Braving the Heat

 
"We're having a heat wave....a tropical heat wave."  -- Grumpy Old Men version

Over and over I'm singing that to myself and while STL may not be anywhere close to the tropics nor is this  heat tropical.  Those two pics above sum up summer in St. Louis so far.  We've had 2 days of over 100 degree weather so far and at least another week of this craziness is on tap!  I was shocked to see the 111*F on my car dash yesterday on the ride home and tonight the gage read 106*F.  And while I've never really been one to complain about how warm it is and usually I'm one that enjoys the heat but after walking to grab lunch with my work fam the last few days, I can say I definitely agree, it's oppressively hot out there!!

Tomorrow I'm braving that afternoon sauna and attending the Cards-Pirates game with my Bro.  Really though, the only way you could find me catching the game in this heat is with these seats...in the air-conditioned and fully catered area of the ballpark known as The Champions Club.  I was super lucky to get the tickets from work and I decided why not turn it into another installment of Sibling Saturday, so off to Busch Stadium we go!  I'm excited for the game and spending time with my Bro while Ryan is ready for the unlimited nachos, hotdogs and beverages.  (Baseball has never really been his game, but he's a trooper for his Sis!  Thanks Bro!!)  Definitely looking forward to a great summer afternoon and I'm just hoping I don't melt on the 2 block walk from the parking garage to the stadium gates!

Hope you're staying cool out there!

Moving update

One month and counting until moving day, but it's becoming quite apparent why I've lived here for 7 years....I'm not a fan of packing.  I've started with the parts of my apartment I know I can live without for the next 30 days and I've also started a pile for things I'm planning on donating to Goodwill.  The boxes are starting to pile up and I'm getting close to the point where I can build a fort in my living room.  It may seem odd to be focusing on so much so early but with having to work next weekend to complete month-end by the following Monday morning and then not really knowing what is on tap for the 3 weeks, I figured I'd better get a move on it.
My goal is to be completely moved out on the Saturday of moving weekend and unpacking at the new place in the afternoon and the next day.  I made a trip to my new gym location last Friday night and found myself at home in the facility.  I think it will fit much better into my routine than my current situation since I'm driving out of the way to the only location that is reasonably close to my apartment right now (it was only a few minutes from my last two jobs, now I'm going in the opposite direction).
I'm nearly ready to get this show on the road....not that I'm wishing my summer away but the anticipation of the new place is killing me!

As for the rest of this week, Dad, Bro and I are hitting the concert scene Friday night.  REO Speedwagon, Styx and Ted Nugent are coming to town and Bro and I thought it would be fun to treat Dad to a night out.  Then more packing, packing, packing and hopefully a few minutes to chill.  I feel like I've been going a mile a minute for weeks.

To all the dads...

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads out there, including my own Dad and Step-Dad who I would be lost without!
I'm taking the weekend off from packing and spending the time celebrating with them and showing each one how much they mean to me.  And for all the times I've not been so sweet, I'm working to redeem myself by baking each one a sweet treat...for Dad I made a homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and for Michael a orange jello poke cake with whipped cream topping. 
I'm thankful that both of them have always been there for support, guidance and to help me with just about any crazy idea I have where I need "Dad assistance."

I hope all of the dads out there, including mine enjoy their day to the fullest!

2012, the year of change

Remember that exciting event in the works?  It's official now and I can finally let you in on my little secret.  After living in the same place for 7 years, I've decided its time to move on.  That's right, come late July/early August, I'll be moving into a condo (still renting because of my fear of a long-term commitment!) out of the 'hood I'm currently in and closer to my family.

My Dad is completely thrilled as are my Bro, Aunt and Uncle and Nicole, but it's taking some time to get my Mom and Michael to come around with this change.  I think Mom is fearing I'll never come to visit even though I'll be living the same distance away from her as I am now (so not true!) and pretty much she has this idea that I'm moving to a foreign land.  My Dad and his side of the family see that I will be only about a third of the distance away from them as I am now and are happy that I'm going to be closer.  Rather than the 50 minutes it usually takes to drive for a visit, I'll be 20 minutes away and on top of it, I'm only a few minutes from Dad's work.

For me, I'm excited to have another change of scenery along with a bigger place in a quiet, park-like setting.  This move is a little bittersweet for me though too.  This apartment is the first place I rented on my own after graduating college.  I have a lot of memories from all of my time here, from moving day back in August 2005 and Bro mowing down one of his friends while they were bringing in my furniture, to showing off my really neat shower curtain to my friends right after moving in (inside joke), to girls' weekends with Nicole, to the cooking competitions in my tiny galley kitchen with Broccoli to the family dinners and fun times I've had with everyone who has visited me.  And while I know I'm able to continue these types of memories in my new place, I just don't want to forget some of the best times in my early adult life.  The other great things the new place offers is more space (100 sq ft more!), a washer and dryer (no more laundromat!  woo hoo!), a bigger kitchen (more culinary experiments!) and a fireplace (ambiance and coziness!) and luckily, my commute time to work and the gym (a new location, but another in the chain) is virtually unchanged.

I'm still working on the logistics for planning my moving day.  Right now, I'm thinking late July just so I have time to get things moved and situated the way I want before turning the keys in for my current place.  Plus, I have to coordinate my moving efforts with all of the fine fellas that are going to help me.  Bro and his roommate are going to round up the boys to get me moved and I have to find a time that will work for them.  I'm definitely grateful for the amount of support and help everyone is offering.

Besides the actual move, I'm just left packing up 7 years worth of my life and changing my address on everything.

Another adult step

My Bro, the master of networking, passed my name on to a financial advisor thinking I could use some help with financial planning.  (You know, because I'm rich, or so that's what Bro says.)  Since I'm nearing 30 and I have a new job, new car and another exciting event in the works (stay tuned!) and overall I'm hitting a different stage in my life, I decided maybe it was a good idea to meet and see what they could offer me.  So at lunch today, I met with the financial reps. 
I actually went through this process a few years ago and wasn't impressed by the guy who hounded me to buy this huge cash value life insurance plan (and then kept calling me over and over again when I declined it), but I decided to check out the other options they offered and wanted to get some sort of idea of what they could do with my old 401k.  I came prepared as my typical type-A self would do and had my monthly/yearly budget calculated out in an spreadsheet and I also brought my last quarterly statement from my 401k with me. And of course, I explained my theories for saving, retirement and the economic future in general.  After nearly an hour of getting to know me, I left the guys to do what they do best, work on a financial plan for me.  I don't know if they will be able to come up with something I will agree with or not, but its nice to be able to open my eyes to other financial and wealth management products.  By the way, they were impressed that I knew about many of the products they mentioned.  I guess my education and years in the financial world actually do help every now and again.

Anniversary of Adulthood

Two pics can sum up my Saturday night:

A balloon-filled couch!

Rainbow of jello shots!

My Bro threw a party on celebrating the 1 year anniversary of moving into his apartment with his roommates.  Really though, any chance these guys have to celebrate, you will find them sending out an clever Facebook invite, buying a half-barrel for the Kegerator and setting up the beer pong table in their kitchen.  For living in an apartment, they sure do have a place that is great for get-togethers.  This Saturday was no exception, with the Kings-Devils hockey game being shown in the background and music blaring on the IPod, we had a blast.
I then spent a good part of Sunday recovering from the fun (soooo tired) and trying to be a responsible adult in my little digs.