haven't posted in awhile

Hey... I haven't posted in awhile, I know. I really do need to post more often.

Life has been normal... busy, but normal. Seth is deep into study-mode again, which means I'm kinda single until the end of October. I miss having him around and it means I need to take on more "household responsibilities." Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully this will be his last exam (if he passes, it will).

Other than that, just been working and normal life things. Work has been good... so far this year has been pretty calm, which is always a good thing. This weekend is pretty chill --- went shopping for Karen's bridesmaids dresses this afternoon and that was fun. Aside from that, there's not too much going on (except for the normal housework, etc.).

Anyway, I would very much like to take a nap so that's what I'm going to do:)

Labor Day BBQ:)

A very quick little blog... work has been good. The first week was great and very mellow around the school. Week two had some more drama and issues, but still ok.

We had a great time at the Sox/Sox game on Saturday --- gorgeous weather, a great game (well not from Seth's perspective but too bad... lol:), fun times with friends. And then today (Sunday) we had friends over for a Labor Day BBQ and had a wonderful time!

First day of school, rescues, and more...

It's Sunday night and I'm relaxing before the work week begins. The first day back with students is tomorrow and that's always scary-exciting. I'm feeling positive about this year, so I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll stay that way! I'm actually really glad students are back... the part of my job I enjoy is working with the students --- the scheduling and paper-work stuff I do all summer is fine, but I don't really like it. Plus things were crazy this past week with all the changes in enrollment --- adding students and taking them out --- so I'll be glad to have some distractions from that.

This weekend was really nice... we went out to a yummy dinner with my dad on Friday night, then Saturday I went for a swim and cleaned the house... then Saturday night we had friends over for game night. We had a LOT of fun --- just a lot of silliness with the games, and a lot of laughs. We stayed up really late, though, so today we slept in really late. Which was nice to be able to rest, but bad because I'm afraid my sleep schedule is thrown off for tomorrow. And I want to be alert for the first day back.

The most "exciting" part of the weekend, however, was this afternoon when we had major drama down the alley from our condo. I let Toby out around 2:30 and saw several fire-trucks and fire-fighters all around a condo building 3 down from ours. I went over and asked someone if she knew what was going on, and she said that she heard there were people working on the sewer line behind the condo, and the trench collapsed on two workers. So I went to tell Seth and we both were out there (with several other neighbors) watching to see what would happen. We soon learned that the workers were talking with rescuers, so they were ok, but still trapped. Eventually there were about 10 emergency vehicles (firetrucks, ambulances, "breathing apparatus unit," "special operations unit," "collapse rescue unit") and at least 30 emergency workers. We watched them for hours --- they had to dig, shore up the hole so it didn't collapse back in, saw holes in the two decks above where the guy was, set up some sort of pulley system to hoist him out, etc. It was pretty amazing... they all knew what to do and worked so hard to save these two guys' lives. They had all this equipment and expertise to know exactly what steps to take and what plans to try. It was really admirable. Thankfully, after about 3 1/2 hours they were able to get both workers out (one had gotten pulled out after about 1 1/2 hours, but the other one was buried deeper). Both ther workers were in serious to critical condition, but they were both alive, which is the important thing. There's an article about it here: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/08/firefighters-work-to-rescue-worker-from-trench.html
And it was on the news (that was another exciting/interesting thing about the whole situation... watching all the news crews reporting) and actually on the 5:00 news on Channel 7, they had a shot of the crowd watching in the alley and I was on the news! For like a split second, but it was kinda fun:)

So that took up, really, the entire afternoon. It was an absolutely beautiful day so really nice to be outside; I had wanted to take Toby to the park, but he sat with me on the deck in the sun while I read for awhile time later, and went for a long walk this evening with Seth, so it was ok:) And luckily, the whole drama had a good outcome.

Anyway, I should try and go to bed pretty soon. More later...

Days off, in-laws, "stay-cation"

Haven't written in awhile because I've been pretty busy. I've had off work for a week now and I don't go back to Monday (I took last Thursday off because my in-laws were in town, but this week the school is closed). It's been really nice... even though I kind of missed not going anywhere this summer, it was also nice to be home (plus we have Vegas in October and probably Spring Training in Arizona or Florida in the spring, and hopefully San Diego in May, if Seth passes his next/last exam). And this week was nice because with my in-laws in town we get to kind of be like tourists... we did a lot -- Botanical Gardens and tapas on Thursday (which I love and have to get to more often... it's so beautiful and relaxing there), Sox game on Friday (it was great! Sox won 10-5 against the Yankees), street fest (we took Toby with and he had so much fun:), Greektown and Jersey Boys on Saturday (which I really enjoyed), Second City on Sunday (SO funny), and Lincoln Park Zoo on Monday. Then they went home, but Monday night I went to showtunes with Jen and had a great time (as always), and Tuesday I went to Movies in the Park with Lauren, Jen and Charlie and, as always, we had a great evening of picnicking, drinking wine, talking, and watching the movie. Then today I decided I need to take more advantage of the fact that Chicago museums are free for educators... so I went to the Aquarium/Oceanarium, which was great... loved looking at the fish and whales and everything. It made me want to go diving again really badly. And then since I was there and had a little time and it was free, I decided to go to the Planetarium to see the star show.

Plus, the weather has been amazing the past week --- mid-70s, sunny, breezy.... just amazing. It'll be tough getting back to work after the 10 days off or so...

Anyway, Seth and I are going to watch some TV. More later...

Really nice day....

Hello... had a really nice day today. We started out by going to lunch with Glenn, Sarah and Jason, then Seth went to a Cubs game and I headed home. It was absoultely gorgeous weather this weekend .. warm, but not hot, no humidity, sunny with some puffy clouds and a light breeze. So Toby and I went to Lincoln Park up by Montrose Harbor and enjoyed the weather, I read for awhile, and we just lazed around. Then I went to yoga class, which was also nice and relaxing. Now I'm just waiting for Seth to make dinner and then eat and relax this evening.

Not much else has been going on... just working for the most part. This weekend was actually pretty laid back, surprisingly. We went to a fund-raiser for my friend Colleen's dad on Friday night (he needs a liver transplant... it was a great event), then on Saturday night we went to Taste of Lincoln to see the band 16 Candles with Glenn and Sarah. It was fun for the most part, but at the beginning it was SO crowded and we had these annoying people by us. It was really claustrophobic ... but then they stopped letting people in so it got much better and then was fun.

This next weekend (well end of week and weekend) my in-laws are in town so that's busy, but fun. Then I have the next week off work and not much to do, which I'm very happy about:)

Blog....

Hello. Late night Sunday blogging... not very tired tonight; not sure why. Saturday night was Chris and Lauren's wedding and we had a really good time. It was nice not being in the wedding and just being able to have fun with my friends. Anyway, I slept in today because we were up late with the wedding last night, but I was still sleepy and now I'm just not tired. We went to see the new Harry Potter movie tonight so that maybe why I'm up... sometimes it's hard to go do something then get home at like 11:30 and go right to sleep.



Anyway, I'm going to try and read or something to go to sleep.

Fourth of July weekend

Writing at the end of 4th of July weekend. We had a great time... Thursday I had the day off and Seth got off early -- and we got our new TV (the old one broke a week and a half ago)! It was very exciting... it's a great flat screen HDTV and it's so nice to have a nice one:) Also on Thursday we went for a nice long bike ride....

On Friday Seth went golfing, and I did cleaning most of the day, except for taking Toby for a walk, and then going for sushi for dinner with Seth. Mostly, we got ready for the BBQ on Saturday! Then on Saturday -- 4th of July -- was the BBQ. We had a great time, even though it rained for part of it (since we're on the 1st floor, it didn't get us too much on the deck) and the sun came out and it became a beautiful evening eventually. We had a lot of fun and good food!:)

Then today, we pretty much just lazed around and cleaned from the BBQ. We're going to go take Toby for a walk now so more later.

Wednesday night

Haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I'd do a quick one. This past weekend was very busy. We had Maria's wedding, which was all day Saturday,... plus the rehearsal on Friday and then Karen Swiatek's shower on Sunday. Also, on Friday after the rehearsal, Seth and I went to Joliet to the casinos:) Ha! It was not good, though :(

However, Maria's wedding was really fun. Although it was a very long day, we had a lot of fun getting ready. Her family is so fun! Plus the wedding was just awesome... we danced a lot (my friends and I, not so much Seth:) and just had a great time.

On Monday, Jen and I went to showtunes, which was tons of fun. Then on Tuesday I had the day off, and then I went to the Taste of Chicago with Lauren and Chris for a Barenaked Ladies concert which was fun. And I ended up having the day off on Thursday because of electrical work, which is awesome!

Anyway... more info on facebook, as always.

sunday night

Sunday night blogging... we had a nice weekend. Saw The Hangover on Friday and that was very funny. Then on Saturday was Olivia's wedding and we had a really nice time there... it was a very pretty ceremony. And today was Father's Day, so we went and had a really nice early dinner with Dad.

Anyway, not too much else really new. Getting ready for Maria's wedding this upcoming weekend. Work as normal in the summer.

Monday evening

Monday evening blogging... work has calmed down considerably now that it's the summer, which is good. I still wish I could sleep in, but getting out at 1:00 is great, as is having Fridays off.

This weekend was busy though... I had Lauren's bachelorette party on Saturday (Seth had Chris's bachelor party all weekend, pretty much) and since the beginning part of the evening was at my condo, I had a lot of cleaning and set-up, most of which I did Friday night... Jen came over Saturday early afternoon and we prepped all day, pretty much. The party itself was a lot of fun... we did wine and cheese-based appetizers at my condo, then went to iO (improv olympic) for a show and then went dancing at the Hangge-Uppe. Lauren had a great time, as did the rest of us (maybe too great... Sunday was a bit rough). The Sunday was recovery and clean-up... so it was pretty much all weekend.

Then today was a beautiful day; sunny and warm with a little cool breeze from the lake. And it was Toby's 10th birthday (well at least the 7th anniversary of the day I adopted him:) We went for a long walk along the lake front path ... he loves doing that and it was a perfect day for it. Then he got some presents (he loves opening them) and Seth, Toby and I all cuddled and played for awhile. He had a great birthday:)

Sunday blog

More Sunday night blogging... another busy, but good, weekend. Last week was busy with all the end-of-the year events, but then Friday was lots of fun because we had graduation, and then went out after graduation, which is always a great time. Then on Saturday I went swimming (which I need to start doing a LOT more often to lose some weight) adn then at night it was Maria's "bachelorette" party, which was fine, but more of a family party than a bachelorette party. I mean I had fun with my friends, but I don't think what she had (a party with some friends and mostly family, including her 10 year old cousin) counts as a bachelorette party... it was more like a family party/girls' night. Anyway, then today I had a facial, and we went to the Raven neighborhood fest, which was close to our house so we took Toby and went with Jen and Andy (and then met Julie and her dog Bette there)... Toby had SUCH a great time... he loved being able to walk around and say hi to everyone and just had a good time. However, it got really chilly and we had to cut the afternoon a little short. So we went for dinner with Jen and Andy and then Seth went over to Andy's and Jen came over to my house and we watched the Tonys which, of course, we LOVE:) They were fabulous and made me want to be a musical theatre actress, as always...

anyway, I need to start winding down and get to sleep.Sorry for another short blog... following me is much easier on facebook, honestly:)

A quick little blog

Hello... a quick little Monay night blog. I have a busy week -- hopefully one of the last busy weeks for awhile... just some craziness at work with end-of-the-year events and finishing with graduation for the seniors.

This weekend was nice -- on Saturday we had the lobsters party at Jason & Jessica's with the lobsters from Karen's dad's church. It was yummy and tons of fun. Then Sunday we went to the Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest which, as streetfests always are, lots of fun.

Anyway, like I said, just wanted to give a quick update!

Monday night

Monday night blogging... kind of like my Sunday night blogging since it's a long holiday weekend with Memorial Day. Last week and this weekend was really busy... Wednesday we had Dog Day at the White Sox game, which was fun as always. We had a great time with Toby and it was a beautiful night for a baseball game... perfect weather. Then Thursday we had a big fancy-schmancy fund raiser for work and that was great. A huge turn-out, we raised a lot of money, and had another beautiful evening weather-wise and a good time. Then Friday we headed up to Lake Geneva to hang out with Jen and Andy at Andy's parent's vacation home up there. We stopped first at the Brat Stop up in Kenosha, which is pretty, um, white-trashy but also AWESOME and yummy food. We watched the Hawks game there that they won!!!!:) Then we headed to the house and hung out for awhile by the fire. On Saturday Andy and Seth went golfing and Jen wanted to go garage-saling so we did that. We had some great weather! Then we went out for a nice dinner and played board games Saturday night. On Sunday we left early to head to the Blackhawks game! I was so excited to be going and it was GREAT... until the game started. It was a horrible, awful game :( Very sad. Then after that we went to Glenn's BBQ, which is pretty fun. Today we just did some things around the house and went to Dad's to pick up Toby and have a yummy dinner.

Anyway, it's getting late and I kinda just want to relax.

Watching Hawks again...

Hello... Tuesday evening and watching the Blackhawks again... they made it to the next round -- Conference Finals! Hooray:) Which means, not only is it great for the team and exciting, but Seth and I get to go to a game Sunday!

I had a good weekend but a very busy next few weeks... Seth is done with his exam so I've had him around more, which is nice:) The weather has been really nice here -- it's very warm today. On Friday night, Seth and I went to the Potowatomi Casino in Milwaukee. We got this surprise $250 refund check from some Cook County Home tax exemption thing so, being responsible adults, we decided to go gambling:) We had fun, although we didn't do very well. The on Saturday, we went to Home Depot to get my flowers and I did most of my planting. I really enjoy my little container garden and it's looking really good this year ... then Saturday night we had Prom for my school... that was fun:) On Sunday I did chores and some more planting. Monday and today have been relatively un-busy but Wednesday I have the Dog Day White Sox game (hooray! It';s so much fun:), then Thursday I have a fancy fund-raiser thing for work, then Friday we leave to go up to Lake Geneva with Jen and Andy to Andy's parents' house up there. We'll be up there until Sunday when we have the Blackhawks game in the afternoon!!!

Well, we're going to eat dinner and then take Toby for a walk. More soon....

Watching Blackhawks

Hello... I'm watching the Blackhawks game. I WAS really enjoying it when they were up 3-1 like 10 minutes ago, but now it's tied... I really, really want them to win. At first, I thought it would just be great if they made it to the second round of the playoffs since they're a young team and haven';t been in the playoffs in years... but now that they're so close, I want them to win! Plus Seth and I have tickets for the next round! So I really want to go to a game:)

Anyway, this weekend, as all my weekends coming up, was busy. I had Maria's other shower on Saturday and then Mother's Day on Sunday, so I had to drive to the burbs twice this weekend. Plus this past week I had a conference for work, which was good and informative, but was in Itasca which should be about a 45 minute drive from me. Going in the morning was fine --- it was only about 50 minutes. But coming home it was raining and early rush hour and it took me TWO HOURS to get home. I am so grateful I live close to work. I could never do that every day.

At least things at work continue to be a little more reasonable... I won't say calm, but at least it's not like I have a million more things on my to do list than I can ever get to.

Seth's exam is tomorrow... he's studying now. As always, I'll be glad when he's done with the exam and I actually get to see him again. He generally stays after work to study and doesn't get home until about 11:00 and then on weekends he studies from about 11:00 AM until about 8:00 or 9:00 PM. I honestly have no idea how he does it. I admire him for going through it. Hopefully, hopefully he will pass this one and the one in the fall and be done!

Anyway, I want to watch the game... more next week!

Sunday Evening Blog

Sunday evening blogging.... I had a busy, but fun, weekend. On Saturday I had Karen & Shawna's party at Big Bar downtown, which was fun... they have VER big drinks and we just had a nice time. Then today I went to brunch and to see A Chorus Line with Mom, for her Mother's Day gift. We had a great time... it was a beautiful day out and so we were able to eat outside for brunch... the show was also very good; I really like that show... I've liked it even before I was born -- my mom saw it when she was very pregnant with me (like a week or so before I was born) and evidently I was kicking and moving the whole time. It was the start of my love of musical theatre:)

Things are slowing down at work, which is good. But I'm still busy with all the end of the year events like award nights and whatnot. Seth is still super busy with studying... I feel like I never get to see him. I will be SO GLAD when he's done with his exams.. I can't wait. Hopefully by the end of this year!!!

Anyway, that's about all to report. The next few weekend will be equally busy with different things so I have to take my few relaxing evenings (like tonight) when I can!

Anyway, Seth is home with our dinner and I'm hungry!

Hello! Haven't blogged in awhile... I've been busy with things (what else is new??!) Spring break, however, was wonderful... very relaxing! The beginning of the week was kind of rainy and chilly so I got all my cleaning around the house done, so that freed me up by Thursday to just relax and enjoy the warmer weather. I did a lot of relaxing, sleeping, etc. which I really, really needed.
My first week back to work after break was ok, but back to being busy... there's just a lot going on with end of the year events, gettign seniors ready for graduation, etc. Plus now my weekends are getting all packed up with friends' pre-wedding events -- this past weekend I had Maria's shower, which was fun with friends.

The weather here was great over the weekend, for the most part, and it was really nice to get a shot of warmth. Now it's back to being chilly, but it's supposed to warm up again. I hope so ... Toby loves being able to go for long walks and go to the park. I've already been to the park twice with Toby and friends for a small picnic and although neither time was ideal weather, both were a lot of fun. I want to do that more often this summer! It's a free fun thing!

Other than all of that, not too much else is new. Seth is busy studying and although I miss him, I know (hope) we're in the home stretch of exams. Hopefully he'll pass both this year and be done. I will be so happy when that happens!

Spring Break

Hello! Haven't posted in awhile... thankfully I'm now on Spring Break! It was very needed, as work has been very busy. Actually once the ACT was over last Saturday, it was less busy but still somewhat stressful. Anyway, this spring break promises to be very relaxing... I don't have very much planned so I should be able to just take it easy. I have a dentist appointment, and I was to do some spring cleaning around the house, but that's about it! I feel very well rested because I've been able to sleep in the past few days.

Today is Julie's birthday party, so that should be fun. Then Saturday I'm going to see Rent with my cousins Rachel and Julia and then we're all staying at my house and going to Easter at my grandma's the next day. I'm really looking forward to it cuz, although I've seen Rent before, this is with the original two stars so it should be exciting.

Anyway, that's about all for now... I'm just happy to be relaxing!

Haven't written in awhile

Hello... haven't written in awhile. I've been really busy! Work has been pretty crazy lately... just a lot going on with students having major issues and also a lot... doing scheduling for next year for juniors and getting seniors ready for graduation plus the ACT is coming up.

My birthday was great --- had a good day at work and then went out to a nice dinner with Seth and had tons of fun at showtunes! It was awesome:) This past weekend it wasn't that busy; we went to dinner and a movie with Jen and Andy on Saturday, but that was about it.

This weekend coming up is pretty busy --- we have a Wolves game Saturday and a family party Sunday.

Anyway, that's all for now! It's late and I have quite a bit to do with my evening before I can relax.

Almost-Birthday!

Hey! Sunday evening blogging... tomorrow is my birthday! I love my birthday so much... I think it's mostly - and I know this is selfish - because it's a day all about me. Plus I get to have fun with people I love, and that's always good. Yesterday we went to 404 Wine Bar for my party and it was a ton of fun. I love that bar ... yummy food and wine and they were really great to us. We just had a fun time -- the funniest was with John Diver and "locked... unlocked" (long story:) But it was just a mellow time talking with friends and drinking good wine. And today I just took it easy, then treated myself to a mani/pedi and went to yoga class. Tomorrow I have to work but then Seth and I are going for a nice dinner and then to Showtunes with friends! I'm excited:)

Other than that, not too much else is going on. Work has still been a little stressful but not as much as the last few weeks. I've also been just still transferring songs from CD to iTune and onto my iPod. I've been using it a lot more than I thought I would.... in the car and just around the house -- it made cleaning go a lot faster. I love the shuffle feature because I get to listen to songs I've forgotten about!

Anyway, Seth's home from the grocery store and I need to help him unload the groceries and then we'll have dinner.

Tues. night blog

Just realized I haven't blogged in awhile... I've been busy! Work has been somewhat stressful lately, mostly just because of some intense student issues. I'm glad I'm able to help the students, and I really like my job, but sometimes it becomes a lot when everything happens at once. But overall I'm grateful that I'm able to be there for them and be someone that they can trust in and who will help them and support them.

Other than that, this past weekend i did birthday stuff with my parents. On Saturday Seth and I went to dinner with Mom and Gary and then on Sunday we went to dinner and a Wolves game with Dad. Both were a lot of fun and I'm glad I was able to celebrate with them! Also, I'm excited because I got an iPod Nano from Mom for my birthday. It's been fun to play with... I'm in the process of converting my CDs to iTunes and realizing that I have a LOT of music!:)

Anyway, it's getting late and I need to wind down adn head to bed.

Sunday evening

Blogging on Sunday evening... I had a very relaxing weekend, overall. I went ot Maria's on Friday, but other than that we didn't do much. I cleaned on Saturday, and went swimming, and--- today I relaxed, took Toby to PetCo, and went to yoga (there's a new Sunday evening yoga class that I love... the teacher is great and the time is perfect --- 5-6 on Sunday so I can go to class and relax and then come home and have everything done and be able to just take the rest fo my Sunday easy.

Aside from that, not too much is new. We had the Oscar party last Sunday which was tons of fun ... of course I love the Oscars with all the red carpet glitz and everything and the party was good too. The next few weekends are busy with my BIRTHDAY events! Hooray:) I love my birthday.

Anyway, I want to paint my nails and read a bit then go to sleep.

Mexico Blog

Hello! Our trip to Mexico was wonderful! I'd like to give a day-by-day run down:

Day 1: The trip to Mexico was uneventful and we got there fine. When we got to the resort it was so cool because the lobby and everything was basically outside with just a "hut" type roof over it. We went to our room and changed into beach wear and went to hang on the beach with Lauren and Chris. Then we went to dinner and hung out fo awhile drinking margaritas. The resort was so cool.. I've never gone to a resort like that with several restaurants and events and all that. It was pretty cool. I loved the all-inclusive aspect of not having to pay for anything!

Day 2: This was a big "do-nothing" day. We spent the majority of the day laying on the beach... reading, sleeping, taking periodic dips in the ocean or pool. Lauren and I did go snorkling so I guess we did something.... that was cool cuz the snorkliong right by the resort was great - lots of fish! In the evening we ate dinner adn then went to the resort show whcih was Dances of the Caribbean (with Mexican Glenn! There was a guy in the show who we thought looked exactly like a Mexican version of our friend Glenn!). At the end of the show was this cheesy kind of game/dance contest thing that Lauren won! It was very exciting:)

Day 3 - The big event of this day was my first "real" scuba dive. I was so excited... we went to Palancar Gardens and Paradise Reef. It was amazing... I've never been farther than 23 feet before and on these dives we went about 45-50. It was so beautiful it's almost indescribable... the amount of fish and life that was down that far is amazing... so colorful! Blues, and oranges, and purples, and reds, and yellows... we saw a sea turtle! And it's so peaceful.... like being in a fish tank and just watching everything... so quiet - it's very akin to yoga because you are forced to focus on your breath since it's the only thing you can hear. So between the focus on breath and the floating in water and the watching fish swim about it's all very relaxing and amazing. I am so happy that I got scuba certified because I love diving so much! In the afternoon we did more laying on the beach. At night on Sunday, we went to downtown Cozumel for their "festival." I guess every Sunday they have some musicians/dancers perform in the main "square" area and lots of stands with food and souvenier-type things. A nice way to get to see the culture of Cozumel. Also, once we got back to the resort it was kareoke! I love kareoke and I sang Lady Marmalade. I guess I did pretty good because no one sang after me!

Day 4 - We decided to get away from the resort for the day... so we drove to San Gervaisio which is the Mayan ruins site on Cozumel. It was pretty amazing seeing structures that were built about 1,000 years ago.... pretty amazing they were still standing! Then we drove along the east side of the island which is much less touristy. We found some awesome places.... first was this beautiful little lagoon --- most of the beaches on the east side are not popular because th water is rough and the beach is rocky. However, this little place was a section where the water came in and formed a calm. shallow lagoon. It was beautiful.... Also, there were some flat rocks that had several tide pools teeming with snails and sea urchins. Pretty cool. Then we also found a place where there were three natural arches of rock stretching into the sea... I climbed one! Once we got back to the resort, we hung out by the pool for a bit (and took silly underwater pictures) Then we had dinner and saw the "prehispanic show" which Seth and Chris got to be a part of during the "game" part. It was fun:)

Day 5 - Another scuba trip! And more amazing stuff... we went diving at the Santa Rosa Wall and Tormentos Reef. The Santa Rosa Wall is about 70 ft. down and it's amaxing because the drop off into the deep sea is extremely steep... basically it's a cliff and a verticle wall into a 3000 ft. drop! It was somewhat scary at first because it was like - I shouldn't willingly go off a cliff! But then you realize that whether the ground is 1 ft. or 3000 ft. away, you're still floating along so it's then very cool and feels like flying. And Tormentos was more shallow but was an awesome reef with lots of life (including an eel and spiney lobster!) All the scuba experiences were so cool... I can't wait to go again! After that we did more laying on the beach and then at night we went to dinner and then to the "sports bar" for more kareoke and drinking since it was Chris's birthday and our last night. We had a lot of fun (rainbow shots!).

Day 6 - We slept in, spent a bit of time on the beach, then went to the airport. Our flight from Cozumel to Atlanta was fine, but then out flight in Atlanta was delayed 3 1/2 hours. UG! We didn't get home to our condo until 2:30 AM and had to work just a few hours later! So that sucked, but overall it was an awesome vacay!

For pictures, see here: http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=242191235095724101/l=471143485/g=99697777/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Anyway,,,, the past few days it's been back to the real world of work and house-keeping. Look for another blog in a few days about the Oscars and our Oscar party!

Sunday night

Blogging while waiting for dinner and watching the Grammy's red carpet (shocker:). This weekend was good and pretty mellow. On Friday we went to Julie's to hang out and do a movie night, then on Saturday I did housework and Seth and I stayed in and played Scrabble. Then today I went to brunch for Jen's birthday with the girls, then to a facial and for a swim. The weather was so nice this weekend too! It finally warmed up and got above freezing... everything started melting (creating a shallow lake in our backyard!) and it was SO nice.. spring-like! I took Toby for a nice long walk each day.

I'm getting so excited for Mexico! We leave Friday and I can't wait to get to the real warmth and to go scuba. I'm a bit nervous cuz it's been awhile since I got certified and also it's the first time I'll be doing it "for real" but mostly, I'm just really super excited!

Honestly, other than Mexico there's not much going on... just work, which is still good, and life.

Quick little Wednesday Post

Wednesday evening... have some time before Seth comes home and we eat dinner and watch Lost so I thought I'd blog. Not too much going on lately. Just cold. Although it's supposed to warm up this weekend and next weekend we go to Mexico!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited ... I can't wait to be warm and scuba dive!

This past weekend we saw a movie Saturday and went to Jen & Andy's Superbowl party on Sunday which was a lot of fun... we had it going in two rooms --- a talking room and game watching room. The girls, mostly, were in the talking room and we had so much fun. We were telling stupid jokes and laughing so hard it was ridiculous. Other than that, not too much is going on... just work and life.

Anyway, I should do some things around the house and perhaps exercise before Seth gets home.

A Meme from Jamie

My friend Jamie had this "meme "on her Blog so I decided to do it too

Bold are ones I've done

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Gone rollerskating

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables (we grew one banana pepper this year:)

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Acted in a play or performed on stage

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China5

7. Started a business

58. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car (I've had a brand new car, but my dad bought it)

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible once

86. Visited the White House

87. Won money

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Had to put someone you love in Hospice Care

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

Return to the Sunday blog

hey... blogging again on Sunday night. This may be a short one cuz I'm pretty sleepy tonight. The rest of the week after I wrote Tuesday continued to be good. Wednesday was the Lost season premiere which was awesome. Seth and I love watching Lost together, mostly because we love discussing and dissecting it together after. It's like a little project for us or something. The Thursday the Oscar nominations were announced which may be happy, because, as readers of this blog know, I love awards shows. Plus it made me start planning our annual Oscar party:) On Friday, Seth and I had a little date night which was nice. We rarely have a "date" anymore... I mean we go places but it's not like a date. But on Friday we went out to dinner, then had some time before our movie started so we got some tea and dessert at a little sweet shop and then went to see The Wrestler, which I liked a lot more than I thought I would. The acting was great and it was a very sad story. On Saturday night we went to the Second City, etc. show with Glenn, Sara, Jason, Jessica, and Glenn's friend Gary and his fiancee Carly, and then back to Glenn's for some board games, so that was a lot of fun. Then today we had my cousin Rachel's family birthday party and that was nice.

Anyway, I'm getting kind of sleepy and I still have to feed and let the dog out.

A good day

Hello. I haven't blogged in a week but more than that I wanted to blog because I'm feeling very happy today. It was Inauguration Day, and we had a whole celebration for it with the whole school. It was incredible to be able to watch it with a whole community, and especially with young people. Throughout the ceremony we all felt compelled to yell, applaud, etc. It was incredibly moving to watch for a few reasons.... first was the historical significance of a black president -- amazing to think that only a generation ago, Obama couldn't even eat at any restaurant of his choosing and now he's president. Also, I'm proud of the idea of the president being from Chicago (and a Sox fan!). Plus, I am so happy that this country is moving into a better direction --- one of inclusion, peace, hope, etc. But also the entire process of the peaceful change of power.... I never really reflected on it until I heard the statement and we were talking about it - in many, many countries, if the people are dissatisfied with the government, they need to overthrow by war, violence, etc. How incredibly lucky we are that we get to change the people involved goverment peacefully.

Although I'm mostly happy and proud about the inauguration, I'm also happy because I had a good yoga class tonight, and I'm also really excited because the season premier of Lost is tomorrow!!!

Overall, things are also good. I had last Thursday off because it was SO COLD --- the weather has sucked this winter... so much snow and cold. I can't wait to go to Mexico in less than a month! Then I had work Friday and then a long weekend because of MLK Day. On Saturday we had the informal Sandburg "et all" reunion that Katie organized, which was pretty fun. Very small, but got to hang out with some people I hadn't seen in awhile. Then on Sunday I went shopping with Julie and Elisa, which was a lot of fun. And then Sunday night Seth and I went to the Second City mainstage show... we wanted to see it anyway but Katie was understudying and got to go on so we decided to see it with her. The show was really good and it was a lot of fun to see her in it!

Tuesday blog

I realized today that I hadn't blogged yet this week ... it's kinda lame but I was sorta busy with TV. The Golden Globes were on Sunday and I LOVE awards shows... I have to watch the red carpet and everything. Plus I've seen a good deal of the movies that were nominated. But not only were the Golden Globes on Sunday but so was the premier of 24 and then it was on again Monday!!! And it was awesome:)

Also, I saw an excellent, excellent movie on Saturday --- Slumdog Millionaire. I highly recommend it to everyone. Not only was it a really well-made movie artistically, the story was just excellent. It made me so happy and I honestly can't say enough about it.

Aside from that, not too much has been going on. I went shopping on Sunday and got some good stuff on sale. It's finals week at school so we don't really see students for counseling too much so it's basically getting caught up on paperwork type stuff so that's good to have time to get that stuff done. Also, it's SO COLD... I'm so sick of the snow --- every day I have to scrape my car off and everything and it's so difficult to park. Grrrrr.

Sunday evening blog

Well, it's the end of my winter break. It's tough getting back into a routine after being off for so long... but I did have a nice restful break, so I feel ready. The end of this week has just been relaxing. On Friday night we went to Jen and Andy's for a game night with some other friends and had a great time... we played the "visual telephone game" with the sentance and then the picture for it, then the sentance for the picture, etc. It is so ridiculous and we were laughing SO HARD. The on Saturday we hung out and cleaned and then went to see a movie. The today I went to brunch and then just took it easy and went to the gym...

Over break we also got to see four movies - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Milk, Frost/Nixon, and Revolutionary Road. They were all good and some great acting (especially in Frost/Nixon and Milk)... Milk was my favorite just because the story was wonderful and such an important historical event to be told and the acting was great. It was done so well in that it was just a story of a man who came into being a politician to fight for a cause... made me upset though that people aren't more outraged and protesting to change the current start of gay civil rights. Anyway, there are still a few more I want to see before award season which starts next week with the Golden Globes!:) Yay!

More about the Winter Classic

A little more about the Winter Classic, now that I'm not so sleepy:)

despite the score, the Winter Classic was awesome!:) My dad and I walked down (I only live a mile from Wrigley) and got there about 11:00... the atmosphere outside was so exciting... everyone cheering and Wings and Hawks fans giving each other a hard time... inside the field it was great--- the rink was so cool and as you could see from my pictures, although it was "obstructed view" it was barely obstructed. The players' entrance for the game was so cool... with some fireworks, but nothing over the top. Also the anthem was amazing... as you may know, it's tradition for Hawks fans to cheer during the national anthem... well, it was so loud I honestly couldn't hear the singing or music. It absolutely gave me chills, it was so amazing.

A few fun things ---- Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita sang the "7th inning stretch" of "Take me Out to the Hockey Game" and one of my favorite moments that wasn't fully shown on TV.... everyone had a card taped to their seats to make a phrase in the stands (I was so excited because I've always wanted to be part of making a giant word in a stadium:) So they had it all orchestrated and the first one was fine (it said "Happy New Year") and then we had to flip them over... we you couldn't tell what it was going to say, but they showed it on the TV monitors and suddenly my section realized we were making "Red Wings" and everyone got all upset - "I'm not making Red Wings! Screw this!" - and throwing the cards. It was pretty funny....

The first period was extremely exciting, since the Hawks scored 3 times and there were some great hits, etc. However, after that it all went downhill game-wise. But it was still a wonderful experience that I'm so grateful I got to have.

And luckily, although it was 30 degrees, I was never that cold. I wore a lot of clothes and it was so crowded that I stayed pretty comfortable.

New Year!

Hello... a quick blog about New Year events. I'll probably write more later but I'm sleepy now.

New Year's Eve was awesome! We went to a wine bar/restaurant... there was a group of 12 of us and it was a great deal --- full yummy dinner and open bar for $75. We had a really laid back but hilarious time (especially looking "sultry" and wearing all the hats and leis) and it was just a good time with friends.

Then today I had the NHL Winter Classic! My dad and I went and it was really fun and exciting! It wasn't as cold as I expected, which was good, and it was just an awesome event to attend... our seats weren't bad and it was tons of fun:) The only problem was the result of the game -- the Hawks lost 6-4 ....

Pictures can be seen at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56065&l=159d6&id=731491386

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6525&l=4f9c6&id=731491386