Wedding season, happy 30th to Lindsay, and a successful second try at the glucose test

11 days without a post...I've been a bad blogger! But, I've also been pretty busy. Jason and I headed to Norfolk, Virginia last weekend for the first of 3 weddings in a row. Dan and Kat were married last Saturday, Dana and Alan are getting married in Cincinnati this coming Saturday, and my cousin Emily is getting married in Cincinnati the Saturday after that!

Here are a few pics from Dan and Kat's wedding:

Jason and his lovely wife

Mark and his lovely wife

A

A truly awful picture of me showing off my belly--I'm including it only so you can see the progress (29 weeks). Don't look at my face!

In between all of that, we celebrated Lindsay's 30th birthday (woo hoo to Linds!) and I passed my second glucose test. No gestational diabetes for me. Relief!

Record Store Day

While I was at the Battle of the Books this morning, Jason was patiently waiting in line at Reckless Records for a chance to buy limited-release vinyl as part of Record Store Day. He managed to score a Fela Kuti 10-inch, the new Black Keys 12-inch single, Queens of the Stone Age "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" 10-inch picture disk (see below), a turquoise copy of one of REM's first albums, a Rolling Stones 7-inch featuring the previously unreleased "Plundered My Soul" from the Exile on Main Street recording sessions, AND a John Lennon 7-inch with "Imagine" and "Watching the Wheels." Awesome. 

 

When Jason first bought our record player, the plan was to just buy a few classic albums and leave it at that. But our collection keeps growing and I think we're probably at 100+ by now. I can't complain though because we have a lot of cool stuff. Jason is good at finding rarities, like the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album with the actual zipper on the cover. And of course, we've commandeered my parents' full Beatles collection. 

The best part is that our record player is one of those suitcase players that's easy to move around. Right now, we have it set up by the dining room table, so we are able to listen to all of this great music while we cook or entertain!

The Battle of the Books

This morning, Jon and I made the trek down to the South Side to volunteer at the Chicago Public Schools Elementary Battle of the Books. I wish I would have had the opportunity to participate in something like this as a child -- it's exactly the type of nerd competition I would have excelled at. Each school sends a team of 4-6 kids to answer questions about 20 books from the Battle of the Books reading list. It's kind of like the spelling bee, where the questions get more difficult as the contest progresses. And then the top teams compete for glory in the finals. Here's the link to the wiki page if you want to find out more:

http://cpslibraries.wikispaces.com/ElementaryBattleoftheBooks

Our friends Laura, Ryan, Leslie, and Ashley have volunteered before and got to be judges, but Jon and I were newbies and didn't read any of the books, so we were given the simple task of "timekeeper/scorekeeper." Basically, that meant monitoring the stopwatch to make sure questions were answered within 45 seconds and then marking down a score of either 0 (wrong answer), 5 (right answer), or 7 (right answer and author name).

 Me, Jon, Laura, and Ryan

The kids in action during round 2 -- Ashley was the judge in my classroom

It was a really fun day -- the kids were adorable and really excited about the competition. I definitely plan on volunteering again next year, though I will make sure to read a few of the books so I can participate as a judge and chat with the kids about what they've read. Speaking of which, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, seemed to be the overwhelming favorite. I know it's for young adults, but I think I may have to check it out next time I make a library run!

This is why I learned to knit!

Cute, right? I just finished my first baby project and am pretty excited about it. Baby clothes knit up a heck of a lot faster than adult garments. And, I only had to use one skein of yarn! It's supposed to tie at the neck, but I think I'd rather use buttons. Maybe just 2 or 3 little white ones up at the top? We'll see what I can find at the fabric store. Next up -- booties!

LOST Lunch Wednesday: Happily Ever After

Well, I wasn't actually at LOST lunch on Wed -- I'm in Indianapolis for work. But I did watch Tuesday's episode from my hotel room and just thought it was absolutely wonderful. Loved it. But then again, I always love Desmond episodes :)

I also feel like we're making progress -- the alternate reality and the island reality are starting to overlap! Eloise Hawking is back and seems to know what's going on. And Daniel Faraday is back too. I love that he's a musician in the sideways world.

This episode recap from the LA Times has an interesting perspective on the show in general. I know we all want answers, but sometimes it can be just as (or almost as) gratifying to see how the characters develop. "Love is hard, "Lost" seems to say, but if you find it, you have to cling to it. It's the only thing that will rescue you from a dark and mysterious Island." Check it out:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/04/lost-up-in-the-air-with-desmond-hume.html

Next week, we get a Hurley episode! Yesssss!

Happy belated bday to my blog

Somehow, I let my blog's first birthday slip by without a celebration! Bad mama! On Feb 27, 2009, "Stuff I Like" was born. 1 year, 1 month, 6 days, and 102 posts later, and here we are.

No, I did not make a cake for my blog! That's a pic stolen from google images. Cute though :)

Easter eats

It's been a lovely Easter weekend so far...and one that's been full of good food. Last night, Jason and I went to check out Courtney and Brian's new house in the 'burbs. They recently moved to Clarendon Hills, an adorable suburb, about 20-30 min southwest of the city. I think we're going to be stuck in our place for the next 2 or 3 years, but could definitely see myself moving out to that neck of the woods eventually! 

These pics were taken with my phone and are, unfortunately, a little fuzzy:

Court and Brian in their new kitchen -- cooking up some yummy beef tenderloin, rustic potatoes, and green beans

 Doesn't the table look gorgeous? We brought the flowers! Dilly Lilly, per usual

And then today, Lindsay, Jason, and I went to Easter Mass at a church I refer to as "The Duomo" in Bucktown. The church was packed with hundreds of people and it was kind of a funny experience -- Communion was a total free-for-all! No order to the process whatsoever. Everyone just rushed to the front or the back for their wafer and wine and then elbowed their way back through the crowd to return to their pews. We found it quite amusing.

Of course it wouldn't be Easter without a yummy brunch. We hosted and made a total feast -- egg casserole, monkey bread, hash browns, yogurt, fruit, and granola. Susie, Sean, Betsy, Mark, and Kylie joined us for the afternoon and we all stuffed ourselves silly. I have to give Lindsay a big "thank you" for making the casserole and then cleaning every dish after the meal. I just did not have the strength to do it, and it's so nice being able to relax this evening knowing that my kitchen counter is wiped clean and my sink is empty.

Anyway, happy Easter everyone! I need to get back to the couch and make the most of these last few hours of freedom before work starts again on Monday.

Belly shot #3 -- 25 and a half weeks

I know, I know. Same picture every time. Next time, we'll get more creative with the pose and location, I promise! Anyway, I'm just a little over 6 months along now and feeling great. Strangers are starting to ask when I'm due, and I was even congratulated by a homeless man yesterday, so it's definitely obvious that I'm
 'expecting.' Kind of fun!