Today is my last day of summer. I slept way in, and have to run some last minute errands before school starts tomorrow. And, I want to take some pictures for Scavenger Hunt Sunday. And I need to cook! AJ and I are having a picnic on the roof for a last night of summer celebration! And I bought yummy wine! And s'mores!
So, here are some of the things going through my mind today in regards to work. I need to just get them out somehwere, because I'm pretty worried:
Am I teaching bio or physics or split between both? I'm supposed to find out tomorrow.
Will I have time to get my welcome worksheets written and my photocopies done? I like to do this well before school starts, but I still don't know what I'm teaching!
Will I have my own classroom? And if I do, will I have time to set it up?
Well, considering that its almost 12, I should get going on all these errands! Have a great day!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Scavenger Hunt Sunday {8 28 2011}
I missed last week's scavenger hunt, and I felt so badly about it all week. But, I am back now!
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1. Old and New
Tuesday night I made chicken cutlets, so my whole kitchen smelled like olive oil and garlic, and for dessert, we had Stella D'Oro Margherite cookies. When I closed my eyes and breathed in, it smelled just like my Nonni's house. It was like having a little bit of my old memories from New York in my new Chicago kitchen.
2. Night Photography
Walking home down Michigan Avenue brings me right past this beautiful church. It looked so cozy inside all light up as night was falling.
3. Music
I love the AJ's blue headphones on his ipod.
4. Cheesy
Mmmmm, deep dish on our Saturday night pizza date!
5. Sun
Saturday morning was beautiful. AJ and I walked to the farmers market in Lincoln Park (and got some fabulous croissants!) I loved how sunny it was in the park, and how pretty these flowers looked.
1. Old and New
2. Night Photography
3. Music
4. Cheesy
5. Sun
Friday, August 26, 2011
100th Post
Its my 100th post today! I can't believe it!!!
To celebrate, I thought I'd share my (finally) finished Halloween project. I used the baked cookies scented pillar candles from Michaels (totally bought when they are on sale!), and the papers are from We R Memory Keepers Spookville collection. I just love Halloween papers so much, I bought the entire paper pack...and the 8x8 paper pack. So no more Halloween shopping for me!
From one side, the candles say:
And when you look at the other side, they say:
The directions to make these candles are here. These candles were a little trickier than the ones I usually make, because I decided to make them two sided. So I couldn't seal the edges with the floral pins like I usually do. Instead, I put the seam on the inside, and stapled straight into the candle - and then totally forgot to take a picture of it. But, it worked, and you can't see it because the seams are hidden when they are all lined up.
I'm going to ship these candles to my mom. She and I have made them for different holidays before, and I'm sure she isn't expecting to get a set of candles now that I am in Chicago. I just need to figure out how to safely get them back to New York!
I'm also going to make myself a set too. Only, my candles are a really pale beige (mine are vanilla scented, because they ran out of baked cookies!) and I'm probably going to use different papers (from the same line) for those, I just haven't picked them out yet!
Well, I'm off to try making some zucchini muffins! Have a great day, and thank you so much for stopping by!
To celebrate, I thought I'd share my (finally) finished Halloween project. I used the baked cookies scented pillar candles from Michaels (totally bought when they are on sale!), and the papers are from We R Memory Keepers Spookville collection. I just love Halloween papers so much, I bought the entire paper pack...and the 8x8 paper pack. So no more Halloween shopping for me!
From one side, the candles say:
And when you look at the other side, they say:
The directions to make these candles are here. These candles were a little trickier than the ones I usually make, because I decided to make them two sided. So I couldn't seal the edges with the floral pins like I usually do. Instead, I put the seam on the inside, and stapled straight into the candle - and then totally forgot to take a picture of it. But, it worked, and you can't see it because the seams are hidden when they are all lined up.
I'm going to ship these candles to my mom. She and I have made them for different holidays before, and I'm sure she isn't expecting to get a set of candles now that I am in Chicago. I just need to figure out how to safely get them back to New York!
I'm also going to make myself a set too. Only, my candles are a really pale beige (mine are vanilla scented, because they ran out of baked cookies!) and I'm probably going to use different papers (from the same line) for those, I just haven't picked them out yet!
Well, I'm off to try making some zucchini muffins! Have a great day, and thank you so much for stopping by!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday Drama Rama
Sunday morning, AJ and I drove about an hour out to Indiana to see his coworkers in a target shooting competition. It was pretty cool, once I stopped jumping in the air and grabbing AJ's arm every time a gun went off. Although for the first 20 minutes, I kept whispering, ummmm...that man is carrying a gun. Well duh, everyone was carrying a gun, and very safely I might add. They were not allowed to be loaded until you were standing on the platform ready to shoot. I liked that, because I am not a fan of firearms. The potential danger just scared the heck out of me!
Driving back into Chicago was not as fun. The traffic was horrendous because people had stopped on Lake Shore Drive to watch the air show. Literally pulled over on the shoulder and stopped. It caused massive traffic back ups. And, our exit off Lake Shore onto local Lake Shore was shut down, so we had to go a different way.
Now, this "different" way is the way I always go, although AJ prefers the shut down way. It normally takes about 3 minutes to get off Lake Shore and turn for local Lake Shore. It took us 20 minutes.
However, in these twenty minutes, we saw:
But, back to the driving. The turn is difficult, there are two turns, tight to Lake Shore (wrong way) and wide to local Lake Shore (right way). Once you make this turn, you are two minutes from our apartment. Guess which way AJ turned?
Did you guess that he turned back into the dead stopped traffic on Lake Shore Drive?! Yep. I saw it happening in slow motion, and just couldn't stop him in time. It was horrible. We crawled past our apartment, with no way to get to it.
We sat on Lake Shore for another 30 minutes before we could get off (remember how they closed the next exit - which is also super close to home?). Yeah, then we had to wind through the city for another 30 minutes.
When all was said and done, it took us three hours to get home. And for two of them, we were in Chicago!
Driving back into Chicago was not as fun. The traffic was horrendous because people had stopped on Lake Shore Drive to watch the air show. Literally pulled over on the shoulder and stopped. It caused massive traffic back ups. And, our exit off Lake Shore onto local Lake Shore was shut down, so we had to go a different way.
Now, this "different" way is the way I always go, although AJ prefers the shut down way. It normally takes about 3 minutes to get off Lake Shore and turn for local Lake Shore. It took us 20 minutes.
However, in these twenty minutes, we saw:
- Someone attempt to parallel park a very large truck in between some motorcycles. And catch the spokes of one on its hitch in the back.
- A shirtless man getting onto a bike with his child in a seat on the back of the bike. He dropped the bike, but caught it before it hit the ground, the child was okay. Although, I can attest to the psychological damage this child will now endure, as this exact same thing happened to me once. I still get panicked when I see a kid on a bike like that!
- A man back his smart car up into a tiny itty bitty spot, so he is perpendicular to traffic, I was impressed. And wanted a smart car.
- More kids pile out of a cab that I thought was physically possible.
But, back to the driving. The turn is difficult, there are two turns, tight to Lake Shore (wrong way) and wide to local Lake Shore (right way). Once you make this turn, you are two minutes from our apartment. Guess which way AJ turned?
Did you guess that he turned back into the dead stopped traffic on Lake Shore Drive?! Yep. I saw it happening in slow motion, and just couldn't stop him in time. It was horrible. We crawled past our apartment, with no way to get to it.
We sat on Lake Shore for another 30 minutes before we could get off (remember how they closed the next exit - which is also super close to home?). Yeah, then we had to wind through the city for another 30 minutes.
When all was said and done, it took us three hours to get home. And for two of them, we were in Chicago!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
So Sorry
So, I have been a horrible blogger lately! It is my last week of summer before school starts, and things have just been crazy crazy crazy! I didn't even get to finish my Scavenger Hunt from last Sunday - but I am letting it all go and moving forward.
And part of moving forward means back to blogging! I have to say, I missed it here, I missed seeing what everyone was up to, and all the fabulous comments (they really do make me so excited!)
I'll give you a brief update of what I've been up to:
Saturday - Chicago's Air and Boat Show
Sunday - We drove to Indiana to see a target shooting competition. Then we tried to get home...I think I know what story I'll be sharing tomorrow!
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - filling out papers at Chicago Public Schools, cleaning and hanging out with my girlfriends before school starts!
Well, I have to run. The wife of one of AJ's coworkers is in the hospital, so I want to go make them a baked ziti.
And part of moving forward means back to blogging! I have to say, I missed it here, I missed seeing what everyone was up to, and all the fabulous comments (they really do make me so excited!)
I'll give you a brief update of what I've been up to:
Saturday - Chicago's Air and Boat Show
Sunday - We drove to Indiana to see a target shooting competition. Then we tried to get home...I think I know what story I'll be sharing tomorrow!
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - filling out papers at Chicago Public Schools, cleaning and hanging out with my girlfriends before school starts!
Well, I have to run. The wife of one of AJ's coworkers is in the hospital, so I want to go make them a baked ziti.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Ikea Adventure
Allie and I are both just over 5 feet tall. That's an important detail you need to know for this story.
She had a huge empty wall in her apartment, and decided that this Ikea bookcase would be perfect for it, but her boyfriend's work schedule doesn't really let him do errands like this. So we decided it would be fun to go on an Ikea adventure yesterday, and surprise her boyfriend with an assembled bookcase.
So we started our adventure to the suburbs, and we finally found the store!
After much Ikea shopping (tealights, throw pillows, chair cushions, decorative lanterns, a wine rack and a pitcher later) we finally found the boxes. We thought we would be dealing with two 6 foot tall boxes (refer to the first line of this post now). But we were wrong. There were four boxes. Plus the box for the kitchen island that I was buying.
At least there were two of us! So we were able to push the carts!
Everything fit in my little Corolla (thanks to the magically expanding trunk!) and everything was going well. We got to the apartment building, parked in the parking garage across the street, and got a cart from her building. We even got the little cart loaded up! Except everything had to go across the cart. We were driving a tiny cart that was now six feet wide! But this was not a problem on the city streets, we thought. The only issue we could see was that we needed to cross in the middle of a very busy road. So we decided to be safe and walk down the block to the cross walk. Which was working...for about five steps. Then, we got stuck in between a building and a tree! We didn't know what to do!
When, our Ikea Angel showed up! We don't know who he was, but he freed up our cart and got us across the middle of the street - there was no way we'd make it down half the city block, then back up the other side to the building, we'd already been struggling for twenty minutes at this point. That was when we encountered another problem. There were planters on this side of the street. Our boxes wouldn't fit. But we couldn't flip them, because they would tip the cart. Cue Ikea Angel's second miracle of the day! He flipped all of our boxes for us and we were able to walk (sloooooowly) down the street!
The boxes juuuust fit inside the service elevator
And we were a mess getting them into the apartment. Two boxes had to be taken off the trolley to get it in the elevator, and were now standing up (thanks to another helper near the service elevators!) But it was up to the two of us to get them out of the elevator and into the apartment. There were boxes all up and down the hallway at one point!
So now, it is 4:17, and we still have to put this thing together!
But that only took us....ONE HOUR!!!!
Her boyfriend was very surprised and appreciative.
And now I'm off the assemble the kitchen island!
She had a huge empty wall in her apartment, and decided that this Ikea bookcase would be perfect for it, but her boyfriend's work schedule doesn't really let him do errands like this. So we decided it would be fun to go on an Ikea adventure yesterday, and surprise her boyfriend with an assembled bookcase.
So we started our adventure to the suburbs, and we finally found the store!
After much Ikea shopping (tealights, throw pillows, chair cushions, decorative lanterns, a wine rack and a pitcher later) we finally found the boxes. We thought we would be dealing with two 6 foot tall boxes (refer to the first line of this post now). But we were wrong. There were four boxes. Plus the box for the kitchen island that I was buying.
At least there were two of us! So we were able to push the carts!
Everything fit in my little Corolla (thanks to the magically expanding trunk!) and everything was going well. We got to the apartment building, parked in the parking garage across the street, and got a cart from her building. We even got the little cart loaded up! Except everything had to go across the cart. We were driving a tiny cart that was now six feet wide! But this was not a problem on the city streets, we thought. The only issue we could see was that we needed to cross in the middle of a very busy road. So we decided to be safe and walk down the block to the cross walk. Which was working...for about five steps. Then, we got stuck in between a building and a tree! We didn't know what to do!
When, our Ikea Angel showed up! We don't know who he was, but he freed up our cart and got us across the middle of the street - there was no way we'd make it down half the city block, then back up the other side to the building, we'd already been struggling for twenty minutes at this point. That was when we encountered another problem. There were planters on this side of the street. Our boxes wouldn't fit. But we couldn't flip them, because they would tip the cart. Cue Ikea Angel's second miracle of the day! He flipped all of our boxes for us and we were able to walk (sloooooowly) down the street!
The boxes juuuust fit inside the service elevator
And we were a mess getting them into the apartment. Two boxes had to be taken off the trolley to get it in the elevator, and were now standing up (thanks to another helper near the service elevators!) But it was up to the two of us to get them out of the elevator and into the apartment. There were boxes all up and down the hallway at one point!
So now, it is 4:17, and we still have to put this thing together!
But that only took us....ONE HOUR!!!!
Her boyfriend was very surprised and appreciative.
And now I'm off the assemble the kitchen island!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Weight Watchers
Right before we moved out to Chicago, I was doing great on weight watchers, I had lost 12 pounds, and was feeling really great! But, when we moved, it kind of fell by the wayside. Which was okay, because I was so busy unpacking, and walking by the lake, I was still maintaining my weight.
But lately, I've been not doing so great. And slowly, the weight crept back on.
So, I'm back on Weight Watchers. I am going to weigh in on Thursdays, because hopefully, by then, I will have a scale to weigh myself . . .
Well, I'm off to go buy healthy things at the grocery store :)
But lately, I've been not doing so great. And slowly, the weight crept back on.
So, I'm back on Weight Watchers. I am going to weigh in on Thursdays, because hopefully, by then, I will have a scale to weigh myself . . .
Well, I'm off to go buy healthy things at the grocery store :)
Monday, August 15, 2011
Lucky's Sandwich Challenge
AJ tried the Lucky's Sandwich Challenge today.
It was insane!
He started out really excited.
Then, they brought out the food, and he looked a little nervous.
He got through the first bite okay.
It started getting a little harder.
He had 17 minutes to go, and all that food left!
And in the end, the sandwiches got the best of him.
It was insane!
He started out really excited.
Then, they brought out the food, and he looked a little nervous.
He got through the first bite okay.
It started getting a little harder.
He had 17 minutes to go, and all that food left!
And in the end, the sandwiches got the best of him.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Scavenger Hunt Sunday {8 14 2011}
1. Against the Light
2. Frame within a Frame
3. Best Part of My Day
4. Buttons
5. Ink
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!
Friday, August 12, 2011
New TV and Craftiness
So, the TV was installed. And the colors were awful, everyone looked weird and green and seasick. I had to call Comcast and get a new box, couldn't go to the beach with the girls, so upsetting. Then, I told AJ the reds all looked green, and he goes "Its hooked up wrong." Which I could not believe, because they checked it like seventeen times. But I decided to check it out anyway. There are 5 cords in the back of my TV. Two black audio cords, marked red and white. Three video cords, marked red, blue and green. Guess which two were flipped?
Yep, that's it. The two red ones. So I flipped them, and now it is gorgeous!
See how pretty?!?!
And, I have the pictures of the all papers cut for my newest project...
Yep, that's it. The two red ones. So I flipped them, and now it is gorgeous!
See how pretty?!?!
And, I have the pictures of the all papers cut for my newest project...
I just love cutting on the eclips!
All ready to be glued and pinned and all sorts of fun stuff!
Yay! Well, I'm off to get ready for dinner with AJ, I hope everyone has a great Friday night!
Sorry I Didn't Post Yesterday
I know I was going to post an update on my project yesterday, but the day got so crazy! And unfortunately, the one job I was still waiting on went to another candidate, although, I was "one of the top two". I don't think that made it better though.
So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. I tried the Chicago Public Schools substitute application again, but the pool is still full, so I still can't apply. A friend of mine said she applied in October and got an email this week that she was accepted, but by the time I found out we were moving to Chicago, they weren't accepting any more applications. Any ideas on a new career?
So, on to happier news, our new TV is being delivered in minutes! So after that, I will be able to get the apartment back in order and photograph the project stuff, and post it! Yay!
So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. I tried the Chicago Public Schools substitute application again, but the pool is still full, so I still can't apply. A friend of mine said she applied in October and got an email this week that she was accepted, but by the time I found out we were moving to Chicago, they weren't accepting any more applications. Any ideas on a new career?
So, on to happier news, our new TV is being delivered in minutes! So after that, I will be able to get the apartment back in order and photograph the project stuff, and post it! Yay!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Farmer's Market
Mmmm, I went to the farmer's market today with some new Chicago friends! I got so many veggies, eggplants, zucchini, carrots, onions, green beans, heirloom tomatoes!
Tomorrow night, I'm planning on making a ratatouille with dinner (so excited!). But tonight, AJ and I are going out with some friends for trivia night and dinner - I've heard the chicken fingers there are delicious, and I love chicken fingers!
I couldn't wait for tomorrow to try these veggies though. So I made a veggie pizza for lunch, and it was so super easy, I had to share it :)
1. Cut 1/2 large peeled eggplant and 2 small zucchini into bite size pieces. Cover them with salt and pepper.
2. Saute the eggplant and zucchini in olive oil until the veggies are soft. (The eggplant will soak up a lot of the olive oil, so I use more than I normally would for other veggies) Taste the veggies and see if they need more salt. Mine did!
3. Add one 14.5 oz can of tomato puree or crushed tomatoes to the saute pan, and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce begins to bubble.
4. Pour on top of pizza dough.
5. Cover with mozzarella.
6. Cook as per the directions on the pizza dough, or until the dough is cooked through and the cheese is melty.
Soooo yummy! And super filling! And I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, or for AJ to bring for lunch tomorrow. Actually, I've got enough for both of us! And, with the cheese melted on top of the veggies, they are even more delicious! Or maybe that was just because they were fresh!
Well, I'm off to cut the paper pieces for my Halloween project. I'll be posting more of that tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by, have a great Wednesday!
Tomorrow night, I'm planning on making a ratatouille with dinner (so excited!). But tonight, AJ and I are going out with some friends for trivia night and dinner - I've heard the chicken fingers there are delicious, and I love chicken fingers!
I couldn't wait for tomorrow to try these veggies though. So I made a veggie pizza for lunch, and it was so super easy, I had to share it :)
1. Cut 1/2 large peeled eggplant and 2 small zucchini into bite size pieces. Cover them with salt and pepper.
2. Saute the eggplant and zucchini in olive oil until the veggies are soft. (The eggplant will soak up a lot of the olive oil, so I use more than I normally would for other veggies) Taste the veggies and see if they need more salt. Mine did!
3. Add one 14.5 oz can of tomato puree or crushed tomatoes to the saute pan, and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce begins to bubble.
4. Pour on top of pizza dough.
5. Cover with mozzarella.
6. Cook as per the directions on the pizza dough, or until the dough is cooked through and the cheese is melty.
Soooo yummy! And super filling! And I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, or for AJ to bring for lunch tomorrow. Actually, I've got enough for both of us! And, with the cheese melted on top of the veggies, they are even more delicious! Or maybe that was just because they were fresh!
Well, I'm off to cut the paper pieces for my Halloween project. I'll be posting more of that tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by, have a great Wednesday!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Rainbows
Yesterday, we had rain, then sun, then rain, rain and more rain!
So we stayed home and watched movies and caught up on the dvr all day. AJ had never seen When Harry Met Sally, one of my favorite movies. But, I am happy to say, he loved it too!
In between some of the rain storms, there was a gorgeous rainbow over Navy Pier, and I grabbed a picture of it! I want to edit the picture, so the rainbow pops a bit more, but I'm not sure exactly how to do that, so I'll be googling that later (after I finish cleaning, we had a very messy weekend!)
So we stayed home and watched movies and caught up on the dvr all day. AJ had never seen When Harry Met Sally, one of my favorite movies. But, I am happy to say, he loved it too!
In between some of the rain storms, there was a gorgeous rainbow over Navy Pier, and I grabbed a picture of it! I want to edit the picture, so the rainbow pops a bit more, but I'm not sure exactly how to do that, so I'll be googling that later (after I finish cleaning, we had a very messy weekend!)
Well, I'm off to watch Barefoot Contessa start vacuuming and go grocery shopping! I hope you're plans are more fun!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Scavenger Hunt Sunday {8 7 2011}
What a great Sunday! We were supposed to go kayaking this morning, but when we woke up, it was raining :(
1. Seeing Double/Two
This morning, there were only two snickers bars left in the candy bowl!
2. Whatever
AJ and I went out for egg sandwiches this morning on everything bagels. I love everything bagels, but I definitely felt "whatever" about this bagel. It had caraway seeds (which I do not like at all), and didn't have salt (which I love on everything bagels). So, the search for a good New York bagel in Chicago will continue.
3. Sweet
Yummy sweet basil!
4. Space
I love how the river creates space in the city.
5. Bright
The sun finally came out today!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Bit of a Funk
So I've been in a bit of a funk lately. I think its the end of summer, and the fact that I am almost all out of adhesive, and can't start on the project I've been dying to start on! I finally figured out (with AJ's help) how to get to Michael's!
But, I thought I would share what I have for my Halloween project so far!
Ah! So excited, I can't wait to get to Michael's tomorrow!
But, I thought I would share what I have for my Halloween project so far!
Ah! So excited, I can't wait to get to Michael's tomorrow!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Fireworks Photos
What a crazy week it has been! My mom found a new website with tons of job listings I hadn't seen before, so I sent out another round of resumes. And good news, I already have an interview! All of this job hunting is getting exhausting.
But tonight, AJ and I are going to dinner with a friend of a friend who also just moved to Chicago, so that should be really fun! I'm really looking forward to it. And to dinner at Carmine's, I was looking at the menu online and they have cavatelli al forno, basically baked cavatelli!!! Those are my favorite favorite favorite pasta! I'm so excited! Then, we are going to watch the fireworks. I just love that they have fireworks here so often!
On Saturday night, I took some pictures of the fireworks, because I'd like to do a scrapbook page about them. I think I got some great shots!
Yay! I can't wait to scrapbook these!
Well, I'm off to get ready for dinner. Have a great night! See you tomorrow :)
But tonight, AJ and I are going to dinner with a friend of a friend who also just moved to Chicago, so that should be really fun! I'm really looking forward to it. And to dinner at Carmine's, I was looking at the menu online and they have cavatelli al forno, basically baked cavatelli!!! Those are my favorite favorite favorite pasta! I'm so excited! Then, we are going to watch the fireworks. I just love that they have fireworks here so often!
On Saturday night, I took some pictures of the fireworks, because I'd like to do a scrapbook page about them. I think I got some great shots!
Yay! I can't wait to scrapbook these!
Well, I'm off to get ready for dinner. Have a great night! See you tomorrow :)
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