Happy Halloween

Hope you enjoy the movie clip- Scary Mary- oooooooh-ahhhhh- very scary.

the end is near

Well it is official, my last day here in Development is on November 9th. I have 2 more weeks, which is great, but then I will be returning to the temp pool. So there you have it. Luckily my boss said he would give a great recommendation, if that is any consolation (which I suppose it is).

Calm before the storm...

So a new storm blew into Hyde Park this morning. Unfortunately not the kind of storm that I could wear my cute new rain boots, but a different storm. The storm that only comes with a celebrity siting.

So I was in the gym this morning, running on the treadmill and it got really quiet all of the sudden.....and then the one and only walked in- Senator Barack Obama. It is true. Then the storm broke loose. A weirdo GSB student said robustly- "Good morning Senator." And then a few old women chirped in with their good mornings. Well I didn't say anything. I thought, nobody really wants to talk to anyone while they getting all sweaty and gross. But don't worry folks, he got on the treadmill next to mine, and it was exciting. I tried so hard to keep a huge grin from forming on my cheeks, and I was successful, but it was extremely difficult. I mean, who do you know that works out with a presidential candidate. You never know, I should get his autograph so that if he does become president, I can say that we broke a sweat at the same gym. Pretty cool. But here is the best part, he said "Hey, I know you, you're Kate Weaver, runner extraordinaire! Can I get your autograph, so when you become pro, I can say I knew you as an amateur champ!" I said, "Of course senator, and don't worry, my friend Chelsea and her husband are voting for you!" Okay, well this last part didn't exactly happen, but just like I was thinking about asking for his John Hancock, he was probably thinking about asking for mine.

Anyways, here are the gory details, he tucks his shirt into his workout pants. I wondered where his advisor was, because if he had been there, he would have made him un-tuck his shirt. And second, he only walked on the treadmill, no running. Guess he should have thought twice about becoming a chain smoker.

So there you have it, Senator Barack Obama in the Regents Park fitness center.

My accomplishment for today...

I beat Niles Tiles three times in a row. Just another day at work. Give it a try, it can amuse you for hours.

Comftable and Furious!

Meet the newest member of the family- not Bill, the banana chair. It arrived Saturday October 20 around 1pm ct, probably about 8lbs and 12oz, and around 45 inches long. Isn't it cute. It currently lives in the office, but occasionally it will mosey on into the family room for Wii time. It is a pretty happy little banana chair, and it loves its new home, and its family and Bill and I love it too. Now don't be jealous everyone, I know you all wish that you still had yours from your childhood. I remember mine, well not mine specifically, but Grandma and Grandpa Harvey's. I would always sit in the banana chairs to watch hours of Tom and Jerry
Well you all are welcome to come on over and see the banana chair for yourself and remember those good old day in your old banana chairs. Think about it, thus far only the Harvey parents and the Weaver parents are schedule to come see the chair....I mean us. So jump on it and schedule a vacation in the Windy City with Bill, Kate, and Banana Chair.

Someone Can't Wait For Thanksgiving!!!

Yum, I... I mean, someone can't wait for Thanksgiving this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are we in Florida?

Check it out, this picture was taken at 5:30 pm ct. Yes, I know it is kind of hard to see and it is really dark, but that is the point. This my friends was a crazy hurricane like storm that pounded the Midwest- some my call it Erin, others Andrew, I prefer "Carol" like one of my co-workers that can be dark and luminous (name changed for purpose of anonymity). This storm was full of rage and anger and blasted through Chicagoland with a vengeance.
5:00 pm ct rolls around and it is pretty nice outside...warm and the chances of rain seemed far off. So I decided to walk home and stop at the market to pick up some flat leaf parsley. Well as soon as I walked out of the market, it started sprinkling, so I pulled out the umbrella. Then it started raining harder and I must mention that I saw a bum go up to a planter box, grab a hand full of dirt and stuff it in his mouth....gross.
Back to the story, it started raining harder, and then the wind kicked in and turned my umbrella inside out (hate it when that happens). To make a long story short, it was so windy and raining so hard that I was drenched all the way up to my rain jacket. You couldn't see in front of you and all the planter boxes were so full of water that they spilled out rivers of mud. Hurricane Carol, like my co-worker, brought forth mass chaos- people running and screaming everywhere...which lasted well into this morning. But today, it is a little nicer. Still windy but no rain- that is yet. But I think that hurricane Carol, the inland hurricane, has moved on to sandier pastures, known as the East. Arrivaderci Carol!

Kids are Mean

This morning while I was lying in bed, unable to sleep, this song came into my head that was sung to this girl that I went to elementary school with. Unfortunately, I don't remember the actual name in the jingle, just the name that my classmates inserted, it goes like this (her name was Becky) "Big Big Becky, put it together and what do you get, a big big Becky construction set". Yes Becky was kind of over weight, but wow, kids are so mean. It got worse, her last name was Peed, and guess what, Becky Peed really did pee her pants in sixth grade during math class. Do you think she ever lived that down...lets just say elementary school was a tough time for her. Then there was a girl name Jennaway- I blame her parents for this nickname- again my mean classmates had a name for her too- it was Bengay or Bennagay, just depended on how obnoxious they wanted to be. Sadly, I still chuckle over this nickname- it is pretty clever and again, very mean, but what were her parents thinking when they named her Jennaway? Bill and I have sworn that when we have a kid someday, we will run all of the names we chose through a sixth grader and see what kind of insults can result from the name. Lucky for me, my name is so common that there were always 3 or more Katies in every class I had. Thus for my elementary career, I was labeled Katie H. Nothing too stupid can come from Katie H....the only stupid thing that came from my name was "The Harvster" but I consider this relatively humane. And finally we have Mrs Anderson, wife of the local mortician/English teacher at AFJR. She was crazy to begin with but there was always this rumor going around that she wore mortuary make-up. I even remember one kid asking her about it during the middle of class. We thought her face would melt off because of this make-up for the dead. So what name were you called, or what did you call other people? Don't be afraid, we all have a guilty past, and besides, you can't be held accountable for your juvenile actions in elementary school, right?

My Favorite Wedding Gifts!

This morning on the treadmill, I was just thinking about some of my favorite wedding gifts. So here we go, in no specific order.

Numero uno: Garlic Press, I love this little sucker. It makes using garlic so clean and easy and because of it, I use it all the time. And who doesn't love a little garlic mashed potatoes or garlic in your soup, the list goes on.

Numero due: Bill- I suppose he counts as a wedding gift...I got to keep him didn't I. Like I said, this is in no specific order, technically, this should go first, but I think my garlic press is more available than my spouse right now- probably because it doesn't study. For pictures- see side bar of "spouse."

Numero tre: Kitchen Aid- who needs a Bosch when you can have the Master and Commander of of all baking appliances. This baby can whip up the toughest batches of cookies, the lightest cakes and brownies and the fluffiest whipped cream. Ahhhhhhhhhhh- can you hear the angels- I think I even see a halo. Plus it is so aesthetically pleasing!

Numero quatro: The greatest pan ever- the one Mari gave me. I don't know how to describe it but it is probably my most favorite pan. It can brown meet, saute onions, grill any vegetables I want- including full sized asparagus as well as make a delicious golden mushroom soup. Heck I could prepare my filling for a pumpkin pie in this pan. You name it, it can be done in this versatile pan (you could even wash your first born in said pan). Costco doesn't sell this pan- just the mother of cooking- Martha Stewart!

and finally-numero cinque- the down comforter. This blanket is my little bundle of joy. Well in the morning, it's a bundle- Bill is a messy sleeper. Warm, cozy, soft, and fluffy is what makes my 12 hours of sleep blissful. Maybe that is why I don't like to work, because it requires me to leave a happiness that can only be achieved by warmth- something that my office lacks.

And that is it lettuce and yentleman- but first- What are your favorite gifts from you wedding?

*disclaimer- I'm not an idiot- these are not misspelled Spanish numbers- they are Italian, but thanks for your participation*

Chicago Marathon!

Hurray for the Chicago Marathon! My friend Chelsea and I decided to go watch the marathon this morning. I know most of you think that watching people run isn't fun, but I would say we had a great time.....right Chels. Chelsea lives in downtown, so I just road my bike into the city via the trail that goes around the lake and met her at her apartment. It was only 8 hot and humid miles from our apartment to hers, but riding my bike was the best option- way cheaper and faster. We wore our Boston paraphernalia and cheered on the runners at miles 3 and 11. It was pretty crazy considering there was 45,000 people racing- see bottom picture. We both felt kind of sad that we weren't joining the throngs of people in their journey of suffering, but now I know what Bill sees- and he will see plenty more. The best part about the race besides not being able to see the finish was getting home in time to listen to conference, hurray for CT-11:00-1:00pm conference sessions. So there you have it, Chicago marathon 2007- so everyone schedule a trip to Chicago for Chicago marathon 2008!

Hallelujah

We have a great word, pretty diverse. Well maybe not too diverse because it is probably 65-70% white graduate students and the rest African Americans from the south side of Chicago. So our ward can be pretty exciting at times. Lots of converts. So every Sunday, Bill and I are excited to go to church because you just never know what is going to happen. Well this last Sunday was pretty calm- nothing to exciting- until Sacrament meeting. It was great, I loved it. The primary got up to do a musical number and it was fantastic. I'm laughing just thinking of it. The children were all standing so reverently with their teachers and the chorister and then the music began. I wasn't familiar with the song they were singing, but it was gospel like. One of the teachers pulled out her sand blocks and then the chorister and all the children started swaying back and forth to the beat- and getting really into the song. They even used dynamics throughout the song- it was impressive. It was so fun! I was just waiting for their arms to be waving and burst of hallelujahs. Of course I can't do justice to this musical number in this blog, but take my word for it. At the end of the song, I whispered to Bill "I feel like we should be clapping" and low and behold quite a few people started clapping and there was also a giant "Amen" from the back- this guy says loudly Amen and uh-huh frequently.

Hyde Park

I just thought I would provide for you enjoyment an article on Hyde Park. Nothing too fancy. The map displays where we are in the city of Chicago. And I pass this house every day when I walk home from work. It's for sale and its so cute.