Our Halloween Pumpkin

I can't wait for the little kids to come tonight and see him! This is our first time for trick-or-treaters, and I'm super excited.

Today I woke up and remembered that I didn't remember to plan a costume, and that all of the rest of the Chamber employees would be dressed up. So I went as a country clubber, complete with khaki shorts and a sweater tied around my shoulders. I think it worked relatively well.

Still Busy But Wanted To Say Hi

After a trip to Grand Rapids and then Chicago, which started last Tuesday evening and ended yesterday evening, I'm back home! And it feels good. Although I had fun with friends, parents, and cousins, I really missed by boys at home. I stayed with my parents while in GR and was throughly spoiled by them and some friends. In the same day I went out with two different pregnant friends which was a blast. One told me that I HAVE to get pregnant sometime soon, because it is so much fun, while the other told me about the lack of sleep she experiences with her toddler. Two sides of that coin. In any case, it will be a couple years.

I went to CIROBE, a remainder book show, with my mom over the weekend, which was pretty fun. We met up with my cousin in Chicago and had some great Chinese food in Chinatown, then got to see their new place. So fun. We also enjoyed bargain shopping at Filene's and spent a good hour at American Girl. I think we're a little old for dolls, but seriously, if you haven't been before that store is worth the trip. Talk about presentation. And you see those red bags ALL around Chicago.

And it is pretty much chaos around here. I have SERIOUS laundry, cleaning, and general pick-up to do! And on top of that, I've signed up for a side job through the business school to evaluate videos of undergrads. They try to demonstrate "soft" business skills in which they pitch an idea to a boss and participate in a group discussion. I'm getting paid well ($25/hour!) but it just may become the bane of my existance these next couple of weeks. I have about 20 hours of KATS (the name of the project) -ing to complete by November 7th. It just might cut into my blogging time. Like being gone all week did. Just a warning, for the 3 of you who read... :)

My boss is trying to convince me to don a costume for Halloween. We'll see. I don't even know what I would wear, although I hear Kendra has a great Munchkin suit. Regardless, Riley will be dressed up to greet the kids on Wednesday night. Rumor has it we get quite a few around here. Yipee!

Sorry for the rambles.

Now back to work!

Some Things That Made Me Smile This Weekend

Fall colors! They've really started to shine lately. I love the deep reds and bright oranges mingled with bright greens and maroons and yellows. I drove to Indy and back 3 times in 4 days and noticed them more and more with each drive.
Jamie's visit! Jamie, a friend from Michigan, came to visit us for the weekend, and we had a great time. Riley really liked her, too - clearly! We hung out in downtown Bloomington, Nashville, the outlet mall, and our townhouse - doing some eating, shopping, football watching (go blue!) and Settler's playing. Way fun. So glad she could join us for the weekend.

And a trip to the doggy park, which is by some woods and a lake. Riley LOVED exploring some wooded paths and playing with the other dogs. We enjoyed seeing the colors and being outside on a beautiful day. We came home with a very dirty dog that got hosed off before coming inside :)

Now we're gearing up for another crazy busy week. I'll be back in GR for work, and then in Chicago for a trade show... sad to be apart from Josh yet again!

Busy

I feel like it has been a long time since I've blogged and I really feel bad about it! Is that weird? I mean, its not like I'm as bad as Kara or anything :).

In a general update, here has been my week, not including my jobs!

Monday:
Training for another side-job through Josh's school
A trip to the grocery store for cake ingredients and then the ice cream shop for a mini date
Baking "Better Than Sex" cake

Tuesday:
Goodbye to Josh, who wouldn't be back until Friday
Dessert night (where I brought the aforementioned cake and guilted certain friends into coming for that reason)
Partner's Club Meeting to decide leadership positions for 2008 (if you know me you will not be surprised but it turns out I will be co-chair for next year - should be interesting - and fun)

Wednesday:
Communicating details of leadership meeting to everyone
Dinner with other co-chair
Book club (discussion was about Persuasion)
Go home and frantically pick up in preparation for my parents and grandparents to stay the night
Hang out with parents and grandparents before bed

Thursday:
(pre-work) Breakfast with parents and grandparents
Drive to Indy with my mom to meet my dad for dinner (at P.F. Changs, my favorite!!)

Friday:
Pick up friend Jamie in Indy and hang out
See hubby again when he comes back into town

It was definitely a fun week - sad without my hubby, but thankfully busy so I wasn't sitting around lonely at home. Now I'm off to have some reading/God time. On that note - does anyone know of a good devotional type study that really gets into the Bible that is really good? I'm having a hard time just getting into the Word lately, and I feel like some kind of resource that would hold my hand a little bit as I dig in would be helpful.

In case you're curious, Josh has been on a "tour of Ohio" - visiting American Greetings, Nestle, Scotts Miracle Grow, and Proctor and Gamble with other students from Kelley. His school takes week-long breaks every semester for those who are in the same fields can do field-specific things. As a CMA (Consumer Marketing Academy) boy, he went to visit some CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) companies with the other CMAs. Clear as mud?

I'm excited for him to be home tomorrow.

Also excited for Jamie's visit! Nashville, IN, here we come.

We were singing this song to each other tonight...

Show and Tell: Necklace

I got this idea from Sarah, and thought it sounded like fun...

For spring break my junior year of college I went with Josh and his parents out to Utah (skiing) and Arizona (where his parents live). A great trip. And it happened to coincide with our 6 month "anniversary" of dating. I was under the impression that we had decided on no gifts, but Josh completely floored me by whipping out a turquoise-blue box that held this Tiffany's necklace for me! SUCH a wonderful surprise!

I hadn't even remembered a card... oops!

And I've hardly taken it off since. It is small, doesn't poke me, goes with everything, can be casual or dressy, is pretty durable, and is CUTE! I love the look of this necklace - and reminds me of Josh! Bonus.

I also love solid colored tank tops, but that is for another day...

My husband, the Michigan Fan

Jessica: So your friend Kelly was telling me about why she decided to get her MBA at IU.

Josh: Oh yeah?

Jessica: Yeah, it was between IU and Ohio State, and she said she just got a really good feeling from IU when she came to visit. Plus, IU gave her a better financial offer.

Josh: And with IU you don't get that feeling that you're selling your soul to the devil.