Our new home.

My two week break is coming to an end.  Tomorrow I start my second year of med school.  Break was awesome and much needed, but I'm starting to get restless and I'm excited to get back into my daily routine.  I'm sure I'll be thinking differently here in about 10 weeks. 

I know I've been saying that I was going to blog about our new place, complete with pictures.  Well, here they are!

View of our front door into the living room.

Living room - the plaid chairs are too big for the area, so we're in the process of picking out some new ones. (The smaller art is an original piece by Tim and the larger one is by a local Wichita artist.)

Other side of the living room.

View of front door looking back towards the kitchen, bedrooms and bathroom.

Kitchen.

Bathroom.

I decided not to include pictures of the bedrooms, well, just because I'm sure everyone has seen a bed in a room.  I guess our second bedroom is more of a workspace for Tim - and has a big closet (for me!) - so nothing out of the ordinary.  We love the area we live in but we did have to forgo a few things - no patio, no backyard...but we live about 4 blocks away from a cool street with lots of pubs/restaurants with patios and we live just around the corner from a fun, little dog park that our dogs can go run around and play in.  Needless to say, I'm glad year one is done and I'm ready for year two - this time with my family!

Mom & Dad's visit.

I'm pretty sure I've eaten enough calories in the past 5 days to keep me alive until the end of 2011.  Mom and Dad came to town and we ate our way through it!  Well, we did lots of other fun stuff too.  We started with lunch at O'Sullivan's, an Irish pub that was having a Mexican food special day (random, right?) but we just partook in $2 Mexican beers and the typical bar food spread.  After letting mom & pops rest up after a long flight (note sarcasm), we walked back down to Madison St. for dinner at The Duckfat Tavern & Grill.  Yum yum.  Started with duckfat fries with yummy dipping sauces.  By the end of a day filled with booze and grease, I opted for the grilled vegetable plate, which was actually pretty amazing.  Grilled veggies drizzled with balsamic vinegar...DELISH!  Dad and Tim indulged in the bacon mac & cheese (YUMMY).  After stuffing ourselves at dinner, we thought it was only appropriate that we end the evening with ice cream at The Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor.  I think I was in a food coma, because I forgot to pull out my camera for day one!

On day two, Tim had to work (sad face!) so the three of us donned our Cubs gear and hopped on the train towards Wrigley Field.  It was a PERFECT day for a baseball game - 80 F weather, clear blue skies, sun shining...

We had hotdogs with grilled onions, beer, and smiles on our faces - even though the Cubs suck - and had a fun afternoon.  Later on, we decided to give our tummies a rest so we went to Whole Foods and made a yummy dinner at home -amazing Icelandic salmon, sauteed asparagus and a mixed salad.

Day three - Tim was still working (super sad face!) - we hopped back on the train and headed to the city for some tourist action.  We walked down Navy Pier and had a beer at the Landshark Beer Garden.  We also decided it was necessary to get some pictures with the Bean.  Again, beautiful weather.

 

The Bean!

That evening, Tim finally got done working (happy face!) and we had an amazing dinner - again on Madison St. - at Francesca's Fiore.  We thought we were just going to sit on the patio for a bit and have a drink before Tim met up with us, but the weather was amazing (again) and the menu looked pretty good, so we decided to make an evening of it.  Our waiter was fun and the manager liked us (who wouldn't !?!?) so they took very good care of us.  After a few bottles of wine and some amazing Italian cuisine (calamari, insalata caprese, pasta, etc.) we were officially stuffed (again).  Somehow, Dad and Tim found the strength to finish the evening back at the Brown Cow for ice cream (even though we got a mini dessert for celebrating my birthday - which is in November - at the restaurant).  We decided to celebrate early because I probably won't see my parents again until Christmas!

Maybe that was three bottles of wine...

My birthday dessert.

They treated us with Limoncello after dinner!

Dad had to fly back Saturday, so Tim and I took mom around Forest Park a bit more.  We did a bit of shopping, had lunch and saw a movie - Crazy Stupid Love.  It was awesome - go see it!  After a lazy afternoon, we mentally prepared ourselves to eat (once again) good ol' Chicago deep dish pizza - per mom's request (she didn't have to twist our arms).  Dinner at Edwardo's Natural Pizza was the best decision we had made all day. 

I took mom to the airport this morning.  It was such a fun five days and I knew it would fly by.  I'm one lucky gal to have such fun, cool, awesome parents.

What I learned being a vegetarian.

Many of you who know me well, know that I've been a vegetarian for about the past year and a half.  I made the choice mainly based on how I was feeling during this time in my life where I was making significant changes to my diet.  I noticed that whenever I ate meat, I felt a "heavy" feeling in my stomach and sometimes stomach pain/discomfort.  So I just decided not to eat meat.  I felt much better (well, I still do) when I didn't consume meat.  I also started reading a really cool book (The Kind Diet) and found a lot of information I wasn't aware of (basically, where some of our food comes from...eeek!), so that also helped me make my decision to become a vegetarian.

So, fast forward to this summer.  Around the end of June, I was in class one morning and noticed my neck and upper back were super sore (more so than normal).  Towards the end of the day, I was in a lot of pain and then my arms, hands and fingers started going numb and felt really tingly.  Yikes, that was not a good feeling.  I called the clinic on my campus and made an appointment with an intern.  A few days and a few x-rays later, we determined that anatomically, everything was looking okay.  That was a big relief.  I mean honestly, I was really worried since my arms were going all tingly and weird on me.  After reviewing a few other things in my file, my intern (Jenny) decided it would be beneficial to do some lab work.  We talked about my diet and supplements that I take, and decided it would be important to check my vitamin B12 level.  Jenny thought this was important to do because I had a few symptoms that were indicative of a B12 deficiency.  I had my level checked about 2 years prior, which happened to be a little on the low side then, so I started taking a B12 supplement and I continued to do so, especially since I was a vegetarian (you basically can only get B12 from animal products).  I told my intern I would be surprised if it was low, especially since I was taking a daily supplement.  Well, we got the results back and they were REALLY low.  My levels had dropped about 200 points since I had become a vegetarian.  I did a 7-day diet diary and we determined that my diet, along with supplementation, should have been giving me the adequate amount of B12 (with my diet, I was still consuming cheese and yogurt, which does contain B12).  So we did some additional lab work to try and determine why my body was not absorbing the B12.  One major concern we wanted to rule out was pernicious anemia.  Pernicious anemia is an autoimmune disease where your body produces antibodies that attack these cells in your stomach that help absorb the B12.  My antibody levels for this came back elevated...high enough to cause concern, but not abnormally high. 

To make a long story short, I'm taking a different form of the B12 supplement (the one I was on before had to be converted in my body before it could be absorbed, so for some reason my body was not converting it, or just simply not absorbing it) so hopefully this new form, which is immediately absorbed (no converting!) will help raise my B12 level.  I also started to eat meat again, which has actually been okay.  I don't eat it everyday and I when I do it's usually fish, sometimes chicken or pork.  I'm starting to feel better, i.e. no more tingly arms!  I'll have more lab work done in a few months to see if the new supplement and changes to my diet are helping increase my B12 level.  I'm happy and relieved that I found someone in the clinic to help me figure out what in the world was going on, and I'm glad that my intern didn't just stop at my back/neck pain.  A B12 deficiency left untreated can cause many problems and unfortunately if treated too late, the damage is irreversible. 

If anyone has more questions about a B12 deficiency, just let me know.  I have information for days and I didn't want to make this blog post any longer than it already is.  I included links in the body above, so hopefully that can help with any questions as well.

Date night.

Tim and I finally had our first date night in Forest Park.  Last night, we grabbed one of our finest bottles of wine and walked about a half mile to Madison St. and had a yummy Italian dinner at Jimmy's Place.

On our way to the restaurant.

The food was great and the atmosphere was fun.  This date night was much needed because Tim's been working a lot and I've been studying my buns off getting ready for finals.  The wine we had was amazing!  It was definitely ready to drink...which is what we did and we didn't leave any behind!  Everything in moderation, right?  Even moderation!  (I have to admit I stole that from one of my professors...)  Anyways, a mighty fine wine it was, courtesy of my awesome father-in-law.  2003 Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape if you're interested in the delicious details.

I wish we had another bottle.  It was SO good.

Just four more days of tests and I'm ready for a super exciting, fun-packed, 2 week break.  I have a lot to blog about, including pictures of our new place!  Stay tuned!

Sweet Cheesus.

I promise I won't turn this into a blog about how much I love food.  But I will continue to post pictures and talk about how wonderful something is if I've put it in my mouth this week.  My friend Alison and her husband Rob have had us over to their house a few times for wonderful dinners.  They usually have this cheese out and I must say it has become one of my favorites.  I am a total sucker for cheese.  I tried to cut most dairy out of my diet, but cheese is the one dairy product I cannot say no to.  Okay, maybe ice cream too.  Especially this blueberry pie ice cream Tim got a few weeks ago at Oberweis...

So, back to this amazing cheese.  It's so creamy and buttery I just can't help myself.  Spread some out on a cracker, top with a little sour cherry or fig spread, and indulge away!  I cannot eat this unattended, or bad things would happen.  Like I'd eat the whole block.

Yes, I had to put a ginormous picture of this magnificent cheese on my blog.  What's even more concerning is that spell checker didn't underline the word "ginormous" in red.  Anyways, here is a little snapshot before we enjoyed some the other night.

Yummmmmmmmm....It is a miracle that I'm still fitting into my pants at this point.  Tim and I are getting closer to moving into our new place and finals are just around the corner.  I'm excited about my two week break for many reasons, but mainly because we have family coming to visit us in the new place.  Plus Diego gets to join our family again!  Here's a little happy face to leave you with...

Max!  He misses his big brother Diego...

I love food. And Forest Park.

I just got done eating a super-delicious, summer meal.  I saw this recipe on a cool blog site that my wonderful girlfriend Molly turned me on to (WARNING - YOU WILL BE HUNGRY ALL OF THE TIME WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS WEBSITE).  Caprese Quinoa.  Yum yum.  You can find the recipe here and make sure you surf around this site because it is wonderful!  Little mozzarella pearls, cute cherry tomatoes from the vine, delightful basil - chiffonade style - drizzled with olive oil, balsamic glaze and sprinkled with salt and pepper, all mixed in with super yummy and healthy quinoa...I'M IN HEAVEN!!!  The recipe says you can eat it hot or cold, but I chose to let it sit in the fridge overnight.  Please please please try this.  Your taste buds will thank me.  I don't know about you, but anything with fresh basil just screams summer to me.  And maybe since I'm falling in love with Chicago summers (upper 70s to 80s weather...) I just love love love summer!

Other exciting news...Tim and I signed a lease on our new place Saturday morning!  YAY!  This has taken a huge load of stress off our shoulders as we found the perfect, little condo in Forest Park.  The building was built in the 1920s, just like our old house in Wichita.  Same old, dark, beautiful woodwork, hardwood floors...happy face!  And most importantly...DOG FRIENDLY!  Two blocks away from a dog park!  Forest Park seems like the perfect compromise for what Tim and I both want/need for the next few years.  It's about half-way between my school and the city.  Our condo is super close to the blue and green lines (takes us right into the city or takes me right out to my school!) and just a few blocks away from Madison St., a super cool road with lots of fun pubs, shops and restaurants.  I like the word super!  Check out this site to see more! 

Once we get the keys (August 1st) and get all settled in, stay tuned for a blog post with pics of the new place.  WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

Where does the time go???

Hello, hello!  The past few weeks have been a whirlwind to say the least...

I flew into KC (after a FOUR hour delay I might add) on Friday, June 24th and my wonderful sis picked me up and we drove into Wichita that evening.  Tim, Gretchen, Molly and I enjoyed a yummy dinner at Newport Grille and then Tim and I were off to spend the last few nights in our first home together.  Saturday we packed up the rest of the house and on Sunday we packed everything up in the HUGE moving truck.  A big shout out to Jody, Chris, Jack and Charlie for helping us with that super fun endeavor!  Sunday evening, my wonderful parents hosted a little get-together at their home so we could have one last big hoorah with our favorite Wichita folks!  Monday morning we closed on the house, handed over the keys and hit the road.  It was a bittersweet day...Happy that we sold our home so Tim could join me in Chicago, sad to leave something so special to us both.  We left Wichita around 10:45 in the morning and we made it to Chicago around 11:45 that evening.  I honestly can't believe we made it.  I thought we were going to have to stop somewhere along the way and get a hotel, but I think we were both running on adrenaline or maybe just thinking about how much easier it would be to already be in town in the morning.  The next day we unloaded most of our things into a temporary storage unit and here we are today. 

We're still living in my apartment out in the suburbs, which my husband loves dearly (note sarcasm here), until the end of August.  We've been looking at a few new places to live and we're keeping our fingers crossed we can find something as wonderful as our old Wichita home.  The little dogs made the trip with us and unfortunately Deigo had to stay behind with family until we find our new home.  Well, I should say unfortunately for us, because from what we hear Mr. Deigo is being spoiled rotten by Tim's grandparents...so I'm sure he doesn't miss us one bit!

We are all adjusting wonderfully and I think it's safe to say we are extremely happy to be back together again!  We miss all of our Wichita friends and family and we're excited for anyone and everyone to come visit us.  And of course we'll make our Wichita visits too!