I am sure I’ve written about this before, but when Tony and I got together back in 2000, he hated Oak Park.  Like hated it.  It was too crowded, noisy, etc.  If you grew up with it, I guess you just didn’t know any better, so when we moved on after we got married to find a place of our own, we kept driving farther, and farther, and farther from Oak Park.  Back then it seemed like we were driving for hours, but now I am so used to having to drive 10-15 minutes to get just about anywhere.  I live in an unincorporated area, there are no street lights or sidewalks and on an overcast night, it is literally pitch black.  And it’s QUIET.  So quiet that I have to sleep with a fan on otherwise it’s just too quiet.  In fact when my Mom has slept over, she talks about how loud the birds are in the morning!

I’ve learned to love where I live though.  I like that I live across the channel of the Fox River. I love that there are only six houses on my block.  I love that I have a big back yard that I can burn stuff in my fire pit whenever I want.  So now that I am working back in Chicago, it’s like I get the best of both worlds, City Mouse and Country Mouse!  Hannah used to love that book when she was little.

So I go from here:

country mouse

To here:

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I’ve been eating breakfast so late lately, I had no appetite on the train ride in, even though I had an hour to kill.  I got downtown early so I could eat my breakfast in the food court of the train station, even though I didn’t really want it, but didn’t want to have low blood sugar on my first day.

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Gah.  I was actually sitting next to a giant window, but it was super overcast and the overhead lighting was awful – 1/2 ounce Cabot cheese (1), 1.5 ounces Nicole’s Crack Granola (5) hard boiled egg (2) and a banana.

So one thing that has changed in the 15 years I’ve worked downtown.  There are no more elevator buttons.  You have to have a key card to swipe in the lobby that only lets you off on your office floor. 

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The view isn’t too shabby!  Well, that’s the view from the reception area Open-mouthed smile

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I ate lunch at my desk after some training before getting my walking shoes on.

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Two ounces of Italian sausage (4) a cup of pasta (5) with baby cucs and fruit on the side. 

I had to text this picture to Hannah and Jacob who LOVE Starbuck’s.  Literally if I walk about 200 feet from the front of my building on the left about 200 feet is a Starbuck’s and if I just walk over the bridge about 300 feet there is another one!  And I am sure they are equally busy.

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And while I could pay $5 for a cup of coffee, I prefer the free coffee with this machine at my office.  #flavaflav!

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Later in the afternoon Jacob texted Hannah and me that he was making dinner.  Sweet!  He made an amazing chili – it was flavorful spicy but not too spicy for Hannah and while she can deal with ground beef in chili, the New York strip steak was cut into big chunks so she could steer clear of the beef.  So good – thanks Jacob!

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With my crazy schedule of interviewing, working at The Chopping Block different hours, etc., it’s been a long time since I actually weighed in.  And I figured what better time to see where I am at now that I am starting this new chapter in my life:

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So while you may see that +7.7 and think WTF – the last time I weighed on my scale at home was August 24.  And not that anyone cares, but when I started back at Weight Watchers meetings, my starting weight was 176.2, so I’ve basically gained .2 pounds in seven months.  So I thought it quite ironic that when I got home from work I found this in my mailbox:

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Biz.  Inspire.  I am not sure I’ve done much in the inspire department, but my sister and I are committed to finding a WW meeting to go to at lunch – just another way for us to spend time together!

So I survived my first day.  I haven’t met my boss yet, so today will be interesting.  THANK YOU for everyone who sent me texts, Instant messages, comments on the blog and Instagram – I have the best cheerleaders evah! 

Oh, and did you hear that the Cubs won the World Series?!  I didn’t turn the game on until the 6th inning but that was a great four innings of baseball – I even think Tony would have been happy for them!