Vida

Do you believe all things Christmas have to end on the 25th?  Like waking up and the radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7 starting before thanksgiving is suddenly not Christmas music anymore on the 26th.   I don't believe in this.  I don't even think decorations should come down until the new year. Karen's in town this weekend to ring in the new year in Chicago so we went to Waffles (yes, again) for brunch.  Last time we went I informed her it was byob once we were already there (she was a bit upset with me).  This time we walked out my door and she requested we stop for champagne.  That girl can have some memory when she wants to.  We did walk right by a grocery store so we bought the cheapest one ($5 Heeeeyyyy!).  Yes, it had a screw top because we're classy like that.  And made some mimosas at the restaurant. clearly I was excited about this photo... not After eating (& drinking) too much we walked over to the craft store and got supplies to ma

No, we didn't have a white Christmas in Ste. Gen, but the day after was quite white.  It snowed overnight and we woke up to a few inches coating the ground.  It was pretty beautiful and Charlie didn't know what to make of it.  Judging from the amount of snow on the ground in Chicago when I got back last night, I think we actually had more than Chicago... strange. Christmas was so lovely this year.  Very very busy, but very very lovely.  Filled with cookies, board games, & lots of family time.  I hope yours was lovely too! Note:  the drive back to Chicago was much more enjoyable last night.  No traffic.  Yes, please! my fam after Christmas Eve mass Rottler cousins + Charlie & Grandma! Cousin cookie baking happened again this year.  It's always good to see everyone, especially as we get older and things start to change.  As I said to Karen:  "Growing up is hard to do."

GA (short for George Apple of course.  That is what I named my car.) & I took a trip down to Missouri last night and sheesh.  We made it. Things I learned during the trip: *Making the decision whether or not to take the last drip of water in my bottle when I was half-way there.  I was so parched.  I did it. *I saw one police man during the ride and my entire body broke out in sweat.  I think they may be my greatest fear.  Even when I'm not speeding. *When your eyes start getting droopy make that music LOUDER!  (pretty sure I had my music louder than it's ever been)  I then started singing LOUDLY!  Then I started dancing.  I was rocking the seated dance like none other! *When you are in the last hour and you think of a song request... really hard.  It might come on next.  "Anna Sun" anyone? *Seeing something so familiar can sometimes seem so amazing! busch stadium I love you  

It's one week until Christmas.  Are you ready?  Did you finish all your shopping?  I have.  I like to get the shopping out of the way early so I can appreciate the season more. Here's a bit of what I did this holiday season: What was your  favorite thing you did this season? *Watching:  Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Love Actually, & several ABC Family Christmas movies on Hulu *Made my stocking *Enjoyed some yogurt covered pretzels .  Pretty sure this is going to be a tradition. *Hung my ornaments *Bought my first Christmas tree (yes, it is 2ft and $8.  I refuse to make an investment on an artificial tree when I love real ones so much) & lights. Thanks to Cinthya & Rubina for convincing me to make the splurge.  I really did enjoy it whenever I was home.  I seriously used minimal lighting in the room so I could more fully enjoy the tree.  (Meaning I may have strained my eyes a bit, but it was totally worth it.  Don'

Today was a good day & worthy of a thankful time post for just today alone. *I dragged Karen to the gym for a kickboxing class and she shoved her feet into my tennis shoes that are a size too small for her.  She says she had fun, besides her feet hurting. *Karen & I had a lovely long brunch at Waffles' new location in Lakeview.  Yum! *Karen went to Stanley's with me.  I love Stanley's!  I would be very content if I just shopped there, but for some reason I only go with other people and she accompanied me.  Stanley's always makes me happy. *As I was walking this afternoon, I heard a little girl walk out of her place with her dad (I assume).  She said, "It's beautiful."  He said, "It's a little chilly."  She said, "It's beautiful."   It was adorable, made me smile, & clearly I'm still thinking about it.

Until opening day 2013! That is all. Well... & I'm happy the Cards stuck to their gut at the Winter Meetings.  Very happy about Yadi's Defensive Player of the Year award (well deserved).  Very sad about what seems to be the direction with Schumaker.  I like Skippy!

We see it everywhere these days. But this is pretty much how I feel about glitter. video platform video management video solutions video player Thanks, Ellen! And happy Saturday everyone!!!

I think I've mentioned my knee pain lately so this week I decided to not run AT ALL & try to fix the knee.  I decided to go to a class everyday at the gym.  I mean if I'm not running, what else would I do.  Note: I do not lift weights.  I hate that.   But if I'm in a class that makes me lift weights I know it is good for me and I will do it. Here's a look at my past week at the gym: Saturday:  Spin Sunday:  Kickboxing (where I was called a role model ;) Monday:  BODYPUMP (it's always all in caps.  must be a copyright or something.  here I was instructed on what i was doing wrong the entire class) Tuesday:  Spin Wednesday:  LTS Get Up & Go Thursday:  am Muscle Definition pm Ballet Burn Friday:  Turbo Kick & Yoga It was pretty awesome.  My gym's having a 30-day challenge between Thanksgiving & Christmas and depending on how many days you go to the gym they give you what I am going to call presents.  Last year I easily got the 2nd tier

It is time for winter orangeness to make a comeback.  (I know it's not technically winter. It's dark.  Therefore it seems like it.) One of my favorite parts of my old job was bike riding to and from it.  Even in the bitter cold.  It was a very love/hate relationship.  'Ugh... I don't wanna put on all my layers and go bike in the windy cold.'  Then... I would get on the path and listen to my music, sing along and feel 100 times better.  And then I'd arrive at work a sweaty, frozen mess and feel ready for the day. Yesterday after work I was meeting a friend downtown & I hopped on my bike.  It was one of the first chillyish days we've had this year and yes, I went right back to the love/hate relationship, but it was SO lovely! (these pictures don't even show a quarter of how beautiful it was) Once I met my friend, we were supposed to go a museum, but apparently I read which night they are open late wrong & we had to come up with some

I started making and giving out these Christmas pins last week to friends so they can wear them all month! I originally saw the idea here & put some of my own twists to it. 1-I didn't have felt & rather than going out to purchase some, I used fabric I got from my grandma over Thanksgiving.  I don't know what it's exactly called, but it's soft and feels soft-of like a comfy sweatshirt.  For the trunk I decided to also use fabric from my grandma and I tried to pick a fabric that matched the person I gave the pin to from what I have. 2-I didn't have those scissors to make the tree jagged so I used a different stitch.  In Mexico Luci & I made these rhinos for the kiddos and we stitched them.  So Luci taught me this stitch. Since I used fabric, instead of felt, for the trunk I had to hem it so it won't fray, but that's ok.  Also the fabric I used for the tree was not ideal.  It was very difficult to pull the needle through the fabric and m

I think everyone has holiday gifts drifting around in their heads at this time of year.  This is definitely making me think about shopping more often. I still try to support my values as much as possible and be a conscious shopper.  This story about 112 workers killed in a factory with poor working conditions in Bangladesh brings some issues back into focus.  This factory made clothes for US and European stores, including Walmart, Sears, & Disney.  Is anyone really surprised?  Sadly, no, not really.  It's good to think about the real cost of your items before you shop. On a bit more positive note this  article about Costco actually gives me a little hope.  See... it is possible.  No, I do not believe Costco is perfect, but I am more than willing to be happy about little steps and hopefully those little steps will keep adding up and we can make real change. Did you participate in Small Business Saturday ?  Personally, I didn't buy anything on Saturday, but I did h

The yoga instructor for lunch time class today read this meditation at the end & it really hit me & I think I love it. (I already shared it with two people so here it is for all of you.) Awaken to Your Heart's Contentment One day, you'll awaken to discover your life is all you wanted and hoped it would be. Oh, you'll not find everything just the way your head said you wanted it.  It might not be the way you planned.  But you'll awaken to your dreams-your dreams of joy, love, and peace.  Your dream of freedom. You'll see beyond the illusions.  You'll transcend your old limiting beliefs.  You'll wake up and notice that your past is just as it needed to be.  You'll see where you are today is good.  You'll notice that you laugh a lot, cry a lot, smile a lot. You'll look at tomorrow with peace, faith, and hope-knowing that while you cannot control some of what life does, you have possibilities and powers in any circumstance life mig

(through photos) Over the river (Mississippi) and through the woods to my parents' house I went...   Drive to my parents |  Happy Birthday , Dado |  Karen's a morning person & loves to run.  Happy Thanksgiving 5k | lovely  green bean casserole  (it was really good!) & another casserole for Thanksgiving dinner (karen's a expert chopper and should do it more often ;)| We found our Christmas Tree! another step for my DIY coasters | thrift shopping success |  hemming those pants (i pretty much love them now) | this trip was supposed to be a break from technology for me.  i didn't bring any computer home or anything.  For some reason my family decided I am the tech expert & I have no idea why so I spent a lot of time attempting to fix their computer issues.  No break from technology for me. | Where Mom, Dad, & I went for a walk Saturday morning. | Pumpkin waffles for breakfast? Yes, please. | My parents' house is ready for

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you're having a lovely day doing what you're doing! Karen & I ran a 5k this morning in a nearby town. Hit up Grandma's traditional Thanksgiving breakfast.  Yum! And now we are prepping for Thanksgiving celebrations.  I'm pretty excited to make this green bean casserole. What is inevitable for me on Thanksgiving?  Questions/comments on why I'm a vegetarian, which I don't mind.  I know they do it with love.  Or at least I think so.   I honestly don't feel like I miss out on anything on Thanksgiving aka Turkey Day. Becoming a vegetarian was very easy for me.  I'm naturally not a huge fan of meat so it was a pretty natural transition.  I really can't think of a time I've craved any meat but fish.   I know some people find vegetarianism very hard because they crave meat.  Everyone is different.  I don't.  You can think it's weird, but I may think it's odd you don't like spinach, but

I've got a serious crafting bug going on over here.  Basically ever since fall hit my list for DIYs keeps growing. First up was this cross stitch, which I finished awhile ago, but I just put the background and frame finishing touches on it. If you don't get it, think about Chicago . I'm pretty sure I know which people on my Christmas list will not appreciate homemade gifts, but I do think I will be giving quite a few this year and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm headed back to the Show Me State today and it sounds like there is quite a holiday ahead with lots of plans and so little time. 

It's someone who's very special's 61st birthday today!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADO!!! Last weekend I told one of my sister's friends Dad's turning 61 (when she asked, don't worry Dado, I don't just go around telling everyone) and she was shocked.  She said she doesn't think of him as a day over 45.  Which I think is a pretty big compliment!   Even though you will always be a wise old owl (only because somehow you are able to store everything in your brain).  If you're ever playing trivia... pick this guy. Such a good role model and I'm very lucky to get to call you DAD! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! See ya Wednesday so be prepared for more celebrations than just one day! p.s. Dad's 60th birthday.