sickness sucks

10 reasons that being sick is the worst.

1. Lets go ahead and knock out the fact that you can't breath. sure, sometimes you get one nostril cleared up, but who can really suck in enough oxygen through one nostril at a time? Not me. So then you have to breath through your mouth which inevitably dries out your throat causing uncontrollable coughing
2. Snot is consistently running down the back of your throat which is probably what eating boogers tastes like 
3. Every time you laugh or talk it ends in a coughing fit which causes your lungs to hurt (I like to convince myself that this is simply strengthening my ab muscles although it's yet to be scientifically proven).
4. My nose is rubbed raw from the constant sneezing/blowing. While kleenex work most of the time,  sometimes you need a quicker picker upper and only bounty holds up to the test.  Paper towels are strong for the snot, but really rough on the nose...not recommended.
5. Nyquil, let's talk about Nyquil. It's often the only thing that allows you to sleep through the night. However, when you wake up in the morning, you feel like you've been hit by a bus.  You are so groggy and slow that even 4 shots of espresso chased by a shot of Dayquil barely gets you out the door to go to work on time.
6. work, yes architects (and probably most other deadline driven professionals) have to go to work.  I think sick days should just be traded in for cash at an architecture firm.  They are really wasted 'benefits' since there are constantly deadlines that are more important to the firm than our health.
7. Since you are at work hacking and sneezing all over the place, everyone complains. Sure, it may start out sympathetic at first, but then your co-workers become annoyed at how loud or how frequently you're sneezing and/or coughing.  Then they all claim to be feeling ill and blame you for making them sick....as if you wouldn't rather be home watching the Price is Right.
8. Energy level is in the negative.  By the time you wake up from the Nyquil coma, get through work, and finally get back home, you're exhausted.  So you take some more Nyquil and start the cycle all over again.
9. Food. tastes. like. snot.  Everything has this sour nasty taste to it.  I'm assuming its caused by the constant slow dripping down the back of the throat, but maybe someone is actually just messing with my food.
10. The worst part of a cold/flu is that since you (well, maybe just me) have to go to work, your co-workers (or at least one) will inevitably pick up the same bug and by the time you finally start to feel better, your immune system will be shot to hell and you'll pick up the damn cold again.   Let's all pray that this is not the case.

Happy Cold/Flu Season!

SF adventures

We headed out of town last week for our traditional "urban family" Thanksgiving.  Upon moving to Chicago, flights back to the east coast for both Thanksgiving and Christmas were a bit tough on the budget.  So we started a new tradition of spending Thanksgiving in the city with close friends (a.k.a. our urban family).  While our t-day group has varied in size over the years, there have been three couples "the core six" that I hope will keep the tradition alive for many years even though we all happen to live in different cities now (yes, I see the irony in all of this).

So this year, we ventured out to San Francisco where we reunited our "core six" and also got to hang out with college friends that we hadn't seen for way too long.  This year's Thanksgiving feast had a whopping 14 people.  Between all of us, we made tasty appetizers, cooked a 19.9 lb. turkey, a ham, many favorite casseroles and salads, and for dessert there were eight pies and six different homemade ice creams! There might have been a few bottles of wine and some tasty bourbon, too.  Come on, how awesome is that?  Of course, we worked it all off rocking out for a bit though.

We planned an extra long visit in order to fit in all of our friend time this year.  That also meant that we got to see a lot of San Francisco.  If it weren't for the lack of snow and the fact that we'd only be able to afford to live on a bench in Golden Gate park, we might reconsider moving to this city.  I will say this though, SF never let me down when it came to food/wine choices, the weather was consistently warm (compared to Chicago), we got used to the hills (or started avoiding them) rather quickly, and Golden Gate Park was a perfect running spot (I ran four times and I was on vacation).  Next time we visit, I hope to venture outside of the city to see even more!

fall is my favorite

It's been beautiful the last few weeks.  Let me catch up on what's been going down.

October was full of hikes with Riley at the forest preserve (did not realize there were so many trails so close to the city).  I love taking him to new places...he gets so excited.  It was also hilarious to watch him meet a horse for the first time.  I really wish I had a video of that.

October brought some visitors, too!  My in-laws came and we took them around town, went to a pumpkin patch (bought some pumpkins, kettle corn, pumpkin butter, and apple cider), visited the aquarium, walked around the botanical gardens (fall flowers are amazing), and ate a fantastic dinner at Topolobampo.

pumpkins galore...apple cider and kettle corn is alright, too.

botanical garden fall colors



Now in November, in anticipation of Thanksgiving, I've been craving pumpkin.  I have eaten a lot of pumpkin mixed with yogurt and granola (my new favorite breakfast), made some pumpkin ice cream, made fresh ravioli with pumpkin, squash, and goat cheese filling, attempted (and failed) at baking a batch of gluten free chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, but made a full recovery with my gluten free pumpkin bread.

 

pumpkin bread is probably my favorite fall treat (hmm...other than pumpkin pie)

It's been a great fall and I am really hoping the chilly winter weather will hold off for just a little bit longer.