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Thursday, September 30, 2010

September and October Goals


September Goals:

1. Weight loss goal - hit 100lbs lost by October 1 Goal not met. Another disappointing month, I keep going up and down 5 lbs. I have my butt in check though now, and it's on!
2. Workout 4 times a week Goal almost met! I did well with workouts this month 3 times a week
3. Try 3 new recipes this month Big old fail...we are in a recipe rut
4. Complete "our week in pictures" twice Goal met I did it 4 times! I did it here, here, here, and here.
5. Go apple picking Goal met! We had a great time too!

October Goals:

1. Weight loss goal - hit 100lbs lost by November 1, only 2 more pounds!
2. Workout 4 times a week - this should be easy because I'm working out every morning before work now.
3. Try 3 new recipes this month
4. Complete "our week in pictures" three times
5. Go to the pumpkin farm 

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Oktoberfest Menu


Our 5th annual Oktoberfest is just a few days away. I am putting the final touches on everything and finalizing the menu now that I know who's attending. I am excited to start cooking on Friday!

Our Oktoberfest Menu

Cheese and cracker platter
Buffalo chicken dip
3 pounders
Guacamole
Reuben egg rolls
Stuffed mushrooms
Bacon wrapped smokies
Brats
Kraut
English muffin pizzas
Potato Salad
Chocolate whoopie pies
Chocolate cake pops
Apple cider donut holes
Signature cocktail: Caramel apple cider martinis

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Things I'm loving: September


The return of fall TV


 I am so happy that Fall TV is back! I have missed some of our favorite shows all summer long. Our DVR is working overtime right now!

The beginning of Fall

 Fall is definitely my favorite season. I love the change in weather from hot summer days to cooler, breezier weather. I get to re-decorate the house and get it all decked out. I love throwing on a chunky sweater or curling up on the couch under a blanket with the windows wide open. There are so many fun activities during Fall: apple picking, pumpkin carving, Oktoberfest, Halloween! You can't beat the beautiful colors of the season either, I could go on and on....

Michael's birthday
 I can't have a September loves list without my love's birthday! September 23 is obviously my favorite day of the month since it's the day he made his mark on the world. I love that we are exactly a month apart too!

The return of football
I am so happy football is back. After a dismal baseball season here in Chicago, we need something else to focus on! We love spending our Sunday's relaxing on the couch watching the games. I'm relaxing and Michael is mostly obsessing over his Fantasy Football picks!

Family Time



We've had so many celebrations this month we've been able to spend a lot of time with our family, which is always a blessing. We have a lot more celebrations to come in the next few months, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Home improvement updates

Last week we, or Michael and his Dad rather, completed some projects around our house. I told all of you about the refurb of our kitchen island counter here. They finished the counter on Thursday and it came out great! It really opens up the kitchen visually.

Here's the before:

Here's the after:

On Friday Michael and his dad put up crown molding down in Michael's man den and bathroom. It looks so good. It's amazing what a difference crown molding can make to a room, it really finishes it off. I don't have any before pictures but here are pictures of the rooms with the crown added. 

 The men den now "crowned"

The man den bathroom "crowned"

I think we are done with house projects for a while. We might work on our master bedroom this winter doing some painting, replacing some mirrors and light fixtures, but we'll see what happens!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Weekend Recap

We had a fabulous first weekend of Fall! We went from 90 degree temperatures on Thursday to a crisp 60 degrees on Saturday. Saturday morning we woke up and went to breakfast and then headed over to Rich and Tif's to meet them and Tif's parents before heading up north to do some apple picking! We went to All Seasons Apple Orchard in Woodstock. It was a really cute place, we had a lot of fun! Prepare yourself for lots of pictures!

Michael and I

Rich, Tif, Baby Jacob, Sandi and Ray

Uncle Michael and Auntie Sara with Jacob

Jacob and I on the wagon on our way to the apple field

The beautiful apple fields

Michael ready to pick some apples

Michael in deep thought, LOL!

We found what we came here for, Jonagold apples!

Michael trying to get the apples down. He looks like he's thinking, "How am I going to get up there?!!!"

We had some trouble getting apples down without an apple picker stick, but luckily Tif's Dad came along and climbed up those apple trees like a monkey!

Tif's Dad making the climb!

He would toss the apples down to Michael and Rich

Jacob even got in on the apple picking!

We did lots of tasting to make sure we picked good apples!

Michael inspecting the apples

Our bounty of Jonagolds, delicious!

The cutest little apple in the field!

The group loaded back on the wagon with bags full of apples!

We snapped another picture

Jacob even got to ride the cow train with mommy!

We had a great time together at the apple orchard. It was a really fun family outing. I'm looking forward to going to the pumpkin farm together in a few weeks! After apple picking we headed home and just relaxed and watched a movie. We watched the original Wall Street movie since Michael wants to see the newly released sequel Wall Street Money Never Sleeps.After the movie, we crashed for the night.

Today we got up and went to our favorite breakfast spot. After breakfast we headed to the grocery store to pick up groceries for the week. We came home and Michael did a few projects around the house and I did some laundry. In the afternoon we relaxed and watched some football before heading out to Weber Grill to meet Michael's family for dinner. We were celebrating Michael's 28th birthday and Rich and Tif's 5th anniversary.

There are probably 6 different conversations occurring in this photo!

Ken and birthday girl Kat

I got some good Auntie Sara and Jacob time in!

Uncle Michael watching Jacob eat his hand, it's very yummy!

He looked so cute in his elephant shirt and stripey socks!

 It's a tough job being this cute!

We had a really yummy meal and had fun just talking with everyone. It was a nice ending to the weekend. After dinner we headed home to just relax and we are watching the season premiere of the Amazing Race! I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a good week ahead!


Saturday, September 25, 2010

Our week in pictures: 9/19 - 9/25

Sunday, September 19: New ring from Tiffany!

Monday, September 20: Love receiving flowers at work, I really felt the love!

Tuesday, September 21: I discovered a new food truck in the loop, it was so good - Simple Sandwiches

Wednesday, September 22: Cubs game with my new team at work


Thursday, September 23: Happy Birthday to Michael!

Friday, September 24: Our kitchen counter makeover is complete!

Saturday, September 25: Apple picking!