Sunday, June 22, 2008

Last Weekend

I feel like I have been challenged to blog about last weekend by a few certain people, so here I am. I guess we (Trevor more specifically) have/has been into blogging lately. But what a great idea to keep up with it though; summer is here and there are just so many things to keep everyone updated about.

As Trevor eluded to in his last blog, we did have company last weekend. The Sheldon's and Bristol's arrived in an untimely manner (thanks to KCF, traffic, and detours) on Friday night. Begrudgingly I was forced to get up early on Saturday morning to venture to downtown Chicago to face the traffic, crowds of people, and hot weather. (For a pregnant lady, this combination can sometimes cause untoward outbursts, emotions, and attitudes.) Nevertheless, I was excited to spend some quality time with some very close friends.

THE ZOO
I don't think I kept it a secret that I hate zoos, even if it is a free venture. The last thing I wanted to do was walk around in a hot, stinky, smelly, dirty zoo 5 months pregnant watching those poor, caged, obsessive-compulsive animals do nothing but walk back and forth and do the same routine over and over again. I could not believe it, but apparently a pregnant woman's vote does not count as more than one, so I was overwhelmingly vetoed, and I did my time at Lincoln Park Zoo. I think the only good thing that came about it is that I am now able to check that one off my list of famous Chicago attractions to do before I die (or move).

ARCHITECTURAL CRUISE
It was nice to be able to sit my butt down for a full hour on the architectural cruise up the Chicago River--east and west branches. We have a very entertaining tour guide who was full of knowledge about all the buildings. Very interesting experience, and one that I am glad that we did. There is some great history and stories to each structure and skyscraper in downtown Chicago. After the knowledge gained on the cruise, I feel confident saying that I was a Chicagoland resident for a period of time. I recommend an architectural cruise to anyone visiting/living in the Chicagoland area. (Notice the Sears Tower in the reflection of the building.)
DINNER
We had a little bit of time after our cruise to get some dinner before our next event. We ended up at the House of Blues. Not too eventful of an experience. I did have to order Eric a drink since he left his ID in the car, which was an experience being that I am obviously pregnant now. I felt a little rebelish and like I was ordering a drink for a minor, but I think Eric looks well over 21 (not that you look old, Eric, just distinctly over 21) and should be able to have a drink without that hassel.

THE SHOW
Since we were having company in town who wanted to experience Chicago, I felt that there was no better way to experience Chicago than to experience Broadway in Chicago. That was just my excuse to be able to see Wicked again. A bit manipulative? Perhaps. However, I did not get a single arguement when I brought up the idea to see it. The second time around was just as phenomenal. It was geneously written, a great cast (Fiyero perhaps could be finely tuned up a bit I guess), and a gorgeous atmosphere for the play (Oriental Theatre). Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show (which I am happy about since it was my idea to spend $60/person to go).



THE DOG
Before we left on Saturday morning, we tried going to a few neighbors' houses to see if anyone would let our little doggy out once or even twice while we were gone. To no avail, no one was home. So poor little Obie was by himself for over 14 hours. We fully expected him to pee in the house at the very least and would not have been the slightest bit mad at him (because really, who can hold their bladder for over 14 hours?). Much to our surprise, he did not feel the need to empty his bowels or bladder in the house! Being that he's a bit older these days and tends to not be able to hold his bladder that long, it was a huge surprise to us. So next time you see him, maybe just give him a little scratch behind the ears or a hug or kiss if you're into that type of thing.
SUNDAY
We all slept in on Sunday morning. Trevor until 9ish (which is probably a record for him) and the rest of us until 10 or after. I (with the help of Beth--thank you) made a little (big) brunch for everyone to enjoy: french toast, fruit pizza, bacon, eggs, and juice. Then we just chilled for a while, watched some TV, I dozed off on the floor, and they headed out around 3.

RECAP
The weekend was so fun and memorable. It was great to catch up with friends who we rarely get to see. Thank you so much Sheldon's and Bristol's for coming to see us before we move. We really appreciate that you took the time to come down and spend some time with us.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

We had a really nice week

I can't put my finger on anything one thing in particular but I feel like this was just a good week for us. We had a showing today at the house...with how infrequent they have been, any time we have a showing it makes us pretty happy (even if it does mean FRANTICALLY cleaning for a few hours). We probably won't hear anything about the showing until Monday but keep it in your prayers...it sure would be nice to move on our own terms, not leaving a house behind in IL. While the people were at the house, our friends the Fredrickson's joined us for lunch where we watched an amazing 9 run inning from the to knock down the cross town rival . It was a moment of sheer joy for us fans. We got back and had a nice afternoon at home...those seem to be SO infrequent these days.

We found a solution to Meghan's issues with missing the ...her department opened up for OT this weekend because things are backed up so she took them up on their offer. The money she earned is going toward MLB Extra Innings. I talked them into an AMAZING deal (even better than my Sunday Ticket deal from last fall) and we ended up with DTV paying for our first month AND getting Superfan thrown in for free! I felt great about that. So now she can watch her whenever she wants and it didn't even really come out of our normal budget...thank you God for providing for us!

Our eBay business (store.auctiva.com/wiiskins) took an unexpected leap for us this week too. Our biggest competitor was suspended by eBay for something shady which left us selling a completely unique product with little to no competition. I also changed my pricing strategy which worked AMAZINGLY!! We've been making a pretty steady income this week from our sales and its been really exciting. The nice thing is it allows us to build up some savings for our little baby...did I mention that we get to find out the sex on FRIDAY!?!?!?! I'd be lying if I said we weren't excited.

Last weekend was a blast too...we had our friends the Bristols and Sheldons in town and spent a wonderful day in Chicago. I think I'll save that for another blog from Meghan or me.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Pummelled by Mother Nature

There's nothing in the world quite like the feeling of being woken up by the tornado sirens out of a deep sleep at 1 am. That was our night last night as we sat in our house struggling to find a station with details wondering in the dark where the tornado touchdown happened. This was the second time in the past week we've had to take shelter because of tornado touchdown and about the 4th day out of six that we've had severe weather come through.

Northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and eastern Iowa are getting pummelled right now and there seems to be no relief in sight. Cedar Rapids is getting a lot of press right now as the entire city is experiencing epic flooding. Lake Delton in the Dells was literally drained without notice (we are talking about a HUGE man made lake...and it wasn't even the dam that broke). Milwaukee got 3-4 inches of rain in about 30 minutes last weekend (we were there for it) causing streets and highways to shut down. By us, the Fox River has reached peak levels and has started to flood all of the neighboring communities (McHenry, Antioch, etc). Its only going to get worse too as water from Wisconsin comes down the river to an already maxed out Illinois.

Luckily for us, being in a new neighborhood, the threat of flooding is pretty small...they grade yards really well and the sewer system is great, but there are a lot of people that have lost homes, jobs, loved ones, etc. My heart goes out to the people affected by the situation in Lake Delton and in Cedar Rapids...I know what they are going through and its the worst. It's a helpless feeling as there is nothing you can do to stop it or to save everything you've spent years acquiring. Make sure you keep these people in your prayers and pray for relief as the storms just keep coming through and hitting the same exact areas. Even as I write I look on the radar and more severe storms are on their way through which means Friday will be the 5th day of seven that we've had severe storms...and I mean SEVERE.