A New Routine

After 17 months of being unemployed and bored I am now anything but that! Today I began a full time nanny gig for the sweetest 12 week old, Brandon. It's going to take a while to having to be up every morning and and not be able to do any of my daytime errands that I have really LOVED being able to do. And sadly, the lonely factor doesn't go away with this, but I am so excited about having a routine again, an income and spending my days with the sweetest little guy ever! :) I'll also be with their 2 1/2 year old daughter on some days when I pick her up from school. It may be every day, but obviously a majority of my time is spent with just the little one. For these last few weeks of Spring quarter, I am leaving a little early to make it to class on time. But starting in the summer, I'll be taking all my classes at the Chicago campus so I can work until 5:00 but still be to class by 6:00. Crazy all the changes in the past year! It's been quite the journey! Technically the blog should end since I started it to capture all the things I see while being unemployed but I won't be stopping now. May have to change the title when I move in the fall but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. :)

Plant it Pink - Garden of Hope

It's been so long but I am glad to finally have a minute to update my blog! First picture I wanted to share was the beautiful tulips that I love to see each Spring. When I did my internship at the DuPage County Health Department I helped with a project to raise breast cancer awareness called "Plant it Pink. - Gardens of Hope" The Women's Wellness Coalition (which I LOVED being part of for the short 4 months I was there) found areas all over DuPage County that would plant pink tulip bulbs in October (breast cancer awareness month) that would spring up every April/May and when they did, there would be signage to accompany the flowers reminding women to get their breast cancer screenings. So every spring when I pass the Health Department, I think of the days I worked there and the amazing people who helped to shape my public health career. (LOL, what little I had of it!)

Are you doing your monthly breast-self exams? As I was reminded by my woman-parts doctor last week, I am NOT but will begin!! Hope you do too!

Posting From My Phone

I always wondered why there wasn't an ap for blogger. Of course there is, it just wasn't called blogger! Welcome to one more thing that I can do from my trusty red iPhone!

Earth Day Update

I never posted what I decided to do for Earth Day 2010. I have given up paper towels. I used to be terrible with paper towels and used them to dry off my hands after I washed them. Yes, I know, awful! So I haven't been using them at all the past week 1/2 and its been great! I even added some extra dish towels to our wedding registry and hope to encourage Jason to knock the habit. Did anyone give anything up or make any changes for our environment this year?

Road-trip to Milwaukee!

Jason had a hotel room that was already paid for and had to be used so we planned a trip to my favorite state, Wisconsin, to hit up a Cubs/Brewers game and spend Sunday in Milwaukee.

We got to Milwaukee around 1:00 on Saturday and went to the Miller Brewery and got a tour of the facility. It was very informative which challenged my attention span but it was a really great tour, and the beer sampling afterward was great! I've always been a Miller Girl, plus they sampled my favorite summer beer, Summer Shandy - what a treat!

Then we went to the Cubs game at Miller Park which is always a blast. And, the Cubs WON!! Two highlights of Miller Park is the Sausage race, it never gets old to me. And during the 7th inning stretch, they play "Beer Barrel Polka," how classic for Wisconsin! (Shout out to my grandma and grandpa for making sure I know that song along with every other polka!)


Sunday we went to this area my friend, Stephanie, told me about called Third Ward, which had so many cute shops, but they were all closed on Sunday. :( We did find a delicious place to have brunch...and a bloody Mary.

On our way home we stopped at the outlets in Kenosha and Mars Cheese Castle. The Cheese Castle was AMAZING. We made up for all the times we've just driven past by purchasing a LOT of cheese. I think we may have both been mice in a previous life with how much we love cheese! I can say with absolute certainty that we will not be driving past Mars Cheese Castle without stopping, probably both in and out of Wisconsin.

Thank you Wisconsin for yet another great get-away, you never seem to disappoint me!

song-of-the-day|Beer Barrel Polka

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

Last year I decided to give up bottled water for Earth Day and I am proud to say that one year later I am still not buying bottled water. I have had to purchase them in very rare instances where a drinking fountain wasn't available but generally I'd try to buy Vitamin Water or Gatorade to avoid purchasing something that is available from the flip of a faucet. Instead I carry my stainless steel water bottle everywhere and refill at the drinking fountain. (and if you're worried about germs, there are bottles sold with filters to catch anything that could be harmful.)

According to www.treehugger.com (ignore the name people!), approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil, enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year, are used to make plastic water bottles, and transporting these water bottles (usually from overseas!) uses even more oil. During the purification process, two gallons of water are wasted for every gallon that goes into the bottles and that's in addition to the millions of gallons of water that's used in the plastic-making process. The real kicker for me, is that nearly 90% of water bottles are not recycled and wind up in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the plastic to decompose.

I also learned in my Environmental Health class years ago that tap water is safer for you to drink because it is regulated by the EPA whereas bottled water is regulated by the FDA which has less strict guidelines.

Is there anything you're doing this year to make a difference for Mother Earth? Maybe consider giving up bottled water for a week, month or forever? I'm still looking for something to do for this year so if you have any suggestions, please share!

Happy Tax Day!

I've never gotten anything worth mentioning back from my taxes and have often had to pay instead. This last year I have been earning next to nothing to live off...but have been blessed by my parents who allow me to live in their apartment building much cheaper than my Chicago apartment and have an amazing fiance who takes me out for delicious meals and entertainment. I really can't complain too much, right? But when I see the amount of money that's taken out of my unemployment check each month it baffles my mind. But I was really shocked and overly excited when I got my tax return and it was more than I'd ever imagined! I really needed a new computer for my schoolwork. Being that Jason's just a tad savvy with computers we headed off to Best Buy to price them out. He managed to cut a deal with the manager and we got a really nice hp with all the tools I'll ever need for school and all the fun features I'll need for wedding planning, pictures, blogging, and whatever else technology comes up with in the next couple years!

Plus, I was able to buy Jason his wedding band which was something I had no idea how I would be able to purchase. But I am proud to say I was able to buy him just the perfect ring and cannot wait for him to wear it in September!

Plus I have a little extra remaining, which will be put toward something I am very passionate about and the rest will be saved. Not a bad deal at all! Now if I could just figure out a way to make the student loans disappear in a couple years!

Wedding Season Has Begun!

This past Saturday was the beginning of 2010's wedding season! My friends Andi and Albert were hitched on Saturday April 17 in Schaumburg. The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous and Andi made a beautiful bride! The cocktail hour was fun, they had some specialty table featuring Korean food which I tried and actually enjoyed! It was comical because Andi is a big food lover and has introduced me to my first vegan, Mediterranean and Thai restaurants so how fitting for me to try Korean at her wedding! The dinner was delicious and reception was fun. (I'm a huge fan of photo montages and theirs was really cute) I will post pictures as soon as I get them! Congrats Andi and Albert, you make a wonderful couple! I wish you all the happiness in the world! :)

Long weekend

Jason had surgery this past weekend to hopefully rid of all the sinus infections he gets. (and he can't complain about my cat anymore!) The surgery was on Friday afternoon and he was out of commission all weekend. It made for a long weekend since I wanted to help in every way but there really wasn't anything I could do to help. Plus I am very lonely on the weekdays since I don't work and have too much adult interaction so the weekend is when I recharge for the week and that didn't happen. This weekend reminded me of when he traveled and I had to do things alone all the time and missed him. It, once again, reminded me how much I love being with him and spending our weekends together and how much I value our friendship. I am very happy to report that he is doing MUCH better and already went back to work today!

Slow Traveling

Welcome to the new speed for the Eisenhower while it's under construction. Do not expect to go any faster than this until the construction is complete. Oh, and this picture was taken at 10:15 IN THE EVENING!! This is going to be one LONG summer of commuting back and forth.