Hello Out There...We're Still Here

Yep. We're still alive. I haven't posted in what seems like ages {October}. Yikes. I swore I would not abandon my blog when I had a kid, but it seems like that's exactly what I did. I'd love to tell you I'm going to blog at least once a week, but I don't want to make a promise that most likely, I won't be able to keep. But I'll try.

There have been lots and lots of things going on in our lives which have caused me to actually live rather than blog. So...here are some things that have been keeping out family busy:

• Work - Kevin's still traveling every other week, or thereabouts. I've been busy at school, teaching one of the best groups of kids I've ever had. Ever.
• Wedding - Not mine. My brother's. I recently spent a long weekend in Atlanta with my future SIL for her bachelorette party. It was wonderful to get to know her family and friends. This weekend, we are also throwing her a bridal shower tea at a local English teahouse, so we're busy prepping for that.
• Wanderings - We traveled to and will continue to travel to Cincinnati to celebrate birthdays {Aunt Jo's big 6-0 and our not-so-little nephew Eli's 5th!} and babies {Cousin Stacey's shower}.
• Work-Outs - I've gotten the workout bug back! Kevin bought me a treadmill and I'm running again. I even ran a 5K with one of my best times! I'm loving the convenience and the inability to make excuses. I've also been dabbling in Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred. I haven't consistently stuck with it, but I'm hanging in there. I'll be wedding ready in no time!
• Wee One - Ethan, of course. He's not so wee anymore. He's developing his own independent personality. His new favorite line is, "No, let me do that!" He's really into movies. Like, a lot. His favorites include Monster's Inc., Monster's University, Finding Nemo, and Madagascar. He loves books, puzzles, and legos, but still isn't a huge fan of eating. Go figure. 

We'll, I think that's all for now. I will try my best to post pictures of our upcoming events, as we have many in the next few months. For now, here's a picture of my little superhero.

Lunch with Uncle Yuval

Ethan loved spending some time in downtown Indy with his Uncle Yuval. We had lunch at Circle Center Mall, shopped at H&M, and said our hellos to some of Uncle Yuval's coworkers. Ethan made everyone's day!

Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

Ethan is ready to watch the IU Men's Basketball game with his Uncle Yuval this evening. Let's just hope the shirt makes it until tip off!

A Night Out

Last night, we decided to go to synagogue for Friday night services. Ethan made it through about half of the service before we needed to take a trip to my dad's office for a bottle and diaper change. As a reward, Uncle Yuval let Ethan sport his favorite kippah. Even at services, Uncle Yuval must support his beloved IU!!

Afterwards, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Athens on 86th, for a nice Greek dinner with my parents. Ethan slept through most of it, which allowed us all to enjoy our meals. He woke just in time to flash a few gummy smiles before we left.

Hoosier Pride

My brother, Yuval, is a guy who speaks up for what he believes in. He stands by his principles, even though at times, he seems pretty rigid. He won't patronize Starbucks, as he feels that it has taken away business from "Mom 'n Pop" coffee shops. Though my parents (and I) usually support Democratic candidates, with more liberal ideas, he is not afraid to share his conservative, sometimes Republican, points of view...even though he knows they'll be met with opposition. He is always the one to play "devil's advocate" whenever I need him to just be on my side...mostly because he is my younger brother, and delights in annoying me. 

Therefore, I was not surprised when I found out that Yuval had e-mailed a Chicago-based political journalist regarding his blog post this past Monday. In this post, he calls Indianapolis, "India-no-place", and all but says that it is a horrible place for the Mercantile Exhcange to relocate, because it is void of any cultural experiences, and educated people, and they would be hard pressed to find people to move to this type of city. He states that it's only claim to fame is "taking up space between Chicago and Cincinnati". You can read his post here.

My brother, while not a native Hoosier, is a proud Indiana citizen. He responded to the journalist, Ted McClelland, via e-mail, and in the interest of fair time, McClelland chose to publish it on his blog yesterday. While he didn't really agree with any of the arguments Yuval presented, he did say that it was an intelligent response. So I guess there are educated people here in the Nowheres-ville. Here is his response:

When I was a student at Indiana University, attitudes like yours were why students from Chicago were disliked by others. Chicago is not the only city in the world where it is possible to do business, raise a family, and spend one's evenings out.

You claim that Indianapolis merely takes up space between Chicago and Cincinnati. I sure hope people can find our fair city when they come in for the Super Bowl in a couple months. When was the last time Chicago hosted a Super Bowl, again? I get all the years confused. Somehow every May our little “space between Chicago and Cincinnati” manages to host the world's largest one day sporting event, as well as one of NASCAR's biggest events in July. The NCAA seems to think Indianapolis is a fine place to stage Final Fours every few years, as well as maintain Indianapolis as the permanent backup site in case of emergency. I suppose you forgot that Indianapolis was the city the beat out your beloved Chicago for the Big Ten Football Championship Game as well.

It isn't all about sports though. Indianapolis boasts a full-time professional opera company and symphony. We are home to several professional, renowned theaters and we also have many national touring acts come through the area to play one of our concert halls, arenas or amphitheaters. We have a long and wonderful history with the jazz music world and boast several great clubs where one can hear local and national jazz musicians, as well as hosting the Indy Jazz Festival each summer. People of many different nationalities host their own festivals showcasing their unique culture, music, food, etc. every year. Our city is home to the world’s largest Children's Museum, as well as a large Art Museum. Our zoo just announced a $30,000,000 fundraising project to build a world class orangutan exhibit. We may not be Chicago, but your blog implies a certain dearth of culture here in Indianapolis that simply doesn’t exist.

You seem to think that Indianapolis is no place for a business to locate itself, because apparently it is a terrible place to live and you couldn't possibly get any talented young professionals to want to come here. Have you ever driven south or east of West Lafayette? There are other schools of business and universities in Indiana. While Krannert is no slouch on its own, IU and Notre Dame are both home to excellent, and nationally ranked, schools of business, with many talented candidates to draw from. IUPUI and Butler also boast schools of business with talented students who would make excellent employees. But you are right, Indianapolis is no place for big business. I sure hope nobody uses any drugs or products made by Eli Lilly. They hire the morons who have to settle for working in Indianapolis. It’s a wonder that Simon Property Group somehow managed to become the country's largest owner of shopping malls and Wellpoint somehow managed to insure more people than any other private insurer, given that they have to deal with the yokels who choose to live in Indianapolis I suppose the folks at Roche are just as dumb as the students at Krannert. They chose the wrong place to base their diabetes strip manufacturing and to employe 4,000 people. I guess I should recommend not buying into the IPO of the quickly growing ExactTarget, as they have their operations out of a building downtown (yep, we idiots here in Indianapolis figured out how to build office buildings that are more than a story high). And, shh, don’t tell anyone, but they hire a lot of people who went to Purdue. We don't want that getting out, or the company might collapse.

You seem to not believe that anyone would choose to live in Indianapolis over Chicago. I guess that the lower cost of living (particularly for real estate) doesn’t matter. Without even looking at statistics, I am certain that our crime rate is lower than Chicago’s. I know for certain our politics are significantly less corrupt. The people here are hospitable, generous and kind. Perhaps you can make a trip down here and check us out sometime before the next time you mention us in a blog. I get civic pride and all, but there’s no reason to belittle other cities in an attempt to make a case for yours. 

Now, this journalist forgot to include my brother's first paragraph, which stated: 

I read your blog today regarding the Merc's possible move to Indianapolis/power play to lower their tax rate. It was a prime example of a journalist putting in little to no effort in researching before writing.

Ha! I wonder why he didn't post that part on his blog! I'm so proud of Yuval for standing up for all of us who chose Indy as our home. I think someone should hire him to write his own blog!