baby & weekend recap

so the baby FINALLY arrived (40 some hours after her water broke) little luke was born yeseterday around 2 a.m. california time. i'm so happy for the new mom and dad, they're going to be the most amazing parents. i cannot wait to get out to visit at the end of may to hold the little guy. i know i'm only unofficially an auntie but i'm still bursting with excitement. me and the bf have already decided we must take luke to his first concert :)

ok, i realize that it's already thursday and the weekend was a long time ago now but it's been a busy week! last friday was very chaotic - i had to work late and then run to a bday party which was fun because i got to catch up with some people that i hadn't seen in a very long time. then i ran to my friends house for girl talk and lots of cheese and crackers. it was the perfect rainy day activity. i had to work again the next day but got to take a dance class which was really fun. afterwards i had a bit of downtime before going to this cool dance thing to meet up with some friends. it was at this loft/performance space called the inconvenience. several people live in this space but also use it as a dance and music performance space and an art gallery too! i had actually been there before bc the bf played a show there a few years ago but this was my first time back. they had some interesting modern dance pieces and $1 pbrs. can't beat that :). the next day was my friends bridal shower. it was a really beautiful shower and the bride and groom got some fantastic presents. i'm so glad to be a part of their special celebrations! their wedding is so soon! i'm getting excited. we got our bridesmaid dresses and theyre so pretty and fun! when does that ever happen?? after the shower i got to spend some time with my good friend, her husband and they're adorable little girl. another friend of ours came over for a visit too. it was so nice to catch up and play with their cute little one.

overall i was utterly exhausted and sick of rain by the end of the weekend but so glad that i was as busy as i was. i got to do everything i wanted and see all sorts of different people. i'm definitely ready for this weekend to be here and do it all over again.

exciting!

the bf's sister's water just broke and is going into labor as we speak! i just danced around my office - who knew me of all people would get this excited about babies!!! i'm bursting and i cannot wait to find out if it is a boy or a girl and what they decide to name him/her!

more news on the babe soon and a full weekend update to come :)

perfect weekend. rough week.

this weekend was truly perfect. friday i got an amazing workout at a cardio kickboxing class, got to take a nap and chill out with my new foster kitty, honey bee. later on the bf and i went to a show at lincoln hall and got to catch up a bit with some of his friends. then i slept in forever on saturday before we headed to my friend's fiance's surprise bachelor party after the cubs game. we had a lot of fun and watched a lot of train wreck cubs fans. then another friend came up to spend the night. we met some more friends out for dinner at shiso. they got sushi and i went for a yummie noodle dish. we went through a few bottles of wine and then walked next door to old town social which was packed. luckily my favorite blonde bombshell sweet talked her way to the front of the line. we did some serious people watching before trekking out to humboldt park to meet one of the girls boyfriends. we went to the california clipper which had a pretty authentic country band and a cool diner feel. we had some nice tipsy conversations before getting a ride home from the groups DD. can't beat a free ride! it's been ages since ive been out that late and it was fun :) again, i slept in forever. glorious. then i visited my seniors and got a lot of cinnamon hard candies from joe and a full report from frances. then me and the bf met my family for dinner at goose island to celebrate my dad's bday. we had a really good time and it was nice to see my fam. the weekend had the perfect level of bf time, friend time, sleepy time and fam time. love weekends like those!

coming off a great weekend to a tough week is not fun. we are so busy at work right now. i work late 4 times this week and havent had time to get everything done during the day. im going to burst. hopefully this weekend will also be just as perfect! let's just hope i make it through this week...

what i plan to do with my tax return $...

so i'm supposedly going to bank on my tax return this year. i think it's because i am enrolled in school again. i don't really care what the reason is but i will have some money to play with! i keep a wish list of items i want to buy but aren't urgent. so i need to decide what exactly i should buy from the wish list.

first and foremost i will be paying off my icky credit card that has high interest but i've gotten it down pretty low. second i'll be paying off my dad debt. he loaned me some moola when i studied abroad in 2006. thank goodness he doesn't charge interest. i will also be putting a decent amount into savings.

second i need to get a diamond put back into my grandma's wedding band. it fell out awhile back when i was at work and i thought it ws lost forever and then my coworker found it in the microwave!!! what are the chances!? so hopefully getting it put back in won't be too terribly expensive.

lastly, the play money. some of the lameo items on the list include a tap light for my kitchen, green cleaning supplies, a new retainer (seriously they're pricey), workout clothes and tailoring a few work items. BORING. the fun stuff includes making a custom photo book of my study abroad trip, a laptop (because my computer crashed), a ring flash camera and frivolous clothing items like a cute new jacket or dress. The ring flash camera has been on my list for a very long time. i see it every time i go into the dick blick store and i want it so badly. it's this cool camera that adds different colored tints to your pictures. so fun! i was also thinking how fun it would be to go into one of my fav stores like anthropologie or zara - where i often feel bad about spending money and splurging on a beautiful piece of clothing - and buying something i want but don't need. the bf is lending me his old desktop for the time being so i can put off buying a laptop for the moment. i don't have time to put together the photo book for prague. the ringflash camera isn't too expensive so i could pair it with another medium priced item like one of my lameo items like getting my clothing tailored. i'm torn! maybe i'll know exactly what i want when i have the money in hand. i also have a lot of expensive things coming up like bachelorette parties, weddings, trips and whatnot that i could be responsible and put money aside for but where's the fun in that!?

i hope everyone else is lucking out on their tax returns this year!

overnight in milwaukee!

we had a great time in milwaukee this weekend! here are the highlights:

* pit stop at the brat stop for fried cheese curds, bad service and ofcourse brats!

* taking really embarrassing pics at art museum and seeing some really cool modern art. we also had a photo shoot by the lake :)

* tara deciding to get her nose pierced and literally going on a wild goose chase trying to find the best piercing place and asking 1,000 questions at each and putting little dots on her nose. she went for it finally at the end of the night and it looks perfect! her nose was made to have a rhinestone on it!

* local brews & a delic appetizer at balzac off brady street

* getting our sangria comped at a shitty mexican restaurant. it was literally fizzy wine with no fruit. come on.

* doing mud masks and painting our nails a hideous shade of purple with neon designs with a junk food buffet.

* girl talking till 3 a.m.

* getting treats at the public market

* getting a tour of sprecher brewery and trying their yummie samples!

i know that no matter where i go with these girls - or any of my friends - i will have an absolute blast. i laughed so hard and talked so much. i had smile lines on my face within about an hour into the trip, a very good sign. thank goodness for my friends that like to have little adventures, are up for anything and make me laugh till i ache. thank goodness.

milwaukee getaway!

i'm starting to realize how many cool/fun/cheap places there are to visit in the states. i've been so focused on euro travel for so long i've been neglecting my home turf. this summer i had a blast in nashville, just enjoyed a vaca in daytona beach and now me and 2 of my best girlfriends are heading to milwaukee for an overnight this weekend. i kind of always forget about milwaukee. when in need of a little getaway i scour my brain for a good nearby spot and usually end up in michigan. luckily my friend suggested milwaukee and i looked into it and there are all sorts of fun activities to do there!

on our way up we'll make a pitstop at the Brat Stop - http://www.bratstop.com/

after we get into the city, we'll get started wtih a brewery tour at Lakefront Brewery - http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/main.html

then we'll visit the Milwaukee Art Museum - http://www.mam.org/

if we have time to kill, we'll go to the Mitchell Park Conservatory - http://www.county.milwaukee.gov/MitchellParkConserva10116.htm

then we'll hit the town for dinner and drinks and end the evening with bottles of wine at our hotel.

the next day we'll grab lunch and visit some shops at the Public Market - http://www.milwaukeepublicmarket.org/index.php

and then we'll hit the road!

all that adds up to the best lil girl's getaway! anyone else been to milwaukee and have any suggestions??

visit to the senior home.

this school quarter i had to make a very difficult decision: take a class i wasn't very interested in or skip volunteering at bingo for 10 weeks. i haven't really missed bingo in the 2 years i've been doing it except for a couple of times when i was traveling. when i have had to miss it, i have massive guilt issues and it really throws me off because i've made it a part of my weekly routine. unfortunately i decided i had to take a class that made sense and give up bingo for the quarter. my seniors took it just fine - 1 even pinched my cheek and told me good luck with school.

due to the massive amounts of guilt and need for some quality time with my elderly friends, i decided to still go once a week for a visit. i had good friday off so i brought in sugar free marshmellow eggs for easter for them. i walked in and found one of my buds joe reading one of the books i brought in for them. that made me really happy. we had a nice chat and then i went off to see francis who was also reading one of the books i brought! i thought this one was a tad racy but she said she loved it. then i went to see peggy for a quick minute and it made me happy that she recognized who i was and was happy to see me. lastly i visited with lee. lee has told me about his family issues in the past. he abandoned his first wife and their children to be with another woman and he recently found god and wants to reconnect with his sons. he has so much guilt and it's hard to hear him talk about the pain he has with this issue. he told me he received a letter from one of his sons that day and expressed how happy it made him. then he cried because he's not in touch with his other son. then i cried. i want so badly to comfort them and to make their lives happier. but all i can really do is what i have been doing. visiting, bringing treats, books and so on. they help bring light into my life and i hope i do the same for them. even just a little bit, to take away the disappointment, the frustrations and the inconveniences of their lives is all i want for them.

visiting makes me realize how lucky i am to have my health, freedom, independence and privacy. i'm going back for round 2 this thursday with more racy novels in hand.

junk food junkie.

lately i cannot get enough crap food. this always happens if i have a little something junkie and then i spin out of control. i think it started when we had a taco buffet at work. food buffets always cause trouble. i believe i had 5. later that week me and the bf went to pequods for the most delicious deep dish pizza in chicago. then things just went into a downhill spiral. now all i want are all my favorite junk foods. if i could eat whatever i wanted with no guilt and no health problems i think i would have a diet of:

cheese fries, hotdogs, movie theatre popcorn, cheese sticks, chicken nuggets, fried chicken, buffalo wings, cheese and sausage pizza, ribs, potato skins, nachos, cheese puffs and mac and cheese. seriously, yum.

luckily, i have a small ounce of self-control and don't eat these things as much as i'd like and in addition to all the junk i'm also currently obsessed with salmon and brown rice, red grapes, pirates booty, baby carrots and broiled chicken. and if it wasn't for my new enjoyment of fitness classes at the gym i truly think i'd have a heart attack. but i am going out for mexican food tomorrow...