for the evening.

To be surrounded by people you love, your friends, family, and something you've worked so hard for......it is difficult to top.

The weekend was also wonderful, marked SO special by a surprise visit from Nate & Greta who once again shocked me with their AMAZING gift of time and support. Having you both there means more than you'll ever know.

Another very special part of the weekend was sharing Open Books with my family. Nick and Finn.

I remember telling Stacy Ratner, about 3 or 4 months into the Open Books project that I was pregnant. I remember my belly swelling....and growing...and finally becoming a pretty handy place to rest a book. I remember thinking, my kids will grow up in this bookstore. My kids, hopefully, when they talk about their lives will say, "Yeah! So my mom helped start this bookstore, I spent a lot of time there growing up, it was awesome! And that is why I love reading so much and am a super successful (fill in the blank)" :)

Seeing Finn, red balloon attached at the hip...running through the store, yanking books off shelves, talking on the podcast, "how do we get there?!" witnessing our first puppet show, and author events, taking it all in....was very special. Sharing it with Nick, who has helped out in so many ways throughout the years, always LISTENING to the struggles, and triumphs, encouraging me, taking SUCH good care of Finn as I put in some REALLY long hours.....never once complaining. He has been so wonderful and supportive and I hope he knows how much I appreciate him.

I know I have read, heard, seen on TV/Movies, that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Well....if that is the truth, this weekend is going to be in that flash.

Thank you to all of you that came, celebrated with me, have been there to listen, have donated books, have picked up books, volunteered, sent me a card, supported Open Books financially, stocked my house with food, sent flowers, helped out with Finn, care about literacy, THANK YOU!

I cannot WAIT to see what the next chapter of Open Books will be.

Our Little Drummer Boy

2009-11-12T21:50:00.006-06:00

So I get home from work tonight....and THIS is what I find set up in our kitchen:

This story actually begins almost two years, when my Grandpa Ekern bought Finnegan a drum set for Christmas. It was so cute this gift. And I'll never forget hearing my Grandpa whisper to Finn as we left the room..."I probably won't be here to see you playing these, but I'll be listening."
.

Well Grandpa! These beats are for you! I know you're listening.

BIG Buck, BIG News!

2009-11-04T21:53:00.005-06:00

I admit that I am little afraid that this blog is starting to look like the Cabela's web site.....
BUT!
In the spirit of all this talk about deer hunting.....
CHECK out the beauty my dad got.
(Yes, that's right the deer in the previous photos I believe was shot by my dad's FRIEND Todd)

Here is the prize my dad got last night. Biggest one he's ever shot apparently, weighing in at OVER 200 lbs. My dad said, and I quote:

"We could have REALLY used Nick, (to help with the dragging) the buck's last act of defiance was to of course head straight downhill into one of the nastiest spots Vernon County has to offer!!"

WAY TO GO DAD! ;)

Also in other BIG BIG news......(DRUM ROLL)
Nick got his letter from the Chicago Fire Department today!

After taking the test 3 YEARS ago, and passing with around 16,999 others, his number has been called up!
What does this mean?
It means that on Friday he will hand deliver a note card stating that he is still indeed interested in being a candidate.
Then the tests and hoop jumping begins!
He will have to take a physical fitness test.
A medical health exam, and submit a TON of paperwork.
The process takes about 4-6 months.
Once he flies over all of those hurdles, he'll start The Academy!
That's when he'll start getting PAID! :) and working full time, training to become a firefighter. That program takes 6 months.
And then once he graduates for the academy he'll be a real live Chicago Firemen.

This has been a LONG time coming, and I'm so excited (and nervous!) to see what this opportunity will bring.
I think Nick's brains, his slow to anger, calm presence and of course his BRAWN will make him the perfect fireman. CFD would be LUCKY to have him.

CHEESEBURGER!

2009-11-01T22:04:00.007-06:00

Hello blog readers!
Trying to get back at it :)
Nick and I took Finnegan Trick or Treating and he loved it.
We went out to Beverly with Nana and Papa and Erin, and had a blast.
Here are a few pictures of our very own cheeseburger.

Why a cheeseburger?
Because it is Finn's FAVORITE food. If you ask him, really at any time of day, what he'd like to eat, he says, "Cheeseburger, French Fries, Milkshake". It typically sounds like one word.
So when we saw this adorable get-up in the Pottery Barn catalog, it was a must-get.

He LOVED all of the candy. He ate so much chocolate... he had Smarties, a Blow-Pop, SO so much. He even barfed a little bit at the end of the night. Poor guy. What a glutton :)

And then after a long trek through the neighborhood, gathering up candy, visiting friends and family, Finn was pooped. Here is a great shot I got of him relaxing.

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend.
More pictures and a new post coming TOMORROW!

One Love

2009-10-19T10:25:00.003-05:00

I am sure that everyone that reads my blog knows that the last week has been one of extreme sadness for my family.

Losing someone, shockingly, unexpectedly is heartbreaking.
But I think that more than ever, I realize the importance of family and loving one another.
Witnessing the loss of love is also something that just cannot be described.
It has changed me forever, and everyday I am looking at things, people, the world in a new light.

Thought I would share this video with you all. I think it is so special.

Playing For Change | Song Around The World "One Love" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

More!

2009-10-04T23:00:00.007-05:00

It's the least I can do....
Here are a few pictures I took of Finnegan today at the Lincoln Park Zoo....

Pictures of Finn

2009-09-28T23:36:00.008-05:00

That's all I got for you.
Those that are still checking in on me.
I am not even going to start making promises for more this time.
I need to survive the next 6 weeks.
If I can do that!
Then we shall see.
I would think that blogging SHOULD be more therapeutic, maybe it will be....to get me through this stressful time.
But I'm not promising anything!
For now....
Pics of the Finn :)

Things I Found on a Beach

2009-09-13T21:08:00.007-05:00

Today was beautiful in Chicago.
We went to the beach.
There are things you expect to find on the beach.
Like seagull feathers.
There are things you are sad to find. Like many many butterfly corpses. Beautiful still.

And I guess, sadly, you might expect to find some trash.
BUT you probably would never guess that you would see this....

Yes that is a whole ear of corn. Found washed up on a beach.
I love how random life can be.

I got TAG TEAM SCRAPPED!

2009-09-10T20:48:00.008-05:00

Honest Scrap

Both Emily AND Greta have recently bestowed upon me the "Honest Scrap" Award and here is what I have to do!
First of all I need to: A) Choose 7 blogs that I find brilliant in content or design and then:
B) Some other random rule that both of my referrers have chosen to skip so I will also!
C) List 10 honest things about myself

7 Blogs I adore - (not going to list Emily's and Greta's because it's a given) and in no particular order

http://angilio.blogspot.com/

http://onoursleeve.com/?p=1324

http://www.lovesfool.com/

http://kadidily.blogspot.com/

http://www.aprilbodenburgphotography.blogspot.com/

http://www.designspongeonline.com/

http://mightygirl.com/

10 Honest things about myself

My deodorant doesn't seem to be working these days. What's up with that?
I wish I could be more open and honest here and in other places about all of the feelings, good and bad I experience with my work, but don't because I am sure that my co-workers probably read this and I feel weird about it.
Every single day I worry that the people I care about most don't know just HOW MUCH I love and care about them.
I hate that I bite my nails but I do it when I'm stressed.....so........
One of my life's greatest joys is picking out a new book to read.
I worry about getting shot or in a fatal car accident more than I probably should.
I have names picked out for my unborn children. And they're weird.
Something I am looking forward to doing is cleaning out my closet. WHOA. I know.
I lack patience in the most random times. And they are almost never times when I should be impatient.
I get jealous of my sister's friends/friend's friends because they get to spend more time with them.

New post!

2009-09-05T12:03:00.003-05:00

I just posted a diary of sorts about my latest running challenge.
Check it out here

:)

Nate and Greta's HOUSE!

2009-09-03T20:59:00.011-05:00

Wanted to get some of MY photos posted from our wonderful weekend in Minneapolis spent with Greta and Nate.
I took a lot!! So please check out my Flickr site where I will put up the rest soon soon.
Greta is always so good about blogging consistently and quickly so I feel like she has already told the story, but I will give my own spin and eye on things I guess!

Here are some FAIR FOOD shots I took. Man talk about gluttony. This MN state fair is HUGE....and everywhere you turn there is another amazing food offering. Behold.

MINI DOUGHNUTS

COTTON CANDY!

ICE CREAM CONE!

PRONTO PUP!

And that was really just the beginning, there was LOTS more. Yum.
Coming up tomorrow how I was able to COMBAT all of that eating by finishing up my August running challenge last week.

Finn! in response to Grandpa E's request :)

2009-08-22T09:39:00.007-05:00

Finn is sitting at the table like the big boy that he is these days. He still eats with both left and right hands, and sometimes uses both at once!

Do you remember being a kid and playing under tables? I do. I remember it feeling private and secret somehow. I wish I could still fit under a table to hide. Finn is taking full advantage.

Finn also likes playing in my closet.
Picking out shoes....finding random socks.
This is really an embarrassing display of my lack of organization.

Nick's Dallas Competition - Part 1

2009-08-21T21:32:00.025-05:00

Yee-haw!
Nick did well at this contest the past weekend. Placing 6th out of 20th.
The competition was really really tight as far as scores and places. The difference in the top 6 places were just a few points, and many events came down to tenths of a second.
Here are a few photos and descriptions of the events Nick did.
Somehow I got roped (no cattle pun intended) into taking photos for the ENTIRE event so you can see all of them here.

Friday Event 1 Yolk and Keg Carry Medley 230 and 270lb Kegs 900 lb Yolk

Friday Event 2 - Axel Deadlift for Reps - Weight - 666 lbs.
Nick did 7 reps in 60 seconds and got credit for 5

Saturday Event 1 - Press Medley - 23o Keg - 300 Axle - 330 Log
Nick did all three in 30 seconds

Saturday Event 2 - Farmer's Carry - grab 250lb tanks - run 100 ft. - grab 350 Farmer's - Run another 100 ft.
Nick did this in 24 seconds

Saturday Event 3 - Sled Drag Medley - grab 230lb keg - run 100 ft, put it in the sled. - grab a 260 lb keg - Run another 100 ft.- put that keg in the sled. Then you DRAG the sled the 100 ft.
Nick did this in 42 seconds.

Saturday Event 4 - Stones - put a 360 lb concrete stone over a bar as many times as you can in 60 seconds.
Nick did 1 rep.

I Heart the Internet

2009-08-18T09:27:00.004-05:00

WARNING -
THIS MAY OFFEND SOMEONE.

But not me....so sorry.

There are a lot of iPhone Apps out there.
But if you live in Chicago, and put up with the crazy ass drivers that we have here, the traffic jams, oh don't even get me started....this most likely will make you laugh.

Looking for the iGun App. now.

iGun Road Rage - Watch more Funny Videos

STRONG

2009-08-13T07:37:00.014-05:00

It's been a pretty hectic week, but I just thought I would check in and let y'all know I'm still here.

Tonight I fly to Dallas to cheer Nick on at a big Strongman Comp!
He has been training like crazy and working very very hard.
He's in great shape and ready to go.
There will be 20 other heavy weight competitors from all over the United States.
He will compete Friday night and Saturday doing 5 events.

Goal: TO WIN! And get his PRO CARD :)

I will be sure to post a full recap when we get back.

It is kind of hard to believe that THIS GUY: (when I 1st met Nick, Freshman year in the dorms, remember Emily?!!)

Has become THIS GUY! ;)

But he has and I am very proud of him. His dedication is astounding and I hope he has a great contest.
Here are some fun photos of past competitions over the years.

Worth the Wait

2009-08-04T20:40:00.004-05:00

31 Days in August = 31 Runs

2009-08-04T19:24:00.030-05:00

Stall tactics.
That is what led me to this goal.
Slacking, that also helped.
The fact that I need a GOAL to drive my training....another reason.
In June and July I could SORT of justify taking some time off of running because I ran a marathon at the end of May.
But now August!?

I read the book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running...and the author ran some crazy number of days in a row, like years and years...running every single day.

I have never tried that, to run EVERY single day.
I chose a month, thought that seemed achievable.
Here is a log of every day, my thoughts to share if you care to read them :)

DAY 1 - Saturday - 3o minute in Viroqua - right after dinner. Not the best idea. THE best idea....get Lauren my Battle to join me. She's in it. Love her.

DAY 2 - Sunday - 30 minute in Viroqua - Mid afternoon after time at the pool. Have decided that 3 miles is the perfect distance to run. A nice broad loop around the town.

DAY 3 - Monday - 40 minute at Bally's - Went to Bally's! Hit the treadmill. Is it odd that I kind of MISSED the treadmill. I fear uttering such a statement as it might begin to snow immediately.

DAY 4 - Tuesday - 30 minute City running! - Right after work to lakeshore path and back. Running at 5pm down Chicago Ave is a little like driving down it. Lots of bobbing and weaving.

DAY 5 - Wednesday - 40 minute Lakeshore path - Hit the path early this morning. At first my legs were like, "Excuse me? Oh no you didn't!?" I don't know if it was early and I was still half asleep or I was craving going the distance, but I didn't even hear my half way point, I just kept trucking along.

DAY 6 - Thursday - 40 minute Lakeshore path - Nothing really to report! Felt strong this morning. Noticed that my hands are crampy from holding my damn iPhone.

DAY 7 - Friday - Woke up this morning with a migraine. Was wishing I had worked a "sick day pass" from running day into this goal. Worked through it during the day, and in the evening I was back on the treadmill for an easy 30 mins. Sometimes my dedication even impresses me.

DAY 8 - Saturday - LAUREN IN TOWN! Woot. We huffed and we puffed. HOT out, finally, we went for a run around 2pm - 94 degrees out, WITH FINN in the jogger. He's heavy now! It was also windy as hell. Definitely a tough run. But we finished with gelato at Cafe Istria so that made it EXTRA sweet.

DAY 9 - Sunday - Ran with MEGAN! Yay, love to have people join me. It was also VERY VERY hot this day. We did lots of running and walking and talking to catch up on our lives. It was nice.

DAY 10 - Monday - Feeling fatigued from the tough weekend runs, heading back to the climate controlled Bally's for a fast 30 min.

DAY 11 - Tuesday - Met Colleen after work! Did a 60 minute. Always nice to catch up with her. It was a beautiful night. Love running right after work. Such a good stress blaster.

DAY 12 - Wednesday - 9 pm treadmill 30 min. Felt. Like. Shit. Stomach cramps....tired legs. Not fun

DAY 13 - Thursday - 5 AM!!!! 30 min to the lake and back. Felt like I was crawling but I didn't care. It was beautiful. So quiet and peaceful. The sun was starting to come up over the lake. BLISS.

DAY 14 - Friday - 10 pm 30 minute on the treadmill in Dallas! Pretty nice workout actually and decent treadmill for a hotel. Really, Really didn't feel like running tonight. ALMOST backed out. glad I didn't.

DAY 15 - Saturday - A long day cheering on Nick and taking photos of all the strongmen. Did a quick 30 before we headed to a delicious steak dinner.

DAY 16 - Sunday - I MISSED MY RUN THIS DAY! Due to circumstances completely out of my control, I got stuck in bad weather flying back to Chicago. When I got home, it was dark and the gym was closed. FAIL FAIL FAIL. If only Nick hadn't had our suitcase I would have busted out my shoes and ran in the airport. I felt so bad about missing. I got a hold of Lauren and she said that it is alright we'll just run to September 1st :)

DAY 17 - Monday - After work 30 minutes. Ran hard, had a side ache the entire time. Bleh.

DAY 18 - Tuesday - Ran after work with Colleen again! I ran from Hyde Park, North, and met her half way and then ran to her house. It's nice to have a partner to look forward to running with mid week.

DAY 19 - Wednesday - Another fast 30 after work. Nothing special. Treadmill. Being inside a lot, it's been real rainy.

DAY 20 - Thursday - 30 minutes at 6 am. SOOOO didn't want to get out of bed, but I really forced myself and was glad I did. It was cool and muggy but quiet. I like the early morning quiet.

DAY 21 - Friday - 30 minutes - Again on the treadmill and again due to cool and rainy weather. Been having lots of side aches. But by core feels stronger and stronger every day. I love that.

DAY 22 - Saturday - 40 minutes - Weather has been cool and stormy - did this one at the gym.

DAY 23 - Sunday - 40 minutes - My legs are PISSED.

DAY 24 - Monday - 60 minutes - Felt better today. This challenge has been much for difficult than I thought. There are certainly days when I feel comforted knowing that I will be running each and every day and other days that I simply dread it. I also know I could not do this without Lauren. She has been a constant source of reassurance and inspiration.

DAY 25 - Tuesday - 90 minutes - Always look forward to running with Colleen mid week. It is nice to catch up with her and have a running buddy. This was a good long run. Gorgeous weather.

DAY 26 - Wednesday - 30 minutes - A nice slow and short one after my longer run yesterday.

DAY 27 - Thursday - 30 minutes - busy week this week, just cranking out the 30's. Had to run early, leaving for Minneapolis tonight. Lauren is doing great. She has LOTS of miles. Wish I just had more time!

DAY 28 - Friday - 30 minutes - spend the day eating my face off at the Minnesota State Fair. No shockingly I didn't feel great. But I LOVE running in different places. So it was very nice running in MN. Change of place. New hills, new things to look at.

DAY 29 - SATURDAY - DIVA DOUG - that is all. Today I did a running workout of a different sort, and sweat more than I have in my ENTIRE LIFE.

DAY 30 - SUNDAY - 30 minutes - Today was my almost breaking point. Today I actually tried to quit. I was like ENOUGH, I am skipping...."Lauren will never know right?!" I just had had enough. But in that minute or so I looked at my phone, and sure enough, a text message from Lauren, rooting me on. So I changed, laced up those damn shoes and headed out.

DAY 31 - MONDAY - 30 minutes - Feeling the home stretch! I crossed 800 miles on my Nike Plus tracker. 800 miles in a under 2 years is NOT too shabby.

DAY 31 +1 - Tuesday - 40 minutes - I FUCKING DID IT! WOOOOO
I added an extra day on because I had to miss that day traveling home from Dallas. On this run I really reflected on the month that had gone by, all of the runs that I did, how it felt and I've decided this was a GREAT challenge and I really feel like I grew as a runner.

THINGS I LEARNED FROM RUNNING EVERY DAY FOR A MONTH

Fitting in a workout, generally is easier than it sometimes seems. Some days it does seem impossible, but more often than not it is easier to do it, than justify yourself out of doing it.
You know that great tight feeling you have in your core after running? When you run EVERY day, it never goes away. It's awesome.
I didn't have as many headaches this month. I think the daily dose of exercise was a great stress reducer. Work is insane right now and I need a way to clear my head.
Your body responds. I think it sometimes takes extreme measures to wake your body up. I lost some weight doing this, but mostly I can feel it in my legs and core. My legs are so strong right now, and tummy flatter. Have to love that!
Running right after eating is not a good idea. And sometimes just to fit a workout in I had no choice. It is one of the WORST feelings. I don't recommend it.
Running every day creates a LOT of laundry. Gross wet sweaty smelly laundry.
I looked forward to having just a little slice of time to myself every day.
It takes a lot of tunes. By the end of the month I had exhausted all of my running playlists, and I have MANY.
I couldn't have done this without a friend. No way. Wasn't going to happen. And it made it so much more special to know that Lauren was with me literally every step of the way.
I like to challenge myself, especially physically. This isn't new, I have always been this way, but it felt really good to try something new and to learn and grow from the experience.

So what's next? Not sure! I just bought a NEW PAIR OF SHOES! WOOOO so they are ready and waiting for me. I took this week off but am pumped to get back out there. I am going to set up some friendly Nike Plus competitions out there. My fall is just SO busy it will be tough to find another race to fit into my schedule. But for now, you can count on me keeping my miles up with a BIG smile on my face.

Catching up

2009-08-03T15:28:00.013-05:00

I am hoping to get back to blogging this week!
I am actually home and in town for the WHOLE week (and weekend!)
There is much to catch up on I feel. Lots of things I want to write about, and remember, especially moments with Finn. He is changing SO fast. I just want to get it all down.

So for now I would love to post a few photos from a few weeks ago, when our favorite Chicago resident Ekern family members joined us for dinner.

Finn always love having Meghan and Emily join us. This time they came bearing lovely gifts, for Finn's birthday and as a surprise for me for finishing the marathon! So sweet and thoughtful they are.

They always have lots of tricks to show him; here Finn is learning all the cool app. offerings iPhones have.
There was BBQ chicken for dinner...

And then Emily - so enthusiastically dressed and ready to be off into the night to see the latest Harry Potter film at Navy Pier - taught Finn how to wear a cape and say some spells.

And the girls always treat Finn to a bedtime story.

Love you two!
Come back soon.

Away

2009-07-30T15:51:00.003-05:00

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

2009-07-20T19:52:00.003-05:00

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

2009-07-15T12:02:00.009-05:00

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

2009-07-15T12:01:00.003-05:00

Books! Summer Recommendations

2009-07-13T19:56:00.003-05:00

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

2009-07-10T10:11:00.008-05:00

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

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

Things I did yesterday:

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

Things I wish I could do:

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

Things I will never do:

Skydive
Eat my own poop.
Wish I was living someone else's life
Stop loving being a wife and mom.
Stop running or appreciate runners, (physically I hope I can say never!)
Miss working for Lisa Stricker at Woodfield Mall.
Give up my hopes and dreams to travel the world. :)
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

2009-07-07T16:46:00.010-05:00

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!

2009-07-06T19:49:00.016-05:00

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!

2009-07-05T20:27:00.008-05:00

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

2009-07-02T09:37:00.001-05:00

WHOA it's been a long time

2009-07-01T19:59:00.008-05:00

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:

I Heart the Internet

2009-05-19T22:12:00.003-05:00

I need some regular blogging topics. ( TWO posts in one NIGHT!) WOO.
Things to keep me posting, often.
Emily does Wordless Wednesdays...which I love, and don't even have the time to COPY off of her.
Might start doing that.....
But for now.
Look forward to - I Heart the Internet posts

Last night while spending way too much time online I came across this AWESOME web site that allows you to do random, tacky and BLING A LICIOUS things to photos.

Exhibit A:

Oh yes.
This will not be the last from THIS site, I can promise you that.
And I just HAPPENED to have the most perfect photo - Greta's gangsta excitement over her Hubs Fries.
Still making me laugh!
Even if I'm the only one... :D

Let him eat CAKE!

2009-05-19T21:30:00.012-05:00

More fun photos from the birthday weekend!

Finn loved his Dairy Queen ice cream cake, also a favorite of mine! (thank you Mom!)

He sunk his teeth right into it and licked up all that blue icing.
He absolutely FREAKED blowing out the candles.
I don't really know that he's ever blown candles out...so it was hysterical just watching him try to figure out the mechanics of blowing. And then he'd almost get scared....wondering when indeed the candle would blow out! And when it did he would LAUGH and SHRIEK and pump his fist in the air, and say, "Again?!" And so we did. Over and Over and Over.
Apparently this is the exact same thing my sister did when SHE turned 2.
I believe it was that same Auntie Greta that captured this hilariousness on video...so hopefully she'll post that so I can show you.

BUT! I think my photos do a pretty good job at setting the scene also ;)

It was a great day, and I'm looking forward to celebrating it all over again with Nick's family next Sunday.

2

2009-05-18T20:59:00.006-05:00

My baby boy turned 2 years old yesterday.
I can hardly believe it.
Where, where has the time gone?

We had a wonderful weekend in Viroqua with my family.
I took a ton of pictures, and will blog ALL about the fun bits and pieces this week.
He has his 2 year visit with Dr. McDermott tomorrow, so I'll have a full update on our favorite little guy then.

For now I'd just like to share a few of my favorite photos of my TWO year old son.

Just for a point of reference

2009-05-12T10:29:00.000-05:00

Yup.
Uncanny.

This Mothers Day

2009-05-11T21:40:00.005-05:00

My Mothers Day.
I was at Drill... and got home SO late that I had about 30 minutes to spend with Finn.
But it was enough.
When I came in the door...he ran towards me SO fast and was screaming my name and laughing and smiling that it took my breath away.
That was all I needed.

My days are filled with work.
My weekends are filled with work.
I am a Working Mother.
I have certainly been feeling some of the strain, from many angles lately, of being a Working Mother.
There are mixed emotions of guilt, love, joy, stress, and overwhelming responsibility.
I don't think that it is necessarily any different for mothers that don't work....I am sure it is much the same.
But I am a MOTHER nonetheless.....and it is wonderful.
Do I wish I had more time with Finn? Every day. Who wouldn't? He's wonderful.
I certainly appreciate even MORE every second I do have, and every detail of him.
I appreciate being able to take care of my family and support them.
I appreciate having a husband that is MORE than my equal.
I am hopeful to have even MORE children one day to care for and love.

And I also realized this Mother's Day, that sometimes the most thoughtful acts of kindness come from other mothers.

For example, this video, that was sent to me by my Dad's co-worker Joy, mother of 2 boys.
It was hands down the most thoughtful thing....making me laugh and cry, so sweet of her to think of me.

I have also come to have such appreciation for the love, strengths and lessons learned from other mothers. Always, and most recently for my dear friend Emily, who has just returned from Korea with a son, Rubin to add her family that already has two other beautiful boys, Theo and Emmett. It is hard for me even to find the words to express the pride and love I feel towards her. Her strength, and her ability to give, share and love; as a mother.

And then there is my own mother. I am sad I wasn't able to spend the day with you Mom. Know that I was thinking of you and I am looking forward to seeing you this weekend. I thank you for being there for me, now, and back in the day, when I am sure it was joyous, stressful, overwhelming, and wonderful.

I love you.

Finn

2009-05-05T15:16:00.003-05:00

Can't Stop Won't Stop

2009-04-23T20:11:00.009-05:00

I think it is official that I am addicted to running.
I love running.
I can't ( well I can) but don't want to live without it.

So the last few months that I have been suffering with all of these random health issues has been HARD...because I've cut back my running.

But I'm BACK!

The other part of my trip to St. Louis was to run a half marathon there.
Shanna has also become dare I say addicted to running also.
When I reached out to her last year to try and convince her to train and run it with me, she was less than pumped.

Now our entire trip together she was like, "Let's do New York! Wanna do New York?" or "We are still doing that midnight marathon in Nevada in August right?"

She's ALL about it.
So I'm putting the 50 States, 50 Marathons goal out there for myself. You will notice it on the right hand side of this lovely blog!

Halves count. Fulls count. Either or. If it's a Marathon, and it's in a state I haven't run before it goes on the list.

I am very excited at this idea as I also LOVE traveling. And I am eager to combine these two loves to see this great nation of ours.

So there is that!

St. Louis Half Marathon was like the rest of our trip - Interesting!
There was pouring rain...there were quite a few hills.....and for the most part not many spectators, which made it tough running up wet hills.

BUT NOT US! We were fortunate enough to have the amazing MISSOURI EKERN CHEERING SQUAD. Led by the amazing Meghan, Randy and Marna came out early and stayed the whole race, cheering us on at mile 1, 5 and 12. Their bright umbrellas, bright pink TOUGH AS SKULLS sign and Marna's homemade SKULL FLAGS really kept our spirits up. Better yet were their warm smiles and words of encouragement.

From mile 1 - 5 all was good, the knee that has been bothering me started to loosen up a bit and we were wet but happy. Miles 6-10 were AWFUL. No one cheering, we are tired of being wet, and there were 4 or 5 LONG LONG inclines. At one point during this period Shanna looked over at me and was like, "THIS IS SUCKING' and I nodded wholeheartedly in agreement. When she checked her watch it said we were running near a 9 min mile pace! We started with an 8:30 min mile pace! No WONDER we were sucking wind.

Well with only 3 more miles to go at that point we thought, "What do we have to lose!" so we RACED the thing!!! It helped that we were tired, soaked and cold....but I think we were so surprised by our time we wanted to keep it up.

We finished in 2 hours and 6 minutes. A new personal best time for me in the half marathon. My last two times being 2:15 and 2:20! So that is quite a difference. It made me happy :)

Now I am a month out from my NEXT FULL Marathon! That will be Memorial Day Weekend in MADISON!

Meghan will be running her first half! She's going to do awesome. Friends Shanna and Lauren are doing the full. Friends Emily and Megan Fitz are doing the half. It should be a FUN weekend!!

Here are some photos of Shanna and I pre and post race. I don't have too many photos from the race....maybe I will see if Meghan has some.

Here we are still dry and ready to go:

And after! Happy and Soaked.

My Days and Nights

2009-04-22T11:41:00.004-05:00

If I seem a little bit more frantic these days it's because of work.
I honestly think if I survive this next year of my life it will be a miracle.
I am trying REALLY hard to take it one day, week at a time.
But with 6 events in as many weeks, with the BIG SHOW topping it all off, the bookstore on the horizon, it is enough to make my head spin, clean the house at 6 am, and feel the need to run for days.

Printers Row Lit Fest is the biggest event I work on all year.
It's amazing. Amazing to work on, amazing for our organization.
It's like the Super Bowl of Open Books events.

Thought I would share with you the Cause Marketing video I helped work on to spread awareness about Printers Row and Open Books!

It's a great reminder of why I work my ass off. Why I care so much about what I do, even if it tends to make me crazy some times. The price you pay to help people :-) I'll take crazy.

Shanna and St. Louis

2009-04-21T21:39:00.007-05:00

Hello! Hello!
I am back after a long weekend in St. Louis with my dear friend Shanna.

Another person in my life that I am so fortunate to have such an easy friendship with, she may just be the best thing to come out of my military career. We became close Battle Buddies and although she is no longer in my unit, her friendship remains a necessary element in my life. We certainly struggle to find any glimmer of difference between the two of us....cut from the same cloth doesn't even really come close to explaining it. I absolutely cherished every moment we spent together.

This weekend included:
Amtrack Trip!
Shopping
Bubbletea
More shopping
Browsing Left Bank Books
Lots of eating breakfast
Shopping
Photo taking
Cupcakes
1/2 Marathon!
Massage
Nap
Sushi
Reading The Lazarus Project (which is amazing)
Sleeping In
Shopping

Things I learned about St. Louis:
The Metro train is an interesting way to get around. You must VALIDATE that ticket, and there is absolutely no eating or drinking on the train.

That this pizza joint, was highly praised by one of my neighbors, My President and yours, Mr. Obama.....supposedly when he was in town for the debates he was heard to say it was the best pizza he's ever had in his LIFE, and the owners recently flew to D.C. with some for him. I am not sure how all of the CHICAGO pizza people feel about that....but their salads sure were good!

Riding the Amtrack is pretty fun. I got a lot of working and reading done and has some lively interactions with an EXTREMELY intoxicated woman.

My uncle Randy might as well be my father's TWIN brother. Randy and Marna and Meghan came out in the pouring rain to cheer Shanna and I on. More on that tomorrow...but as I sat and listened to Randy's stories, and watched Randy's looks and mannerisms I just couldn't get over how much he reminds me of my dad.

You really do feel cooler in expensive clothes. So another amazing thing about Shanna is that she works for an Italian Fashion Designer - ETRO. And while there is not much else I would rather do with my life for work than what I do know....Shanna's job might be the exception. So the long and short of it is, this girl has some GORGEOUS clothes. Always conjuring up dramatic OOHS AND AAAHS from me....her new leather jacket which retails for $3,000 was NO exception. I slipped it on and felt cool. Instantly. Instant fashionable cool. And I felt more like Shanna....which is something I've always aspired to be more like ;)

I have to get the photos off my camera from Race Day...so I will blog that tomorrow. I will also post an update on Nick's latest competition which was ALSO this weekend in Orlando, FL!

Here are few more photos of my dear friend.....and check the Flickr page for some other St. Louis shots.

Easter Bunnies

2009-04-15T22:07:00.014-05:00

Before the Easter Holiday is completely gone from all of our minds I thought I would share a few fun photos I took of some bunnies this weekend.

Greta Bunny

Finny Bunny

Weezer! Bunny

Grandma and Grandpa Bunny

Wind-up Bunny

Here are a couple of my other favorite photos from the holiday weekend!

This has been a very busy week and a very BIZARRE week. I have been taking advantage of my extra free time to even work MORE than normal - as Finnegan has been in WI with Mom and Dad for a long visit as Nick and I both prepare to leave the state of IL this weekend, each for our own athletic endeavors.

It is just unbelievably strange having him gone. The complete rhythm of life is just slightly skewed. It is so QUIET.

When we went for tacos tonight, a small boy cracked his head on a chair and was just howling, in so much pain, that he made that cry...you know the one where it seems like they are going to hold their breath, mid-cry for EVER....until it cracks and the screaming begins again.

It brought me to tears. Because I miss even THOSE moments.

I am so looking forward to spending time with one of my dearest friends, going out of town, running another race, relaxing, hopefully eating lots of food, shopping, massage all of the good girl stuff.

I am so looking forward to Nick's successes in Florida at his big BIG competition. He has been training SO hard, and deserves this win more than anyone I could imagine.

But I MOST look forward to having Finnegan back home. I know he is having a GREAT time with my parents, and that is wonderful, but I'm eager to have him back ;)

I will blog tomorrow about some of his favorite Viroqua activities, to give you all a glimpse of what I am sure they are busy doing during his stay!

Come on now...

2009-04-10T11:11:00.003-05:00

I know it seems that everyone is up in arms about the Obama Bow...

And I just recently enjoyed this video about the Chia Obama:

Sometimes I really resent the media for being so obnoxious and focusing on the dumbest shit. There just HAS to be more important things to cover.

Really? Seriously?

We need a slow motion view of hand placement blow by blow to see if he bowed!
I get the symbolism of what a bow could 'mean' but I am pretty sure that is not what was going through his head when he did it, I am thinking he was just trying to be respectful.

And why are we even using the energy to MAKE a CHIA PET Obama!

I just don't know.

Best Buds

2009-04-06T21:03:00.005-05:00

I was so thrilled to have Greta fly in for a visit this past weekend.
It is always so so nice to have her HERE.
To be near her anywhere is wonderful....and as she mentions in HER post from the weekend....it is not hard to daydream what it would be like if she moved here :)

But what is nice for MYSELF....is even nicer for Finn.
As he gets older, it is easy to see a special bond forming between the two of them.
There are always laughs, new tricks taught and learned, and candy shared.
And this time, when seeing Greta off to the airport, some sad tears as she had to leave.

Here are just a few of my favorite photos of the dynamic duo that I took this weekend.

Skulls

2009-04-02T21:18:00.009-05:00

What started as me going out on a limb on a post 'Pirates of the Caribbean' fashion trend....has turned into something so much more.

I knew it had become something when my dad turned to me one day and asked, "What's with you and the skulls?"

I realize that as a 30 year old, mother, wife, non profit marketing director, etc...that is kind of weird thing to latch on to, but latch I have.

Currently my collection of skull items include, I am sure I may miss some:
a skull ring (one of my faves)
a skull umbrella
skull boxer shorts
skull socks
purple skull pajama pants
a skull coffee mug
a cool orange and black skull plate
a skull and plaid pattern winter hat (a fave)
a skull t-shirt
a skull scarf (a new fave)
an amazing pink army cammo patterned skull pillow case! (score points for Nancy)
FINN even has awesome skull clothes
AND my latest addition - a teeny tiny diamond skull necklace

The skull!?
What does it mean to me?

To me the skull is a symbol. A reminder of sorts.
That one day.
We are going to die.

It's also a symbol that people a lot tougher than me usually don.
Like Bikers and Satan Worshipers and stuff.
THOSE people... :)

I wear skulls when I run. They make me look tougher than I am.
Once when I was running a race with Shanna and Megan, we all had black skull scarves on our heads...and a guy yells, "GO MERCHANTS OF DEATH!!!" and I was like, "Hey you guys! That's us!!"
We must have looked really tough!
It reminds me that running sometimes, (like the marathon) is really tough...but it won't kill me....it just makes me stronger.

The above mentioned skull necklace with the diamond eyes was my gift to myself for completing the marathon. I plan to hopefully add to the collection with each 26.2 I run.

So when I see one of my skull things, it reminds me.
You better enjoy life, appreciate life, live and love your life, because one day you'll just be another skull in the ground.

Morbid? Maybe.
Weird, oh certainly. But it's my thing.

Bad Habits

2009-04-01T20:48:00.006-05:00

Habits are hard to break.
I should know. I always say you can tell how stressed out I am by looking at my fingers. I have been a nail biter for a LONG time. And right now they are nasty, chewed up stubs. Gross. So there you have it.

Right now Finn's bad habits all surround one thing:
HIS MOUTH.

His SHIRT in his mouth.

THINGS in his mouth.
(In this photo it just happens to be an Irish Flag, but it could be anything really.)

And then there is the PACI - pacifier. I feel like Mr. Paci's days are numbered. I sort of think that if Finn can ask for it....then it might be time to say goodbye.

But when he's sad....and you give him one, and he looks at you with THESE eyes. And you can just tell that it is an immediate sense of comfort.....it is sooooo hard to want to say no.

LT - Our Future

2009-04-01T09:38:00.002-05:00

So those of you logging in last night or today searching for the entertaining and dramatic
"hiring an intern" post, never fear, I would still love to share.

Email me, beccakeaty@gmail.com.
And I will forward you the transcripts, skanky photo and link to the MySpace page.

Thank you for your support ;)

Only the Dedicated

2009-03-30T21:11:00.009-05:00

Okay.
So if you woke up at 7 am on a Sunday morning and looked out your window and saw this:

Would YOU be motivated to go out and run a 5 mile race?
What if from the warm and snuggly confines of your bed....your handy iPhone informs you that it is 32 degrees, snowing, raining (which you can see) and that there are 35 mile an hour winds, (which you can hear)?
Would YOU leave your bed then?
What if a ton of your friends were texting you, one by one, saying, "Hell no!" " I'm going back to sleep!"
Then?

I battled all the odds this Sunday and I KNOW I am crazy for running if I am willing to go out in THAT weather, with a nasty cold, and a bum leg to race in that ill weather. Either that or dumb as rocks. A little of both I think!

I was actually marking a special occasion. My cousin Meghan gave me the special honor to accompany her on her first race! And SHE didn't back down from the weather. Oh no! Not only did she TOTALLY go for it. She did it with good spirit, a smile on her face and she kicked butt! I am very proud of her and look forward to racing together again soon. HOPEFULLY when the weather is nicer. The start of the race was just BRUTAL. Our shoes and socks were completely soaked through just walking to the corrals. And then we had to stand for like 20 minutes just freezing...waiting to get started. It was NUTS.
Stopped for a quick photo. Meghan is LOVING it!

Here we are Splish Splashing our way to the finish line!

Nick, Finn, Mic and Kathy and Erin and Emily all came to cheer us on. It was lucky that we could park, and they could spectate from the beautiful and cozy warm lobby of Mic's building. And then it was Uncle Bob's birthday, and he also raced that day along with Aunt Kathy, and cousin's Kristen and Colleen! Nick's best friend Brendan also made this his first race. While it was a COLD, WET, ICY and SNOWY race. It was fun. You just gotta do it.

Next up!
St. Louis Half Marathon - April 19th!
If I can keep my body together that is.
It is so depressing looking at my mileage tracker on here. I might have to take it down.
I am super super behind. Madison Full is looking ominous.
But I can't stress! Because apparently stress has gotten me to where I am now and it ain't pretty so I need to get this body put BACK TOGETHER so I can get back on the road.

BONUS!
Who says you can't get anything free in life? Heh! I just got a FREE sweet T-shirt from Nike Plus for running over 500 miles last year. HELL YEAH! Sweet.

And let's just end this with a great Finnegan picture.
Why not. This is my blog. I can do whatever the hell I want. Yeah. Take that stupid oral surgeon, makers of yogurt, drivers on cell phones, and crazy college graduates that apply for my internship program that misspell the word EDUCATION on their resume. Jesus.

Pfft.

Baby Bombs Away!

2009-03-25T20:55:00.021-05:00

Last weekend we were in Viroqua for a visit.
Finn and I took a trip without Nick.
And Mom was in Aruba so it was kind of weird to not have either of them around.
We got into the March Madness and and indulged with foods and hilarious bracket choices.

Oh you know you are salivating right now Dad! :)

I made cupcakes.

Finn had fun trying on Grandpa's slippers.

(Sidenote: You'll notice that my child has become "the kid with the wet shirt" It's kind of gross...he always hands his hands in his mouth, and drools everywhere.)

And we also spent some great time at the park. A new favorite game! Baby Bombs Away!
Using Finn as a Baby Cannonball he was swung through the air at the desired target (Nate or Greta) who would then pretend to dramatically fly through the air. Hysterical. Trust me.
Check the pics!

The WIND UP!

BABY BOMBS AWAY!!!

I am looking forward to having even MORE time with Greta when she flies in for a visit next weekend! Hooray!

Click Define

2009-03-23T09:47:00.004-05:00

Came upon this neat site today. Speaks to my new love and passion for photography.
Looking forward to have some more time to look through it entirely.

A description written by someone far less tired than I am right now, thank you VSL:

The Photographic Dictionary sounds like a reference tool, but it’s really a cool, expansive art project: A photographer submits a picture, and it’s matched to the word that best “defines” it.

Many of the illustrations are straightforward (search for cloud, and you’ll see a photo of cloud). Some are quite lovely (see, for instance, the entry for white). But our favorite definitions seem to draw on the photographer’s own store of personal experiences (the visual definitions for abandon, finger, and knife are especially good). The site has a way to go before it catches up with other online dictionaries; as of this writing, there are just 600 entries. But so far, we like what we’re seeing.

The link:
The Photographic Dictionary

Think I shall strive to submit one some day.

Out

2009-03-18T16:17:00.006-05:00

The weather has been really nice here lately.
THUS promoting getting OUT.

Out with Finny!
I took a break from working last weekend and got a glorious day all to myself with Finn.
We walked to Z&H - had a morning breakfast of coffee and cookies. No coffee for Finny.
Z&H is my new favorite place in our neighborhood. Thank you for coming to Hyde Park, purveyors of fine meats, cheese, coffee and all other things fresh, expensive and delicious.

And then we walked to the park....where I practiced taking some shots with my new toy.
Here are my favorites:

Out running!
I have also upped my running game. Finishing a 13 mile in just a little over 2 hours last Sunday. I did a 5 miler on Tuesday morning by the lake. It was GLORIOUS. Saw the sun rise up over the water. Heaven. In the last two days however I have a very sharp pain in my left knee! Huh? Apparently it doesn't want to let the right leg be the only one to give me issues. So I might have to take the other middle runs off this week and settle for doing my 10 in Viroqua. We'll see :)

Out a working jaw!
ISSUES WITH MY JAW INCLUDE:
Soreness, tightness, locking and in general making it impossible for me to eat more than one "solid food" meal a day. The sore jaw triggers terrible headaches, or vice versa! Excessive talking makes it worse. You that know me know I love to talk. Talking is pretty essential at work....to communicate in life in general. Makes life interesting...makes me tired...and crabby....I am hungry ALL of the time. Bummer. I've got a date with an oral surgeon in two weeks. Will be interesting to see what they plan to do.

I have visions of a jaw breaking surgery and a wire mask - preventing me from talking or eating anything. Not good visions.

Out of clothes that fit properly.
I am losing weight by the day....people comment on it when they see me. I am the smallest I've been in many many years. Plus side! I am lighter for running and I get to buy all new clothes for spring/summer. Downside. I am HUNGRY. :) Hungry Hungry Hungry. And clothes are expensive. And I'm a talker. Hrumpf. We shall see!
NEVER AGAIN will I be OUT of the loop.
Nick and I got a monster tax return. So we are doing lots of responsible things with it...saving...paying off debt....etc. But we thought we would also do our part to stimulate the economy so we both got new iPhones! I am connected to the world....it's incredible. I'm loving this piece of technology.

Tending Bar

2009-03-14T14:54:00.011-05:00

Another life first!

This past Thursday night I had the exciting opportunity to be a bartender.
Thank you Mad River for hosting Party with a Purpose to help Open Books raise money!

I like bars.
I have spent some time in them through the years..... and was excited to try my hand out at pouring drinks.

I had all the tools and a quick lesson.

I realized quickly that my beer pouring skills were lacking, but did a little bit better on the next ones.
I also enjoyed my first "Shot on the house!" ritual where you pour one for yourself and others and cheers!

I REALLY needed to have some friend time, and was so thankful for my pals that stopped out to support us.

It didn't take me long to realize that I think I just kind of like the actual drinking and socializing part that comes with the gig. But it was really fun, makes me wonder if I should have tried it in college. Lord knows I have the gift of gab....wonder who I get THAT from (DAD).
Maybe I'll have to follow in his footsteps, bite the bullet and get my $15 online lesson. Pick up some hours at a local watering hole in my spare time ;)

Cool As Hell

2009-03-11T22:23:00.003-05:00

I love the Internet.
I am loving it more and more.
I love how it connects me to my friends and family.
And I love the artistic expression that you have access to.

Nick asked his Grandpa today if he had a computer, just assuming that out of the 12 kids, someone had gotten Papa a computer and basic lessons, email, surfing, right?

Papa said, "A what?" Nick thinking Papa hadn't HEARD him...says, A computer!

Not only does he not have one, he didn't really even know what one was.

So Nick sat him down, showed him this blog and I guess he was just BLOWN AWAY. Was asking all of these questions, like, "So this computer is talking to another computer to bring up all of these words and photos Becca put on here?" Totally didn't get. He doesn't NEED to get it, the man is 80! But it was just so surreal to me that he hasn't really ever seen or used one.

I can't WAIT until I'm 80, and see where technology has come and gone.
For now, I share with you this AMAZING web site that mixes various YouTube videos. DJ style.
GENIUS!
COOL AS HELL.
A little obsessed with this right now.
Check it.

THRU YOU

****So for those of you that might not get how this done - thus not maybe understanding how ENTIRELY RAD this is. This dude went online and pulled all of these music videos from You Tube...and mixed them together both the audio and visual components to make this NEW video.

Slump

2009-03-10T22:30:00.008-05:00

I'm in a blogging slump. I am in a slump. Period.
I don't have any fun tropical vacations to blog about.
I am working ALL the fucking time. ALL I feel like I have been doing lately is working.
(Sorry for the F-bomb)
But I want to keep my promise to blog more.
(This is sounding whiny, I apologize)
So, when all else fails I will post the sure thing I have to share in life!

PHOTOS OF FINN.
I know these will make Greta happy at the very least.
Some random/variant shots with my new toy. Hoping to have time to take some more this weekend. Since I WON'T BE WORKING for a change! Novel!

Papa Mic's Birthday!

2009-03-09T00:56:00.010-05:00

Maybe insomnia and extreme anxiety will increase my blogging.
We shall see! More posts soon!

Two weekends ago we had the pleasure of celebrating Mic's birthday with him.
We got Palermo's pizza (my South Side favorite) AND we had an amazing Tollhouse cookie cake. Old school style. Still as tasty as I remember.
Here is the happy Papa on his special day with his grandson.

Helping blow out the candles!

Great Grand Papa was also there to celebrate!

Nick's fathers name IS Mic, not Franz - but Franz is what Erin calls him :)

Everyone got their chance to get their hands on Finnegan.

Or in Mike's case - Finnegan got his hands on HIM. GOT YOUR NOSE!

A Grand Time Was Had By All! - Happy Birthday Mic!

Thank you Uncle Todd, Slacking, 32nd Brigade and Expressions

2009-02-27T20:46:00.009-06:00

All it takes is someone to call me out!
So good job you guys, (this time Uncle Todd) for keeping me in check and making me stick to my New Years Resolution.

I want to post some of the photos that I took from our fun weekend in the Dells....and I will this weekend at some point. I have to work tomorrow so I need to turn it in for the night soon.

So I will enlighten you with a few thoughts and a few photos, because isn't that really what each post is anyway....

1) I am SLACKING on the marathon training. You have no idea! Okay...so I was super super sick for like a week and half....and I literally worked for about 3 weeks straight....but STILL. I don't know what it's going to take! But dang. I need to get cracking people! I am getting SO excited for my trip to St. Louis with Shanna.....we just got our train booked and we're now looking for hotels and SPAS! Oh yeah...and we are running a half marathon too. Another state to add to my list!

2) I want to share with you this link to the ceremony I played for a couple of weeks ago. If you hear music in this clip, that is our unit playing! In my 13 plus years of being in the military; this was a career highlight for me. Maybe one of the most high profile and emotional gigs I'll ever do. This was the largest single deployment of troops since WW2, 3200 men and women that make up the 32nd Infantry Brigade.

3200 sets of ACUs, patrol caps, and combat books; rank and file...and us....all the way up in front on stage to play. Behind the scenes, just outside the Green Room I shook Governor Jim Doyle's hand, and the hand of the Brigadier General. When we were doing our sound check...I was like DANG that is a lot of chairs. But it is hard to describe what it felt like to walk out on stage and see ALL of those soldiers sitting in front of us. My favorite moment was when they brought in the colors....and the SOUND the audible NOISE that 3200 hands made when saluting our nations flag. It was POWERFUL.

The families looked tired. Supportive, but hesitant as all of the Senators and Congress People sent well wishes, and promises of quick returns...etc. During some of the speeches ALL I could hear were the babies crying in the crowd. And all I could think about was who do those babies belong to? Mothers, Fathers, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers or Sisters all of whom are about to deploy to Iraq? I pulled this photo off of the Intranet. Doesn't even do it justice....but it gives you an idea.

3) One of the main reasons for us dropping some serious coin on a new camera was to keep up with our main photo subject Finnegan. I was getting so frustrated at all of the little looks, and nuances that were starting to develop as part of his personality and sense of humor that I was missing because my camera just wasn't quick enough. But this new camera does the trick!! I just love it.

More to come, I RESOLVE!

M is for Many Days Late with this Post

2009-02-23T19:54:00.004-06:00

My dear blogging friend Emily played this game awhile back, and so did my sis, and Emily so nicely assigned me the glorious letter "M" so I happily write down now, although tardy:

10 things I love that begin with the letter "M."

Moms - I love my Mom certainly, she is awesome and there are so many of her abilities I aspire to obtain. I love being a Mom....I always knew I would and I feel so satisfied and happily overwhelmed by the task, I absolutely LOVE it. I love other Moms! I love seeing other Moms in action and marvel at motherly similarities and differences.
Music - I love music. All kinds really. I can remember the Christmas I got my first cassette tape Walkman. Man I thought life was OVER in the best way possible. I remember how amazing the isolation of hearing nothing but...(Walk Like An Egyptian maybe?) and tuning out the world. I love making music. I feel very fortunate to still be playing my saxophone regularly...and can't wait to take up the piano again now that we have one in our home.
Movies - This is another no-brainer. I LOVE watching movies. I think I just miss having more time to do so. I am on a mission to try and catch up and watch all of the Oscar nominated performances of 2008.
Marshmallows - Dang. This list is already tough. Marshmallows! I do love them! Dunkin Doughnuts used to have marshmallow as one of their flavor syrups. I used to get it EVERY DAY. Loved that stuff. It no longer exists (moment of silence here). Marshmallows are a frequent mix-in option at Cold Stone creamery. I LOVE SMORES - key ingredient: marshmallows.
The Moon - I think the moon is cool. I always look for it. I like it's drastic and steady changes in shape. You can count on it. It can be so incredibly beautiful. I think it is the one thing that I most often photograph and am ALWAYS disappointed by the result. Very tough to capture the moon's vibe.
Make-up - Yes, I think in another life I was a graduate of cosmetology school. Make-up is sooo much fun. I love playing with it...applying it, trying new looks, etc. Dorky I realize. My heart pines for hours spent at Sephora....using up those little test applicators by the thousands...wiping my lips raw with endless samples of lip gloss, etc. Make-up along with new clothes are two things I could buy every month if I had the money.
Margherita Pizza - And I haven't eaten tonight...so......there is love here for this type of pizza for sure....simple, a classic blend of the essential flavors of pizza. Oooh weee I wish I had some right now.
Memories - I love thinking back on memories. The "has been" moments of my life. The good, the bad, the wish I could do-overs...I think it is important for me to reflect on memories because they shape the life I want to live right now. Being proactive to make the memories I want to have in the future.
Mangoes - Love love love. Love them in BUBBLETEA! Love them alone. Wish they were easier to cut and eat. I even love the little stringy things they leave behind in your teeth. I think my all time favorite is them in the Sticky Rice and Mango dessert at Lao Xian Xang in Madison (the spelling may not be correct, my apologies) I also love the scent for a body lotion/soap, etc.
Motivation - I guess this is a random stretch but I do love feeling motivated. Speaks to my love for setting goals and reaching them I guess. I enjoy feeling motivated in all aspects of my life! It's ability to propel me through all that I need to accomplish is certainly appreciated.

What I Can See From My Bed

2009-02-18T21:13:00.013-06:00

It has arrived :)
My new digital camera. (sigh)
I would be remiss if I didn't admit to the chills I received as the lens clicked into place.
Or the thrill of the shutter whooshing shut and the battery charged hum of the photo appearing on my screen.
Or the slight cramp in my hand I've already gotten from endless photo snapping.
Or the slight cramp in my eyeball from looking through the viewfinder.
Just some more muscles to train.

The whole family got involved, posing...realizing that they were ALL going to be seeing a lot more of this large black thing.

Thrilled! Can't you tell?

Even the dog! So excited for me....so nice.

So I thought....I've had this thing out of the box for a couple of hours. I am loading the software on the computer....checking out all the basics...what shall my FIRST photo assignment be....I want to see what this thing CAN DO! WOO!
I decided on:
What I Can See From My Bed.
The first photo installment by one Rebecca Mae Keaty

More photos than you could EVER care to lay eyes on coming soon.

Finnegan Fix

2009-02-15T20:51:00.011-06:00

I'm back everyone! Sorry for the delay.
I have been VERY busy working the past week. Many many hours....and I've been sick. NEVER fun.
All good stuff though....I was at this massive conference for the Association of Writers & Writers Programs. Heard some good readings, learned more about the publishing industry, made some important contacts for Open Books.
Being surrounded by all of those writers has ME inspired to write more. Here I presume. But alas, tonight will not be the night. I am exhausted.

Tomorrow it is back to work.
Tuesday I drive to Madison for the day to perform for 3,400 troops leaving for Iraq.
Wednesday and Thursday - work!
And then off for a long weekend with the family to The Dells! :0 WOOT

I know Greta was needing her Finny photo update so here are some pics I took tonight at bath time. My NEW AMAZING FANCY camera is on it's way! Can't wait. Should be here this week.

As you can see Finn is getting quite brave and sassy in the tub. Should be a fun time at the water park since he seems to be getting braver.

A video wraps up this post....this ALMOST rivals Emily's Emmett tumble and roll....as you will see Finn wipe out.....hilarious.
Have a great week!

ALL CLEAN!

Glory Days

2009-02-04T19:34:00.009-06:00

This past weekend Nick and I celebrated the 30th Birthday of one of our friends from college.
Leigh Ann.
It got me thinking how lucky I feel that such a large contingency of my college friends live right here in Chicago.

There is Megan. Who you see on this blog quite often! She has become a very very close friend. I love her.....she is so fun and EASY to be around. We have run ENDLESS miles together and her and Finn have a very special friendship.

There is also Matt.

While clearly less photogenic then Megan.... Matt is one of Nick's longest and dearest pals. Matt was Nick's roommate through most of college, he also stood up in our wedding!Matt also was the longtime boyfriend of the above Megan. Matt and Megan started dating before Nick and I did....and they made a great couple for a really long time. I think I have a lot of respect for the two of them because they are still close friends. That is SO hard and rare. And as both of their friends, I really appreciate that it never became about "choosing" between them. We all still have a lot of fun together. It is not awkward at all. I can count on Matt for a laugh almost daily. His sense of humor is awesome.

Some of you might remember Gina!

Not shockingly, she is the gorgeous red head sitting amongst Nick and Matt. Gina was a roommate of mine from college. This girl has a heart of gold and a smile that can light up any room. She is so much FUN to be around and we made a pact to try and hang out more.

It was really nice catching up with our friends, Nicky Reindl....also a friend of ours had lots of fun updates about where some of our other friends have ended up, with careers, homes and families of their own.

Seeing as I met Nick at school (UW-Madison) we lived on the same floor our freshman year for those of you that didn't know that! It got me thinking about those years. I was also SO fortunate to meet my dear dear friend Emily there also. She was a sophomore our freshman year on Witte 9 A! That one random placement in life...a certain floor...in a certain dorm....has brought so many important friendships and my HUSBAND into my life. That's pretty cool.

It's fun to reminisce! To re-tell stories...MANY of them....okay all of them hilarious drunken tales of our escapades on campus. I have laughed more with these people....then most. And I just feel really lucky to still have them around. For them to bear witness to my "new life" as a wife, (NICK's WIFE!) a mom, a working adult, etc....but to also share with them the amazing college experience that we all had.....together.