I'm turning boring. - Brady

I've been sitting here for 15 minutes trying to think of something to write about. Life has just been very, very routine. I get up. I eat breakfast while listening to NPR or Eric & Kathy on The Mix. I work for a little bit. I do my sitting down workout (lots of arm and ab exercises) while watching free TV shows on Hulu. I take a bath. I eat lunch. I check my blogs. I make coffee. I do more work. Kevin comes home. We have dinner. We watch an episode of Downton Abbey. We read in bed. We go to sleep. It's really not bad at all - just not very interesting to describe to anyone else.

I'm at the point with my injury where I'm almost ready to be back in the world with everybody else. As of this weekend I'm walking without crutches (in my cast still), but I'm slow and I limp and I can't go far. My energy level feels just about back to normal, so I'm kind of ready to resume getting up to campus every day, going on errands, and enjoying Chicago. But I can't quite yet.

Write me a comment! Entertain me!

:)

25th Birthday! -Amy

Hello blogworld!

My 25th birthday was on January 22, and the entire weekend was an absolute blast. I was reminded of how many amazing people I have accumulated in my life over the years. Here is how I spent the weekend:

Friday, January 20

I spent the work day getting endless birthday wishes from 22 of the coolest 4th graders I will ever know. I also shamelessly guilted them into following every one of my directions by starting each sentence with, "Do you know what I really want for my birthday..." Classic. Also, we got TONS of snow in Chicago that day (wouldn't be my birthday without a snowstorm) so I trekked it home to a dinner out at El Mariachi with my main man. Then, we headed over to his brother, Ryan's, apartment to hang out with him and his girlfriend, Niki.

Saturday, January 21
I slept in and then headed to the southside for a professional development session that I was leading for Teach for America. I got my best reviews thus far from the people in my session, so I would say it was a success! My BFF from college, Meredith, drove into town from Indy for my birthday. She is SUCH a good friend. That night, Roger and I put together a package at one of our favorite bars, Duffy's, where 25-30 of my best friends came out to celebrate. It was really awesome because I had friends from all phases of life- elementary school, high school, college, work friends, amazing. It was truly one of my favorite nights ever.

Sunday, January 22
The official big birthday! After all the celebrating we already did over the weekend it's amazing to say that I had even MORE fun on my actual birthday. Due to rising temperatures the snow from the storm melted just in time for my parents and grandparents to drive up from La Porte for brunch. My lovely sisters, bros-in-law (Kevin and Ryan), and Niki met us there too. All in all we had 13 people at Hearty Boys, which has very quickly become my favorite restaurant in the city. Their food is AMAZING (they call it, "comfort revisted"), the atmosphere is cozy and energetic, and their food is amazing. Wait, did I already say that? I don't care because it is AMAZING. After the deliciousness that was brunch, my family hung out for awhile at the apartment then headed home, but not before I opened adorable earrings, delicious chocolate, and the coziest Siesta Key sweatshirt EVER from all of them. Also, I got a gift card from Brady and Kevin to use at Siesta Key Oyster Bar when I head down to FL in the spring!
That night, Roger and I went out for a FANTASTIC dinner at Angelina Ristorante. Also some of the best pasta I've ever eaten! Needless to say I ate VERY well during the weekend of my birthday. We came home and watched Mr. Popper's Penguins with Jim Carrey for some cheap laughs- a definite success.


All in all, it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. I was constantly surrounded by my most favorite people in the world, and that's all I could ever ask for. Thank you SO much to everyone who celebrated with me, sent me birthday wishes, or was thinking of me. I am one VERY lucky girl! Can't wait to have a fantastic 25th year!

P.S. I LOVE Brady's post below. So nice! Thanks, Brady!

Eight Things We Like About Amy! - Brady

I was feeling some big sister guilt after the last post. I suddenly remembered that I wrote a long post about all of my favorite memories of Kelly from her 26th year. Can't be treating one sister differently from the other, can I?

So here, in pictures, are eight of my favorite things about the now 25-year-old Amy.

1) She loves tropical places as much as I do.

2) She found me a cute brother in law who, I've recently noticed, is an exceptionally good hugger.

3) She's an excellent friend. We once decided that if she were in a house at Hogwarts it might be Hufflepuff because she's so loyal. (Seriously, you don't want to mess with any of Amy's "people.")

4) She was a weird baby/little kid. I have a lifetime of good stories saved up.

5) She's going to run the Chicago Marathon this year. What??? Yes!!!

6) She's a pretty okay cousin, granddaughter, aunt, daughter, baby sitter, sister, whatever. She's usually kind of nice to people.

7) She can bust a move.

8) She's one of the best teachers I've ever seen in action. (I chose this picture because I couldn't find any of Amy's kids or classroom. And, really, doesn't this photo accurately represent what a teacher's day feels like? Feet up, total relaxation, not a care in the world?)

I could go on and on, writing and stealing Facebook photos from Ms. Amy all day. But I'll end here and say one last happy, happy birthday to my favorite 25-year-old.

Amy's 25th - Brady

A big old group of family and friends gathered for brunch at The Hearty Boys in our neighborhood to celebrate Amy's 25th birthday! I managed to grab a couple of pictures from the celebration...

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The birthday girl herself, looking cute.

A little something special for Amy, which she generously shared with the rest of us. I think it was like cheesy, sweet French Toast with a chocolate covered banana on top. I'm not doing it justice - it was delicious.

My "Tang Cube Mimosa" - champagne that I dropped Tang cubes (like sugar cubes but made of, yes, Tang) into. So fun.

Just a cute picture I took of Kevin.

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The Hearty Boys is a pretty amazing brunch places, and I think the Amester had a great time on her birthday. As far as I could tell, she got a bunch of stuff to prep her for her upcoming Florida trip.

Happy birthday, birthday girl! I'm sure your 25th year will be stellar.

Snow Storm - Brady

Hey - remember last year when all of this happened?

A CTA bus stranded on Lake Shore Drive.

(Click here for the Chicago Tribune slideshow that includes this photo.)

Abandoned vehicles on Lake Shore Drive.

(Click here for the Chicago Tribune slideshow that includes this photo.)

A woman skis down Michigan Avenue.

(Click here for photo.)

It wasn't nearly as bad, but we had quite the little snowstorm here last night! I got home around 2:15 p.m. after a commute that took me twice as long as it normally would. I finally heard Kevin's keys in the door around 6:30 or 7, and then we settled in for dinner and a movie. This morning when I woke up it was still snowing, although it's stopped now. Judging by my view of our porch, I bet we got about 7 or 8 inches.

Snow storms are pretty fun when you're safe and your power stays on.

I'm here! -Amy

I just wanted to let my sisters and the blog world know that I haven't forgotten about you! I will be back soon with a longer post updating everyone on what I've been up to.

P.S. The only think I am up to right now is missing Siesta Key like mad. My favorite place in the world!

Siesta Key - Brady

My sisters and I, with a lot of help from my dad, took my mom to Siesta Key as a birthday gift. This little island is one of my favorite places in the world. Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip.

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First afternoon by the pool...naptime.

So happy to be in Florida.

Getting a little work done.

Sunset and snacks!

Fun at the Old Salty Dog.

Second morning. Got this text from Northwestern. Suckers.

Best bed ever.

Sunrise from the Murphy bed.

Wine on the beach.

Yours truly.

Sisters.

Sunshine.

More pretty sunsets.

And our last night - at SKOB with a sassy waitress.

Holiday Wrap-Up - Brady

I had one of the best, maybe the best, holiday seasons I can remember.

Christmas was spent in Indiana with my lovely family who waited on me hand and foot while I nursed my broken ankle. And we celebrated New Year's in New Orleans - a city I'm just a little obsessed with.

Here are my top 5 favorite Christmas pictures and top 5 favorite New Year's pictures.

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Christmas:

I know this photo isn't great, but I like how it captures the mood and activity at my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve - all the lights, the fire, the people clustered around the coffee table.

Kelly, me, and Lucinda Bassett. Lucy and I are kind of making the same face in this photo.

My grandparents' house from the outside. Don't you just want to be in there?

My grandparents' tree.

Christmas night in Fort Wayne - Kevin's parents' dog Sadie fast asleep in front of the fire.

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New Year's:

Breakfast on the balcony our first morning. (Our first night was spent drinking Abita on the balcony. It may have become something of a theme.)

The window that opened from the floor out to our favorite spot. The weather was nice enough that we left this up whenever we were home. This Midwesterner loves her some open air.

Gorgeous weather, gorgeous city.

My New Year's Eve. Best of my life. We ate dinner at Cafe Amelie - delicious and so pretty with all the doors wide open and Christmas lights all over the patio. Then we stopped for a drink on Bourbon Street and chatted with all the crazies (plus a very sweet drunk nurse in a sparkly pink dress who told me she was around if I needed anything). Then the four of us headed home to watch fireworks from the balcony, drink some champagne, and listen to the best version of Auld Lang Syne I've ever heard - courtesy of NOLA public radio.

Lesley and I fell asleep on the balcony and the boys headed back to the French Quarter. They didn't make it home until 4 a.m., and I'm pretty sure we didn't get them out of the house until 4 p.m. I love this last picture because it was such a happy moment for me. I'd had a great night. New Year's Day is one of my favorite holidays. We were out and about, despite my ankle. I had a lovely iced coffee with cream. And we got to people watch in yet another weirdo New Orleans neighborhood.

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I just want to say publicly how grateful I am to Kevin, Lesley, and Paul for helping me get around the city and encouraging me to get out and about despite the difficulty. They were superstars, and the trip would have been a total drag (or impossible, really) without them.