Being Thankful

I have always enjoyed thanksgiving... how can you not love a 4 day weekend that doesn't use up precious vacation days. And of the traditional "family holidays" thanksgiving has always been the most relaxing. No gift-giving to induce stress- just hanging out and eating.

This year for thanksgiving Dan and I hosted for the very first time. We have cooked holiday dinners for ourselves before but we haven't had the opportunity to entertain at our place. So it was a lot of fun for us to be able to host Dan's parents for the holiday. It was also fun to create the menu from a collection of recipes that we have from our families along with one that we have aquired together.

So I am thankful that we over the past year we have been able to move into a 2 bedroom apartment that is large enough to have guest, have been able to have a dining room table, have been able to set up our guestroom, and have been able to add seating for more than 2. And of course I am thankful for health, family, friends, good puppies, and the internet.

A Holiday with Family

Dogs at Christmas
Originally uploaded by tarakay827.

So it is now approaching the end of February and we haven't posted anything about Christmas. This is not because we didn't have a fantastic Christmas because we did. It stems from the fact that as soon as January 2nd hit we both were busy as could be.

To celebrate Christmas, Dan and I did one of our now annual "cultural experiences." Last year we went to the Nutcracker at the Joffrey Balley and this year we went to see A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theater. It was amazing and quite the experience.

Then we headed to Iowa with the car packed and the dogs not so patiently sitting in the back. It is always an adventure when we road trip with the eclipse- it definitely was not designed for road tripping with dogs.

Iowa was a whirlwind and flurry of holiday activity. It is really what makes the holiday season to get to spend time with family and to all come together even if for only a few days. I really could do without the consumerism that has taken over gift giving lately but I do love seeing my family and having a "big holiday dinner."

Then it was back to Chicago and work for a few days before we headed up to Dan's parent's home for another family holiday. This was the first Christmas (pretty amazing as we have been together forever) that I have spent with his family and it was a very nice family holiday. They really operate quite the fantastic B&B up there!

Oh and I final note about the holidays- the dogs had a blast. They love getting to rip into packages. Due to all their swag, we are going to have to get a bigger doggie toy box as they have outgrown their current one.

An Urban Thanksgiving

A new tradition started last year with Tara and I doing the famous Turkey Trot 8k. There isn't a better way to start off Thanksgiving than with a nice 8k run through Lincoln Park here in Chicago. This year my two brothers, Mike and Chris, were able and willing to join us. Mike of course won the event, with Chris in second, and Tara and I joining them a few minutes later.

The rest of the weekend consisted of eating a TON of food at Dan's Parents house. Its like a small bed and breakfast, except my parents are well...parents. It was great to have the whole family get together, along with the three dogs. Eddie and Shelby always love going places and Dan's Parents house is the best. A huge house, with over an acre of land to run around on. Our car finally got waxed, after two years of neglect, so the trip was productive. It's great to live in Chicago but have the ability to head out and relax, and what better way to do that than over a nice long weekend.

Happy Fourth of July!

Starved Rock10
Originally uploaded by tarakay827.

Dan and I decided to get out of the city and enjoy nature for the Fourth of July. We packed a lunch and bottles of water and headed out to Starved Rock park in Utica, IL. It was a little over an hour of a drive and we were there. Good thing I insisted on checking the map as we might have been headed out on Hwy 88 instead of Hwy 80 and in that case we would have had to have a typical yelling match on who was right! But in any case, we made it.

The dogs were extremely excited to get to go hiking again and could hardly wait for us to eat our lunch. Then we headed out on the trails. It was really fun to be out there and we enjoyed the change of activity for the day. We were a little worried that we wouldn't get to go since it has rained for the past 5 days straight. Of course we might have been able to make it a little further had we brought along the extra water we left in the car... but 3 hours of hiking isn't so bad for a couple of city rats.

We hope you all had a nice Fourth of July!