We've decided that we can take -25, but hate 80. The weather is starting to get warmer here, we've been in the 80s a few days in a row now. We can't believe that we've started thinking of 80 as hot. Not warm, downright hot, mind you. Its still pretty cool during the nights (in the upper 50s low 60s) so we're not having to use the ac much. Hopefully the summer will finish out like this.
With the gorgeous weather and wanting to get involved with a church I recently went and played softball. Yes, the soccer player who has never played softball in her life went and played. I got stuck on catch duty, which got me lots of practice throwing. We had a good pitcher so there were lots of strikes and I got to practice throwing. I apparently bat left handed though and I managed to connect with the ball the three times I batted. (I actually was on deck four times, but the first time the male in front of me was walked so I got to walk as well :) which saved me an embarrassing chance at hitting) The last bat I made it on base while the first two were outs, but close with my running ability.
In terms of food stuff -- I'm having a specialized blood test done that will test 150 different things and will give me back a rotation type diet. So it will tell me what food I can eat safely anytime, what I can eat occasionally, and what I can never eat. They messed up the blood they took last week so I get to have more drawn tomorrow for that. Hopefully they'll get it in less than three pricks.
One of the guys Chris works with had surgery yesterday so he is working late. He is back on leaving on the last express train and coming home on the last express train, putting him home about seven. It makes for short nights, but we have fun anyway. We're currently working our way through the John Grisham movies, well the movies made from his books. We want to work through the Harry Potter movies, but apparently so does everyone else in the Netflix world. We still need to go and see the new one. We actually went out and saw it opening night but I missed it so I want to see it again.
That's the news from Chicago. Hope all is well with you guys.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Ikea 101
Rule #1 of Ikea: Never take Chris. Chris hates the store. According to him anytime a map is required to get out of a store there is way too much stuff and you just don't need to go there.
Rule #2 of Ikea: Ikea actually has some pretty good stuff for fairly decent prices since we don't have a lot of money to spend on furniture. The problem is this often means Chris has to go to Ikea which conflicts with Rule #1.
Rule #3 of Ikea: Never let Carolyn wander around Ikea. Carolyn doesn't entirely mind the maze of stuff and can get really cool ideas from wondering around Ikea, however, it takes FOREVER. For example, we needed a cabinet to put all our blankets in (to be referred to as a blanket cabinet for the rest of this post) and we ended up getting something that will work as a blanket cabinet, but it didn't come in any of the more traditional spots. This rule often conflicts with Rule #1 (Big surprise there!)
Rule #4 of Ikea: On the trip home the Focus will be full. The back seat will need to be put down, and one person may or may not have to ride in the back with the Ikea boxes. Since Carolyn inevitably has a skirt on her riding in the back doesn't work so well. Chris then has to ride in the back of the packed Focus holding onto boxes from Ikea that he is cursing after having been drug through a store he didn't want to go to in the first place.
Rule #5 of Ikea: Chris turns the boxes he sat with into beautiful pieces of furniture. Carolyn can have no part in the furniture construction because she might actually look at the instructions, never a good idea as they are invariably in Swedish.
Today was a "Break Ikea Rule #1" day, and as you might have guessed we had a lot of fun. I actually went by on Friday to scope out the joint and figure out what might work for the myriad of things we were looking for. The cabinet blanket was just one of the things, but it did take Chris several hours to put everything together this afternoon. It looks great and hold all of our blankets. This means we're getting rid of the last few moving boxes we've got! Yay! We've lived here close to two years (has it really been two years already?!) and we're just now getting rid of the last remnants of boxes.
After putting together the blanket cabinet, a DVD tower, and a desk chair, I talked Chris into playing volleyball. We managed to go to church this morning and one of the people in charge for getting people our age together asked us to go play. Since we've been trying to do something with the group since January, and they were playing sand volleyball on a nice warm (low seventies and overcast) day. We've not had many days without rain this summer, so we decided to take our chances. We had a lot of fun, both of us making fools of ourselves being so uncoordinated and all. They want us to come back though, so we must not have been that bad.
Rule #2 of Ikea: Ikea actually has some pretty good stuff for fairly decent prices since we don't have a lot of money to spend on furniture. The problem is this often means Chris has to go to Ikea which conflicts with Rule #1.
Rule #3 of Ikea: Never let Carolyn wander around Ikea. Carolyn doesn't entirely mind the maze of stuff and can get really cool ideas from wondering around Ikea, however, it takes FOREVER. For example, we needed a cabinet to put all our blankets in (to be referred to as a blanket cabinet for the rest of this post) and we ended up getting something that will work as a blanket cabinet, but it didn't come in any of the more traditional spots. This rule often conflicts with Rule #1 (Big surprise there!)
Rule #4 of Ikea: On the trip home the Focus will be full. The back seat will need to be put down, and one person may or may not have to ride in the back with the Ikea boxes. Since Carolyn inevitably has a skirt on her riding in the back doesn't work so well. Chris then has to ride in the back of the packed Focus holding onto boxes from Ikea that he is cursing after having been drug through a store he didn't want to go to in the first place.
Rule #5 of Ikea: Chris turns the boxes he sat with into beautiful pieces of furniture. Carolyn can have no part in the furniture construction because she might actually look at the instructions, never a good idea as they are invariably in Swedish.
Today was a "Break Ikea Rule #1" day, and as you might have guessed we had a lot of fun. I actually went by on Friday to scope out the joint and figure out what might work for the myriad of things we were looking for. The cabinet blanket was just one of the things, but it did take Chris several hours to put everything together this afternoon. It looks great and hold all of our blankets. This means we're getting rid of the last few moving boxes we've got! Yay! We've lived here close to two years (has it really been two years already?!) and we're just now getting rid of the last remnants of boxes.
After putting together the blanket cabinet, a DVD tower, and a desk chair, I talked Chris into playing volleyball. We managed to go to church this morning and one of the people in charge for getting people our age together asked us to go play. Since we've been trying to do something with the group since January, and they were playing sand volleyball on a nice warm (low seventies and overcast) day. We've not had many days without rain this summer, so we decided to take our chances. We had a lot of fun, both of us making fools of ourselves being so uncoordinated and all. They want us to come back though, so we must not have been that bad.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Happy B'day Carolyn
So Harry Potter came out for my b'day. Well, not technically, but we said it was since it came out at midnight. We decided to do something stupid and went to the midnight release. We had a bit of trouble getting tickets, but Linda ended up finding tickets for us at a really neat theater. We've managed to see several of the other movies at the midnight showing, so it was kind of a tradition for us, which is why we decided that even though the midnight show was on Tuesday night we were going to go anyway.
The theater is a "dinner and a movie" kind of place. So they let us in to the theater super early to take our dinner and drink orders. On Tuesdays the movie place has half priced pitchers of margaritas. Since it was Tuesday we had margaritas in the lobby with a few hundred other Harry Potter fans waiting to see the movie. I took the picture with my new phone that Chris got me for my b'day. Its a pretty spiffy phone and a pretty decent camera to boot.
A couple other pictures that I to
ok...
The first picture is of Chris and me displaying our margaritas in the lobby. The second picture is of Linda and me inside the theater. Anyway, we ended up watching the movie and having a ton of fun. I actually got sick so I couldn't see much of the movie, but I did see the beginning and the end. I managed to read the books leading up to seeing the film and from what I saw I was fairly impressed of how closely to the dialog they stuck. The few diversions seemed to make sense logically based on what they've cut in previous movies and such.
Anyway, if you're ever in Chicago and want to see a movie then let us know and we can see what's playing at the dinner theater. Its kind of an interesting thing -- no sharing drink holders, and you get to sit in high back executive chairs.
The theater is a "dinner and a movie" kind of place. So they let us in to the theater super early to take our dinner and drink orders. On Tuesdays the movie place has half priced pitchers of margaritas. Since it was Tuesday we had margaritas in the lobby with a few hundred other Harry Potter fans waiting to see the movie. I took the picture with my new phone that Chris got me for my b'day. Its a pretty spiffy phone and a pretty decent camera to boot.
A couple other pictures that I to
ok...
The first picture is of Chris and me displaying our margaritas in the lobby. The second picture is of Linda and me inside the theater. Anyway, we ended up watching the movie and having a ton of fun. I actually got sick so I couldn't see much of the movie, but I did see the beginning and the end. I managed to read the books leading up to seeing the film and from what I saw I was fairly impressed of how closely to the dialog they stuck. The few diversions seemed to make sense logically based on what they've cut in previous movies and such.
Anyway, if you're ever in Chicago and want to see a movie then let us know and we can see what's playing at the dinner theater. Its kind of an interesting thing -- no sharing drink holders, and you get to sit in high back executive chairs.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th of July
Well its the fourth and we are awkwardly stuck in Illinois. Its raining and it has been all day. We aren't at the lake which is weird for both of us. Despite what's been going on we typically go to the lake with Chris's family for the 4th. I have to work and with the holiday being on a Saturday this year, it just didn't work out for us to go. That doesn't make it any less weird though. If we were at the lake and it was rainy like it is we'd be doing all sorts of indoorsy stuff -- like playing Skip-Bo or video games with Chris's cousins.
This week was crazy. I went to Tulsa for Go-Go's funeral while Chris stayed here and took his bike around town. It apparently rained for the entire time I was gone, except for around the times Chris was riding his bike. He said it was an interesting week. My week was busy and I drove more this week than I have in the past six months I think. I mean I racked up something like 20 hours driving in the car and I typically don't drive more than 20 minutes in a week. We both got to catch up with family while I was gone so that's always good.
This week was crazy. I went to Tulsa for Go-Go's funeral while Chris stayed here and took his bike around town. It apparently rained for the entire time I was gone, except for around the times Chris was riding his bike. He said it was an interesting week. My week was busy and I drove more this week than I have in the past six months I think. I mean I racked up something like 20 hours driving in the car and I typically don't drive more than 20 minutes in a week. We both got to catch up with family while I was gone so that's always good.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Working at the Zoo
I've been working at the zoo this summer and its been fun. It is a nice way to get off of the university campus and fresh air. Today was a free day at the zoo (for everyone under 11) and so everyone brought their kids, their kids friends, and their kids friends friends. It was crazy and it will only get more crazy this week. I was very flattered that people thought I could magically call the animals out of their hiding spots or make them do tricks. However, it was also annoying to have them ask me why I couldn't do it when it didn't work. I spent most of the afternoon being told, "No" or some variation thereof, while watching the Tapir (a really cool pachyderm) in his watering hole. We said if we got 30 rejections between the three of us working at one spot then we'd get to ride the carousel. I got 20 rejections myself and we decided to not ride the carousel because of all the screaming children. I got to watch the hippos for 20 minutes instead. The full size hippo is named Wicked and she's just cool. I mean she hangs out in the water and comes up for air every 6 minutes. It is strangely fascinating for me to stand on the fence and just watch the water waiting for her to come up for air. Next door to Wicked is Obessa, the pygmy hippo. Obessa was in her mud today. She was just laying there. At first it was difficult to tell where she was, but then it was easy. I was jealous, though both hippos had people yelling at them to do things too. Though if I weight 700 lbs or even 7k lbs and someone yelled at me I'd probably do something to scare them into no longer yelling. I wish I could take my camera around the zoo with me, but I'd probably lose it and then be disoriented in the world when I had no more camera.
We're coming up on the Fourth of July here in Chicago. There are firework displays planned for Chicago or over the lake, but we plan on going to none of them. They are INSANELY crowded and we just want to not deal with that many people for a while. Summer school is still keeping Chris busy.
Other than that there isn't much new this week. Its been a week of working and the craziness that goes with that. Hope everything is going well for everyone else.
We're coming up on the Fourth of July here in Chicago. There are firework displays planned for Chicago or over the lake, but we plan on going to none of them. They are INSANELY crowded and we just want to not deal with that many people for a while. Summer school is still keeping Chris busy.
Other than that there isn't much new this week. Its been a week of working and the craziness that goes with that. Hope everything is going well for everyone else.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Catch up
Spring is gone in Chicago. This past week we've had thunderstorm after thunderstorm and ended up with 90 degree weather. I don't think we had a dozen days over 90 last summer and we're getting close to that here soon. We want the thunderstorms to give us our Canadian air back and take the Kansas air back to Kansas.
Two weeks ago we had our 4th anniversary and it was different for all sorts of reasons. I'm continuing to have trouble eating most foods and so we had to be creative in what we did for it since going to dinner was out. We had a lot of fun though just hanging out and amazed at the fact that it has been four years since we got married. Time flies when you're having fun...
In terms of jobs Chris works at the University and summer school is getting underway. It started last week, so this is week 2 of 8. Its easier in the summers for him, but he likes the busy-ness of the fall and spring semesters. It gives him something to do. I'm going to finish a Masters in Chemistry by next spring. I've decided that with my health issues I don't have the ability to complete a PhD right now. It was a difficult decision to make, but I think I'll be better off for it. I won't have to decide if I want to take care of me or get a degree.
We've enjoyed the cool spring so far. We went hiking at a place called Starved Rock, just outside of Utica, IL, last weekend, as seen on the left here. We went with our small group. While there we grilled, played frisbee, hiked and had a good time. It was nice to get out of the metroplex and see some of the flat state of Illinois. Now that we've been here two years we decided to see the rest of the state. We've mainly seen highways driving to OK, lined with corn and soybean fields, so hiking was a lot of fun. Here are a couple of pictures from the day.
Two weeks ago we had our 4th anniversary and it was different for all sorts of reasons. I'm continuing to have trouble eating most foods and so we had to be creative in what we did for it since going to dinner was out. We had a lot of fun though just hanging out and amazed at the fact that it has been four years since we got married. Time flies when you're having fun...
In terms of jobs Chris works at the University and summer school is getting underway. It started last week, so this is week 2 of 8. Its easier in the summers for him, but he likes the busy-ness of the fall and spring semesters. It gives him something to do. I'm going to finish a Masters in Chemistry by next spring. I've decided that with my health issues I don't have the ability to complete a PhD right now. It was a difficult decision to make, but I think I'll be better off for it. I won't have to decide if I want to take care of me or get a degree.
We've enjoyed the cool spring so far. We went hiking at a place called Starved Rock, just outside of Utica, IL, last weekend, as seen on the left here. We went with our small group. While there we grilled, played frisbee, hiked and had a good time. It was nice to get out of the metroplex and see some of the flat state of Illinois. Now that we've been here two years we decided to see the rest of the state. We've mainly seen highways driving to OK, lined with corn and soybean fields, so hiking was a lot of fun. Here are a couple of pictures from the day.
Welcome
This is to journal what has happened to Chris and me. I've recently stopped sending out mass "state of the Sehorns" e-mails because I've been blogging more on other sites. There isn't always a lot to tell, but you can check back here to see what's going on with us. I will try and put something up once a week, maybe more, maybe less, depending on what is going on.
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