Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

As in years past, today I am reminded that I have so much to be thankful for. 

I am thankful for my amazing, ridiculously crazy husband, who is the best life partner ever. 

I am thankful to be an aunt to so many awesome kids. I'm thankful my oldest nephew and niece are spending Thanksgiving with us and that they are old enough to do random favors for me and young enough not to say no when I ask. I'm thankful to have spent so much more time this year than ever before with our middle three nephews and niece. I'm thankful for my two littlest nieces, my sisters' girls, who have added a whole new level of happiness to our family. 

I am thankful for my sisters and the fact that they have great husbands in their lives. I am thankful for my parents and for their health. I am thankful to have in-laws that rock.

I am thankful to have a challenging and stable job. And I'm thankful Rob has the same. 

I'm thankful that I've gotten a wee bit stronger and can now rock out an 11 minute mile pace in a 5K... 10 minute mile, here I come!

I am thankful that I count the most fantastic people among my closest friends. Even though most of you aren't local (grumble, grumble), I am thankful that geographical distance is the only distance between us. 

I am thankful to have read some new books this year. 

I am thankful to have started the New Year on a different continent!

I am thankful to have rocked out wedding after wedding of fabulous people this year and thankful for the weddings of fabulous people already lined up for next year. 

Life is good, people. And it's due in large part to all of you!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We're back!

I'm sorry we've been missing so long. There is lots to catch up on. Trips to San Antonio, Michigan, London, Atlanta, Vegas, Cleveland and Wisconsin, to name a few. Fortunately some of the trips have included lots of time with our nieces and nephews. Yea! We also had some friends show up in Chicago to visit us as well. Way cool. 

Some catch up pics below. More soon!

A Must Read

We should be back to blogging in just a couple more weeks. In the mean time, a great read about a great judge.

Baby nieces definitely know how to make you smile!

Could our littlest nieces be any cuter? Whenever I'm feeling stressed, I track down pictures of my nieces and nephews. Never fails to cheer me up!

Tess looking up at her dad, I think.

Rhone settled in for her first road trip -- to Indy.

Yet another cute niece wearing Hawks gear

Tess was wearing Hawks gear for the gold medal game too. Here she is with Grandpa.

USA Settles for Silver

Major bummer to see the US lose the gold medal match. Resa put Rhone in hockey gear right before the US tied the game to head to OT. Sadly, it was not enough to get the victory. But if the US had to lose, at least Rhone got to see three Blackhawks earn gold medals.

Maaaaaaaaan, I am tired

So much for being a better blogger in 2010!

Hmmm.

I am working too much per usual. It's pretty rough.

But there are some silver linings:

1. We spent a recent weekend in Boston. The impetus for the weekend was a Penn Law Wives Club reunion ... aka three Penn Law alums (me, Ali, Sophia) and our "wives" (Rob, Eddie, Fritz) gathered in Boston where Ali and Eddie live. We chilled out (with Sophia, Eddie and I squeezing in way more work than we should have over the weekend too). But wow. I needed that. The chill part anyway. Good friends make life so much better.

2. Since we were in Boston, we snuck over to Bill & Claire's to catch up and meet their 18-month-old daughter Maggie. So wonderful to finally meet her in person!!

3. And we snuck over to Deborah & Josh's to see them for the first time in years and meet their little guy Ephraim, who is destined to be the funniest kid ever given his parents comedic talents.

More to come on Chile and the rest of our lives. For now just know we're hanging in there. We love you all for checking in.

Go Colts!

Our second youngest niece Tess has great taste in football teams....

Welcome to the world our new niece Rhone!

Yesterday (Saturday), our newest niece was born at 8:03pm. Her name is Rhone Parker (last name not included because she doesn't need an internet presence just yet, but it's Nick's last name for the curious).

Resa went into labor on Friday, probably in the morning some time. Her water broke around 2:30pm on Friday. She went to hospital at 8pm. And then... the marathon really began, culminating in a three hours pushing session before Rhone arrived into the world. We were sooooo happy to see her.

Resa was beyond amazing through such a long and hard labor. She was so strong and so fierce, I was just in awe. And I was so happy to be with her and Nick for the experience. It was very special to see the moment Resa and Nick first met their baby girl.

When all was said and done, the adrenaline began fading. Rob and I left the hospital a little after 10pm and I logged a solid 11 hours sleep last night. Definitely needed it. Rob was also a rock star -- essentially running non-stop errands for me, Resa and Nick the whole time we were at the hospital.

Without further adieu, here's little Rhone!

Uncle Rob and Rhone. She's about 1 hour old. Naturally Rob is wearing his Blackhawks hat.

And here's Aunt Kathy with little Rhone. She looks so much like her mom in this picture. I can't believe how happy I look in this picture given my sleepless and unshowered state!

Chile - part 1

I am having some serious annoyances uploading pictures on this blog lately. Booo. So for today's post about our first leg in Chile, the pictures are in reverse order. Naturally.

We left for the airport in Chicago early in the afternoon on the 22nd. We landed in Miami a few hours later. We were infuriated by LAN Airlines' check-in system for our flight to Santiago -- which basically involved not checking anyone in for an hour. Our plane left a little late, but our 10-hour LAN flight wasn't too terrible as far as 10-hour flights in coach go. (Not that I've ever experienced a 10-hour flight anywhere but coach.)

Finally we arrived in Chile on the 23rd around 9am... which is 6am Chicago time, I believe. We picked up a rental car and hit the road for Colchagua Valley, one of Chile's wine regions. Just a couple hours later we arrived at Casa Silva. We had a lovely lunch - including our first tastes of Chilean wine in Chile! - while we waited for our room to be ready. We ate in a gorgeous courtyard in perfect weather. It was a fantastic beginning to our vacation!

We grabbed a quick nap after lunch and then raced out the door to Lolol, which we thought was about 30 minutes away but which was in fact 60 minutes away. We were meeting Andres, the man who runs our friend Erica's vineyard. Our miscalculation and some other misadventures (including our inability to find a phone - there is a single public phone in the small town of Lolol - and our inability to figure out how to use that phone) got us to Andres much belatedly. But he took us to Erica's vines and showed us some gorgeous views of one of Chile's many wine valleys. (Picture below.)

We left him around 7pm but still had to kill an hour before anything would be open for dinner. Most Chilean restaurants begin dinner service at 8 or 9pm. We landed at Pan Pan Vino Vino for dinner right as their doors opened at 8pm, where we got our next delicious sips of Chilean wine and laughed at the friendly dog wandering around the restaurant.

On the 24th we visited two fantastic wineries. We started at Montes where we got a private tour of their vineyards and winemaking facilities and then had a wine tasting of some of their best wines. (A picture of us in front of the vineyards is below.)

Then we went a couple doors down the road to Clos Apalta, which is the high end part of the larger Lapostolle. We were joined on our tour by a very friendly American couple who had just come from Patagonia, our next leg in Chile. They gave us the helpful hint of buying ski caps for our hiking in Patagona. I'm so glad we did!

We didn't think wine facilities could top Montes, but Clos Apalta did. We got to see a giant wall of granite across from the barrel room, which is the granite they blasted through to build their facility. They left some of the granite untouched and exposed to serve as a natural, temperature-regulating wall. We also got to feel a wine barrel made from 500-year-old French oak. No word on when the wine cooking in there is coming out.

Our wine tasting at Clos Apalta was on top of a giant stone table in their small barrel room. And, surprise, the table actually opens up and you can descend a staircase into a hidden, gigantic wine cellar - the personal wine cellar of the owner! Alas, the table didn't open for us, we only got to look through the table top into the cellar below us. We left Clos Apalta with a bottle of their Borobo, since it's unavailable in the US. We tasted their 2009 Clos Apalta as well, which we loved. The 2005 Clos Apalta won Wine Spectator's wine of the year award. Not a surprise given how great the wines were that we tasted. We picked up a bottle of their 2007 upon our return to the States! (A picture of the gorgeous Clos Apalta facilities is below.)

As it was Christmas Eve, everything was shutting down after we finished our tour at Clos Apalta. We made our way to our next hotel, Hotel Santa Cruz. We did a quick wander through the town of Santa Cruz, one of the larger towns in Colchagua Valley, but still not very large at all. We found a small restaurant where we had a gigantic pile of grilled meats for lunch. We tried to go to the town museum, but it was already closed for the day. So we relaxed until dinner time at the hotel.

We splurged on the Christmas Eve special dinner and it was excellent! At the end of the meal we ordered tea... and our waitress brought a gigantic vase of herbs to our table. She had to explain to us that we needed to pluck a variety of herbs, throw them into our tea cups, and then pour hot water over them. The tea was delicious! (You can see the herbs and us in our summery Christmas eve attire in a picture below.)

Christmas Day was for sleeping in. The hotel gave us a small stocking full of candy. Awwww. Then we made our way to Vina Santa Cruz - the only place open that day. We were joined by the same American couple we met at Clos Apalta. They were also staying at Hotel Santa Cruz. Small world. The vineyard has a cable car that takes you to the top of their hills where we had gorgeous views of the land. (A picture of the views is below.) Also hilltop were a few model buildings based on different Chilean cultures, so we got a nice history lesson as part of the tour. While the wines we tasted at Clos Apalta were the most exquisite of our trip, the wines at Santa Cruz were the best everyday drinking wines. Sadly, they're not available in the US, but we've already informed our local wine store that they need to make this Chilean connection for us!

We took the long way back to Santiago after our tour. We wound our way up the coast, stopping in a small village for some empanadas and then stopping just outside the beach town of Pichilemu to take in some gorgeous ocean views. (A picture of the windy clifftop near Pichilemu is below.) We loved winding through valleys and catching glimpses of the ocean and small rivers. Eventually we made it to the highway leading into Santiago, where the Andes greeted us from the horizon. We stayed at the airport that night to make it easier to catch our 8am flight to Patagonia. I'll blog the Patagonia leg next!



Pichilemu is in the background behind me and the Pacific waves.

The views from the top of the hills at Vina Santa Cruz -- one of our favorite views in Colchagua Valley.

At the end of our Christmas Eve dinner at Hotel Santa Cruz. Note the vase of tea herbs to my right. And note our summery clothes courtesy of Christmas in South America.

The top of the Clos Apalta winemaking facility peeks out of the hilltop... but it actually extends four stories deeper into the ground. The granite they had to blast through now composes walls, stairs and other features in the building.

In front of the vineyards at Montes. We got to ride up the hill behind us as part of our tour.

The view at Erica's farm. Her grape vines are at the bottom of the hill in the center.

Next up: Patagonia!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Our Chile blogging will begin this weekend. We had an amazing time!!!

For today, happy anniversary to us!

This year -- unlike last year -- we are in the same city. Yea! But we've postponed our celebratory plans because of a stomach bug that's been bugging me the last couple days. Boo!

Still, there's much to celebrate today. We are a sickeningly happy twosome. We are two peas in a pod. We are best friends. We laugh all the time, even through stomach bugs. Our marriage is grand and we can't wait for more of it!

It's almost the new year...

... and I've resolved to start blogging more regularly. This resolution coincides with my other resolutions to (1) work less and (2) communicate more with my friends near and far.

For those of you who don't know, Rob and I are off to Chile next Tuesday. We'll be there through Christmas and New Year's. We're even daring to do some major hiking in Patagonia. We'll see how that works out.

I may be able to blog a bit from Chile. But if not, I will give a full report once we're back.

Love to all of you!!!

PS Go Colts! 14-0! Tess loves the Colts and so should you.

Wow

What my google reader taught me today:

1. I'm just a hysterical feminist that gets too offended by advertising.

2. Khakis will make men into real men -- you know, the kind that "wear the pants" and protect us from our "genderless society" where "cities crumble."

Awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know I'm not around much in this space lately, but I mean well. So here's a little insight into what's up with in our lives. I love Thanksgiving because I love a reason to slow down and be grateful. Rob and I have a hectic but happy life, which means there's much to be thankful for.  

This year I am especially thankful for...

... my marriage. I have the best husband ever. Seriously. BEST. EVER. I don't know what I ever did to deserve Rob, but his support this year in particular has kept me whole, not to mention kept me laughing non-stop.  

... my job. Just having a job these days feels like an enormous blessing. I'm lucky not just to have a job, but also to have a job that I enjoy, with colleagues that I love, with kind and quirky bosses, and with interesting work.

... my expanding family!!! I already knew I was lucky to have my family. But our new niece Tess joined the world in June and another niece will make her first appearance in early 2010. Wow! Obviously I have no favorites among my six nieces and nephews (they are the best nieces and nephews in the world, so how could I possibly choose among them!), but there is something incredibly special about meeting the child of your sibling for the first time. Tess has changed my world this year.

... the Chicago Red Stars and the Chicago Blackhawks. I love having hometown sports teams, and I haven't had one in so long. And I love that these teams are Rob's and mine together. 

... Omar Vizquel! Speaking of sports, my favorite sports player of all time, not to mention the best defensive shortstop to ever play the game, is coming to Chicago via the White Sox. While I'll always love the Tribe more, the White Sox are officially my number two team for as long as they have Omar. Thank you thank you thank you White Sox!!!

... my former boss who should have gotten a promotion last spring, but is still making the world a better place because of her current job. (Yes, I'm being cryptic so this isn't google-able. Most of you know what I'm talking about. If you don't and you're curious, just email me. :) DW rocks. We are all lucky she's out there!!

... my friends. I drive myself crazy all the time. So I really don't know how I've attracted so many wickedly awesome friends into my life through the years. In my self-loathing moments, just the fact that my friends exist makes me feel like I can't be all that bad. I wish you all lived closer, but I will always be grateful to have you in my corner even from a distance. 

... travel. Yeah yeah yeah. Work travel has driven me bonkers this year. But I've traveled of my own volition as well this year and loved it. Rob and I have taken our own quick trips to Toronto and to Maine. We took off for Mexico with Mark & Chris. We hit Vegas with Dave & Jen and our new BFFs Jim & Jessica. We made it to LA a couple times to see Lib, Colin & Tess. We went to Cleveland to hang with the whole M-narik clan. We hit NY for the M-ilstein family reunion and NJ for a P-zold gathering. And we flew to DC for Brian & Mariska's wedding and later for Angela & Eric's wedding. It's just been awesome to see so many people we love. 

... my adopted families. I will never stop thanking my lucky stars for my in-laws, who are a wonderful riot. And I am doubly blessed because the amazing M-ilsteins still welcome me and Rob as as if we were their own. 

... my health. Life is too short for too many. So much of it is luck. I'm so thankful my luck is still holding. 

... my reproductive autonomy. Truly. I am grateful that I am allowed to be a 33-year-old married woman and not be expected (or at least not be expected by everyone) to be a mother. I'm glad that I live in a country and in a life where no one but me gets to dictate what happens in my uterus. Most women don't have that. So I am all the more grateful for this blessing (and determined to help this blessing reach others). 

(and finally) ... all of you who read our blog because you care about our lives, even though we don't post often enough. We love you so much and we miss all the long-distance folks out there! We stink at being long-distance friends/relatives. But don't ever doubt how much you mean to us!

Thank you thank you thank you for being part of our lives. From the bottom of my heart, thank you and happy Thanksgiving!

My wise niece

I call this one, "Hmmm, Patriots, I'm not sure that going for it on 4th down is such a good idea right about now. Not a good idea at all."

I'm Such a One-Trick Pony

If you follow me on Facebook, you know what's been stressing me out lately.

But the stress continues. Read this.

I love you Katha Pollitt. you are so right, even though your rightness breaks my heart and leaves me in tears.

I am go glad I don't work in politics or live anywhere near it these days. I'm so angry from afar, I don't know how I'd feel if I were in the middle of it in every way. If my life were still fighting this fight. And yet I feel terrible because my life is not fighting this fight.

So in case I have not said it clearly: Abortion is legal. Abortion is a constitutional right. Abortion is healthcare.

Tragically, we're not even just debating whether abortion is healthcare. We're debating whether birth control is healthcare. We're debating whether any reproductive healthcare apart from giving birth is healthcare. This is abominable.

For shame America.

Happy Halloween!

Sorry we haven't been posting much. I'm having issues uploading pictures. It keeps crashing my computer. I think I've figured it out, so I'll post about our maine trip soon.

Below is our Halloween pic. I was a Jedi. Rob was Elvis living in disguise as a Brooklyn hipster.

Email from my sister

Subject: dude

Message:

you must have a baby.

why? http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2324327

:)

Happy birthdays!

We are delinquent in saying happy birthdays to all the babies we know or hope to soon meet. Or maybe we’ve said some happy birthdays, but not others. This past year officially marked the transition of our friends from weddings to babies.

Our friends Jeff & Sara welcomed a baby girl to the world last week. Yea! A few weeks back, our friends Jess & Jeff welcomed a baby boy, Miles, to the world of NYC! A couple months ago our friends Jason & Beth had their third little one, baby girl Campbell!

Meanwhile, other babies are getting older. A couple weeks ago our friend’s Erica & Feroz celebrated the first birthday of their little girl Sofie! Also a couple weeks ago, my cousin Angela’s little girl Adele turned one. And a few months ago, our friends Mark & Mary celebrated the first birthday of their little guy, Leo!

Now within sight are Bill & Claire’s baby girl Maggie’s first birthday, Deborah & Josh’s baby boy Ephram’s first birthday, Heather & Blair's not-really-baby-anymore Sophie's second birthday, and our soon-to-be new niece’s arrival (in February)!

We feel really lucky to be on a planet where so many amazing people are shepherding little ones into the future. (And for the babies I’m sure I’ve missed, happy birthday to you too!!)

Our Ridiculously Cute Baby Niece!

Seriously. This girl could not be any cuter. (Picture courtesy of Resa.)