Tease

Adam was such a tease yesterday. He came home for 31 hours and then left again. We had a nice day together. Charlie was very happy to have him home. The next time he comes home will be Christmas Eve and his life should be somewhat back to normal. My life will be at a slower pace on January 4th. I am looking forward to two days off together with no calls from work and no need to check email on a frequent basis. I can't wait.

Sleep

I have not been able to sleep in for a while now. I seem to wake up between 6 and 6:30 every morning. This is partly caused by the cat representative that lives in this house, but I think it is also just some weird internal alarm clock.

Adam got home very late last night. We have not seen each other since last Tuesday. Our jobs cause a great deal of stress for both of us during the month of December. This year has been especially hard for Adam. He has been working really weird hours and getting sleep when he can. I have a feeling he will spend most of the day sleeping, but I hope I am wrong.

Charlie really missed Adam when he was gone. He hasn't really left Adam's side since he got home. Right now Charlie is sitting on my lap while I try to type and I keep telling him to go wake up Adam, but he hasn't done it yet. I know Adam needs to sleep, but I would really like to have a real conversation with him that isn't interrupted by work.

Hmmmm.....

I don't have an actual post to share, so I will share some random thoughts.

~If you want a good laugh, borrow my cat to help you wrap your Christmas presents. He tries really hard to help, but all he seems to want to do is play with the ribbon. It is too darn cute.

~Please be nice to the people who ring you up while you are finishing your Christmas shopping. We are humans too. A smile, and the words "please" and thank you" go a long way!

~It was cold in Chicago today. I really want some snow on Christmas Day.

~I am trying to find a recipe for French Toast Casserole to make on Christmas morning. Any suggestions?

~Adam's brother and his girlfriend will be in Aspen for Christmas. There is snow there right now. I am very jealous.

~Adam will be home late tomorrow night. I haven't seen him since last Tuesday. Charlie is really missing him. He wanders from room to room each night when I get home hoping Adam will be there. It is cute, but sad.

~I am watching Elf right now and the scene playing right now is when Buddy calls Walter to inquire about the radiators making scary noises. It is too funny!!!!!

I guess that is enough randomness for one night.

Furball

My life has been quite different since May 11th 2009. That is the day we brought a big fur ball into our quiet apartment. It was an adjustment at first because Charlie had some issues with doing his business in the proper place, but things are great now. It is so nice to hear a meow when I walk in the door. I am going to share some randomness about this little guy that has stolen my heart and I think Adam's heart as well.

Common Nicknames:
Dude
Handsome
Stinky
Charlieman
Sir Charles (my dad gave him this name)

Things I love:
Hearing him meow when I walk in the door
Finding him curled up next to me in the morning
Listening to him purr
Watching him bat around his fake mice
Playing "The Bug" game
Hearing him run down the hall at full force and watching him catapult onto the couch
Hearing him grunt a little when he jumps onto different pieces of furniture
Feeling him paw at my hand when he wants some lovin
Watching him watch the birds

Things that make me crazy, but I deal with because he is so damn cute:
Begin woken up at 6am because he is hungry and think he might starve
Tripping over him in the kitchen because he thinks I might drop some food
Interruptions when working on the computer because he needs attention that exact moment
Attempting to sit down on the couch and finding him quickly taking my spot
Watching him dart around the house when it's windy and hearing him cry at the noises nonstop

I can't imagine what kind of life he had before he joined our family. I hope he loves living with us and having a big apartment all to himself. I really can't imagine our lives without him. He is cute and lovable and huggable and I just love him to pieces. People who don't have pets just don't understand. He is my baby and I love him so much.

Thank you for putting up with this post and letting me profess my love for this cute fur ball. I promise I am not turning into a crazy cat lady! :-)

Snow

I LOVE snow. Some of you may be groaning and others may share my love for this fluffy white stuff. On Thursday Adam and I were running errands and I saw some really big flakes and even caught one on my tongue.

My outlook on snow changed a little bit last year because it was the first year since I began driving that I didn't have to drive in it on a regular basis. Since I don't have a car in the city I don't have to worry about scraping off my car, black ice and all the other little annoyances that that the come with the snow. I do have to walk through it. Some of the homes and businesses on my route to the Red Line are very good about clearing the sidewalks and I think some others don't even know what a shovel is. It is slightly annoying when my neighbors get out their snow blowers at 5am.

It is also really amazing to see how people will try to save the parking spaces that they have shoveled clean. After about 7pm Monday - Friday it can be very difficult to find a parking spot on my street. Add in the element of snow and it really gets interesting. Some of my neighbors use orange parking cones and others get really creative by using lawn chairs. I will try to take a picture once we get some significant accumulation.

It is supposed to snow tonight. Weather Channel is telling me there is a chance of up to 1 inch of accumulation. Yahoo!!!!!!

Absent

I have been absent from this blog for quite some time. The wonderful man I am in love with sent me an email this morning inquiring about my absence. I think I am ready to get back into this.

Where do I begin to catch you up on my life......life has been pretty busy the last few months. I will give you a brief update and then try to be more detailed in later posts.

My brother's wedding was AWESOME. I was very exhausted after the long weekend was over, but it was totally worth.

Charlie has made 2 trips to Indiana since my last post. The first car ride was a little crazy, but the second one went really well. He is such an awesome cat. Adam thinks he is awesome as well, but doesn't always want to admit it.

The crazy summer business at Navy Pier ended Labor Day weekend. Now we are beginning to see the holiday shoppers spend some moolah!

Adam is still working in Indiana and coming to be with me and Charlie in Chicago as much as possible. It sucks, but we try to make the most of our time together.

We took a much needed vacation to Colorado the first week of November. We decided to drive and we had a great time!

Adam and I had a quiet Thanksgiving at home. Adam's brother and his girlfriend stopped by for a while and we ended up staying in our pj's most of the day. It was perfect. I went to Indiana in October and we celebrated a little early with my family.

It is my turn to work Christmas Eve at work, so I will not be going to Nappanee for Christmas. My parents are coming to visit next Saturday so we can see each other before Christmas.

I have not bought a single Christmas present yet. I should probably get my butt in gear.

That is all for now. I will try to go into more detail later and also try to update a little more frequently.

I have been up since 4:30am because Charlie discovered a new friend in the bedroom. Can you guess what it is???? A bat!!!! After unsuccessfully trying to manuver it out the bedroom window for 45 minutes, I gave up and sat on the couch. When I went to check an hour later, it was gone. I am so tired. I HATE MONDAYS!!!!!

2 More Days

I only have to work 2 more days until my 3 day weekend. These two days can't go fast enough. I think they should go pretty fast because today I close and for some reason the day goes fast when I close and tomorrow we have to a party of 40 kids and a party of 150 kids. These kinds of parties always make the day go by quickly.

Adam is coming home tonight. He has had a pretty rough week at work, so I think he will enjoy a day at home alone tomorrow to just chill. Hopefully Charlie doesn't drive him too crazy.

Charlie is doing great. This weekend will be a test for him because it is the first time we will leave him home by himself. Adam and I are trying to figure out what we are going to do with Charlie when we head to Indiana next month. We will be gone for three nights. There are a bunch of pet sitting services in Chicago, but they are really expensive. I think he will be ok by himself, but we need to find someone to clean out his litter box and play with him a little bit each day. Hopefully I will be able to convince Adam's brother to do it. We have been debated taking Charlie with us, but I am pretty sure we won't enjoy the 2 hour car ride or my parents two dogs. We shall see.

Friday Adam and I get to go to another Cubs game. Build-A-Bear Workshop sponsors two games a year and my boss gave me two tickets for this game. It is supposed to be a nice day, so I am sure Adam and I will have a blast.

Saturday morning we head to Indiana. Adam has to work on Saturday so I am going to run some errands, see my brother's new house, do some laundry, visit some friends and hang out with my parents.

Sunday morning Adam and I are having breakfast with our friends Joel and Terri. Then Adam has to work again while I have a bridal shower for my future sister-in-law. After Adam gets off work we will head back to Chicago. I am looking forward to going home for a few days. I haven't been home since Mother's Day.

Today is day 4 of 7 days of working in a row. Adam will be home on Wednesday night. Friday we get to go to Build-A-Bear day at Wrigley Field and Saturday we are headed to Indiana because I am having a shower for my future sister-in-law on Sunday. I am totally looking forward to my 3 day weekend.

Dinner with an Old Friend

Last night Adam and I had dinner with an old friend. My former roommate Joel was in town to meet with a client and we were able to meet him for dinner before he headed back to Indiana. It was great. We went to Lou Malnati's and ate some pizza and just caught up on everything that was going on. I miss seeing Joel and his wife Terri. Luckily I will be home quite a bit in August, so hopefully we will get to see them a few times.

Summer is Busy

Summer is here.....I think. The weather has been really weird. Is it summer.....is it not summer. Here is a rundown of what has been going on with my life.

• It finally felt like we were getting our summer traffic at Navy Pier yesterday. We were busy most of the day and I was beat when I got home. The stupid Red Line decided to run super slow and it took FOREVER to get home.
• Last Thursday Adam and I went to see the Cubs beat Milwaukee with my brother, his best man Jeff, his friend Tim and Tim's girlfriend Natalie. We had a great time and it was actually a really good game.
• Adam and I were both off on July 3rd. We spent most of the day watching Lost and just hanging out. It was a much needed day of relaxation. In the evening we hung out with our friends Joe and Jen.
• I had to work for a little while on July 4th. Adam and I spent the rest of the day watching Lost and hanging out with Charlie. We had no desire the brave the crowds and head downtown for fireworks. We had enough entertainment watching Charlie look at the window and try to figure out where all the loud noises were coming from.
• Today I have to go in to work for a few hours. Adam is going to do all of our laundry while I am working, then we are headed to Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. This is my favorite mall in the area. Build-A-Bear needs to put a store there. It is an awesome outdoor mall. I have to get a gift for my future sister-in-laws Personal Shower. Her Bachelorlette Party is this weekend here in Chicago.
• CJ and Jen's wedding is quickly approaching. Adam and I are putting together a slide show to play in the church before the wedding starts. I am working on the pictures and Adam and trying to figure out what songs to play. It should be pretty cool.
• Adam and I are falling in love with Charlie more and more everyday. This cat is awesome and has such a great personality.
• My mind is on vacation planning. I am saving some vacation days for October. Adam and I will probably take a road trip out to Colorado again.

That is all for now. :-)

Finally Home

Adam's plan landed at O'Hare around 2:45 am. He didn't check any luggage so we were home by 3:30am. I was exhausted but Adam was still wired from his long day of travelling. He unpacked a few things, gave me my gift and showed me some pictures. I tried my best to stay awake, but that didn't work very well. I went to bed around 4:30 and Adam came to bed when the sun was coming up at 5:30. I woke him up around 8:30 by running the coffee maker and I headed to Petco to get Charlie some cat food. Adam left for Indiana around 10am. At least we got to see each other for 7 hours.

He will be back on Tuesday night. We both have Wednesday off and don't have any plans except to put in the window air conditioners. It is pretty warm in our apartment right now. I put some ice cubes in Charlie's water bowl and he seemed to really like that. Charlie was pretty excited to see Adam.

I am headed to work now. We are open until midnight. Hopefully I will be home by 1:15.

The power went out an hour ago. The disc of Lost I could be watching right now is stuck in the DVD player. Adam is on standby for a flight. Let's hope he makes it and that the power comes on soon.

Weather

I am a girl who loves a good thunderstorm. I love watching the lightening and listening to the thunder. However, I don't like thunderstorms when they cause Adam's flight to get cancelled. I got a phone call around 5pm that his flight was cancelled. He was in the car with his parents on their way to the airport. It is a 3 hour drive and they have very unreliable cell phone service because of the mountains. I called United and they informed me Adam could get on an American Airlines at 5:45, but Adam would not be at the airport at 5:45 because his original flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 7:30. I called United again when I got home and had to be on hold for 25 minutes before I was connected to an agent. While I was on hold I searched the internet to see what flights I might be able to get Adam on. When I finally got the agent I told which two flights I wanted to get Adam on standby for. She told me she couldn't put him on standby over the phone. GRRRRRRRR!!!!!! I am not sure where he is right now. He is supposed to call me soon. He has to be at work in Elkhart tomorrow at 1:30. We will see what happens. I am super bummed because we really haven't seen each other very much the last 3 weeks. I was hoping for a few moments with him when he got home tonight. He he makes one of these standby flights he will arrive in Chicago around 1:30 am. He needs to leave for Indiana at 9:30. Keep your fingers crossed.

CJ

My baby brother is growing up. I called him tonight to get the low down on his bachelor party. He and 16 friends from high school, college and work rented a house boat somewhere in Tennessee this past weekend and it sounds like they had a blast. I can't wait to see the pictures.

On Wednesday he and his fiance Jen are going to look at a house for the second time and if all goes well, I think they are going to make a bid. He is such a grown up. It is so weird to think that in 2 short months he is getting married. IT IS CRAZY!!!!!!

The above picture is one of my favorites from their engagement pictures. If you are looking for an AWESOME photographer check out Amanda Fales Photography. INCREDIBLE!!!!! If you want to see more, check this out.
http://amandafales.blogspot.com/2009/05/jen-cj.html

House Wife

I felt like a house wife today. I cleaned the entire apartment from top to bottom, make a chicken pot pie and baked some cookies. I wish I could afford a maid to clean my apartment every week. I love the way to I feel when it is clean.

Tomorrow I head out to the suburbs for a meeting with all the managers in my area. I made cookies to take to the meeting. It is nice getting together with all these people. We talk on the phone every Monday, but get together only 2 or 3 times a year. Hopefully we will be able to get some work done, but eating and gossiping will also happen.

I talked to Adam a few minutes ago. He made it through Day 1 of Ride the Rockies. He got a flat tire and finished the first leg right before it started raining. His dad is driving their camper along the route and they are camping at a site that is not with the other 1998 riders. We didn't get to talk very long because cell phone service is a little unreliable.

Charlie is currently trying to help me type this blog entry.

Hmmmmm....

I don't think anyone reads this thing.

A Little Lonely

Today I found myself a little lonely. Adam left for Colorado at 5:30 this morning. He won't be back until next Friday. Life has been a little crazy for both of us lately. Hopefully things will slow down soon.

Luckily I have Charlie to keep me company. He has been on his best behavior the last 6 days with the exception of last night. He has redeemed himself twice by using his litter box like he is supposed to. I don't want to jinx it, but I think he has finally got it.

I have a few things to look forward to while Adam is gone. Friday night I get to hang out with Adam's god daughter McKenzie. She affectionately calls me "My Megan". It is too cute. On Tuesday night my mom is coming to visit. We are going to spend Wednesday together exploring the city and doing whatever she wants. Friday Adam will back, but will have to go back to Indiana Saturday morning.

Rewarding

Yesteday was a very rewarding day for me. For the past 6 weeks I have been working with a foundation started by one of the Chicago Bears players. This foundation came to my store yesterday with some very special little girls. These girls have had a rough life even at their young ages. My staff and I were able to distract them from their lives for a little while and just have fun with them. Tis wasn't about money or making my store look good; it was about making some people smile. I think we accomplished that. Sometimes I need a little reminder as to why I work where I work.

Uggggg....

Today is my day off. I wish I could sleep all day. This morning I had to go to work for a little bit to meet with someone who is having a HUGE party in my store tomorrow. I will have more details about this tomorrow night.

Right now I am sitting at home waiting for Adam to call my back so I can get his plane ticket ordered for him to fly to Colorado next week. You might be asking yourself "Why did Adam wait this long to buy his ticket?" I have no clue. He is doing a bike trip with his mom and will be out in Colorado for a week. I am very bummed that I can't go, but I have to work. Hopefully he and I will be able to plan a trip to go some where in the fall.

At noon I am heading downtown to meet my mom, brother, Jen (future sister-in-law) and Jen's parents for lunch. Jen graduated from grad school today and her ceremony is at the Opera House. It will be nice to see everyone.

When I get home I am going to spend some time with Charlie. We are still having issues. I love this cat so much,. but am so sick of cleaning up poop. He is in exile (the bathroom) for the next 3 days. He has to learn that he poops in the litter box, not where ever he pleases. If this last ditch effort doesn't work, he is going to have to go back to the shelter. He is causing a lot of stress for me and Adam and it's not cool.

Work is starting to get crazy. Kids are on summer break now and families are starting to take vacations.

I have some fun things to look forward to. Next Friday I am watching Adam's god daughter McKenzie. She is SOOOOO cute. The week Adam is gone my mom is going to come stay for a few days. I am not sure what we are going to do, but I am sure we will have a good time.

The little things.....

It is sometimes the littlest things that make me smile. Have you seen the new Apple commercial featuring The Mac and The PC? Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZRcYS88BwQ

I'm a Megan.

Charlie Update

I talked with the cat behaviorist today. She was super nice and gave me some great suggestions. She thinks Charlie has a parasite or intestinal infection that is causing him discomfort when he tries to poo. That is why he doesn't poo in the litter box and why he runs through the house while he is doing it. I am going to take a stool sample to a vet tomorrow and get is analyzed and see where we need to go from there. Hopefully some medicine will make him feel better and help him to use his litter box.

Frustration

The past 5 days have been pretty frustrating. Charlie doesn't seem to want to use his litter box when he needs to go #2. He uses it for #1, but not #2. Adam and I aren't really sure what to do anymore. He is such a sweet cat, but we have to get this problem fixed. I e-mailed the shelter that we got him and they gave me the phone number of an animal behaviorist. I called her and left a message, so I am waiting for her to call me back. I also did some internet searches. Most sites say that you need 1 more litter box than the number of cats you have. Charlie now has 3 litter boxes. I am so sick of cleaning up poop. We love this cat, but I don't have the patience to clean up poop everyday for the next 10 years. If you have any suggestions, please share them. I will keep you posted.

Pictures of Charlie

New Man in My Life

There is a new man in my life. His name is Charlie and he is a 4 year old Brown Tabby cat. Adam and I rescued him from a shelter last night. So far, he is pretty awesome.

We arrived at Felines Inc last night after Adam picked me up at work and informed the volunteers that we were looking for a declawed cat who needed a good home and wasn't too rambunctious. They introduced us to one cat and then took us to meet Kenny aka Charlie. Adam was a little concerned at first because Charlie was a little aggressive with the other cats. I think he was just trying to show us how tough he is. We filled out an application and asked questions and told the volunteer that we needed to think about. He told us he couldn't guarantee that Charlie would be there when we came back. We left and stood outside talking for 5 minutes. I felt so horrible leaving him there and I was so worried he would be gone when we came back. Adam told me to go back in and get him.

I rang the doorbell and told them that I couldn't leave him there. The volunteers said that is quickest anyone has ever come back. While we were waiting for them to get him ready, I started to cry. This a cat who needs to loving home and we were able to provide him with that. They gave us a bag of food, his medical records, some toys and carrier to borrow to get him home. We made a quick trip to Target to get the necessary supplies. Charlie was crying most of the way home.

When we got home, we let him out and he started exploring his new home. So far he likes all the windows. Last night we watched a movie and Charlie got all cozy between the two of us. We knew he felt at home when he started snoring. Two nights ago he was in a room with 30 other cats and last night he got a blanket and a couch all to himself.

Sleeping was a little difficult at times. Charlie doesn't understand why he can't be under the covers with us or why we don't want to pet him at 4 am. It will take a few days to establish a routine. He is using his litter box, but hasn't eaten anything yet. The shelter gave him wet and dry food. If he still hasn't eaten when I get home from work, I will probably get some wet food to try and get him to eat.

Adam is trying to act all tough, but I know he loves Charlie already. I will post some pictures as soon as I find my silly camera cord.

Adam and I brought a cat home tonight. He is so cute. We have not named him yet. Any suggestions? I will post pictures soon.

Busy Summer

Summer is quickly approaching. The weather is starting to get nice and the calendar is filling up. Here is a rundown of what Adam and I have planned so far.

May 9th and 10th-Going to Nappanee for Mothers Day
June 5th-Jen's (Future Sister-in-Law) Graduation
June 12th to June 19th-Adam in Colorado for Ride the Rockies
June 11th to June 14th-Possibly hosting one of Jen's friends while her and her husband are in Chicago
Week of June 14th-Possible visit with my mom and her best friend Kathy
July 10 to July 12-Jen's Bachelorette Party in Chicago
July 26th-Hosting a shower for Jen in Nappanee
August 22-10 Year High School Reunion
August 26-Head to Nappanee for CJ's wedding
August 29-CJ and Jen's wedding

This is what we have planned for now. I am sure more stuff will pop up. Hopefully a Cubs game or two.

10 Year Class Reunion

My 10 year high school reunion is coming up this summer. I can't believe it. I am debating whether or not to go. It was originally scheduled for June 20th, but now has been changed to August 22nd, which is the Saturday before my brother's wedding. My schedule at work is pretty crazy during the summer. We do more business in June, July and August than we do the rest of the year. I get 1 weekend off each month and that is it. I am already taking a long weekend for my brother's wedding, so I am not even sure if I will be able to take the time off for the reunion. To go or not to go....that is the question.

Cat

Before Adam and I can start looking at cats, we had to get permission from our landlady. In our lease it says pets are not allowed without prior written consent. I sent her an e-mail the day after my birthday and didn't get a response for 6 days. In the e-mail I told her it would be a cat, not a kitten and it would be an indoor cat. I was starting to freak out thinking that she would say no. She finally e-mailed me back and had some pretty strict conditions. We have to put down a pretty large pet deposit and ensure we don't flush the litter down the toilet. Who in their right mind flushes kitty litter down the toilet?????

I have started looking at cats online. We are definitely going to get a cat from a shelter. I also want a cat that is at last front declawed. I would like to keep our furniture in as good a shape as we can. I am going to try and convince Adam to go to PAWS with me tomorrow to start the looking process. Wish us luck!

Great Birthday

I had a great birthday last week. Adam gave me two awesome presents. He got me a Wii. We have been talking about getting one for a while, but never got around to it. We have enjoyed playing Mario Cart and we recently purchased the Wii Fit. I haven't gotten into it too much yet, but I am really excited about doing yoga.

Adam and I went to two nice bakeries on my birthday and got some tarts and cupcakes. YUMMY!!!! He also took me to a awesome tapas restaurant for dinner. The food was great and the sangria was FABULOUS.

My second present from Adam was his blessing to get a cat!!!!! I have wanted to get a cat for a long time, but Adam was very reluctant. He finally realized how lonely I am without him here, so a cat would be a good companion.

All in all, it was a great birthday.!

Golden Birthday

Today is my Golden Birthday......28 on the 28th. I am not really sure what is planned for the day. Since I work for such an awesome company, I get my birthday off and still get paid for it. How cool is that!!!!!!

Adam is here spending the day with me. Hopefully he has some fun things planned. My parents and their friends spent the day in Chicago with me on Sunday. We had a great time.

I would like to go to the Apple store today and get some yummy cupcakes from one of the fun cupcake shops here in Chicago.

Testing. I think I may have figured out how to blog from my phone.

Thursday

Adam and I are both off today. He is still sleeping and I am drinking coffee and getting ready to go do some shopping. I need to head to Target and the grocery store. Not sure if Adam will go with me.

Today I plan on making some chicken tortilla soup and some biscuits. Adam also needs to let me know if he wants me to make anything else. I try to make stuff for him to take back to Indiana with him. This prevents him from eating Subway too much.

We thought about trying to get tickets for the Cubs game, but I never got around to it.

One Year Later

It is hard to believe that I have lived in Chicago for a year now. Wow!!!!! Sometimes it feels like 3 years and other times it feels like 3 months. I never imagined that Adam would still be commuting back and forth after all this time. Someday we will live in the same city.

Opening Day at Wrigley Field

It is Opening Day at Wrigley Field. I am not going to make any predictions because that always comes back to bite me in the butt. I hope it is a great season. If Adam and I both have Thursday off, we are going to bum around Wrigleyville for awhile. GO CUBS GO!!!!!!

5 Years

Today Adam and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary. I can't believe it! I will spend the day working and if all goes well, I will leave work at 1pm and hop on the South Shore train and head to Indiana. Adam will pick me up and we will have dinner and head to my parents house. Tomorrow we will go to church, have lunch with my parents, see my friend Moriah's new arrival and then head back to Chicago.

The store was very busy yesterday. Lots of kids were off for Spring Break and other kids were off because of Good Friday. I want to be busy today, but not too busy that would prevent me from leaving at 1. :-)

Quick Update

• Last night was the final opera of the season. Adam and I had a good time. I was having an ADD moment and was having trouble concentrating on the opera. I think I drove Adam slightly crazy.
• Adam has a weird week this week. He was here last night for the opera and then headed back to Elkhart this morning to work. He will be back tonight because he has a meeting in Chicago tomorrow and then will head back to Indiana tomorrow night. He will be back Friday night because he has Saturday off. Saturday night we are going on a date. I think tapas and sangria are on the menu.
• Work is keeping me busy. Everyone who lives outside of Chicago is on Spring Break this month. We haven't been too crazy busy, but we have been steady. I hired 2 new girls last week and they started training yesterday.
• I had a dream last night that Adam bought me a cat. Maybe this dream will come true soon.

Tropic Thunder

Adam and I watched Tropic Thunder last night. It was pretty funny. If you are in need of a good laugh and don't mind a little stupid comedy and a little blood, you will enjoy it.

3 Day Weekend

I am so happy that I have the next 3 days off. It has been a tough week. This is the first weekend in 3 months that I haven't had to work or had something I had to do. Adam and I are going to spend the day with his goddaughter McKenzie tomorrow and I am going to check out the St Patrick's Day parade on Saturday. Sunday will be a day of doing nothing. I can't wait. Check back after the weekend for pictures. :-)

Guess who is on Andy Dick's Blog??????

Our Two Favorite Girls

McKenzie enjoying the slide at her 2nd Birthday Party

Bridget being cute

Leaky Roof

I got home from work Sunday and sat down on the couch before I started making dinner. While I was sitting on the couch I heard a dripping noise. I turned the TV down and walked around the living room and sun room and couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from. I gave up and figured I was just crazy. After Adam got home we were in the living room and for some reason I looked at the ceiling and noticed some significant water damage above the door frame between the living room and the sun room. Adam and I hung curtains in the doorway in November because the sun room is all windows and sucks out a lot of heat. The curtains were pretty damp and the floor was wet. You can see on the walls were the water came in and the paint is starting to crack.

Adam called Susan, our landlord, and she came right over. Needless to say, she is not happy. She had some guys do some work on the decorative trim outside the building in the fall and has had lots of problems since they completed the work. Her boyfriend Kevin came over yesterday and took a look at it. Today the roof guy and the guy who did the decorative work are coming over to check out the damage. This should be an interesting meeting.

It's not good. Adam and I have a feeling we have some messy and long weeks ahead of us. They will probably have to rip out the door frame to really see how extensive the damage is. I had nightmares last night that 30 guys rushed into our apartment and made Adam and I leave before we could get stuff. They ripped up the floor in the dining room and Susan put me up in hotel near the airport and it was impossible for me to get to work. I know it was just a bad dream, but it was crazy.

Visit from Andy Dick

I am a self proclaimed reality TV junkie. Adam gives me a hard time about this often. I really enjoy watching mindless TV and I get so caught up in the silly lives of people on TV. I know it is a problem, but I have no desire to fix it. I got sucked into VH1's Celebrity Sober House a few weeks ago. In case you are not familiar with the show, it follows 7 celebrities through their journey to being sober. Comedian Andy Dick is one of the celebrities on the show.

Last Thursday I was at work stuffing a lamb for a lady. All of a sudden a man walked over to the stuffer and told his friend to take his picture. This happens all the time, so I was not surprised. As soon as I saw who it was, I got a little excited. Andy Dick was in my store. He was in Chicago to do a show and was killing some time at Navy Pier. He ended up making a bear for his daughter, whose name is Meg. He also signed a shirt for us and posed for some pictures. Word spread fast around The Pier and at one point in time we had about 50 people in the store asking for autographs and pictures. It was pretty cool.

Some of you are probably thinking to yourselves "why is she excited about Andy Dick....he has a bad reputation". He was super duper nice. It was really neat to meet him.

Me and Andy Dick (I was so tired that day)

Andy and my assistant Rosie

Another picture of me and Andy

Andy talking to some people who heard he was in our store

Are you ready?????

I am getting ready to write lots of blogs. Be prepared. I have found the camera cord Woohoo!!!

Summer Planning

Yesterday I was at work and started thinking about the summer. The more I thought about it, the more I got excited. The excitment was for both personal reasons and professional reasons. Last summer was really rough. Not only was I in Chicago without Adam, but it was also crazy at work. I knew Navy Pier was going to be it's own crazy animal, but I never expected to be there during the crazy time with only 1 assistant manager. That summer is in the past and now it is time to look forward to this summer.

I think my two assistants yesterday were a little freaked out about how I was beginning to plan. I spent so much time last summer at work that I didn't really get to enjoy the summer. I never went to the farmers market or the beach. I worked, went to Cubs games and slept. That's about it. This summer will be different. I will of course go to some more Cubs game, but I am also going to attempt to ride my bike to work. We will see how that goes. :-)

Adam is going to do a bike trip with his mom in June. It is called Ride the Rockies. It is a 3oo mile bike trip that takes place over 5 days. I won't be able to make the trip because of the craziness of the summer. My brother is getting married at the end of August so that will bring some excitement as well.

Randomness

Adam and I arrived home safely from our vacation. It is always hard for us to come back because Colorado is so beautiful and we love being out there.

Our first week back wasn't too bad. We both had lots of stuff to catch up on at work. The day after I got back Build-A-Bear hosted a Teddy Bear Picnic with Navy Pier. The turnout for the event was decent. It would have been better if there wasn't some silly winter storm advisory.

On Thursday I headed to Indiana with Adam for the day. He had Wednesday and Friday off from work this week, so he headed to Chicago Tuesday night after work. I had to work all day Wednesday, so Adam bummed around the apartment. We got up Thursday morning and headed to Indiana so Adam could work. I spent the day getting my hair done, hanging out with my parents and doing laundry. When Adam got done with work, we headed back to Chicago. I know it sounds silly that Adam drove back for just the day, but it really wasn't too bad. The worse part about it was driving through the crazy rain on the way home. One second it would be lightly sprinkling and the next second it was a torrential down pour.

Yesterday we got up and ran some errands. We had to take the recycling to the recycling center and pick some stuff up at Costco. We spent less than expected at Costco, which is always a good thing. In the evening we hung out with The Kileys and got to play with McKenzie for a few hours. She is getting so big and it so much fun to play with right now.

Adam got up this morning and headed back to Indiana. I don't have to be at work until 2:30. Tomorrow I am taking the train to Indiana for my friend Moriah's baby shower. Adam and I will head back to Chicago after he gets off work. We both have Monday off and are going to the opera on Monday night.

Lots of traveling in February. I can't believe the month is almost over. We don't really have much to look forward to in March. Just work.

Safe Arrival

Adam and I arrived safely in Colorado around 11:30 local time.  It was a treat to fly directly into Aspen and not have to go through picking up a rental car and making the 3 hour drive to Carbondale.  The only bummer about not flying into Denver is that we don't get to go to our favorite bookstore The Tattered Cover.  Adam's dad Stephen picked us up at the airport.  It was a pretty uneventful flight.  There was girl on the plane with the rest of her family and today happened to be her 11th birthday.  The flight attendants moved her up to first class.  I was so jealous.  

We had lunch with Adam parents and then fell asleep watching TV with Adam's brother Aaron.  Right now Adam and Aaron are playing Wii.  

I am so happy to be on vacation.  We have made no plans yet because we are enjoying relaxing and being lazy.  Isn't that what vacation is supposed to be about?  :-)

Amazon Part 2

I e-mailed Amazon yesterday about my order. They said if my book doesn't arrive today that I should e-mail them again. Again, how hard is it to ship 1 book to Chicago?????

10 Reasons Why I Love Adam

1. He does a great job taking care of me when I am sick. I have been fighting a cold/sinus infection for a week now. He is constantly making sure I am drinking fluids and helping me feel better.
2. I love to cook, but don't really like leftovers. He makes sure the leftovers don't go to waste.
3. He taught me how to ski. If you ever want to learn, ask Adam to teach you. He is the most patient teacher.
4. He makes me laugh by doing and saying certain things.
5. He knows how I like my coffee and will even bring it to me in bed on some occasions.
6. He puts up with my crazy hair and only complains a little bit when he finds it all over his car and clothes.
7. He works for Pier 1, which means I have a continuous supply of candles and stemware.
8. He makes me try foods that I claim to hate and then I end up liking them. Ask him to tell you the story about plums.
9. He knows how much I hate unloading the dishwasher and usually does it for me.
10. He genuinely loves and cares about me.

Sega

About a month ago, Adam was bored while I was at work and he unearthed his Sega Genesis. I have come to understand that he and his friends Joe, Al and Brendan spent countless hours playing hockey and basketball on this little machine. I got to experience their insanity last night. The four of them played these games for about 5 hours. They were loud and silly. Lucky for me that Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice were on to entertain me. Adam checked up on me every once and while to make sure they weren't being too loud. It was so funny to listen to them yelling at the games. Boys will be boys. :-)

Amazon

I am not happy with Amazon.com right now. I ordered the new John Grisham book to read while I am on vacation. I picked a shipping option that stated the book would be here before we left. My book was supposed to be here Tuesday and is still not here. I had a problem with my last order as well. How hard is it to ship 1 book to me? GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

5 More Days

Adam and I leave for our much needed vacation in 5 days. I can't wait. I spent a little time this morning looking at trails online. We are going to check out some new ski resorts this year and I just wanted to see what I was in for.

Adam taught me how to ski shortly after we started dating. He has been skiing and snowboarding since he knew how to walk. I have gotten somewhat good, but will never be able to keep up with anyone in his family. I like skiing with his mom the best because she is very understanding of my fear of going too fast. Adam and his brother like to speed down the hill, but I like to go nice and slow and I hate bumps.

I need to head to Target today to pick up some last minute things. I also need to clean the apartment before we leave. It is much easier to come home from a vacation to a clean house than a dirty one.

Vacation Preparation

Adam and I are trying something new this year. We are shipping all of our clothes and ski/snowboarding equipment to Colorado a week before we fly out. United Airlines charges $25 for the 1st checked bag and $50 for the 2nd. THAT IS INSANE. The only reason we are flying with United is because we were able to get 1 of our tickets for free because Adam has so many frequent flyer miles.

Tomorrow we will head to the laundry mat to do all of our laundry and then get everything packed. I am able to ship boxes via Fed Ex through my work and get a great rate.

If we checked 3 bags with United (1 bag for me, 1 bag for Adam and one bag with equipment) it would cost us $200 round trip. Shipping our stuff through Fed Ex will only cost $60 round trip. It will also be nice that we don't have to lug our crap to and from the airport. We can print our boarding passes the night before and just walk directly to security. We also won't be frantic the night before we leave because we waited until the last minute to pack. This is usually what happens.

Dresses

The main reason I came home to Nappanee this weekend is because I had to get fitted for a dress for my brothers wedding in Chicago. I can't believe my future sister-in-law Jen was able to get all 5 bridesmaids together at the same time. We came from all different directions. I rode into town on Friday with Pam, who lives north of Chicago. Lisa came from Washington. Brooke came from St Louis and Rhonda came from Ft Wayne. We had a good time trying on the 3 dresses that Jen had picked out. They are black and strapless. We even ended up picking the cheapest of the three dresses. Woohoo for that! Of course I still can't find my camera cord so I can't show you a picture. I think I might have to break down and buy a new cord.

Year End Reviews

I hate writing reviews. This is the part of my job I hate the most. I am very hard on myself and my boss always tells me that I need to stop being so hard on myself, but it is hard. I have very high expectations for my staff and my store and it is frustrating when things don't go my way. I was so happy when I got them done on Thursday and sent them to my boss. Now I can spend this next week writing 18 million to do lists so my staff knows what needs to be done while I am gone.

Rough Week

Last week was a very rough week. Here is the breakdown:

Sunday-Adam and I attended McKenzie's 2nd birthday party at Fantasy Kingdom. McKenzie is Adam's adorable god-daughter. We had a great time watching the kids play and catching up with some of our friends. After the party we went back to McKenzie's house and watched her open her presents. She is so cute. We went home around 7pm and I was asleep by 8:30. I thought this was kind of weird that I went to sleep so early.

Monday-Adam had to head back to Indiana and dropped me off at work. I started feeling ill around noon and by the time 2pm rolled around, I was not doing well. I was supposed to work open to close at Build-A-Bear, but left around 4pm.

Tuesday-I woke up with a cough and the rest of the day went down hill from there. I worked for half a day and then came home to write my year end reviews for myself and my assistants. I will talk more about reviews in a later post. I took some Theraflu before I went to bed, hoping that I would wake up better the next morning.

Wednesday-I woke up around 5am and knew I couldn't go to work. My cough had gotten much worse and and my head was full of yucky mucus. I called and woke my assistant Ian up at 7am and he covered my shift for the day. I spent most of the day sleeping and blowing my nose. I took some more Theraflu and again hoped that I would wake up better the next day.

Thursday-I had to be at work very early because we had a shipment coming in. I have no clue how I worked a 10 hour day. It was horrible. Thank goodness I had the weekend off to recover. After work I went home and took lots of medicine.

Friday-I got up and went to the store to get more tissues and more medicine. I then headed to Indiana to celebrate Adam's birthday. We didn't do much celebrating because I was still too sick. I told him I would make it up to him when we were on vacation. I spent most of the day on the couch at my parents house with Adam taking care of me.

Saturday- I woke up still feeling like crap, but had to go to Middlebury to get fitted for my bridesmaids dress for my brother upcoming wedding. This wore me out for the day. I came home and took a 4 hour nap. Adam had to work, so I went out to dinner with my parents.

Sunday-I woke up this morning feeling much better. I still have a little cough, but things are much better. Tonight when Adam gets off work, we are headed back to Chicago and might make an appearance at a Super Bowl party.

I have a feeling I may have gotten Adam sick. Keep your fingers crossed that he stays well because we leave for vacation in 10 days.

Oh Happy Day

What an incredible day today is! I know everyone who reads this blog did not vote for Barack Obama and that is ok. I still hope everyone can take a break today and experience history being made. I will be glued to the TV most of the day. I love news and am so excited to see our 44th president sworn into office. I know our new president won't be able to snap his fingers and fix everything in an instant. but I have faith that he will do his best to repair our country.

Miracle On The Hudson

I have been watching different news channels today and am amazed at what happened on the Hudson River in New York yesterday. A brilliant pilot made an emergency landing in a freezing cold river and there were no significant injuries. I think next time I fly I will pay a little more attention to the flight attendants when they do the safety announcements.

Visit with Friends

My dear friend Terri and her daughter Lauren will be staying with Adam and I this weekend. Terri brings Lauren to Chicago every year for her birthday and this year they are staying with us. Terri has not seen our awesome apartment yet. It will be great to have these two girls here for a visit. I am hoping to take them to our favorite sushi restaurant.

Snow

It is a cold and snowy day in Chicago. Adam and I were up early today because Adam had an appointment for service on his car. We dropped the car off and took the L home. It is so weird riding the L with Adam. I am so used to riding by myself.

Adam got into the city last night. We had dinner and watched Romancing the Stone. It was a strange movie. I didn't last through it all. The ending got really weird and I got really tired.

Today we are going to bum around house and wait for Adam's car to be done. I am hoping we will make a trip to Whole Foods after we get the car. It is very close to the car dealership. I've got some new recipes I want to try out and I haven't been to Whole Foods in forever.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

It is that time again.........time for our annual ski trip to Colorado. Our friend Brendan sent us a text on Tuesday saying he had booked tickets, so Adam and I felt the need to plan our trip. We decided to cash in on some of Adam's frequent flyer miles and got one of our tickets for $7. Woohoo!!!!! I am very excited that we will be flying directly into Aspen this year. We usually fly into Denver and then rent a car to get out to Carbondale, which is where Adam's parents live. I think our vacation will seem longer because we won't be spending 7 hours driving to and from Denver. We fly out on February 10th and fly back home February 19th. I can't wait!!!!!!