Devil in the White City - Brady

If you're interested in Chicago or in history, especially if you're interested in both, read it.

5th Thing I Love About Chicago: "The Region" in Indiana - Brady

I'm in my hometown, La Porte, Indiana, for the weekend and loving it. I really like this whole area of the state, in fact. If you're not familiar with "The Region," it's the northwest tip of Indiana. It's close enough to Chicago that some people commute there to work every day, although that's not easy.

I like the dunes.

I like Lake Michigan.

I like Stone Lake and Pine Lake in La Porte.

I like how much character downtown La Porte has.

I like how few chain restaurants La Porte has.

I like all the interesting "region" towns, like Hammond with all of its little bungalow houses and even Gary. It's sadly fascinating to check out the empty and falling-apart downtown. Kevin plays a game when he's riding the train where he guesses what all the buildings USED to be.

I love to hate the South Shore Train Line, and am very grateful it exists!

I like liking the White Sox and taunting Cubs fans (even though I'm not a fan of professional sports generally).

Dog for sale - Kelly

I'm about ready to kill my dog.  She just destroyed my two-week old ($300 to replace) phone that I happened to love.  She's also been a total pain for the past few weeks.  

Here is the damage:

And here is the little monster trying to appear sorry:

Brady & Amy- aren't you excited to live with the little beast so soon??  Get ready! :)

Lake Wawasee - Brady

I spent this Memorial Day weekend at Lake Wawasee, one of my all-time favorite places and next on my list of things I'll miss about Fort Wayne. The awesomeness of Lake Wawasee was especially apparent to me during this trip because the weekend was interrupted by an impromptu journey to the infield at the Indianapolis 500, one of the things I will miss LEAST about Indiana. Maybe you can get an idea of the heat, exhaustion, noise, and general disgustingness of the event by looking at this shot, from a couple of years ago:

Needless to say, I was happy happy happy to return to the lake on Sunday night after my 3rd year feeling like THAT.

Kevin and I both (separately, obviously) vacationed at Lake Wawasee as kids. When we were deciding where to get married it seemed like a logical choice. It's beautiful and fun, we have a history there, it was destination wedding-y without being inconvenient for most of our friends and family, and it was almost exactly halfway between my hometown and his (symbolic, huh?).

I'll obviously still visit the lake a lot even after moving to Chicago, but the close proximity to it over the last two years has been so nice.

Here are some pictures from the last few summers at the lake.

My mom and me on The Lillypad, the boat where Kevin and I had our rehearsal dinner. Also, the hotel where Kevin and I got married is in the background.

Kevin's parents' condo.

Reading/working on the porch. Probably my favorite thing to do there.

Kevin's dad, aka Swamp Monster, after a spill into the lake.

The view from Kevin's parents' porch. I could sit there all day. I take the comment from two pictures up back. Sitting here in the morning with a cup of coffee is my favorite thing to do at Lake Wawasee.

Best of both worlds - Kelly

One of my very best friends, Kirby, was born and raised in Chicago.  For a variety of reasons, her parents pulled her and her twin brother out of the city and plugged them into LaPorte in the middle of middle school (quite possibly the MOST difficult time to be transplanted, particularly when you're going from an urban mecca to a tiny town in Indiana...).  Long story short, Kirby (and her family) fell in love with LaPorte, and while she lives and works in Chicago now as an adult, she LOVES heading back to Indiana.  Here are just a few of her more recent LP facebook updates:

Kirby Kepler Is doing doughnuts in a cornfield

Kirby Kepler cant' wait for blueberry farm, beach, bbqs, birthday girl, band, beer, and babies

You get the idea!  This girl, with all her city roots, loves her simpler life in LaPorte, too.  Her excitement and enthusiasm for embracing both worlds (that only exist a mere 60 miles apart!) is one of the huge things that compelled me to "move home".  Really, I'm moving to an awesome city that happens to be a short train ride away from home.  

Pretty soon I'll get to have the best of both worlds, too!

Fun at Camp- Amy

I went with my 4th graders from student teaching to Camp Tecumseh this past Wednesday and Thursday. It was a TOTAL blast! A lot of you are probably thinking that it sounds awful, 2 full days and 1 night with 4th graders, but they are all so happy to be there that everyone is well behaved and happy. Also, I went as a 4th grader and did a lot of the same things, so it was really fun to get to relive my childhood a bit! Here are some of my favorites from camp:

Excited kids on the bus to camp

One of our trail groups acting silly

Fun at the flag pole


Cabin Skits at Campfire


All of the 4th graders that went on the trip My table group
Pictures of how the adults and kids got through camp....

Adorable picture of the boys walking back to the bus

A quiet bus ride home....

It was a great time!

4th Thing I Love About Chicago: Hatin' on the Suburbs - Brady

My dad recently wrote this column on whatsnewlaporte.com. He kind of disses on suburban Indianapolis types in it.

This reminded me of an old pastime Kevin and I used to indulge in that I like to call "hatin' on the suburbs." I am ashamed to admit that I really enjoyed it. This pretentious hobby involves ridiculing people who say they are "from Chicago" when they're actually from one of the wealthier surrounding communities, lecturing others on how soulless Applebee's and Target are, and generally feeling superior to others who live in a place so much less "authentic" than the city.

I realize now, maybe because of my growing respect for Fort Wayne, that there are good reasons to live anywhere and that it's uncool of me to look down on where others' live.

But...

I do LOVE Chicago and and LOVE feeling pride for where I live and will probably always secretly smirk, just a little bit, when I see Cubs fans or Christmas shoppers or theater-goers load on to the interstate while I stroll back to my city home.

Going Away Party - Brady

Sigh.

I had two sad but fun after-school events today. First, we had our "transitional" Student Council meeting where one groups' duties stop and the next year's groups' jobs begin. It was really cool to see how much the kids have changed over the year, especially the leaders. You know that saying about trying to be as good of a person as your dog thinks you are? Well, sometimes I think you can replace "dog" with "nice high school kid." Some of the sweet ones just make you feel awful about all the times you've been grouchy to the not-so-sweet-ones.

Then I had my going away dinner with my department at Don Chava's, a restaurant in town. They are really good people and a big part of me regrets not staying longer.

Moving is feeling very real today. Not all in a bad way, but very real.

I'm back! -Amy

So, it's been awhile since I posted on the blog. I have been reprimanded by my sister for this, so I will make sure to be better. Here's a quick update on what has been happening in my life that has kept me away from the blog scene:

1. Working like crazy- mostly 14 hour days. First I sub at one of the local elementary schools, then I go to work at Serenity Springs, a place that my friend's parents own.
2. Teaching interview in Chicago. I went in for the final interview last Thursday and taught a sample lesson. I'm still biting my nails waiting to hear a yes or no.

So I have been working like crazy, but I'm so excited about what the summer has in store. Here is a list similar to Kelly's of what is going on in the near future for me:

Tomorrow (May 21): Camp Tecumseh with my 4th graders (from student teaching). This is an overnight trip and I am PUMPED. It should be a great time!
June 9-13: VEGAS :) with my best friends. Can't wait.
June 24-30: Mystery Trip with my sisters
July 18: Our cousin Matt's wedding
The whole month of July: Possibly babysitting my cousin's adorable kids, Max and Myah :).

I have so much to look forward too, I just hope that a job for next year falls into the mix at some point! Ah!

Well, that's all that's going on with me right now. I'm sorry for neglecting the blog, and I promise to try and keep up!

Check out this link - Kelly

People's Atlas of Chicago

Getting Antsy - Kelly

I am so, SO ready to move!  I'm getting tired of feeling sad about leaving Charlotte... it's just time to go.  Here's my timeline:

June 10- Finish school

June 12- Mom & Dad take Lucy and my stuff to IN

June 17- June 20- TFA Induction in Chicago

June 22- Apartment Search in Chicago!

June 24- June 30- Mystery Vacation

July 1- Start my job!

August 1- Move into new Apt 

75 days until we'll be moved in... if anyone is counting. :)

Prom Pictures and a Video! - Brady

As promised in the "Prom - Brady" post. In true prom fashion, I've posted way too many pictures. :)

The classic pre-prom picture.

Flats are crucial.

Kevin goofing around at dinner. We actually went out with some teacher friends beforehand.

Our flowers. Kevin's adorable idea. We did the prom RIGHT.

The car museum where the event was held.

My duties - deliver memory books and crowns.

The two of us enjoying the decorations before the masses came in.

The kids dancing to "Sandstorm," Kevin's favorite song. No dirty dancing to this song.

Politics and Haircuts - Brady

I found a really great hairdresser in Fort Wayne. I love how she cuts my hair, and she's much cheaper than the equally awesome hairdresser I went to in Chicago. I had an experience with her the other day, though, that made me frustrated both with her and with myself.

She's only cut my hair twice before, but we had always just talked about fun stuff like family and travel. I loved hearing about her adventures. Recently, for example, she went cave exploring in Mexico and then snorkeling IN the caves. The last time I went to her, though, our comfortable conversation took a turn toward awkward.

She had stepped away for a minute to help another client, so I took the free time to listen to my voicemail. She came back and asked who had left a message (in a nice, not nosy way). I told her Kevin, my husband, had and that it was just about an interesting story he'd heard on the radio. She asked what it was, and I recounted what he had told me - that in Norway drunk driving tickets are scaled based on your income and so a man worth $30 million had gotten a ticket for $100,000.

She looked at me in the mirror, nodded knowingly, and said "You know why that is? Socialism."

Now, I am very liberal socially but don't pretend to understand economics enough to call myself a fiscal liberal. What I DO understand, for sure, is that I don't usually like talking politics in social situations, especially with people I barely know. So, I answered something like, "Yeah....it's pretty different there than it is here."

She responded, "At least for now. I just think we're moving really quickly toward socialism. I really do."

Arrrrrrrggggghhhhh. I was frustrated on several levels.

First of all, I just don't think you can have a casual conversation about these issues. Neither of us had data in front of us and we're probably getting our news from entirely different sources (which is another huge issue in and of itself). I just don't think comments like the ones she made, in a casual, social situation in which we had limited time, are very useful.

Secondly, I just didn't want to be having a political conversation! I love getting my haircut and look forward to just zoning out, having someone play with my hair for a little while, and leaving smelling like those expensive beauty shop products. I feel like the salon is the quintessential place where you should avoid politics.

Finally, I was mad at myself because I immediately thought: "I can't wait to move to Chicago where people are more liberal." In other words, "I can't wait to move somewhere where everybody thinks like me and I never have to deal with anyone I disagree with."

I don't want to be that person! I want to be able to listen to others' viewpoints and learn something from them. And I do actually think I've changed a little bit from living in Fort Wayne. For example, at first I was really judgmental about how religious people in my school district are. I even kept a folder in my email account where I'd file away any message with a religious reference in it, annoyed that teachers in a public school were talking about things like prayer and how God made sunsets beautiful. After two years, though, I can see some upsides to this philosophy. The kids are well-behaved; they stay out of trouble because their big social gatherings are with their youth groups. They are also very service-minded and are always trying to help people less fortunate than them.

Anyway, the point is that the beauty shop encounter was stressful. Relocating to Chicago will make day-to-day situations like that easier, but I don't like that I'm part of this trend of moving to places where people think like you do, talking only to people who hold your views, and getting news from such different sources we have no common ground.

Prom - Brady

As a junior homeroom teacher it was my responsibility to chaperone prom last night. I also had the very important task of making sure the king and queen crowns and memory books arrived on time. I was really excited to go. Kevin bought me a corsage, we got all dressed up, and I was hoping to get to do a little dancing!

Didn't happen. I was actually expected to work. - can you believe it? :) I had to break up kids that were dancing dirty, which I only did once and just kind of looked the other way the rest of the time. I was also disappointed that a lot of the teachers were apathetic about the whole thing and left as soon as their shift was up.

It was really neat to see kids who are goofy and kind of unkempt at school get all dressed up and excited. It was also sweet how every social clique was represented. Everyone, no matter how cool or uncool their reputations may be, found somebody to go to the dance with and seemed to be having a good time. I saw our very intellectual acting and looking valedictorian there, our rock band kids, our athletes, some of our special needs students, and even a couple of the very apathetic students I have in my homeroom who I thought would be way too hip for prom. I was also really proud of the seniors' choice of prom king and queen. They are two very, very good kids who I didn't necessarily expect to win. I had some of those moments where I felt like I could be a high school teacher forever when students would come up to me to chat, meet my husband, and shake my hand. Our school really does have a lot of nice people in it.

I'll add some pictures later of Kevin and me.

Neighbors - Brady

I always thought the concept of knowing your neighbors was nice, but today I found out that it can be NECESSARY!

Kevin and I usually drive in to work together, but he had to leave early today. Since our garage can only fit 2 cars if one is in front of the other, he very sweetly offered to pull my car out for me so I wouldn't have to go out, do it myself, and then come back in and finish getting ready.

Well, I had left my keys in the car the night before, and he locked them in when he left. My parents-in-law live close by so I called them, but all of their cars were in use.

At this point, I was panicking because I was leaving a little late as it was. It was also past the time the I could call a substitute teacher to come in for me.

I decided to go across the street and ask our neighbors, a couple about twenty years older than us who we've only hung out with once or twice, if they could help me. I rang the bell and woke up Ginny (this was 6:45 a.m.) who immediately offered:

- to drive me to work

- to let me use her car

- to give me a sweater because she was worried I would be too cold.

So my wonderful Indiana neighbors let me, a person they barely know, use their car all day.

It just hit me as I drove (very carefully) to work that sometimes the people who live close to you are the only ones who can help you out of some binds. From now on, wherever I move, I will introduce myself to my neighbors.

3rd Thing I Love About Chicago: Giordano's - Brady

Everybody who lives in Chicago has an opinion on deep-dish pizza. I will not argue that everyone will like Giordano's the best, as I do, because I can respect the subtle differences in the deep dish pizza world. Lou Malnati's, for example, has a kind of cornbready crust that I'm not a huge fan of but many people are.

I will explain why I like Giordano's so much, though:

The crust is really buttery and has the consistency almost of pie crust.

There's not TOO much tomato sauce. And the stuff that's there is good.

The cheese is salty.

Yummm. I resolve to take Kelly and Amy out for some within our first two weeks in Chicago.

2nd Thing I Love About Chicago: The Skyline - Brady

As promised...the skyline.

1st Thing I Love About Chicago: Lake Michigan - Brady

I'm starting a new list of things I love about Chicago to balance the fretting I've been doing about moving.

Note: "1st Thing I Love" doesn't mean I love it the most. It's just the 1st in the series.

Here it is..............

Lake Michigan.

I think there are two kinds of people - water people and mountain people. You just know which you are - it's the thing you want to be around all the time. If you daydream about vacationing in the Caribbean, you're a water person. If you like Colorado, you're a mountain person.

I am SO a water person. Seriously. It's so bad that if I'm anywhere near a lake, river, creek, pond, whatever, I insist on sleeping on the side of the bed that's closest to the water and keeping the windows open no matter what the weather.

When I moved to Chicago, I felt like I was on vacation every day. The city itself is, of course, fantastic, but what really did it was looking out at that beautiful ocean - lake all the time.

If you've never been, I would highly recommend spending a day at the beach in Chicago in the summer (ha ha, as opposed to spending a day at the beach in Chicago in the winter). It is still unbelievable to this Hoosier that I can sit on a beach, look one way and watch the waves roll in, then look the other way and see the best skyline in the world (Yes, it is the best. I will take up that argument with anybody and will soon add it to my series of things I love about my favorite city.)

The Chipster - Brady

I finally stopped being a bad daughter today and bookmarked a website my dad writes a column for (www.whatsnewlaporte.com). Reading it clarified for me one reason I'm nervous to embark on this transition to grad school and beyond.

My dad is exceptionally involved in La Porte, the town where he's lived his entire life, minus college. If he reads this he'll probably roll his eyes, but he actually does really cool stuff there. He knows everyone in town, he was on the Park Board and is currently involved with an organization that provides services for disabled people, he broadcasts all the high school sporting events, and he now writes the column I wrote about above. 

I'm really envious of that kind of community involvement. After college, I lived with my parents for a year in La Porte, then moved to Chicago for two years, then to Fort Wayne for another two years, and now I'm going back to Chicago for four to five. I have no idea where I'll end up after grad school. All of this moving means I just start adjusting to a place, developing my routine, getting comfortable with my friends, and then I leave. 

In La Porte, for example, I'd work out at the YMCA (where I'd invariably see somebody from high school), get cokes from McDonald's and Propel from Walgreen's, and go to Hilbish, this locally owned drugstore in town, at least once a week. I was able to meet my mom for lunch and for walks home from work and help out some Spanish-speaking families in town by translating and tutoring. In Chicago, Kevin and I went to the same farmer's market all summer, movies in Grant Park, and a great neighborhood bar called River Shannon as often as we could. I'd walk a different route to my El stop through the beautiful neighborhoods around my apartment every day and never get bored. Now, in Fort Wayne, I've got my running routes, yoga class, baseball team (Go Tincaps!), favorite restaurants, a bar (Columbia Street West) where I know I will stay up way too late dancing if I set foot in there on a Saturday night, and really, really good friends. I'm even figuring out yard work. And I'm leaving again.

At first finding new routines in new places was exciting, but at this point I'm pretty tired of all the upheaval. I would love to be in a place long enough to do the kinds of things my dad does.

Okay, enough whining about having cool opportunities to live in cool places. :) There will be plenty of time to settle down when I'm older. And I really am excited about Chicago - don't know if you can tell that from all of my belly-aching posts.

Apartment Decor Ideas - Kelly

Just some living room decor ideas for our apartment!  I know we can't even really start the apartment search yet, but I'm too excited to not think about it so here you go. :)

Check out more at: http://www.designspongeonline.com/category/sneak-peeks

Exciting News -Lucy

I graduated from puppy class so Kelly said I could make my first post.  Now I'm officially ready for the big city, although I'm not so sure about sharing my home with more than just Kelly.... we'll see how I like roommates! 

More NC Pics! - Kelly

Not as pretty as the first, but more evidence of camping!  My friend Jessie has tons of great (and hilarious!) pictures that I can add if she ever gets them on facebook.  North Carolina is beautiful and wonderful- I'm so glad I got the chance to live here!

With Andrew on the beach trail... don't be tricked- he was not hugging me but trying to throw me in the water! - 

Burned out state park- it was very reminiscent of 'The Lion King' post-Scar, pre-Simba...

The lovely, lovely beach!

North Carolina - Kelly

I went camping on the North Carolina coast this weekend.  I kind of can't believe that one of the main reasons I moved here was to experience all the great natural beauty in this area yet this was my first trip to the beach and first time camping since coming here.

Take-aways: take advantage of Chicago ALL the time and come back to visit North Carolina a lot! 

A Little Rant about Little Cities - Brady

I'm home sick from school today and was doing the requisite Facebook check when I noticed that a friend of mine who has recently and temporarily moved back to town had written something about rediscovering Fort Wayne and how the downtown is actually kind of cool. Of course, that was met with all kinds of derision from his other friends. My favorite was, "I'm sorry, but there's nothing cool about Fort Wayne." That was written by a person who had lived here as a high schooler but, I think, not since.

I am so sick of people acting like are only about 10 cool places to live in the world (you've heard 'em - San Francisco, New York City, Denver, Portland, Seattle, etc.) and that if you choose anywhere else you are a loser. After wasting a lot of time making mental lists of what I didn't like about this city, I'm becoming more and more convinced that you can enjoy living just about anywhere if you have the right attitude. As my dad used to put it when we would whine as little kids that there was nothing to do, "Only boring people get bored." Once I stopped complaining and started actually trying to enjoy Fort Wayne, I found I really liked it.

I am also sick of people hometown bashing. It is SO immature. And how can you judge a town you never lived in as an adult? ANYPLACE seems lame if your only options are the football game and Applebee's (or, in my hometown's case, Round the Clock, a restaurant that wasn't actually open 'round the clock). Plus, by the way, I feel sorry for people who spent high school hating on their city.

As Amy would say, "Live your life" - and spend less time bashing places other people live (and like).

It's coming... -Amy

I have had a realization recently at how quickly things are actually changing for me. Ok, maybe a few realizations- three to be exact.
Number one: This coming weekend is my "official" gradution weekend. I will be done with college, and my degree will be in the mail. See you later, IU. That was realization number one.
Number two: Roger, my boyfriend, moved to Chicago yesterday. I knew this was going to happen, but for some reason, I thought it would never happen. He is staying with a friend until he gets his apartment finalized, but none the less, he will NOT be living in La Porte anymore. This is so great for him, and I am very excited. However, I realize now that my time to move is quickly approaching as well.
Number three: They are posting job openings for next year now. I was in the stage of "they won't have anything posted for awhile" for so long that I NEVER thought I would get to the stage where my applications should start being answered. Uh-oh. Let's just hope some of them are.

I am so excited and happy for everything that is going on, but it's very strange that in less than a month I could possible be signing a lease in Chicago with my lovely sisters. I could be starting to set up a classroom in 2 or 3 months. A classroom that will someday be filled with children that I am responsible for teaching.

Yikes.

It's good.

But yikes.

:)

Our Beautiful House - Brady

I love our house in Fort Wayne in any season, but spring is my favorite. On days like today when the weather is so great, I think I'll miss living here full time a lot.

This was actually taken at Thanksgiving, but it's really the only one we've got of an inside view.

Our room. It opens up onto a little porch in the back and a little strip of woods that separates our house from the ones behind us.

I love this picture. My husband took it of our road. Motorcyclists love to drive down it because it's really pretty and really winding.

A stone path leading to our front door and some of our flowering trees.

View of our house coming up our driveway.