Update on Grant Achatz

Here's some good news about Chef Grant Achatz that ran in the The New York Times recently.

Achatz Is Cancer Free
By The New York Times

It was stunning to hear this summer that Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago, one of the most acclaimed chefs in the country, had cancer of the mouth. Today, in a statement released by his publicist, he had better news:
It is with a tremendous sense of gratitude and relief that I have successfully completed my course of therapy at the University of Chicago. It was incredibly important to me to remain as engaged as possible at Alinea while receiving treatment, and during that time I only missed 14 services. I continue to stand committed to innovating fine dining long into the future.
At this time I want to thank everyone at Alinea — the staff, investors, and patrons of the restaurant have offered their unwavering commitment and support in ways large and small. The community of restaurants, chefs, and industry professionals who reached out to us was exceptionally gratifying.
Most of all, I must make special mention of doctors Vokes, Blair, and Haraf at the University of Chicago Medical Center, as well as the countless number of medical professionals and support staff there who cared for me. Where other doctors at prominent institutions saw little hope of a normal life, let alone a cure, these doctors saw an opportunity to think differently, preserve my tongue and taste, and maintain a long term high quality of life. Through the use of a new and rigorous chemotherapy and radiation protocol, they were able achieve a full remission while ensuring that the use of invasive surgery on my tongue was not needed.

The Miracle of the Chocolate Returns

I must have been a very good girl this year because the Miracle of the Christmas Chocolate has returned. My friend Lisa in California mailed me my very own box of See's Candy after hearing how I delighted in the pieces I pilfered from work. I'm sitting here nibbling the corners off the candies on the top layer with the hope of finding the brown sugar chocolates. Life is good.

Nursery

The good news is that the nursery is nearly done. Our contractor, Randy, spent the day here on Thursday--twelve hours--and painted the new room, inside and out. We are thrilled with the work he did and will highly recommend him to anyone looking for some quality carpentry work in their home (not to mention he is very affordable). Happily, our new room loooks like it's been part of the house forever, which is a very good thing.

Now the fun part begins for me. We have furniture on order: Oeuf "Sparrow" crib and changing table, Duhtillier glider, and cute, retro bedding from Dwell Baby (we chose the "Robin" motif). You can check out the crib bedding here to get an idea of what we are going for: http://dwellshop.com/b2c/ecom/ecomEnduser/default/default.aspx. The colors we are using are primarily a deep robin's egg blue and the green you see in bedding. The accents will be white (crib/changing table/one of the brick walls) and brown (the chair and a floating shelf). We're waiting for the furniture to arrive and are hoping that everything will be in place within the next few weeks.

Baby Boy seems to be doing well at 25 weeks. It's hard to believe I only have 14 more weeks to go if I deliver to full term. It doesn't seem like much time. He is kicking up a storm this week, and I can feel him past the top of my belly button (which is still "in," thank you very much), all the way down to the bottom of my cervix. No wonder I have been having such sharp jabbing pains all week--this kid is kicking me and growing all at the same time. I definitely see that a growth spurt has occurred in the past week. I just hope I'm not contributing to any type of hyperactivity because of all the sweets I've been eating. C'est la vie. He'll be sweet one way or another.

A Chocolate Christmas Miracle!

A Christmas miracle occured for me this week. One of my office mates from California put a 2 pound box of See's candy in the kitchen for shared consumption. How could they have known that every day I dream of See's bordeaux bars and caramel marshamallows, only available on the West Coast? How could they have known that ever since I visited my parents in Utah last month I have been dreaming of ways to order a tub of chocolates without Joe finding out? (Don't worry, I wouldn't actually do it!)

This is crazy behavior for me, I know. Nicky put it best yesterday when she walked into the office to find me cramming chocolates into my mouth.

"If I didn't know you were pregnant by looking at you, I would definitely figure it out now. I don't think I've seen you eat chocolate in two years."

"Ummmhummmm, Nibby. Ib's gooooodt. Mmmmmmmm!" I replied.

Merry Christmas to me and the Baby Boy!! Those 20 pieces of chocolate I ate this week will definitely morph into the gift that keeps on giving.

Christmas Time is Here

The Drake Hotel

Judy is serenaded by a high school violinist!

Evan though we are in the midst of construction with the baby's room (this week we are in the painting process), me packing up and moving out of my office (while taking on new clients), and saying goodbye to my wonderful assistant, Nicky, as she goes from part-time employee to freelancer (boo, I don't get to see her all the time now), we have found the time to make some Christmas memories this year. With all of the business swirling around us, Joe and I really want to make sure to keep focused on the real reason we celebrate what is more than a holiday. Christmas isn't about gifts, parties, and shopping, but the birth of Jesus Christ--our amazing Savior. This year, in particular, I want to savor the story of Jesus' birth, to put myself in Mary's shoes as a pregnant woman. It's more than a bit awesome to dwell on this.

So, it is memories more than gifts that I want to receive this year. Time spent with family and friends reminiscing about the past year and making plans for 2008; looking into the future and praying for wherever God will take us next. Some of the time we have spent with friends and family lately include a dinner party hosted by our friends, the Jerozal's, where we laughed harder than we have in a looooong time! We were also invited to a wonderful party with Joe's parents, some of their friends, and our friends Judy and Justin. The party featured a group of teen violinists from Wisconsin who are extremely talented and entertaining and put us all in the holiday spirit with their selection of hymns, carols, and standards. Joe and I also had a "Christmas in the City" overnight at the Drake Hotel this past weekend, eating at our favorite restaurant, Le Colonial and going to see Wicked (fantastic, by the way!). We also enjoyed a stroll down Michigan Avenue on Monday morning before heading for home. Tonight we look forward to a Christmas gathering with our small group to eat and celebrate our new friendships.

As those little Peanut's characters sing so peacefully, "Christmas Time is Here." I just want to keep in mind what it's all about.

22 1/2 Weeks Pregnant and Building a Room

I thought I would post some photos of me as I have finally had the big stomach "pop" that everyone talks about. I sent the pics to a few friends today by e-mail, and the verdict is that I officially look pregnant and that I have a huge chest. Don't you love honest friends??

In other news, we began construction on the baby's room this week! It's amazing how we were under-utilizing the back corner of our living room...turns out that all we had floating in this 8 x 12 space was a pantry, so viola, an enclosed room will be ours in the next week. I can't wait since this puts me one step closer to decorating my little boy's space. Fun for mom, fun for dad!

NYC Photos

Top of the Empire State Building and ready to lose it!!

The yummiest Gluten-Free bakery in NYC: Babycakes!

Chelsea Market, home to the Food Network

Enjoying our tour of the Chelsea Market with some homemade gelato

Yummy Italian lunch at Chelsea Market

Sadly, I am just now getting around to posting my photos of our anniversary trip to New York City in September. Remember, I really only had one good day there since I was sick for most of it, but I did manage to fake smile at the top of the Empire State Building.

They Really Like Me!

This post is for Roxanne, Chloe, and all of my Thai food-loving sisters that frequent Cozy Thai in Evanston. As you may know, I eat at Cozy at least once a week. Usually by myself as a break in the work day. Yesterday I went in with Joe on his day off and we had lunch. Our friendly server, who seems to wait on me every time I go in, walked up and patted my tummy, exclaiming, "How baby? Baby dancing?" Joe looked at me increduously, probably wondering just how often I really eat at Cozy! Toward the end of our meal, the nice woman came back to drop off our check and handed me a box. "My owner want you to have this for Christmas," she said in semi-broken English. Inside the box were two pefectly darling little key chains featuring brightly colored elephants and a little note thanking me for my patronage.

I think my husband is going to limit my Thai food consumption from now on.