Quick Hi From Chicago

My blog posts will be short and sweet for the next couple of weeks, just FYI :)

Today I drove 4 hours into Chicago. When I left Bloomington it was 75 degrees and sunny. I hit rain and nastiness on the growing-ever-more-expensive Skyway, looked down at the outside temperature gauge on my dashboard, and found it to be a depressing 45. Then I passed right by downtown hotel and had to make a very looong trip around the block to get back. Such is life at 6:00 pm in the heart of the city.

BUT on a positive note I spent the entire ride up here belting out Tom Petty hits and the Wicked soundtrack (in between phone calls with friends and family). There is something in me that smiles wide when I'm all alone singing really loudly in my car. NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED! Yup, I'm still singing, just a bit quieter this time.

And now I'm off for a late dinner/drink with my cousin Michelle, who lives in town. Yay!

Doggy Glee

It was a beautiful day in Bloomington yesterday, so we took Riley to the doggy park for a romp around. You can't tell from this picture, but it was PACKED there.

What you CAN tell is that he was loving life.

Praise the Lord for Spring! Riley wasn't the only one loving life yesterday.

Ridiculous T-Shirt Night

Last night, after watching some NCAA B-Ball at our friend Jim's house, we headed over to an old-fashioned house/birthday party. The theme? Come wearing a ridiculous t-shirt.

WHAT an idea. Genius.

You can see me (in Yu-Gi-Oh!) and my friend Emily donning an terrific dog shirt (I really love the one leaping up in the air). Her husband was in a teal number that included several wolves. We saw all sorts of excellent ridiculous options.

Josh, however, was told by the birthday girl that he had the best shirt there. He does look awesome in pink, don't you think? And flamingos. The rhinestones, however, really seal the deal. There he is with our friend Zach, who is headed to (you guessed it) Oscar Mayer for the summer.

I'm filing this idea away somewhere in my brain and breaking it out again at an opportune time.

Back At It

It is always nice to be home after going away for business for a couple of days! Sleeping in my own bed with Josh and Riley was a treat last night.


Some randomness from the past few days:



Jamie sent me "just 'cause" flowers :). What a sweet friend. Too bad they arrived on Tuesday after I had gone. BUT they're still amazingly beautiful and I love them.


I drove a hybrid car for the first time. Very cool. I totally want one. I do have to say that turning it on and off took some getting used to... definitely more of a computery feel than a car feel. Still pretty fun.

Josh was a sweetheart and unloaded the car for me yesterday. All morning I wondered where a certain bag - the one with samples, customer notes, catalogs, etc in it - had gone. Office? No. Downstairs somewhere? No. Car? No. Where HAD he put it? Then I checked the "backyard." It seems that he set it down next to the door to get something else inside, then forgot about it. No biggie. Except it POURED last night. Drenching rain. I now have file folders laying out to dry and certain catalogs/samples in the trash. Ha...

We're going on a date tonight! To my favorite place. YAY. Who cares that I'm still trying to lose those extra vacation pounds? I get to eat Chinese food tonight!

Anyone remember this post? (Probably not, as no one commented!) Well Sarah at Short Stop has done an incredible job of getting the word out about Cold Tangerines, which happens to be one of my favorite books of all time. AND Shauna Neiquist did a Q&A with her today... a must read for any CT fan :). Head on over!

Quick Update

Things are BUSY around here, but wanted to give you an update on life!

1. Our ant problems are at an all-time high (or is it low?) In any case, they're bad. We came home from Target last night to find at least 300 teeming ants on our windowsill, wall, and counter-top. Gave me the HEEBY JEEBIES. If the apartment complex does not send out a professional this time around they are going to HEAR IT from me! Because really, that is ridiculous.

And I promise you it is not because we're THAT messy of people. During the incident last night the only dirty/food-ish things on the counter top were some of Riley's bones. No dirty dishes in the sink or normal food left on the counter. Nope.

I took a picture but it is way too gross to share.

2. We have started to play tennis again! Yay! Josh basically taught me how soon after we got married, and we've enjoyed playing together ever since. You know, active, outside, good exercise... all of that. And it is finally warm enough, even if the court is super wet from all the downpours we've gotten lately. Last night we went even though it was still raining. It just feels good to be outside.

Granted, tennis does tend to bring out one of my worst character flaws (fierce competitiveness coupled with a bad attitude when I'm not playing well) but so far this year I've managed to keep it together.

And now that we have Riley he just comes along and chases balls around. Fun for the whole family.

3. I'm off to Springfield and then St. Louis this week.

4. I think we've finally found somewhere to live, and it is in St. Joe and NOT in a hotel. Yay!

A Smile For Monday Morning

My gchat away message this morning:

Making a Living

Jamie's comment:

she works hard for the money... so hard for it honey... ;)

Sonic the Hedgehog

Did anyone else play this game on their Sega Genesis?

We didn't have a Sega, but my cousins did and my Erin and would sit and play this ALL THE TIME. We knew all the hidden passageways where you could get extra rings and lives for Sonic. All of the loop-de-loops and springs and pirahnas and waterfalls. And for the last ten years I've wished periodically for the opportunity to sit and play again.

Then yesterday Josh found the game on the iTunes and downloaded it to my iPod. It is the exact same game as the one I used to play.

Super excited.

And I'm terrible at it.