Bread & Butter

Nothin' says lovin' like mowing grub with my bestie & Godbabies

 

Give us Lord, a bit o' sun,
A bit o' work and a bit o' fun;
Give us all in the struggle and sputter,
Our daily bread and a bit o' butter.

My Kind of Town

Yesterday brought the loving husband and I toWrigley for a 1:20 game.  We went with some besties and had a totes fab time.  My gf Brianne & I work super close to one another, so we met at noon and took the Red Line over to Addison while the boys met us at the park.  We got there early and decided to partake in some icy cold beverages (a Land Shark for me, and a tall ice water for her) at the Captain Morgan club on Sheffield while waiting for the rest of our posse.  Our tix were from the annual Resurrection game in May that was called (see How Did That Happen? for a refresher on this) and in true Res game fashion, the Cubs suffered a humiliating loss.  That minor detail, however, did not put a damper on our fun:

All in all, we had an abfab afternoon.  Upon returning home I immediately took a face nap, only to awake at 9:30pm, fully clothed and with nothing done for the next day.  Awesome.  After loading the dish washer and making lunch for today, I got undressed and crawled back into bed, only to get one of the best night's sleep in, like, for-ev-er.  Score!  I should day drink more often!

Since it's another gorge day in the Chi, I'm meeting another gf after work and we're going to walk over to the Taste.  Summer's in my beloved town are the.best.ever and I plan to soak it all in!  After all, Chicago is one town that won't let you down.  It's my kind of town ;)

Feel The Love

best.family.ever.

xoxo

It May Be Cloudy & It May Be Rainy...

...but it's Friday & I got a promotion! After accepting my current position (just about a year ago), I've worked super hard & it's paid off :) While this weekend already has us committed to a birthday party & baby shower, certainly we'll manage to squeeze some celebrating in...I mean, after all...

Now we're up in the big leagues,
Gettin' our turn at bat,
As long as we live, it's you & me baby,
There ain't nothin' wrong with that.

Well we're movin' on up...

Well of Strength

What a cah-ray-zee couple of days!  By far, yesterday was one of the most stressful days of my existence.  For realz...I know oftentimes I overexaggerate (okay, maybe all the time), but this is no joke. 

So, Tuesday night we lose power.  A pretty major storm (by Chi standards) ripped through the North/Northwest side, and in it's wake, left thousands of people without power.  On the up side, there were no fatalities, only a bunch of grumpy peeps without any electricity - us included.  Yesterday morning I woke up at the crack ass to be at the doctor by 6:30am.  Fun!  The appt in and of itself was stressful enough to give an elephant heart palpitations, but then to return home to start working (I worked from home yesterday), to find out that it was unlikely power would be restored anytime soon.  As such, yours truly managed to get a generator hooked up (thanks Rena & Danny), whilst working and running around like a complete a-hole in the dark.  As of noon yesterday, we had minimal light and power to the fridge.  Success.  By the time 5 pm rolled around and I signed off for the day, I was ready to have a nervous breakdown.  Not only was I absolutes beat as a result of my day-from-hell, I was not feeling all warm and fuzzy to the not-so-loving husband as a result of a teensy tinesy argument we had the night before.  So, I called one of my true blue besties, Kiki, to vent.

I was overwhelmed and while I can honestly say I did not feel "sorry" for myself, I was sad because I was scared.  I am scared.  There is so much requiring my strength and only so much of it to go around.  What if I can't deal?  What if I can't cope?  What if, what if?

Then I thought of so many people I have the privilege of knowing and calling friends.  People who I vow to think about and draw strength from when I'm fearful that I won't be able to face the unknown.  I will think of my dear friend Amber who I honestly think is the strongest person I know, or my newest pal Billie who seems to be a kindred spirit.  My pal JJ who knows me sometimes better than I know myself, and understands what "unfairness" is all about.  Or Kiki who is my encouragement when I seem to have lost it for myself.  My bestie Rena is the strongest single mother I know with the hugest heart and a fearless attitude, and mostly, my sister, whose strength is limitless and who reminds me, when things are at it's bleakest, to look to a higher power and live one day at a time.  I will look to tomorrow and meet it with all I've got; all of the amazing women I look to for strength who have done it in their own life, whatever their story, and I draw strength and inspiration from them.

So, I will prevail.  Things are already looking up - the power was restored last night during dinner and after we celebrated electricity, I went to bed early to catch some much needed z's.  I scheduled myself for a massage after work tonight and will be calling the salon to get in for a touch up this weekend.  Like Kiki says, what good is it to get through the challenges in life if we don't learn from them?  So, learn I will, and along the way, I'll remind myself of all you who have set the standard.

Let That Igloo Cooler Mark Your Piece of Paradise...

It's the first day of summer cuties, show your spirit!

Closer to Free

Everybody wants respect

Just a little bit

And everybody needs a chance once in while...

It's the BoDeans, baby and on Friday, July 29th I will be jammin' it up with the husband and friends at Ravinia.  For those of you who do not live in the Chi (or for those unfortunate souls who do, but have never been), Ravinia is the "sound of summer" (I totes stole that from the website).  Ravinia is an outdoor music venue that books some mega acts, and some not-so-mega acts, where you can score lawn seats (they're a must), bring your own food & bevvies and have a gay ol' time.  Nothing says summer quite like Ravinia.  Mike and I haven't been in a few years, and last summer we were saying (you know, in that way which implies you absolutely want to go, but know it's likely not gonna happen) how we for sure needed to go back.  Well, last summer came and went, and we never made it to see a concert.  I vowed at the close of the Ravinia season last year that next year I would absolutely be there.  Well, my dear friends, it is officially "next year" and I am making good on my promise.

After emailing a few besties some potential dates, we uniformly decided that July 29th was likely the only date that was going to work (how sad is it that of all the possible weekends this summer, only one actually worked...overcommitted, anyone?)  After making this grand decision, I immediately went online to their website and purchased 2 lawn tix for me and the loving husband.  I so.can't.wait.

So, it true Suzie Q fashion, I immediately set out to purchasing picnic gear.  I wasted no time in finding adorbes stuff, which consists of, first and foremost, an ultra deluxe picnic basket.  The thing I love best about this little cutie is that the inside is insulated and closes off with a zipper.  Darling!  Best part of all?  I got 60% off retail and paid a mere $40 clams.  I also snapped up this gem at Target (which I'm normally not a lover of) for $14 clams, which includes 4, count 'em 4, stemware holders and a bottle holder whereas most others I priced were around $10 for only 2 stemware holders.  Shopping is a sport, my friends, and I always place 1st.  Last, but certainly not least, I perused Amazon & found this perfect little table and knew it would just right for, not only Ravinia, but also Birchwood (actually, all our abfab finds will double duty as perfect compliments to our up North retreat), 4th of July and, really, all summer weekends. 

So, here's to summer lovies!  I hope yours is shaping up to be as good as mine <3

Danke Schön!

Take that Magic Shell!  Our deepest gratitute to Tom for making all right in our world! xoxo!

Say Whaaaahhh?

There's nothing like coming home, after traveling for business.  After spending the last few days attending meeting after meeting and feeling like you're running on fumes.  Ahhh...nothing beats walking in the door, to your welcoming abode....unless, that is, you walk in to this:

Allow me to rewind and paint a picture of how it all began.  Tuesday morning I wake up and, like I do every morning, I head straight to the kitch to get me java.  I proceed to the living room where I sit on the couch to watch the news while I drink my coffee before jumping in the shower to start my day.  As I set my mug on the side table next to me, what do I see when I glance up?  I see my beautiful, pristine white lamp shade (the very shade that sits atop one of two stunning lamps gifted to me for my wedding) with a GLOB of chocolate down the side.  Yes, that's right folks, you read that right...chocolate on my lamp shade.  I run to the laundry room to extract my trusty bottle of Oxy-Clean, post haste.  And for the next 45 minutes, I attempt to disassemble the lamp shade and scrub the shizz out of it.  Finally, I meet with success and the shade looks like new.  But, because I am to catch a plane in less than an hour, I cannot put humpty dumpty back together again.  After calling my 30 year old child-husband ("babe, I don't know how that happened!") and tell him to fix the lamp when he gets home, I fly out the door to catch my plane (I'm such a jet-setter).

After working all day on Tuesday, I soon forget about my lamp shade woes back home.  As I excuse myself and head to the rest room while at dinner, I look down at my phone to see a missed call and a text from the loving husband.  And so it says:

"i think i know what happened 2 our lamp shade lil one! i am/was an IDIOT! it was the yummy hard chocolate topping 4 ice cream!"

This, my friends, is what he refers to:

My 30 year old, grown ass husband spilled fuxing MAGIC SHELL on my $350 lamp!  For serial?  Yes.  But alas, I laugh and tell him that I love him despite his child-like ways and all's well that ends well since I was able to get it out.  Right?

Wrong.

What my oh-so-loving husband fails to mention is that when I took apart said lamp, in all my gusto to get the shade off and clean, I managed to strip the screw that holds the bulb in place and break the wires.  AWESOME.  Psyche. 

Being the clever beast that he is, husband does not tell me this over the phone.  Instead, as I walk in the door at 10pm the next night, having spent a loooong day in meetings and then delayed at the airport for over 2 hours, I see my beloved lamp strewn about my dining room table.  I gaze lovingly at the twin little jewel over on my other side table, just as it should be and wish with all my might that I could ring my husband's neck:

But I don't.  Instead, I laugh about it, because at this point, what else can one do?  The whole sitch is plain ridic and only the two of us clowns could manage to do something so completely asinine as this.  But there you have it.  Likely, we will have to take it to be repaired at a custom repair shop to not only re-wire the little beauty, but to re-affix the top that I managed to also completely jack up (strong like bull).  We have tons o' supah talented pal's in the trades and are never at a loss for helping hands, a couple of whom already offered to re-wire and fix it for us.  Which reminds us once again, no matter how dumb we are (and this here is proof positive that we're pretty big jack asses), we can laugh at ourselves and count on our pal's to bail us out when we need 'em ;)

With Love, Philadelphia xoxo

Happy Monday boys and girls! We rounded out a fun Friday & Saturday with a leisurely Sunday, spent doing some light cleaning, shopping and BBQ-ing...just me & my loving husband. As I've gotten older, I've begun to develop a great appreciation for Sunday's and look forward to them each week as they're almost always spent just me and Mike. No better combination exists, if I do say so myself!

This week will bring me to Philadelphia, and while it is a business trip, I dare say I am looking forward to going (gasp). Hubby was born and raised in Pittsburgh and though we've been together for quite some time, I've never visited the great state of PA. He's been all over and I am anxious to visit some of the places he's talked about over the years. I'll be staying at The Omni Hotel and though my stay will be short, I do hope to get a bit of sightseeing in while I'm there. I most certainly must try one of their infamous cheesestakes and take a peeksie at the ol' Liberty Bell. Working dinners are always pretty swank, and this trip is no different, as we'll be dining at none other than Buddakan the night I arrive. Since this is a business trip, there will be no shortage of work being done, and I'm certain that by the time I return, I will be glad to be home. In my absence, Mike will hold down the fort (he is so much better at this than I am when he's away on business), and like always, I will act as though I'm a million miles away, missing him like a lovesick teenager.

Here's to a fly-by work week for this girl and hopes for a good one to the rest of you all <3

Hot Child In The City

Runnin' wild and lookin' pretty...

I'm off to Ceres at the CBOT to meet my pals Kiki & Billie!  Happy Friday everyone xoxo

 

Just Believe

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

Mark 5:36

Happy Saturday Y'all

Make sure you load up on the SPF!

All You Need Is Love....And Maybe A Stiff Drink

This past week has been interesting, to say the least.  It seems like so much has happened in 4 short days, fraught with emotion (both good and bad), that frankly, I'm exhausted.  Last weekend was amazeballs and was spent with the bestest friends a girl could ever hope for.  Friday we celebrated our dear pal Mikey's birthday, who flew in from NOLA to spend the weekend in style in the Chi.  I met Mikey & his fab sister (my Birchwood besties) Megan at Tavern on Rush for a late, liquid lunch.  We spent the afternoon sipping Prosecco and basking in the late afternoon sun.  We made our way back to Peg's (aka Megan's...confused yet?) to continue the fun, where my loving husband met us and then finished off the night at Moe's Cantina in River North.  Saturday I was up and at 'em early to help some friends move, then off to an evening fiesta at another friend's.  Despite the ridic weather on Sunday, we made our way to Geneva and had the.best.time.ever at Kristen and Justin's.  Everytime I sit and chat with Kristen, I am reminded of how wonderfully lucky I am to have such a genuine and smart friend....how lucky Mike and I are to have such an amazing network of friends.  Monday I laid out at our pool (loaded with the SPF, doncha worry), and then the whole fam went by my deeder's for a delish BBQ. What a spectac Mem Day Weekend, so many memories to cherish, and I returned to work on Tuesday happy as a clam.

And then real life reared its ugly head.  Being back to "the struggle" (as my gf's husband refers to the j.o.b. ) itself wouldn't have been a big deal, as I truly am one of those crazies who loves her job.  Combine the stressers of work with everyday bs, or not so everyday bs but still your life's problems, nonetheless and by Wednesday of this week I had myself a little mini meltdown.  You know, the times where you call your mama and scream like a complete spoiled a-hole about the unfairness of life, how you can't be Wonder Woman and do it all, how you just can't take one.more.thing.  And then, something really major happens to wake your ass up and make you realize just how lucky you are and how all these things, while difficult and hard, and yes oftentimes, totally unfair....are not breaking.

I came in to work the following day to hear that the 37 year old consultant, whose office was just down the hall, was rushed to the ER over the weekend.  The same Mem Day Weekend that had come to a close on Monday night, while I sleepily lazed about in my bed, over-tired and over-sun-exposed, thinking of all the love of my friends and family.  He had felt "off" and decided to shower before turning in.  After a while, his longtime girlfriend checked in on him, to find that he had collapsed and was unresponsive.  After an agonizing week, holding vigil next to his bed, his parents, 90 year old grandfather and longtime love decide to take him off life support.  37 years old.  Another colleague flew out of work the Friday before the weekend after receiving a call that his daughter, just returning home for the summer from her freshman year of college, was struck by a car that blew a stop sign, while riding her bicycle.  She has been in ICU since and is thankfully improving to where they were able to take her off her ventilator.  19 years old.

Perspective, anyone?

So, while this week in and of itself was difficult for a multitude of reasons, I can't help but feel blessed.  If you would have asked me if I felt this way on Wednesday, I would have said a big hell no.  Not so long ago, I received some difficult news and immediately called one of my closest gf's, where I proceeded to bawl on the phone.  I was angry, sad and afraid and I instinctively knew that she would make me feel better about things.  And she did.  She reminded me of who I am, my strength, my character, and most of all, she reminded me that I have friends like her who will be there for me through it all.  She made me feel loved and, as a result, helped me to see what really mattered.  I have so many friends, so many people in my life, that love and support me and most of all, who help me to count my blessings. 

I am fairly certain that in the coming days there will likely be times when I am sad, when I feel life is treating me unfairly, and when I am throwing a pity party for one...but I'll get over it.  For all of you out there, who have these same bonds of friendship, who have the loving family who would do anything for you and will always be there to listen and love.  For those of you who have stellar partners, like I do in my loving husband...just remember...in the end no matter what happens, as long as you have the love and support of those around you, all will be okay <3

The Edge

"Come to the edge."
"We can't.  We're afraid."
"Come to the edge."
"We can't.  We will fall!"
"Come to the edge."
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire