She Said WHAT?!?!?

2008 Chicago Marathon Race Report

2008-10-14T11:07:00.002-05:00

I signed up for the marathon this year with the thought, “I might as well do it this year since the chances are so slim that it could possibly be as hot as it was during last year’s race”. With Chicago being a candidate city for the Olympics in 2016, I knew they really needed to fix the mistakes that they made during last years race. I am very happy to report that yes, there was plenty of water, Gatorade, wet sponges and cooling water misters. I wish I could report that it wasn’t as hot but I’ve read various reports that it soared to 86 and 84. Luckily, we were blessed with low humidity.

I have been nursing a right hip flexor injury for about 4 weeks. Unfortunately, the only way to let this injury heal is with rest, which is impossible to do with the amount of running we had to do in order to train. I knew going into the race that it was going to be a painful one for me, but I didn’t train for 18 weeks to hang up my shoes without stepping up to the start line.

When we stepped off at the start at 8am, it was already 65 but with lower humidity. I wasn’t so much worried about the weather as I was about my hip flexor. There was a bridge at Mile 2 and as soon as we ran up the bridge, I could feel my hip flexor starting to say Hello. By Mile 4 or 5 it went away and I felt great. The crowds were amazing during the entire race, but they were especially amazing on the near north side of the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and in Boystown. Man I love those dancing queens!!! I ran with a friend until about Mile 9. At that time she needed to slow her pace as she was nursing a back injury that was bothering her. I found one of my best friends, Chanthana, running a little ahead of me and I sped up to meet her. Around Mile 9, I noticed that now both of my hip flexors were hurting. I sort of laughed at the fact that here I was worried about the right one and the left one came out of no where to surprise me. Go figure. Chanthana and I continued to run together until about Mile 17. Somewhere between Mile 10 and 15 my left knee was now killing me. I had a sharp pain that went down the outside of my hip to my knee. At this point, I took some Ibuprofen at an Aid station. I noticed that when I stopped to get water and Gatorade, it was very difficult to start running again. My body was now hurting in all sorts of places and running was clearly the last thing it wanted to do! It literally took a good half mile to find a good groove; a nice painful groove, at that. Around Mile 18 I ran past a bank that had a digital sign and the temperature read 86 degrees. It was certainly warmer out at that point, but it didn’t feel like it was 86 degrees. I had to make one pit stop at a porta potty around this mark but kept going afterwards.

Around Mile 22 I was amazed at the crowd support. I tried to focus on the people around me and their smiles and cheers and not think about the pain in my body. They had already raised the running conditions to “Red Alert” and they had announcers telling us to slow down and drink more water. At one point I started saying “I feel good, I feel good, I feel good” out loud. I knew if I could just stay positive, I’d get through these last few miles. I laughed when a guy who was running by me turned to me and said, “You look good, too!” I didn’t know my mantra was loud enough that my neighbors could hear me. Ha! He and I made some small talk until the next aid station. At that point, I popped a few more Ibuprofen and I also took an Imodium AD to prevent the gastrointestinal issues I always have post-race.

I was really hoping to run my race in under 4 hours. I looked at my watch at mile 24 and I was already at a time of 3:45. Even though I felt like I was running 8:30 minute miles, my watch told me I was over 9’s. That’s how I knew it was even hotter as I couldn’t seem to run any faster than 9’s. I quickly did the math and realized that there was no way I would be able to finish in under 4 hours. So what was my next goal? It was to beat my last marathon time. This was still possible so I just kept my head down and kept moving one foot after another. I envisioned myself crossing at 4:03. The sun was blazing on my back and I could have moved over to the right side of the street that was somewhat shaded but I couldn’t even think about making the effort to do that. I just had to keep moving my feet and finish. I thought about my husband who was waiting at the finish line, and the fact that my training was over now and I could relax post-season and eat a lot of chocolate and drink a lot of wine. I just pictured all sorts of things that made me happy. J

I crossed the finish line in 4:07, beating my last time of 4:09 by a mere two minutes. At first I was very disappointed with this time, but seeing all of the people in wheelchairs and in the medical tent, I realized that I should be happy to have a PR (Personal Record) in these conditions.

My “marathon moment” was at the finish line. I was making my way to get my medal and I passed a woman who was soaking wet, crying and looked a little lost as she was walking against “traffic”. I reached out and said, “You did it! You finished!!” and she just took my hand, squeezed it and quietly sobbed. We walked to get our medals hand in hand without saying a word. I think she just needed a little support at that very emotional moment and I was happy I was there for her. We went our separate ways without saying anything but just smiled at each other. I knew the 18 weeks of training and a grueling race was worth it at that very moment.

I was very happy to reunite with my husband and my in-laws at the finish for a nice cold beer. Even though my mother-in-law is still recovering from knee surgery, she and I limped together a mile or so to their car.

Then the real fun began!

I took a few more Ibuprofen at the finish line. I didn’t realize that I basically took over 2000 mg’s of Ibuprofen between 6am and 12:30pm. Oops. That’s a bit too much. So I spent the entire afternoon and evening in my bed with severe cramping, dizziness, shivers and a fever. The only time I was able to move around was when I raced to the bathroom every 15 minutes not knowing which end was going to surprise me this time (sorry for drawing that picture). It was a horrible, horrible night. Brian noticed the bottle of Ibuprofen expired in 2003. Damn you, Costco, for making bottles impossible to finish!! Lucky for me, Brian’s best friend, Andy (who also ran the race that day) is an ER Nurse. He instructed me to drink lots of fluids and try to eat something. At 9am Monday, I finally ate some cereal and kept it down. Any runner can tell you the only way to help your muscles recover is to eat protein. Going the entire day after the marathon not eating a single thing is not going to help my recovery.

I’m still very sore, but I know the worst is over. I'll definitely lose another 2 toenails, bringing the grand total to 3 this season. Ahh, toenails are overrated!

Kudos to all of my friends who pushed through the hot and horrible conditions and finished the race!!! Thanks to everyone for your emails, calls and texts!! You are all amazing!

Happy Labor Day

2008-08-27T15:22:00.002-05:00

Here's wishing everyone a Happy Labor Day weekend!

We're headed up to Michigan to celebrate with my husband's entire family....can't wait to make some memories!

Be safe and have fun!

It's been a while

2008-07-29T09:30:00.003-05:00

Hello there, internets!! I know I've been horrible with posting lately, but what can I say? Summer is in full swing! We've been back and forth from our new place in Michigan every weekend since we closed and when we're not there, we're cramming everything we need to do into a 4 day week. On top of that, I'm in Week 8 of my 18 week training program for the Chicago Marathon....so any spare time is spent pounding the pavement. As I sit here now, my back is sticking to my leather chair as I just got in from a 7 miler. Have I mentioned how much I hate the humidity!?!

We're LOVING our place in Michigan. The lake is fantastic (very low boat traffic and it's super warm but still refreshing), the neighbors are fantastic and friendly and every Sunday we find ourselves bummed to head back to the concrete jungle of Chicago. To give you an idea of what life is like at the lake, I thought I'd map out what seems to be a typical weekend for us.

Friday:

We arrive around 5pm (which is really 6pm Michigan time). The first thing that happens when we pull is up is let Cooper go for a swim. It's so funny to see his face when he knows we're at the place with all of the water....he LOVES it and will swim for hours. After that, we open the windows, vacuum and do a quick dusting of the first floor. We take the covers off the boat and the jet ski's and crack a few beers. We say hello to other neighbors who have also just arrived.

We walk up to Melvilles, which is a restaurant about 75 yards away and enjoy some dinner. After dinner, it's a ride on the boat with the dog. Fridays I normally go to bed early as I have a long run the next morning and Brian walks over to the neighbors where everyone hangs out together in a nice screened in porch all night catching up after the work week.

Saturday:

I get up before everyone else to enjoy my long run. Last week it was 14 miles ~ this week it's 15 miles. I've found a few gorgeous back roads that are hilly and great for training. My neighbor has offered to show me 2 paved trails around the lakes - one is 12 miles and one is 17 miles. She saw me running on a main highway and I got a nice ass chewing for it. "Deanna! It's dangerous up there! I don't want to see you running on M40 anymore, you hear??" haha....everyone is so caring!! So different from Chicago!

I get back to the house 2 hours later to find Brian and our friends returning from a morning ride on the jet ski's and then we all enjoy a nice home cooked breakfast together. We all pitch in and clean up, do dishes and do some "chores" around the house. There is seaweed to be raked up around the dock, the gutters need to be cleaned, the gazebo needs sweeping, cobwebs need to be knocked down and almost everything needed to be power washed. After an hour or so of that, it's play time on the boat. We gather the toy of the day ~ either a tube, the water ski's, the knee board or the wake board ~ and head out to the water for a few hours. After some fun in the sun, it's back to the house for another home cooked meal of burgers or brats or hot dogs. We clean up again and then all chill out in the front of the house for a game of bocce, corn hole or volleyball. Last weekend we watched the dogs play with each other for a good hour...ha.

Dinner rolls around and we either grill out again or drive into town for a meal. The food was delicious at "Anchors Away", a restaurant we tried for the first time this weekend. We couldn't believe how good it was!!

After dinner, it's back on the boat for a night time boat cruise and to hopefully see the sun set. This past weekend we enjoyed fireworks for Venetian night. After the boat ride, we came back in to build a camp fire and make s'mores. Yum ~ I love s'mores.

Everyone crashes for a night of much needed shut eye and come Sunday morning, we do it all over again. Jet ski's, breakfast, work, boat, lunch, work, play, dinner, boat. You can see the theme here...a little work, a little play and repeat.

I'm telling you ~ it's the life. It's a life that Brian and I didn't think we'd enjoy SO much. Even our dog is bummed when pack up the house and shut it down to head back home.

So that's what I've been doing this summer. How about you??

The Douchiest Phone Message In History

2008-07-02T09:55:00.001-05:00

I just HAD to share this video/voicemail with the readers out there. This is one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time.

And if Dmitri ever comes across this blog, dude, get a grip!!!!

Summer is in Full Swing!

2008-06-26T08:24:00.003-05:00

Hello.

It's been a while, I know. But as I sit here with a head cold and a sore throat and procrastinate working, I'd thought I'd give ya an update.

To finish my last post, an old friend from Ohio reached out and found me online! She and I were bff's up until 3rd grade when she moved away to Arizona. It wasn't until she said via email that she lived in Casa Grande that it hit me. I vividly remember writing her letters (remember when we did that? We should to talk to someone about bringing that back!) addressed to "Casa Grande, AZ" and my imagination was filled with scenes out of an old western movie complete with horses drinking out of a water trough on a dusty road as I put those letters in the mailbox. She used to ~ and still does ~ do barrel racing. So Stacey has 2 kids and has been married for 10 years. We exchanged pictures and got caught up and are throwing around the idea of a reunion. Hey, I now have 2 newly reunited old pals that live in Arizona...why not go out for a visit?

What else? Brian and I have made an offer on a lake house in Michigan. There were 2 that we liked but of course we both liked different houses. I opted for the turn-key immaculate smaller house with a two story gorgeous deck and a brand new dock that comes with no toys.....Brian opted for the the bigger house that needs a lot of work, all walls are covered in dark wood paneling with a small deck and crappy dock, choppy layout but comes with LOTS of toys. I call it the "Polygamist House" because it currently sleeps 18 or 19 ~ the place is filled with twin beds and baby bassinets. We made an offer on the Polygamist House. I agreed because I have personally witnessed magic moving from Brian's brain to his hands when it comes to home renovation. The man is a visionary in that sense so if he tells me he can make it not only nicer than the other house, but better, then I'm on board.

We went out to Michigan a few weeks ago and Mike and Carolyn, the owners of the clean house, took us out on their boat and gave us a tour of the lake and the adjoining lakes. They are GREAT people and now I know why it's never a good idea for buyers to meet the sellers ~ because emotions are involved. They bought a bigger house on the same lake and they are waiting to move in until they sell their 1st house. Mike actually called Brian and said 'What's up, buddy? I gotta get my wife out of here! Let's make a deal!" He really needs to sell. Then the realtor called Brian the next day and said "I've got something to tell you. Mike wants to make YOU and offer. He dropped his price and is throwing in the brand new dock and the bar." Ain't that some shit?? Have you EVER heard of a seller making an offer to a buyer??? Crazy. Gosh we'd LOVE to help them out but we need to do what's best for us and our situation. Mike and Carolyn will still be on the same lake so I do look forward to hanging with them more. I hope they just want to hang with us if we don't buy their house!

In other news, I'm training for the Chicago Marathon again this year. Haven't run it since 2004 as I got into the sport of Triathlon for the summers of 2005 and 2006. Last year I took a break and used wedding planning as my excuse, but that's all it was. I just needed a break. Training is going well and we're already into Week 3. Brian's best friend and Best Man is also running it this year so he'll be making the trip here from Virginia so that'll be fun. Too bad he runs a lot fast than me. He'll finish in about 3:30. I'm hoping to beat my last time of 4:09 and run the race in under 4 hours.

Well I need to stop procrastinating and get to work. I'll try not be such a stranger here this summer!

Google Alerts are the best!

2008-06-13T07:16:00.004-05:00

Do you all have Google alerts out there on yourselves? I do. I get Google alerts on some friends from High School, the Marines and many of my clients. How great do I look when my clients launch a new product and I call them up the same day and say "Hey, I heard about that new natural chicken sausage in Kroger!" Basically, it saves you the time of having to Google them. Google does it for you and if a new entry pops up across the net, you get the email informing you.

I received an email today with my name as the alert. I thought maybe my company removed my name from their website (I resigned a week ago), but this is what I found:

Google alert for http://www.zabasearch.com/.

Original Message:
Message Sent Monday, June 2, 2008 11:05 pm (Pacific Time)From: , , USArea Code: UnknownZip Code: Unknown
To: DEANNA S***R Deanna, I am looking for Deanna S***r that lived close toon Johnny Cake in Mayfield Ohio or around that area. I moved to AZ when I was in 3rd grade. Just wondering how you are. Please contact me.
Email the person who wrote this Respond to this message Leave a new message Email this message

So of course I replied back but the person doesn't say who they are. The only friend I can remember that moved away was Casey Hubbach, but she moved to Tennessee.

Who is the sender!?!?!

Stay tuned!

Why, yes, yes I do!!!

2008-06-03T12:58:00.010-05:00

Love black people, that is. And brown people and yellow people and shit, if there are green people out there that I have yet to encounter, I'm sure I'll love them, too.

Who don't I like? It's a short list, but it includes:

1. Lowlife racist pigs who treat other people with no respect and spew hatred from their mouths.
2. Americans who make other Americans look bad when traveling abroad (seriously, their passports should be revoked!).
3. People who don't know how to have 1 conversation without cussing or raising their voices.
4. People who don't take responsibility for their actions and continually play the blame game.
5. People who aren't supportive of their loved ones through hard times.

So next time you want to call me an "N***** Lover", don't look so suprised when you are wearing my drink.

It all comes back to Karma. I've definitely seen that what goes around comes right back around two-fold. All I can do is hope that you learn how to become a miracle worker...because there are so many wounds on every single person you have ever crossed paths with. It's time to start the healing and put an end to the hurt you've caused every day of your life.

No Extra time for me!

2008-06-03T12:54:00.003-05:00

So I saw a sneak preview of the Promotion last night ~ you know ~ the movie I was supposed to be in with Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly.

Our running scene was in the first 3 minutes of the movie and they showed a total of 2.2 seconds of it. I wasn't in it. I did see my friend, Angelle, and another friend, Kelly, was standing next to Seann in a scene that took place on the El.

My review of the movie? I give it 1 thumbs up....it's a definite renter. But since no one has seen one single preview of the movie that is supposed to be out this Friday, I'm sure it'll go straight to video.

Hey, at least I got paid 100 bucks to be an extra!

Happy Memorial Day

2008-05-24T14:48:00.003-05:00

I was going to finish the 2nd part of the last post this weekend, but I'll have to do it later this week.

My step-sisters found out their Mom has stomach cancer 2 weeks ago and she died on Thursday. It's really so sad.

2 freakin' weeks and that's it.......she's gone.

I'll be headed to Ohio on Monday for the funeral services and back in Chicago Wednesday eve.

Until then, I hope you all enjoy your Memorial Day holiday and get to spend some quality time with your loved ones.

The Butterfly Effect Part 1 ~ Cleaning out the skeletons

2008-05-21T09:16:00.006-05:00

So where to start this one??

I recently reconnected with an old Marine Corps girlfriend through the miracle of MySpace. She tracked me down right before my wedding and we recently chatted on the phone and we've been emailing. She brought a few things from the deep confines of my memory "black box"....you know, the place where you store things that, for whatever reason, you don't want to remember.

Turns out some mindless things I did as a 19 or 20 year old really affected more than a few people. When I was 19 I got married to a guy I was dating for only 4 months, but I'll go into that in my next blog. After that ended, almost as quickly as it started, I began dating a guy who was also going through a divorce and had been separated from his wife for some time. The military took note of this and had warned us to stay away from each other until our divorces were final. Ha! Little did they know we were already living together in an apartment off base. So we had to play it very cool and try not be seen together in town while we waited for the divorces to become final.

Now this is where my memory stores were just dusted off.

During this time in the Marines, my 20 year old girlfriend, Cindy, the one I just reconnected with, had apparently confided in me that she was dating our 41 year old Battalion First Sergeant. Now as you can imagine, if the Marines didn't want 2 people who were separated from their spouses dating each other, do you think they wanted a female E-3 dating a male E-8 (those are pay grades)? Hell no...that's blatant fraternization and can be punished by Non-Judicial Punishment in the military.

So I guess I was questioned by our unit about Cindy's relationship with 1st Sgt Hall (this I still do not remember) and I spilled the beans that yes, they were indeed dating. Looking back at it now, I'm pretty sure the motivation of this was to take the spot light off of my relationship with Tony and put it on someone else. A selfish short-term fix to MY problem turned out to be a very long-term consequence for Cindy and 1st Sgt Hall (Jason).

Now what does the Marine Corps motto "Semper Fidelis" stand for? It's Latin for "Always Faithful". So who exactly are you supposed to be faithful to? Your fellow marines? Your unit? Your leaders? Your Country? I'm still not quite sure of the answer but all I know is that now, 13 years later, I'm embarrassed of that decision to narc on my friend and her boyfriend.

Turns out that Cindy was punished through NJP (Non-Judicial Punishment) and she decided to get out of the military with an Honorable Discharge. 1st Sergeant Hall ended up retiring and they both moved to Phoenix, where they continued their 13 year relationship which ended almost 2 years ago.

Tony and I? We still ended up being punished for dating. We, too, were NJP'd and our punishment included a month of restriction to the barracks and our pay was docked for a few months. I got out of the Marine Corps a few months later and stayed in Arizona for about a year and continued my relationship with Tony.

So could I have kept my mouth shut and saved Jason's 20+ year career in the Marine Corps? Yes. Would it have changed the outcome of mine and Tony's situation? No. Did I learn a lesson about loyalty? Yes, but ONLY because Cindy reached out and reconnected with me. Otherwise, that memory would still be locked away in the little black box.

It still blows my mind that 13 years later I'm just going through life, living in Chicago, married to a great guy and back in Arizona are 2 people who's lives were MAJORLY affected by MY actions. Actions of a stupid 20 year old that didn't know shit about shit.

I guess I've come a long way.

Cindy DID tell me though that after I spilled the beans, I was bawling my eyes out in the bathroom and apologizing to her for it. I do remember that, albeit a bit fuzzy, but it is comforting to know that I felt remorse for my actions. I'm happy to tell you that she does not hold a grudge and we're even planning a reunion trip. I guess her motto is "Semper Fi" and ya know what? I think a lot of people can learn from that, including me.

...to be continued.

The Promotion

2008-05-09T08:47:00.003-05:00

So I was an extra in a movie over TWO years ago and it's FINALLY coming out in June! I'm pumped!

There is even a shot of one of our scenes in the trailer. We shot in a few scenes with Seann William Scott (aka Stiffler) where we are running in his marathon training group along Lake Michigan.

Check it out!
http://movies.aol.com//movie/the-promotion/33211/video/trailer-no-1/2120893

I heard it supposed to be HIGH-larious!

If you do go see it at the movies, I’m in the very front row of the running group as we run towards the camera in the center. You can't miss me seeing as I was a good twenty pounds heavier at the time!

Why spray tanning isn't always the best idea

2008-05-02T14:44:00.008-05:00

Here is a picture of Mariah Carey and her new husband, Nick Cannon.

The person in charge of her tanning airbrush should be fired.

Oh No She Di'nt!

2008-05-02T14:25:00.002-05:00

My friend Lisa just posted a comment about BE. She gets her on Ebay for like half the price!

I went to Ebay myself and sure enough, I got a few $13 eye shadows for 6.99. She also pointed out that that I can my super-duber expensive Dermalogica products there, too!

I'll never pay retail again! Thanks, Lisa D!!!!

Here's the Cyst-uation

2008-05-02T13:03:00.004-05:00

I had my 6 month ultrasound today with my reproductive endocrynologist to see if my ovarian cysts came back. I've had to go every 6 months since my surgery to remove them in December 2006.

I'm very happy to report they have not returned and my ovaries look good. Yay for me!

My doc, who always always pushes Brian and I to have kids NOW, even said that I don't have to come back for a whole year. A whole year! He wanted us to get pregnant before we were even married and had us a bit worried about the fact that we might not get pregnant in the future if we wait too long. I'm 33 and I really want to enjoy life with just the two of us for a year or two.

I sorta feel like I just bought a year with Brian. :)

And since it's Friday, here is a funny little tidbit: I was telling my coworker about going for the ultrasound and he asks, "So is your stomach going to be covered with that cold wet stuff they use?" I said, "Well, no. They do my ultrasounds internally". Long pause (he's obviously drawing a picture in his head). "What? How?" I said, "Well, they use this plastic probe and put a condom on it and they lube it up". He says, "No way! They use condoms? Seriously?" I said, "Seriously! There is a bowl of Trojan Non-Lubricated sitting right there on the table." He replies, "Shut up!!"

So I took a picture with my cell phone to prove it:

Yay for Minerals

2008-05-01T10:04:00.003-05:00

Allow me to speak to the girls for a minute:

I recently switched to Bare Escentuals mineral makeup. I admit....all the hype and advertising peaked my curiosity and I gave in. I bought the foundation, blush, mineral veil (it goes over the foundation) and recently, I bought some eye shadows.

I was skeptical at first as I didn't really think that a powder could give the same coverage as a liquid, but I was quickly proven wrong. When the guy at the store was going through the many reasons why minerals are better than the rest, he mentioned that these minerals actually help improve your skin. I thought, "Yeah, right, keep selling me".

After 3 months using this makeup, the jury is in. My skin DEFINITELY looks better. It's not only clearer, but overall, it's the same tone and not as blotchy as it used to be. I normally suffer from breakouts once a month (every 28 days or so if that tells you when it happens), and recently, I didn't have any breakouts during that time of the month. Now I'm left wondering if my breakouts are from skincare of from hormones.

Secondly, this makeup is SO much easier to apply and saves a lot of time. This is a HUGE bonus when getting ready in the morning. I also notice that the eye shadow stays on longer than your average drug store brand, but it's in line with the quality of Mac.

Thirdly, this makeup is so much lighter. I don't feel the makeup and it feels much more natural. I'm pretty sure this is the main attribute to why my complexion is better. It's breathing again! When I used liquid, it would sort of "fill" those fine lines around my mouth and you could see it. Eww...I don't want to point out the fact that I'm aging!

Finally, I don't have to worry about if my makeup matches my skin tone. Knowing that I'd be tan in Mexico, I bought a few different colors and they are all easy to blend, if need be.

The only downfall is that it's messier than liquid. I have to wipe down my bathroom counter every few days due to the various powers of foundation, blush and shadow.

After 3 months using BE, I just tossed my old Almay liquid foundation.

As seen around Chicago

2008-04-29T08:26:00.005-05:00

I was witness to a few things over the past few days that have stayed with me and make me ask the question, "What if?" more than a few times.

The first situation: I was driving down Webster on my way home from running a few errands. I spotted what I thought was a bald runner sitting on a front stoop, catching his breath from a tough run. His long lean legs were spread out and his elbows were on his knees and his head was down. As I approached a stop sign and was slowing down, this 30-something guy raised his head and I instantly noticed that he had no eyebrows. I looked down and between his legs was a big puddle of what can only be described as "his lunch". I couldn't take my eyes off this guy. He tried to stand, with the help of the brick wall behind him, and then he leaned over to pick up 3 grocery bags, swaying the entire time as he was completely off-kilter. It took him a few seconds to gain his balance and find the strength to pick up these plastic bags from the ground. I wanted to stop, pull over and offer to carry his bags and lend a hand to help him get to his destination. Just as I was playing my moves in my head as to not offend him in my offer, he slowly walked around the corner and into a building. I guess he was home.

Obviously this young man was going through some kind of treatment to treat some kind of illness. Here I was....just mindlessly running my errands, probably irritated at the traffic and wondering what I'm going to have for dinner....all while this young guy is literally fighting for his life. For a few days after that and even now, I wished I had stopped to help him.

The second situation: I was sitting on a curb waiting for Brian to pick me up from the Metra train that I take to and from work about 3-4x a week. Our meeting spot is a 7-11 convenience store parking lot that is smack dab in the middle of an industrial area of Lincoln Park. As I was listening to an audio book on my iPod and appreciating the fact that the sun was warming my back, a man in his late 30's who was accompanied by a young girl who couldn't be more than 9 or 10, walked in front of me. I noticed that he was opening a box of Banquet fried chicken that he apparently bought in the 7-11. They started eating the frozen chicken right out of the box as they crossed the street. I noticed that they were both pretty dirty and their clothes were stained and worn. The man was eating ferociously. From the time he walked past me to cross the street was no more than 5-10 seconds and by the time he crossed the street, he was already throwing a bare chicken bone into the street while he reached in for another.

If I was a betting woman, I'd bet that this was a homeless father/daughter duo walking back to the spot they called their "home"; probably in an empty warehouse or factory.

Talk about seeing things that tug at your heart strings! Let us all be grateful for our health, the roof over our head and our livelihood.

And if I see someone else in distress, next time I'm going to try to help.

The Wedding Reception is on YouTube

2008-04-28T14:15:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm serious.

I don't mess around. What better way to share our special moments with those who couldn't join us than to post them on YouTube?

www.youtube.com/djstoer

5 Year Itch

2008-04-28T13:13:00.003-05:00

I don't know if it's just that it's still 39 degrees in Chicago on April 28th and less than 2 weeks ago I was enjoying the hot weather in Mexico, but I definitely have the itch again to move.

I want to be in the warmth.
I want to be in the sunshine.
I want to jump up out of bed and go for a run or a swim or a bike ride and not put on a coat first.
I'm sick, sick, sick of the cold!!!!!!!!!

Let's take a look at where I've lived and when:

(I left for the Marine Corps when I was 17. )

1993 - 1998 Yuma, Arizona

1998 - 2003 Cleveland, Ohio

2003 - 2008 Chicago, Illinois

Do you see the trend here? Why is it that once that 5 year mark rolls around, I want to get the F out?

Please give me some sunshine and warm weather, God, please!

The Wedding

2008-04-25T14:38:00.003-05:00

I know this is long overdue, but since we've been back from Mexico, it's been REALLY, REALLY nice to just come home from work, go the gym if I want to or stay home if I want to and just walk the dog.

Not having anything to do.....heaven!

But I thought it was only fair to at least post a little somethin' about the day I've been blogging about for a year.

The whole week in Mexico was filled with the hot sun, smiling faces, flowing drinks, never-ending buffets, tequila shots, volleyball games in the pool, beer drinking contests and best of all, happiness.

Cue the "awwwwwwww".

The main reason I wanted a destination wedding is this: every wedding I've been to as a guest, I've barely spoken to the bride and groom. You could see the whirlwind they were surrounded in and you just knew they'd barely remember it all. I wanted time with my guests. I wanted to savor the experience. I wanted something that they remembered. And all I can say is....SUCCESS!

B and I got to Mexico on Tuesday. This was great for all but one reason: I had to eat buffets 3x a day and watch everyone sip daiquiri's, margaritas and cerveza's for FIVE LONG days before my big day. When we arrived, I was down to about 17% body fat and 125 lbs. Every morning, I got up at 8am and threw on my running shoes and was out the door with my iPod. After a 30 minute jog, I was in the jump for another 30 minutes of calisthenics. I'm very happy to report that I was STILL 125 lbs on my wedding day...thanks to the fact that I barely touched alcohol the previous 5 days.

Okay, so, yes. I have some body-image issues. But they are mine and I'm okay with that.

Every day B and I would meet and greet our arriving guests. Almost everyone got there by Thursday, we had 3 couples arrive on Friday. I think we were able to sit down and chat with almost every single guest, one on one. That was the great part of Mexico.

On Thursday, a few of us were heading inside to the lunch buffet and in the lobby I was greeted by one of my bridesmaids, Loretta. We hugged and kissed and she told me she had a surprise for me. Low and behold, there was my girlfriend, Carmen, who was supposed to stand up in the wedding but found out she was expecting. The baby was due 2 weeks before the wedding but he came 5 weeks early. So she got a plane and left her 8 week old baby with his Dad and she surprised me in Mexico! Oh my God did this moment rock. I cried and cried. It was one of my favorite moments of the week. How blessed am I to have people like this in my life?

Thursday we had a Meet and Greet Happy Hour in one of the bars so that our guests could all meet one another. It was awesome to see everyone bond instantly. There is just something about vacation that allows you to check your stereotypes at the door and allows you to be happy and carefree.

We lugged 50 lbs of gifts to Mexico. That was no fun. We gave everyone a yellow beach bag with a yellow and white cabana towel in it. We filled them with disposable cameras, candy, candles, sunblock, chap stick and the like. The bag proved to be very useful as EVERYONE used theirs when they were there, so it allowed people to spot those in our group very easily. If Uncle Bob didn't know my friend, Loretta, they spotted each others bags and struck up a conversation. Nice.

Friday was so fun. We got out early and reserved a spot by the Activities Pool (aka the crazy pool with the loud music and beer drinking contests). Most of our friends had arrived by then and we all gathered at this pool and hung out, drank and played a nice game of volleyball in the pool.

Afterwards, everyone cleaned up and we met at the Rehearsal Dinner. I shared a wonderful moment with my Mother-in-Law. She pulled me aside and looked like she was going to burst into tears. She told me how happy she was, how beautiful I looked and how excited she was to have me in the family. It was a tear-jerker.

Game day:

I thought I'd be nervous as hell on Saturday but I wasn't. I waited for it to come, but it didn't. It was right. All was right in my world.

I had sent my dress to be steamed and it still hadn't been delivered to my Mom's by Saturday morning. My MOH took charge of the situation and she called my wedding planner and found the dress.

I met my bridal party for a nice breakfast and then hit the salon for a mani/pedi. We went back to the room to start getting ready. I was so lucky to have my girlfriend, Holly, there who does hair and makeup for weddings. She brought her airbrush and all of her makeup down and did everyone's makeup. I got a little teary eyed while we were getting ready; every time I'd make eye contact with my MIL or my Mom.

When it came time to head out to the beach, my heart fluttered but I still felt really good. I was just happy, I can't really explain it. I wasn't nervous at all. A golf cart took us to the beach. My Mom walked me down the aisle where I met a weeping Brian. I was shocked that he was so emotional but it was so touching. I thought I'd be a mess, but when I saw him crying, I think it gave me strength. I wanted to comfort him.

The officiant was great. Everyone told us what a great job he did and how touching his words were. The ceremony only last 20 minutes and we all enjoyed champagne on the beach before we took pictures.

After pictures, we headed into the Theater bar, a bar open to the ocean, and enjoyed cocktails for an hour. The reception was poolside and started an hour later. It was great...everything was beautiful, the weather was phenomenal and the food was the best we had while we were there. So far I was a happy bride!

The only real glitch that day was finding out our DJ didn't speak a word of English. So we had to pull a guest to MC for us. He introduced us for the first dance and he MC'd the garter and bouquet throws. The first dance was great....Brian and I took lessons for the Foxtrot and we weren't nervous or anxious...that part was great.

My FIL, Best Man and MOH all gave toasts/speeches. They were all fantastic but I'm happy we got them on video because I, too, gave a speech and I was rehearsing in my head while they were talking (rude, but necessary). Now let's get one thing straight: I had public speaking. I always get real nervous and sweaty and I can usually hear my heartbeat in my ears. When it came time for me to speak, I stood up and told Brian I'd be back (he had no clue I was giving a speech) and I took the mic. I had a full 8.5 by 11 piece of paper filled with one paragraph after the next, but I read it so many times that I didn't need to use my notes (even I was surprised by this) and I was able to look at each person I was speaking to. My strategy was to say it so many times over and over that it would just be one word after the next and I could get through it without crying. Easier said than done. I was able to get through it with minimal tears but I was still shocked at how easy speaking in front of my loved ones was, but what I wasn't expecting was everyone to be crying with me. I thanked our guests and said a few words to my friend Carmen, my bridesmaids, my MOH, my new in-laws, my parents and then, Brian. That moment was awesome. Brian looked like a deer in the headlights. He didn't know how to react to my speech. I loved it.

We all danced the night away and after the reception we went to the Hacienda, which is a disco at the resort that opens and 11pm. Most of us were exhausted so it was still an early night. I think everyone was back in their rooms by 1pm.

Sunday Brian and I went with my MOH and her boyfriend on a zip line tour. We mountain-biked to each of the three zip lines and then swam in three cenotes (pure Mayan water-filled caves with century old hanging stalactites). It was gorgeous there. It was also nice to spend some one on one time with Laurel, too.

Sunday night the hotel delivered a chocolate cake and champagne to our room. It was a pretty decent sized cake and you know what? I ate it all. haha....I did! We were watching our wedding videos and I was eating one bite at a time...I looked down and it was gone. But damn did I deserve that cake!!

Monday we hung at the pool and just relaxed. I ate and drank whatever I wanted. And then I ate some more.

We got back to Chicago on Tuesday and headed back to the grind by Thursday. Now we get to enjoy life as newlyweds ;)

More wedding pictures!

2008-04-19T15:43:00.001-05:00

We were very lucky to have a semi-pro photographer as one of our guests. Click here to see his awesome photos of our wedding extravaganza!

I'm back!

2008-04-17T10:48:00.018-05:00

Well I'm trying my darndest to get back into the swing of the things at work, but so far, I'm unsuccessful in my efforts.

So I thought I'd post a few pictures from our week in Mexico. I don't have many of the actual wedding day since we just handed our camera to people and asked them to snap away.

This is my favorite picture with my girls!

We had 53 people total who made it to Mexico. Unbelievable!

Almost there....

2008-04-06T22:37:00.004-05:00

My clothes are laid out.

The limo is arranged.

Our dog/house sitter has her directions.

My wedding dress gets picked up tomorrow.

By this time next week, I will be Mrs. Deanna O'Connell and I'll be sipping the fattest margarita known to man with my new husband!!

Sleep tight, internets. Sleep tight.

Scorpion Dreams

2008-04-03T09:55:00.006-05:00

So the crazy dreams continue.

This time it wasn't about my wedding dress being stolen by my photographer. This time it was more personal.

In my dream, I was at my Mother in Law's house sleeping on her couch. The scene was actually the living room in the house I grew up in. My Aunt Marcia (well, technically, Brian's Aunt Marcia) was sleeping on the couch across from me.

From the other couch she whispers my name in a frantic voice trying to wake me up. "Deanna! Deanna!!!!" I open my eyes from a deep slumber and look over to her and she continues her loud nervous whispers. "Look at the floor! LOOK AT THE FLOOR!"

I look down to find scorpions, yes Scorpions, all over the place. And these weren't your average 2 inch scorpions that I used to see in Arizona. These suckers were like 8 inches long! So in my dream, I turn on the light that is next to the couch and all of the scorpions scattered all over the place...under the couch, into the walls, out of the room.

What in the WORLD could that dream mean??

I looked up "Dreams about Scorpions" and this is what I found:

To see a scorpion in your dream, represents a situation in your waking life which may have been painful or hurtful. It is also indicative of destructive feelings, "stinging" remarks, bitter words and/or negative thoughts being expressed by or aimed against you. Your dream forewarns of a self-destructive and self-defeating path. The scorpion is also a symbol of death and rebirth. You need to get rid of the old and make room for something new. Alternatively, the scorpion may also represent a person who is born under the astrological sign for Scorpio.

I guess if I really wanted to do a deep dive into my inner-psyche, then it would point to the fact that I am walking down the aisle in 9 days and there are probably all kinds of feelings emerging from my subconscious. When a bride walks down the aisle, she is usually accompanied by her father. But not this bride. This bride will be accompanied by her Mother because her father hasn't been in her life for many years due to all of the pain he has caused (and when I started talking in 3rd person, I don't know).

And guess what? My good ole Dad? He's a Scorpio.

I think the fact that I was in my MIL's house and was warned by Aunt Marcia was symbolic of feeling protected by my new family from the scorpions. So while the dream might have been crazy, I think it shows me I am ready for the death of the relationship with my Dad and the rebirth of my new extended family.

Does anyone agree? Or am I just losing my mind the week before my wedding?

One week until Mexico!

2008-03-24T08:27:00.006-05:00

I know I haven't really blogged lately about the going-ons of day to day life. What can I say? I leave for Mexico in a week and I'll be married in 12 days!! I can't even believe how fast it's crept up!! My family and B's family seem to be very excited for the trip and the event.

It's been nearly 5 weeks since I've been on my "wedding program" (I use that term because I hate to say diet). I abandoned Jenny Craig and got back to real foods ~ very boring foods ~ but real, nonetheless. I must say that my body is responding very nicely. I'm under 20% body fat now and I'm at 125 lbs. I haven't been 125 lbs since I was in my early 20's. I always used the excuse, "I'm all muscle" but I've had the sad realization that that's all it was ~ an excuse.

So we still have the daunting task of figuring out how we are going to get 27 gift bags, each filled with goodies and a 60x30" cabana towel, to Mexico. The box the towels came in was about 3 feet high and a foot and a half wide. I don't even have a suitcase that big and that's JUST the towels. Ugggh. I think we're going to box them up in a cardboard box and put the bags and goodies in a carry on and give that to a very helpful family member to bring with them. We were going to FedEx everything but our wedding planner advised against it. She said she's seen one too many times gift bags showing up 3 weeks after the wedding. Mexico Customs is the hang up...there is no rhyme or reason to their process.

I've started having nightmares about possible wedding scenario's that could go awry. Last night I dreamed that it rained, the night before I dreamed that my wedding dress was stolen from my hotel room ~ by our photographer, no less. I guess it's just par for the course and hopefully completely normal. I should probably be taking a Tylenol PM every night but since I'm doing cardio every morning at 5am, I fear that I wouldn't be able to get out of bed.

Oh speaking of this morning.....

I was pulling in to our development from the gym at 6am when I spotted my neighbor walking his two Siberian huskies. One of them went #2 in my neighbors yard and the guy just waved at me and smiled and kept on walking when his dog was finished with his business. This infuriated me to no end! Because either 1. he forgot doggie bags ~ but seeing as he has 2 dogs, I think that's unlikely or 2. he thought walking his dogs under the guise of the morning darkness means that no one would see his dogs go #2...so why pick it up?

Either scenario is just plain messed up! If you are a dog owner, you should PICK UP AFTER YOUR DOG! Period.

God Bless my friend, Ayca, btw. She's staying at our house the entire time we're in Mexico and she'll be taking care of Cooper. I really hate leaving him for more than a few nights at the dog kennel so this was a fabulous option. She can keep him company and make sure he gets plenty of exercise. Thanks, girl!!! You rock!

Why I love Technology

2008-03-20T13:25:00.012-05:00

So my blog about my February 23rd Bachelorette Party is way overdue. I hope that doesn't mean you have some crazy expectation of wild stories of a bunch of girls swinging from the rafters because if you do, you are going to be sorely disappointed.

The party was super fun. I had girlfriends come in from Arkansas, Ohio and Wisconsin….so that was super awesome. They stayed with me and it was nice to catch up and have some real girly time. My friend Loretta was the first to arrive. She came straight to my office in the Loop from the airport. We ran tons of errands including picking up my wedding invitations, wedding shoes and hit Trader Joes for some fresh goodies. We then made it over to my friend, Hollys, who does hair and makeup for weddings. She’s coming down to Mexico…….SCORE! So yes, I will have my own personal stylist on board the entire time. How ya like them apples? Holly did both Loretta’s and my makeup as a dry run for the wedding. Brian thought I looked like a hooker….I agreed we need to go a bit more natural for the big day but it was nice for a night out. After my 2 other friends got in from the airport, we all headed to Mizu for sushi which was delish.

Saturday we did what girls do best = shopped. Liz and I headed back over to Holly’s in the afternoon and she did our makeup once again for the bachelorette party. Liz and Loretta are both bridesmaids so Holly will be doing their makeup in Mexico, too. The party was nice. All of my friends came over for appetizers, drinks and of course, gifts! Let me just say right here that my friends are awesome. The food was great, the drinks were tasty and their gifts were fantastic.

We jumped in 3 cabs and headed to The Underground, a new dance club, and a got a table for bottle service. This is where the whole Technology thing comes in.

These 2 guys come over and start talking to me. They ask what the occasion is and I tell them it’s my Bachelorette Party. You would think that they’d say “Oh hey, congrats” and then move on to one of my 15 single friends sitting with me. Uh uh. This guy kept trying to hold my hand, told me how beautiful I am.......yada yada yada…….WHATEVER! Why don’t you just go find another girl to chat it up with as I’m clearly NOT interested and PS - I'M GETTING MARRIED!?! So to cut to the chase, I introduced him to my friend, Loretta and told him that she just completed her PhD and introduced her as Dr. West. At that point he tells me that he plays for the NBA. "So?" I said. He replies, “Well you're telling me she’s got her PhD so I told you what I do”. Okay, fair enough. So a little while and a shot later, they finally moved along to the next table of hotties. I grab friends iPhone and googled this young man. Of course the first thing that came up was THIS Wikipedia page, complete with his latest mugshot. Seriously! How freakin’ awesome is technology that while you are IN the club, you can google these guys and find their laundry lists of legal woes AND the fact that he did NOT play for the NBA but he played for their "Summer League". Oh, and the fact that this guy held a knife to his girlfriends throat and sexually assaulted her was proof enough that my friend, Loretta, need not continue the conversation with him. After the night progressed Pierre came back around. I was sitting against the wall when he motions over to me to come and talk to him. I shook my head and rubbed one of my index fingers over the other one letting him know he was a bad boy. He looked puzzled and say "What?" So I put two fists next to my face, making it look like I was behind bars. Probably not the brightest thing to do to an ex-con jailed for sexual assault. But hey, I WAS up to my eyeballs with liquid courage and walked away with a great story to tell you.

The next day he sent a Text Message to Lo. (yeah that's what I said....WHY did she give him her number? She said it was before we googled him....uh huh!) So Pierre asks her if she had fun and of course, I felt the need to take control of this situation. I had her text him back, "Of course I had fun! Any day I can enjoy my freedom is a great day! Wouldn't YOU agree?"

His response: Crickets.

This is good ole Pierre on the right:

Oh and I guess a big-time Chicago DJ was next to us at the neighboring table and I took a picture with him. I’m not from Chicago so when his buddies were telling me he was THE Jonathan Brandmeier I just replied with, “So?” So here is the picture with THE Jonathan Brandmeier. I know. So?

Tagged

2008-03-18T08:54:00.004-05:00

Bethie tagged me on her blog...so here it goes!

10 years ago:
I had just moved back to Ohio from Arizona and started my new job at the Sherwin Williams headquarters.

5 Things on my to-do list today:
Write a blog about my bachelorette party (way overdue).
Training session with my trainer tonight.
Conference calls.
Try to get a refund for the very yellow gift bags.
Find more marketing candidates for Perdue!

5 Snacks I enjoy:
Peanut butter and cheese.
Peanut butter and chocolate.
Anything cheesy.
Anything crunchy.
Anything with chocolate.

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
Build my Mom and step-Dad a new house on a lake of their choice, with a new boat.
Build OUR dream house on a different lake. ;)
Travel the world with Brian.
Get involved more with my charities.
Train for and complete a few Ironman Triathlons.
I'd come up with a crunchy snack made with chocolate, peanut butter and cheese.

3 of my bad habits:
I'm very hard on Brian.
I worry about things out of my control.
I'm racked with guilt for days when I eat anything to be considered "bad".

Places I have lived:
Chicago, IL
Various suburbs of Cleveland, OH
Yuma, AZ
Jacksonville, NC
Parris Island, SC

5 Jobs that I have had:
Recruiter
Help-Desk Analyst
Administrative Assistant
Personal Trainer
US Marine

5 Things people don't know about me:
Are there 5 things people don't know about me?? This could be hard.
Despite the hard exterior, I'm pretty much way too sensitive.
I had a bunionectomy on my right foot when I was 19. Hot!
This Thursday is my 3 year anniversary with Brian.
I was in my 6th grade spelling bee and was the 2nd person out on the word "Receive".
When I was 22, I drove cross-country with my girlfriend from AZ to OH in a Ryder truck towing my car.

And I tag Mel, Jen and Liz! You’re it!

Why I love Ellen Degeneres

2008-03-13T12:53:00.001-05:00

March 12th

2008-03-12T08:50:00.005-05:00

Happy happy birthday to my boy, Cooper!!! Can't believe our pup is already 2 years old!

One month from today Brian and I will be hitched!! It's approaching so G-Dang fast I can't believe it.

I thought about not mentioning this next statement but then I remembered my tag line about not having a filter.......so screw it........here goes. B and I were doing what some unmarried couples aren't supposed to do the other night and I realized that if I were to get pregnant now, we probably wouldn't find out until after we were married. Then it donned on me. For years I've been on birth control in an effort to not get preggers before I was married and I did it. I didn't get pregnant! haha

I don't know why that thought was in my head but for some reason I wanted to celebrate it.

Crazy.

So I still owe you a blog about my bachelorette party and I still owe you a blog about my bridal shower here in Chicago. I've been under a huge deadline with one of my clients and I just haven't had the time during the day and when I'm home, I just haven't wanted to pick up my laptop. I will get that to you, I promise.

In the meantime, we need a wedding song! Any suggestions??

Screw signatures

2008-03-04T09:45:00.002-06:00

Let's tie that guy's feet up and toss him over that hill to HIS death. That seems much more fitting than letting him see another day of light!!!!

I'm so pissed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disgusting!

2008-03-04T09:18:00.003-06:00

I read on the net today that there is a video making the rounds on YouTube of a SMILING Marine who was videotaped throwing a puppy off a rocky cliff in Iraq to his death. His feet were tied togther with rope.

WTF?

WHAT THE F@CK????

WHO, I repeat, WHO could be so heartless to do something so God awful?

All I gotta say is that the Marine Corps should immediately give him a dishonorable discharge and I sure as hell hope that there are criminal charges for animal abuse brought against this D-bag.

We should start collecting signatures NOW to have this D-Bag kicked out!!!

As of this morning, it's still "undeterminded" by Snopes. Let's just hope it's fake!!!

64 bucks

2008-02-28T22:33:00.002-06:00

That's the credit the printer gave us for mucking up our wedding invites FOUR times.

It's better than nothing!

IOU

2008-02-28T08:35:00.001-06:00

a blog about my bachelorette party.

I promise. It's coming.

Take 4

2008-02-27T21:50:00.005-06:00

Why would we need to mail out our wedding invitations? That's crazy talk.

The company we hired to print our invites are reprinting one of the cards for the FOURTH time. Yes, FOURTH time. What was supposed to be on the "Dinner & Dancing" card was:

Gran Bahia Principe Akumal
Poolside

* Resort Formal Attire

Read:

Gran Bahia Principe Akumal
Poolside Resort Formal Attire

Yeah that's what I said. WTF is "Poolside Resort Formal Attire"? I can only imagine what people would show up to our wedding wearing. So the invites went back. The first time they left off the last sentence all together. The second time came back like the example above. The third time they came back they had the wrong font; a font with a shadow. So keep your fingers crossed that they come back tomorrow correct. We needed to get these bad boys out 2 weeks ago!!!! Our RSVP date will be 10 short days after they are mailed.

Was it Chatty Cathy or Chatty Jack?

2008-02-27T10:38:00.005-06:00

I've always been under the misinformed notion that girls love to chat with one another but recently, I've decided that is just not true and in fact, is a complete misnomer.

Compared to the guys in my office and the guys I know (particularly one I live with) who chat it up all day long about professional sports, their recreational sports teams, cars, finances and politics, women truly have got nothin' on them!

And you know what? It's really annoying. All day long I have to listen to phone calls or water cooler chatter about who traded who and how that trade will affect the upcoming season, or the local basketball game last night in someone's church league, or how someone's son was pinned in his first wrestling match (I've heard that story 17 times and that is not an exaggeration), or if another person should sell tumbling stock. I mean, the list goes on and on. And what's funny is that my girlfriends and I communicate via text message. "Do you want to do lunch? Can you meet me at 6:30? Did you have fun last night?"

I think the roles have definitely changed. One would think it was the male counterpart sending the one lined text messages, but ahem, it most certainly is not.

Does anyone agree with this assessment? If so, are you equally as annoyed as I am? It's all I can do to hold back a scream that would sound something like, "Hang up the phone and get back to work you lazy f*ck! You have a whole entire lunch hour to hold hands with the guy 2 cubes down and talk about basketball!!!"

It's never that bad.

2008-02-26T12:57:00.004-06:00

I’ve been thinking about my friend, Skip, a lot since I read a blog about his Mentor, Paul Tilley, yesterday. Paul was the top Creative Officer at DDB, the ad agency where Skip used to work. Paul decided that he couldn't take it anymore and he jumped from the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago on Friday evening, which is right next to the offices of DDB. He was 40 years old and had a wife and 2 little girls.

I’ve been googling it to find out more. I'm a little obsessed with it to be completely honest. I want to find out that he had a mob hit out on him or was being blackmailed and his family's safety was being threatened. I want to read that he was just informed that he had Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer and didn't want to have to suffer or let his kids see him deteriorate. I have been unsuccessful in finding out any details as to WHY a successful ad exec with two small kids and a wife decides to take his life....and to jump from a building no less. The only thing I read was that his wife said, "Life is complicated. Paul was a complicated man". That seems like the understatement of the year.

I can’t help but look up at the buildings as I walk to and from my office every day. I feel so sorry for the CTA bus driver who witnessed the event. I just can’t wrap my arms around something like that and I didn’t even know the guy. I can only imagine what my buddy, Skip, is feeling right now.

I just don’t get it. It’s NEVER THAT bad. It’s NEVER something that you can’t come back from. If it was his job, then quit. If it was his wife, then figure it out or move on. If it’s criminal or drug related, deal with the consequences and learn from it and move passed it. If it's health-related then fight it.

It’s messing with my head in a very gruesomely curious way.

For now, all I can do is to pray for his wife and his family. I'm also praying for Skip.

Life's Tough. Wear a Helmet.

2008-02-19T20:36:00.003-06:00

To add more crap to our never-ending TO DO list:

Brian was picking me up from the train tonight. As I was walking in front of his car towards the passenger side to open the door I see an SUV behind him turning right. Towards Brian. Not looking. Yep, you got it.....BAM! Brian's whole rear end is MESSED up (he thinks its about 4k worth of damages).

And to make matters worse....

He was hit by a guy with no drivers license.
Who is an illegal immigrant.
Who was subsequently drinking.
Who didn't speak any English.

We called one of our groomsmen who happens to be a Chicago Detective who came to the scene and tried to talk to him. He had 2 beer cans in the truck. Soooo the police arrested him.

:/

Poor guy. I know.....of course it was a stupid mistake on his part to drink and drive, not pay attention AND drive without a license, but dang, do we feel bad! We were just trying to get home....we didn't want anyone to go to jail!!

He was cooperative and gave us his insurance card (ummm, anyone heard of Magnum insurance? Yeah, neither have we) and let us talk to his boss who spoke English, but what were we supposed to do? Cross our fingers that his insurance will pay for what is sure to be expensive damages?

Sorry, buddy. :(

(Oh and both of us are totally fine and still made it to the gym to work out)

Vulnerability

2008-02-19T08:04:00.005-06:00

By a show of hands, whose comfortable showing that they are in a vulnerable state??

Anyone?

.
.
.
.

Anyone?

Okay, now that we have that out of the way.

Last night when I got home from work, I immediately went to my room and had a good cry. I didn't even take off my winter boots. And it was a GOOD cry. Not just a few tears, mind you, but I had an all-out, hyperventilating, soaked-the-pillow cry.

Without going into too much detail, I was recently let down in a big way by someone very important to me. Couple that with all of the stress that wedding planning brings and I guess I'll say that a mini-meltdown was creeping up. I was very hesitant to call this person and let them know they had let me down, because the last time I did that, I lost one of my best friends forever. Hypersensitive? Yeah, you can say that.

So as I was crying, B encouraged me to pick up the phone and let this person know how I feel and I finally did. And between sobs and very deep breaths, I was able to get out my feelings (in a non-abrasive way, thankuverymuch) to my friend. She knew she had let me down but wasn't aware of how badly my feelings were hurt in the process. We talked it out. She apologized and I accepted. We will move on.

Afterwards, I must admit that I felt better. I felt good. I felt really good. I felt relief. I felt like a big weight had been lifted off of my shoulders after over a week of this festering in my mind and more importantly, in my heart. Did all of my problems drift away? Of course not. But I genuinely felt lighter. If anyone out there in internetland knows me, they know I bottle things up and let them simmer long enough to the point of boiling and then boom - EXPLOSION. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's certainly something I'm working on and will continue to work on for the rest of my life.

The lesson I learned last night is that it's okay to show your vulnerability. I spent 4 years in the military where it was drilled into me that one should not, under any circumstance, show their feelings. And today, 11 years later, I can now tell you without falter and without any regret that it's okay to show your feelings. It's even okay to cry (gasp)! AND I encourage it (double gasp!!).

You will feel better for doing it.

Cranky

2008-02-18T09:01:00.004-06:00

Throughout the entire wedding planning process, I've learned a lot. I've learned a lot about myself, about my fiance, about my family and friends, about everyone really. I've been let down and felt disappointment in others far too often to the point that I'm left with a huge pit of uneasiness in my stomach. I wish I could just do it all but I know my limits. I know that I have to let go and let others handle their own responsibilities in this process, but I'm so tired of being disappointed. I'm tiring of having to fix things. I'm tired of having to do the things that do not fall under my list of responsibilities.

Sometimes I just wish we would have eloped. Sometimes I'm glad we are having a wedding.

I guess I'm just flooded with a mish-mosh of feelings not only about my own self reflection but also about others in my inner circle right now. On the bright side, my house will soon be filled with out of town guests ~ all of my friends from Ohio (mostly all bridesmaids) ~ and we are sure to have an awesome time this weekend for my Bachelorette party. They will put a smile on my face; that's for sure.

And for crying out loud, does anyone have any advice on how to get rid of a 4-day old headache?

It's B on National TV!

2008-02-13T20:28:00.003-06:00

Brian taped a short segment on FoxNews yesterday. He was interviewed by Neil Cavuto show about Project Lifeline; a new lender program designed to help people who are in arrears in their mortgages.

Click here to check it out. (click on the 2nd “QuickView" box).

It was taped live and for his first time on national television, he didn’t do too bad!

**And for the record, Brian doesn't have any clients who have foreclosed on their homes!! Yes, indeedy, he's one of the GOOD guys. MY good guy!! (wink wink)***

2 Months from today.....

2008-02-12T13:26:00.000-06:00

We'll be right here saying "I Do".

A Short but Open Letter to Old Man Winter

2008-02-11T12:25:00.001-06:00

Go away already!!!

Enough said.

Dr. TATOFF

2008-02-06T16:22:00.000-06:00

I had what I HOPE will be my last tattoo laser removal appointment today for my shoulder. Last one before the wedding, that is. I think it was my 10th treatment. Ehhh, maybe it was the 11th. Who knows. Dr. Yoo, my doc, always replies, "Anything under 20 and you should consider yourself lucky", when I ask him, "How many more?????????????"

So if that was in fact my 11th laser appointment, that means I've spent $3,300.00 so far getting this freakin' thing off my shoulder so that I can wear a lovely strapless wedding dress down the aisle in 2 months. Do you know what you can do with 3300 hundred bucks? AND it would have been $4100 had the front desk girl not hooked me up with $300 appointments when the price went up to $400.

Does anyone watch LA Ink? It's about the daily going-on's of a Los Angeles tattoo shop. I was very happy to see the last episode followed one of the ink-covered staff members to a laser removal appointment at Dr. Tatoff's office (yes, that was really the name on the door). You should have seen her jaw drop when she found out that the ink isn't removed in one shot. And that she needed to come back every six weeks. For the next few years. It was pure comedy! After she gathered her composure, she went ahead with the treatment. She didn't opt for the numbing cream (and for what it's worth, I've NEVER been offered any kind of numbing cream. I just take Tylenol beforehand, ice my back for 2 minutes and then clench my jaw the entire time and encourage my doctor to tell me one or two of his many dirty jokes he has up his sleeve as a way to distract me...). I digress.

Well I just wanted to give a nice hats off to LA Ink for showing the world that there are consequences to every action. Even the people covered in tattoos don't always love them and have to endure the same costly and painful procedure that the rest of us endure.

And it ain't pretty!!!

Accomplished

2008-02-03T12:18:00.000-06:00

B and I got all of our errands completed this weekend. I love the feeling of accomplishment.

I got my new car!!! Yay! We traded in my 325i and B's Range Rover and I got a BMW X5. I love it! I've never had an SUV and with all of this snow, our ski trips and our trips back to Ohio with the dog and suitcases, we need an SUV. I hated driving the Range Rover because it's just so big and didn't "zip" around like my BMW, but it was necessary in the snow. So now I get the best of both worlds....a fun car to drive in the snow. And the best feature that I didn't have before....a heated steering wheel!! Oh and the front and rear sensors that tell me how close I am to something will come in very handy with all of the parallel parking we do in Chicago.

This is a picture from the dealer website...it's not so good, but it'll do for now.

On the wedding front, we got our invitations ordered (complete with a personalized line on the invite from yours truly), we got Brian's outfit picked out and our groomsmens outfits picked out. We are slowly chipping away at the do-to list. I also have all of my attendants gifts purchased AND picked up. How ya like them apples?? Oh and this week I ordered my veil, too.

Dinner at AI Sushi last night was fantastic! I highly recommend it! We overextended our visit a bit by dining for 3 hours but the restaurant bought us drinks in the lounge so that they could give the table to another party.

Now THIS is freakin' hilarious!!!

2008-02-01T11:02:00.001-06:00

You must watch THIS!!! It's a riot! And if you are at work, use headphones, but TURN IT UP!

Now that I think about it...

2008-02-01T09:40:00.001-06:00

....if the Valet guys want to steal my car for whatever reason, they can at least steal 40 cents out of my change so that:

a. they don't get busted and
b. so I don't have to pay THEIR tickets!!!

I mean, come on!

Jerks.

TGIF

2008-02-01T09:01:00.000-06:00

My week has flown by. I mean just ridiculously flown by. Sometimes I just want to grab onto the hands of time and stop them from moving to the right. Can't someone take that battery out for a day or two?

Anyhoo......

We awoke to at least a foot of snow today. What a train wreck it was getting to work...even by train. No, not literally, but it was just a mess to schlep through the unplowed streets and sidewalks. Our SUV was parked outside (and the inside was still all torn apart from the latest repair that Brian had to do....but unfortunately, the leak he was trying to fix is still leaking) and Brian had to dig it out from the foot of snow we got.

I got hit by falling ice on my walk to the office from the train. I had a hat on and a hood and it slid right down my back....Thank GOD!

Onto other topics, we've decided to take both Brian's SUV and my car and trade them in this weekend for a different SUV. I drive my car like 4 times a month* and when it snows, then I take the SUV, so it just makes sense. Did I mention we have 4 cars? Yes, FOUR cars. Granted, one doesn't see the streets but for the 4 or 5 times during the year that B races it, but still, 4 cars? So yes, we're ready to get that number down to 3.

As for the weekend, we have so much we need to do! I need to buy my shoes for the wedding so that I can start my fittings. I need to pick up some of my attendants gifts at the bridal store. Brian and I need to finish the wording of our invitations and get those ordered Saturday. We need to trade the cars in. Oh so much to do and so little time!

Saturday night we'll be enjoying a meal at AI Sushi with some friends. I've been wanting to try this place since it opened and can't wait! Sunday we'll be watching the big game with some friends and I'll be trying not to negate all of my efforts this week with bad...errr.....good food.

* So I get a letter in the mail yesterday telling me I owe the state of Illinois 63 bucks and change for blowing through tolls on the toll ways. Come again? Ummm, I don't ever recall blowing through any tolls, thankuverymuch. I always take Brian's IPass when I drive on a toll way. But there it was....a picture of MY car and MY license plate glaring back at me. Upon further examination of this document, I notice that two of the tickets happened during the week around 2pm....while I was at work......and while my car was SUPPOSED to be sitting in the garage......where the Valet put it!!!! Can you friggin' believe this? What the F? So I called that state and yes, the time of the ticket is accurate and no, they could not tell who was driving in the pictures (too dark). But they said I could fight the ticket in the not-so-convenient suburb of Downer's Grove. I think I'll just pay the 63 bucks and put a hidden camera in my car!!!

(And yes, I need to pay better attention to my mileage and gas when I get my car from the garage. Crazy that I thought I could trust these guys. LESSON LEARNED!!)

11 years ago today

2008-01-31T08:36:00.000-06:00

I received my honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps. Gosh....ELEVEN years! That's crazy. I was only 22 years old.

I hired a personal trainer to whip my ass into shape before the wedding. Yeah, I know, I used to be a trainer but I'll tell ya what....we aren't doing any weight machines, just calisthenics (some with light weights) and boy is it working! I'm getting more toned, losing the bulky muscle and actually losing size again! Maybe I wasn't that good as a trainer afterall? Hmmmm. Anyhoo, my trainer's husband was in the Marine Corps also and every week he and I share old war stories after my training session. Well, neither of us saw a day of the war during OUR tours, but we love to reminisce about the good old days.

In other news, I've made a BIG DECISION recently that is sure to change my life in every way, shape and form. I can't discuss it yet (I know, I'm a tease!) but watch out...big changes ahead!! Cue the train whistle...."WOO WOOO!"

Weekend Recap

2008-01-28T08:08:00.001-06:00

This is a nice recap to MY weekend. I spent all day Saturday and half of my Sunday at a sales conference.

I certainly hope YOUR weekend was better.

The Best Show EVER!!!!

2008-01-25T08:35:00.001-06:00

Have you seen this show??? If not, Tivo it NOW!

I watched two men get grilled this week with awesome questions. One guy was asked, "Have you delayed having kids because you fear that your wife is not 'The One'?" He answered Yes. The same guy was asked, "Have you ever done anything that would make your wife not trust you anymore?" He answered Yes. He asked a different guy, "Are you a member of the Hair Club for Men?" Yes! He was!

So seriously. Stop what you are doing and set your recorder to record "Moment of Truth"!

It's -1 in Chicago today so I'm doing my part

2008-01-24T09:26:00.001-06:00

Go fake or don't go at all!!!!

Almost Forgot!

2008-01-22T13:15:00.000-06:00

Jen just reminded me about...

# 8. (to add to the below mentioned list)

10 hours into the New Year, Brian and I headed over to my friends for a New Years Day brunch and we forgot to take our ski rack off our SUV and drove right through the gate at my friends garage in her building. Awesome! Literally started out our year with a Bang!

Smooooooth sailin'

2008-01-22T09:03:00.000-06:00

We awoke this morning around 5:30am to the tune of B's phone ringing. It was one of his tenants. The pipe burst on the 1st floor unit of his 3-flat. He was able to fix the pipe himself (Good God that man is handy!!!) and he's over there now trying to dry the hard wood floors.

In case you aren't keeping score, let's run through the first 22 days of January, shall we?

1. Our furnace broke....twice.
2. The furnace broke in B's 3-flat
3. Our dog overdosed
4. My tire blew on my car
5. The pipe burst in B's 3-flat
6. B's company was bought by Bank of America (this could be a good thing, only time will tell)
7. It appears that my industry (food) is definitely heading into a recession

Hmmm. So that equates to every 4.4 days something terribly "fun" happening in our lives. Oh, alright. The first 4 happened between Jan 17th and the 22nd. So I guess that 4.4 number went out the window.

So as I see it, the rest of our year should be smooth sailin', right? Maybe, just MAYBE, we are paying some serious dues NOW so that our wedding might be free of flubs, mishaps and will be stress-FREE!! Yeah, that's it.

In other news, the City of Chicago is not having fun today, either. Check out the new lake on Montrose Avenue! That's a 25 foot (yes, you heard me right) sinkhole on a very busy north side street.

And Wall Street has already started out with a bang! Good times, good times....

NOT.

8, 6, 5, 1....and zero, zero, zero, zero

2008-01-21T14:38:00.001-06:00

Come again? No, that is not some secret code that you should try to decipher so let me enlighten you, shall we?

8 is the number of cousins I have.

6 is the number of married cousins I have.

5 is the number of their weddings that I've attended.

1 is the number of their weddings in which I was not invited to (it was immediate family-only on the beach in Florida).

Do the math: I've attended every single wedding I've been invited to in my family.

So....

Zero is the amount of cousins I have attending my wedding.
Zero is the amount of aunts I have attending my wedding.
Zero is the amount of uncles I have attending my wedding.
Zero is the amount of grandparents I have attending my wedding.

It's a good thing that almost all of Brian's entire family will be representing us in Mexico. That makes me happy because that's my family now. Am I bitter about my family? No, I guess not...well, I guess that's a lie.....yes, I'm a little bitter. Even if we had the wedding here in Chicago, I doubt the attendance would be much different, or so I'm told.

I'm just glad I supported all of my married cousins when they wed. I guess when you're the 3rd youngest cousin, that's what I should expect, right? They all get married when I'm in my late teens, early twenties. By the time I get married at the age of 33, they all have families and commitments so my wedding doesn't even hit the radar on their list of priorities.

Well that's what I'm telling myself.

Hey, the good news is that my Mom, Step-Dad and their friends will be there. Even if my family has "other priorities" and I don't make it onto that list, we still have 60 people coming to our wedding. That's a big number for a destination wedding. I know it's A LOT to ask people to get on a plane and schlep themselves down to Mexico and spend a lot of money. It is, I get that. Trust me, I do. But it still stings, that's for sure.

Homeward Bound!!

2008-01-18T07:55:00.000-06:00

Coop is on his way home this morning! We weren't able to bring him home last night; they wanted to keep him for observation and continue the IV treatment overnight. We did get to spend a good hour with him when we had to transport him to the overnight hospital and get him all checked in.

He was in awesome spirits. He was trembling still and whined a lot (but we think that's only because he wanted to get off his leash and explore the animal hospital). He even finished a whole jar of baby food and had some kibble at the hospital; so for a very finicky dog, that was all good news.

It was quiet in the house last night without him there throwing his toys in the air or chasing one of us around the kitchen island (an activity that Cooper NEVER gets tired of).

Brian is there now checking him out. Yay!!!!

Thanks for your calls, your texts and for your moral support!! Coop is one lucky dog and we are two very lucky people to have such a great circle of support! :)

Re-Cooper-ating

2008-01-17T17:03:00.000-06:00

Our Doodler (that's his nickname) is getting better by the hour!! The vet said he's acting like a normal dog again and he's resting in a kennel. He's still on the IV to try to flush out the chemicals so we have to go back at 6:30 tonight. We'll then see if we have to either take him to the overnight hospital or if we can bring him home.

The vet told me that due to the fact that Brian got him in there so quickly really saved his life. Talk about a "lucky dog".

If our furnace didn't break then Brian and I would have gone to work and come home in the evening. After he ate the pills. Crazy how things happen like that, isn't it?

The Day from Hell

2008-01-17T12:26:00.000-06:00

It's just after noon here in Chicago and already so much has happened.

The day started off when I woke up at 6am to find that it was only 60 degrees in the house. The furnace went out.

I left for work and decided to drive (Brian normally drops me off at the train) so that he could go to the store to get the part he needed to fix the furnace.

My car is driving really funny; it was pulling really badly to the right. I called B and he said he'd look at it later so I drove to work.

At 9:15, I get a frantic call from B. He came home from the store to find the dog acting weird. His eyes were half-closed, he was disoriented and when B let him outside he had horrible diarrhea. When he came upstairs, Brian found a brand new bottle of 5 HTP eaten on the floor. (I just bought it yesterday; it's a natural sleep aid supplement that helps achieve greater REM sleep. Lately, I fall asleep but wake up all night with a million thoughts running through my brain).

Sorry for the digression. So I google "5 HTP dog overdose" and find THIS. It can be fatal for a dog, not to mention the neurologic symptoms of seizures, hyperesthesia, tremors and other symptoms including vomiting, hyperthermia and blindness.

Needless to say, B rushed Cooper to the vet. By the time he got there, Coop was walking into walls, his eyes were closed and he was trembling. They immediately pumped his stomach, coated it with charcoal and they are pumping him up with fluids to dilute the amount of 5 HTP in his system. We have to pick him up in a little while to take him to the overnight hospital where he'll be treated for the next 48 hours.

I get back to my car to find the reason my car was pulling; my tire was totally flat. Great. I had driven my car downtown (2.5 miles) and back on a flat. So I admit....I had a bit of an emotional breakdown but I pulled myself together. Brian changed the spare and we went over to Costco to get a new tire. (Yes, I know, 'What kind of idiot drives on a flat tire without knowing?" Well looks like i just answered that question for ya, didn't I?)

That was all before 10:15 am.

The latest on Coop: he's responsive to the fluids, he's more orientated and his eyes are open now. They were coating his stomach with the charcoal when I talked to them at 11:30. They said he was doing much better.

Just say a little prayer for our little red bundle of joy!

I'll keep ya posted.

Stop Hitting the Bottle

2008-01-16T13:27:00.000-06:00

So I love the tracking software I use on this blog. It shows me how people found the site whether it was by an internet search, a blog, an email, etc.

Today as I was perusing the hits, I noticed that someone found me by typing the following phrase in Google:

"sexy ass by bottle and free trails"

Well I'm doubtful they meant "trails" and pretty sure they were looking for free "trials", but I admit to giggling out loud when I read that.

So how in the world did that phrase get them to MY blog? My sexy ass is from Jenny Craig and XSport Fitness...no thanks to a bottle, thankyouverymuch!!

What in the world...

2008-01-16T08:17:00.001-06:00

...happened to Drew Peterson? Ya know, the dirtball cop accused of killing his just-out-of-her-teenage-years wife Staci Peterson??

FUN-do Party

2008-01-13T19:46:00.000-06:00

I think the fondue party was a hit! All of our hard work and planning paid off...everyone ate and ate and ate some more!

We had 3 courses including 5 fondues and 6 sauces. For the cheese fondues (we had 2), we served it with 2 types of bread, cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers, party sausages and apples. For the cheeses, one was a spicey nacho-type cheese, the other one was classic (Gruyere, Emmantaler and brie (couldn't find Vacherin)). For the main course, we had beef, chicken and shrimp with 2 broths and 1 oil fondue. We also had veggies including cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers, water chestnuts, mushrooms and zucchini for the oil and broth. Our 6 dipping sauces included bbq, sweet and sour, tangy apricot chipotle, curried mayo, honey mustard and Bearnaise sauce. In my opinion, the hit of the night was the dessert fondue....we had a chocolate fountain! We enjoyed pineapple, strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, pretzels and pound cake dripped in yummy chocolate heaven.

Our awesome table

Our new fondue plates.

The chocolate fountain.

Next year, we'll definitely chop most of the food the night before. Brian and I had some shopping to finish in the morning and we started chopping around noon on Saturday and used every minute up until our guests arrived at 7:30pm. Cooking for 20 people sure is a lot of work but it was sooo worth it.

After our guests were fat and happy we played Rockband ALL night. What fun and pure comedy that was!! The last guests left at 3:40 in the AM. That's a good party!

Today B's parents ventured into the city to celebrate my birthday. We enjoyed a very German birthday dinner at the Chicago Brauhaus. They all got wiener schnitzel and I had the meat loaf. I really wanted a burger to nurse my hangover so the meatloaf was the closest thing to it.

Hope you had a great weekend, too!

Why Good Dogs go Bad

2008-01-11T13:27:00.000-06:00

We ran out of space on our camera memory card so as I was going through it and moving pictures to my hard drive, I found this one:

Yes, that's our dog.

In the Christmas Tree skirt.

And he's NOT very happy about it.

Just look at the utter disapproval in his face.

(If you would like to email Brian to share your disappointment in his decision to strip our dog of whatever doggie pride he had left, feel free to do so here, but please don't report us for animal abuse.)

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

2008-01-08T09:05:00.000-06:00

Ohhhh okay then if you insist.....Happy Birthday to me, too!

Today is one of the first birthdays that:

1. It's not snowing outside
2. It's above 50 degrees (for a little while longer, anyway)
3. Elvis Presley was not mentioned in the news (due to being overshadowed by the New Hampshire Primary)

33 should be the best year yet!!

Britney, Britney, Britney

2008-01-07T22:15:00.001-06:00

Oh, Britney.

THIS is very, very sad.

I fought the urge to enter a date (because then I'd really be going to hell in a hand basket), but I did read some of the condolences.

Do I have Attention Deficit Disorder?

2008-01-07T16:31:00.000-06:00

Okay, I just took this test online and scored 111. If I do have ADD, then it would explain A LOT!!!!

According to the website,

If you scored... You may have...
70 & up ~ Adult ADHD
50 - 69 ~ Moderate ADHD
35 - 49 ~ Mild ADHD
25 - 34 ~ Borderline ADHD
0 - 24 ~ No ADHD likely

What is your score??

Sk!p Happens

2008-01-07T09:40:00.000-06:00

I wanted to post a blog about this when it happened, but we were heading out of town and time was working against me. Do you remember my rant about my sales goal at work? Well if so, then you can appreciate this.

The long and short of it was that I was $455 bucks away from my annual sales goal, missing a trip to Cancun or a check for $5,000.

A good friend of mine read that blog and minutes after I posted it, sent me a quick message that he needed help finding a Personal Assistant and he was mailing me a retainer for 500 bucks. I won't share with you the details of what went on in my office that day simply due to fear of hearing about people getting fired for posting certain things in their blogs about work. But what I will tell you is that Skip's check arrived promptly in my office before the deadline of December 31st.

Unfortunately, one of my clients who vouched to send payment ASAP so that I could attain my goal, failed to do so, so I was still $19,000 short of the goal in the end, anyway. The money came in a few days after the New Year so it'll go towards this years goal. That's fine considering we are getting married in Mexico in April, but the 5k would have been nice for the honeymoon.

Since the goal was unattained in the end, I ripped up Skip's check and helped him find an assistant free-of-charge.

I just wanted to send a quick Thank You again to my good friend. I now know what his shirt means that reads, "Sk!p Happens". Friends always remind me of how lucky I am to have them when I least expect it.

Thanks, buddy!

More fun with Rockband!

2008-01-06T20:56:00.000-06:00

So temptation got the best of us and we bought Rockband this weekend.

We are soooo playing at my fondue birthday party!

Happy New Year!!

2008-01-04T12:46:00.001-06:00

Well hellooooo there, internets!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Years! Brian, Coop and I had a lot of fun in Wisconsin snowboarding, snowmobiling and playing in the snow. I've come to the realization that snowmobiling is not for me. After three hours on our snowmobiles, I was asking the question, "So where ARE we going? Do we have to go ALL the way back?" I was bored. Wisconsin has over 850 miles of snowmobile trails mapped out with official stop signs, boards that give you directions and everything. It was cool, but I'd rather do something "in motion". Something active. Not pushing a button for gas or another for the brake. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I understand why so many guys do an all-guy snowmobile trip though. It's probably super fun with a big group. It probably didn't help that it was 18 degrees outside. Our snowmobiles were well-equipped with hand and feet warmers and my helmet kept my head warm, but man, my butt was brrrrrrrr-cold! We were able to jump on the trail right from our hotel which was super convenient, but unfortunately, there weren't that many bars on the trail close to us.

As for New Years, we laid low with some friends and made an amazing dinner of beef tenderloin and lobster tails and then enjoyed Rockband for 3 hours straight. If you aren't familiar with the game Rockband but have heard of Guitar Hero , Rockband kicks Guitar Hero's ass straight to the moon. You have a vocalist on the mic, a bassist on the guitar and a drummer on the drum set. Each band member sees their own set of chords on the TV that they need to play or sing on their instrument. After each song, you get ranked as a band and if you are good, you gain fans. If you suck, well, then duh...you lose fans. As you get better, the venues (which are real venues across the country), get better. You also get paid more the bigger venue, giving you the option of upgrading your digs (aka clothes). The mic and the guitar even have a motion detector so if it detects you are jumping around jammin' your ass off, then you get more points or are judged as "Top Performer" or "Most Energy" after each son. At 3:30 in the morning I was still saying, "Just one more song!!!"

Good times!!! Go get this game!

In other news, the wedding plans are coming along. I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those brides that constantly talks about her wedding, but we now have appointments for invitations and bridesmaid dresses. All ladies are getting their measurements to me and I'm hoping to have those ordered tomorrow. Brian has been busy doing research for the honeymoon. We really wanted to go to the Maldives but after 6 days in Mexico, the thought of traveling 3 days to get there is very unappealing. Not to mention its the 2-3 days back to Chicago. So we're exploring Bora Bora/Tahiti, Italy, Costa Rica and a number of other places. Hoping to get that squared away soon.

I have the name & number for our wedding planner in Mexico but I can't seem to ever get through to her....I want to get all of our activities planned. So far, I'm hoping for a day-trip to Cozumel by boat from our hotel, a day of golf for the golfers or shopping in Playa del Carmen for the shoppers, a happy hour once everyone has arrived and a dinner the night before for our "rehearsal dinner". Of course, the wedding will be an all-day party, too.

I've found all sorts of fun gifts for our gift bags. Once we have a better idea of how many people are coming (current count is 58), then I'll order those. We'll assemble them in Chicago and ship them to Mexico so they can be delivered to every one's rooms before they arrive.

All in all, we got a lot done in just a few days!

So what else?? Oh I know, CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA!!! You have finally opened your minds to the possibility of having someone in the White House who is not a white male. Whether or not I am an Obama supporter, I think yesterday's decision was a HUGE MILESTONE in American history. This will change things FOREVER. We are finally moving in the right direction. It's 2008 and it's sure as hell about time!! GO IOWA!!!

It's 6am

2007-12-31T06:08:00.000-06:00

and I've been up for the past three hours.

Thoughts of the wedding planning woke me up around 3:30 and I laid in bed worrying about all of the things we've yet to plan for about 2 hours. Finally, I came downstairs to do some online research.

Invitations, colors, bridesmaid dresses, groomsmen suits, Brian's suit, activities to do in Mexico, favors for the gift bags, the honeymoon........the list goes on and on.

I guess it doesn't help that Brian and I are having a fondue party in two weeks to celebrate my birthday. Now we have that to plan, too. I guess that's my fault. I have to stop adding things to my list.

I hope YOU are sleeping right now.

And for what it's worth, Happy New Year!

If you are 0% away from a goal, has the goal been attained?

2007-12-21T14:58:00.001-06:00

I am really looking forward to the next 11 days that will be spent out of the office.

Why? Because I feel very deflated right now.

I'm in sales. Sales people are incentivized by awards, recognition and of course, money. We have an annual trip called "Pacesetter" which is essentially a Presidents Club, Circle of Distinction or President's Council. If you hit a certain number in your sales, then you win this trip or take the money if you can't go. Those who hit it are typically in the top 2-5% of the company and we have about 4,400 sales people.

Yeah that's great, right? Too bad I missed my Pacesetter goal by...........

Wait for it.

Oh wait for it longer......

0.001%

Yep, that's right. That percentage equates to 455 bucks in sales. Did I mention my average fee is $22,000 charged to the client?

A week in Cancun (or $5,000) out the door. The real shitty part? I've talked to so many recruiters in other offices who in the past were 4k short, 12k short and one who was even $68,000 short and their bosses still let them win this trip. My boss? Not so much. I'm $455 bucks short and he said "A goal is a goal". Yes, he's right. A goal IS a goal and I wouldn't even go on the trip anyway since I'm getting married in Mexico 2 months after the trip will take place. But I have worked my butt off and put a lot of money in his pocket in the process. I AM a Pacesetter, regardless of winning the title. I have been recruiting for nearly 5 years and I am ranked 3rd in my office against guys who have been in the business 3 times longer than I have. The guy who was ranked 4th has been recruiting for 14 years. My point: I've held my own and I'm just really, really disappointed right now.

I guess good wasn't good enough this year. So there ya have it. That is why I am so ready to forget this job for the next 11 days and just enjoy myself. I'll try not to think about the fact that I was 0% away from a goal but the goal was still not attained.

And in March of 2009, I WILL be on the beach in the Dominican Republic. You can betch'er sweet ass on that.

Holiday Fun

2007-12-20T13:21:00.001-06:00

I gathered up 8 of my closest girlfriends last night and headed to Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba for a fun night of tapas (yum!) and our 2nd (yes, that's right) Yankee Swap (also known as a White Elephant, Chinese Gift Exchange or Thieving Secret Santa). We had a lot of laughs as the gifts were swiped out of hands faster than they could be unwrapped.

Good times.

Tonight I'm headed to my company Holiday Party at Maggiano's, one of the best Italian joints in the city. Brian is at his company holiday party right now and unfortunately, we're both attending our company gigs stag. He's probably two sheets to the wind as I type this at 1:35pm and getting closer to the third sheet. (I've never really understood that phrase - oh wait - I just looked it up - check it out here.)

Next week is sure to be a ton of fun.......we're grabbing our snowboards, our pooch and jumping in the SUV to head up north. We're leaving on Christmas Day and plan to snowboard a few days and snowmobile another. I can't wait. Cooper loves the snow so it'll be a good time all around. Wisconsin is definitely not Whistler, but it'll give me a good chance to fine tune my 'boarding skills.

We're hoping to head back to our fine city to ring in the new year. If I don't post in the next few days, you'll know why.

Happy Holidays to all!!

"Why I love the number 27"

2007-12-19T08:28:00.000-06:00

Last night, we went over to Akira so that I could use a gift certificate that was expiring. For all of you who don't live in Chicago, Akira is a retail store that is overtaking North Avenue just east of Damen in Bucktown. It started with a small store front for women. Then it opened a shoe store. Then the shore store expanded to purses and accessories. Then a men's store opened a few blocks down...then a men's shoe store....then the women's store bought the adjoining buildings and is now quite large. Anyhoo, they have everything under the sun from cheap sweaters, nice coats to the best designer jeans. There really is something for everyone, depending on your budget.

Since most of my jeans are too big now, you can imagine my joy when I found that all of their designer jeans were buy one, get one half off. That's when all of the fun began (well fun for ME, but not so much for Brian). They have a "Denim Specialist" on hand to assist shoppers with their selection of jeans and will explain the different fits, styles, washes and shades. She started cramming my dressing room with jeans of all styles (and if you know me, you know I love my jeans).

There I was in a room filled with Seven for all Mankind, Citizen of Humanity, Chip & Pepper, Hudson, Monarchy, Frankie B, Traverniti and William Rast OH MY! Where do I begin? Have I died and gone to jean heaven??

Just when I thought I hit a 'climax' of jean euphoria in that dressing room the unthinkable happened. As I was trying on my first pair of jeans, I look down and read the tag. It's a size 27. Not my NEW svelte size of 28 that I've been enjoying for the past 6 months, down from a 29. Okay, I won't lie, I've flirted with a size 30 along the way over the past few years. But THIS pair was a 27. "Surely it's a fluke", I thought to myself. "Surely they run big". So I rip them off and try on the next pair of 27's. They fit, too! And the third and the fourth....all 27's! Can it be? Can I really be a size 27 now???

And ya know what? It gets EVEN better. One of the pair of Monarchy's were too big (and they run small), so she brought me a size 26. Yes, a size 26. And yes indeed....they fit!!!

If you remember this rant about my experiences w/Belinda at Jenny Craig, then you remember what crap she gave me for not meeting my goal of 128. Well I'm very happy to report that I am now a solid 126/127. So stick it in your ear, Belinda!

So I walked out of Akira last night with a new pair of Citizen's and a new pair of William Rast jeans. BOTH a size 27. Might be small news for you, but it's big news for me.....an athletic girl who has struggled for her entire life to lose muscle and size in her legs while maintaining and active lifestyle. Couple that with emotional eating and it's a tough feat. But I did it. Not only have I lost 16 lbs since March, but I've kept it off. It hasn't been easy and I still have my good days and bad days, but I now have more good days than bad days. That's the key! I've learned what my body to needs, how much my body needs and when my body needs it.

So Merry Christmas to me!!! :)

One Year Ago Today

2007-12-18T14:24:00.000-06:00

Brian and I got engaged.

Who knew it would take me a full twelve months to send out my Save the Date's. Yep, they went out today!! Mark that off the list!

PS - I highly recommend you visiting the post office at any other hour other than a lunch hour if you must mail something between now and Christmas. Or just stay away from the Post Office in the Sears Tower. That's 45 minutes of my life I'll never get back!

More on Huckabee

2007-12-18T14:17:00.000-06:00

So I've found a few articles here that have shed some light on the Huckabees.

Mike IS an advocate for the fight against obesity. See this and this.

I've googled and googled but can't find how old that holiday card is. If it's older, then I stand corrected. If it's current, then I commend him for his fight against obesity, but I do feel very strongly that healthy eating habits and exercise need to start in the home.

The Poster-Family for Obesity in America

2007-12-18T13:05:00.000-06:00

Look. I really wish this were a joke. Unfortunately, it's not.

This is the family Holiday Card for the Huckabees. Yes, as in Presidential-hopeful Mike Huckabee.

Even if I were a fan of Mike Huckabee and agreed with every single one of his political platforms, I would not vote for him. I refuse to elect a President for the United States who has a family that looks like this.

Do you think it's right to elect a heavy family (well at least 50% of them are heavy) into the White House to represent the fattest country in the world??

**If this blog offends you, then please refer to the above listed catch phrase.

Pray for my Step-Dad

2007-12-17T09:17:00.000-06:00

When Brian and I were home for Thanksgiving, my Step-Dad received some pretty terrible news about his lifelong best friend. Johnny had stage 4 Esophageal Cancer. That was Thanksgiving morning.

Johnny passed away Saturday morning. Three very short weeks after finding out he had cancer.

Johnny would have celebrated his 50th Wedding Anniversary with his wife this summer. It's really so sad but the bright side is that my step-Dad was able to say Goodbye to his lifelong friend. Johnny not only knew he was loved, but he was surrounded by people who cared for him when he passed away.

Take some time this holiday season to take inventory of those who matter to you. Who do you love? Who haven't you told in a while? Who do you owe a phone call to? Have you had a riff with someone over something silly....is it time for that riff to end?? Remember what Oprah said, will it really matter on your dying day??

Pick up the phone or get in your car. Don't email or send a note. Show up at their doorstep and give that person a hug. If they don't live in your a city then pick up the phone and tell them...don't leave a voicemail.

And send a prayer or two out to my Step-Dad. He needs it right now.

Friday Wisdom

2007-12-13T09:56:00.000-06:00

For Christmas last year, My Mom gave me a calendar filled with daily quotes and helpful hints for the "Busy Professional Woman of 2007" (that's me).

The past 2 quotes were actually pretty good.

Wednesday's read, "Wisdom consists of knowing what is not necessary". Boy does this hit home for me. Do you know many times I've had a temper tantrum or blew up at someone and it was totally unnecessary? Well, I can tell you that many, many times my tantrum's have been followed with Brian telling me, "Ya know that's totally not necessary". And....he's always right. I've been trying to make myself more aware of it, but sometimes that ole temper just flares right up out of nowhere.

I was watching Oprah the other day and she said something that has stuck with me since. She said, "When I'm really angry and really mad about something that has happened in my life, I stop and ask myself, 'On my dying day, will this situation really matter?'"

Wow.

Why haven't I been asking myself that for the past 32 years???? Instead, when I get upset about this or that, I have let it affect my day, my mood and sometimes even those around me. Unfortunately, I can't count the times I've been upset at something trivial and have snapped at Brian, an innocent bystander.

After I heard Oprah's comment, I'm very happy to report that when BMW called to tell me my car repairs might total $2200, I didn't get upset. It's only money. When I got home last night to find that Cooper had turned one of my brand new leather boots into an open-toed boot, I didn't get upset. They are only boots. This morning, when a man almost ran over my foot with his SUV because he was illegally chatting away on his cell phone while driving, oblivious to the fact that I had a "Walk" signal, I let it roll off my back. Why? Because I was safe and it's not necessary to let it bother me.

That's the moral of the quote from Wednesday, right? I've been so focused on what IS necessary that I have totally let the UNNECESSARY stuff fly under the radar.

Yesterday's quote reads, "When my life is over; I am curious if I will feel that I have lived it or just got through it".

What a great time of year to stop and reflect the decisions we've made in 2007. Brian is so busy right now and SO stressed out. He's got a lot going on and we haven't been able to spend a lot of time together lately due to work, holiday commitments and his 'second job' as a landlord. We keep telling each other that we'll make up for it during the holidays when we take a breather for a quick snowboarding trip. But is that okay? Should we putting off spending time together to get the other stuff taken care of?? It's easy to answer that by asking one simple question, "If, God forbid, anything happened to either of us tomorrow, would we regret the decision to put the trivial stuff before our relationship?"

I would absolutely regret that!

SO!!! Are you living your life? Or just getting through it? MAKE the time for your loved ones TODAY! Figure out what is necessary and most importantly, what is not necessary!!!!

"Don't Panic"

2007-12-12T09:52:00.000-06:00

That's the phrase that keeps replaying in my brain.

Our wedding is four months from today.

FOUR MONTHS.

I'm trying to take deep breaths but the honest truth is that aside from my dress, our Save the Dates & the location, we have NOTHING planned.

HELP!

Raise Your Hand

2007-12-12T08:21:00.000-06:00

Raise your hand if you've ever screwed up a recipe.

{Awesome, I'm in good company.}

Raise your hand if you've ever screwed up two recipes.

{Oh. Okay. Just a few of you.}

Raise your hand if you've ever screwed up two recipes in one night.

{Okay, the numbers are dwindling.}

Raise your hand if you've ever screwed up two recipes after 10pm the night before a party.

{I'm feeling lonely now.}

And finally raise your hand if you've found yourself at the grocery store at 10:30pm on a Tuesday replacing all of the ingredients for your cornbread (I know! It's JUST cornbread and it's very simple to make!) and your eggnog (Cut me some slack, I just found out that you can make it and not just buy it).

{So I'm the only one?}

Yeah so sometimes my kitchen is NOT my best friend. Okay I can be honest. My kitchen did nothing to me....it's what I did to myself. I was hurrying. It was late and I still had a million things to do. So instead of slowing down and reading the recipe, I poured 8 cups of milk into my eggnog even though I already purchased 7 cans of evaporated milk and they were sitting right there on the counter in front of me. And when I read the recipe and saw vanilla I knew we had some vanilla in the cupboard....but didn't realize the recipe called for ONE QUARTER OF A CUP vanilla. I mean, come on! I've only used vanilla for baking and I've NEVER used more than a teaspoon. How was I supposed to know I needed that much?

And the cornbread. Yeah, let's not even talk about the cornbread. First I put the shortening in with the eggs and milk and started mixing.......and mixed some more..........and still some more.....but the shortening was just moving around in the bowl with the eggs and milk. Oh, hey! Look at that that! I needed MELTED shortening....

Well since I needed the remaining 12 eggs for eggnog, I had to drain my egg/milk substance into a colander and scoop out all the chunks of shortening to melt them. Seriously, I did this. My kitchen looked like a war zone and it didn't help that Brian was standing on the counter replacing our 3 pendants lights that shorted out on us this weekend. I couldn't tell if the counter was covered in sawdust or powdered sugar. Did it really matter?

Needless to say when the cornbread came out of the oven, it was so dry I almost choked trying to swallow a bit. It had no taste. Maybe I accidentally used sawdust instead of flour??

So on the 2nd time around I used vegetable oil instead of shortening and that seemed to do the trick. I was too tired to wait for it to cool off and try it, so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it goes well with the chili tonight.

Oh, the lights look really nice! Brian did a great job!!

Sooner or later, I'll develop some SKILLZ in the kitchen.

The List Keeps Growing

2007-12-10T08:59:00.001-06:00

It seems the faster I check tasks off my list the sooner they are added.

Brian and I were busy all weekend organizing and preparing for the holiday party that I'm hosting for my women's networking group. Brian has graciously volunteered to make his awesome chili but was testing various recipes in the kitchen all day yesterday.

Between now and Wednesday I have to:

1. Go to the dentist this afternoon
2. Buy a gift for our Yankee Gift Swap
3. Make the corn bread muffins
4. Make eggnog (for 25)
5. Drop off my car at the shop on Tuesday AM
6. (Hopefully) Pick up my car from the shop on Tuesday PM
7. Pick up my food at Jenny
8. Find some time to do some cardio at the gym (so I can enjoy the eggnog without feeling guilty)
9. Finish my holiday business cards (I think I only have about 20 left!)
10. Install Microsoft Office on my Mom's laptop
11. Send laptop to Ohio

Okay I guess the latter two don't have to be done by Wednesday, but the rest do. I wish we could have about 10 more hours in a day, but I'd easily settle for 5.

Did I mention I haven't even started my holiday shopping yet??

Pearl Harbor Day...

2007-12-06T09:39:00.000-06:00

...has a very special meaning to many, many American's.

For my family, the day is very special to us, also, but has a much different meaning. Today would have my brother's 35th birthday. Thirty Five years old!!! I can't believe he's been gone for 14 years and I often wonder what his life would have been like today.

I don't think it was a mistake that he was born on the day that America was attacked by the Japanese. If you knew my brother, you understood the irony. You knew that his life was a constant war. Sometimes it was a war that he waged only with himself. Other times, he seemed to recruit others to fight in his war along side him and other times, those same people were on opposing sides. Sometimes I fought against him, others I fought beside him. Either way, we were always fighting. It was absolutely emotionally exhausting to witness, much less take part in.

My brother's life of a very short 20 years was filled with excitement, drama and most of all....chaos. Thinking back on his life, it seems almost as if he wasn't happy unless there was some sort of chaos surrounding him. His mind was always churning; I don't know that he ever had a peaceful day in his entire life. He rarely rested. He was always on the go and in motion. Unfortunately, as a single mother of a 2 teenagers, this certainly wasn't easy on my Mom. Every time the door bell rang, her heart stopped. Many times it was just the paper boy, or a kid selling candy, or a telemarketer. But even as a woman who is 32 years old, I cannot begin to imagine what it was like for my Mom to constantly live in fear of her son's safety knowing that his constant need for speed or need for "chaos" would ultimately result in his demise. She knew in her heart of hearts that Dennis was his own worst enemy. Hell, we all did. But we were still rooting for him to turn it around. He wrestled with some inner demons that no one ever understood and to this day, we still can't quite wrap our minds around where those demons came from. He was a troubled young man who despite many, many attempts to get his life together ultimately took three steps back after taking two steps forward. That was the story of his life.

When that doorbell rang on Friday the 13th during a hot August evening in 1993, my Mom's worst fears were realized. She knew instantly that Dennis' antics had finally done him in. He had borrowed a friend's motorcycle and took it out for a spin. He was going very fast on a residential street and ended up colliding with a car that was pulling out of a driveway. Rumor's have spun that he was being chased by someone, but that was never proven. Due to the fact that he was not wearing a helmet, he suffered from severe head injuries and survived on life support for 4 days. He passed away on August 17th.

I know raising him wasn't easy for my Mom. On that note, I know I didn't help matters much, either, with my own shenanigan's. But what I do know is that I'm thinking of my brother today and I certainly know my Mom is thinking of my brother today and I think we are both thinking the same thing. We are both hoping that he is finally at peace.

And you know what? When my Mom's doorbell rings now, I'm sure her heart doesn't stop anymore. Although I miss him dearly, I'm grateful that my Mom has finally found peace, too.

Happy Peaceful Birthday, Dennis.

Ladies and Gentleman.....

2007-12-05T20:49:00.001-06:00

Our Christmas Tree!!!

O Christmas Tree!

2007-12-05T08:28:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas Tree is lit and decorated and it looks beautiful! I didn't have a chance to snap a picture yet but will do so tonight.

After we finished the tree last night, we took Cooper outside to enjoy the first real snowfall. He loves the snow. He prances around like a little reindeer and its so funny. The snow was perfect for packing snowballs so we would ball one up, show it to him and then throw it....he would chase it down the street and then stop and wonder where in the hell it went as it broke into a million little pieces in front of him. It was really quite amusing. He loves to eat the snow and he thinks it's the greatest thing when Brian and I would pelt him with snowballs. We were all soaked......but it was worth it.

Oh, to embrace the snow!!

Come April, when the bottoms of my pants are camoflouged white with salt and the snow is a lovely shade of yellowish brown and I've gone through 4 packs of pocket Kleenex and our carpets are dirty from the crap Cooper drags in.....let's see how much I'll be embracing the snow then. But it's not April yet!

It's December and the first snowfall is upon us! Enjoy it!!!!

Doncha just hate....

2007-12-04T13:31:00.000-06:00

To-Do Lists?

I just l-l-l-l-love checking things OFF my lists but I just cringe with disgust when I look at my To-Do list and it's riddled with time-consuming, mind-numbing laborious tasks.

What's on my list currently???

1. Addressing and sending over 100 (more) holiday business cards (complete with a personalized note on each).
2. Decorating the Christmas tree, including stringing the lights. I hate the lights!
3. Loading Windows XP onto my Mom's new laptop that we gave her for Christmas. Too bad mine was sent in for repair and now I'm using hers (your a life saver, Mom!)! It came with Windows Vista and anyone who knows about Vista knows why I'll be putting XP on it.
4. Sending out over 100 Save-the-Dates when the arrive.
5. Sitting down with my Maid of Honor to sort shower dates & details, bridesmaid dress details, etc.
6. On the same note, picking out colors and themes & wedding gifts for the big day.
7. Preparing for our holiday party that is less than 2 weeks away.
8. Christmas shopping.........uggh, I haven't even started!
9. Taking my car into shop.....more money out the door.

What have I recently checked OFF the list?
1. Bridal shower Thank-You's!
2. I've sent about 40 holiday business cards so far
3. Outdoor Christmas Decorations (Oh okay, Brian did that, but it's checked off the list regardless)

Well I obviously have lots to do....so buh bye!!!

Mmmm, pot roast!

2007-12-03T08:48:00.000-06:00

I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but I am 32 yrs old and yesterday I made my first pot roast. Yep, it is true. With all of the wonderful gifts we received during my bridal shower in Ohio, Brian and I have a new lease on our cooking life.

The pot roast was freakin' amazing and we both agreed that my first crock pot-made meal was a huge success! Yesterday we also broke out our brand new Kitchen Aid mixer and made cookies. Those, on the other hand, were not such a huge success. In an effort to try to make lower-calorie sweets, I used the Splenda substitutes for both white and brown sugar and I'm afraid the cookie taste resembled something along the lines of a very sweet saw dust. Yuk!

Saturday morning we broke out the new griddle and made eggs, hash browns and 2 kinds of bacon (the regular stuff for B, turkey bacon for me). Cooper was living the high life this weekend when we poured all the bacon grease over his food on Saturday and Sunday he got to eat the left over pot roast that we didn't use in the crock pot.

While the pot roast was cooking, we ventured out to get a Christmas Tree. We haven't had the time to decorate it yet, but we got a gorgeous Douglas Fir from Home Depot. Yeah, no trips to the forest for our tree.....we got straight to Home Depot for ours! What can we say? We're city dwellers!!

Happy December to ya!

Wanna laugh???

2007-11-30T08:43:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!!!

I'm goin' to Oprah, I'm goin' to Oprah!!!!

2007-11-29T13:33:00.000-06:00

Wooo hooo! My girlfriend has an amazing boyfriend who got her two tickets to Oprah and guess who she's taking??????

Uh Huh!!! She's taking ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!

I guess we're going in either January or February; they give you a two week notice for a Wednesday or Thursday taping.

I can't wait!!!!!!! Anyone that knows me knows how much I love Oprah!

So much to blog, so little time...

2007-11-27T12:22:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to sit down and write a blog for a few days now, but between the holiday traveling schedule, playing catch up at work, hosting a cooking class at my house this week and trying to get my bridal shower Thank You cards out, I just haven't had the time!!

So after EIGHT hours in the car on Wednesday, Brian, Cooper and I finally arrived in Ohio. Traffic was a bitch and it was raining almost the entire time. Cooper was great though; he just sits in his bed and waits until our destination, never saying a word. My Mom and step-Dad always get a kick out of having him in the house....it's nice to see them love the dog as much as we do. Now we know we aren't crazy dog people; it's Cooper's fault for being so gosh darned cute!

Thanksgiving Dinner was delicious! It was different not being at my Grandma's house but it was nice to create some new memories. Ted's sausage stuffing was to die for, as usual. I wish I would have remembered to bring some home with me!! After dinner, Brian and I headed over my step-sister's house to see all my nephews and niece. We brought our xmas gifts with us since we won't see them this year at Christmas. Brian and I were walking around the toy department wondering "What in the hell do kids like these days?" There are so many options! I didn't want to give them lame gifts, but all of the toys we selected seemed to be a hit. (wipes forehead). My niece, Breanna, is getting so big! She's one a half and walking all over the place. While we were there, she said her first sentence. Her Grandma asked her what she was doing to which she replied, "I dunno", without batting an eye. I loved hanging with the kids almost as much I love coming home to see how different they are. They have such personalities and they are so dang cute! It made me feel a little sad for not being in their lives more. :(

My Mom and I went to get mani's on Friday before my cousin's annual fondue party. The party was amazing and she was uber-organized with her different sauces, broths, cheeses and chocolates. We had a good time. The highlight of the night was looking through some old photographs of my Great Grandparents, Grandparents and their families. I couldn't believe how much my Mom and I look like my Great-Grandma! I always wonder why people in black and white photos don't smile. Why is that??? Were they told NOT to smile? I don't get it and never have.

Saturday was the big day! My bridal shower with all of my Ohio friends and family. It was nice to see everyone and I really appreciated the fact they came out during a busy holiday weekend. My Mom did a great job with everything, albeit she had to change the location at the last minute. The food was great, the cake was great and the company was even better. Poor Brian was there for the whole thing; what a supportive fiance I have!

After the shower, my girlfriends helped us load the truck with gifts and drop them off at the house. We then went out for a few drinks and some sushi appetizers at Sushi Rock. We ended up running into another friend who just so happened to be dining out with her husband and son so I got to visit with them for a little while. My friend was pregnant when I moved to Chicago and to see a little boy who is almost four was sort of surreal. I feel like Chicago is a time machine; every time I travel back to Ohio everything and everyone has changed so much. I digress. So after Sushi Rock, we went to Bar Louie and then ended up downtown at a myriad of W. 6th street bars. After I looked at my watch and realized we had been drinking for 11 hours straight, I rallied the troops and we went home.

I also have been feeling like I have the worst memory ever lately. While driving to my cousin's house, we passed an ex-boyfriend's house. This was a guy who drove with my Mom and my Grandma down to see my graduation from Marine Corps Boot camp in South Carolina. To drive 11 hours with your girlfriend's Mom and Grandma, one would think it would be pretty serious relationship, right? Well why can't I, for the life of me, remember how we met? I've racked my brain but can't remember at all. We went to different high schools so we didn't have the same friends. Then my Mom reminded me of something an old friend did to me a long time ago. I had, what I thought was, a best friend in this guy, Keith. Keith and I were inseparable throughout high school up until the time I went into the military. We got into a fight (and again, I can't for the life of me remember the exact reason or cause of the fight), but Keith put a lit cigarette out on my forehead. Seriously, that is a pretty violent thing to do to a friend and I'm baffled as to why I forgot about the incident. He had a baby with a girlfriend of mine and she was supposed to come to the shower, with their daughter who is now 14. Anyhoo, my Mom said "Isn't Keith the guy who put the cigarette out on your forehead?" That's something that shouldn't be forgotten, would you agree? Did I put it away subconsciously to avoid the pain it caused? Yes, we were kids and kids did stupid things, but he wasn't a violent person, so why can't I remember the events that lead up to that?

I really wish I would have kept a journal while I was in my early twenties. Lord knows I had a lot to write about back then! To say that I have not had a boring life would be an understatement.

Let's see......I joined the military at 17. I lost my 20 year old brother to a deadly accident. I got married. I got divorced. I dealt with racism first hand during my marriage. I dealt with racial violence. I had a father that couldn't decide whether he was In our Out. I gained 2 new step-sisters, then I gained 3 more. I opened my heart to them only to lose them in the end. I moved cross country...twice. I lived in 4 states. I dated someone with babies that were 2 years old and a 6 months old and tried on the whole "step-parent" shoes. I realized those shoes didn't fit. I finally severed the relationship with my father, for good.

Yeah, I guess I would have had a lot to write about. Did I mention that all of that happened before the age of 25?

I've seen a lot, I've been through a lot, I've been hurt a lot, I've learned a lot. Most importantly, I've loved a lot. All of those situations (and many that I did not mention), helped mold me into the person that I am now. That's what happens when "life" happens - you grow, you evolve, you learn.

Some say I'm strong, some say I'm abrasive, some say I'm guarded, some say I wear my heart on my sleeve. I guess I don't really fit a certain category, per se. What I do know for certain, is that I am who I am. I am not for everyone. I used to beat myself up for not being all things to all people. I've lost some people along the way who were very important to me. The loss was not totally in vain as I stopped to evaluate the situation and figure out the lesson to be learned. For each situation, there was, indeed, a valuable lesson. Those lessons have helped me put things in perspective, they've helped me try to be a better person (at least I hope they have).

One of the most valuable things I've come to realize is that the person you think I am depends on the person you think you are. It's really very simple. I have girlfriends who I get along with great and love to be with, but yet they don't like each other, for whatever reason. My personality fits with theirs but their personalities conflict. Isn't that interesting?? There are people that I cannot fathom to be around, but yet, others quite enjoy their company.

I guess once one figures this out, life becomes easier and more difficult at the same time. I guess it's all because of tolerance. I've tolerated a lot of pain in my life but that pain has left scars that allow me to sometimes see things for what they are and many times, it's more pain. The difference is how you react to it and deal with it. I used to try to disguise it and make excuses for it while trying to find a place for it in my life. But now, I don't disguise it. I see it for what it is really is......it's pain. Period. Even if it's dressed up, in a different form or unexpected package, it's still pain.

So back to the part how life became easier and more difficult at the same time. Now, if I see it, feel it or even sense it, I try to nip it in the bud. I don't have time for pain. I don't have the tolerance for pain. I try to make room for love in my heart, instead. Because once I removed the pain in my life, I found that my heart was empty and ready to be filled with love, joy, friendship and happiness with no strings. And ya know what? I had a lot of love to give once I got rid of my baggage!! Crazy how that happens, isn't it??

So it's easier to remove the pain and allow room for genuine love and most importantly, love for myself. Until 5 years ago, I never allowed myself to love ME. What's more difficult is trying to see the intentions of others for what they truly are. I'm constantly asking myself, "Are they honest? Are they real? Are they acting with good intentions? Is there a hidden agenda? Will they hurt me? Do they love me? Am I loved? Do I love them?" It's like there is a record playing over and over and over again in my mind evaluating every situation I'm faced with morning till night no matter if I'm on the train, at work, at home, etc. Brian tells me he doesn't know how I deal with it; but I tell him that it's just how it is. It's just my life. It's the cards that were dealt to me and the only thing I can do is to be at peace with those thoughts and accept them.

And I do accept them. (big sigh)

I guess I've gone on quite a tangent here; and an unexpected one, at that. What was going to be a quick recap of my Thanksgiving weekend turned into a mini-therapeutic session with myself. I guess the trip home really opened my inner-psyche to allow some deep self-evaluation.

If I haven't lost you by now, then thanks for listening.

PS - look at that! I have a journal after all!

Cleveland, here we come!

2007-11-19T10:36:00.000-06:00

So who cares if Cleveland was ranked the 10th most dangerous city in the US?

That's where we're headed for Turkey Day AND for my Ohio Bridal Shower!!! I'm pumped!

I'll try to post a recap of Cooper's first hunting lesson before we leave......stay tuned!

Karma is a......

2007-11-15T08:27:00.000-06:00

So the new gal started in our office over a month ago and she's doing pretty well. I like her. And I like the fact that she has a business arranging people's homes in the most appropriate Feng Shui form. I also like the fact that she reads birth cards on the side, too. Doesn't really match up with her right-wing political stance but that's why makes her unique; she doesn't fit a norm, per se.

Anyhoo, when she showed me MY birth card, I couldn't help but think that it was completely dead on. Let me share:

Six of Spades: The Card of Fate

(seriously, that's the name of my card!!)

This is a powerful card, and the card of a person who is here to learn the responsibility of such power. These people either align themselves to a higher purpose and vision and achieve great success, or have their power turned against them for their own downfall. As a rule, these people are very responsible for their actions but a strong Neptune influence can lead many of them down the road of escapism and time lost in fantasy. They are dreamers to be sure. They must latch on to the highest dream they can and use their power to attain it. Nothing can stop them once this vision is clear. Fulfillment on every level is guaranteed. They must watch a tendency to fall into a comfortable rut. They can also be very stubborn. Through the acquisition of knowledge they find great fulfillment, life purpose, direction, and many good friends. Some of their greatest challenges come in the area of love and romance. Their own indecision works against them.

That is a much abbreviated version, but it's the only free website I could find that will share birth cards. Anyhoo, what's not written here in it's entirety is the fact that I basically pay two-fold for the negative energy I put out there. More so than anyone else. Karma is quite literally, a bitch, for me.

So with that being said, I want to put something out there to the Universe that has been weighing heavily on me:

"I'm sorry, Lucretia Bonsak!! I'm sorry I called you 'LeCreature Ballsack' in the 6th grade. I'm sorry I gathered up the other kids in our class and got them to call you LeCreature Ballsack, as well. I was a dumb, heartless kid who was dealing with my own issues of insecurity and wanted the spotlight on anyone but myself. If you are at our 15 year high school reunion next year, I would like to tell you this. Hopefully it doesn't conjure up any old feelings and will be healing for you, too. If it does open up a wound, would the Universe consider it more bad energy?? Would I be dealing with more bad Karma again?? Would I pay for this later? Dang, Lucretia, Help me! What do I do????"

Universe, go easy on me. I let two people turn ahead of me at an intersection today and then I paid for the newspaper that a homeless woman ahead of me in line stole from Walgreen's. All before 8am. Hopefully that'll help????

5 months until the Wedding!!!

2007-11-14T08:22:00.001-06:00

I can't believe how quickly it's creeping up! It'll be here in no time. Until then, enjoy one of my all time favorite love songs by Eric Benet with Tamia, "Spend My Life With You".

What are you thankful for?

2007-11-12T10:11:00.001-06:00

So my Grandma has been hosting Thanksgiving Dinner every year for 67 years. This year, I'm sad to say that we will not be enjoying our turkey feast at my Gram's house. She has been suffering from some very horrible chronic pain in her hips for the past several weeks, causing her to have to use a walker.

Now what you don't know is that my Gram is a very strong woman. She's a very active person and insists on doing everything for herself, albeit she turned 88 years young this past August. She still lives in, and takes care of, the same home that my Mom and her siblings grew up in. This superwoman still swims a mile a day every day that her pool is open when the weather will allow it. She really is simply amazing and I adore the time I get to spend with her and listen to the stories of her life....during a time that was before the freeways were paved in northern Ohio, before she gave birth to five children, before they started a very successful tool shop, before my Grandpa died of lung cancer. I love to listen to her stories and hear all about her upbringing.

This will be a very difficult change for everyone in my family as we have been enjoying this holiday together in the same house since before many of us were even born.

The lesson here is to truly be grateful for our loved ones. Be grateful that even though we will be in our own respective homes for Thanksgiving, our Grandma is still with us. Be grateful for the therapy that she is enduring and hope that it will help her get back to her self-sufficient ways soon enough. Let's not be sad that we won't be together, but let's be grateful for the new memories that we will create on this day.

I am grateful for my cousin, Danny. Danny lives in Los Angeles and works in the entertainment industry. This past weekend he traveled back to Cleveland and visited my Grandma, my Mom and all of my Grandma's kids with a professional videographer in tow. He interviewed each one about their upbringing for what we can only guess will be some sort of Christmas gift for my Grandma. I can't wait to see this video and hear all of my aunt and uncles stories about their childhood and growing up under my Grandma and Grandpa's roof.

I am especially grateful for my Mom who will be throwing me a bridal shower while I am home during this trip. Even though I won't be able to see all of my family during this time, I will be lucky enough to see most of them at my bridal shower. And even though she doesn't read this blog, I want send a big Thank You out to my Mom!! I love you!

Don't forget to give Thanks for those who are meaningful to you during this holiday season.

What not to expect the week before Thanksgiving in Chicago

2007-11-12T09:48:00.000-06:00

I was sweating by the time I arrived to my office after the 3 block walk from the train station because it's 63 degrees out.

And I guess global warming is still believed to be a democratic conspiracy, huh?

A few pictures from Halloween

2007-10-29T10:14:00.001-05:00

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Vegas Show Girl!

Check out the rhinestones!

Brian as Lucifer

Myself, Brian, April (Sexy Cop) and Howard (Dept of Erections Inmate)

Me, CT, Kelly and Jen (Marie Antoinette). That's her REAL hair!

Every pimp has his...

Give the damn dog back!!!

2007-10-16T15:31:00.000-05:00

This is sad!

Roughin' it in the woods!

2007-10-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

So we went camping in Baraboo, Wisconsin this past weekend. I can't even begin to say how beautiful Devil's Lake State Park is! We went during the perfect time of year when the leaves are turning and falling. It made for some gorgeous views and the perfect backdrop for some awesome pictures.

We got up to WI late on Friday night and set up camp. It was a bit chilly while we set up the 3 tents (No, not 3 for us. We went with 2 other couples. C'mon, I'm not THAT high maintenance). The ground was very moist and it made it tough to get a fire started right away. While Brian and I put our tent up, we all laughed at Cooper who kept standing next to our SUV at the passenger door. Yes, the door where he gets in. He didn't want to be outside! It was like he was saying, "Hey, just let me know when we get to the Hilton, k?" He was NOT having it at first and I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed.......shoot, even embarrassed! He's a hunting dog for crying out loud! He's supposed to LOVE the outdoors! I finally lifted him out of the truck, carried him to the camp fire and made him sit on my lap. When he finally settled down, he ran around with our friend's dog and seemed to start enjoying himself. By Saturday morning, it was like he was born in the woods.

Saturday morning we went on a 9 mile hike around all of Devil's Lake. It was amazing! Some of the trails were nothing but steep rocks. Some were wooded trails, some were along the lake and others were on top of the mountain area looking down on the lake. Every view was better than the last. Here are a few of the pics:

All six of us.

Brian and I above Devil's Lake.

Check out that rock! It was a few hundred feet straight down! Great for rock climbing.

Here it the view by the lake. We were ALL the way up at the top of those trees.

One of the wooded trails.

Brian said this was the best picture I've ever taken :)

Look how green!

Rock climbing, anyone?

The rocks were no feat for Cooper or Buckeye. They loved it!

My baby and me.

This is BY FAR my favorite picture of the weekend. Brian was trying to snap a picture of the lake and then Cooper popped his head up. I titled it "The world through the eyes of a Vizsla".

Chaos in Cleveland

2007-10-10T13:47:00.000-05:00

First, THIS happens about a mile from my Mom's house.

Then, THIS happened at a Cleveland High School. Another school shooting in America.

What is going on in Cleveland??? I hope everyone is okay!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2007-10-09T14:02:00.000-05:00

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I'd like to encourage all women to perform a BSE (Breast Self Exam) this month. You should be conducting these exams monthly, girls!

Why not order these BSE Instruction Cards and give them to all of the women in your life??

Also, you should click here once a day, EVERY DAY, to help fund mammograms!!

Go Figure

2007-10-09T08:18:00.000-05:00

As I was about to put my old cell phone in the envelope that was provided by the insurance company last night to send it back, I decided to give it one last college try.

What do you know? I plugged it in and it sprung to life.

I guess the good thing is that I got a new cell phone that appears to work faster and keep a longer battery. The bad thing is that I hope they don't charge me for it when it goes back today to the insurance company.

Now that I was able to get a few of my favorite pictures off the phone, I thought I'd share them. Sorry for the fuzziness...they ARE from my cell phone, afterall.

This is Cooper in his winter gear that protects his little feet from the salt. Also known as "Cooper directing traffic at O'Hare"

Brian and Cooper napping together.

My road companion during a trip to Michigan.

Awww....Coop as a pup.

Kudos!!!!

2007-10-08T13:43:00.000-05:00

I have to give a few props to some of da homies.

After months of rebuilding his engine, Brian's car successfully started up on Saturday. He's been slaving away in our garage since spring and this is the SECOND time he completely rebuilt the engine in his 1973 Porsche Carrera. Way to go, babe!! Your skill with all things mechanical once again completely amazes me!!!

Congrats also to my girl, CT, who finished her first Chicago Marathon. Unless you live under a rock, I'm sure you've heard of the mass chaos that ensued during yesterday's race. We were down there cheering her on and it was pretty much complete insanity. I'm happy she finished and even happier she's healthy and walked away basically unscathed (aside from being pretty sore, of course). I have to tip my hat to all of the marathoners who persevered through what will now arguably be the hardest Chicago marathon ever. Way to go!

Looks like it was a heart condition, not the heat, that killed the 35 yr old man from Michigan.

I've got a case of the Monday's

2007-10-01T08:54:00.000-05:00

Brian and I had a great weekend. Friday night we tried cuisine that was new to both of us....Moroccan! It was actually quite tasty! Then we spent the remainder of the evening shopping for gear for our upcoming camping trip to Devil's Lake in Wisconsin.

Saturday, a friend of mine came into town from Milwaukee and we went to dinner with a big group, followed by drinks in Bucktown. I was nursing a slight hangover all day Sunday, due to not eating enough tapas at Bravo. If you haven't been to Bravo, then I suggest you go....now! It's the best tapas in the city!

When all I really wanted to do on Sunday was lay on the couch and nurse my hangover, I toughed it out and we jumped in the car, dropped the top, and headed to Schaumburg for a bridal show. What a wasted half hour that was! We thought we'd find some neat ideas for the wedding but what we really found was a bunch of vendors forcing their products down your throat. Even when we told the florists that we are having a destination wedding in Mexico that still didn't deter them from telling us where their shop was and how well they could accommodate us.

The downside of my entire weekend was having my cell phone up and die on me Saturday afternoon! One minute I'm confirming our dinner reservations for 8 people, then the next minute my phone won't even turn on. Just like that! I lost all of my numbers, text messages and worst of all....pictures. The ONLY pictures I had of me in my wedding dress were on that phone. Boo!! Of course I'll be able to take pictures in it once again, but it was nice to have.

Now it's back to the grindstone......

Awwwwww Yeah!

2007-09-27T08:51:00.000-05:00

My favorite Scranton Branch employee, Dwight Schrute, comes back tonight on The Office!!!!!

So.....

Will Pam and Jim finally become a couple?

Will Michael get the job at Corporate?

Will Pam leave the office for a more fulfilling career???

I can't wait to find out! Actually, I can wait. But what I can't wait for is more Dwight Schrute comedy! This guy is beyond hilarious!!!!