2009

2009 will be a great year. Here are my wishes for 2009:

• Get a cat. Adam got a book about cats from my parents for Christmas. He now thinks we should have 2 cats instead of 1. Woohoo!!!!!
• Adam will finally make his move to Chicago
• Take a vacation to some place we have never been before
• Throw a big party to welcome Adam home to Chicago
• Witness my brother marry his best friend
• Rock The Pier this summer now that I finally know how this weird location actually works

What are your hopes for 2009? :-)

Tonight

It is going to be a rough night tonight. The Pier is open until midnight and I am the lucky one to get to work that late. I just found out that our dear friends The Dunne's and Kiley's will be having dinner at The Pier tonight, so at least I will get some visitors. It sucks that Adam and I can't ring in the New Year together, but I will see him sometime around 1:30am. He hasn't been to Chicago for almost two weeks. I got to see him in Indiana for Christmas. It will be nice to have him home for a few days.

Happy New Year

It is hard to believe that 2008 is almost over. It was a very eventful year. Here are some highlights.

• Adam and I took our annual trip to Aspen to visit his family and enjoy some much needed R&R. We were lucky enough to have lunch in the same restaurant as Bill Murray. He even held the door open for Adam's mom.
• Build-A-Bear decided I was good enough to run the Navy Pier store. Adam and I decided this was the time to make our move to Chicago. It has been a very bumpy road, but we are glad we did it.
• We took a very long road trip to Colorado to visit Adam's parents again and enjoy some more R&R. The best part of this trip was the winery tour and the great conversations we had in the car.
• There were some scary medical moments in both our families. My mom was diagnosed with skin cancer, my dad had some heart problems and was in and out of the hospital and Adam's dad had his hip replaced. Everyone is doing great now and we hope to not have anymore moments like this in 2009.
• Adam and I got to witness two great friends get married. Al and Kylee threw a great party and we were honored to be a part of it.
• My brother FINALLY asked his girlfriend of 7 years to marry him. August 29th, 2009 will be a great day.

That is all I can think of for now. I am sure I forgot a few things. I hope all of you have a great New Year and I hope you are looking forward to 2009 as much as I am.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Pictures

I really want to upload some pictures from our two days of baking, but I can't find the cord that goes with my camera.  GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!  As soon as I find the camera, I will share the photos.  If I never see powdered sugar or sugar cookies again, I will be ok.  :-)

To Do List

I have a few things to get done before I head to Indiana tomorrow. Of course I have to work today and tomorrow. I need the get everything done this morning because I have to leave for work at 6am tomorrow morning because we are getting a shipment at 7:30.
-Tidy the apartment
-Do some laundry
-Pack up some clothes

All I want to do right now is sit on the couch under this warm blanket and go back to sleep.

Shopping

Adam called me Saturday night on his way to Mishawaka to go Christmas shopping. He always waits until the last minute. He is so silly. He kept asking me questions, trying to get me to tell him exactly what I wanted. We have been together for almost 5 years. Shouldn't he know this stuff by now? :-)

I have a few last minute gifts to get on Christmas Eve. I did most of my shopping online and had everything shipped to my parents house since that is where I will be for Christmas.

Business

Business at Build-A-Bear has been pretty good this holiday season. My company wanted to make the holidays more affordable than ever before so we are offering a lot of value pricing this time of year. I think it is working. When I woke up Saturday morning, I was kind of dreading going to work. We are usually VERY busy the Saturday before Christmas. I always seem to have people call in sick on these busy days. I was pleasantly surprised that we had a great day. We were very busy, but all the customers were understanding that they had to wait in line. This was the first Saturday in a long time that I have had enough people to work. It was awesome.

Bitter Coldness

It is so cold in Chicago right now. Yesterday I wore long underwear, wool socks, pants, 3 shirts, my big puffy coat, a hat, scarf and gloves. It was freezing. Today doesn't look much better. It is also a little chilly in my apartment. I am not looking forward to going outside in 3 hours.

Quick Update

Adam and I have today and tomorrow off work. This is a rare treat!!! We plan to spend the next two days cooking and baking. Right now we are getting ready to go to Costco. We are trying to get all our errands done before it starts to snow.

Last night we saw Porgy and Bess at the Chicago Lyric Opera House. It was a great performance. I'll have another post soon about that. I have a funny story to share.

We both worked all weekend. The shoppers are finally coming out of hiding and spending some money.

I will try to take pictures while we are baking Christmas cookies. It should be an interesting two days. :-)

Presents

Christmas is quickly approaching. My brother is the hardest person to buy for. I never know what to get him. He is so picky and particular about everything. My mom and Adam are probably the easiest to buy for. My mom always tells me just what she wants. I spend so much time with Adam that I can figure out what he wants just by being around him.

This year I am making Christmas presents for my assistant managers and my Bear Builders. This will happen next Tuesday and Wednesday with the help of Adam.

Our Fine Governor

The Governor of my new state, Illinois, was arrested in his home this morning by the FBI. He was arrested on corruption charges stemming from the vacated senate seat by President Elect Barack Obama. From what I have read, he was trying to sell the senate seat. WHAT IN THE WORLD???? HOW STUPID CAN ONE PERSON BE???? Check out CNN for the whole story.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/09/illinois.govenor/index.html

BRRRRRRRR

It has been a little chilly in the Windy City this week. Thursday and Friday I was outside for a total of 20 minutes so the cold didn't really affect it. Today will be my first day going to work in the really cold weather. I am very lucky to have lots of stuff to layer with. Since I am a skier, I have lots of long underwear and really cute ski gear.

I was VERY lucky to find a Eddie Bauer Goose Down Full Length jacket at a consignment shop last week. My mom and I spent the day before Thanksgiving running errands and shopping. She took me to this consignment shop in Syracuse and I found the coat. I had been looking online for a coat like this and they were pretty expense. I got my coat for a whopping $30. I was so excited. Adam was a little annoyed because he was going to get me a coat like this for Christmas. I guess he will have to find something else for me.

Coffee

I love coffee. It wasn't until this year that I really started enjoying it. I would not have been able to get through the crazy summer at Navy Pier if it would not have been for coffee. I love the smell when you first open a new bag. Adam laughed at me this morning when I did this. Time to go get a cup of yummy coffee. :-)

Oh Christmas Tree

While Adam and I were driving around trying to find a laundromat today we drove past several places that were selling Christmas trees. For some reason Adam is always a Scrooge when it comes to buying trees. Last year I was not in the holiday spirit and we didn't get a tree. I was so bummed on Christmas Eve that we did not have a tree. I really want to get one this year. I just have to wait until the right moment to get Adam to help me go get one.

Laundry Day

Today was a much needed laundry day. Adam and I were down to practically no clothes. Our apartment building has 1 washer and 1 dryer. If we would have done our laundry here, it would have taken FOREVER. We decided to venture out into the cold and go to a laundry mat. We had so much laundry.

We drove around for a while to find just the right place. We needed a place that wasn't too cramped or dirty looking. After driving around for 30 minutes we finally found the place. It looked clean and had lots of washers and dryers.

We washed and dried 8 very large loads of laundry. I only took us about 2 hours. It is so nice to have lots of clean clothes to wear. When we got home, I made sure to put everything away.

Black Friday

Black Friday has come and gone. I know I should have posted this earlier, but I didn't. For the last 3 years, I have had to be at the mall by 5am to open my store. Since Navy Pier is not your typical mall, we don't really have holiday hours. We opened at our normal time of 10am. I felt like I might get in trouble because I wasn't at work SUPER early. It was so weird!

We had a decent day. My bosses boss was in town and came to help out for the day. This was a little intimidating because I wasn't sure if he was there to help or observe. He arrived at 10am and left around 5. It was nice having the extra person working. It was neat seeing him interact with all the guests.

Saturday was even busier than Friday. I had all 4 stuffers and all 3 registers going at once and we still had a line out the door. It was awesome. My entire staff was happy and having fun. The guests were nice too. They didn't complain about the lines too much.

I am anxious to see how the rest of the holiday season pans out. People seem to be shopping. Personally, I am waiting for the big deals that I think will come when we get closer to Christmas

The Rents

Adam's parents left us last Thursday. We had a great visit with them. Last Wednesday Adam and I both had the day off so we were able to hang out with his parents all day. We had brunch and then set out to run some errands. Adam needed to go to four Pier 1 stores to get some stuff for one of his customers. We also went to buy some wine to fill up our new wine cooler that my parents got us as an early Christmas present. Later that evening we went to a Czech restaurant to have an early Thanksgiving dinner. It was good. On Thursday Adam headed back to Indiana and his parents spent a few more days in Chicago with some of their friends.

It was great having Adam's parents around. It gets kind of lonely in this apartment sometimes, so it was nice to have them here. We will see them again when we go on our annual ski trip to Colorado this winter.

I'm Back

Hi Everyone! I apologize for my absence. It has been a busy few weeks. I will try to catch up over the next few days.

Fun

The last three days were fun. Adam got into town late Thursday night. Friday morning we got up and decided to head to Ikea before I had to go to work. We picked up two dressers that match the bed we got this summer. Adam put the dressers together while I worked. When I got home, he had dinner waiting for me. It was nice to come home and have someone here.

Saturday morning we got up and ran some errands before Adam's parents arrived. We headed downtown with them and went to the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). It was interesting. The featured exhibit was a little strange. The artist used huge panels of LED lights and the information streaming across the screens was about the current war. The lights were arranged to represent different shapes. Adam's mom (Karen) and I both got a little sick from the lights. It was kind of like being in a room with strobe lights.

After we got done at the museum we wandered down Michigan Ave. It was a stupid thing to do. There were so many people. We went to the Apple Store and stopped by Tiffany's. Adam lasted about 30 seconds inside Tiffany's. He decided that would be a perfect time to head outside and make a reservation for dinner. I thought maybe he might look at some rings.

We went to Indie Cafe, which is two blocks from our apartment. The sushi was awesome. We came home and played Chicago Trivia. I really sucked at it in the beginning and slowly got better. I almost beat Adam's dad (Stephen), but he got me in the end.

This morning my parents took the train to Chicago and my parents finally met his mom. We had a little snack at a cafe and then went to The Art Institute. Then we came back to our apartment and Karen made a great meal. After dessert Adam headed back to Nappanee with my parents.

It was nice to have a fun weekend with no real schedule. Adam and I had a great time with our parents today. This was our last weekend off together before the busy holiday season begins. We needed the slow pace of the weekend. Adam's parents will be here until Thursday or Friday. Adam will be back on Tuesday night and we both have Wednesday off. I am not sure what we will do.

Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride

My brother's fiance Jen asked me to be a bridesmaid in their wedding. Of course I said yes. I got to spend a little bit of time with my brother and Jen on Thursday night. CJ and I drove home from the hospital on Thursday night and I wanted to ask him a bunch of questions about the wedding so I told him if I asked too many questions he should tell me to shut up. He was cool and we had a good time talking about the wedding planning. He even asked me a few questions about some of the aspects of the wedding. It was fun to watch the two of them talk about the wedding and the planning.

Radiators

This is my first apartment that uses radiators to provide heat. I have always lived in homes/apartments that have thermostats and used forced air. It is really weird. These radiators make so much noise. Adam loves radiators and I can't figure out why. Since the radiators are so noisy, I don't have the one in the bedroom open. I have all the other radiators in the house open to compensate for the one in the bedroom being closed. I'm sure I will get used to them eventually.

Home Again

I am back in Chicago and freezing my butt off. I arrived back in the city yesterday afternoon after a very slow train ride. The South Shore train was 30 minutes late and the first 30 miles we went about 10 miles an hour. The train couldn't get an traction on the tracks because of the rain. When I got to the apartment I had to turn on all the radiators and it took a while to warm up.

My dad is doing well. They released him from the hospital on Friday night. The doctor gave him a new prescription, so keep your fingers crossed that it works. He was feeling well yesterday when I left and was spending the afternoon watching football and relaxing.

I slept for 10 hours last night. I totally needed it. Thursday and Friday night I slept at my parents house. They have 2 dogs (George and Gordon) and a cat (Midas). Since both my parents were gone on Thursday night, the animals were a little lost. George and Midas were ok, but Gordon annoyed me. He didn't sleep very much. He spent most of the night 2 inches from my face and was constantly waking me up. Since my dad was home on Friday night, it was a little bit better, but the dogs still annoyed me. I probably only got 7 hours of sleep over the course of both nights.

Since Adam is staying at my parents house you would probably think we got to spend a lot of time together. That was not the case. He worked and I spent lots of time at the hospital. We did go see a movie on Friday night. Pride and Glory was very good. Adam and I rarely go to movies at the theatre so this was a nice treat for us.

I have to head back to work today. We have our annual holiday meeting tonight so it should be interesting. Adam's parents and brother will be here at the end of the week. I have lots to do to get the house ready.

Dad

I am currently in South Bend with my dad, who is in the hospital. He has had heart problems in the past. What happens is his heart goes out of normal rhythm. He has been taking medicine to control it and it seems like his body had built up an immunity to the medicine. He has been at the hospital twice already this week. When is happened again this morning, I felt the need to come back to Indiana. Luckily Adam was on his way back and I was able to hitch a ride with him. My mom had plans to go out of town this weekend and I felt like I needed to be here with him. Hopefully the doctors can get this figured out. Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers.

August 29th

The church, the dj, the photographer and the reception site are booked. August 29th my brother and his finace will be married. How exciting!!!!!!!

So Much To Do, So Little TIme

Adam and I are officially moved out of our Indiana apartment. We affectionately called this our summer home. It was a very rough week for both of us. There was lots of driving back and forth and making countless trips up and down the stairs. Now our apartment here in the city is a MESS. There are boxes everywhere and I am not sure where we are going to put everything.

Adam's parents are coming for a visit later this month. They are driving here from Colorado and bringing us the most beautiful dining room table. It will look awesome in our dining room if I can get the boxes moved out. After Adam's parents come to visit, his brother is going to be visiting. My parents have met Adam's dad but not his mom, so my parents will come to Chicago at some point in time to see them.

Today is my day off. All I want to do is lay on the couch and watch TV and do nothing, but I really need to get some stuff done. I have no clue where all this stuff is going to go.

Wedding Bells Will Ring

I have some exciting news to share.......my baby brother CJ asked his girlfriend Jen of 7 years to marry him. I am so excited for these two. I have had to keep this secret for the last month and it has been very hard. My brother gave me the honor of helping him pick out the ring. It was a fun hour for my mom and I. CJ was very clueless and of course my mom and I were more than happy to help him spend his money. He picked a beautiful ring from Hopmans. He has been hanging on to it for a while, waiting for the perfect moment.

My brother is a bow hunter and has a tree stand set up in the woods behind Jen's parents house. He came across a tree one day that had a heart carved into it. The heart says ?? loves ??. CJ carved "Will you marry me" into the tree and that is how he proposed. Isn't that romantic???? When I told Adam about how CJ was going to propose, his response was "That poor tree". He is so silly.

I am so happy for Jen and CJ to begin their lives together. They have lived apart for a very long time. CJ went to school in Muncie and Jen went to school in Indianapolis. After college CJ got a job in Mishawaka and Jen went to grad school in Chicago. Jen is finishing up school and they will get to see each other on a regular basis.

My brother and I had a rocky relationship growing up. It has been so neat to see him grow up and become a man. I am so fortunate to be able to call this wonderful person my brother and my friend. It is also great that I will be gaining a sister. I can't wait to see these two grow together.

Congratulations Jen and CJ. I love you both dearly!!!!!

Christmas is Around the Corner

Oh goodness.....Santa and The Elves will be on display in my store tomorrow. Being in retail requires you to start celebrating Christmas much earlier than normal people. Last year I was Mr. Scrooge. I had no desire the really celebrate Christmas. I usually buy a fresh tree and get it all decorated, but last year was not my year. On Christmas Eve I got so mad at myself for not getting a tree. This year will be different. I am trying to figure out where the tree will go in the new apartment. Adam doesn't really like fresh Christmas trees, but he will just have to deal with it.

Tonight while everyone is handing out Halloween candy, I will be turning my store into a Winter Wonderland. I am not sure how many people will be at The Pier tonight. There were a few kids that came in last night in their costumes. We also had some guests come in to buy outfits for their bears so they could match and go trick-or-treating together.

Happy Halloween and save a snickers for me. :-)

Adam

A lot of you have been asking about when Adam will be joining me in Chicago. I wish I had an easy answer to that question, but I don't. There are no openings for store managers in the Chicago market right now. The economy is too unstable for him to just quit his job and move to the city to find a new job. He store is doing well right now and he is not ready to leave it. This is hard on both of us, but this is what we need to do for the time being. It is stressful for both of us to be constantly explaining to everyone what is going on. I promise that when we have new information, we will share it with all of you. For the time being, Adam will be commuting back and forth from Indian. He will stay at my parents house a few nights a week. Hopefully after the holidays we will know more.

Exhausted

Exhausted is the best way to describe me right now. Every since I got home from St Louis last week, I have been on the go. There hasn't been a whole lot of time just to sit and do nothing. Adam and I did just that last night and it was much needed. I was in bed by 10pm and he came to bed shortly after that. Here is a recap of our last week.

Thursday I traveled to Indiana after work. Since Adam closed at Pier 1 that night, my friend Angie picked me up at the train station.

Friday Adam let me sleep in a little bit, but his stupid alarm kept going off so my dreams of a long morning of sleep were gone. After I got up we went to go vote early. Our first attempt was unsuccessful. We went the the court house in Elkhart and stood in line for 25 minutes and only moved 2 feet. The two ladies running this location were very confused. Adam and I ended up leaving and decided to go to the Goshen location instead. Before we did this, we had to go back to Pier 1 so Adam could do a little work. I sat in some different chairs in the store and entertained myself with my IPhone. After he got done working we went to vote in Goshen. We waited about 45 minutes, but this line was going much faster than the line in Elkhart. I did not mind waiting to vote. I was just so happy to see so many people voting. After we voted, we went back home. Adam and I should have spent the afternoon packing up the apartment, but I needed a nap. That evening we went to Lucchese's Italian Restaurant and had dinner with our friends Frank and Tonja and their kids. The food and atmosphere was great.

Saturday morning we went to the Farmers Market in Goshen and had breakfast with my old roommate Joel and his wife Terri. I had not seen them since I moved to the city, so it was great catching up with them. After breakfast it was time to clean again. We spent that next 6 hours cleaning and packing. Saturday night we had pizza with my extended family in Elkhart. It was great to see everyone.

Sunday I had to get up early and take Adam to work. I spent part of the day sleeping and part of the day cleaning. Sunday night I picked up Adam from work and we then loaded the car and drove back to Chicago.

Monday morning Adam dropped me off at work and he drove back to Indiana to get more stuff and do some stuff at work. He then drove back to Chicago and picked me up because we had opera tickets.

Tuesday morning we got up early and drove back to Indiana. We cleaned the carpets and packed up some more stuff. We then drove back to Chicago because we had to babysit for his god daughter McKenzie.

Wednesday morning Adam dropped me off at work and he came home and began to feel sick. I think all the running around has taken a toll on him. He picked me up from work around 5 and we got stuff to make soup and just bummed around.

He drove back to Indiana this morning because he has to work this afternoon. The apartment is almost empty. We just need to call the Salvation Army and get them to pick up some of the furniture that we no longer need.

Home

I am home!!!!!!

It was an exhausting, but uplifting weekend. I was reminded many times this weekend how lucky I am to work for a company that truly cares about their employees. As always, I came home from this meeting with many wonderful and generous gifts. I learned a lot about how this holiday season is going to different than any I have experienced before. Build-A-Bear Workshop is trying VERY hard to make sure the children of this country are not affected by the economy this holiday season by making it even more affordable to make a bear. We have many affordable and adorable options for people on a tight budget.

This week is going to be busy. I work tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday and then head to Indiana on Thursday night to begin the fun task of cleaning up our Indiana apartment.

Almost Ready

I am almost ready to leave for St Louis. I always pack way too many clothes and I am trying not to do that this year. Since I usually bring so much stuff back (animals and gifts), I have to leave room in my suitcase. This year we are doing a volunteer project on Monday. I will be working at an emergency youth shelter with some of my fellow CWM's. It should be pretty neat.

Here is my schedule for the weekend:
Friday
-Fly to St Louis
-Have dinner with my Bearitory
-Hangout with BQ friends I only get to see once a year

Saturday
-Holiday Merchandise Preview
-Year in Review
-Time with Maxine, the founder of our company
-Teddy Awards

Sunday
-Breakout sessions of our choice (We registered for these two months ago. I can't remember what I picked)
-Pawty (Costume Contest)

Monday
-Volunteer
-Fly Home

I look forward to this meeting every year. My company is VERY good to me. I enjoy getting to see people I don't often see. I also get to make new friends. I will be EXHAUSTED when I come home on Monday, but it is worth it.

(Our company has it's own language. Let me know if you need any translations) :-)

Guess what I got back???

My laptop is back!!!! It is so nice to have it back.

Heading to St Louis tomorrow for the Annual Meeting.

Target is evil.

Sleepy

I am so sleepy right now. Adam got up at 4am to head back to Indiana. He was in town this weekend for the wedding of a childhood friend. Adam was in the wedding. We had a great time on Sunday night and spent all of yesterday recovering from our fun evening. I should have spent the day doing laundry and cleaning the apartment.

On Friday morning I am flying to St Louis for Build-A-Bear Workshops Annual Chief's Meeting. This is always the highlight of my year at work. I get to see some awesome people that I only get to talk to through e-mail and I get to commiserate about crazy retail stuff with people who actually understand what I am saying. Our company has gotten so big that this will be our last meeting in St Louis.

I have got so much stuff to do before then. Laundry, cleaning, packing.....the list goes on and on.

Lazy Wednesday

Adam and I both have the day off today.

The opera on Monday night was great. There were a few strange things that happened. The opera house did a live feed for the radio so there was some sort of interference and during the entire performance we could hear a high pitched electronic buzz. It was so annoying. The guy sitting in front of Adam felt the need to bob his head to the music for the entire performance. It was kid of amusing to me, but not to Adam.

I am not really sure what are plans for today are. We need to take the recycling and I need to drop off a dress at the dry cleaner to wear to a wedding on Sunday night. Other than that I think we are just going to be lazy.

Opera Season Begins

Tonight I have a date with my boyfriend. Adam and I will be attending our first of eight opera's for this season. You are probably thinking to yourself "Who in their right mind would want to attend an opera"? It is actually really enjoyable. When I started dating Adam 4 years ago, he mentioned to me that his parent's have season tickets for the opera and he wanted to know if I might be interested in going some time. Being the nice girlfriend that I am, I said sure. I didn't think I would really enjoy it. It was awesome. The Chicago Lyric Opera House is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Here are a few of my most memorable experiences from the opera's the last few years:

• The Candy Lady-Since we have season tickets, we always sit in the same seats. A few people around us also have season tickets, so we generally sit with the same people. The Candy Lady sits a few seats to the left in front of us. At my very first opera the person sitting next to Adam was unwrapping some candy during the performance. It wasn't that loud that all. During the intermission, the Candy Lady turned around and demonstrated to the adult how she unwraps her candy before the performance beings. She was nice about it, but talked to this person like they were an idiot. She hasn't done it since, but she is now The Candy Lady to me.
• There have been numerous times that Adam and I changed our clothes on the way to the opera in the car. We would always leave Indiana after work and head to the city. I am very surprised we never walked in with clothes backwards or inside out. It is nice that I can get ready at home and just go to the opera now.
• The is only 1 opera we left in the middle of it because it was so boring. Dialogues des Carmelites is about some nuns who are having problems. Most of the sets for these operas are the most beautiful sight you will ever see. This opera had no set, just a black wall. Adam and I looked at each other during intermission and decided it was time to go.
• During one opera, the person sitting next to Adam was a little smelly. We think he fried about 50 onions in butter and then came to the opera. It was a little disgusting.
• If any of you have ever seen the movie Pretty Woman, then you will remember the scene where Richard Gere's character takes Julia Roberts character to the opera. I got to see that opera. It is called La Traviata. I was so excited when I realized during the opera that this is the opera that was in Pretty Woman. Adam probably thought I was crazy.
• The lady who sits directly in front of us has two adult children. It is always interesting to see which child comes to the opera with her and which one of them gets to bring their spouse. I think they are waiting for her to kick the bucket so that they can have the tickets all to themselves.
• The opera is very strict about being in your seat when the performance starts. They do not seat people once the curtain has gone up. You have to wait for intermission. Adam and I missed 1 performance because we were late. This was right around the time that I found out I would be moving to Chicago to run the Navy Pier store. I think we were consumed by being with our friends and lost track of time.

I am excited about this opera season. The two performances I am most excited about are Porgy and Bess and Madam Butterfly. Tonight we are seeing The Pearl Fishers. It is about 2 brothers fighting over the same girl. It should be fun.

Stupid Battery continued.....

Thank goodness I got the 3 year warranty for my laptop when I bought it 2 years ago. I have had two problems with my battery. The first time to power adaptor died. That was an easy fix. Now the connection in my computer that takes the power from the adaptor is dead. The Geek Squad is sending it in to get fixed. It will probably take about 3 weeks. Right now I am using Adam's stupid desktop computer. I like it much better when I can sit on the couch with the TV in the background blogging. Oh well....at least I don't have to pay to get my laptop fixed.

Yesterday Adam and I ran errands before I had to go to work. We went to Target/Starbucks, Best Buy and the grocery store. When we got home, Adam removed the A/C from our bedroom and installed a curtain rod. I like to sleep in a dark cave and it was way too bright. I made 2 big pots of soup so I could send Adam back to Indiana with something yummy to eat.

Adam got up at 4:30 this morning to head back to Indiana. Being the good girlfriend that I am, I packed up the cooler with his food and made sure the coffee maker went off like it was supposed to. Then I went back to bed.

I work today and tomorrow, then I have Monday off. Monday night Adam and I have tickets for the opera. I will tell you more about that in tomorrow's post.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Stupid Battery

Sorry for not posting anything yesterday. The stupid battery on my laptop decided it didn't want to work anymore. I need to go visit Best Buy. Luckily the battery is still under warrenty.

I am currently in Indiana visiting Adam. The train ride to South Bend went quickly last night because I downloaded some tv shows to my iPhone. It was great. After Adam picked me up we went to Granite City for dinner. While we had dinner, we watched the White Sox game. Many of you know that Adam and I are huge Cubs fans, but we felt the need to cheer for the Sox because they are from Chicago. How cool would it be to see the Cubs and the Sox in the World Series!!!!!

Tonight is going to be a busy evening. I'm getting my hair done, the Cubs are playing their first playoff game, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money are on and I have to pick up Adam from work because I have his car today. I don't think I will catch Private Practice, but I should be home in time for Dirty Sexy Money. Adam hates that show but he will just have to live.

Tomorrow we are heading back to Chicago. Adam has tomorrow and Friday off. We are going to see some friends tomorrow night and give them their wedding gift we forgot to give them at their wedding. Sorry Shaw and Kylee, we were having too much fun at your reception to venture out in the rain to Adam's car.

That's all for now. I am off to do some shopping with my mom.

Paul Newman

It was so sad yesterday morning when I pulled up the news on my commute to work. Paul Newman passed away on Friday. I never got into the movies he made, but I love his food. His Newman's Own label was awesome and the best part about it was that all the profits went to charity. He was a celebrity who lived his life to fullest. I hope his food line continues on with his legacy.

Misc

Tonight I had dinner with my wonderful friend Mo. Mo and I have been friends for a few years. She is wonderful. She is a great listener and always gives me great advice. We went to Reza's and enjoyed some delicious food.

Tomorrow is inventory. I am going to go to the store around 11am and hopefully I will be home by midnight. It will be a long day of counting stuff.

Notre Dame beat Purdue today. WOOHOO!!!!!! My stupid retail schedule prevented me from attending. It sucks when all your friends get to go and you have to work.

Adam is going to a bachelor party tomorrow night. Boys are so silly!

Tina Fey is supposed to be on Saturday Night Live again tonight. I can't wait. When she did her portrayal of Sarah Palin two weeks ago, I thought the funniest thing she said was "I can see Russia from my house". SO FUNNY!!!!!!

Picture Removed

I had to remove a picture from my previous post because someone, who will remain nameless, didn't like it.

Pictures of Adam and I

Summer Vacation

Adam and I took a hike one morning. This is a beautiful view of Carbondale, CO.

Here I am standing on a rock. It was a little scary getting out there.

Aaron, Stephen, Karen and I right before Adam and I got on the road for our 18 hour drive back to Indiana.

Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow is the 2 hour season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!! I have been hooked on this show since day 1. Adam gives me so much grief for watching it, but I love it. The previews have left me thinking about where the story is going. I guess I will just have to wait until tomorrow night to find out.

Sleepy Time

It is 9:34 and I am ready for bed. I worked 12 hours today getting ready for inventory. Don't have much to say.

Quick shout out to Mr and Mrs Shaw.........Welcome back from Hawaii. I can't wait to hear all about it. Adam and I still have your wedding present so we must get together soon!!!!!!

Inventory Time

It is that time again. I love inventory. It is all about organization and preparation. Sunday around 11am my assistant and I will begin counting everything thing in the backroom. When we close we will count the sales floor with the help of 6 Bear Builders. This is my first year doing inventory at The Pier so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Hopefully we will be done by 11 or 11:30pm. Adam will be at a bachelor party that night so this will be a good distraction. :-)

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs clinched their division yesterday at Wrigley Field and I got to be a part of it. It was so awesome. The weather was almost perfect. It was nice and warm and would have been a little better if there was a slight breeze blowing through the ballpark.

When my brother got these tickets back in March he said this could be a good game since it was towards the end of the season. He was right.

Magic Number

Baseball can be so confusing. This whole magic number thing is weird. I am not good at explaining it, so google Cubs Magic Number to get more info.

The Cubs need to win one more game to clinch the division. Adam and I are VERY lucky ticket holders for today's game. Back in March my brother bought a group of ten games and this game was included in the package. He gave Adam and I each a ticket for the game today. CJ, his girlfriend Jen, our friend Jeff and Jeff's dad will all be at the game. We are sitting in the bleachers which means we have to get there really early if we want good seats.

I must go now. Adam wants coffee and it insisting that I make it.

GO CUBS!!!!!!!

I am such a bad blogger

I need to update this thing more often.

I am comititted to posting 1 blog each day for the next 30 days. Who knows what I will come up with.

I am not even sure who reads this. :-)

That's all for today.

GO CUBS!!!!!!!

Time for a Wedding

Don't get excited.....it is not my wedding. :-) Our good friends Al and Kylee are getting married tomorrow night. The wedding is being held at the Botanical Gardens just north of Chicago. Adam has taken me to the gardens twice and I always thought it would be a beautiful place to get married. It should be a fun evening. Adam and Al have been friends since childhood.

9/11

Today is somewhat of a somber day for me. I watched TV this morning while MSNBC was replaying the events of 7 years ago in real time. Some many people lost their lives in such a tragic way. The memorial they built at the Pentagon is amazing. I will always have a vivid memory of where I was when I heard about the first tower being hit.

CJ

My brother called last Sunday to inform me he would be in town on Thursday for a Cubs game and might need to crash at my place. Of course my response was "no problem". He called back last Wednesday to let me know he had an extra ticket for the Cubs game and wanted to know if I wanted to go. Of course my answer was YES. I had the pleasure of spending an evening with my brother and some of his buddies from work at Wrigley Field. It doesn't get much better than this.

When my brother and I were growing up, we fought like crazy. I never thought we would ever get along. Boy was I wrong. My brother has grown up to be such an awesome guy. He has a good heart and is just a great person.

It was so much fun spending the evening with him and just hanging out.

September

This is a busy month for Adam and I. We have lots of fun things to look forward to.

Here is what we have going on:

• Today we are finally going to hang pictures in our apartment
• Tomorrow is a day of fun. I think we might need to visit the zoo!!!!
• September 10th-Work at my old store in Mishawaka and have dinner with my parents
• September 11th-Rehearsal dinner
• September 12th-Al and Kylee's wedding
• September 16th-Cubs Game
• September 20th-Another Cubs Game
• September 28th-Inventory at Build-A-Bear

This will be a fun month. It is always nice to have something to look forward to. All this fun things means more time with Adam. WOOHOO!!!!!

Work

I can't believe it is already September. Where did the summer go......I spent all summer working. I am so happy that our hours at the store are not insane anymore. From Memorial Day to Labor Day we were open from 10am-10pm Sunday through Thursday and 10am-Midnight Friday and Saturday. Since I was short two managers most of the summer I spent at least 1 night each weekend working until 1am. Those days are over....until next summer. Last night I left the store at 8:15 and was home by 9:30. It was awesome. We are now open 10am-8pm Sunday through Thursday and 10am-10pm Friday and Saturday.

Oh boy.....

The iPhone is everything I dreamed of and so much more. Adam and I picked up our iPhones this morning and haven't put them down for more than 30 minutes. There are so many cool things you can do with it. I won't bore you with it......but it is so much fun

REALLY Long Day

Today was a such a long day. I left my apartment this morning at 6am and did not return until 7:30 pm. I had management meeting this morning, my monthly visit from my boss (who I adore) and lots of new training on our new payroll and scheduling system. My head is swimming with so much info right now. There isn't room for anymore.

While I was in my meeting, my cell phone rang. Normally I wouldn't answer it in a meeting, but I just felt the reason to answer the phone. It was my mom. She was calling to tell me she has skin cancer. I didn't know what to say. She found a spot on her thumb about 3 months ago. The doctor said to watch it and it would probably go away. It didn't go away. She had a biopsy and it came back positive. The doctors are very optimistic and are removing the spot on Thursday. From what I understand, skin cancer is very treatable, but it is still FREAKING scary.

The part that is the hardest for me is that I am 2 hours away. If I still lived in Elkhart, I would hop in my car to be there for my mom. It kills me that I can't do that. My mom is my best friend and I feel bad that I am not there for her during this tough time. Sure she has my dad and my brother, but they are not me. I love my mom so much and I truly do not know what I would do without her.

I am very happy that Adam will be coming into town tonight. It couldn't have happened at any better time. I know we just got back from vacation, but I still miss him. I just want him to hug me after this LONG day. Tomorrow we are picking up our new phones.

iPhone

Adam and I are the proud new owners of iPhones. We purchased them yesterday. Adam's brother and dad each have one and they are awesome. Adam's number will be the same, but I will have a new number. As soon as I get it, I will pass on the new number. I am so excited. All stores are out of stock. We should have them in 7-10 business days.

Vacation is over

Adam and I arrived home safely around 5pm last night. The drive home was very uneventful. We took turns sleeping and driving. Adam left Chicago this morning to head back to Indiana. It was hard to see him go. We had a whole week of time together that was not consumed with work. It was great. My favorite day was when we went on a winery tour. More about this later.

Vacation

Adam and arrived in Carbondale, Colorado around 7am mountain time on Thursday morning. We left Chicago around 1pm Central time on Thursday. It was a pretty uneventful drive. We stopped to eat lunch and dinner. We tried to stop in Silver Thorn, Colorado around 5am Thursday, but NOTHING was open.

We spent yesterday sleeping and resting. Today Adam and I did some shopping and now he is golfing with his mom. Tonight we are going to 1st Friday in Carbondale. All the stores stay open late and serve wine and appetizers. The company that Adam's brother works for is having a hog roast and free beer. It should be fun.

While we are here we plan on visiting some wineries, tubing/white water rafting, hike a mountain (Adam), visit a spa(Megan), go see The Dark Knight, go for some bike rides, lots of golf(Adam), lots of reading(Megan), and lots of sleeping.

Vacation

It is almost time for vacation. Adam and I will leave when I get off work Wednesday. I can't wait. Adam and I have not seen each other since last Saturday. He will get into the city Tuesday night. I can't wait to see him. This is a much needed vacation. I have not had a Saturday off since April and Adam has not had a Sunday off since I moved to Chicago.

I am slowly crossing things off my to do list. Today I am finishing up laundry. Tomorrow I need to go to the grocery store before I go to work to get the rest of the ingredients I need to make Chex Mix. Monday before I go to work I need to clean the apartment and make the Chex Mix. Tuesday will be the busiest day. I have to be at work early for a management meeting. When I get home from work I have to finish doing laundry, pack, empty the fridge and make brownies.

It will be a busy couple of days, but it is worth it. A week with Adam, away from work. :-)

Comcast-Part 2

I blogged earlier this month about Comcast. They were late for my installation appointment. I got over it because the service tech was a nice guy and did his job as quickly as he could. I got an e-mail few days ago telling me that my bill was ready. This seemed a little strange because I have only had cable for 2 weeks. I finally got around to viewing me bill today and was SHOCKED to see that my balance due was $192.94. You are probably thinking in your head "what kind of cable package does she have". I ordered internet and cable for $66 a month. I added some upgrades and monthly bill should be a little less than $100.

I was charged $179.97 for one-time charges. These one time charges were not mentioned to me when I placed the order. I AM NOT HAPPY. Apparently the charges are for the installation. WHATEVER!!!!! I contacted customer service and the lady I talked with offered to take 50% of the charge away. I accepted, but I am not done yet!

Beware of hidden charges with Comcast. I didn't sign a contract or anything so I tempted to take my business elsewhere.

Is it time for vacation yet?

Today is my last day off until Adam and I leave for vacation. I should be doing more but right now I am procrastinating.

Comcast

Up until today, I was impressed with Comcast. I have putting off getting cable and internet in Chicago, but with the Olympics coming up, I felt the need for more than 2 tv channels. I ordered the new service last week and the technician was supposed to be here between 8am and 10am today. It is now 10:33 and the tech just got here. It annoys me because I could have slept in longer. I also hope he is quick because I have to leave for work soon. Hopefully this is not an omen of bad things to come.

Drive or Fly.....that is the question

Adam and I are debating whether we drive or fly to Colorado next month. We started pricing tickets last night. It is never easy getting to his parent's house in Carbondale. We usually fly to Denver and then either rent a car for the day ($100) and make the 3 hours drive through the mountains or his parent's come to get us in Denver. I feel bad asking them to do this because it is a 6 hour round trip for them.

Frontier has flights from Chicago to Denver to Aspen for $360. We usually fly United, but the tickets would be over $400.

We are thinking about driving this time. I know it sounds crazy with gas prices, but we did that math last night. Gas would be around $450 for the entire trip. It would take us about 18 hours to drive out there. It makes sense to drive because there are two of us that can share the driving. There is also a really awesome table that Adam's parent's have been trying to give us for a year now, but we have had no way to get it to Chicago. If we drive, we can bring the table back.

We need to make our decision soon. First, we have to get vacation approval from our employers.

He is great!

Adam is so great. He came into town on Tuesday night because he had Wednesday off. He picked me up from work and we had a a late dinner. On Wednesday he took me to Target because we needed some stuff for the apartment. We went downtown and picked my mom and Jen up at the train station. We headed back to the apartment to drop some things off and then headed to lunch. After lunch he took us back downtown for the musical. While we were at Wicked, Adam surprised me and went to Costco to buy another AC unit for our apartment. He then picked us up at Navy Pier and we all went to get pizza.

He spent his day off doing stuff to make me happy and the make my life easier. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. I can't wait for him to move here.

Wicked

My mom and my brother's girlfriend Jen, came into town yesterday and we went to see Wicked. IT WAS AWESOME. I have always been a lover of Broadway musicals and this one did not disappoint me. Jen had never seen a Broadway show in person, so this was a new experience for her. If you have not seen it yet, you must go. The production will end its run sometime this fall.

After the show we went to Garrett's Popcorn. Jen had never had and thought the idea of mixing caramel corn and cheese corn together was gross. She loved it. After Garrett's I took mom and Jen to see my store at Navy Pier. Then we went to get deep dish pizza.

It was a great day. I get very lonely here by myself so it it nice to have friendly faces come for a visit.

I Love Ikea!

The new bed is here. Adam and I went to Ikea on Wednesday and picked up our new bed. This is our first big piece of furniture we have purchased together. It took about 2 hours to put together. Adam has lots of experience putting furniture together, so it went pretty smoothly. We only made one mistake, but we quickly realized our mistake and resolved it.

The mattress smells a little weird, but that is supposed to go away soon. :-)

Hopefully in the next few months we will get the matching night stands and dressers to go with it.

Hero

The war that our country is fighting finally hit home for me. Travis Hunsberger, a high school classmate of my brother, was killed in Afghanistan on Friday by an IED. I know people who have lost people they know to the war, but no one I actually knew. I did not know Travis well. His mom Ronda plays the piano and accompanied me a lot during my high school singing days. She always had a story to share about Travis.

It takes a lot of guts to sign up for the Armed Forces. This is a job I could never do. Travis is a true American Hero. I don't agree with what is happening with this war, but that does not mean I do not support the men and women who are fighting it.

My thoughts are with The Hunsberger family. I hope they can find peace in the memories they have of Travis.

Long Day

Do you ever have a day where you feel like you are just one step behind? That is how I felt today. Everytime I got something done I would remember something else I needed to do. I finally had to stop and just go home from work or I would have lost my mind. Everything that could go wrong went wrong this weekend. I think it is all fixed now.

One more day of work, then two days off with Adam. I can't wait!!!!!

Ikea

This is the bed that Adam and I will hopefully be purchasing this weekend. It is from Ikea. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Cross Town Classic

The Cross Town Classic starts on Friday. For those of you who don't know what this is, let me fill you in. The city of Chicago is lucky to have 2 baseball teams. The Cubs and The Sox. Every year they play 2 three games series against each other. It is a fun weekend for the city. This is my first year getting to attend one of these games. Adam and I will be at the game on Friday. I am so excited. Not only to I get to spend the day with Adam, but I get to go to an exciting baseball game at Wrigley Field. GO CUBS GO!!!!!

Work.....Work....Work.....

Today is my first day off in 9 days. It took me forever to close my store last night because my brain was so fried. I love my job and I love the company I work for, but it really wears me out sometimes. Once my management team is all in place, life will get a little bit easier.

My plan for the day is to clean the apartment and take a nap. Sounds like an exciting day, doesn't it???? :-)

Tim Russert

I was really bummed when I heard the news that NBC Political Analyst Tim Russert had passed away. I am not a religious viewer of Meet The Press, but there have often been times where I watch it if I happen to be home on a Sunday morning. Tim got excited about politics and made other people excited as well. He explained difficult situations in a way that every day people could understand it. The upcoming election will not be the same not having him reporting it.

One Year Ago

Last year on this date Adam and I were supposed to attend 3 weddings. My old roommate Joel, Adam's assistant manager Lindsey and my brother's best friend Josh all got married on the same day. The day before that was my best friend Moriah's wedding in Jamaica. It was a crazy weekend. Unfortunately we did not make it to Lindsey and Grant's wedding. We were having too much fun at Joel and Terri's wedding. We also didn't make it to Jamaica.

All three wedding were so different. Joel and Terri got married in an art gallery and had their reception in their backyard. Lindsey and Grant for married in the country at Lindsey's grandparents farm. Josh and Laura got married in a church and had their reception at Amish Acres.

When I think back it was such a great day. Joel and Terri had their share of trying times during their relationship. Since Joel and I were roommates at the time, I went through a lot of it with them. I felt like such an idiot because I cried so much during their wedding. They were all happy tears. I was so happy to be able to witness two people get married because they truly love each other. It is one of the best wedding I have ever been to.

Since we were having so much fun with Joel and Terri we didn't make it to the wedding the country. Some of Adam's co-workers attended and said it was great.

We had to go to Josh and Laura's wedding because my dad and I were singing in the wedding. Most people don't know that I was a singer in high school. I was completely shocked when Josh and Laura asked us to sing in their wedding. It was kind of nerve racking because Adam had never heard me sing before. I think he was more nervous than I was. Josh and Laura's reception was great. It was a HUGE party with lots of food, music and a few cocktails. :-)

Happy Anniversary to Laura & Josh, Terri & Joel, and Lindsey & Grant!!!!!!

Back Home Again......In Indiana

I am in Indiana right now visiting Adam. Yesterday was Kaiden's birthday party. I consider Kaiden to be my nephew. His Grandma Kathy is my mom's best friend. Our families have been friends for many years. It was so great to see Kathy, Eldon, Kristin, Scott, Kaiden, Brady and Chandler yesterday. I had not planned on coming home this weekend, but it just worked out that way. Everyone was very surprised to see me.

I am heading back to the big city tomorrow. Today I am having coffee with my friend Moriah, doing a conference call for work, and having dinner with Adam at one of our favorite restaurants.

Chicago Cubs

Since Adam grew up so close to Wrigley Field, I have inheritated his love for the Cubs. I was never really a baseball fan before I met him. My dad has always loved the Yankees, but now that I love the Cubs, I detest the Yankees.

Adam and I have been to 3 games so far this season. We have tickets for at least 3 other games. My brother bought a group of 9 games and we were able to buy some of the games from him.

I got to do something Cubs fans dream of on May 17th. It was Build-A-Bear Workshop Day at Wrigley Field. The first 1000 kids who came to the game got an exclusive Chicago Cubs Build-A-Bear. Since we were one of the sponsors of the game, our mascot got to throw out the first pitch and one of the charities we support also got to throw out a first pitch. My job for the day was to escort the young man from Super Sibs who would throwing a first pitch.

I GOT TO TOUCH THE GRASS ON WRIGLEY FIELD. IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!!!! We stood on the field for about 45 minutes before everything started. Adam was very jealous.

My camera is in Chicago, so as soon as I get home I will try to post a picture.

Bad Blogger

I am a bad blogger!!!!!! Life has been very crazy lately. Here is a recap of the month of May.

Work-Two of my assistant managers are leaving. One of them was promoted to a store manager and will be moving to Iowa and the other decided he didn't want to work in retail anymore. This is quite stressful because we are getting into our busiest time of year. If you know anyone who works in retail that might want to make a career change, let me know.

The store is getting busier. We get lots of school trips that come in during the week and lots of families during the weekends. One of my employees asked me what I miss about my old store. I miss my customers. I established some really great relationships with some of the people who shopped in my store. We get lots of tourists at Navy Pier, so its not really the same.

Family-My brother CJ and his girlfriend Jen stayed with Adam and I a few weeks ago. It was fun hanging out with them. We took them to a Mediterranean restaurant. They are very picky eaters, but I think they enjoyed it.

My mom had surgery on her hand last week. I think she is recovering well. She just has problems doing some stuff because her hand still hurts a little bit.

My dad's birthday was last week and my parent's anniversary is this week.

I am looking forward to seeing my parents tonight.

Adam-I saw Adam for the first time in 9 days last night. It really sucks living apart. I don't have any new news to share about his transition to Chicago. Hopefully we will know something soon.

Sick

I hate being sick. Right now I feel like someone ran over me with a huge truck. I plan on spending my day off tomorrow sleeping and blowing my nose.

Indiana Primary

Indiana holds it's primary election next Tuesday. This is the first time in a long time that Indiana will actually get to help decide who will run in the general election. I am a nerd and very excited about this. When I turned 18 I was so excited to register to vote. I voted absentee last week when I was back in Indiana. Clinton and Obama are plaing so many ads in Indiana right now. I can't wait to watch the results come in.

Lack of Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates. Getting adjusted to Chicago has kept me pretty busy. Here is a rundown of what's been happening.

Adam and I are slowly adjusting to not seeing each other everyday. He came into town Wednesday night because we had tickets to see the Cubs yesterday. We talk on the phone about 10 times a day and are always planning his next visit to Chicago or my next visit back to Indiana. He had a good meeting with his boss this week and spent time talking about him possibly taking over a Chicago store. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!!

The new store is good. It is a change of pace from my old store in Mishawaka. All of my new co-workers are great. They are very good about answering all my silly questions about how Navy Pier is a little different than other locations.

I really enjoying riding the Red Line to work. Some people think that is crazy. I drove one day last week and it took me 35 minutes to drive 8 miles. That is ridiculous. I can sit on the train and read a book and drink my coffee. Plus I am not paying LOTS of cash to out gas in my car.

That's all for now. :-)

Red Line

I rode the "L" downtown this morning. I wanted to do a trial run of my morning commute before my first day at my new store. It was pretty uneventful. Once I walked up the stairs onto Grand Ave I wasn't sure if I should go right or left. I decided to go right and that was wrong. I walked about 10 blocks before I realized I was going the wrong way. I am so glad I did a trial run. As soon as I got turned around, everything was ok. It was a beautiful day. The wind was a little chilly, but it was still nice. I walked to Navy Pier and stopped by my store.

It is really starting to sink in that I live in Chicago now.

I miss Adam like crazy. It was so hard to say goodbye to him yesterday morning.

I will update tomorrow and let you know how my 1st day goes. I am SOOOOO excited.

Grandma Black

My grandma passed away this morning. She had been sick for about two weeks. I knew this day was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier. She lived for 93 years and it is comforting to know she is no longer suffering.

Some of my fondest memories are spending the summers up in Michigan with her and my grandpa. My parents would go golfing and leave my brother and I in their care. Grandma cooked a lot and gave us the greatest hugs. She tracked how much we grew on the dining room wall. In her later years she grew to love QVC. When my mom and I were going through some of her things last year, we found lots of items from QVC that were never used. She loved to put lemon pepper on everything she ate.

She was a wonderful grandma and she will be deeply missed.

Life

"Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." One of my favorite quotes from Ferris Bueller. Life has been moving very fast. In exactly one month I will be living in Chicago and managing the Build-A-Bear Workshop store at Navy Pier. Since meeting Adam, I knew I would some day be moving away from quiet Indiana, but I always thought Adam would be the one to initiate the move, not me. I am excited and terrified all at once.

Our apartment is a complete mess right now. Adam is an awesome packer. My opinion on his packing abilites may change when I begin unpacking everything. He is very worried that the movers are going to break everything so he is being VERY careful. I feel really bad for people who don't work in retail. Since he and I both work for stores that receive at least 150 boxes each week we have unlimited access to boxes and packing material. What do people who don't work in retail do?


It is slowly sinking in that I will not no longer be within 30 minutes of my parents. With the exception of about 6 months of my life, I have always been within 30 minutes of my parents home. I don't go to their house every week, but I could if I wanted to. I have been spending some quality time with them recently. My dad and I went to a Notre Dame basketball game together last week and I spent all day yesterday running errands with my mom. I am sure they will enjoy coming to Chicago. There first trip will be May 1st. Mom, Dad, CJ, Adam and I will be going to a Cubs game to celebrate mine and CJ's birthdays.


It still hasn't sunk in that Adam is not making the move to Chicago at the same time as me. I have gotten so used to seeing him everyday. We will see each other on our days off.


I am super excited to see all of my Chicago friends on a more frequent basis. Joe and Jen are just a few blocks away. Brendan and Piper are also close by. Mo is in the burbs, but that won't stop me from seeing her!


Be prepared for lots of random thoughts. I am full of them!

I have a blog!

Here is my blog.......exciting, right????? There are some big changes down the road. I thought this might be the best way to keep everyone updated. Stay tuned!!!!!