Nashville

The Friday after Thanksgiving Alex and I took a short trip down to Nashville with our friends Stacey and Nick. Stacey teaches with me, and Alex has become good friends with her husband, Nick over the three years that we've worked together.

We had a blast checking out different parts of Nashville and spending our evenings at the honky tonks.

It definitely makes me hope these next four years go by quickly so we can HOPEFULLY make a move from the Windy City to the Music City. (Alex has to practice law in Illinois for 5 years to gain recriprocity with other states... aka not have to retake the Bar in another state). So basically, I have a mental countdown going on until we can leave Illinois. #1 on my list of places I would like to move to... Nashville. I like how it is much more easy going, affordable, milder climate, still a drivable distance to Lafayette, and the list goes on...

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Nick got an awesome deal on two rooms at the Indigo. We stayed at one in San Diego too. I highly recommend them... very nice rooms!! Alex and I got a suite.... not sure how that happened, but we'll take it!

Our view

Night #1 at the Cadillac Ranch

Nick was the brave one in our group... karaoke singing and mechanical bull riding! He sang "Queen of My Double Wide Trailer" haha Stacey was touched I'm sure.... :)

Waiting for our tour at Belle Meade Plantation

Our boots!! We love, love, love our boots! Alex has already worn them here in Chicago... and to take the trash out in. The trend will catch on here...

Night #2 at Robert's... the guy behind Stacey was there with his 9 year old son. Low and behold... they are from Chicago and the little boy goes to a school right by Stacey's parents' house! haha Small world!

I know... kids at a honky tonk?? Apparently this is allowed at some of them, we saw kids at quite a few of them.

They were really taking the whole cowboy thing seriously....

Busy Week

This has been quite the week for us! I know I posted about our happenings last weekend (the play and Bears game), but our busy schedules continued....

Monday, Alex and I got to go to an awards banquet for my school network because I was chosen as the teacher of the year at my school. :) Can you believe it? haha I feel super honored to be chosen, especially because I think I work with some amazing teachers! But none the less, I am very appreciative of being recognized for my hard work. The awards banquet was held at the Fairmont Hotel downtown. There was a cocktail hour and dinner. We even got to meet the mayor of Chicago. It was a pretty cool night.

I've been staying late all week at school because of early parent/ teacher conferences and our monthly Family Literacy Night. Then, today I was there again all day (yes, on my Saturday) doing conferences. I have conferences Monday night (b/c Monday during the day we have meetings/ professional development all day), then all day on Tuesday. However, I do get Wednesday off because I went in today.

We are hoping to head home Wednesday for Thanksgiving, but it depends on Alex's work schedule. He may have to do a trial out of our county, so if this happens we'll already be on the road and will just head home right after that. I'm hoping this is the case.

The holidays are always busy for us now that we get to celebrate 2 of everything. We are doing a lunch Thanksgiving with my family, and then we are heading over to Camden to do dinner with Alex's family. I see a lot of laughs and board games in our future! :)

Then, Friday morning we are heading down to Nashville, TN! Yes, one week from right now.... I will be sitting in a honky tonk on Broadway St. wearing my new boots (hopefully), with a rum and coke belting out country tunes! haha Can't wait!! I just need to survive this long week I've had and will continue to have until Tuesday.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sorry Dad.... the Bears really laid the hammer down on your Lions.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel

That's me getting my award from our "superintendent" type position and our CEO.

November Fun

On the 29th of October I participated in my first 5K.... well sort of.... Each year the school network I work for has a 5K for el dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead). I've volunteered in the past, but this year I walked it with a few of my teacher friends from work. Other than getting up at 5:45 on a Saturday (yay a I got to sleep in 20 minutes!) it was a really good time. The picture below is just some neat decorations they decorated the school yard with.

This past weekend we hosted game night with our friends Stacey and Nick. We always have a blast getting to hang out with the Stinson's. I would say Alex and I are fairly big game people. It all started back in the day with Jake and Rox..... they got us hooked. Then while we lived up in Wrigley with Lucas and Allison we would have frequent euchre battles at Murphy's Bleachers on Monday nights (it used to be wing night). Now, it seems like this is how we spend our family get togethers on the holidays as well. haha I guess there is a good chance that we will be those old people who always show up for the weekly card games. :)
This week our game of choice was Balderdash. Sooo fun, especially if you play with some funny people. The crazy things you can come up with....

My parents are coming up to stay the night with us tomorrow. Mom is on vacation, so they have decided to come and visit. Since Alex and I both have to work Wednesday, it will be short visit, but we'll go out to dinner and chat for the evening.

We have a busy weekend coming up, actually most of them for the rest of the month are like that. This weekend one of my students is participating in a play at a children's theater here in the city, so we are going on Saturday to watch that. Then Sunday, thanks to the Butera family we are going to the Bears/ Lions game at Soldier Field. Very excited about this! I've been to a few pre-season games before, but never to an actual game that counts during the season.

The weekend after all of these fun things is Parent/ Teacher Conferences. I have them Saturday, Monday evening, and Tuesday. Since I am coming in Saturday I get the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off. We'll be home for a quick trip for Turkey Day, but then we are off to Nashville, TN for the rest of that weekend with Stacey and Nick. I'm super pumped about this! I've got my eyes on the buy 1 get 2 free cowboy boot deal. :) Its going to be a weekend full of country music and honky tonks! Awesome!

Like I said, our weekends are looking pretty busy. That always seems to happen this time of year, but I'm looking forward to it all!

Pablo

I realized a while ago I've never done a post about our one and only pet, Pablo. For those of you who have ever visited us in Chicago or ever visited one of Alex's apartments/ houses while in college- you know Pablo. If not, he's our bearded dragon of 9 years. I meant to post about him a long time ago, but forgot- sorry about that Pab!

Anyways, Pablo has been with Alex for nine years now- since Alex was a senior in high school. When he first got him he was about 5 inches (head to tail) long. Now, I'd say he's about 15 or so inches long.

This is basically what Pablo does on a daily basis.... lay around on his rock or log, eat lettuce, and poop all over his cage. Alex really hates it when he does that on his rock- not as easy to clean. On occasion, we'll get him crickets. But, we don't live near a Petsmart or anything like that, so his diet is mainly lettuce.

Every once in a while we will get him out of his cage, but not too often- he's pretty skittish.

He does shed his skin a few times a year, and this is probably the most active (other than chasing crickets) you will see Pablo. I think it itches him, so he kind of goes crazy- scratching at his cage non-stop.

As the weather gets cooler, he does some sort of a hibernation. He never did this until Alex changed the rocks in his cage to sand. I think the cool sand makes his natural instincts kick in. But, I'm not an expert- its just a guess.

However, one interesting fact about bearded dragons- they are attracted to the color yellow. Specifically neon yellow, like in hi-liters. If you hold a yellow hi-liter to his cage he will follow it around- its awesome!

On the first day of school this year (teacher meetings) we had to introduce ourselves and say an interesting fact about ourselves as well... well I don't think I have too many interesting facts, so I decided to share that my husband and I have a pet bearded dragon. It got a good laugh... :)

Here are some pictures of our beloved pet...

You know.... just hanging around.

He looks intimidating... don't let it fool you!

I guess its been awhile...

I don't know how I let this blog go so long with being ignored.... sorry about that!

Here's what we've been up to:

• Back to school- I've been back at work for about 10 weeks now. I guess you can put part of the blame of not blogging on that. Things are going good this year. I have 32 students in my class, just like last year. We just finished our first quarter of school, so now I am on Fall Break for the week. :) Still in 2nd grade, this is my 3rd year teaching that age level.
• Ryan's Birthday- Over Labor Day weekend my mom, Shannon (Ryan's fiancé), and I planned a surprise birthday party for my brother. We had a great time at the party! Lots of family and friends, and Ryan was totally surprised! I made a picture slideshow for him that, as always, made my mom cry! :) I love making those slideshows! I have an EASY program on my Mac called iMovie, which makes it super simple. If you are in need of a picture slideshow and need some help... let me know! I have a blast making them!
• Purdue Football- We've been able to go home twice for Purdue football games. We love going back to cheer on our Boilermakers. Over October 1 we played Notre Dame (unfortunately, we lost BAD), but we had a great time tailgating with my family and seeing some friends like the Wither's and Jay's parents, Jeanne and Alec.
• San Diego- During the last weekend in September Alex was coaching a negotiation competition for his old law school, John Marshall. Well, I decided to tag along as an inexpensive weekend get away. The first day we were there, Alex was busy with his competition, so I spent my day walking around San Diego and checking everything out. That night we had dinner and went out with a small group from Alex's team. On Sunday, we went over to Coronado Island and rode a ferry back over to San Diego. We had a really great time, just wish we could have spent a little more time there to see it all. Oh well, I was just excited to get away for a few days and see something new.
• Mad Men- Do you watch this show?? If not, you MUST check it out! We love it!! They've had it on Netflix instant stream, and it took us about 2 months to watch the first four seasons. The fifth season will be on AMC in March. For those that are unfamiliar with the show, its basically about Don Draper, who is an ad man (works in advertisement) on Madison Ave in New York City and it takes place in the early 60's. I love all the references to the 60's, fashion, and it cracks me up how scandalous his life is. Not exactly a role model, but you can't help but love him! Maybe because he's such a stud! haha
• Bears football- Well, our Sundays and for this week, Monday nights are now dedicated to the Bears. I'm not overly as excited about it this year as much as I have been in the past... not sure why. However, I must give a huge shout out to the Detroit Lions... WHAT?! My dad grew up outside of Detroit, and this is also where Ryan and I were born.. so being a Detroit sport fan has been instilled in us from a very early age. The Lions play the Bears tonight for Monday Night Football, so I told Alex I was playing it neutral tonight- just call me Switzerland. Plus the Tigers are in the playoffs.... way to go Detroit! My 93 year old grandmother is probably one of the biggest Tigers fans I know. :)

So, that's the latest with us. Hopefully I'll be better at keeping up with this.

Working for the Weekends

Apparently I am in the habit now of blogging about things a week after they happen. What can I do? The weeks are pretty busy now!

Last weekend we had probably one of the most touristy/ sight seeing weekends we have ever had living here in Chicago.

Saturday night we went to the Bear's pre-season game vs. the Buffalo Bills. Alex's good friend Lucas got 4 tickets from his boss and he generously offered two of those to Alex and I. So, it was me and the boys at the Bear's game. No complaints here... it was a blast!!

Sunday, my parents came in to town to visit. We all went out to breakfast at a restaurant called Yolk near our apartment. This place was AWESOME! Great food, big portions, and well priced! We will definitely be going back! After breakfast we walked down to Michigan Avenue to buy tickets to go on an architecture boat tour on the Chicago River. This is something I have been wanting to do for awhile now, and I am so glad we did. It was AWESOME as well! I highly recommend this to anyone visiting the city. It was $26 a person (maybe a little pricey, but the original one I looked at was $35, so I was happier with this price). The tour guide was entertaining and gave us a lot of info about the city. The tour was 75 minutes, and you go north and south on the river, then they take you out toward Lake Michigan where the river basically begins. Below are a bunch of pictures from the day.

Marilyn has a new home on Michigan Avenue now.

Trump Tower from the river below.

Willis (Sears Tower)

Dad, Mom, and I

Alex and his in-laws

Skyline view

Mom and Dad

Great weekend! This weekend won't be as exciting... tomorrow I am doing a few home visits with my student's families and that pretty much sums up all of my plans. This weekend is the air and water show, so we may catch a glimpse of that.

Our Anniversary

I'm a little late on this, but its been a busy week.

Last Sunday was our first anniversary. We went out to dinner the Friday before to a little Italian restaurant on Wells St. near our apartment. Then we spent our anniversary weekend on the road to Southern Indiana (near Cincinnati) to go to my friend from college, Sarah's wedding.

We had a great time at the wedding and it definitely brought back a lot of wedding memories for us.

Here are some pictures of our day a year ago...

I tried uploading more, but blogger was giving me a hard time!

__________________________________________________

Now, I'm back at school and have survived my first week of classes. I have 31 students (will most likely get one more in the next few weeks) and I am teaching second grade again now for the third year. Its hard to believe this is the start of my fourth year of teaching! I remember being soooo nervous for my first year, and I still get "The First Day Jitters" some, but I definitely feel more comfortable. Because we have switched to the year round schedule, I will get a week off in October, 3 weeks at Christmas, and 2 weeks for Spring Break. It will be nice when those dates come around.

__________________________________________________

Some exciting news was shared with us last weekend as well, my brother Ryan proposed to his girlfriend of 3 years Shannon! We are sooo excited! Alex and I got the call from them on Sunday and it was Shannon's two kids, Hunter and Kirsten and they were calling me Aunt Jackie... they've never done this before so I was a little confused. Then Shannon finally got on the phone and told us the news! No plans are set in stone yet, but we are very excited for this event and to add a few more to the Slucter name!

That's all for now. I'm sitting around hoping that the sun comes out so I can go up and enjoy the pool while Alex is out golfing with Fife. Why does it have to rain on my weekends??!! Boo!

Have a great week!

The Standefords Visit Chicago

This past weekend Jake, Rox, and Baby Nora came to visit us in Chicago and we had an amazing time!

Friday morning I took a train to the Indiana Dunes to meet up with them for a day at the beach (Nora's first trip to the beach). It was so much fun! All of their nieces, Jake's sister, brother, and two sisters-in-law were there for the day as well. Going to the beach with a bunch of little ones is a riot! The girls are all about 3 years old and had a blast running up the dunes and playing in the sand.

Later that day I rode back with Jake, Rox, and Nora to Chicago. We met up with Alex at the apt and went to a Chicago style pizza place for dinner.

Saturday, we hung around the apt for a while then made our way up to Lincoln Park. We got Chicago style hotdogs for lunch then took Nora to the zoo. I love the Lincoln Park Zoo for many reasons, but especially because it is free! And... its a pretty awesome free zoo. Nora got to see rhinos, fish, lions, and some very interesting monkeys....

That night we walked downtown to P.F. Changs for dinner... as Jake said "We ate Chicago style pizza, Chicago style hotdogs, and Chicago style Chinese"... we didn't want the Chinese food to feel left out I guess. haha

Like I said before, we had an awesome time and wish these get togethers could happen more often. Nora is such a sweet baby! She is absolutely beautiful and very happy! She only gets a little fussy when she is hungry, tired, or needs changed... and I don't blame her! We had her schedule a little goofed up for the weekend, but she was a trooper and hung in there with us.

I can't wait for our next visit with the Standefords!

I mean seriously... How cute is she??

The Standefords

Mommy and Nora at the zoo

Look at those smiles! She has Daddy's smile and Mommy's eyes

Uncle Alex and Baby Nora

_______________________________________________

I think I'm all caught up on my blogs now. Not too much else on the agenda until school starts August 1. Back to the grind.... summer always goes by too fast. :( But, I've tried my best to live it up and soak up plenty of rays. I do love having a pool here.

Nashville

The first leg of our trip was in Nashville and I loved it! For those of you who may not know, this is the place we may end up after our time in Chicago (hopefully!!). Believe it or not... I'm not really a BIG city person for many reasons that I won't get into now. haha So, Nashville is a great size where there are still things to go to and see, yet its not quite as busy, crazy, or expensive as Chicago. We were there for three days including the 4th of July... which was awesome! We spent a lot of our time walking around, stopping in honky tonks and listening to live country music (again... loved it!), and we spent a little time driving around the burbs of Nashville to check things out.... just in case we end up there. :)

Lots of pictures below...

Cumberland River

Alex enjoying a drink at a honky tonk on Broadway... Whiskey Bend

A group we listened to our first night there. It was so awesome to walk into any bar (and there are about 100) and have live music all day everyday!

City view... much, much, much smaller than Chicago (I'm fine with this).. closer to the size of Indy.

Country Music Hall of Fame

Taylor's dress and Brad Paisley's suit- two of my favs!

The Cleverlys- a folk music group meets The Office. They were hilarious! Basically, they take popular music and put a folk twist on it. They performed songs like: "Single Ladies", "Tonight's Going to be a Good Night", "Forget You", etc. Youtube them for a good laugh!

Waiting for the shows along the river on the 4th. Definitely one of the best 4th's I've ever had!

Main event- Darius Rucker. All of the shows along the river were free that night, plus an awesome fireworks show.

Happy 4th!

I can't wait to go back! We're thinking over New Year's because they do a big thing, similar to the 4th I think for that. Apparently they drop a large guitar, rather than a ball at midnight. haha Plus I need to get myself a pair of boots- there is a store where you can buy one and get 2 free!