Come visit us in Chicago!!

We have a little bit of snow.

20.2 inches to be exact…the third largest accumulation of snow in Chicago history.  And with 70 mph winds and thundersnow (yes, this is real), last night was a bit scary.

This is what we woke up to this morning…more accurately, this is what Dave woke up to this morning.  The company I work for called a proper snow day.  And while Dave’s company also suggested that people remain safe and inside, he is in the middle of a production project that required his attendance this morning.

So he commuted to work in the snow this morning…while I stayed at home doing a bit of work and taking a proper snow day nap.

Uh, dear landlord…we need to talk about some insulation issues.  This was the scene in the foyer this morning.  The very strong wind blew snow through the door.

And while we’re at it, can we also talk about the purple walls please?  Never mind, actually, I don’t want to argue with Ukrainian interior decorating techniques.

This was the scene at all of our windows.

After Dave was able to leave work early today, we ventured out for a little snow day fun.  Yes, he is standing up in this picture.

This was pretty much the view around the city.

I put my ski garb to good use.

And made a good old fashioned snow angel.

After some persuasion, Dave joined in the fun.  Ultimately it was a fun day to goof off on a Wednesday and enjoy the snow.

Being tall is a significant advantage in deep snow.

Oops…someone lost a bumper.

Seriously, come visit us!

In what was a very lovely break from work and winter weather, and a wonderful chance to visit with family, Dave and I spend Christmas and New Years this year (or last year, or whatever) in California with his family.

Christmas and New Years were both very properly celebrated with chocolate and wine and ham and lots of goodies.

Touristy things were visited.

The Hollywood sign from Griffith Observatory.

Sunny and smoggy downtown LA from Griffith Observatory.

Personally the most exciting touristy thing over vacation was getting the change to see a gray whale migrating off the coast.  At Point Vincente, volunteers track the whale migration.  This time of year the whales are heading south to birth their young.  We had been to this spot before for whale watching, but despite our previous hours of patience, had not actually seen anything.

This time around we were treated to a gray whale upon our arrival.  I know it looks small…it’s cooler in person.  Really.

Christmas presents were played with.

No, this isn’t a picture of the family contemplating the skies or the meaning of the Korean Friendship Bell.

They’re checking out Dave’s kite, with it’s 9′ wingspan and 50′ tails.

Quite honestly, I’m shocked that the kite didn’t fly away or launch one of us into the Pacific Ocean.

But the most important we got to do in California was visit with lots of family and friends!  I only wish we lived closer so that we could visit more often.

Now we’re both back in the swing of work, and almost over the colds that we got after returning to Chicago.  Blah.

We were lucky enough to see the Grand Canyon on the way home from a recent trip to California.

NPR’s Only a Game story on the 24 Hours of Lemons offers an explanation to the previously posted picture.

And last weekend was the 24 Hours of Lemons, Rod Blagojevich Never Say Die 500.

Dave would like to write the official post about this, in which I’m sure he will try to convince you that this is a normal sport that rational wives should fully support.  The only pieces of evidence that I will present to the contrary are this picture…

And the fact that our racing team will be featured on an upcoming NPR show on crazy sports.

Dave, your move.

#84 – Every work night, be in bed by 11 PM (1 month).

Of all the things on my list, this is the one that I almost crossed off because I just knew that it would never ever really actually happen.  Well, I was wrong, it did happen.  And it didn’t even take any discipline on my part, it just coincided exactly with the first month of my new job!  I assume that parenthood has a similar effect.

The job is going well!  Keeping me busy.  I have some really good projects to work on.  I’m starting to do a couple days a week downtown, which makes work/life balance a lot easier.  The idea is that I will have a permanent office downtown by the first of the year, making the commute to the burbs the exception, not the daily routine.

In addition to the new job, October has been a great month for fun weekends.  I have lots of pictures to share of recent events, and have a whole free weekend to do whatever I want.  Updates to come.

#85 – Get a facial at a spa.

Before I started my new job last Monday, I used up some of my credit at the fitness studio (which also has a spa)  for a facial.  Well worth it, but I have to confess that I was so nervous about starting the new job that I never fully relaxed at all that previous week.  The facial did help though.

So, one week into the new job.  Things are good.  The job itself is great.  I’m learning the new systems and new processes.  I like the people, and they seem to tolerate me.  Most importantly, however, I seem to be properly navigating office politics and have already been assigned two big projects.  Turns out they want me to earn my paycheck.  Crazy!

One thing that we knew would be required when I took this job, however, is that I commute to the burbs for a while.  Dave and I carefully discussed this, and agreed that it was well worth the sacrifice.  Once I start to fully grasp the business and establish rapport with the partners, I can work remotely in the office downtown.  But until that time,  I now wake up at 5:30 AM every morning and sit in construction traffic for 2 – 3 hours every day.

I know, millions of Americans do this every single day.  I have a good job.  I have absolutely no room to complain.  So I won’t.  I will just lovingly reminisce about my old commute.   Oh, for the alarm to go off at the purely civilized hour of 7 AM.  Oh, to hit snooze a bunch.  Oh, to walk a mile and then ride the train for exactly 7 minutes.  Oh, for my coworkers to not notice, let alone care, when I finally walked through the door.  Those were the days!

Oh right, but the company didn’t have any business.  Now I remember!

With the new schedule comes new discipline in our daily lives.  This has actually been good for us this last week, and I hope it will continue to be.  I do, however, need to find new and creative ways of getting chores done.  I’ve noted especially this first week that I can’t afford a trip to the grocery store every night before dinner.  I need to start planning ahead a bit better.

And I have had absolutely no trouble falling asleep at our new target 10 PM bedtime.  I told you we’re getting old!

Check out the Sears Willis Tower.

When Dave first came to Chicago to visit me in 2006…you know, back when we were “just friend”…we played tourists and visited the then Sears Tower.  We bought this awesome puzzle and stayed up all night finishing it.  I know, old and boring.  I get it.

We recently revisited the puzzle, but didn’t stay up all night this time.  We’re too old for that now.

Scroll over the image.  Dave gets the technology credit.

Moxie spent some time on vacation this summer too.  She came home with fleas.

The lesson I have learned is to forget about home remedies.   Giving the cat a bath is no one’s favorite chore.

Just go to the vet!

#44 – Start dressing more professionally at work (i.e. all suits and no hair bands).

#45 – Organize all of my contacts at work.

#46 – Completely organize my files and desk at work.

#47 – Start bringing in clients at work.

#48 – Redecorate my office.

While I did on some level accomplish all of these things, I’ll blog about the thing that was easy to document in pictures.  Plus, you don’t really want to real about my files, do you?

When we moved office space this summer, I had a great opportunity to redecorate and shed some really crappy art.

Old office.

Old office art.  Note that the “art” is not hung evenly.  Staring at this for 4+ years could explain some of my mental health issues.

But then there was the old office view.

Not bad.

Business changed, however, and the company downsized.

When the move happened, my office changed as well.

I got a bigger office.

Better art, which I insisted on hanging myself.

More space.

But the view did suffer.  Seriously, I could not contort my head in any way to see blue sky through this window.  It was good fun to people watch though.

Where am I going with this post?  Well, all of this no longer matters.  I quit my job this week.

Don’t let my lighthearted tone lead you to think that this was an easy thing to do.  It was not.  But it was the right thing to do both personally and professionally.  My job had its quirks, no question, but it was at one time very good for me.  And I accomplished some great things there.

Times change, however, and I thank God that I have a new opportunity.

Next chapter.