Tomorrow, November 4th, could be an historic day! So, please do your part and VOTE! Vote, not simply because it's your civic duty and so many before us gave their lives for the right to do so, but vote because you care about what happens to our country and to those who work so hard to achieve the "American Dream". Be an informed voter and a rational voter and please vote beyond your own emotional and self-interests.....after all, we are ALL Americans and we are in this together! We are not a country of individuals, but rather a collective working towards a common good......life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Don't we ALL deserve these things?

Ay, Ay, Ay I am the Chico Bandito!

As you may or may not have heard, Chandi has a new addition to the family. It is our pleasure to welcome "Chico Bandito" to our casa! Chico is just a little guy. He's about six weeks old or so and is a chiuaua/ terrier mix with maybe some beagle. Whatever he is, he is definitely fiesty and fearless. He is fitting in very well with the other two kids (a.k.a. Fiona and Jynx). He has already had quite an adventurous week in Chi-town. He already walks on a leash, climbs all of our stairs, sleeps through the night (mostly), and has been to work with Andi. He is totally up for living in the City and rolling with it all. Thanks to Aunt Linda and Nelvin for bringing Mr. Chico into our lives. He is a welcome addition!

Go all the way....

It was a glorious weekend in Chicago...not just because the weather was picture perfect, but also because the Chicago Cubs won the NL Championship on Saturday. Hooray!  

Chandi, Pam, and Erin (thanks to Andi's killer silent-yet-not-so-silent auction skills) got to go to the game to watch the madness! It was a beautiful 80 degree sunny blue sky afternoon at Wrigley Field. The crowd was hype, the beer was....hmmm, well it was ballpark beer (one step up from piss), picture fun was in full swing, Vince Vaughn led us in song in the 7th inning stretch, and the Cubs clinched the title in a 5-4 victory over St. Louis. (My boyfriend, Mark DeRosa, did a phenomenal job. All of our practicing has paid off!) 

Most of the posse (minus me who had to pee and decided to throw a temper tantrum) got to celebrate the victory in the stands with thousands of other devoted Cubs fans and sing the notorious "Go Cubs Go" victory song! The crowd poured out onto Addison and took to the streets of Wrigleyville. We, of course, participated in the celebration at several local watering holes (Murphys, Mullens, and Fat Cat). A fun night was had by all. Here are a few pictures that capture the evening. Enjoy, and "Go Cubs Go, Go Cubs Go, Hey Chicago What Do You Say, Cubs Are Gonna Win Today!"

Voting IS sexy!

The election is closing in folks and there is absolutely no reason not to participate!!! While I would love to have the power to make you vote for the person I want to win, I am just not that charming or persuasive. (Although, some of you may disagree on the persuasive part, that is!) The important thing here is that you vote. Although, if a certain set of candidates win, I am seriously looking into relocating to England and working in a pub for the next 4 years. However, that's neither here nor there.....my living choices are not your concern :) What is and should be your concern is making sure you have no excuse on election day not to go to the poll.....and make sure when you do go to the polls you are informed. Ignorant voting is worse than non-voting.....and both are totally unacceptable in this day and age! So, use the plethora of resources that are at your fingertips and inform yourselves about the issues and candidates and then do your duty and GO VOTE! 

Life by train time.....

I realize now what it means to not have a car in the city......it means one's schedule is dictated by train and bus schedules! My teaching days are consumed by "what time does the metra run", "which is faster, the #144, #146, or #147 bus?", "when does the PACE pick up at the metra station?" These questions sometime have simple answers, but other times there is just nothing simple about it! Since I work in BFE, the trains only run every hour and the PACE buses have decided not to coordinate with the train arrival times, so they just run whenever. 

Is it wrong now that my responses to, "when does class end?", or "will you be available after class?" or "can you hang out on the southside tonight?" or "can you come in for a meeting?" all go something like this, "well, it depends on the shuttle schedule and when the train leaves or stops running......" Nice, huh? I have seriously decided to end class early every Wednesday so I can make the 7:40 train. So sorry students, you are getting cheated out of 20 minutes of learning so I can make it back to the city at a reasonable hour. 

What is also awesome about the train, beyond the scheduling nightmare, is the "fun" people you get to meet! No joke...I almost delivered a baby, I did be-friend a crack/ heroine addict for a while, now I'm making friends with the conductors. Good times all around! 

I guess I should just make peace with it all.....for now, at least, my days will be run by the #147, the Metra Electric Line, and the #367. 

WE'RE BACK!

Hey All, 

We are re-launching the blog. We have been totally neglectful over the last year. It's not that we haven't had plenty to share and a handful of adventures, we were just too lazy to blog about it all. So, here's a quick recap about the happenings of the last year........

• We bought a new place in Uptown. It began with Erin, Andi, me, Jynx and Jasper. We have since lost two of our roomies, for different reasons, but none-the-less they are no longer with us. We have also gained a "daughter" named Fiona. So as it now stands, it is Chandi, Fiona, and Jynx. 
• I got a job teaching in a graduate program outside Chicago and have since defended my dissertation. Hooray! 
• Andi got a job downtown Chicago and no longer has to commute to the stinkin 'burbs. Hooray!

Those are the nuts and bolts.....lots of little things have happened too, but it's too hard to look back and describe those things. So, we shall move forward. From here on out we will keep a weekly blog about our random thoughts, discoveries, adventures, and undertakings. Feel free to comment and share! 

Ta, ta for now....more soon!

Let the Chi-town Fun begin

Hey Everyone, 

I think spring has finally sprung in Chicago. It's a glorious time of year...outside patio seating, beer gardens, Cubs games, outdoor concerts, the lake, festivals galore and the list goes on. Beyond all of the fun, warm weather things our little city has to offer this is also a time that friends and family like to visit. Suzanne kicked off our spring list of guests in early April. Enjoy the pictures from her visit!

We are so excited to see Nicki, Kristen, and Beth this Friday and our moms and Aunt Sue on Saturday. We'll post pictures of our adventures soon :) 

Enjoy the weather and let's hope Mother Nature isn't messing with us! 

Summer Plans

Ok, another summer is upon us. We already have several big things on the calendar, so before things book up please let us know if you have events for us to attend or plans to visit. Between the two of us we will be going to Vegas, Hawaii, Tennessee, St. Louis, and possibly Denver and Austin. Beyond that, there are several Dave shows being considered, so let us know if you're up for one. We also have the annual Memorial weekend canoe outing with the cousins and Labor weekend camping extravaganza. Again, please let us know what else we need to put on the calendar. We're hoping to get in lots of summer fun (i.e. festivals, concerts, Cubs games, etc). Tell us what you want to partake in...the more the merrier! 

Chandi-er Update

Hey Everyone, it's been a long, long time since we've done anything with our blog. We apologize! Since our last posting, several things have happened that we would like to share. The biggest news is that Erin moved out of our home and into a new apartment in Evanston with Shannon. Let's wish them luck as they "play house" together. Erin is also back in school working towards a Masters Degree in Education. Let's send more positive wishes to her as she embarks on this new adventure. Andi and I are still plugging away...our jobs are good, our house is coming along (although we have little projects here and there), and our pets are just dandy. (Actually, that's not entirely true...Jynx is an a*shole and Fiona is not a good listener these days. Our patience is definitely being tested....I guess a good trial before kids, huh?) We are looking forward to another spring/ summer in Chicago. Please let us know what's going on with all of you! 

Luke, Soy tu Papa!

So, New Year's day began early...at 7:15 a.m. when Taylor, Andi, and I got up, braved the cold Chicago morning and drove over to the Museum of Science and Industry to get in line for the ticket box opening at 9:30 all in hopes of getting our hands on the few precious tickets left for the Star Wars exhibit. We were the first in line and felt a huge sense of accomplishment when we got tickets for the 4:00 slot. Yiipppeee! That is where the joy ended though...while we enjoyed the Museum the actual Star Wars feature was highly, highly disappointing, right Taylor? I'm not sure what we hoped for, but it wasn't there. I guess we wanted to hang out with the Star Wars peeps...ya know, get autographs, pictures, etc. 'Twas not the case...but at least we had each other and in the end we bring the fun!!!!

Overall, a great New Year's was had by all....more posts will come with our New Year's adventures and pictures. HAPPY 2008!