who me?

Calm down everyone, I'm back.  I don't know (or think) there even is an "everyone" but regardless I'm back.  It's been three months and thirteen days and a lot has changed!  In reality very little has changed, but there certainly has been some progress.

A few highlights in the world of Mr. and Mrs. Abramson that have taken place within the last weeks:

1. Apartment renovation is in full swing.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that our second bedroom is a small Home Depot right now.  I'm not kidding.  There's a miter saw in it.

2. Our dog, Sprocket, is HUGE.  Three months and thirteen days is a lot of time in puppy years.  

3. I gave my notice at my current place of employment and will be starting a new adventure as of Monday.

4. Spring refuses to come to Chicago, and apparently the rest of the country, and we're not happy about it.

5. We went to Las Vegas earlier in the month to celebrate my husband turning the big 3-0.  I'll tell you though, thirty never looked so good :)

There's a lot to talk about and a lot of photos to share.  I'll be diving deeper into all of this, and much more, so I hope you stick around!  If not for my career change, than for the adorable pictures of Sprocket.

Until then...

(Please ignore all the laundry on the floor!  I promise it's been picked up since.)

baby boy abramson.

On Saturday my husband and I welcomed a new bundle of joy into our lives.  Meet Sprocket! 

We adopted him from Magnificent Mutts, an amazing non-profit specializing in my favorite breed of dog -- mutts!  If you are in the Chicago-land area I highly recommend you check them out.  They do events at shelters and Petco's in the Chicago suburbs and they are the sweetest group of people you'll ever meet.  I cried TWICE before we even left the shelter because of everyone's kind words and well wishes.  There was pure joy in their faces to see Sprocket going to his forever home.  And a good home at that :)

In case you wanted the nitty girtty, Sprocket is an eight week old Labrador Retriever/German Shepherd mix and, yes, he is named after the inventors dog in Fraggle Rock.

Welcome to our little family, Sprocket!  We love you so much already (even though you keep us up all night and you give little puppy "nibbles).  Now please stay this tiny forever. 

(ct)a train

The weekend before Halloween my dad, step-mother, and little (half-)brother paid a visit to their long-lost daughter/step-daughter/half-sister, in the Midwest.  I was worried it was going to be a frantic weekend, considering my husband and I had moved into our new apartment about 72 hours before their plane landed, but it was the complete opposite.

My dad was in town for a panel on Billy Strayhorn, the topic of his first book, Lush Life.  I get such a pang of daughterly pride when I see my dad talk about one of his books.  I spent a lot of time growing up at his events -- book signings, lectures, readings, panels, you name it -- and I've never stopped loving them.  It's just such a surreal feeling.  There's your dad.  There's this amazing piece of work that has his heart, soul, sweat, and tears in it.  And there's a room full of people that came to see him.  How can you not be proud?

Here are few pictures from their visit, in case you want to see!

 Checking out our reflections in the bean and jellyfish at the Shedd Aquarium

 Herman the pumpkin (my handiwork) and a quick CTA ride with my brother

And finally, my dad, the talented David Hajdu

And yes, my family did make it out of Chicago in time to avoid Hurricane Sandy.

guess what?

WE'RE HOME OWNERS!

buried

In case you've been perplexed by my absence, I have a very simple answer for you.

I have been buried by boxes!  We are t-minus six days until we close on the new apartment (!!!) and my husband and I have been non-stop packing for the last week.  Did you know it took seven large Home Depot boxes to pack my closet?  SEVEN. 

*Andy used four boxes to pack his closet, so I really don't feel too bad.

ho-ho-ho.

I have a very strict rule of not indulging in the Christmas season until the day after Thanksgiving.  Call me old fashioned, but I like when that Macy's Santa brings in the holiday at the end of the parade.  This year, I might need to break my policy and allow myself to make an early decorative purchase for these incredible rocks glasses.

tgif.

This weekend I intend to celebrate by finally having a weekend at home with my husband!  It's been a little while since we've both been in Chicago for a weekend so we fully intend to enjoy our city.  We'll also be packing and finishing thank you notes, but those are minor details.


Fun fact: Sunday will mark the one year anniversary of a very big day in my life.  On October 7, 2011 I walked away from the job that took me to Chicago -- a job that was incredible, stressful, exciting, and generally badass.  It's amazing how fast a year has gone by.  This also means that we're about to mark the one year anniversary of when I was gainfully unemployed, blissfully happy, and very into yoga.  Like I said earlier this week, it's amazing how fast 2012 has gone by.

Happy weekend!

(photo: doughnut vault)