Cat & Mouse

Rob and I have gone to this game store a lot. A couple times for a Settler's Tournament, and then again last night for a great fall sale. We picked up a game called Pandemic and played it probably 5 times last night. It is a cooperative game, where you work together to find cures for 4 diseases that are spreading around the world. It is pretty fun, and can be played with 2 or more people. There is also an expansion, which we have not yet tired. Click here for a review and better description.

Rob also made this picture for their facebook page. There is a contest to see who can get the most people to "like" their wall post. So far, he has about 80. I think he will probably win.

Willie Nelson

We are going to see him September 28 for a taping of Soundstage for PBS.

Rob got tickets for free.

Family

A few pictures of time spent with family this past week. Grandpa and Grandma Haan came to Chicago and we ate at a really great Bosnian restaurant in Lincoln Square.

A birthday bash, bike riding, and gardening.

Hot Dog! Peanuts! Beer!

New Apartment and Garden

Modern Wing

We spent the morning/afternoon downtown going to the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute. Admission to the museum was free because of the opening. The building is amazing very open and beautiful. There were a lot of areas to enjoy the outdoors as well; a patio area on the ground floor, a deck on the top floor, and a bridge connecting the museum to Millennium Park. If you are planning to go see the new addition sometime, go when the weather is nice, so you can enjoy the outside parts as well! Also, because Target was sponsoring the free admission to the museum, so when we left we got a few free bags of chips and a bottles of water.


We also walked up Michigan Ave to check out any good deals at the stores, and we won a free Hersey Bar from the Hersey store. I guess this was a great day for free things in Chicago!

Settlers of Catan Tournament

Rob and I just got home from playing in a Settlers tournament at a game store called Cat & Mouse. There were 4 tables of 4 each. Everyone played 2 games and the 4 people with the most points went on to play in a final game for the prizes. I won my first two games (20 points) and Rob won 1 and got 8 the second (18 points). We were both in the final game with two others.

It was intense to say the least. Everyone had 9 points towards the end of the game, except for me because I got boxed in. Rob could have pulled through for a win, but did not have the right mix of cards. The other girl won the game taking the grand prize. Rob tied for second with another guy and I got third. We both walked away with a total of $17.50 in gift certificates for the store, and a river expansion piece for Settlers.

All in all, it was a great afternoon of playing with some cool people. The store was really cool too. They have game nights every Tuesday from 6:30-9:30 and then on Fridays starting after Memorial Day. I think we might head over there to play sometime.
( http://www.cat-n-mouse.com/ )

Spaghetti Squash

Rob and I tried spaghetti squash tonight as an alternative for pasta. We were a little skeptical at first, but it turned out pretty good! Since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, we haven't been eating very much spaghetti because of the amount of carbs in a serving of pasta, but by using the squash as the noodles I cut the amount of carbs down to a more reasonable amount.

Spaghetti Squash - 4.7 grams of carbs for a 1/2 cup serving
Whole Wheat Pasta - 42 grams of carbs for a 3/4 cup serving

Here is how to prepare it:
1. Cut in half and pierce skin several times with a fork.
2. Place cut sides down on a cooking sheet.
3. Cook at 375 for about an hour or until flesh is tender.
4. After it has cooled, take a fork and scrape the inside of the squash to release the spaghetti strands.
5. Cover with your favorite sauce, and enjoy!

april snow brings....

a lot of free things from Craigslist.com.

Rob and I are hopefully moving into a bigger apartment in June and the excitement has gotten us thinking about how we plan to arrange and fill our new space. So we started looking on Craigslist for cheap furniture and then ended up under the "free" section.

This is what we have collected throughout the rainy/snowy day...
- 10 or so painted canvasses
- 20 sturdy boxes for moving
- end table
- shoe rack
- tv stand

I am thankful Chicago people are so generous with their previously used items.

Avery Faye