Kansas Day...

Who doesn't love a sunflower?

I was born in Texas
I was bred in Kansas
When I get married I'll be wed in Kansas
There's a true blue gal who promised she would wait
She's a sunflower from the Sunflower State

She's a sunflower, she's my sunflower
And I know we'll never part
She's my sunflower, she's my one flower
She's a flower of my heart

I was fair in Kansas, clouds are rare in Kansas
Never saw a place that could compare with Kansas
So I'm going home to keep a wedding date
With a sunflower from the Sunflower State

She's a sunflower, she's my sunflower
And I know we'll never part
She's a sunflower, she's my one flower
She's a flower of my heart

Can't keep waiting...

It's been a wonderful Christmas here in Kansas and I'm glad to be home. The past year has had its ups and downs and here I am again thinking about the new year and what is in store for me. I think in past years (including this one) I've always thought that things would come to me - you don't have to go out and find them. So, yes - I've spent several days/nights waiting for something - and finally in the past couple of days...after talks with my closest friends and family - I am now committed to stop waiting for things. I need to generate my own life and not wait for someone else to catch up - if that makes sense.

I think that in my homesickness and missing of friends - I've let myself off the hook as far as being the "independent woman". I've counted on those two things to reason with myself that I don't need to be doing anything. I can't just remain idle until something pops up. I guess I'm tired of waiting and have decided to resolve that I need to embrace my independence and take on whatever is out there to see and do (in moderation, of course!). So with my new digital camera in hand and a new spirit to enjoy the life and situation I'm in...here's to 2008 and my to do list...whether the items are completed by me with my friends/family - or just me. And I'm asking my loyal readers to keep my honest...as my postings should be more about my explorations than my eyebrows. :)

Prosit Neu Jahr!!

-mitzi

I will ALWAYS cheer against Missouri...

MU Shirt: http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/11/12/we-burned-your-town-to-the-ground/

KU Response: http://www.jayhawkertees.com/

A month later...

The last month has been pretty good with trips here and there...and with the Chicago weather settling into the pre-winter chill. My winter coat is finally out and I'm never without my scarf. I'll never forget walking to my December finals in flip-flops back in Kansas, but I doubt that we'll have that kind of weather again anytime before late March up here.

Last month I headed to St. Louis to see one of my good friends with Teach For America get married. I was lucky to be able to spend some time with the St. Louis Keels and work out of the St. Louis regional office for a week. I received a private tour of the Arch from my cousin who now works there- and I have to say that in a competition of the Arch vs. the Sears Tower - the Arch will always win. We also went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Science Center. It was pretty incredible and if it comes to a city near you - I highly recommend it...the human development section was so revealing and who knows, maybe the people that see this exhibit will think twice about what the human life really is inside the womb.

At Jackie's bachelorette party

The Keel Girls - at the Botanical Gardens

I also took my annual fall trip to Dayton, OH to just relax and enjoy some Kansas football with my family! It still blows my mind what this football team has done. I mean, I'm sitting here in my living room and the KU/OSU game is going to be on television to say the least - but on ABC - so I don't even have to go to a bar to watch it...mind-blowing!! ROCK CHALK!! Some non-football highlights from Dayton: Liesel's Falafel w/ avocado spread, Eric's espresso and cappuccino, inheriting some old VHS-formatted movies...and well Dominic just being so cute!

I'm trying to get more involved with the young adult group at the cathedral here in Chicago and I'm trying decide if I should just register at that church instead of St. Helen's...I talked to a few people last night and I learned that there is a church fairly close to me that uses the Latin Rite - I've never been to a Latin Mass, so I think I'll check it out just to see what it's all about.

I'm headed to Madison next weekend - to spend Thanksgiving week preparing for the arrival of the rest of the family....I can only hope that I'll be able to play Wii all week long!!!!

My odyssey years?

This article was sent to me...enjoy and ponder....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/opinion/09brooks.html

"Man, you girls can eat!"

Time is a monster that cannot be reasoned with.
It responds like a snail to our impatience,
then it races like a gazelle when you can't catch a breath.

-from the movie, Simon Birch

It was such a beautiful weekend in Chicago. The weather, the scenery, and the company. From the Thursday evening to this afternoon - every moment was wonderful. A late night meal on Division, A trip to IKEA, the man on the sidewalk who exclaimed to Sarah, "You are stunning.", an evening in Wicker Park with a bottle of wine, a few tears, and tons of laughter, a morning nap, a waiter who tried to compliment us as we finished our deep dish pizza, the lady with the hat in the Confession line, the Bean at night, a walk along the Chicago River, the Green Door, Margie's ice cream to-go, an endearing movie, having someone to go to Mass with, chocolate mousse, and raspberry cheesecake...

Every time I get to spend time with people I love in this city - I enjoy it all the more and realize that with all the traffic and crowded sidewalks - it is truly a wonderful place to live at this point in my life.

~mitzi

nothing in particular...

Since it has been almost 3 weeks since my last post, I figure I should probably post another post. Although, compared to my siblings' blogs - I don't have that much excitement to report. Nothing like a child taken his/her first steps or saying their first words. But for those of you who like just see what is much ado about Mitzi, here you go:

Yesterday, I headed back to "Milano" - a hair salon that reminds me of "Babette". I think about how much I'm paying to get my eyebrows fixed up, but then I realize that Sheri (an eyebrow specialist) spends over 30 minutes re-shaping, plucking, trimming, and waxing...and well, that makes feel better about myself and the money I've spent. Plus, I found out that my eyebrows have been waxed incorrectly for past several years...so now I'm actually trying to grow them back in. I know crazy, crazy stuff going on here for the Chicago girl. Anyhow, the homework that I receive from Sheri is to simply do nothing. Yeah, she's that awesome. Plus, she is totally excited that my sisters might be coming in for a "girl's weekend". :)! Also, in Sheri's 4+ years of eyebrow grooming, she has never seen eyebrows like mine...apparently the don't grow the same way that most eyebrows grow --- maybe I should tell her that I burned one completely off due to a daytime firework mishap when I was a kid. Hmmm.

Work is going really well. As many of you already know...Teach For America is looking to open a site in Kansas City starting next fall. So that's something on the table...while I do enjoy my current job, I know that I probably won't stay in it for that long. I'm not making any decisions...just really looking at the options and gathering them. Then come, February/March/April...I'll have to figure out something or another. Right now, I'm "leaning" towards staying in Chicago, mainly because I don't want to deal with the effort and cost of moving. I really like my apartment and my neighborhood too. And it's nice to be a weekend trip away from Madison and Dayton.

I'm going to be making a trip to St. Louis next month for a friend's wedding and also some over-due time w/ the St. Louis Keels. I'm hoping to do some sight-seeing...actually, just checking out the Brewery.

Until next time... :)



-mitzi

is it really football season already?

Now, I realized that we are now almost a week past Labor Day - but I don't think I'm ready for football season. Not that I don't enjoy football...I guess I'm just not ready for it to be September. I think I now understand how people forget the years that certain things happen because once you begin a job that has no specific "season" like a school year...everything just runs together. Hmmm.

Probably another reason that I'm not looking forward to September taking over and October coming in from behind is that I know that I'm going to have to give up my sandals/flip flops. Yes, weird thing to be emotionally upset about, but I like the freedom of sandals. Then again, I should look at this change as a chance to get rid of a bunch of flip flops that I've purchased over the years and are now simply a thin layer of foamy plastic separating my foot from the evils of Chicago's streets and sidewalks.

I do look forward to wearing sweaters...and hooded sweatshirts on Saturday mornings - there's something about those two things that make the fall and winter wonderful!

Anyhow, in other news - life is going pretty well. I got back from Los Angeles on Friday and I have to say that LA is pretty nice and I definitely like it much better than NYC. The conference that I planned all the logistics for went really well and people seemed to be happy with my work. I'm glad to have the position that I do...definitely less stressful than last year...and I'm definitely sleeping better - but that could be the new mattress :).

The apartment is still good besides the lack of cell phone service. I decided to forget the hanging-pot contraption for this stage in my life and went with some simple hooks to hang-up Grandma's copper-bottom pots. I'm really impressed with my apartment and I'm glad that it is such a conglomerate of my family's items that have been passed along.

I'm making Acorn Pie tonight...definitely a "fall" dish and hopefully it will get me more in the mood for September. I also feel like I should eat a vegetable other than lettuce and carrots. Sorry, Mom - no green beans ;)!

sunday evening...

I'm sitting here watching 'Extreme Home Make-over"...it was something that Amy and I would usually watched on Sunday evenings - both us in tears by the end because it is just incredible what they can build in a week and you also realize that no matter how "rough" some things seem to be - you realize how good you actually have it compared to others in our country.

I just got back from a conference in NYC...all around a good time, minus the delayed flights. I think I'm going to really enjoy my new job, mainly because I feel like after this past year - I can handle just about anything...I'm sure there will be some curve ball thrown my way, but at least I'll have everything else under control (or so I seem to think!). I'm excited to get to know the regions that I'll be working with - LA, the Bay, Las Vegas, St. Louis, and Philly - hopefully I'll be able to make some site visits this year :)!! I think I was really worried about leaving my "family" w/ the recruitment team, but considering how welcoming and caring my new team has been especially with all things that have happened these past couple of weeks with the death of my Opa - I know that I'm in the right spot. I'm really lucky to be a part of talent recruitment now.

I think my apartment is just about complete - I'm looking for a pot-hanging mechanism for my grandmother's copper-bottom pans and I really want to frame some of my posters that I intend to keep for a while. It's time to step up to framing instead of the double-sided tape squares. I do have two new chairs for the living room, a new desk for my computer, and a new bed (and mattress)...thanks to the visit from the folks :).

I have decided that my dad can basically swing a free beer anywhere he goes. At first, I thought it was only at Free State Brewing Company, but sitting in the patio area of restaurant off of Division Street, the Kaiser somehow got a "stereo-typical" frat boy to give him his extra Goose Island 312...only my dad could make something like this happen.

Since Eric posted some of his artistic "still" pictures...I decided to do some work w/ some pictures from Blair's visit to Chicago last month...

By Lake Michigan


At "The Bean" in Millennium Park

At Navy Pier

moving right along...

Thanks to the help of the Reddigs and Buschelmans - I am officially living and working in Chicago. It was quite a weekend and for the most part things went smoothly - and only a few picture frames broke. So I'd say it was a success.

Now for the stream of consciousness on the weekend. Mainly this goes out to the folks that were here for the move, but for the rest of you - enjoy it in your confusion :).

The Ford dealership in Glenview has possibly the best service even if they don't think to mention that your insurance might cover a cracked windshield. Baking/Cooking is definitely my stress - reliever. Always remember to have "NeeeeMO" on hand. A Chipotle that does not give you an extra tortilla when the first one breaks as they are rolling it up is not a true Chipotle. Secret Shot Game makes me more nervous than walking alone at night. Never have 2 viewing screens on (ie computer and TV) when you are trying to convince a 2-year-old that you are not watching anything. Be careful of what events you allow Robert to bring his video camera to. Sharing a full bed with a 2-year-old can be comfortable when the 2-year-old willingly sleeps on the floor. Dunkin' Donuts and a Box o' Joe can make any morning better. It's a toss up which song won this weekend "Part of Your World" sung by the whole crew minus (Prince) Eric w/ donuts in hand or "Torn" Karaoke-ed by a "deaf" person. Sharp rights can sometimes (secretly) actually mean "left". "I love the way it smells here." - Liesel. U-haul may be cheap, but service friendly? Not so much. Stoplights where the oncoming traffic has a longer green light are basically asking for accidents to happen. Always trust Katie to know how to set up a kitchen - who knew there was such a thing as an "appliance garage". Always trust Liesel to know how to set up a living room - it's all about using the corners. Always trust Eric to make your air clean and make a fine margarita. Always trust Robert to have a shot of tequila ready for you at a moment's notice and to create a family/friend tree out of picture frames. Always trust Mary Ann to be happy with a "mooooovie" - even if the viewing location is on the bathroom floor. I will be doing my Christmas shopping at the Ukrainian Village Grocery - please send your lists to me. 2 extra pinches of cayenne pepper is painful. Margaritas are not. Neither is Sangria w/ Vodka. Cayenne pepper, a shot of tequila, Sierra Nevada at dinner, 2 Margarita's, Sangria w/ Vodka - followed by Sunkist and Vodka...definitely painful. Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake on a Sunday afternoon - best feeling ever.

Thank you for an awesome weekend full of sisterly and brotherly love...and well, I can finally say that I live in Chicago...:)!

packing or the art of letting go...

So I started my packing this weekend. I feel like I've made a significant dent - mainly in the fact that I've either sold, donated, or thrown away several things that for some reason made the move from Lawrence to Evanston - but will not make the move from Evanston to Chicago. Why do I have flashback to Toy Story 2 and The Brave Little Toaster in my head now...

Anyhow...

Most of these possessions have been pretty easy to part with - the chairs that didn't fit in my car, so I just placed them by my trashcans and viola! they were gone in less than an hour. Then there was the computer desk that was sold to a NW student...which was little hard to get rid of, but I think that was because I thought that Robert had more of personal connection than I did. Then there were my old text books and notebooks from college - who knows why I still had them...most likely because the KU bookstores wouldn't give me any money back for them.

Then there was my Lance Armstrong magazines...now, let me tell you - most of these are at least 2 maybe 3 years old. One might have even been 4 years old. Again, why I still had these magazines. I don't know. Maybe it was proof that I am a truly Lance Armstrong and le Tour fan...but then it's not like I have 3 books, a poster, and a framed picture involving Lance. However, these magazines were the last items left on my bookshelf, I stood there looking at them - should I thrown them away? When was the last time I read them? Why do I have these? I still have these? Look at this one - it's falling a part...in fact wasn't it falling a part when I got from Liesel after a trip to see Eric at Philmont? Well, to make the story short - they made it to the trash...and maybe it was all for the best because after I threw them away I headed to downtown Evanston to find myself in the midst of a crowd observing a cycling race - incredible...and so much better than just a few old magazines.

~mitzi

P.S. My newest niece and nephew are now crawling!!! Go check out their sites!! :)

on location in...

It has now been a year (officially, a year and 2 days) since I moved into my apartment here in Evanston and in less than a month I will be moving to Chicago with the help of the Reddelman-Buschig Movers. It has been quite a year and now things are beginning to really set in that this is a new chapter in my life. Last year's chapter: "Mitzi Moves to Chicago and Works" is finished....and I have no clue what this year's chapter will be - but I'm staying optimistic for the most part. A good friend of mine was talking about those moments when you think "How the heck did I get here? What decisions did I make that led me to this particular moment?" and so it makes you think and your emotions could go either way across the spectrum, but then you call a family member or friend, eat some ice cream, blog a little - and soon the day is over and tomorrow comes to begin anew.

I think one of the things about moving from Kansas to Chicago is that I never really thought of Chicago as a "famous" place. Maybe it is my love of Kansas and it's history...but Chicago never really stood out to me besides the melodies of Frank Sinatra's "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)" or the Broadway's "Chicago". Perhaps, I just saw it as more of a set for these sort of things - or a fantasy...but the more I think about some of my favorite movies and shows - the more I realize how truly popular Chicago is as a real place. TV shows have been set in Chicago - ER, Chicago Hope, According to Jim...Films - While Your Were Sleeping, Return to Me, Stranger than Fiction...and well, I've already discussed the music...

Okay, now that I'm looking at my list it doesn't seem that large of chunk in America's popular culture, but I will say this: it is interesting to live in a city that is a "destination" ...because of the city itself and not because of a family member or friend. Not that this doesn't help when going to a place (by all means, you are all welcome!). It's just something that I've pondered in the past couple of days...and so I share this with you since you've wondered over to see what is "the" much ado about Mitzi.

In other news - yes, I've updated the template of my blog to a hue of blue. I like blue - it's my favorite color and always makes me happy...or maybe it is just because I was assigned that color by my parents to keep my pillow, cup, and plate separate from the green, red, and yellow items my siblings had. It could have been worse...

speaking of cycling...

I wouldn't say that I love my bike - but I have several memories with my 21 speed Schwinn. I delivered my paper route on that bike, I rode several miles on the Katy Trail with that bike, I fell off that bike and broke my leg, and I plan to ride that bike to work while weather is nice once I move into the city. Granted I haven't taken my bike out for a ride in a while, but that still doesn't mean I neglect it - it has been safely locked in the basement of my house.

However, when some new housemates moved in I noticed that my bike had been moved to the outdoors next to one of their bikes...so thinking that it was in the way as they were moving things into the basement, I moved it back to it's place in the basement. This was three days ago.

This morning, I was headed down to the basement to do some laundry and I see my bike is back outside. Confused again, I deal with my laundry and when I go to move it back to the basement...both bikes are gone.

Now, about 7 hours later - my bike is back...I don't where it went...but I have now locked the wheels to the frame with my U-lock and have locked it once again in my basement.

Sometimes I just don't understand people.

le tour...

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the start of the 94th Tour de France...and I won't be getting up at 4am to watch OLN - or "Versus" as it is now named to get a glimpse of the riders in their first ride of the most grueling cycling race in the world.

After last year's debacle with drugs and such - including two of my favorites - Floyd Landis and Ivan Basso...well, I guess I lost touch of the cycling world. But now after taking a peek at the website and seeing that Team Discovery is still in the game - my "Tour de France" excitement is back...and I might just get up early to see who claims the first yellow, green, and polka-dot jerseys of the Tour.

Just FYI: American, Levi Leipheimer is leading Team Discovery this year ... at least that's what their website says...however the Tour's site says another teammate is leading so I'm not quite sure what's going on there...but if it is Levi - he's got a good chance to place in Paris. If you all remember back in 2004 - the year of the crashes...it was Levi who went down in Day 2 in the massive pile-up at the finish. Those of you who saw it - you KNOW what I'm talking about. Hundreds of cyclists crashing over one another...anyhow, Levi was a favorite that year to give Lance a run - but he was out. The past two years, Levi has worked his way up in the rankings - placing in the top ten...which is good sign that he could make it to Paris and be on the podium. Maybe not first place, but why not? He's got Team Discovery working for him including the ever loyal George Hincapie, who pulled Lance to 7 victories.

So there you go.

~mitzi

good coffee...free wi-fi...

To celebrate my last day as recruitment associate, I enjoyed a shrimp po' boy from my new favorite place near work called Bar Louie. I guess it is actually a chain bar/grill - but my friend Ann, introduced it to me and we had lunch there last week...shrimp po' boy...delicious - and on special today!! Bonus! Then after heading out of the office, I made contact with my reality management company to deposit the rest of the security deposit - I also explained the situation of the 31st/1st being a Tuesday/Wednesday this year and they're going to work with me to make my move easier. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

After that I decided that I should check out this "Ukrainian Village" that I will be calling my home for the next year. Of course, the first thing that I see is this massive church - Ukrainian Catholic...which I need to research more. I figured I would stop in and check out the chapel - but the doors were locked....so I walk away from the doors and looked across and see these huge steeples maybe a block away - yep, another Ukrainian Catholic Church. This one was St. Nicholas'...apparently 100 years old...and under construction. No luck on the churches...but I can't wait until my dad comes because he'll love this sort of stuff, right Dad? :)

So now I'm sitting in Cafe Ballou - a Ukrainian coffee shop...with good coffee and free wi-fi. I'm actually going to be living above this cafe in my new apartment. And from where I'm sitting now I can see the stairs that lead up to my apartment. The barista's name is Christine - or may Kristine...or some Ukrainian spelling of either. She was speaking what I assume was Ukrainian to an older gentleman - so I'm excited to maybe learn a little of that...and be able to come here and enjoy a beverage (and the free wi-fi). Wait!! I just looked and saw their menu - they have croissants...toasted, buttered w/ jam - this place is awesome!!! I CANNOT wait to live here :)! Plus, from where I seated I can see this fresh apple pie and I think I should probably move before I spend money I don't have on calories that I don't need.

Maybe I'm just incredibly excited about this place because I have fresh caffeine running through me - or it could be because as I was driving home last night there was quite a commotion just 2 or so blocks from where I live. A teenager had been shot and killed earlier in the day while I was at work...honors student, football player. It just really made me think about things. Honestly, I have never been worried about my safety - I feel pretty confident that I could kick the crap out anyone who was trying to do something to me. And I have a baseball bat thanks to Robert and Eric...and Mace - thanks to Mom. So I'm set in whatever neighborhood I'll be. But in thinking about all of this, I guess I'm just frustrated by people who think that their personal problems are solved by killing somebody. I just want to go find whoever thinks this and say, "What is going on in your life that would be better if somebody else were dead?"

Which makes me think of Jerry Seinfeld's comedic genius - when he discusses NY cab drivers "What is going on in your life to make you drive like this??"

Anyhow, I'll sign off and go check out Ukrainian church #3 that is just around the block (yes, that makes 3 churches w/in walking distance from my apartment. Hopefully, this one won't be locked :)!

~mitzi

new apartment...found!

I found an apartment this week and I have to say it basically exactly what I was looking for...so now I just have to figure out how exactly the move is going to work. August 1st is in the middle of the week...so a weekend move could be tricksy - which makes me think -

Why don't leases just begin/end on the last weekend of a particular month. It would make moving in/out so much easier so a tenant doesn't have to worry about whether he/she needs put his/her stuff in storage for a week and spend his/her nights in a hotel - or hopefully a friend's house. It's just stressful to think about...but it is just one of those things that we have to deal with - "offer it up" - right?

Anyhow - in other news I'm transistioning at the beginning of July instead of the middle of the month to my new position with Teach For America...it'll be a good start, I hope. I'm in a new suite now in our office building so things are definitely different in this new TFA world, but I'm sure things will pick up once our "season" starts.

And now for the game we all love to watch: Robert vs. Liesel --- GO!

~mitzi

hail mary, full of grace! help me find a parking space

I don't know how many times I said that prayer back in the schol-hall days...and I'm sure it will come to mind again as I make my move into the city where parking and driving for that matter are a little difficult. It looks like the Vatican has taken a step towards making the roads safe...check it out: Ten Commandments for Motorists

~mitzi

another start

I'm back from vacation! Not that I have been on vacation since my last post, but I guess it seemed that there was so much stuff up in the air about where I was going to be ending up - I just decided to wait until things were a bit more certain. I was in Lawrence, KS for about a week and a half - enjoying time with the family and my friends from college and high school. I attended 3 weddings - yes, 3. It is that time of my life when suddenly everyone is getting married. One was my high school friend, Justin; the second - two friends from my schol-hall days; and lastly - my cousin. All in all it was good time and relaxing to not be in the office. I actually left my laptop in Chicago...so I only had "webmail" access...meaning, I couldn't really "do" work - even if they needed me :)! Speaking of work...a job...an income...my survival for the next year:

I'm staying with Teach For America...however, mid-July I will be transitioning to the Talent Recruitment team to be an assistant to 2 Directors of Talent Recruitment (DTR). The team is much smaller than the Recruitment Team that I was a member of this past year. There are 10 DTRs and 5 of us assistants. It will be a smaller network to work with - but Talent Recruitment works across the entire organization finding good matches for staff positions. The position will be much better for me since it will not have the 70+ hour work week that I had during the recruitment season this past year. And this position pays overtime!!! So if I have to work over 50 hours...I'll get it back in a paycheck. Granted, this doesn't mean I'll be rolling in the cash...but hopefully my personal/professional alignment will be a little better this year.

I'm also moving! I don't know where yet, but I want to be close to my office and closer to my friends that are in the city (Chicago). Right now, I'm looking in the Lakeview/Ravenswood/Lincoln Square/Lincoln Park areas...and luckily, Robert is spending next weekend with me to hopefully find a place that has a neighborhood that doesn't support illegal dealings...not that something like that happens on current street at all...

So basically, I'm starting over...granted I have a small network of friends in the city, but my two closest friends are headed to other states and jobs...so that has made things a little sad in these parts, but I'm still lucky to have the Reddigs so close in Madison and the Buschlemans in Dayton and staying in Chicago is definitely worth it for another year.

I guess you should probably know that I've become a "vegetarian"...so no meat - except I do eat fish. I gave meat up for Lent and well, I've just kept it going...it really weird because I don't really notice that I'm not eating/buying/ordering something that doesn't have meat in it - I've just learned to enjoy other foods more so. I will say - that on a random occasion I'll get this huge craving for Arby's Beef 'n Cheddar...but fortunately, I do not work/live by an Arby's...so the temptation leaves pretty quickly.

I guess that's it for an update. If anything changes - I'll be sure to let you know. :)

~mitzi

chicago 2016

Chicago was just selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee to be the United States' applicant on the world stage for the 2016 olympics!!! Pretty exciting, I'd say!! Check it out here!

the Lord is risen indeed!

I can't believe it is already April and it seems like Lent flew by...probably because I was mourning the Jayhawks loss and failed to realized that March Madness came and went in just a few short 31 days. However, March was also pretty busy as I had visitors here in Chicagoland! And now I have pictures to actually prove that I do live in Chicago - unfortunately, no pictures of the apartment still. I definitely need to put "digital camera" on my wish list...but for now, here's a little taste of me in Chicago. Photography credits to Emily and Hannah...thank you for having technology ;)!

In other news, I have not come to a decision of whether to stay with Teach For America or not. So as soon as I know - of course I will let all of you know. Work is definitely calmer nowadays and I'm evening getting home in time to make dinner, enjoy it, watch a good show on television, update my blog, and then read my book for an hour before heading to bed. This is quite the life...now I just have to figure out how I can get paid to just do those things. Hmmm.

Oh well...now for the pictures!!

This is me at "Howard" - this the station that I drive to every morning to catch the Purple Line Express into the city!


Emily was here for St. Patrick's Day...we went into the city so that I could "show" her Chicago. I don't know that much about the buildings or the city...but I do my best. Every March 17th the Chicago River is dyed green...pretty vivid as you can see!The KU men's basketball team was playing Chicago for the first round. Unfortunately, no tickets for me - but the Alumni Association "Uhaul" was in a random parking lot.out by Navy Pier. Any little bit of KU that I can find here in Chicago makes me feel like I'm back in Lawrence!!

And of course!! I had to leave my own mark in Gino's East Pizzeria where they encourage graffiti!

On day two of Emily's visit, I showed her around Evanston. Northwestern's campus juts out a bit into Lake Michigan where you can see most of the Chicago skyline...it is pretty incredible at nighttime - but here's the day version! The Sears Tower is on the far right.

The St. Louis Keels came for a visit and took me out to dinner in Greek Town - it is always nice to have visitors to help me explore the city!!