#35: Grow My Own Tomatoes

One of the things about home ownership that I was looking forward to the most was being able to have a garden.  I LOVE, LOVE homegrown tomatoes!   Growing up, I couldn't wait until we picked those first tomatoes.  Mmmm...

We didn't get around to planting a garden last summer since we had just moved into the house and were in the middle of some major remodeling.  So this summer I talked Trevor into helping me get a small garden going in the yard.  He doesn't even like tomatoes, so he wasn't quite as excited as I was! 

I was a little worried that we might not know what we were doing, but it really wasn't hard!  It was totally worth it- that first tomato always tastes SO good. 

Maybe next year we'll branch out and try some more veggies in our garden!

#88: Read 10 Books (1 of 10)

You may remember that in Wisconsin I spent a lot of time in the hammock reading.  I borrowed this book, Patriot Games, from Granny.  I'd heard lots of good things about Tom Clancy, so I thought I would take advantage of a little R&R time and get lost in a good suspense book.

I read about half of this book in Wisconsin and Chicago and then on the drive back to Kansas City, I did a little recap for Trevor and then starting reading out loud.  He must have been really bored since he actually wanted me to keep reading.   The book really kept our attention.  The plot revolves around ex-CIA analyst Jack Ryan, who is on vacation in England when he spoils an assassination attempt on the Prince and Princess of Wales by a far-left extremist faction of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Ryan then gets drawn back into the CIA when the same splinter of the IRA targets him and his family.  They are after his family, partially as an act of revenge, but mostly because they want to undermine American support for the IRA. 

I thought Tom Clancy was a little more "wordy" than he needed to be (the book could have been much shorter!), but I liked how he developed all the characters thoroughly.  It was also interesting to feel like you were getting a glimpse into the shadowy underworld of a terrorist group.  To me, this book is much more relevant to Americans today than it would have been when it was written in 1987.

We were so into the book, that I actually read out loud for the last 4 hours of the trip!  Did you know that the muscles in your neck can actually get sore from talking so much?  I was feeling it the next day...

We came back from Chicago on Friday night so we could have the weekend  to catch up on some things around the house.  So what did I do?  I ended up spending pretty much the whole day Saturday finishing the book, and then we watched the 1992 "Patriot Games" movie starring Harrison Ford.  Trevor didn't want to finish reading the book, so he went ahead and rented the movie even though I told him I don't normally do well with watching movies right after I read the book because then I nitpick at every little detail that's not the same as the book.  Well, let me tell you, it was way worse than I expected.  They changed practically the WHOLE book!  So I think Trevor was regretting his decision to watch the movie that night after he heard me say, "Why would they change that!?!?!" about a thousand times. 

Long story short: good book, not-so-good movie (at least after you've read the book.)  Gosh, I just realized how long this book "review" became....and to think I called Tom Clancy "wordy."

My BFF!

Rachel is the best friend I ever had.

This is what happens when you check your blog
on your friend's computer and don't log out.

#11: Take a Vacation Together to Chicago

Ok, I promise this is my last post about our trip to Chicago/ Wisconsin!  It just might be a really long one... :) 

Trevor and I have been talking about taking a trip to Chicago ever since we moved to Kansas City.  His cousin, Sara, and her husband Michael live in Chicago and they had graciously offered for us to come and visit and stay with them.  So we decided to finally take them up on their offer!

The first day we decided to start walking from Sara and Michael's condo towards downtown.  Lincoln Park was on the way so we stopped at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  It was interesting that this was right in the middle of the city.  You could see the skyscrapers in the background the whole time you were inside the zoo. 

Some pictures of the animals we saw at the zoo.  I especially liked watching the mama gorilla and her baby cuddle together.

 

After we left the zoo, we kept walking towards downtown Chicago.  We did a little bit of shopping on Michigan Avenue.....

And then we stopped to have some Chicago-style deep dish pizza at Giordano's.  Mmmmmmmm.... :)  They look little, but they were SO filling!

We then took Sara and Michael's advice and took an Architecture River Cruise on the Chicago River.  I have to say I would never have thought of doing this myself since I'm not really "into" architecture or anything, but it was really interesting.  It was a great way to see the city and it was a nice change from ALL the walking we'd been doing.  It is really mind-blowing how they build these skyscrapers.  Here are some pictures from the river cruise...

 

We then walked over and explored Millennium Park for awhile. Here's some pictures of the Cloud Gate sculpture that Chicagoans have affectionately nicknamed "The Bean" for obvious reasons.  When Trevor first took my picture in front of it, he took the picture really up close where it looked like I just had a mirror behind me.  I had to have him retake it after I explained the point was to have the reflection of the Chicago skyline in the background! :)

We then went and had dinner at the Navy Pier.  I think we were getting pretty tired by this point from all the walking he had done.  Somehow this is the only picture we took that shows we went there...

I did convince Trevor that we needed to take a bus BACK that night.  We figured out that we walked about 9 miles that first day.  I had just worn my Old Navy flip flops and, let me tell you, my feet were HURTING that night.

So the next day we slept in a little and after Trevor went to Walgreens to buy me some blister band-aids, we decided to do some exploring of  Sarah and Michael's neighborhood.  They live in an area called Lakeview, which I believe is also referred to as Boystown.  There's a reason it's called "Boystown" apparently....let's just say there were a lot of really neat, eclectic shops and restaurants.  Google it if you still don't catch my drift.... Trevor felt a little uncomfortable walking around there! :)   Anyway, we stopped at a Thai restaurant and had some really good Pad Thai and then we went and got some hot fudge sundaes that Michael swears are the best he's ever had.  I think he may be right!  The picture on the right is of Trevor eating his sundae in front of the entrance to Sara and Michael's condo.

We then took a bus (thank goodness!) to the Field Museum of Natural History. 

Here's Trevor in front of Sue, the largest, most complete, and best preserved T-Rex fossil yet discovered.

This next picture was also a highlight to Trevor for reasons I still don't completely understand since I haven't seen the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness." These two lions are the Tsavo Maneaters.  I guess the history is that in 1898 the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in East Africa. Over the next nine months, these two large male lions killed and ate nearly 140 of the railway workers until they were finally shot and killed.  The movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" is based on these lions.

After the museum, we spent a little more time walking on Michigan Avenue before we met up with Sara and Michael at Soldier Field to watch the pre season Chicago Bears vs. Kansas City Chiefs game.  Michael got us tickets, so now I've finally been to an NFL game!  I still have to say I'm more of a college football fan, but it was still a fun experience and the Chiefs ended up winning!

We had a really great time in Chicago on our first "official vacation!"  Thanks so much Sara and Michael for being great hosts!

#58: Continue Using Coupons to Build My "Stockpile" of Items I Get for Free or Close to Free.

So some of you may know that I have become a little obsessed with "couponing" lately.  In fact, "couponing" has actually become a verb in our house.  Some people think that I'm crazy because the shelves in my basement look like I'm stocking up for Y2K again!  Ahem....Blair. 

But I really do think it makes sense to stockpile things that we will use when they are free (or almost free) since we now have plenty of room in our basement.  Anyway, let me show you a picture of what I got the other day at Target on my way home from work and see if this convinces you to clip coupons....

Here's what I did...

$13.50	(6) Packages of Keebler Grasshopper Cookies
$9.00	(4) Packages of Kellogg's Pop Tarts
$4.50	(2) Packages of Rice Krispies Treats
$27.00	Total Cost Before Coupons
-$2.00	Target Coupons
-$4.00	Manufacturer's Coupons
$21.00	Total Out of Pocket Cost
-$15.00	Received $15 in Target gift cards
-$10.00	Mail-In Rebate
-$4.00	"Actual" Cost (or profit!)

So I essentially MADE $4 to buy all of the stuff above!  Not too shabby.  Trevor will love me forever for the Grasshopper cookies.  He always wants to buy 5 million boxes of the Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies.  I have finally convinced him that these cookies taste exactly the same.  He still thinks they're a little different though....I'm thinking of doing an experiment on him sometime that involves an empty box of Girl Scout cookies and these Keebler cookies..... :)

If you are wondering how to do this yourself, check out some of my favorite money saving blogs here and here.  Good luck!

#3: Visit Granny in Wisconsin

We arrived at Granny and Paul's place in Racine late Saturday night after we took the scenic route through southern Wisconsin. It was a really beautiful drive with all the green rolling hills, black and white dairy cows, and red barns. There were a lot of really neat little towns with tons of character too. Trevor kept saying along the way, "Why didn't we know about this area when we were deciding where to live?!"

We had a nice, relaxing visit with Granny and Paul. We spent a lot of time enjoying the cool (for August!) weather and their beautiful backyard. We slept in, went for some walk/runs, and played lots of cards. That's my kind of vacation!

Some pictures of their backyard...

Granny, Me & Paul

I spent a lot of time in the hammock reading. I was amazed to find that I needed a blanket in the middle of the afternoon.

One day they took us out to see Lake Michigan and the Wind Point Lighthouse. I loved it out there. I think I could have sat on the beach all day. Here are some pictures of the afternoon...

It was a wonderful, relaxing visit and I'm really glad we got to see Granny and Paul! I was also excited to be able to complete another item on my list! So, to be honest, we did already have this trip planned quite awhile before I made my I started my 101 in 1001, but it was something I'd had on the list in my head for a long time! :)

If You Build It....

We will come.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. :)

I'm finally getting back to blogging about our trip to Wisconsin & Chicago. Trevor REALLY wanted to stop in Dyersville, Iowa on the way up to Wisconsin to see where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed. I have to admit that I wasn't too excited about it, but it was only a few miles off of our route, so I agreed. However, while we were driving up to that baseball field in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa, I was suddenly very glad we came. It instantly brought me back to my childhood watching that movie over and over again.

It was really neat that they let people play baseball with their families on the field.

Trevor throwing a pitch on the field.

Of course we had to take pictures walking out of the corn!!! :)

If this post is totally confusing to you, I highly recommend that you watch the movie....it's a great one!

More Alexandra...

Trevor and I just got back from meeting Alexandra!  She's such a sweetie.  I just couldn't get enough of her!  It was a wonderful weekend!  I'm so excited to get to go back this weekend with Rachel when she comes up from Memphis.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

   

Proud Aunt & Uncle!

Sisters!

   

Grandma & Grandpa & Alexandra