Guess who has two thumbs and is done with her summer school classes???? (Pointing to myself) THIS GIRL!!!!!
Lame joke, I know. I am still thrilled to announce that I have three weeks to laze around and do pretty much whatever. I made it through what I like to call an 8-week life sciences boot camp. Finally, I am two prerequisites closer to getting my masters in nutrition.
I have more news to share, but I will save that for after my New Jersey recap.
A week ago Thursday, I went to New Jersey with my parents, my brother Ben, his girlfriend Emily and my maternal grandparents. We went to see my mom's brother, his wife and my three cousins Leia, Timon and Kailee. Leia had a baby named Molly last year, and we wanted to be there for her first birthday party! It was also my aunt's 60th birthday (and Emily's birthday as well).
Getting to New Jersey was kind of a pain. The weather was fine when we arrived at O'Hare Airport. As I sat there reading my biology book (preparing for finals), my mom pointed out that the sky turned a very dark shade of green. Usually, this means something very bad. In this case, it was very bad. By the time the thunder and lightning and very heavy rain passed over us, it was two hours past our take off time.
When we landed at Newark (with clear views of the NYC skyline!), it was 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). Yikes! The airport train that we needed to take to pick up our rental car was down, so we took a stifling hot bus there and waited while they cleaned our mini van that was supposed to be ready hours ago. Then, I took the wrong turn off the highway towards New York City. It was partially my dad's fault, since he was the navigator. Then, we got stuck in rush hour traffic that we would have avoided if our plane left on time. Then, the hotel gave away the handicapped room that my grandpa needed (they redeemed themselves by taking $100 off of our bill). By the time everything was sorted and we went into our rooms and freshened up, we were 45 minutes late for dinner.
We met at Joe's Italian Deli in Franklin Park, New Jersey. Our New Jersey relatives were kind enough to wait for us. They had some appetizers to hold them over, and then more hot ones came out when we arrived.
Our family lives close to Joe's, and they are regulars there. I can see why. Even with the air conditioning struggling to work with the temperatures being so high, I still could have stayed there all night and eaten their food. Everything was amazing!
Lame joke, I know. I am still thrilled to announce that I have three weeks to laze around and do pretty much whatever. I made it through what I like to call an 8-week life sciences boot camp. Finally, I am two prerequisites closer to getting my masters in nutrition.
I have more news to share, but I will save that for after my New Jersey recap.
A week ago Thursday, I went to New Jersey with my parents, my brother Ben, his girlfriend Emily and my maternal grandparents. We went to see my mom's brother, his wife and my three cousins Leia, Timon and Kailee. Leia had a baby named Molly last year, and we wanted to be there for her first birthday party! It was also my aunt's 60th birthday (and Emily's birthday as well).
Getting to New Jersey was kind of a pain. The weather was fine when we arrived at O'Hare Airport. As I sat there reading my biology book (preparing for finals), my mom pointed out that the sky turned a very dark shade of green. Usually, this means something very bad. In this case, it was very bad. By the time the thunder and lightning and very heavy rain passed over us, it was two hours past our take off time.
When we landed at Newark (with clear views of the NYC skyline!), it was 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). Yikes! The airport train that we needed to take to pick up our rental car was down, so we took a stifling hot bus there and waited while they cleaned our mini van that was supposed to be ready hours ago. Then, I took the wrong turn off the highway towards New York City. It was partially my dad's fault, since he was the navigator. Then, we got stuck in rush hour traffic that we would have avoided if our plane left on time. Then, the hotel gave away the handicapped room that my grandpa needed (they redeemed themselves by taking $100 off of our bill). By the time everything was sorted and we went into our rooms and freshened up, we were 45 minutes late for dinner.
We met at Joe's Italian Deli in Franklin Park, New Jersey. Our New Jersey relatives were kind enough to wait for us. They had some appetizers to hold them over, and then more hot ones came out when we arrived.
Our family lives close to Joe's, and they are regulars there. I can see why. Even with the air conditioning struggling to work with the temperatures being so high, I still could have stayed there all night and eaten their food. Everything was amazing!
We got a warm breaded eggplant plate with fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, grilled red peppers, basil and balsamic vinegar. Oohhhhhh my gosh, was it good!
We also passed around plates of mussels (best mussels I have had in a long time- probably since Sydney), warm bread with olive oil and parmesan cheese, bruschetta, gnocchi alla vodka (obviously I was a happy girl) and pasta carbonara. Everything was made from scratch at the restaurant in true Italian style, and it paid off.
You would think that I would never be able to eat a full meal after all of those passed appetizers, but I followed the crowd and did it. I ordered the "zuppa", which was not even on the menu. My cousin Timon and his girlfriend Yana strongly suggested that I get it. It was a mixture of shrimp, grilled calamari, mussels and clams on top of spaghetti with a whole bunch of marinara sauce. It was a big-ass portion, but I probably could have eaten the whole thing if I tried.
You would think that I would never be able to eat a full meal after all of those passed appetizers, but I followed the crowd and did it. I ordered the "zuppa", which was not even on the menu. My cousin Timon and his girlfriend Yana strongly suggested that I get it. It was a mixture of shrimp, grilled calamari, mussels and clams on top of spaghetti with a whole bunch of marinara sauce. It was a big-ass portion, but I probably could have eaten the whole thing if I tried.
We talked heavily about going into the city since it's only an hour away from where they live, but it didn't happen. I had my own adventure in our hotel. I actually loved our hotel arrangement. Every room was a suite with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I decided to take a suite with my parents, because I figured that Ben and Emily would distract me from studying. Emily is insanely fun. I'm not saying that my parents are boring, but I just don't feel guilty when I have to lock myself in my room and tell them not to bother me. That's just how it goes.
Anyway, a big group of New Yorkers came to the hotel for the weekend to beat the heat and play at the pool. They were the kind of people who thought it was okay to let their kids run around at all hours of the night and they could all collectively be as loud as they wanted. They also decided to congregate in the room next to ours, and they were making all sorts of noise when we got home from dinner. My mom asked them how long they were going to be gathering, and they told us it would be at least until midnight. Since my mom was crabby and tired from our stressful day, she made us switch rooms. Seriously, though, I find it to be horrifying that some people have no regard for the fact that people need to sleep! Enough of that...
I curled up on my new bed and tried to watch "Kingdom of Thrones" on our free wifi. It wasn't working out so well, so I fell asleep.
I slept late the next day and did a hotel room workout (push-ups, lunges and other stuff you don't need to do with weights) and then read a little from my bio book. We then went to Leia, Ronny and Molly's house for Molly's first birthday party!
There was a Cookie Monster pinata!
Anyway, a big group of New Yorkers came to the hotel for the weekend to beat the heat and play at the pool. They were the kind of people who thought it was okay to let their kids run around at all hours of the night and they could all collectively be as loud as they wanted. They also decided to congregate in the room next to ours, and they were making all sorts of noise when we got home from dinner. My mom asked them how long they were going to be gathering, and they told us it would be at least until midnight. Since my mom was crabby and tired from our stressful day, she made us switch rooms. Seriously, though, I find it to be horrifying that some people have no regard for the fact that people need to sleep! Enough of that...
I curled up on my new bed and tried to watch "Kingdom of Thrones" on our free wifi. It wasn't working out so well, so I fell asleep.
I slept late the next day and did a hotel room workout (push-ups, lunges and other stuff you don't need to do with weights) and then read a little from my bio book. We then went to Leia, Ronny and Molly's house for Molly's first birthday party!
There was a Cookie Monster pinata!
There's the birthday girl sitting on her grandpa's lap!
Molly and mommy Leia.
We stayed for a long time, so we experienced all sorts of food. I ate tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa and buffalo wings.I also ate a veggie burger with a few types of pasta salad later on. My Aunt Donna makes fantastic pesto sauce, and she added that to her pasta salad. I'd love to get my hand on her recipe, but it's top-secret.
After dinner, the kids had their fun with the pinata.
After dinner, the kids had their fun with the pinata.
They got lots of candy!
Little Miss Molly sat in the shade and ate her egg-free cake since she is allergic to eggs.
Timon and Yana had to leave early, because they went to China the next day! They are travelling around China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and few other places around Asia for a month. Lucky people!
We went to my aunt and uncle's house for New York style pizza (the real stuff!) after the party. We also went back the next day for brunch with everybody before we had to catch our flight back to Chicago.
My aunt and uncle are watching Timon and Yana's Boxer Max while they are in China. I absolutely adored him. How cute is that punim? (If you know any Yiddish, then you know that means "face"!)
My aunt and uncle are watching Timon and Yana's Boxer Max while they are in China. I absolutely adored him. How cute is that punim? (If you know any Yiddish, then you know that means "face"!)
I also loved their permanent dog, Toby.
In true family fashion, we took group photos. In the front from the left: my grandpa, Leia, Molly.
Second row from the left: Kailee, me, my grandma, my mom, my aunt Donna, Donna's mom, my uncle Rob.
Back row from the left: my dad, Emily, my brother Ben, Ronnie, Timon
Second row from the left: Kailee, me, my grandma, my mom, my aunt Donna, Donna's mom, my uncle Rob.
Back row from the left: my dad, Emily, my brother Ben, Ronnie, Timon
Toby came in for the final shots!
I made sure to spend some quality time with the pups before I left.
That was Toby looking out the window when my uncle left to take Timon to the airport! So sad and cute!
We were actually in the same airport terminal as Timon and Yana, so we ran into them outside. They are moving to San Francisco and going straight from China, so it was so sad to see Yana say goodbye to her mom and sister! They've been living away from home for a while, though. They were in Arkansas for a few years.
We then got the airport and endured another delay. Luckily, it was only about 45 minutes. I wanted something to hold me over before dinner, so I got Red Mango at the airport. I got raspberry cheesecake frozen yogurt with Fruity Pebbles and frozen raspberries on top. I wanted Cap'n Crunch on top, but they were all out!
We then got the airport and endured another delay. Luckily, it was only about 45 minutes. I wanted something to hold me over before dinner, so I got Red Mango at the airport. I got raspberry cheesecake frozen yogurt with Fruity Pebbles and frozen raspberries on top. I wanted Cap'n Crunch on top, but they were all out!
Besides the delay, everything getting back into Chicago was a breeze. My grandpa has trouble walking, so we got to go into one of those moving carts to get us from the gate to the baggage claim area. It was so much fun! We whizzed past people through the terminal. I have no clue how our driver didn't hit anybody. He was very talented!
I do prefer walking, but this was something I couldn't pass up. It was like an amusement park ride.
Upon arrival, our loyal taxi driver Pavel picked us up. We almost always use him to get to and from the airport, so he treats us well. He bought us a family style stuffed veggie pizza. Amazing. We devoured it when we got home.
I do prefer walking, but this was something I couldn't pass up. It was like an amusement park ride.
Upon arrival, our loyal taxi driver Pavel picked us up. We almost always use him to get to and from the airport, so he treats us well. He bought us a family style stuffed veggie pizza. Amazing. We devoured it when we got home.
We really do love Pavel. His taxi (or should I call it a carriage?) is always stocked with cold drinks and Godiva chocolates. He sends us birthday and holiday cards every year. He is a smart and sincere business man! And since we've known him for so long, he always offers to pick us up coffee in the morning and pizza in afternoons. He really is fantastic.
If you need a taxi service and you live in the Chicago area, give Pavel a call!
If you need a taxi service and you live in the Chicago area, give Pavel a call!
What About Australia?
Well, what else is going on? You may have figured this out already, but I am not going back to Australia for my classes. I worked so hard to make it happen, but I realized that it's just not a reality. The fees are outrageous for me as an international student, and I will struggle without a car to drive to the other side of town for a challenging class and also get to a part time job. In Chicago, I have my own car and can take classes for a quarter of the price. I also won't complete my prerequisites on time if I go to Oz. I guess that is the biggest issue! So, I am staying here.
What about Al? Good question! He's jumping on a plane to America this weekend. I'm meeting him in San Francisco on Saturday. We will enjoy a much-deserved vacation together, and we will also see our winery where we are having our wedding next year. We'll meet our wedding planner there, because we won't get to see her too many times before we get married. He'll spend another two weeks with me in Chicago until I start my next batch of classes. Then, he goes back to Oz. Crazy, right?
What About Your Half Marathon Training?
Guys, I have no idea what I will end up doing with this race. I skipped the New Jersey weekend because of the extreme heat, and I haven't done any running since then. Not only do I worry that I will not be prepared in two weeks, but I am concerned about my legs. The pain that I have in my right leg now goes into my left leg. I ran seven miles the weekend before New Jersey, and I could barely walk up and down stairs for a day. We'll just have to see. I'm going to try to run eight miles tomorrow. If I am in a lot of pain, I am probably going to make the decision to not run it. I have many more opportunities in my life to do a half marathon, and maybe this just isn't my time.
Plus, Alastair will be here when I am supposed to do it!
I think it's time to clean my room. It's messy. Let's just say that I still haven't unpacked from Australia! I have time to clean now that my boot camp is over!
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