Milly went to doggie daycare today and is very tired. She is super cute and cuddly!

Uh, anyone need an IT Auditor in Florida?

Yikes, dude! Yesterday the high was like 7 and Dog laid down in the alley and refused to walk. Mike said "She would have died there if I hadn't picked her up and carried her back to the condo!"

Yum

A good little recipe for acorn squash!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=226448&package_id=238154

Milly

Jan 4, 2009, originally uploaded by agstratt.

Dog is sure making it hard to type on that laptop

Hair pretties

Jan 7, 2009, originally uploaded by agstratt.

Ahhh, my new pasttime, making little hair pretties for my niece and friends who have baby girls!

Statcounter troubles

So I logged onto StatCounter this morning to see my blog traffic and it said I had NO visitors since mid October... I was a bit confused, especially since at least Michelle commented on an entry or two and then realized I didn't insert the StatCounter code into my new design. Oops! I mean, it's not like I get a whole heck of a lot of traffic anyways, but it was weird to see NO visitors. At first, I was like "well, if no one is visiting, then I can start the Brutal Honesty portion of our show"... but then realized it had to be a mistake.

The mistake was mine, a technical miss on my part. At least I figured it out. Shows how often I log into StatCounter!

On a totally different subject, did anyone see this? I have been eagerly anticipating a Slingplayer client for my iPhone since I purchased it and am super freaking pumped. Hopefully it works well, and isn't super slow. Who knows, though? I guess the app would only be as good as your connection, so there would be limitations. But at least I could watch some shows on the iPhone through our Slingbox rather than buying anything I want to watch on itunes. That would save some bank. Each show is only 1.99 but that adds up.

More 2008 recap....

I am totally stealing this from Michelle... a summary of our 2008 travels.

January and February
Nowhere.... blessed nowhere

March
April went to Sydney, Australia for work

April
April went to London for work, and Mike tagged along
April went to visit Katie in Indy to help register for baby Gracie

May
To Evansille for April's sister Katie's graduation and baby shower
Logansport to visit Mike's family

June
Pokagan State Park in northern Indiana for Stratton Family Reunion
April's Evansville high school girlfriends all came to Chicago for big reunion!
Lake cottage with Underhills in Northern Indiana

July
Coldwater, Michigan for annual Duff lake weekend
Fort Wayne, Indiana for Grandmother's funeral
April visited Katie, Drew, and Gracie for a weekend


August
Wedding anniversary trip to Saugatuck, Michigan
Visit to Indy to see Katie, Drew, Gracie and observe Hot Box Pizza operations
Charleston to visit Dixon


September
Hilton Head for Peter and Kira's wedding
Merrillville for Justin and Kimmo's wedding
Evansville for April's high school reunion
April visited Dora at Cornell in Ithaca, NY

October
GACRT/Iowa game at IU (both Mike and April)
Homecoming at IU (only April)


November
Purdue for Old Oaken Bucket game
Evansville for Thanksgiving

December
April went to Vegas to run mini marathon
Mike went to Logansport to visit family
Then Indiana tour 2008 for Christmas: stops in Evansville, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Logansport

One more thing

on the resolution list.

I'd like to finish that purple scarf I've been knitting for two years!

Resolutions

I have been kicking around resolutions today. I want them to be important yet measureable...

1. My brother and his girlfriend got me this awesome journal, and I want to make sure I write in it each day. So that is the first resolution.
2. I would like to take the Digital 2 class at Chicago Photography Center (I took Digital one last year). I see this happening in the fall or late summer for me.
3. I want to keep up with my quitting caffeine and carbonation thing. I cheated a little over the holiday and my throat is paying for it. My one exception to this would be champagne, maybe once a month, and maybe one diet coke a month. But I am going to try and go without it totally.
4. Buy a paper shredder. I keep putting it off because it's SO not a fun purchase... this should be an easy one to check off the list.
5. Start the website and checkout abilities for the name frame business. I want to have this up and running by April.
6. Quit candy with Michelle. I would also like to lose some lbs and fit into my clothes a little better, but doubt putting that on the resolutions listing would do anything but make me feel bad. If it's measurable (lose 10 lbs), I don't think it's a good fitness goal. And if it's a good fitness goal (be stronger, pants fit better) then it's not measurable. Candy is a big weakness of mine and one reason why my pants don't fit well, so I'll make that a resolution and hope that helps the weight-loss effort.

Seriously, Tazo?

Tazo Tea instructions:

1. Bring some fresh, filtered water to a boil
2. For hot tea, place one Tazo filterbag in your cup, mug, or gourd
3. Pour 8 fl oz of water over the filterbag
4. Steep for 3 minutes while contemplating your favorite eternal mysteries.

Who writes this stuff?

Dog found her Howler

Dog found her Howler
Originally uploaded by agstratt

Check out Milly's new skillz

2009

This is the year that my husband and I both turn 30. How crazy is it that across the blogsophere I see people saying they can't believe they are 30, and only have one kid. They are onlly 30 and haven't done x.

Well, I am 30 and haven't done much of anything! surprising, I know!

I would like to count myself blessed though, because I love my life and those that are in it. I wonder what the future holds for us, and I think it'll be interesting.

Hello 2009 questionnaire

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Used my passport!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I think I curse less. I certainly didn't go to the gym at least once a week but it probably evened out to at least that, because I trained and finished another mini-marathon
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, my friend Tracy and sister Katie both had beautiful little girls
4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes, my beautiful and wonderful grandmother, Diana Stratton. I am glad that I got to tell her that we would name a little girl after her before she died. My life will never be the same after her passing.
5. What countries did you visit? Australia and London, UK
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? I wish I had visited Portugal with Mike... I would also like much more satisfaction with myself in total than 2008
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 11, 2008... our wedding anniversary and the babydog's birthday!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Held my tongue WAY MORE than I thought possible
9. What was your biggest failure? Being a bad big sib to my mentee Gracie... I just have way too much to do
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nope
11. What was the best thing you bought? Air conditioner, August 2008... Dog, November 2008
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? As always, my mom and dad
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Family not named to protect the not-so-innocent
14. Where did most of your money go? Various costs to be a grownup
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Many random roadtrips
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Beyonce - Single Girls ...If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it.. My sister sang this to make my niece laugh and it cracked me up
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? oy, fatter fo sho
c) richer or poorer? richer, very very slightly
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? working out
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? worrying about the election
20. How did you spend Christmas? With my husband's family
21. Did you fall in love in 2008? yes, with my baby dog, Milly. I LOVE THAT DOG.
22. What was your favorite TV program? How I Met Your Mother
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Yup. Can't say who
24. What was the best book you read? Twilight books
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Straight No Chaser and Chipmunks Christmas CDs
26. What did you want and get? Chef's knife and new vacuum
27. What did you want and not get? new carpet
28. What was your favorite film of this year? Zach and Miri make a Porno (HILARIOUS) and Twilight
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 29... and spent the day writhing in pain with sore tooth (later needed a root canal) in so much pain I cried myself to sleep and couldn't think straight.. Excellent birthday!!! At least I can say I had Chipotle for dinner that night. I love that place.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Dog not crapping on the bathroom floor
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Expensive Jeans and Cheap Tops
32. What kept you sane? Hubs
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Hmmm, Justin Timberlake, again
34. What political issue stirred you the most? The election
35. Who did you miss? My grandmother. I can't believe she's gone. I miss her so much.
36. Who was the best new person you met? My niece, Gracie. She is the best little booboohead I have ever met!
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. To shut up and mock from afar.... I need to refine this even more in 2009, as I still don't shut up as much as I should!
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Baseball season's underway
Better get ready for a brand new day...
Hey Chicago what do you say?
Cubs are gonna win today...

They're saying, "Go Cubs go, go Cubs go,
hey Chicago what do you say
Cubs are gonna win today"

Well, until at least the Cubs doo-dood the bed and got swept in the playoffs!!

Baby Gracie

DSC_0304.JPG, originally uploaded by agstratt.

Mike and I babysat for Baby Gracie yesterday. She was a doll, we had a great time. Check out her new little hairbow... and her eyes are so blue! The only downside was that I thought my arm was going to fall off after holding her/standing and rocking her to sleep.... I have a new respect for my sister's arm strength!

I love this dog!

DSC_0237.JPG, originally uploaded by agstratt.

We have found that Dog only howls when there is Great Unfairness in the world: largely, when you are eating some kind of cheesy salty meat and she is not. Pequod's pizza and McDonald's breakfast samiches have elicited The Howl this week, which cracks us up. We don't feed her much (if any) people food, so I'm thinking the breeder probably let the puppies lick their plates clean or something. Her nose just starts sniffing and sticks straight up in the air and pretty soon... ARRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

The Math

Sunday roundup

Dog is equal parts awesome and frustrating. On the awesome list: this look, her obsession with bacon, and her exuberance for playing fetch with a pink tennis ball. On the frustrating list: peeing on the floor right after a walk (YOU. JUST. WENT.), whining, and silent-but-deadly gas.

My friend Tracy and her husband Tojy had a baby this morning, Soraya Ruth. She is VERY cute and VERY tiny. I had a no-good very bad day yesterday and today is shaping up to be MUCH better. I broke my iphone, and today Apple replaced it for free! score! I also got pulled over for semi-kind-of running a red light (it was yellow! totally yellow!) and luckily the police officer had much better things to do and didn't give me a ticket. And, oh yeah, it took me 3 hours to go to Target and Jo-Ann fabrics. I am not going back to the fabric store until the holiday season is waaaaaay over, I almost went insane in there. JOANN FABRICS is a soul-suck. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Hello from the Knowles Household

We got our babydog, Milly, and she is the best puppy ever!

• She has seriously awesome ears.
• She has the saddest face ever when we put her in her area and close the babygate, or when it's night-night time and she has to go in the crate. So cute!
• Everyone at the vet's office loved her! She didn't even whimper when she got a vaccination on Tuesday
• There have been a few accidents, but not many. Many less than I expected for a brand-new puppy
• She loves hanging on the couch and playing with toys or just chilling out and watching TV. She has a mad love for the couch, just like I do.
  

Puppy!

Mike and I have purchased a puppy and are SUPER geeked about it. The breeder is shipping her to Evansville the Friday of Thanksgiving. Yay, puppy!!
Her name is Milly, and she'll be 13 weeks when we get her. She is a beagle!

YES WE DID

An email from a friend, Kyle, who was on the Obama speechwriting team:

Hey guys -

Thanks to all of you for your texts/emails. I'm really not sure what to say except that last night was an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. Right now I'm beyond exhausted, and this entire office is hung over, but the last 24 hours have been incredible.

We all watched the results come in from the press area here at headquarters. Personally, I felt like I was going to throw up waiting for the networks to call VA/PA/OH, but whenever one state came in, the whole place would break out in cheers. Spike Lee was watching the returns with us, and he stood up and took a bow when they called New York for Obama (he had voted in Brooklyn that morning). It's a testament to how surreal this campaign has been that this didn't seem weird at all.

Earlier in the day, I had used my staff pass to go down and take a look at the rally site in the daylight (and before the whole city of Chicago descended on it). I just kept flashing my badge until I was right up next to the podium. It really felt like I was in the middle of a war zone - helicopters overhead, batallions of police and secret service, bomb-sniffing dogs, bullet-proof glass, miles of police barracades and lots and lots of guns. Even though the gates wouldn't be opening for another 5 hours and Obama wouldn't be speaking for 9, there were already thousands of people lined up outside the gates, and the street vendors were making a killing with Obama paraphenalia.

Back at Headquarters, I decided to wait with the communications staff until it was pretty clear the race was in hand. The speechwriting team had two speeches ready to go - a victory and a concession. At the end of the victory speech was a story about a 106-year old woman named Ann Nixon Cooper - the daughter of a former slave who lived long enough to vote for an African American for President. Once the networks had called Ohio, and it was clear we would be hearing the victory speech, my boss, Jon Favreau, called Mrs. Cooper at home and told her to watch the speech. It was one of the most memorable moments of a very memorable campaign. She was still awake (pretty surprising in itself) and said she was very excited. She asked which channel the speech would be on, and Favreau told her it would be on every channel.

At that point, I walked down to the rally. Again, we went through about 15 layers of security before being ushered into the fenced-in grassy area right in front of the podium - looking out on a sea of 125,000 screaming, crying, flag-waving people. I have never seen anything like it in my life, and the view gave me goosebumps that lasted all night. Oprah was in the house, and we got word that Brad Pitt had just come through the metal detectors - prompting the girls I was with to go on an unsuccessful 'Pitt-hunt.' CNN was being broadcast on huge screens, and when they projected that Obama would be the next President, the crowd erupted - and didn't really stop erupting until he walked onto the stage.

I watched the speech about 40 ft. from Obama. It made me feel really, really small knowing that the scene I was looking at was being watched by the entire world from Alabama to Australia. After the speech was over, we caught up with the staff and walked back uptown in the middle of Michigan Avenue. Probably the last time I'll ever do that without inviting certain death.

This morning, Barack did a conference call with all the staff to sort of wrap this thing up. He thanked everyone - especially our campaign manager David Plouffe, who flew back to DC at 7am this morning because his wife is having a baby girl. He said that there aren't too many opportunities in life to make the world a little more hopeful place, and that's what this campaign has done.

As for me, it's time to pack up and head home. My future is up in the air - the speechwriters are fantastic, and I'd love to keep working with them in some capacity. But the transition is just beginning, and nobody knows much about anything. So I'll head back to VA and wait for the call, but no matter what happens, it's been a wild ride.Hope to see all of you soon.

Kyle