Tiptoe through the tulips

About a week ago I parked my car next to all of these:

Today I walked by and they had turned into these!


Right now there are tulips all over the city! I don't remember noticing them the other years but I sure am glad that they are here this year!

Has anyone seen spring?

I thought that I had found it but I guess I was wrong. It's snowing here right now. It's April 28 and it's snowing. Am I living in the Twilight Zone? Doesn't this automatically count as a snow day and the offices should close and everyone should go home? Are there pigs flying too? Is it the end of the world? Am I being over dramatic?
Oh, and I got new brakes today. That was fun.

Momentary Lapse in Judgment

About an hour ago I had a momentary lapse in judgment and agreed to join the lovely KellyRy in a project to take at least one picture each day for the next year. I guess there are several groups doing similar things. So, on May 1, 2008 we are starting Project 3six5!! The idea sounds daunting but then she mentioned that at the end of the year she might make a coffee table book of her photos and that it could be really cool to have a year of photos to look back on. That is what hooked me! I'll probably copy her idea and do a book as well at the end of the year but I haven't decided yet. I'll just snap away and figure that part out later. I think I'll pick one day a week to post my pictures here so you can keep up. If you want to join in but don't have a blog or place to post them, you can be a guest blogger and post them here.
Anyone else want to join in? I think it could be fun!

Administrative Professionals Day?

That would be today. While I appreciate the free lunch, I'm really not sure how I feel about the concept in general. Mostly, it makes my skin crawl.
Any idea why?

New Look

I just wanted to publicly thank the lovely Kelly for her help in the new look of my blog. What took her minutes to do would have taken me hours!
You're the best Kelly!!!

In Vino Veritas

Translated: In Wine is Truth.
While in California, my parents and I enjoyed a lovely day of wine tasting at Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula, CA. A co-worker of mine had recommended we stop there and raved about their Almond Sparkling Wine. And, while at a wedding a couple of days before, several friends also raved about the place. Needless to say, we were looking forward to it! We arrived at the winery the same time a tour bus did so we asked for recommendations for a place to eat lunch and then we would come back when it was quieter. The pointed us to a winery down the road and we enjoyed a lovely meal al fresco before heading back for a tasting.
We were not disappointed at all. The crowds had cleared so we were able to work our way through the menu of options at our leisure. The family golden retriever was out and about greeting all of his guests and basking in the sunlight. We even got to have a little chat with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson who were very lovely and gracious. The grounds of the winery were lovely so we took some time to sit outside and enjoy our wine.
This little guy kept us company and showed us around the garden.
Back in the tasting room, we moved onto the dessert wines, including the sparkling wine we were all looking forward to. My dad didn't love it but my mom and I very much enjoyed ours. I brought home a couple of small bottles to enjoy at a later time. The woman at the counter told me that they were the perfect size for girl's night because you just open them up and stick a straw in them!
My last tasting of the day was a port wine with the essence of chocolate. I saw it on the menu at the very beginning and just knew that I had to save my last tasting for it. It was absolutely amazing! My dad and I each had it as our finish to the day and it was pretty amazing how long we made that 1 ounce last. So smooth and really with just a hint of chocolate. Not overpowering at all. It was a little pricey but I splurged on a bottle to bring home with me. I also splurged on a roll of bubble wrap to make sure that all my bottles made it through my flight home in one piece!
I am very excited to open up this bottle and enjoy it. I think that I have already figured out the occasion for it as well. I don't mind sharing this bottle at all. I am just going to make sure that not a drop of it is wasted!

Freedom in Christ

I am starting in a new small group on Wednesday nights and I am really looking forward to it! It's a group where I know about half the people so I get some of the familiarity that brings but still get the opportunity to meet new people. Last week we met to decide what we were going to talk about the next 10 weeks and this week we are meeting for treats and just to get to know each other better. We decided on 10 different topics that we all would like to know more about and laid them out in an order that really was determined by when someone wanted to lead on that topic. Despite the randomness of it, I think it's going to be good.
Because I am a glutton for punishment and kind of a do-gooder and realized that if I go first, no one can compare me to anyone else if I go first, I volunteered to lead the first discussion. I don't have to give a 3-point sermon or anything, it's really just facilitating discussion.
My topic is Freedom in Christ. I'm supposed to kind of weave in the ideas of self-identity and comparison to others. The general idea is that many of us live as if we were burdened with Christianity and don't express joy in our lives. I have a million other thoughts on this and they are all over the place. I would love your thoughts on this topic. Any verses that come to mind? Any personal stories I can use as an example? Anything?

My new toy

Since I worked all this weekend, I have been able to take Monday and Tuesday off and since the weather is finally starting to feel like spring around here, I took advantage of it and did some errands on Monday. I ended up wandering around Bed, Bath and Beyond (not the smartest idea for me) and as I walked past a clearance shelf, something caught my eye. A brand new, shiny kitchen knife with a free paring knife! At first I walked away from it, deciding that I had plenty of knives at home that would get the job done. But, in the end I caved and bought it for myself. It's not the highest end knife out there but it's worlds apart from what I have now!
I got to take it for a spin this afternoon on some garlic and onions (two of the things I always dreaded cutting with my very un-sharp knives). Check out the results...
First up, garlic. I have never in my life been able to mince garlic that fine!

Next is the onion. Again, never been able to mince it that well. And, check out how thin I got those slices! And, I wasn't even trying!!









While slicing the onion, I also managed to slice a chunk out of my finger nail. However, my finger is still completely intact. I was even impressed by how cleanly this knife took a piece of my nail. (Don't worry, the nail did NOT end up in the onions!)

It's what a hamburger's all about!

In-n-Out!!! While on my recent, glorious trip to So Cal, I only had a few goals. To relax and do nothing, see the ocean as many times as possible, celebrate my dear friend Amy's marriage (more on that later), and eat at In-n-Out at least once! The last time I was in So Cal, my planned trip to In-n-Out was sabotaged by a co-worker of mine who ate there two days before and was not impressed. I had planned to stop there for lunch on my way to the airport but ended up having said co-worker with no taste in my car at that time and was forced to abandon my plans. So, on this most recent trip, I was not going to let anything stand in my way! And, to make up for the lost trip, I ate there twice. It was like a little taste of heaven. The first trip, I did the traditional cheese burger and fries but on the second trip, I exchanged the fries for a strawberry milkshake. Yum!


Yes, I am aware that I sound a little bit obsessed and yes, I realize that there are many other burgers in the world that are just as good, if not better. I don't really care. There is just something about In-n-Out that I love!!

What's that you say?

Do any of you know someone who talks and talks but you have no idea what on earth they are saying? I do. Every time I hear him speak I find myself feeling very confused as to what on earth he is asking people to do or what he is talking about. I have noticed that I am not the only one who is confused. I look around the room and people's eyes have glazed over and they are looking very confused. It doesn't help that this person also has some of the worst enunciation EVER!
I know, this is totally random. Just thought I would throw it out there.

Friday Night Madness

Last Friday, around noon, I got a craving for a margarita so I sent out the smoke signals to see if I could get anyone to join me after work. Needless to say, I had no trouble finding 11 people to come along for the journey. So, we headed down the street to Ceasar's, home of killer margarita, were seated immediately and proceeded to talk and laugh for the next couple of hours. In this particular group, my friend R and I are the only purists in the group and prefer our drinks on the rocks with salt. So, instead of ordering a pitcher for the two of us to share (that would not have been wise) we each simply ordered a mega drink (because that's so much better).
The drinks:

R and I with our fish bowls full of goodness.

A few other fun shots.



After dinner and drinks we headed to S & JW's house nearby. They have lovely hardwood floors and their hallway makes for fantastic sock-sliding!
Here is J determining the foul line. You must begin your slide by this point.

S, being the hostess, warms up the floor for everyone.


R goes next. She's sort of a pro at this.



At one point, there was a debate over a possible foot foul.

JP gave it a try but wiped out.

JW finished up the night by whipping up a batch of some really tasty choco-tini's that we all enjoyed by the fireplace.

BBQ

I'm in Dallas this weekend for work.
First, I am thankful for being in Dallas where it is 72 and sunny instead of in Chicago where it is cold and rainy.
Second, I am thankful for Texas BBQ! We went to a tasty little place last night for dinner and I was so amazed at my plate of food overflowing with meat that I completely forgot to take a picture of it. At this place, you walk through the line and tell the people what kind(s) of meat you want. Then, the friendly guy with the big knife cuts the meat off the slab for you and places it on a plate with a hot dinner roll. You then get to fill the small space left on your plate near the pile of meat with whatever vegetables you want. The best part? Homemade macaroni and cheese is considered a vegetable!! I grabbed a glass of sweet tea and sat down to dig in. Several times while eating, a lovely lady came around with a large basket full of rolls fresh out of the oven in case you somehow didn't have enough food to begin with. A sign of good BBQ? I only had to use my knife to butter my roll! It never touched my meat. The beef just pulled apart with a gentle touch from my fork. And, that's the other beautiful thing about Texas BBQ. BEEF!! Yum! After we shoved our faces with meat, we felt the need to have a little fruit. So, we got bowls of fresh, hot peach cobbler with huge scoops of vanilla ice cream.
I won't see anything else in Dallas because I will spend the rest of the weekend sitting in a hotel ballroom with no windows. But, I have successfully accomplished my one goal for this trip.

Fancy Candles

Monday was my friend E's birthday. She's now old like me. On Sunday, K and I found these cool candles at a store in the neighborhood so we decided that we had to have cupcakes to put the candles in and have a small celebration. The candle box said that the candles burned in different colors so of course we had to check them out.
The cupcakes. I had SO much fun doing these!

Having fun with E's new gorilla tripod thing.

The candles totally worked!!!

The birthday girl and her cupcakes.

Blowing out the candles.

One of my favorite places to be...

Is in Southern California. Specifially, San Diego! Specifically, San Diego beaches! I know, I am a bit biased because I spent so much of my life there, but if you've been there, you have to agree with me! I never realize how much I miss living near the ocean until I get to go back. Someone once told me that Lake Michigan was kind of like the ocean. let me tell you, the only things that they have in common are that they are big and they both involve water. I will have to confess that the actually beaches (meaning the area that is sand instead of water) around the lake aren't all that bad. They are good for playing volleyball and such and it's not like the actual sand in San Diego was really all that special. I was never really one for going in the ocean growing up. I didn't like that I couldn't see the bottom. But, there still is nothing like the ocean. I love the sound of it. I love the smell of it. I love how it is extremely powerful and yet completely peaceful at the same time.
I had the opportunity to head back to San Diego about a week ago and you can imagine how I jumped at every chance I got to be near the ocean. My first order of business when I landed in So Cal was to have dinner with my dear friend, Jen. As I was driving down the 5, admiring all the colors around me (it's been a bit gray here) I called Jen to see what she wanted to do for dinner. We had talked about going to a restaurant but I managed to talk her into picking up some take out and sitting down in the sand to eat and catch up. I really had to twist her arm to do this. Jen hates the beach! ;) Ok, so maybe, she's the one person I can think of that loves the ocean more than I do. So, she picked up a pizza (Pizza Port, if you are ever in the area, get some! SO GOOD), we met up and walked down to the sand. It was fabulous!
Dinner...

The View...

Is that you, Spring?

Apparently, spring finally decided to show up in Chicago this weekend. We're not holding our breath that it will stick around very long, but we enjoyed it while it was here! Saturday and Sunday of this weekend both involved time outside in the sun by the lake. It was cool enough you needed long sleeves, but the sun was out and we didn't care!
Iced coffee and bare feet. It doesn't get much better than this!

Look at those smiling faces! Sara and Kelly love the sunshine!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Aliza!

This weekend, this little sweetheart turns 1. The lovely little dress I posted about awhile ago was a present for her and it made it in time for a little photo shoot today. Here are a couple of shots with the dress.




And this is just her being her cute little self. She is the most expressive little person!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALIZA!!!!!!

The Project

Along with hemming a few pairs of pants and taking in a jacket so it didn't look quite so much like I was wearing a box, I have completed my first full project with my lovely little sewing machine. Take a look...

First, there was the cutting out of the pattern. This part hurt my back because I don't have a large enough table and was spread out on the floor and all hunched over.

That pattern turned into all these pieces. Do you like how I artistically laid them all askew?

First step was to sew together the outside.

Second is to sew on the flap and put together the lining. It was about this time that my sewing machine and I had to have some words because it was not cooperating. Don't worry, I showed it who was boss!

Third, sew the lining in place. I realized here that when the instructions say to sew a 1/2 inch seam, they have a reason for it. Don't make the seam smaller just because you can. There was supposed to be some boning put in to help the purse keep it's shape but I couldn't make it work without taking everything a part so I will have to go back another time and fix it.

At this point, the purse looks pretty good, right?

However, a nice decorative button on the front really completes the look.

If you examine the purse closely, you can tell it was not done by a professional. But, overall, it's a very nice addition to a spring outfit. I'm pretty darn proud of myself!

I am in LOVE!

Actually, I am in love times two!

Today, I visited a little store called Harvest Time Foods for the first time. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but on the inside you will find a huge selection of produce, cheese, meat, etc and all at an extraordinary price. I don't know why I am so surprised that I enjoyed my short trip there. I have have multiple friends tell me how much they like it for one reason or another. I can't say I'll make it my main shopping place but it might have just become my favorite place for produce. The selection is one to rival Whole Foods except that the prices are much better while still retaining the quality.

My second love is an item that I found in the store. I purchased a bag of Multi-Grain Tostitos because I was hungry and still had to drive out to the airport in traffic and wanted something that I could snack on. I don't know if they are actually healthier than any other chip but I have managed to convince myself that since they have more than one grain in them, that must count for something. Regardless, they are some of the best chips I have ever had in my life! They are still light and crispy like a tortilla chip should be but they have a lovely, almost nutty flavor to them due to the multitude of grains packed in each one. I was eating them just plain but I can only imagine how divine they would be with some salsa. I had to put the bag away before I ate them all in one sitting. SO GOOD!!!