under the weather October 30, 2008

… what a funny phrase. 

Yesterday I woke up with that definitive pre-cold feeling that we all have experienced.  I fought it off like never before, because I don’t want to be sick during my first real days at work, plus the next two shifts I have are early morning… so I sucked down Airborne, drank tons of water, and fell asleep early.  I also had a taste for spaghetti-o’s, and Nat picked some up at the store.  This morning I woke up for my haircut appointment, and then realized midway through that maybe I should have rescheduled, as the lights were making my head throb and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  Driving home was one of those weird times when you don’t really remember how you made it home, even though you must have followed all the rules, and had no accidents.  I slept for 4 more hours, took some medicine, and am feeling a little better.  

Nat is at his first tutoring gig – chemistry, and we are excited that he has a student.  He is such a brain.  

I am feeling the itch to create these days.  To learn how to sew, and then keep on advancing in that.  I want to re-learn how to knit, and also crochet.  We picked apples up in Lake Geneva this weekend and made applesauce and apple butter there and then when we got home, and that has been cool because we learned about canning.  

And then there’s music.  I seem to have put that aside for quite a while now.  I wish so badly that we had a piano… I should check Craigslist more regularly for them.  

And art, and photography… maybe I should go back to school for art?  

For now, I am going to go back to bed.

 

Sleepily,

Ellen

nuggets October 24, 2008

Today, I have the itch to have kids…

Which is not new.  I’ve been dreaming of them for as long as I can remember, and have lists stashed away in a hundred notebooks of all my favorite baby names.  Recently I have thought of a couple that I love so much I think I will keep them a complete secret until they are born, or well on their way…

I don’t know what it was about today.  SO many babies and kids come through Starbucks, maybe it is seeing them all geared up in tiny autumn wear.  Or it could be one of a couple blogs I love to read of young moms… or it could be anything.  I can’t wait, though.

* lovely day * October 17, 2008

Already.

I woke up with a bad migraine at seven, so I wrapped a bag of frozen veggies in a paper towel, took two excedrin and lay on the couch for a while.  We had two blueberry muffins (courtesy of Starbucks leftovers) for breakfast, and then Nat left to walk to work at 8:30.  About 2 minutes after he left I realized, “I should have walked to work with him!!”  I thought about whether or not I could catch him for about 30 seconds and then leapt off the couch and decided to try.  I threw on a jacket over my pajamas, put on my slightly-too-small vans, and took off sprinting down the sidewalk.

I did catch up with him, and it was so cool to walk to work with him.  Doing things like that always feels to me like a mini-vacation, I think because it’s special.  It is a BEAUTIFUL morning, and really fall-crispy-clear, and I was glad for the migraine that woke me up.  I felt silly walking back looking all disheveled and morning face, and my toes were hurting from running so fast but it’s about a mile and a quarter to the hospital, so I think I’ll start walking him there and running back.

And now it is off to day 3 of training.  I look forward to it all becoming second nature, when I will look back on all the training and laugh at how clueless I was.

happy day!

ellen

Ok, so these debates… October 16, 2008

Based solely on personality, and my emotional response to the two candidates, I can not stand John McCain.

“I felt that the cool, calm, collected nature of Barack Obama was welcomed and needed … To me the long-standing reputation of John McCain as a maverick and a reformer was overpowered by his cynicism, sarcasm and smugness.” – a quote from a political blog.

Snide is another word that comes to mind about John McCain.

Ok, so I just had to vent a little bit about that.  Politically – I am still brushing up on my knowledge, so maybe a little blog will come about that later.  Maybe after the election.  = )

this day was made for blogging October 15, 2008

and that’s just what I’ll do.

Really, it’s raining, it’s chilly outside.  I have a few little errands I have to do today (post office to mail Amazon books, thrift store and food pantry to drop off donations)… and since I don’t quite feel like venturing out there yet I’m going to sit here cross-legged in the new beautiful Pier 1 papasan chair we found in the alley garbage, eat my minestrone soup, load pictures onto iPhoto, and write a little here.  It is a beautiful life, and this is a beautiful day, in its own way, and I plan to enjoy it like this.

So, we went to a gala last weekend.  It was called “Going Green” and it was the annual Swedish Covenant Hospital’s gala event at the Museum of Science and Industry.  We had the museum to ourselves to explore, and for the most part it was just Nat and I wandering around.  We played with all the cloning activities, looked at the vertical farm exhibits, all of the spacecraft section, and toured the new house they have called the Smart Home, a sustainable home, which was pretty cool.  Things like an underground water collector to recycle household water for watering plants and the yard, all energy efficient lighting.  Everything made from recycled materials, and it was a completely functioning house, not just an exhibit.  The rest of the gala was great, too.  Awesome food, a very big dessert bar, dancing…  It was fun to sit with Nat’s boss and coworkers and see what they are like.

My first day of training at Starbucks yesterday was pretty good.  It was a little bit boring – a lot of paperwork, doing a training “module” on a computer about how to clean everything, etc… but I remain so excited about the fact that I have a job there, and soon will know all the ins and outs of it, and I hope to love it.

Nat has done such an awesome job of hanging up shelves around here, and I would finally say that our apartment is “put together.”  AND… the best news of all is that the Fondells are coming for the weekend, and they are bringing our bed that Nat made for us, and for me as a wedding gift!!  It is beautiful – gorgeous wood, with built-in drawers on the bottom.  I can’t wait.  We are going to sell our current bedroom set and probably buy a few new dressers, as well as a queen sized mattress.

Well, with that, I should go run those errands.  Here are a few more pictures from our lives lately…

TwoMonthAnniversary! October 9, 2008

We are going to wander through Lincoln Square, eat Thai food, and look at books, to celebrate.

And… I had an entire post written, and a pretty dang good one at that, the other day, and then the usual tragedy occurred: deletion.  For no apparent reason.  It has discouraged me from posting another of such length and heart and soul.

But here is one of my favorite photos of Nat and I from the wedding…

It was during the singing of “Joyful Joyful” and we are laughing at the expressions of the groomsmen who appeared to be in various stages of half-smiling, half-faking, and not-smiling… while sort of moving their mouths in an “i’m singing” fashion.  It was our fault – we had forgotten to give everyone words ahead of time and remind them to learn it – but it was very funny.

I put Friday up on Craigslist.  Nat, in particular, I think, has had enough.  Mary might take her though, and that would be wonderful to keep her in the family! If not Mary, than a woman named Rolanda.

Our apartment is 89% finished, and it feels so great to come home to just a little mess, and to be able to walk around and see the floor.  This has also inspired us to donate a hefty amount of things to a few charitable causes, and that is a good thing, no matter the reason.  Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free, after all.

I rode my bike nearly ten miles today, to three different Village Discount thrift stores in search of bargains, and found some great ones!  I found some khaki pants and black pants and white shirts for work, and a throw pillow, and some of those hand-knitted slippers that I live in.

I believe in thrift stores like I believe in recycling and eating lots of vegetables.  It just makes sense for the world.

Cheerfully,

Ellen

kicking back. October 5, 2008

It is a welcome blessing to have internet connection in our apartment.  We are loving it – me curled up on the couch with chai, Nat at his desk, surrounded by books and knick knacks on his shelves. It’s great.  It’s midnight, it’s the weekend, and we are happy.

Our apartment is starting to take shape.  We have hung up our big clock, a wall sconce, and arranged our desks and couches.  In the kitchen, there is a pot rack and come tomorrow there will be an assortment of Ikea shelves, rails and hanging devices to add to the mix, thanks to a wedding gift card from the Rueping family, whom we love ferociously.  I’m itching to get it all set up. 

Here are some more inspiring pictures I’ve found from my decorating/interior design interest lately:

Another loud color kitchen… I like this one a lot.

This calendar is pretty neat too, and I like how this kitchen is so tiny (like ours) but really functional.

i’m learning that while i like lots of color, I like WHITE as well, with splashes of color.

can you even imagine having a bedroom as a kid, or a guest room in your house with bunk beds like this??  i love it so much.  if we have six boys, this will be the design of their bedroom.  If we have six girls, this will be the design of their bedroom with a slightly different color scheme.  If we have six children at all – perhaps they can just live all together and, as they get older, dress in the privacy of their curtained bunks.

Well, off to bed with me.  Where should we go to church tomorrow?  It is tempting us to skip it and head to Ikea early to get the breakfast deal……. We’ll see.

= ) goodnight.

whew! October 2, 2008

Some very great things happened in the past week:

* I called Guy at Starbucks for the umpteenth time, a little sheepish and nervous feeling, and he very entusiastically and apologetically (for not calling me back) offered me the job!  When I called Nat right afterwards I was jumping up and down saying, “I got the job! I got the job!”  Such a silly, small dream of mine, to work there someday… and now we will see if it lives up to all of its expectations!  I start October 13th.

* We moved!  A huge thank you to everyone who helped.  Our living space has downsized by a great deal, and it was quite a shock to see how much all of our things really FILLED this apartment.  Slowly by surely, we are working through the pile of our treasures and setting them up.  If anyone has any shelves they don’t need, that is the one thing we are looking for!  We want to just mount shelves everywhere and keep the furniture to a minimum.  I’m having fun looking at tips for decorating small spaces.

Kitchens like this are so fun.  I want to paint ours turquoise, but don’t know how well that would go over with Chris… maybe if I just said “blue.”  ?