April 22

Today was a relaxing day... just chilling around town.

With Chad and Mike and Southport Lanes. Nothing like an afternoon cheeseburger.

Who has been eating orange popsicles? I have no idea who.

The kabobs I made for Sunday dinner at the Boy's house. These are just the leftovers, I made a ton of them.

April 21

On Saturday, we did the Junior Achievement Bowlathon. It was a pretty good time, except our team lost and we had to sing "I'm a little teapot" right there in the bowling alley. ;c)

April 20

Tonight we hit Kirkwood, the Lincoln Park IU bar, for a little happy hour and general fun. It was a good time, except they took our table at 10PM. Jerks! But I just love the food at Kirkwood, it's yummy.

Amy, Me, and Emily

Chad, me, and Rogus

April 19

See that $20 in my shoe pocket? That means I didn't have to ditch out on my run and catch a cab. Go me, 9 miles along the lakefront and around downtown!

April 18

On the agenda for tonight, some LOST. It's getting great!!!

April 17

Do you ever wish that you had an internal camera? Something to store an image just the way you see it, or to take a picture that is available NOW and not five seconds from now when you can fumble your camera out of your purse, or when you want to inconspicuously take a picture without being noticed? I do that all the time - mostly on the El or around the city when I see people in particularly horrendous outfits, or when I'm driving or on the bus and see something beautiful.

Anyways, this morning, we were driving to work and we saw a bright spot on Lake Michigan. The morning was a bit overcast and there was one spot where the sun had broken through the clouds and it looked like the kind of sunbeams that you imagine with angels, or something. But it was really beautiful. I don't think my photography skillz would have done it justice regardless, so it's probably better I didn't try and get a pic of it. The skillz would not have done justice to the 100% pleather outfit I saw out on the street either, but that's neither here nor there.

So THAT is my picture of the day. While I didn't capture it digitally, I did capture it in my head. And it was more beautiful than anything else I saw today, so it wins!

April 16

On Monday, I went back to Northwestern to see another doctor (this time a head-neck guy, someone in Otolaryngology, I believe), to try and clear up the mysterious case of "Why a 27 year old would get croup." For now, we're going to go with a combo one-two punch of acid reflux (which I very rarely, if ever, actually feel) and disfunctional vocal chords, because he is the doctor and I have no freaking clue.

On the way in, I see multiple instances of this: some HUGE car (hello, this one is a Navigator) parked in a spot marked "Small Car ONLY", pretty much taking up two spaces. This guy was monopolizing the one to his right, and leaving the one to the left pretty much open, which is more than I can say for most folks. The Northwestern parking garage is the biggest cluster I have ever seen: people parking crappy, driving slow, driving fast, not watching, etc. Pretty much any bad driving you can think of.

And, for your enjoyment, part of the conversation with my doctor:

Doc: Do you ever get out of breath when you run?

Me: No more than anyone else, I would think. Isn't that kind of the point?

Doc: Well, some get out of breath worse than others. Or it's more of a gasping.
Me: I don't think so. But then again I don't run very fast. I'm currently at a 12 minute mile.

Doc: 12 minutes? I am no expert on running or anything, but that is very SLOW.
Me: Thanks

Doc: No, I just mean, do you go slow so you don't get out of breath?
Me: I don't know. I just go slow.

Doc: Did you ever get out of breath doing sports as a kid?
Me: I didn't really do sports as a kid.

Doc: What do you mean? Everyone does a sport as a kid. Did you not do sports because you got out-of-breath?
Me: No, I didn't do sports because I'm just not very sporty. I just recently learned how to use an elliptical machine without falling off. I am very uncoordinated.

Doc: ... (Blank stare. Wonders how people like me exist)

Med student who is observing: (understanding nod- Seems like the kind of guy who wouldn't do sports as a kid either)

April 15

Seriously? Organic Rice Krispies and Mini Wheats? The funniest thing was is that they were priced much cheaper than the regular version... must not be too popular of an item!

April 14

AGAIN with the forgetting to take a picture. Today I spent largely on the couch, fighting off a nasty cold and a nastier hangover.

BUT Chicago won the U.S. 2016 Olympic bid! Yay!

April 13

Today we went bowling with the work crew. This is Beth showing off the special beer bottles at the bowling alley. How cool are they?

April 12

Aren't these the most sullen, weird-looking mannequins you have ever done seen? Good job, Macy's on State (RIP Marshall Fields)!

April 11

Seriously? Gah. Spring is my favorite season, and it looks like we're not getting one of those this year in Chicago.

April 10

Tonight, Cory and I hit a training dinner at Morton's. Yum-O!

Taking being "That Girl" to a whole new level

Things I have purchased very recently:
-Pink ipod shuffle (1G! Great for the running! If it ever does get warm....)
-Pink underarmour tank to wear for mini-marathon
-Pink underarmour sports bra (OF COURSE to go with the pink tank top! Duh!)

I think I need to go to "Pink Stuff Rehab"

I also forgot to take a picture! BAD MONKEY!!!

April 8

Today we celebrated Easter by going to church at Pisgah (where Mike went to church in high school). Mike's friend Dale's wife is very sick, and any prayers for him and his wife would be greatly appreciated! Then, we went to lunch at Grandma Hoch's, and dinner (@ 4! I am surprised I was able to eat!) at Grandma and Grandpa Kovacs' house. All the food was so good, and I got a good pic of Aydan:

Then, we were driving back to Chicago and I got some good shots of the skyline and Soldier Field:

April 7

What I did today:

• Woke up at 7:30 AM
• Ran 8 miles at the Logansport gym (Good treadmills, loved that they didn't have a 60 min limit!)
• Went to the chiropractor for the pain in my left hip. He noted that my hips were twisted; as a result the right leg was a full inch longer than my left (THAT would be why it hurt)
• Had lunch at Mr. Happy Burger (omg SO GOOD)
• Visited with Mike's Grandma Knowles (totally reminds me of a southern version of Grandma Stratton)
• Napped a sweet, glorious, 3 hour nap
• Had dinner with the fam
• Played with Dade and Aydan

This is my favorite pic from the day, Dade cheesing. He cracks me up!

April 6

This is a pic I took on Friday night of Billy, Mike's parents dog. Billy likes to bark at me when I come in, but quickly decides to ignore me in favor of anyone that will give him food. :c) Fine by me!

April 5

How I spend most weeknights

With Rachel Ray

And with The Boy

I am one blessed Monkey.

April 4

Meet my new best pal, the 30 calorie plain old popsicle. Yum! What, they are not good for you if you eat 10 of them? Wha?!?

April 3

Today, my friend Beth gave me the new Norah Jones CD. Seems that she purchased two on accident. Yay! Thanks, Beth!

And this is my culinary masterpiece of the day: turkey cutlets, dredged in bread crumbs and cooked in a pan with Olive Oil flavored Pam spray. They were SO good, and super-healthy too. Each piece was only like 90 calories, and plain marinara sauce on top is only about 20.

April 2

Today, the audit team went to Bennigan's for lunch. So good. See Beth hiding behind Brian there? Haha!

A Side NOTE: OK, seriously. If you are a corn dog fan and you want to be a bit healthier than an actual corn dog, you have to get these things. They are only 160 calories and TASTE JUST LIKE A REAL CORN DOG. I am in luuuuurve.

April 1

Happy April Fool's day! I didn't do a whole heck of a lot today except for sleep and do some invitations. Mike and I tied about 20 ties on the invites and I addressed about half of them. Good times! This pic is of the bed upstairs, which has been turned into Invitation-Assembly-Central.

March 31

Some random shots of the day!

The Chicago Olympic logo.... pretty cool

The Boy and I at Duffy's

The Salmon in Lemon Brodetto with Pea Puree that I made Emily on Saturday night

March 30

Since the purple line shows up so few and far between, I thought it deserved a picture!

March 29

A pic of the address sign at my ENT's office

March 28

Today Chad came over for Chili and LOST! We are all LOST addicts. Actually, maybe Chad is more of an Evangeline Lilly addict......

March 27

Tonight my friend Cory was in town for a training (he is learning to communicate effectively! So exciting! haha). So, we went to Joey's Brickhouse, my new favorite restaurant. It's half a block from my house, and the menu is so freaking diverse and good. There really hasn't been anything where I think "This is the best X I have ever had!" but all the food is pretty decent and it's just sooooo close and you can seriously get anything you want. Pizza? Check. Burgers? Check? Healthy salad or grilled chicken and veggies? Check. Homemade pasta? Check. Steak? Check. Anything you feel like, it's there. I haven't repeated a meal once, and I'm not done trying out all the stuff that I want to.

We did the all-you-can-eat salad, pizza, beer, and rice krispie treats deal for $15. Such a great deal! And I got blackened chicken and spinach pizza, which was great. This is a pic of the rice krispie treats, and I used a trick I read about on the internets for the flash. I just held a tissue over the flash to soften the effects of the light, and it worked great. I am considering taping a coffee filter over the flash for good, the picture turned out so differently with the different amounts of light.

The only bad thing about this place is that the service is so-so. The servers are all super-nice and friendly, but they are always just a bit behind the pace on everything. You know, everything takes at least 5 minutes more than you think it will, they tend to forget a lot of things (didn't get bread this time, and glasses get empty without being noticed, etc) and you always have to flag them down to get your check. But they are generally good-natured and attentive.... they just seem a little scatterbrained. So whatever, A for effort.

Also, I a lot of my pics during the week are food! Maybe that will change a bit when the weather gets better outside during the week. Chicagoans do a lot of hibernating in the winter/monsoon months!

March 26

Tonight I popped into the oven the meatloaf I had pre-prepared last night. I meant to tkae a picture of the meatloaf when it was done, but somehow it quickly hopped into Mike and I's bellies. Therefore you only get a picture of the before-cooking phase. Mike's evaluation of the all-ground-turkey meatloaf: 1.75 thumbs up. He says I'll never get two full thumbs from a turkey meatloaf, but that it would help if I took the small bit of mustard out of the glaze. The boy, he hates tasting even a little bit of something that he dislikes - and his dislikes are severe. He recalls one day when he was little and he bit into a McDonald's hamburger right into a pickle, looked at his Dad and said, "Oh no, a pickle," and promptly vomited all over the table. Anyways, I thought the meatloaf was tasty... and super lo-cal - the whole thing was 1270 calories. With 8 pieces, that is only 159 calories a piece.

Mike's quote, "It's not quite the same as beef, but I'll give it to you, it's good!"

I am a dork, I like to cook for Mike. I hate to cook for myself, but I like to cook for other people. I guess when it's just me it's far easier to just break out the lean cuisine.

As a random sidenote, the meatloaf is in my new find: my red polka-dot casserole dish that I bought for myself at TJMaxx. It was $7.99, but I have never had a casserole dish before and I love it. Bobby Flay says to make meatloaf in a bigger dish so that you get the nice crunchy crust on the sides too (am recently obsessed with all things Food Network!)

Mom Stratton's Meatloaf, adapted by Apes:
1.25-1.5 lb ground turkey
1 c bread crumbs (I used the seasoned Italian ones)
1 egg (or 1/4 c egg whites)
1 c skim milk
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp worchestchire

Topping/glaze - 1/3 cup ketchup, 1 tbsp yellow mustard, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp worchestchire
Cook for 60 minutes at 350 degrees

NEXT UP TOMORROW: Eggplant parm

March 25

Man what a productive day. Check out that refrigerator full of good, healthy food!
I was so productive this weekend! I did laundry, hung out with my gals, went to the grocery, went for a walk (the breathing is getting better everyday, thankfully), we went and picked out a bike for Mike, cut all the ribbons for the invites.... the list goes on. Now I just need another weekend of chilling the heck out to get caught back up to my rockstar lifestyle of health food and working out :c)

March 24

On Saturday we met at State for the basketball games. State is BYO, and it is smoke-free. I really liked it, it was really busy too! Good food :c) Here are a few pics from the afternoon

Tracy and her fiance, Tojy

Choater, me, Emmy, and Tracy

March 23

Tonight we went to our friends' John and Francesca's for some Pizza DOC and hanging out. I meant to take a picture of their pimp condo, but I was certifiably narcoleptic, so all I really saw was this:
(Artistic rendering of what I think the inside of my eyelids look like)

March 22

My heart monitor thing turned my finger red! Ah!
Please note 42" plasma in the background ;c)

Happy Birthday, Katie!!

Today is my little sister's 22nd birthday. Man, saying that makes me feel so old!

Katie is one of my nearest and dearest friends, and although sometimes I luuuuuurve to call her out and be a bossy-a$$ older sister, I hope she knows that I love her more than a fat kid loves cake!
Some of my other friends do this thing "Ten things I like about so-and-so" on each person in the group's b-day (They actualy stand around and each person names off something they like about the birthday girl or boy), and I'm going to start doing it now!

Ten things I like about Katie:

1. Katie loves the hell out of everyone in her life, regardless if they deserve it or not
2. Katie loves the ghetto. I can always count on her to accompany me to a Kanye concert
3. Katie wears my clothes. I love it when other people like your clothes enough to actually borrow them
4. Katie has the prettiest hair and eyes. She hates her hair, but I think it's great.
5. Katie is a great eyebrow-plucker. She does my eyebrows when I see her.
6. Katie says things like "Playing the tambourine is exhilirating!" or "Oh, no, she diiiiin't!"
7. Katie has a job where she helps people everyday and loves contributing to society like that.
8. Katie is not the kind of girl to turn down a cupcake
9. Katie enjoys the both the fun of a night out on the town and a night in watching movies
10. Katie is the best sister EVER

March 21

This is the door handle of my Ear-Nose-Throat Doctor's office. Cool, huh? When you are leaving, you have to pull on something, and it's not that apparent that there are indentations in the upper right and left hand corners of the door, so alot of people grab the nostrils. Hey I grab the nostrils, because I think it is funny. But some lady stood there and looked at it and was like "EW!! Do I have to grab the nostril?!?" Cracked me up.

March 20

My boy made me dinner tonight. Soup and grilled cheese, he is QUITE the chef!

March 19

My new best friend

March 18

Sometimes, you just gotta stand by your man.

March 17

Check out the beer goggles on this guy!

March 16

On Friday we were at Joe's for the March Madness games and then hit Mystic Celt, where I took this pic!

March 15

Happy Birthday to Jay! On Thursday, we went to Messner's and watched the IU game. So fun!

March 14

On Wednesday, I came home from work and started in on the cookie/cupcake making and final housecleaning chores that needed to get done before our guests came into town. Because, you know, the DUST BUNNIES, they were growing some massive fangs and had to be conquered.

And then Mike came home and said those magic words, "Want to go out to dinner?" So we went down the street to Joey's Brickhouse (currently becoming our favorite place!) and had a nice little dinner and I had a big Stella and was feelin' so nice.

This is a pic of my leftovers... I would highly recommend the one pound burger stuffed with brie. So freaking good.

Today is the day....

...that I have been looking forward to since almost New Year's. My little brother Jay is flying up (I am praying to the sweet, sweet Baby Jesus that his flight is on time) and we are kicking off the St. Patty's Day Fun with the IU game. Tomorrow we are up bright and early to watch all the games. Let me just lay it out there: Mike and Jay will be there to watch the games with and there are no other two people I would rather have by my side at a sporting event. Mike explains everything tirelessly (although I am pretty good with the basketball knowledge by now.... oh how far I have come from "Tom Coverdale is such a jerk, he never lets any of the other guys bring the ball down the court!!!") and Jay is always good for random comments, heckling, and IU comradery. Katie is cool, but she's more into the gossip, dancing to ghetto music, and social interaction than sporting-event smack-talk and screaming "DEAR LORD why can't the guy in the red outfit just making a freaking shot already?!?!?!"

SO. FREAKING. EXCITED.

In other news, today is Jay's Birthday! Happy Birthday, Jaybird!! 25! I know we made a hella big deal out of Katie last year and I feel like we totally neglected your birthday. But this year is your year, baby, Katie turns 22 and that is NO FUN at all. So this is your BIG-BIRTHDAY-CELEBRATION-in-Chicago weekend. I even made two sets of cupcakes, brownies, and oatmeal cookies. Get ready to eat plenty of snacks, houseguests.

An advance apology:
To Jay and Katie, I apologize for an extremely lame round of birthday presents this year. You each only get a 20 spot for your birthday, as I am broke as hell.
Love, Your Big Sister

Mike pretends to push Jay from the lookout point on Mackinaw Island