Vida

Oh geez I'm so excited!  It's one of my favorite days of the year and I've been anxiously awaiting... IT'S OPENING DAY!!! Bring out the Clydesdales, bring out the red convertibles, bring out the sea of red, bring out fred bird, bring out the peanuts, pretzels & Budweiser.... Ok so most of that will be happening at our home opener, which is the 7th, but it's coming!  (Today we're opening in Cincinnati.) My excitement cannot be contained.   Wainwright is starting the season opener today (his next win will be his 100th!).   “He’s the hardest worker. He’s one of the best athletes, and all of that spreads down through the whole organization,” said Ron Darling, a former big-league pitcher and now MLB Network analyst. “You want to be a Cardinal pitcher? Try to emulate Adam Wainwright. He’s been great. He’s won 20. He’s had Tommy John. He’s an incredible worker. What can he not answer for a young pitcher?” ( source ) Wacha is opening it up for us from the

Two weeks ago I landed at Midway at midnight and as I walked through the terminal to exit, I thought, 'Midway, I can't wait to break-up with you.' I wish I didn't know where all the food, snack, everything is located.  I wish I didn't have favorite gates (and least favorite).  I'm tired of seeing how recent legislation has affected the security lines. The time is here. Today was my last day with my current position and I'm pretty stoked!  It was a pretty great experience and I learned many, many things, but I am excited to move on.   When I first started my job, I traveled a lot with my friend, Jason.  We haven't worked together much in quite awhile, but this week we did.  How appropriate. And we most definitely made our way around. We started in Omaha, NE, drove to Sioux Falls, SD, drove to Fargo, ND, drove to Bemidji, MN, and drove to Minneapolis, MN.  Talk about going out with a bang.  (In a Volkswagen Beatle.) We may or may not have listen

I'm such a sucker for the "old" way of communicating.  Cards in the mail.  Let alone a LETTER!  Something on a typewriter!  Be still my beating heart!   I came across a few different projects or apps that can fuse the two together! First of all.  One I use.  Possibly a lot. justWink . You may have heard ads for this app on Spotify, if you're still cheap like me and won't pay for the premium no ad version.  You can send cards to your friends/family from your phone.  You can personalize the cards with pictures and even signing your name with your finger.  I've been using this app a lot the past few months and just can't get enough.   Hilary, my co-worker, and I often utilize it too much?  We had a conversation through these cards once.   I just can't explain how much I love them. Yes, it's free. Second.   Um I love this project: Modern Day Snail Mail . The website may be a bit difficult to get right away, but this lady writes out al

I went for a run on the path Saturday morning (before the latest cold front came through) and it was definitely getting busier!  We sure do love our lakefront path here in Chicago.   How appropriate that the Red Eye 's cover story was about just that today:   Safety First .  They focused on the safety of the path, but really it just got me more and more excited! "Right about now, Chicagoans are stir-crazy, eager to get outside without a puffy coat and enjoy the few warm months the city offers between winters." Yep! "'Unfortunately, there's only so much real estate and it's really like the Kennedy [expressway] during rush hour in the summer,' said Julie Hochstadter, direct of The Chainlink, an online networking site for cyclists in Chicago." Yep.  Also true.  During my run Saturday, while I noticed the increased number of people (I should note it was 37 degrees), I kept reminding myself how crazy things are going to get...very soon.

Something you may not know about me is my love for sunflowers.  I mean seriously.  Love. Last year, American Apparel came out with this lovely sunflower print, but I only saw it on a pair of leggings, which, yes, was adorable.  But this year, they have it on SO many things I can't even count them!!!  Jean skirts, the leggings, shirts, more skirts, shorts, etc., and these! Oh I want these so very much.  So if you are looking for a gift for me...for...no reason... these would be welcome ;)  You can find them here . (the 6 was a bit tight so I'd probs size up to a 7) p.s. I don't know why, but they're less expensive in the store

Today is my Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom! I'm immediately thinking of a story right now.  In high school, I used to play volleyball against the garage all the time.  I was never a strong overhand server so I would practice that specifically.  One time I served and the ball went right to the glass in the garage door, shattering it.  I was so worried how much trouble I would be in.  I went in to tell Mom and she just said, "Ok, go clean up the glass.  Then we'll get the window replaced."   Yes, I was instructed to be more careful when playing against the garage in the future and I knew if I ever broke another window, there would be trouble, but she just handled my accident so calmly and didn't make me feel terrible.  I'm grateful for that.

St. Patrick's Day is a pretty big deal here in Chicago. download your free print here But why/what are we celebrating?  (Let's just pretend people are celebrating something besides the fact that spring is approaching.) If someone asked me what St. Patrick did and why we celebrate him, I would respond that he removed the snakes from Ireland because I do not know the real answer.  And that answer is in fact a MYTH!  No, there are not snakes on Ireland, but there never have been. So what did St. Patrick do? He converted a bunch of people to Christianity and used a shamrock to do so.  He used the three leaves to represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  He was actually born in England and was kidnapped to Ireland at 16 to be a slave to tend sheep.  He went back and forth a couple times before staying in Ireland.  He died March 17, 461.   He was mostly forgotten until centuries later mythology grew and he became the patron saint of Ireland. Hmmm...ok.   We

This week...Dallas. (yes, for work.  At this point there's not much point to that question.) This is a bullet point week: *I was hanging with the boys.  This is not a common occurrence for me with so many female co-workers, but I was with Dave, Mike, Hayden & Jorge.  Not going to lie, it was pretty nice not to have so much female drama present.  (Although I missed Hilary.) *A very stressful trip to the airport.  It was pure luck that I made my flight to Dallas and I still felt sort-of frazzled by the whole experience when I arrived. *I always run alone.  I can honestly count the number of times I ran with other people in the past.  Tuesday at lunch we started talking and I said I heard a running path was nearby (it was 80 and beautiful).  Dave asked if I minded if he tagged along.  It was actually pretty great!   He later told everyone I kicked his ass, but I think that is an exaggeration. *Oh beautiful sunshine.  Thank you. *I got to wear a new spring outfit that

Happy Sunday & Happy Daylight Savings Time. I am generally not the biggest fan of daylight savings time in spring because I'm just starting to see the sun when I wake up and then boom it's gone.  But someone pointed out the sun is up so much later.  And I have to agree that's pretty amazing. Have a great week everyone!

we made it through another week everyone! thanks janie rubes

In case you haven't heard, today is the first day of lent.  You know, the day after Mardi Gras.   Anywho I'm pretty excited for one of the things I'm focusing on for lent this year.  I'm going to take one photo a day of something I'm thankful for.  Then at the end, I'll have 40 photos of things I'm thankful for.  I'm already dreaming of how I will scrapbook it when I'm done. Not only does this project combine many things I enjoy doing, but it focuses on something I know I need to think of more:  how thankful I need to be in my everyday life.  Today I already decided what my photo would be of and then already I have thought of at least 4 other things I could take my photo of.   So many things to be thankful for! Are you doing/giving up anything for lent? One of my friends is giving up apps on her phone (only using it for phone calls) after dinner to try and be more present. I loved my friend's story about a 2nd grader after she explained

Paczkis are big in Chicago.  Paczkis are a Polish tradition for Fat Tuesday and if you aren't aware, there are a lot of Polish in Chicago.   " Poles in Chicago  constituted the largest ethnically Polish population outside of  Warsaw  before 1918 when  Poland  reemerged as an independent state, making it one of the most important  Polonia  centers today," ( source ) Therefore, paczkis are big.  And...in the eight ish years I've lived here:  I never had one!   This year I put that to a close.  This morning Karen & I headed over to Dinkel's bakery  (in the snow) to get one.  It was delicious.   If I had to describe it, I would maybe say like a jelly donut, but no jelly.  Instead filled with the filling of your choice.  I went for Apple Cinnamon and it was wonderful. Here's to taking part in traditions!  One of the best parts of being in a city is having so many cultures that you can participate and celebrate with and learn from. P.S.  If you are

Today it is time to tell you a story... It is a story about February and life in general right now. February is my least favorite month and this year it lived up to it's expectations (unfortunately). You know it's bad when we get another 3+ inches and no one says anything.  At this point, it's just another snow storm. Friday (the last day of February) in yoga our reading was about setting priorities.  The action item was to think of 3 things to do that day.  Then do 1.  Only one.  In class I thought, 'yes, yes, i need this.'  Then I stepped in the real world and did 3+ items.  Fail. I woke up Saturday and could not move.  Correction:  I moved to the kitchen for water and then collapsed on the couch for 5 more hours.  I did go to a concert the night before, but I didn't even have one drink.  Then I was super bummed because I was going to volunteer Saturday morning and had to cancel.  I love volunteering.  That is something I enjoy to do & I would ha