Baby O'Grady

Check out the wee one! He or she is about 12 weeks old now and the size of a lime. This ultrasound was really cool because we actually got to see the baby move--it had the hiccups and was bouncing up and down!

So far, I've had a pretty easy pregnancy. Just a little fatigue. The hardest part has been keeping my mouth shut. But now that I've passed the 12 week mark, I can start spreadin' the news. Yesss!!!

Greetings from paradise!

Well, not exactly paradise, but close enough. When you're coming from the Chicago "wintery mix," 60 to 70 degrees and sunny feels pretty darn good.

We've had a very Merry Christmas so far -- bike riding, tennis, barbeque, and plenty of quality time with the fam. Jason has to leave tomorrow afternoon, but I get to stay until Wed am. Woo hoo!

 Christmas morning -- before the gift-opening frenzy

Mom with her new Wii -- very successful gift

Lunch with Aunt Suzie and Grandma

Sisters!

Merry Early Christmas and Happy 90th Grandpa Joe: Fun times in Nebraska

Last weekend, Jason and I traveled to Nebraska for his great grandfather's 90th birthday celebration and an early Christmas with the O'Grady side of the family. It was a fun time to be in Nebraska because Ndamukong Suh was up for the Heisman and the whole state was bursting at the seams with pride, excitement, and anticipation. Unfortunately, he didn't win, but good showing for a defensive tackle anyway!

Here are some pics from the weekend. We had a white elephant gift exchange that was a lot of fun and totally got me in the Christmas spirit. 8 more days...

Jason's first home -- so pretty with the snow!

Maggie and Joe at the bday party (hard to get a good shot of Joe with his eyes open)

The man of the hour, looking dapper in his black suit with red carnation

What an attractive couple!

Not sure why this photo is so small! I can't believe Jeremy bought this for Jason!

Another tiny one. If you can't tell, that's a VHS copy of the movie Big. Pretty awesome White Elephant gift

Can't wait for celebration #2 in Florida next week. I have one more gift to order and then will be finished shopping. Woo woo!

jasonogradyartwork.com

I can't believe I haven't posted a link to Jason's website yet! I am extremely proud of my husband -- his work is really cool and people are starting to notice. He will have a painting up for silent auction at the Holly Ball this Saturday (we'll be out of town, but there are still tickets available for anyone who would like to attend): http://www.chicagochildrenscharities.org/hollyball.html. AND, one of Jason's paintings will be going up on the wall at Pannenkoeken Cafe on North Ave in Wicker Park: http://www.pannenkoekencafe.com/. Stop in for some Dutch pancakes and check out the fantastic art!

To see more of Jason's stuff, visit http://jasonogradyartwork.com/splash.html and click the painting to enter.

Enjoy!

Happy Turkey Day!

Or in our case, Happy Chicken/Ham Day! No one in our family really loves turkey, so we did a beer can chicken in the oven and a ham in the crock pot. Jason and I hosted, and my parents and sisters came over for the feast. Here are a few pics from the celebration:

The food (ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole)

Dad and Mom (and Jason)

B and Sus

Me and Jas

Now we're all just sitting around and watching football. Pretty standard Thanksgiving!

Warm Woolies

Now that it's getting colder out, it's feeling like time to start knitting again! I just finished my first project of the season, a vest for a charity called Warm Woolies. After December 18th, some lucky child will be running around in this:

Next up, a cardigan for me!

Wow

According to a recent study, a medium-size movie theater popcorn and soft drink has the calories, fat, and sodium content of 3 Quarter Pounders topped with 12 pats of butter. I am so grossed out!

The kicker is, that stat (1,200 calories, 60 g of saturated fat, and 980 mg of sodium) is for popcorn WITHOUT the extra 'buttery topping.'

I guess this is all because the popcorn is popped in coconut oil. I know I never come close to eating an entire medium-size popcorn when I go to the movies, but I may have to switch to candy as my snack of choice from now on. What a bummer!

Congrats to Irina...I guess

So there you have it. Without a doubt, Irina had the best Project Runway collection and deserved the win. I just wish she wouldn't have been such a brat all season! As much as I hate to admit it, my cold heart warmed a little when her disapproving father came on stage with tears in his eyes to congratulate her. Even Nina got a little choked up!

This wasn't the best season of Project Runway, but I'll keep my fingers crossed hoping that Lifetime will pull it together for season 7!

Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney

I really liked this book. Kind of a cross between Less than Zero and Catcher in the Rye, but with a more relatable main character and better ending. The book is short. It follows the protagonist through a week of partying and screwing up at work as he attempts to deal (or not deal) with his failed marriage and the death of his mother. Definitely worth a read if you've ever looked at your life and wondered, "how did I get here?"

Also, they made a movie based on this book in the 80s, starring Michael J. Fox and Kiefer Sutherland. It didn't get the best rating on imdb, but think I might still check it out!

The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie

I've been wanting to read something by Salman Rushdie for a while, and this one looked promising with its rock 'n roll plotline and 4-star rating on Amazon. It was definitely entertaining, though I should have read the reviews more closely...I didn't realize I was embarking on a 500-page journey in magical realism! I like magical realism in small doses, but find it a bit overwhelming in an epic novel. But then again, maybe that's the point!

Anyway, The Ground Beneath Her Feet tells the story of Vina Aspira and Ormus Cama, an Indian duo who become the world's most famous rock band. Rushdie basically recaps the history of rock and roll, keeping some of the details in tact, changing others drastically, and including so many allusions and references it will make your head spin. I actually gave up trying to figure the book out two-thirds of the way through and just kind of raced along to the finish.

I worry this might not have been the best intro to Rushdie, so I may still read one of his more famous novels, Midnight's Children or The Satanic Verses. I'll keep ya posted!

Agassi's flowing mane was a wig!

In his new book, Open, Agassi says he lost the 1990 French Open final because he was so nervous his hairpiece was going to fall off. Somehow this violates me more than the whole crystal meth thing. I'm horrified, but also can't stop laughing about it. It seems so obvious now! How could we not have known?

Man, that's one I would have taken to the grave! Poor Andre.

A new job for Jason!

Congrats to Jason for scoring a new sales job with Direct Medical Data: http://www.dmddata.com/. He starts the weekly commute to Des Plaines on November 9th and is very excited :)

I am too, although it means I will no longer be coming home to a gourmet meal every night. Looks like it's time for me to start digging through the cookbooks again!

Stressed about Sunday

I really thought I had made the transition. I've lived in or near Chicago for over 10 years now and am probably going to be here for the long haul. I thought it made sense to become a Bears fan. I watch every game, read every article about the team, and obsess about every crappy offensive play call. But when they're scheduled to face off against the Bengals, I find that I just can't cheer against my old team.

The last time the Bengals played the Bears, it was 2005 at Soldier Field. I went to that game, a true Bengals fan, with Jason, Brandi, and my Dad. It was one of the first games of the season. Carson Palmer was playing like a superstar and Cincinnati had a real shot at making it to the playoffs. The Bears, on the other hand, were struggling. Rex Grossman went down in the preseason and  3rd string rookie quarterback, Kyle 'neck beard' Orton, was in charge of the offense. It was pouring rain that day and we left at halftime, but Orton threw a handful of interceptions and Cincinnati won easily.

The Bears did get better that year and even made it to the first round of the playoffs. But the Bengals were hot and we were all feeling confident that THIS was the year. Then tragedy struck. Carson Palmer went down on the second play of the first playoff game with a torn ACL. I remember feeling stunned, all my hopes and dreams shattered. Even Birds' Nest wings couldn't ease my pain.

The Bengals had a rough go of it the next few years; however, the Bears made it to the Superbowl the very next season behind a badass defense and rookie Devin Hester's punt returning magic. That was the year I bought all my Bears gear and started acting like I was a real Chicago fan. I stopped going to Bengals bars and started making fun of the team. 'The Bungles' I called them.

I feel like a fair weather fan. All it took was a couple of inspirational episodes of Hard Knocks and victories over the Steelers and Ravens, and here I am, back in my Bengals T-shirt chanting 'Who Dey' with my friends.

I don't know what's going to happen on Sunday, but I know in my heart who I want to win. I do love both teams, and still consider myself a Bears fan, too. I'm just happy they only play each other every 4 years or so. This game is stressing me out!

Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart

Jason, Betsy, Susie, and I headed down south to Nashville this weekend to hang out for a night in Music City and then go see our grandparents in Crossville. The trip was short, but very sweet, as you will see in the pics:

Hangin' out with Billy Ray at a honky tonk on Broadway

Scoping out Jack White's studio near Music Row

Dinner at Lime, a delicious upscale Mexican restaurant near Vanderbilt

Enjoying the view from Grandma and Grandpa's back porch

Grandpa, Betsy, Me, Susie, and Grandma

As you can tell from our attire, it wasn't very warm in Tennessee. In fact, it was colder in Nashville last weekend than it was in Chicago! But the leaves were changing, the sun was shining, and we were in good company, so I can't complain :)

Happy belated 25th birthday to the Sus!

Before you think I'm a bad sister, I would like to note that we did go out for dinner AND present Susie with a gift (H&M sweater, JCrew matchstick jeans) on her actual birthday (Oct. 1). However, the party and celebration didn't end up happening until Oct. 9 and I have been super busy with work and travel (as you will see in the next post), so that's why I haven't wished her happy birthday on the blog until today!

I can't believe my little sis is 25! Here are pics from her bday extravaganza at Inn Joy:

Sean and Sus

Sisters

Sus and Ali (with Sean in the background). It was Ali's bday too -- happy birthday Ali!

Check Please

If you live in the Chicagoland area, check out Sarah on Check Please this week. She outs her mom for getting wasted at The Stained Glass, gets flirty with a chap named Monte, and compares a River North restaurant to an awkward teen going through puberty. It's pretty awesome! If you don't live in Chicago and can't watch the full episode on WTTW, don't worry, you can also watch clips of the show online: http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,49,2. Enjoy!

Logan, you're adorable, but you kind of suck

Oh Logan, you are so cute and laid back! The judges just can't bear to auf you. But that pants outfit? Awful! And Christopher's Hefty bag dress was pretty bad too. Even Jason was offended by it.

I really don't understand why they gave Epperson the boot. Yes, his Octoberfest frock deserved to be in the bottom 3, but it was in no way the worst of the bunch. I was also confused by the decision to put Irina's lace nightmare in the top 3. I thought it was horrible! When would anyone ever wear that thing? Carol Hannah's dress was way cuter.

I think the only good decision of the episode was to give Giordana the win. She won't make it to the finals, but this week, she definitely had the strongest design. I don't even know who to pull for now that Ra'mon and Epperson are out. Carol Hannah maybe? Disappointing season so far.

The O'Gradys step out

Jason's mom, Grandma Janet, and Uncle Keith came in town last weekend for the St. Charles Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes. We called ourselves Marsha's Motivators and ended up raising almost $2,000 for the ADA! Can you believe it? Our team was one of the top 10 fundraisers! Thanks so much to everyone who donated :)

Keith, Marsha, and Janet in front of Soldier Field.

On our way to the Shedd Acquarium.

Hanging out before the walk in our "Marsha's Motivators" T-shirts.

"I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful. I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful."

Yup, that's Marcus Robinson, former wide receiver for da Bearsss!

Marsha "making it rain" like Pacman Jones after the walk.

Fun weekend... Marsha, Janet, and Keith, we miss you guys already. Come back and visit anytime!!

Come back Nina, we miss you!

Something is a little off with Project Runway this year. And I think it's the judging! I miss having Michael Kors and Nina Garcia on every week. It's just not the same without them.... Would the Ice Queen outfit really have won if Michael Kors and Nina were there? I'm not so sure. Epperson was ROBBED that week, by the way. His Western-inspired outfit was by far my favorite look of the challenge.

As for this week, nothing really wowed me. I guess Irina's was the best of a pretty bland bunch, but that's not saying a whole heck of a lot. I'm just happy that Louise was auf'ed and Christopher got another chance. I'm pulling for him to win it now that my man Ra'mon is gone!

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

I expected this book to be a bigger downer than it actually was. You'd think, a novel told from the perspective of a woman suffering from early onset Alzheimer's disease would be pretty depressing. But instead, I found this novel to be incredibly interesting, thought-provoking, and even uplifting. Read this book and keep your fingers crossed for a treatment that stops the progression of this disease!

What I Wore 2 Day

Well, in my case, it's what I wore last night, but anyway...

My mother stumbled across this blog in her local paper (http://whatiwore2day.blogspot.com/) and it's become one of my go-to internet destinations whenever I need a 5 min break at work. I don't have the same sense of style as Kasmira, but I'm always curious to see what she's wearing. She never repeats an outfit and will turn the same dress into a completely different look with styling and accessories. At Matt and Jen's wedding last night, I attempted to do just that.

Here I am with Kylie (hi Kylie!), wearing the same dress (JCrew) I wore to Jon and Sarah's wedding (http://maggieinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2009/09/holy-toledo.html), but with a little cropped cardigan (Forever 21), a different necklace (gift from my Aunt Suzie), and different hairstyle (low ponytail). I didn't take any full-length photos, but I think you can tell, it's a totally new look. And it's a good thing too... If I would have busted out the pearls again, Kylie and I would have been way too matchy-matchy. Thanks for the inspiration Kasmira!

So long Mazda 3...we'll miss you!!

We said goodbye to our car this morning. A lease sounded like a great idea 3 years ago -- we'd get a brand new car without having to commit to it long term or have to sell it at the end. But we didn't anticipate falling in love like we did :( It hurts to think about the lucky soul who will get to tool around the city in our car after today.

I suppose we'll move on eventually. Until then...hello CTA!!

This week in sports

In tennis: Nadal lost, Federer lost, and Serena lost her shit. 

In college football: The Buckeyes almost won, and then they lost. Northwestern almost lost, and then they won.

In pro football: The Bungles lost on a freak play, and the Bears just straight-up lost.

What a bad, weird week it was. Especially for fans of Ohio and Chicago teams! At least B and I looked cute at the OSU game. And I won in both fantasy leagues :)

 

Thanks to Dad for the awesome tickets and to Chad for hosting us in Columbus for the weekend! One of these days, the B and I will see a victory together! Until then, I'm throwing my support behind the Wildcats.

Holy Toledo!

As expected, Jon and Sarah's wedding was oh, so much fun! I'm having some problems with the formatting, but you can see Jason and me in the top photos, obviously, looking dapper in our black tie optional. I was going for a Blair Waldorf look :) And I just love the look on Jon's face in the photo with the chairs. He was so happy. Pure joy! I also included a pic of my friend Kirsten. She's been living in Tokyo, so we only get to hang out once every few years, but it's always good times!

Go Ra'mon!

So it turns out I have 2 Project Runway connections this season - the winner of this week's competition and the loser! Interesting....

As I posted earlier, one of my old coworkers went to art school with Mitchell and hated him. And then I just found out that one of my current coworkers went to art school with Ra'mon and they're super close friends. Of course this means I'm now pulling for Ra'mon to win!

To recap, Ra'mon designed a pretty cool outfit for the first episode, an awful dress for the second episode, but then completely redeemed himself in episode #3. He pulled off the win and gave Mitchell the boot. Double whammy!

The surf episode was just so-so overall, but I think we have a prom dress episode coming up, so things could get interesting fast! Stay tuned....

Are you ready for some football???

It's draft day today and Jason and I are so excited we can hardly stand it. The EHL (Ed Hochuli League) draft with Jason's brothers starts at 4:00 and the OFL (Overbey Football League) draft with my family starts at 7:00. Busy day!

I won't know what pick number I have in the EHL until 30 minutes before the draft, but am keeping my fingers crossed that I end up in the top 6. I got screwed in the OFL and will be choosing last :(

Anyway, I am testing out a new draft strategy this year. I feel a little nervous about it, but hopefully it will work out for me. Although I won the OFL last year, I came in dead last in the EHL and have been getting clowned on by Jason's brothers ever since. I must redeem myself!!

The karate kid

Check me out! I finally finished my cuddle-up cardigan from the Sew Everything Workshop. Isn't it cute? My mom helped with the turquoise binding on the front edges, but I did everything else. I beam with pride...