1st of the weekend trips

Two years ago I was fortunate to take a girls' trip to Mississippi to see one of the most awesome bands perform a benefit concert for their Better Life Foundation.  It was one of the greatest concerts I've ever been to and I vowed to myself that if I could, I'd try to make it to each year after.  Unfortunately last year, I was unable to take the 4.5 hour trip South because I couldn't get anyone else to commit to going with me.  It bummed me out that I had to stay home but I felt it was for the best.
Shortly after D and I started dating, I told him about the concert and how much fun that weekend was and we talked about trying to go if we had that weekend open.  For the last 10 or so months, I periodically checked the foundation's website to see if the date had been set and more importantly checked to see when and if tickets had gone on sale.
Finally, 6 weeks ago, I was scanning my Twitter news feed and found the golden ticket.  The concert would be November 16th and tickets went on sale the next day.  I was beyond excited because I knew we had that weekend free and I was fairly certain D would agree this would be a great weekend getaway.  Sure enough, when we got home from work and I told D the news, he told me to go ahead and get tickets.
Since that day, I have been patiently waiting for this weekend!

Tomorrow morning, we're headed South so D can experience the amazing band for himself.  We do have a mini game plan for the trip down as well.....stopping in at another Diners, Drive Ins and Dives featured restaurants in Memphis.  It's a place I visited with my Mom and Michael when we took our mini Spring Break trip last year.
Yep, we're going to experience that Sweet Spicy Love from Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken.  Seriously it is the best fried chicken I've ever eaten and while I try to eat healthy most of the time, I will splurge for some Uncle Lou's.  So delish!

After an insane week of work, I'm so ready to hit the road and have some fun!

Happy Birthday Cuz!!

My sweet Nicole turns 17 today!
Saturday night the fam went to dinner to celebrate her upcoming birthday.  There were ten of us at one of our favorite Mexican spots.  Here are a few pics of our celebration:

Celebrating 17!

The restaurant staff sang to her!

I think she was more embarrassed with us singing!

This girl loves her St. Louis Blues!

Cousins with the same taste in shoes! OMG!

I'm not quite sure where the last 17 years have gone and I still remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.  She's been my little buddy since day one and was lucky enough to get to live with her and watch her grow up on a daily basis while I was in college.  Now she's a mature high school junior who is not only super smart but also level-headed, responsible, mature and a popular young lady.  She's doing so many great things and I'm so proud of her.  I can't wait to see what the next 17 years brings! (I just hope they don't go as fast as these 17 have...I've aged enough already!)  In any case....

Happy Birthday Girlie!  I hope you enjoy your day to the fullest!!

The start of the holiday shopping spree

With the next 3 weekends in November booked solid and knowing the holidays are quickly approaching, D and I decided that this weekend is as good as any to start our Christmas shopping.  Typically I'm the one that thinks of gift ideas, starts a budget and tackles all of the shopping for both sides of my family.  This year, we're going to shop together.
D's first request for our join effort -- create a spreadsheet to track all of our gift ideas and purchases. Yes, we're going the high tech route this year, not my typical sheet of notebook paper with scribbled thoughts and places to shop.  Next, we ordered gift cards with D's credit card points and started our online shopping efforts.
Yesterday we headed out to the mall, Kohls, Target and Walmart and made a small dent in the list.  The stores were crowded already and I know its only going to get worse as the days and weeks pass and that December deadline looms.  I may give physical shopping one more go around but beyond that, I'm not sure I have the patience for the stores.

Perfect Fall Weekend for the Wineries

We kept it pretty low key around here this past week and decided that we would spend some time enjoying the fall weather this weekend.  My Aunt and Uncle were down at the wineries in Ste. Genevieve for a mini getaway and asked us if we wanted to come down for lunch and a visit to a winery or two.  Missouri is known for its wine country and considering I have never been to one since turning 21 (watching the grape stomp when you're 14 doesn't really count!) and D has yet to see much of the state, we decided to make the hour trip south.
After missing our turn off and getting lost for about 30 minutes, our first stop for lunch and a bottle of Bouvet Blanc was at Chaumette Winery. The food was amazing and from a girl that very rarely eats a lot of meat anymore, my pork burger was absolutely delish.  (I was the DD for our trip, so a burger paired with my wine was exactly what I needed so I wasn't loopy.)  My uncle, who had done a tasting on Friday afternoon was our wine expert for the day.  Thankfully I didn't have to make many decisions on what wines we were having.
After lunch, we traveled down to the Charleville Vineyard and Microbrewery.  This is one of the smaller of the wineries but it was absolutely beautiful sitting in the countryside enjoying the view and the company.  At Charleville we did a small tasting and what is really neat about this winery is that it is a microbrewery as well so D was in heaven.  He did a sampler flight of some of their regular and seasonal brews and after testing 3 wines, I settled on a Charlerita, which is margarita mix paired with their lovely Genevieve Rivard.  It was refreshing and didn't leave me feeling woozy like most margaritas with tequila do.  In fact, after everyone tested my Charlerita, it became the favorite of our group and everyone else had one the next round.

We spent a couple of hours just chatting with my Aunt and Uncle, catching up on what all of my cousins have been up to, what is coming up ahead for the holidays, and anything else we could possibly think of.  The great thing about hanging out with them is that there is never a dull moment and we have a lot of fun.
As the afternoon started to dwindle, we made our way to our cars and made the hour trip home.  It was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the weather and the company.

The couple that cooks together....

Lately we've been testing out a lot of new recipes at home.  While I've always loved cooking and experimenting with ingredients, I've gotten D into the kitchen madness and we've been pretty successful with our culinary adventures.  We have taken to grocery shopping together so that we can collaborate on ingredients for upcoming dinners.  It's actually been a lot of fun, albeit we do get carried away sometimes with some of our ideas but all in all, we are both enjoying it.
Here are a few of our latest dinner creations:

Ham and Cajun Turkey Stromboli

Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus in Homemade Pesto

Scallops and Brussel Sprouts over Lemon Butter Angel Hair

Loaded Pulled Chicken Nachos for Game Day

And probably my greatest creation to date...cheesy chicken spaetzle, continues to be un-photographed because I always forget to snap a pic before its gone.  I'll work on that!

As we start spending more time at home in the fall and winter months (fingers crossed), we have a bunch more ideas for dinners we want to make.  The great thing is that we've been open minded in trying new ingredients and I have a plethora of cookbooks to pull inspiration from.  Hopefully I can get pics before we dive in!

Doctor Ordered Vacation

I am finally home after a 2 day hospital visit and while the doctors are not exactly sure what caused the GI tract infection (they think it was a combo of a virus and bacteria), I have been ordered to take it easy for the next few days so that my immune system recovers.  Since you all know me, required rest is somewhat difficult but I have been given off the remainder of the week by my boss and I am trying to listen to the doctors orders.
I really didn't think how I was feeling on Monday was anything serious.  I thought it would be a quick bug from something I ate at one of the many weekend events we attended.  I didn't really eat bad but again I wasn't 100% on my healthy eating diet.  I stayed in bed most of Monday morning, checked emails Monday afternoon and scheduled the blog post for Tuesday (which I then had to update a bit before I actually published) and thought I was feeling better.  I actually contemplated going into work Monday afternoon and then decided against it because I thought getting more rest would make me feel that much better at work on Tuesday.
Then Monday evening things took a turn for the worst.  My mom stopped by, brought me crackers, 7Up, a heating pad and made me soup.  Mom left, hoping that I would feel better but I couldn't even eat, I laid on the couch doubled over in pain.  D asked me multiple times to take me to Urgent Care or the ER and every time he asked, I declined.  I told him I'd feel better in the morning and around 10 pm went to lay in bed with my heating pad.  Obviously, D was not happy with my decision and called his mom to see what else we could do to make me feel better.  She urged him to take me to the ER and finally put her on the phone with me and she convinced me to let D take me.
The one thing about living downtown that that there are multiple well known, top hospitals within 10 minutes.  These hospitals are so popular though that actually being seen in the ER would take anywhere from a few hours to a few days.  D called one of our good friends, who is also nurse, and asked which hospital would be the best to get me in and seen within a reasonable amount of time.  She recommended a smaller hospital that she worked at before landing her current position.  By 10:35 we were at the hospital and within 5 minutes I was checked in and headed back to a room.
From there it was all about blood tests, samples, CT scans and monitoring all of my pain.   At 1:30 am, they decided I needed to be admitted and at 3 am, I was headed for a normal room.  They ran more tests, hooked me up to fluids and tried to ease my pain as best as possible, all without letting me actually eat until they could figure out what was wrong.
Besides having an inflammed GI tract caused by some infection, they also accidentally found a gall stone which could be another reason why I have had some other issues lately.
Yesterday afternoon, the doctors finally decided that I could be released after being able to hold down food for 2 meals and around 2 pm, I walked out of the hospital.
Right now, I'm just tired.  Being prodded and poked every few hours and being woken up for vitals and to see how I'm feeling definitely takes its toll but the hospital staff was great.

I'm really glad to finally be home.  It killed me on Tuesday night watching D leave and knowing I couldn't go with him and mostly I just wanted everything to be back to normal.  I have to say though that given all of this, my family, D's family and my friends have been so great checking in on me and wishing me well.  I haven't taken much time off lately and it has been go go go, I guess this hospital visit was my sign to slow down and get some R & R.  It's also my sign to get a primary care doctor and start taking care of myself so my Moms don't have to worry.

The man of many hats

After my Sunday night post, I somehow got a stomach bug that caused me non-stop pain for a good portion of Monday.  For the first time in 8+ years, I had to call into work...or I guess I should say, D emailed our boss because I couldn't even move to send a quick message out.  She was understanding but I still don't like having to call in last minute so I felt bad.  As much as I thought I could try to come in, I realized it would be impossible.
Once I could at least hold my head up on Monday afternoon, I decided to check my email and at least get a head start on tackling all of my weekend notes and determine where I sat for my return on Tuesday.  The thing about  my job is that part of it has to be taken care of immediately by someone our group whether I'm there or not and the rest of it can wait until I personally make it into the office.  I'm lucky in the fact that D is one of my backups for the things that need to be handled ASAP.  He sent me a text about halfway through the morning and told me not to worry (which I would have since that's just me) because he got all of my info entered into the system.  It put my mind at ease enough to know that at least half of my 60+ new emails were handled. Monday night things took a turn for the worst and I have been hospitalized to get rid of the GI infection causing me so much pain.
People sometimes ask us how we are able to work together and still maintain a personal relationship.  It's actually been pretty easy so far.  We are only co-workers at work and while we work well together, we don't show favoritism to each other.  At home we try to put work behind us as much as possible.  But, it is nice to know that when I need help when I'm feeling under the weather, D takes care of me both at home and at the office.

Weekend Recap (In Pictures)

I'm enjoying the Rams win this afternoon and decided why not give a bit of a rundown from the weekend.  I know, I know....I gave you all a heads up on Friday morning but here's the recap.

Nothing like a Friday afternoon in the Champions Club

Excited to catch the game but peeved they lost it!

D wore my Blues jersey to the game. We won 7-0! 

 

 

The things this Red Wings fan does for his girl. :)

Our Company Day at the Rams Game!

Couldn't get him to wear a Rams shirt though! Luckily we still won!

Ready for Rocktober!

Source

It’s a sports-filled weekend around these parts….this afternoon I was lucky enough to score a ticket to Game 2 of the NLDS series here in the Lou.  Our boss emailed us all yesterday afternoon and told us she got tickets for our group to attend the game.  It’s my first playoff game ever and along with getting to leave work a little before noon, I get to spend the afternoon with the work fam at the game.  D and I were lucky enough to score last minute tickets to the game last Saturday and have had baseball fever for the playoffs.  He may be rooting a bit more for the Detroit Tigers but until we get to the World Series, I'm alright with that.  :)

Since Dad is gone on his honeymoon, he gave D and I his tickets to Saturday nights’ Blues game.  This year our family has a ticket package that includes 4 seats to selected games so we decided it would be fun to take my Aunt and Uncle with us.  Once they get all my cousins settled with 2 homecoming dances, they get to have an adult night at the hockey game with the two of us.

Sunday is our company day at the Rams game and while the Rams really haven’t played up to par so far this season, I’m still excited to get to go the afternoon at the game.  Last year was a blast and I wouldn’t expect any less this game.

 If that wasn’t enough to fill a weekend, we also have a birthday party for one of my former co-workers (my poker buddy MO) and D’s Friday night hockey game.  It’s another busy weekend here.  I’m not sure why I thought things would slow down with the start of fall because we’ve been on the go once again!  Let’s go Cards, Blues and Rams!!

Another wedding!

Tonight we're going to Dad & Debbie's wedding.  I never thought I'd see this day coming but I am happy for my Dad.  My brother is going to be the best man and the ceremony and reception are just a small function after work tonight.  I'm in charge of playing the correct wedding music at the right time off of Debbie's iPhone...considering I still don't have an iPhone nor am I that technologically advanced, I'm just hoping I don't play something like Baby Got Back when it should be Canon in D. 
While my Dad doesn't follow my blog, I still want to wish the couple a lifetime of happiness. Congrats Dad & Debbie!

Trying something new

Since I moved and there are no downtown locations, I decided to give up my gym membership at the club I've gone for the last 5 years.  It wasn't a hard decision considering there is another gym just 2 doors down from the loft, but it still has taken some time getting acquainted at my new place.  It doesn't have 24 hour access like my old place and with the hours that I work, its not always convenient to get in there in with everything else going on.  I've started getting back into the routine of going after work a few times a week along with my mini home workouts and 30 minute lunchtime visits to the gym at our office just to keep active.

My boss who also lives downtown and has been working out with me at lunch time recently joined my other gym in hopes of getting in extra cardio after work.  Usually after work, you can find me on the elliptical or the stair master but this week she convinced me to try something new.  In all my years of working out, I've never tried spinning.  My first class is Wednesday night.  I'm a bit excited, but more nervous and hoping that in all my clumsiness, I don't break something.  My boss gave me two tips for class...I should have my hair in a pony tail and 2 bottles of water for class because I'm gonna need it!

Catching up

So I've been meaning to get around to a full blown update of the last couple of months and time has just slipped by far faster than I have wanted to when it comes to updating this blog properly.  We have been on the go all summer and now its officially fall, the season where we'll be twice as busy with the holidays and visiting family.  Heck, some days just surviving work has been difficult!
Before we head out for night two of Blues hockey, I thought it would be nice to get a real post up.  So, while the boys watch the MSU-Notre Dame football game....

I'm camped out on the loveseat, paying some attention to the game and going through all the photos of the last 3 months. (Thank goodness for WiFi and laptops!)
Here's my photo dump to get everyone up to date.  Let's start with July and after the 4th of July festivities...

 

A and K's wedding in Pure Michigan - 7/13/13

Ribfest in Chicago - 7/26/13

Cousins weekend downtown - 8/3/13

Finishing the Big Move - 8/10/13 (Shell, this is outside our living room window!)

 

K and N's wedding in Quincy - 8/24/13

A mini visit to Clarksville, MO - 8/25/13

Preparing for our Labor Day Camp - 8/30/13

Labor Day Camping Trip in Pure Michigan - 8/30-9/2/13

Lake of The Ozarks Old Time Photo - 9/7/13

Putt Putt Date in the Ozarks - 9/7/13

I was surprised with these lovely flowers - 9/12/13

Sam, Zach and Em's 16th birthday party - 9/14/13

Oh when the Blues...

....go marching in!!!
This weekend is one full of hockey for me. My bro bought 2 tickets for Friday night's Blues game and asked me to accompany him before we head to D's super late night game at the local rink. Then Saturday night, me, D, and Bro are going back to Scottrade Center for another Blues game. I may be on hockey overload by Sunday but I'm ready to see the team back on the ice. I'm even more excited by the fact that the team plays pretty much in my back yard....and in my book, it doesn't get much better than that!

So for the first time this season...or preseason I should say, here we go....."Let's Go Blues!!"

Labor Day weekend camping

Labor Day is upon us and nothing says goodbye summer like experiencing the great outdoors.

For the first time in like 10 years (remember that impromptu camping/float trip weekend to Lesterville when we were in college Shell?) I'm going camping with D and his fam in the middle of Michigan. It's a family tradition, yet this year we are adding to that tradition and breaking out the big guns. Rather than packing some dinky little tent, D's aunt and uncle rented this bad boy.....

Source: Cruise America

We are flying into Chicago early morning where they will pick us up to make the 4 hour drive north. I'm excited, not only for the crazy ride up to the property with D's cousins, but for a weekend of fun out in "Pure Michigan." And for some reason, I'm picturing this as our own Griswold family trip. Hey, at least we know we won't end up getting lost in East St. Louis like they did in the movie....

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Are ya ready for some (preseason) football?!?

This afternoon I'm taking a break from all of the unpacking and moving silliness and enjoying some time with the work fam.  As luck would have it, nearly all of our group got tickets to tonight's Rams-Packers game in our company's suite and since D and I are just a mere 10 or 12 blocks from the Dome we invited everyone over for a bit of pre-partying.
It's the first time the group has been over since our Christmas party and back then he and I weren't even dating, let alone living under the same roof.  I expect there to be quite a bit of ragging on D now that the place has a bit more of a female's touch.
Personally, I'm just looking forward to the start of football season and seeing what is in store with the Rams this year.  Oh and the dessert cart....can't forget how awesome it is to see that lovely thing come by our door!

Go Rams!

A quick check in

For those of you wondering where I went, have no fear I am still alive. :) It's been 5 weeks of absolute craziness here. A's wedding, a weekend of BBQ in Chicago with D's fam, an engagement (no, not me but ironically my Dad), a bachelorette party for KP's upcoming wedding, cousin's weekend with Nicole and Em and oh yeah, moving to downtown St. Louis!
Yep, this weekend it was "officially official" as we got the last of the stuff out of my apartment. I'm living in a sea of boxes right now but thankfully with everything now under one roof, I can go through the boxes and settle in. It's amazing I lived in the suburbs of STL for 7 years and then moved twice in the past 2 years. I told D on our drive home this afternoon, I'm alright with staying put for a few years. (This as he has already told me we will be looking for a house in the future.)
As soon as I have a chance, I'll try do a photo dump of the highlights.
For now, I gotta get ready for the week ahead because work hasn't stopped either.

What seems like just yesterday

It's amazing how life can change in what seems like a blink of an eye....  

November 2011, 4 of us girls headed to Tunica to see 3 Doors Down live.  My friend Steph, one of the girls I worked with at the trucking company, went on the girls trip with us.  At the time she was just casually talking to a guy and hanging out with him occasionally.  Fast forward a year and a half and she's now married to this fella and they are expecting their first child together in mid-September.  Tonight I'm headed to a unique happy hour/baby shower thrown by the girls I used to work with and some of my other girlfriends.  Besides Coco who I have just recently been catching up, I haven't seen any of these girls in well over a year.  I can't wait to see what else I've missed and update everyone else on all the fun happenings going on here.

Just a weekend in Pure Michigan

Queue Tim Allen and his soothing voice and picture me heading up to "Pure Michigan" for a wedding this weekend.  D left Wednesday after work taking my dress, shoes and everything else I'd need for the weekend and I'm boarding a plane to Chicago this afternoon to meet up with Uncle Paul, Aunt Judy and Amanda and finish the last 4 hours of the trip  We're hoping to be there by midnight.  Then its a whirlwind Saturday down in Battle Creek for the wedding, reception and a night of fun with the whole family.
It's the first real day off for me since we went to Michigan at Memorial Day and that day off was also spent traveling.
The good thing about tomorrow is that I don't have to be to the airport until late afternoon so I can actually have a productive day off at home first.  My plan for the first half of the day....get a great workout in and then declutter, declutter, declutter.  Moving day is officially set as August 17th, I have 1 month to go through everything and figure out what I'm keeping and taking with me; what I'm going to store for awhile and what I'm getting rid of.  The goal is to actually get rid of more of my stuff than anything else.  We'll see how well that goes....

By the way, random tidbit of info....D actually shushes me and turns up the volume on the tv or radio any time a Pure Michigan commercial airs....so silly!

Happy 4th of July!

Source

For the first time in the two years he's been living in the Lou, D will be home celebrating 'Merica (his word, not mine) rather than being in Michigan. 
St. Louis is known for their huge fair and fireworks display known as Fair St. Louis and we're headed down to the Riverfront to experience all of the festivities and fun later today.  But right now, we're getting ready for the Veiled Prophet Parade which will be coming down the street any minute.  This is a first for me...being 7 floors in the air, getting a birds eye view of a parade from the living room.

Happy 4th of July!

Movin' my shoes

I blinked and the month of June is behind me.  Really, I can't keep up with the amount of stuff going on right now....month-end close, Cardinals baseball games, Friday night beer league hockey, dinner with friends and family and prepping for upcoming weddings and weekend trips.

Perhaps the most exciting news is the giant leap I'm about to take with D.  We've decided that in the upcoming months, I'm going to be moving into his loft and officially co-habitating.  I'm down there 75% of the week as it is and its so much more convenient for work and a good portion of the other things we have going on during the week.
I revealed the news to my Mom and Step-Dad Father's Day weekend and they were thrilled.  I told my Dad last week when we were planning a family dinner and he was equally as happy for me.
Our month of July is completely booked and all but one weekend of August is also tied up so we're looking at September as a time frame for getting everything out of my place and either into storage or D's loft.
I've already taken the essential measures at making the move though, securing a parking spot in a neighboring garage and signing up for a gym membership downtown....you know, the priorities.  Now comes the monumental task of decluttering and condensing all of my treasures.
D's already warned me I've got to cut down my huge shoe collection.  I'm not so sure about that...of course I find nothing wrong with having 50 pairs of shoes either.  I call it.....variety.