Home

Man it's good to be back. Back on my blog, but also back home.

I've been thinking about the word home a lot lately, and what exactly it means to me. It's a word we all throw around a lot - "We are heading home for the next two weeks" - or - "It's good to be home" -  etc.

Since moving to Tel Aviv, I have struggled with the definition of home. When people here ask where I'm from, in my mind I think, "Where from as in most recently, or where I grew up? Please clarify." I usually say Chicago. Yet we did live in Baltimore for the past five years - it's where we are most recently from, and where we will eventually move back to.

Baltimore - 4th of July - 2014

Sometimes in conversations as a couple, I just roll with Andrew's response of saying that we are from Colorado. It's easier - I did live there for almost two years - and it's where eventually we want to end up. The Colorado flag still hangs over our bed as I put minimal effort into home decor and we both dream of the days when we will live next to the Rocky Mountains again.

Estes Park - December - 2013

I think home can mean a lot of things. Ultimately, my home in regards to my roots will always be the Chicago area, my favorite city in the world and where my awesome family lives. Yet my home is now Tel Aviv, where my husband and I reside, and it took up until the past week for that to really hit me.
It was interesting going home the past two weeks - and by home, I guess I mean the U.S. We hopped from Chicago to Colorado to Mexico and back to Colorado, and saw almost all of our good friends and family in the process; it was a fantastic time. Yet it was the first time when meeting someone new and asked where we were from, we both smiled and said Israel. Tel Aviv.

But to be honest I was kind of dreading coming back. I was being a huge whiny baby and was afraid to fly back without Andrew, acting as if I was being sent off to a third world country with no connections or friends. When in reality, I was coming back to our cozy apartment and some super supportive and amazing friends.

I was wheels down here last Wednesday evening - JFK to TLV is an 11ish hour flight - followed immediately by a three day competition that I'm really excited to write about next. And what I was sure would be a tearful, mopey return on my part absolutely wasn't. It was easy, comfortable, and above all else made me realize that Tel Aviv is now truly my home.

Tel Aviv - Yom Kippur - 2016

I'll wrap up by getting a little mushy. This spring has been absolutely insane - in both good and bad ways. We lost our dog daughter which will forever make our souls ache, but have figured out how to work through hardships together while friends and family rallied around us. We had several visitors come explore Israel with us, followed by a fabulous time back in the States. We have tallied 15 total flights between the two of us since March.

Fort Collins - May 2015

Today is our two year anniversary today and while at this point a low-key night of wine and sushi sounds perfect, I don't want to downplay the celebration of the past two years. It's been nothing and everything that I could have imagined, and I cannot and would not trade a single second of it - I think he would say the same.

We aren't necessarily following the cookie cutter timeline of how things should look for married couples... we won't own a house for awhile still, and don't plan to start a family while living overseas.  But I've really never been a cookie cutter, follow the recipe/instructions type of girl. I prefer to make my own odd, unique cookies. Even if they sometimes get a little bit burnt.

Cheers -

Kait

Doggy Approval

I Facetimed with my dog, Jane, the other night. I would say that’s a pretty good indicator that this weekend was the perfect weekend to pick to go home, seeing that I haven’t been back yet this year, and I can’t have her forgetting who I am.

 

Jane the Pain.

Luckily, Jane loved my new Warby Parker glasses (thanks to all of your for the feedback in deciding) so I’ll keep them around.

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This week feels short, and busy. Maybe because it is? Monday was a ‘Work from Home’ Snow Day… and while I will complain about the snow, I won’t complain about my lunch break–

I’ve been trying to drink more water in the mornings, because I normally get to work and pound coffee like a mad woman and probably dehydrate myself. New rule – drink a glass of water before my coffee, and after.

Last night I did a spinning workout on my bike, paired with some intermediate jumping around and abs. I’m loosely following this challenge for March, I like the variety that it offers.

sorry for the weird graphic in the background

What I don’t like are taxes; I filed mine on Tuesday and for some reason I owe the state of Maryland money. I happily wrote them a check because hey they deserve it.

If we are being honest, I got pissed after H&R Block told me this, and immediately went upstairs and housed half of the paleo chocolate that I had just made. Don’t worry, the other half disappeared last night.

That’s about all I’ve got for this week. I would be surprised if I write while I’m in Chicago, don’t hold it against me. Andrew and I catch a flight back this evening, for a long weekend at home with my family and friends. I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ll leave you with this cool website that Mizuno sent me in an email the other day – What if everybody ran? Check it out.

Cheers to Friday Eve –

K

Thankful Thursday Part II

I'm pretty sure I've done this before, this whole thankful Thursday thing. Nonetheless, I was heading to work this morning and observing the beautiful leaves, and I realized how thankful I was for such a beautiful Maryland fall. 

It really hasn't gotten that cold here yet, and the colors are to die for. Sorry I wasn't able to snap the best of pictures - it turns out when you walk out of Starbucks at 6:30 AM and stand in the parking lot taking pictures of the leaves/sky, people look at you funny.

Sorry I'm not.

Speaking of Starbs, those red cups are back. Oh the joy a little red cup can bring me....

I'm thankful for my roommate. Both of them actually, but Megan gets a shout out tonight, because I work with her and we get to spend an abundance of time together...

She puts up with a lot from me on my moodier of days (WHAT Kait you're moody?!) and I'm thankful for her patience and understanding.

I'm thankful that I have naturally curly hair. This sounds a bit absurd, but I love the fact that I can throw product in my hair after getting out of the shower and go to work with it half wet.

Biiiig time saver. Waaaay to lazy to do my hair most days. Sorry for the horrific pic.

Currently I'm thankful for my bed. I've been having some hard, wonderful sleep in it this week, and am about to do it again.

Last thing. I'm SO thankful that I'm heading home tomorrow to see some of my closest college friends, teammates, roommates, you name it. One of my best friends, Lyndi, is getting married on Saturday, and it's going to be a Bradley Athletics reunion for the books.

Can't wait! Congrats Lyndi and Mikey!

OK, bed time. Sorry for the semi boring week. Looking forward to doing some more writing while I'm home through Tuesday morning.

Cheers -

K

A Whole Row to Myself

I started writing a post on Sunday night, but after two consecutive 3 AM nights in a row, this is exactly how I felt at the time:

Jane and I were on the same page and were both ready for bed by 9 pm. And that's exactly what happened; it was glorious.

I then told myself that on my 6 AM Tuesday morning plane ride back to Baltimore I would hop back on wifi and come up with something witty to slap up here. Just so happens that this happened:

A WHOLE ROW TO MYSELF? That never happens.

So I slept on the plane instead, and here we are. Have I ever mentioned that the laundry room here in my Baltimore house is attached to my room?

Some people see it and are like 'Ohhhh that sucks' but frankly I don't really care. My roommates can trample through my room whenever they feel, I'm not home that much, and when I am it's not like I'm parading around naked. At least most nights.

This morning in particular I LOVE the fact that the laundry room is right there, as when I rolled out of be and felt cold, I threw a sweatshirt into the dryer before hopping into the shower. Get out of the shower and voila - a perfectly warm sweatshirt to bundle up in.

Anyways, back to my Chicago weekend. Friday and Saturday was a whirlwind of good times with good friends. I loved seeing my sister, high school and college friends all in a 24 hour period. And of course, there were many bachelorette shenanigans to be had...

I was blessed with 8 miles on Monday afternoon, including a quick lap around my middle school track. It took me back to my track & field days, when I ran the fastest mile (I'll probably ever run) of my life, coming in at 5:38. Those were the days.

I was also blessed with finding pumpkin froyo on my lunch break yesterday. WHAAAATTT???

This may be the end of me.

Would love to chat more, but I have to get ready for work. Hope your week is going well, and Happy Hump Day!

Cheers-

K

Trim while Traveling

Well, I did it. I packed for 10 days with a suitcase and a duffel bag.

It's good to be home, even if it's just for a day. We were graced with some beautiful Illinois weather today, which meant walks with the pup and some time on the back deck before dinner.

An amazing dinner, might I add. Thanks mom!

yeah.... that's pb on my sweet potato.

Whenever I come home from Maryland it's easy to stay healthy because my mom keeps the house stocked with deliciousness. However, home is not where I will be from tomorrow morning on. I'll be on the run, visiting some of our Chicago offices for work... hotel hopping if you will.

I really don't like to see long trips as an excuse to flush my healthy diet down the toilet. Don't get me wrong, there's always a time and a place to indulge a bit. But the last thing I'm looking to do is eat fast food for a week straight and feel crappy.

So, being the stark Type A that I am, I made a plan. First, I went out to the store and grabbed some of my favorite on-the-go bars to keep in my backpack as snacks.

Not to mention some Emergen-C to keep my immune system up.

This evening after dinner I found my mom's tub of Quaker Oats and packed my quick and easy breakfasts for the week:

Oats, cinnamon, flax, and nuts. I'll also bring along some bananas and clementines to add in with the oats if I need a little extra sweetness.

And don't worry I've already done my research, and all three hotels have gyms in them. Hello squeaky 10 year-old elliptical. Let's just hope there are TV's in there too.

Moral of the story? Just because you're traveling doesn't mean you have to bust out of your newest pair of jeans and go on a juice fast for two weeks post-traveling. Not that I promote anything like that, we're just being hypothetical here people.

Cheers to a new week and my favorite furry friend!

Home Home Home

Where do I even start?

I'm home, for one. Hence my lack of posts this weekend. That's o.k though.  It's been a whole lot of this:

wonderful time at home (and coffee)

my favorite pup

And of course, family. My mom and I went and got manicures on Friday, which was wonderful. She threatened my life afterwards and told me that if I chew off my manicure that she's disowning me as her child...

I actually love the french manicure, and it seems to have done the trick in chewing prevention. My awesome Aunt also hooked me up with this:

It's specifically for my cuticles and I love it. It smells great and I've been using it every morning and evening so far. Stay turned for my soon-to-be beautiful nails.

Technically I don't really have a gym membership while I'm home. Luckily, I have some pretty badass friends. My wonderful long-time friend since middle school, Greg, coaches/participates in Crossfit at a local box (crossfit gym) he's been a part of now for two years.

I knew he would offer to bring me along, and I knew part of me most of me didn't really want to, mostly due to intimidation. Yet Greg knows me pretty well and did a good job of encouraging me to come along to workout with him this morning.

Currently, I may not be able to lift my arms due to one heck of a workout. I also may have loved it. More on that tomorrow.

The rest of today consisted of rainy walks along Lake Michigan, me staring longingly at the many runners who passed by, and a warm treat when we got back home.

Bri, Jane, Mom

Hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream? Yes please! 

And one very tired pup who just fell asleep with the ball in her mouth.

Short and sweet. Can't wait to share some more thoughts tomorrow. But for now, the last piece of deep dish Chicago-style pizza is calling my name from the fridge.  :)

AKA, the best pizza in the world.

Cheers!

Home is Where the Heart is...

Recently, I’ve found a lot of truth in the phrase "home is where the heart it". Cliche, I know.

Although this past weekend made me miss every aspect of Colorado like crazy, and even allowed my mind to wander back to the question why the F I ever left… and even though I cried on the plane ride back to Baltimore on Sunday night…  I know that this is where I’m supposed to be right now.

Because my heart is here. And ultimately when with I’m with Andrew, I’m so happy. So although places like Fort Collins, Crystal Lake, and Boston have stolen pieces of my heart… my whole heart is here. Next to my best friend.

Anyways, enough of the mushy stuff. I have to apologize for the hiatus that I’ve been on. It's been a bumpy week since getting back late in Sunday night; which come to think of was a super bumpy flight in itself. I have been scrambling to get caught up, and in result have been experiencing some intense writer’s block. And along with that has come runners block as well, if there is such a thing. My runs have been super slow and just sluggish-feeling in general. It may be the higher temps/humidity that this week has brought. Without a doubt, summer is in the air.

Speaking of summer, I’m SO looking forward to this three day weekend. Not only because I get an extra day off, and not only because it’s Andrew’s big 2-4… but because my mom and my sister, Bri, are going to be here! They are actually Maryland-bound as we speak… and should be pulling into town early this evening.

Me, Mom & Bri... Cheetah clad this past Christmas

Why are they driving out instead of flying, you ask? Because it just so happens that when I made the move out here 3.5 months ago, I couldn’t quite fit my entire life in my little Honda Civic. So they are nice enough to bring out the rest of everything. The most important item I’ve been missing? My road bike, Beth. Her arrival means more ways to stay active (my foot will thank me for having a non-impact cardio outlet) AND day trip bike rides with Andrew. We have been told that there is a trail all the way down to Annapolis and we both pretty pumped to explore.

Beth. Ain't she a beauty?

Definitely looking forward to some family time starting tonight. We are going to try to pack in as many activities as we can between now and Sunday– most likely an Oriole’s game in Baltimore, and a day in D.C. as neither of them have seen our Nation’s Capital. Bri’s persistent request has been to eat some crabs, so we’ll see if we can find some fresh ones for her.

Oriole's Park at Camden Yards - Baltimore

I wouldn’t expect to hear from me again until after this weekend… but my intent is to get back to the regular scheduled program come next week. Enjoy all of your weekends, get outside and soak up some sun!

Cheers!