May Days

The weather is warming up which means our calendar is filling up! The words and photos below provide a recap of the month we called May.


My mom came to Illinois for a visit to Chicago/Glen Ellyn and a week in Springfield with Grandpa. I went to Springfield to see Grandpa as well. We watched some westerns, got some tomatoes and geraniums from his greenhouse, cut asparagus, made cookies, saw some cousins and aunts/uncles and just hung on the farm. We got to see each other a couple of different times and the best was having Mom at our home in Glen Ellyn for a Mothers Day barbeque!


May 16th we headed to Milwaukee to see Sandy graduate from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. The commencement speaker told a story I liked about 3 bricklayers. The first one was working and when asked what he was doing he said "I am building a wall." The second bricklayer said he was building a church. The third worker said "I am building a community." It was just a cool vision and reminder that you have to start somewhere in life. Congratulations Sandy and Ali!! Best wishes as you start the next chapter...we are so proud!

My best friend from high school, Anna and her husband Tim happened to be in the area a few weeks ago so it was an unexpected treat to see them! She just graduated from Anesthesiology school and got married last fall as well. Her and Rick dominated the shuffleboard table on a fun night out!

It has become a Memorial Day tradition to pack up the car and to head to Pelican Lake, Wisconsin. In tradition, we did just that! Stewie says "please don't ever go without me!" He even brought his sunglasses in anticipation of the beautiful warm weather.

We spent the weekend "opening" the lake house up, putting the pier in the unusually low water, planting flowers, eating and drinking, hot tubbin, watching the Blackhawks and maxin and relaxin in the North Woods. We even got to Bootleggers for their famous Long Islands and then Tattle Tales to see Tyler's band. I would like to note that Rick Klima and I won 2 of our 3 shuffleboard matches! The rest of the time was spent playing around in the water. It was a great long weekend getaway!

XO,

EAT

With a roof right over our heads

I happen to be listening to reggae right now and I adore Bob Marley's "Is this Love." In this song Marley sings "We'll be together, with a roof right over our head" and I realized 3 years ago today Rick and I bought our first roof! Ok we bought much more than a roof we bought what we have called home for 3 years now. How?! I say that time flies as it always does but I look back at 3 years and realize we have accomplished a lot with our little 3 bedroom ranch.

Some of the mega milestones include: putting up 290 feet of fence, redoing the plumbing and water filtration system, trenching the sump pump to the front of the house, taming the jungle of gardens, adding a bathroom and remodeling the bathrooms (robin egg blue is but a distant memory) oh AND raising the floor, knocking down a wall, moving a door and installing hardwood floors.

The projects continue to roll around but it is amazing to look back and enjoy our hardwork. I remember seeing the house for the first time and I certainly remember the ups and downs that come along with buying a home. I also recall quite vividly the selling realtor sliding the keys and garage door opener across the wood table. The fence quotes, the Sir-Moss-Alot green walls, brushing our teeth in the kitchen sink, the crashing of the brick fireplace, the kitchen moved to the garage and basement...it is all fun to look back on. We feel we have truly made a house a home in 3 short years! Knowing my husband...this is only the beginning :)

XO,
EAT

Horsin around

Rick and I had the opportunity to spend last Saturday at Arlington Park, a horse racing track in his hometown of Arlington Heights, IL. I knew I would not be disappointed when our friends Lauren, Shaun and Harry invited us to join them for the day! I grew up with horses around and rarely have the chance to see these majestic creatures anymore.

This day was home to the 12 races taking place at Arlington and then the grand daddy of all horse races - the 136th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. I had never watched a live horse race let alone place bets on them. I read an article that $112.7 million was wagered on this year's Derby. That is an insane amount of money for a race that lasts just second over 2 minutes! The betting system even went down at Arlington and Churchill...that didn't go over well with some of the high-rollers.

Our $2 bets were fun to throw in as the day progressed but the few winnings we did have were converted into new bets. We should have learned from Harry and cashed out when we were up! We decided to make our own bets within the group and whoever picked the winning horse had to gallop like a pony to the fence. Shaun won first followed by a victory gallop by Rick and I both!

Assume your positions!

Arlington was a great place to watch horses and people alike. We saw some wild hats and even snuck our way to the elite section of the park (ooops!). Rick tasted his first Mint Julep (Bourbon and Mint do NOT belong together!). Super Saver sloshed his way to a Derby victory. On his back was Calvin Borel who won his 3rd Derby in 4 years. I hope he gave that pony lots of carrots in the winner circle!

XO,
EAT