Last Year's Words

Greetings friends!

The Batch's Christmas holiday was everything I had hoped it would be & more. This year, more so than in year's past, the loving husband & I made it a priority to focus on what really matters to us. Per usual, Christmas Eve was spent with everyone we love. Our first stop was my "aunt & uncle's" home (translation, besties of my mother's) to sip egg nog with my pseudo cousins & visit with my deeder & mother before heading to my in-laws. We then spent time with the hubbs entire extended family before heading out to meet the father & step mother at Sabatino's for our traditional annual Christmas Eve dinner. Each year, for as long as I can remember, the Seibel clan would then reconvene at church at 11pm for the Christmas Eve service. My mother is a member of the Altar Guild & we love this service more than any other service throughout the year. This year, however, we ran late & couln't make it in time. If I could identify anything about this year's holiday that wasn't absolutely perfect, missing church would be it.

Christmas Day turned out better than I had hoped. We have hosted Christmas dinner at our home since our marriage & I am honored that our family, both immediate & extended, anticipate the menu all year long! This year's feature was Beef Wellington (dry aged), cooked to perfection. My homemade mulled, spiced wine was made once again, by popular demand, and 12 of the best family a couple could ever hope for spent the whole evening laughing & loving. I do a formal sit down dinner, complete with my great, great aunt's wedding china from Germany and all our beautiful Waterford barware. It was another beautiful Christmas.

This new year's eve, however, we will (for the first time) spend it alone; just the two of us. 2011 was very challenging, eye-opening & an overall tough year for us. It is important to us that we honor our commitment, respect, love for one another, and strength in a way that is private & meaningful to us. My college bestie posted a beautifully written & insightful blog entry & I can't help but repeat a very beautiful message she shared:

"For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning."

~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Our voices are stronger than we realize, Mo. oxo

Happy New Year Friends. Love & Light To You All.

The In-Between

Hello out there! Ugh, for realz I would be shocked to discover any remaining followers after my months-long hiatus. Trying to fill you in on what's been going on since my last entry would not only be impossible, but also super uninteresting (zzzzz). So, in the interest of keeping my 3 probably only remaining readers (my sister & 2 besties), I'll save the boring yip yap & attempt a witty & cheeky recap.

Halloween party was great...pix went up on FB for all of you on the interGoogle. Since Halloween, things have been ultra busy in the Batch household, as I'm sure they've been in yours. T-day was great & so was the long weekend that accompanied it. Per usue, I went to shop it up on Black Friday & came home with lots of great gifts for others, and an even greater gift to myself: new couches! They were delivered last Saturday & look fantastic. Of course, with new couches, I couldn't possibly continue life with our current tables, so last Saturday was spent at Pier 1 picking out new ones. Now my living room looks all fresh & new just in time for the holidays! ;)

And, speaking of the holidays, can I just say...I.Can't.Wait. This Friday is the loving husband's annual company Christmas party. It will be at Gibson's on Rush again this year & we'll stay the night to party it up and then shop the Saturday after. I walked over to the Macy's at Water Tower on lunch one day last week & snagged a beaut of a dress for the occasion, though I'm not 100% about it so I may run again one night this week. Then, on Saturday night, we have my "aunt & uncle's" annual Christmas party. Next weekend is my company party at the Mid America Club, and then Saturday I am really hoping we can go to the Christkindlmarkt at Daley plaza.  Even though I can totes walk there at lunch, I want me a hot tottie, and that would not be conducive to work-time productivity ;) 
 
Speaking of ChristKindl, I hope you all had a fruitful St. Nikolaus morning and received lots of goodies.  I certainly did and, because I was such a good girl, missed the the Rute from mean ol' Ruprecht.  Grrrr <:{
 
Besides the usual Christmas festivities, life is just as crazy as always.  Work has been CRAZY!  While I can definitely say I love, love, love my job 98% of the time, the remaining 2% is questionable.  When things get ultra stressful and difficult, I find it's super hard....it's like all or nothing.  Having said that, though, I am still (deep down) grateful for having gotten through these challenges because not only will it help me to grow professionally, it also helps me to grow as a person.  And who wouldn't love that :)
 
I hope to be a better blogger in the coming weeks.  I will try my best to get on here and update more, and as work begins to slow down a bit, I know I will be more willing to get on the computertyper in the evenings to do just that.  Have a great week all xoxo.

Slacker Supreme

Yes, that's me...slacker supreme.  I realize I am lucky if I get one entry out per week, things here are just so crazy.  We're steadily gearing up for next weekend's costume party, in honor of one of our most favorite holidays, Halloween.  The 2nd bedroom is pretty much finished (with the exception of a dresser for Mike's clothes, which still needs to be purchased).  Comcast is coming tonight to install an HD/DVR box in the room & once that's done, all we need is the mount and finito! 

As I mentioned, we're super busy; it seems as though we're constantly up to something.  Last week I hosted my monthly book club meeting, so in between organizing the 2nd bedroom and shopping for Halloween costumes, last weekend I was busy cleaning and shopping for Tuesday's book club.  On Friday of this past weekend, we hosted a small celebration at our house for my cousin's birthday.  Saturday was spent running errands and then later in the evening, celebrating another birthday for a friend in the city.  Sunday I was busy nursing the world's WORST hangover ever, but still somehow managed to make it to the grocery store and make homemade stuffed peppers for dinner (delish!)  I even dropped off dinner to one of my longtime friends, whose life is a little stressful right now.  Having gone through some of my own biznazz this year, I know how much it means when friends reach out to show their support and show that they care.  I also know what it feels like when "friends" don't...and I vow never to be that kind of "friend".  Everyone is super busy, the loving husband and I are no exception, yet I am never, ever too busy for people in my life who are important.  So, while I didn't get a whole lot of "stuff" done yesterday, I did make a difference to someone who means a lot to me.  Winner winner, chicken (actually, stuffed pepper) dinner.

So, while I would love to say that once the Halloween party is over I will have more free time to blog it up, chances of that are slim.  Work is super busy since the end of the year is coming to a close and open enrollment for the 2012 benefit year is beginning.  Since I am the benefit gal, the next few months (until February) are the busiest of the year.  Throw in the holidays (super jazzed), with parties and planning galore, you've got yourself a socially overcommitted lady ;) 

Stay tuned this week for decor pix of the house, in anticipation of Saturday!  Have a great week loves!

Busy As A Bee...

Whew, I cannot believe how quickly last week flew by!  I'm finally starting to feel back to my old self and I think my cold is officially ovah (please, God, let it be so).  This is my last weekend of the month that I am not slammed back to back with obligatory functions, so one would think I would spend this one last blissfully free weekend relaxing and doing nothing but enjoying myself...

Yeah right, I wish.

Instead, I have packed this weekend with chores and to-do's and everything else in between to get Casa Batch party worthy in preparation of our Halloween soiree.  I woke up crack ass this morning (on a Saturday, mind you) to get my arse to the gym.  Immediately following, the loving husband and I headed down to the North side to peruse vintage clothing stores in hopes of finding the perfect duds for our costumes.  While we didn't walk away with any amazing finds, we did have a fantastic afternoon.  We must have walked a minimum of 2 miles through the Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Roscoe Village, Andersonville & Boys Town neighborhoods.  We walked down Roscoe, down the beautiful tree lined streets, the colors of fall and the smell of leaves surrounding us as we talked about our dreams of buying a brownstone of our own.  We snagged Nottoli on the way home for our fav Italian subs and then got down to business!

Not that kind of business you dirty birds, the business of reorganizing my house, specifically my 2nd bedroom!  We finally set up the daybed, complete with the new slipcover and throw pillows I snagged from one of my all-time fav stores, TJ Maxx.  After rearranging and reorganizing the linens, positioning and repositioning the fab chair we picked up from Pier 1 last Wednesday, we finally got the room into some semblance of order.  We ended this most amaze day with a trip to Target in search of a set of walkie talkie's for our godson's birthday, and also ended up with a new LED, LCD flat screen for the room.  Now all we need is a dresser for Mike's clothes (that, at this very moment, remain on the floor of the 2nd bedroom), and the room is officially d.o.n.e. Whoop whoop.

So while there's still a  bit  a lot of cleaning to do in the dining room, and crafts that need to be made (yes, I have been known to make my own holiday decorations, a la Martha Stewart), and one godchild's birthday to attend (at JumpZone, nonetheless...kill me now), I must be done by tomorrow night since Tuesday I'll be hosting my monthly book club.  Next weekend consists of dinner & drinks Friday night for my cousins bday, Saturday afternoon an Oktoberfest party at a friend's house, followed by another friend's birthday party in Wicker Park, so clearly I'll have little time to clean & prep for our Halloween party on the 29th.

I need a nap just thinking about it all.  I suppose, however, if my biggest worry is being too socially obligated due to functions where I will my spend time among great family & friends, then I'll take it ;)

Time of Reflection

As many of you know, I grew up in a small community on the northwest side of Chicago.  I attended a small parochial school (Lutheran) where all my friends were just like me; WASPS.  After graduating grade school, I moved to a small suburb, minutes from where I grew up, to live in a neighborhood and attend a high school that was predominantly Italian American (with a peppering of Polish), and where everyone was Catholic.  I proceeded to further my education by attending Dominican University (private, Catholic college), where I lived for 4 years while completing my studies.  While not everyone at DU was Catholic, those who weren't were Lutheran like me.  So, when I started dating the loving husband and learned that much of his family celebrates the Jewish faith, I became extremely interested in learning what I could.  Over the years, I have learned a lot and have found many wonderful things to appreciate about the faith...one especially meaningful time called Rosh Hashanah.

Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the lunar calendar year, and is therefore called the “head” (Rosh) or beginning of the Year (Hashanah).  Rosh Hashanah literally means “Head of the Year” in Hebrew and is the most celebrated holiday in the Jewish faith.  I remember one Thanksgiving, a few years back, Mike's Aunt Anita telling me how she used to prepare for Rosh Hashanah for days leading up to it and have all the family to celebrate with tables upon tables of food...much in the same way Christians prepare for Christmas (which is centered around Jesus' birth) and celebrate in big ways, the High Holy days of Rosh Hoshanah (followed by Yom Kippur) falls in the month of Tishrei, which is believed to be the month in which God created the world. Hence, another way to think about Rosh Hashanah is as the birthday of the world.


One lesson I especially find beautiful in this celebration is that on this day Jews take the time to examine their lives and repent for any wrongs they have committed during the previous year. They're encouraged to make amends with anyone they have wronged and to make plans for improving during the coming year. In this way, Rosh Hashanah is all about making peace in the community and striving to be a better person.  The thought behind this is that you want to have a year filled with great blessings and happiness by taking the opportunity, through thought and action, to draw all of the energy that will reveal itself later. Everything done on the days of Rosh Hashanah (this Thursday and Friday) is meant to assist in planting the right and best seeds for the blessings wanted and needed in the coming year.

Whether Lutheran, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist or even Atheist, we can all benefit from living an examined life; by righting any wrongs done and by striving to be better people.  I know this past year has been an especially testing one, and I have learned more in this year then I think I have in my lifetime.  I want to take these lessons learned, my thoughts on what I've done and can do in the year to come, and use that positive energy in ways that will manifest as blessings and happiness in the year ahead.

Shanah Tova.

Morning, Schmorning

As far back as I can remember, I have always loathed morning time.  It seems, no matter how many hours of glorious sleep I get each night, it's never enough.  I can remember back when my parents were married and we lived in our 2-flat in Edgebrook, my dad (King Morning Person Extraordinaire) would come barging into me and my deeder's room at crack ass and rouse us from sleep.  When this method was sure to fail (with me anyway), he would snatch the covers off my sleeping body to startle me into wakefulness.  I am convinced, because of this barbaric treatment, I now must be coaxed into wakefulness each and every day.  Additionally, once I am up and at 'em, no one (including the loving husband) is allowed to talk to me for AT LEAST 30 minutes after I get out of bed. 

Lately, however, I have been finding it difficult to schedule in my gym time each day.  Not only must I make this a priority so I'm not reminiscent of the good year blimp, I also look forward to relieving stress from my workday by sweating it out on the elliptical.  The health club where we're members is conveniently located across the street from our house, in addition to the free membership I am offered with my employment in the building where I work.  It can not get more convenient than that, I tell you.  While the membership I am offered through work is free for me, I also would have to work out on lunch, which...no thanks.  When I work out, I like to really go full steam for an hour or more.  This would require a post-workout shower prior to returning to the j.o.b. and while long lunches are nice, they're not an everyday kinda thing, you know what I mean?  So, this has left me with my only other option of working out at the Club after I get home from work.  The problem I find here, however, is that by the time I finish up, get home and take a quick rinse, it's pushing 8pm and dinner hasn't even been considered.  And if I should have an errand or two to run after I get home, push that to 9pm.

So this leaves me no choice but to consider a morning workout before the day begins.  Even typing this is giving me a sense of dread.  Have I mentioned, I hate mornings?  Oh okay, just wanted to be clear.  Not only would switching to a pre-dawn workout free up my evenings, the Club also has classes that are much better starting at 5:40 am (gasp!) that would not be available to me in the evenings.  I need to do this.  I must do this. 

How the hell will I do this?

So, for those of you with full time careers, how do you manage your workout routine?  If you do an early morning session, how on earth do you do it?  I for serial need all the help I can get!

Oh, The Possibilities...

So, folks, remember yesterday when I mentioned the loving husband & I would be redecorating the 2nd bedroom?  While we've yet to actually purchase any new pieces for this room, the possibilities are endless.  Currently, the 2nd bedroom is used as a guest room, and it in we have a full bedroom set, complete with a 4 poster bed, an armoire and mirrored dresser.  This set was gifted to us by my great aunt, who received it from her parents.  It's a beautiful heirloom set from Belgium and is in fabulous condition.  I love it, and if I had a 2,000 sq ft home with several bedrooms, you better believe it would be showcased in one of the rooms.  But, I don't.  In fact, I have a 1,100 square foot condo, with this massive set housed in a bedroom with dimensions measuring exactly 11x10.  It's a tight fit in there, to say the least.  Not only that, it's a major waste of space in a home that's not exactly overflowing with extra square footage.  Don't get me wrong, we defs don't feel cramped in our little home and have enough space to meet our needs, but when even a small amount of that space feels like wasted space, something's gotta give.  The loving husband and I spend the majority of our time in the living room, which opens up into a separate dining room.  It's an open floor plan and really does meet the needs of our lil' family of 2 (3 counting Rae, of course).  But in that living room, we not only watch T.V., we also entertain, work (laptop typically stays in this room), read and just plain ol' hang out.  What if we had another space that was specifically designed for a work space, while also serving as a guest room when needed?  Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Since the bedroom set is so beautiful, we wanted to keep it in the family.  Ideally, when Mike and I buy a home, we will use this set in one of the bedrooms.  In the meantime, my mother-in-law will be using the dressers and my mother will take possession of the double bed for her spare room.  My MIL has already received the dressers, so it's just the bed that's left.  Mike has been steadily going through his clothes (that were being stored in BOTH dressers as well as the closet) and is donating (fingers crossed) at least half of the loot within.  This is a HUGE undertaking as there is AT LEAST 10 years worth of clothes to go through.  Good luck honey!

So, while husband has been working feverishly to organize and get the room in order, I have been shopping around.  I know without a doubt, a dresser of some sort will need to be purchased for whatever clothes will not be stored in the closet.  I defs want something functional, yet decorative since this piece will double as both storage as well as decoration since it will be the 2nd largest piece of furniture in the room (save the daybed).  I have had my eye on this beauty from Pier 1 for some time now and paid a visit to the nearby store to check it out.  It's an even bigger beaut in person:

You can't exactly tell from the pic, but it has an entirely mirrored finish.  Since the room looks like an exact square, with the windows being on the wall directly across from when you walk in the room and the closet being along the same wall as the door.  This then leaves the walls to your left and right for major furniture, television, etc.  The plan is to put this to the left wall and mount the flat screen directly above it.  The daybed will go on the wall opposite and perhaps the desk directly underneath the windows.  The walls are painted a very light green, much like the color seen here.  The style I am aiming for is something between farmhouse/vintage and shabby chic, with the main objective to keep the room light, airy and minimal.  Since re-doing our floors 2 years ago and going with these beautiful Armstrong floors, it's certainly become somewhat of a task to keep the house from looking too dark and foreboding.  So, having said that, we will be keeping the look fresh and the best way to do that, in my opinion, is through the furniture style.

After the dresser, the next major piece will be the workstation.  While I have yet to find "the perfect desk" I definitely know what I'm looking for.  It doesn't need to be very large, as it's going to house an iMac desktop computer that is quite compact (no tower, only a screen) and a photo printer.  The desk itself will mostly house paper and craft items (I am an obsessive crafter), as well as crafting tools.  Ideally, I would find a wooden desk that I could refinish my brother in law Joey can sand and refinish to look antiquated white and/or robins egg blue.  Something along these lines:

I'm also planning to add storage elements like these from etsy to the side of the desk for additional storage.  While I have found a bunch of desks, storage elements, dressers I really like, I'm not 100% sold on any of them (well, maybe with the exception of the Pier 1 dresser, but the hefty price tag gives me pause and I can't help but wonder I'm able to find something I love just as well, with a more manageable price point).  Since the style I am going for is shabby chic/vintage, that gives me much more room to think outside the box.  I'm thinking resale shops and estate sales may be my best bet.  Any suggestions on places, websites, etc that you think I should check out would be most appreciated!

The only absolute purchase I will be making is this chair, which will double as a reading chair and a desk chair:

The daybed is already in my possession, which is a pretty enough wood, but I want it white (vintage chic) so my adorable brother in law will be sanding, painting and re-sanding it for me for the desired "weathered" effect.  It sure does help having a contractor/construction/jack of all trades in the fam!  Thanks Joey!

So, as you can plainly see, we have our work cut out for us.  But, like any true stylist, I must have a deadline to stick to.  After much consideration, I have decided that this room must be completed, it its entirety, by the Halloween gala, which is taking place on Saturday, October 29th, therefore the Monday prior (October 24th) this room will be complete.  I realize the enormity of what I am committing to, and like any girl with a mission, I am determined not only to meet my deadline, but to also have, at the end of it all, one fabulous spare room/office/tv room/reading room/crafting room.  I know there are many details (such as fabrics and accents) that I haven't even touched on, but feel that until I decide upon and purchase the furniture, can' even consider that.

So, loyal readers (you know, all 12 of you out there), help a sister out!  I promise to also post pics of the progress for those of you who won't be around throughout the process to see it in person!  xoxo

Back To Business

Howdy y'all!  I cannot begin to tell you the deliciousness of last week...words cannot express how in need I was of this vacay and man, did we have an amaze time.  Birchwood never disappoints.  Never.  We have been going up for over 25 years and partake in the same activities (boating, swimming, fishing, cocktailing & tubing) and it never gets old.  My Birchwood besties & I are all, on average, around 30 years old (give or take), and always, come the end of the week, we still get into full depression mode.  One of my oldest, dearest pal's Quinton even started in on Wednesday with the melancholy..."it's almost over".  Birchwood to us is love in the first degree and we all feel so incredible blessed to have families that created this amazing tradition for us that we've continued into adulthood (thanks 'rents!)  We created more priceless memories to hold us over until next year...only 352 more days until bdubbs 2012 ;)

Having said all of that, however, it does feel sorta good to be home and get back into our routine.  I absolutes missed my precious pup and my ultra comfy bed.  I did not, however, miss work and all the bs that comes along with the j.o.b. sometimes.  Don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining and overall, I love what I do, but being out for 6 work days makes for a challenging return and def adds to the stress levels.  Thankfully, however, we're already coming up on Friday and tomorrow brings us to Ravinia to see the BoDeans!  I'm hope, hope, hoping that the rain holds off and we can enjoy the concert sans storms.  The plan is to cut out around noon-ish (give or take) and head home to get all of our snazzy gear together so that when Mike gets home from work, we can head on down. 

The remainder of the weekend is still up for grabs.  My loving husband has been chosen for the All-Star team for his baseball team (go babe!) and that game is set to take place on Saturday morning.  In an attempt to be a good wife, I'm considering making an appearance (for those of you who know me well know that this is a huge thing), so you'll just have to stay tuned for more on that later.  The rest of the weekend I plan to finish cleaning my insanely messy home.  I am making a concentrated effort to try and slow down a bit over the next few weeks, mainly because I feel like I am on overload & need to slow down.  Mike and & recently resurrected our love of bike riding, so the plan is to, at some point, on Saturday afternoon, purchase little headlights for me cycle.  We love to go after dinner and the streets of Park Ridge are NOT, I repeat NOT friendly to the after sunset rider.  Hence, the need for some bike headlights...like my pal Kiki said, this fact alone makes us either 12...or 90.  Ha!  I'm also hoping to swing by Whole Foods and do some grocery shopping as well as source out a local source for organic milk.  Thanks to my dear pal Klinker and the recent post on her most awesome bloggity blog, I am now jelly of her local farmer and must attempt to find something like this near the Chi.  Wish me luck with that.

Other than that, folks, not much to report.  I should have my Birchwood pics uploaded sometime in the near future so if you dabble on the google and are a facebooker, you can see them on there.  If not, well, you're outta luck.  Smooches!

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 ;)

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.

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

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

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

Everybody's Workin' For The Weekend!

Oh, Loverboy...how relevant your words still are 30 years later!

Mem Day Weekend is almost here folks, and that can only mean one thing in the Batch household...BBQ!  Since the last couple months have literally been crazy busy, one can imagine the state of my household affairs.  When I tell you my house was in disarray, that is truly an understatement.  As of last weekend, my dining room was the catch-all for any and every thing that needed to be taken down to the basement, yet somehow had lost its way.  Luggage from our recent trip, giant rubbermaid containers that housed my Spring & Summer wardrobe as well as bins of my Summer shoes.  In addition to this, laundry needed to be done, Easter decorations desperately needed to come down and be packed away...spring linens washed and laid out to dry.  All this to make much needed room for my patriotic decor, just waiting to be put up.  I needed to get cracking, and I first needed to start out by organizing, cleaning and reprioritizing!

Those who know me well, know that I have an obsession with my clothes and my shoes.  Seriously.  I have always, however, prided myself on giving away nearly as much as I bring in.  When purging my closets, I prefer to give my duds to friends since I have a tendency to purchase spendy threads.  But, I'm also not a stranger to donating to Salvation Army, Amvets and the like.  I decided that Sunday was going to be the day that I finally changed over my clothes, packed away all my Fall & Winter wear (yes, I must change out my closets for the seasons) and get my house in top order for good ol' Mem Day Weekend!

After meeting a gf for bfast at 9am on Sunday, I immediately got to it.  I stopped only once, mid day, and by 8pm not only had I completely cleaned out and reorganized my closets, I had packed all my Fall & Winter clothes in their garment bags, finished all the laundry, had all the linens and rugs cleaned and all Easter & Spring deco packed away.  5 bags are filled with "give-aways" and below is the final product after hours of hard work:

Taken with my camera phone, def not of the highest quality, but you get the point.  Having all this done and out of the way, I can now "officially" look forward to one of the best weekends of the summer.  Tomorrow I plan to work from home and Friday I'll be cutting out early, so the work week should fly by and before I know it, I will be enjoying an ice cold beverage in the backyard.  Friday, our good pal Mikey (and Birchwood bestie #2) is flying in from NOLA for his bday.  I will be leaving work on Friday and cabbing it to his sister's place (Birchwood bestie #1), post haste.  My loving husband & I will spend the evening with the Meredith clan and I can't wait!  Saturday, I will be helping (whilst hung over, I am sure) another pal move into her first ever home (congrats Brianne & Rich!), followed by yet another BBQ that night at our buddy Keith's.  Sunday Funday will take us to the town of Geneva (which I am most jazzed for) to spend a leisurely afternoon with my bestie ginger pal Kris & her adorb family.  Monday, will be my day of rest, and by the time it rolls around, I am certain I will be justly deserving of just that.

How Did That Happen?

What's this? I don't contribute to my blog in a year, and now I post twice in the same week? I guess that's the name of my game...all or nothing.

This weekend was pretty uneventful as far as weekend's are concerned & we actually did not have plans or go out on either Friday or Saturday night. That seriously never happens. We're the two most socially committed people ever in life. So, really it was nice for a change to be able to do jack shizz.

Then came Sunday*...uffda.

*Disclaimer: Sunday is my day of rest. I typically do not make plans on Sunday's, or any other school night for that matter. The j.ob. is pretty demanding & because of this, by the time I get home, get to the gym, and get it together, I'm so not down with participating in anything else. That's just the way it is.

So Sunday rolls around and we have tickets to the Cubs game with a bunch of our ultra awesome friends. It's a 1:20 game and not only is it fah-ree-zing out, it's also windy as fark and raining. Good times. The only thing that could possibly put a silver lining on this grey, raining cloud of a day is that it's a Cubs game and that can only mean one thing: Day Drinking! Oh, wait...what's that you say? The Batch's can't truly partake in a fun-filled day of day drinking because they have their nephew's 2nd birthday party immediately following said Cubs game. Yes, you've got that right folks! A child's birthday party immediately following an hours-long drunk fest on a day you normally don't even like to get dressed & move your ass off the couch.

Moving on...so we meet by a friend's house at 11am on the dot for the drinking to commence prior to setting out for the game. A half hour into brunch cocktails (minus the brunch), the game gets called. Normally, this would be ideal, seeing as it's cold & rainy and no one really wanted to sit outside anyway...except for the fact this just encouraged even heavier drinking on our part. By 2pm I was h.a.m.m.e.r.e.d. and we still had a fun filled afternoon at my in-law's complete with tons of screaming 2 year olds (insert sarcasm here).

Needless to say, by the time we got home at around 7pm, I fell asleep face down on the couch (this oh-so-ladylike behavior has been lovingly coined as a "face nap" by the Seibel girls) with all my clothes on. Around 10pm my loving husband gathered me up & brought me to bed.

Then...Monday morning came and I thought I was dying. I was miz. I spent the day chugging ice water & downing Advil. If I could have inserted my face under the water dispenser in the break room, I totes would have. The line of work I'm in does not allow for me to "check out" so I also had to act alive. I literally felt like I was 100 years old. Gone are the days of my college youth, when I was able to stay up until the wee hours of the night, after spending all of my hard earned dough from my PT gig on $0.50 drafts at Duffy's. Gone are the days when I was able to function on 2 hours of sleep.

How Did That Happen?

When did I become all adult-like and responsible? It clearly happened when I wasn't paying attention. I suddenly need a minimum of 8 hours sleep & can only drink on nights when I don't have to get up before 7am.

I can still, however, sleep until noon on any given Saturday with the best of 'em. The day I start waking up at 7am on a Saturday because of my "internal alarm clock", is the day I hang my head in shame. I'm not a lost cause. Yet.