Ok, I've ranted and raved about how much I love Chicago, but it's starting to wear on me. There is something not so awesome about getting your wallet stolen. I know, I know, this can happen in any city and frankly, I am quite stunned it hasn't happened to me already. But at the same time, c'mon Chicago - first a break up, then I bust myself on your sidewalks, and now you steal from me. You're just solidifying your place in my heart as a place I want to forget.
In all fairness to Chicago, I was at a well-lit upscale organic burger place...around 6:45 PM...with a male friend who isn't exactly muscle-y, but he could win in a fight...and I was talking and chatting...but completely sober...paying pretty close attention and not really drawing attention to myself. Yeah, doesn't that go against everything that "they" say about crimes? Shouldn't these sort of incidents occur in dark alleys, in sketchy neighborhoods, when you're alone, drunk and listening to your iPod while wandering aimlessly?
Humph. So much for my warped perception of reality.
At the end of the day, I can replace all my stuff. I had about $10 in my wallet, a few dollars in coins, an un-cashed birthday check from my grandparents, two debit cards, a bunch of membership cards, my student ID, and my driver's license. The perpetrators only got away with $600 charged to my debit card and my USB drive...I'm lucky my bank caught them. I would think most thieves would hope for more. Lucky for me, I'm a poor law student with very little money to my name and more debt than assets.
I bank with Chase and Wells Fargo. The thieves didn't get anything out of my Wells Fargo account...they must have better monitoring than Chase. Chase let them take $600 which Chase is replacing...so there is as silver lining...I guess. I am going to miss my USB drive and it's a pain in the ass to get a new student ID and driver's license. Ehhhh.
But for some reason, it still hurts. It still bothers me that someone could legitimately steal from someone else. I never have understood why or how someone could think that something they legitimately know is not theirs, should be theirs, especially hard earned money. I just feel a little hurt - not by my perpetrator, but by humanity. When did people get so greedy?
Well, on a lighter note, at least the dumb asses stole my wallet the day before pay day. Some thieves just never win. I like that. :)
P.S. I am down 17 pounds on my new diet. Woot. Woot. There's another silver lining! :)
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Embarrassment
Today I was walking south on Dearborn Street toward my apartment when my shoe got caught underneath one of the grates in the sidewalk just above the Jackson blue line entrance. I could feel it happening, but there was nothing I could do...
Suddenly I was falling. My hands couldn't even make it out in front of me before I was lying on the ground. My hands hit then my chin.
Three people ran up to me asking if I was okay. I felt okay. I could still walk. My pride was a little bruised, but everything seemed in tact.
I walked home briskly and embarrassed.
Here are the results of my fall:
My eye is bloodshot. I don't remember hitting my eye, but now it's all red and nasty looking. My chin is bruised. My knee hurts. My hands are skinned. I am a mess.
Pretty hott, right? :)
Suddenly I was falling. My hands couldn't even make it out in front of me before I was lying on the ground. My hands hit then my chin.
Three people ran up to me asking if I was okay. I felt okay. I could still walk. My pride was a little bruised, but everything seemed in tact.
I walked home briskly and embarrassed.
Here are the results of my fall:
My eye is bloodshot. I don't remember hitting my eye, but now it's all red and nasty looking. My chin is bruised. My knee hurts. My hands are skinned. I am a mess.
Pretty hott, right? :)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
An Experience
It was the first Tuesady of YMCA summer camp, May 27, 1997. I was nine years old and a recent graduate from the 4th grade. I was still getting to know the procedure of things at YMCA summer camp. So when my camp counselor reported that today we were going to spend the day at Williamson County Park or the Twin Lakes Park, I didn't think much of it. I carried my lunch box onto the bus, sat down next to my new friend, Mandy, and tried forcefully to slide the bus window down so I wouldn't melt inside the hot bus.
We arrived at the park around 10:30 AM and we all exited. The camp counselors gathered us for a game of capture the flag. I didn't really feel like running much since it was sweltering outside, just like any other summer Texas day. I watched the other kids run for the flag and I pretended to try to get the flag, but at the end of the day, I wasn't too interested.
After capture the flag we ate lunch and my camp counselor let us take a canoeing trip. We all put on life jackets and canoed around the three foot deep pond. It was nice to be under the trees and out of the sun and it was even nicer to be close to the water. Every once in a while the paddles would dip into the water splashing some up on me and I was thankful for the murky pond water on my cotton clothes.
We canoed for a bit and then my counselor decided to take us on a hike. Our entire group trudged through the desert-like trails attempting to find shade and complaining when something scratched us or when we got stickers on our socks. As we began to return to the park, Mandy told Kevin she was feeling dizzy. He immediately instructed her to drink water fearing she was suffering from dehydration.
Upon arriving back at the park, he sat her down and made her sip water while seated at a picnic table while the rest of us were instructed to play with each other until the bus arrived.
The bus didn't come. We waited. We waited some more. The sky turned gray and overcast. The air was still. The head camp counselor stood a football field away from us talking frantically on a walkie talkie. We watched her groaning at the stillness of the air. We all begged for water and a cool place to rest out of the heat. Kevin instructed us to stay seated with another camp counselor while he went to speak to the head camp counselor.
Suddenly, the head camp counselor was running toward us. Her face was a bit frantic, but everyone could tell she was attempting to stay calm. She began talking softly and slowly to Kevin and gathered the other counselors to inform them of the situation. At nine years old I could tell everything wasn't okay.
Kevin then said in a loud booming voice, "Everyone, please be quiet. I need you all to listen to me. This is very important. We are going to go down by the trail. Everyone line up and following your camp counselor." Kevin lead us to the where the trail began, a shallow but large ditch lie at the foot of the trail. He instructed everyone to put their knees on the ground, lean over and cover their head with their hands.
Some of the little kids began to complain when instructed to press their knees in the hard black pebbles on the ground. I could tell from Kevin's face and the look on our head camp counselor's face that this was very serious. Kevin then said, "Everyone lie down with your heads on the ground and we're going to sing a song. Gather close to each other."
I lied there. My knees and forehead felt like they were bleeding because I was pressing them so hard into the ground. I just wanted to stay planted there forever. I could hear the little kids crying. Suddenly the sky grew very, very dark. A siren went off. I had never heard this type of siren before but when I heard it, I knew. There was a tornado. We were taking shelter in the shallow ditch from the tornado. I couldn't even think.
My mind went blank. I had never been in a tornado before. I had never lied in a ditch before. I had never heard that sound before. I just did as I was told.
Suddenly the head camp counselor was telling us to stand and quickly run. We all looked up horrified. She was leading us through a fence into a yard. She told us to run quickly into a nearby neighbor's home. Kevin was telling us as we ran, "Hurry guys! This lady is letting us stay inside her home. Don't touch anything or break anything. When you get inside sit on the ground as far away from the windows as possible. Do you understand?"
I started running. A little girl behind me fell down. I grabbed her and picked her up and carried her into the home. She cried in my arms. She was six years old. When I looked down at her again I realized she was wearing glasses and one of her lenses was covered by red sparkle heart stickers. I then realized the reason she had stickers on the lens of her glasses was because she only had one eye.
She cried some more and I comforted her. I asked her what her name was and she told me her name was Stephanie. She sat in my lap and buried her head in my chest. I tried to soothe her.
The woman who owned the home passed out water in paper cups and we shared it. I handed some to Stephanie and then I drank some and passed it on. We sat next to her ping pong table in her game room. I tried to seat us as far away from the window as I could, but by this time there wasn't much room left in the woman's little home. The sky was very dark. I couldn't tell if it was day or night anymore.
We waited in the woman's house for a while. I am not sure how long. I lost track of time. It all felt very surreal. We sang songs to occupy the time, most of them were religious songs - this was the YMCA.
I don't know how long after that the bus arrived at the woman's house. We filed back into the bus and were told we were returning to the school that housed our YMCA program.
When we arrived back at the school my mother wasn't there. Instead my grandfather was waiting for me outside the school. I became overwhelmed with fear. He explained to me that my mom was sent home from work late because of the tornado and he was going to pick me up. He then took me back to his house where my mother arrived later.
My mother later told me that my grandfather had lied to her. She had called him asking him to pick me up from the YMCA since she was detained at work due to the tornado. My grandfather had driven up to the school that hosted my YMCA program and was told that we had taken a field trip to Williamson County Park the same area where an F-3 tornado had just hit. He was told that the YMCA couldn't send a bus to us because no one would send their drivers out into the tornado. He was told to continue checking back to see when we'd arrived.
My grandfather realized the gravity of the situation. He returned home. My mother called asking if he had picked me up from the YMCA. My mother said my grandfather sounded really strange and he said, "Oh, you know, I will. I just haven't gotten over there yet." My mother was perplexed because my grandfather is a hypochondriac when it comes to weather. My mother told him to just go pick me up already. My grandfather told my mom he would when he got a chance. My mom hung up furious but trapped at work.
But my grandfather had information my mother didn't. My grandfather knew if my mom knew I was lying in a ditch in the middle of a F-3 tornado she would have done something stupid, like driven right into the tornado to try to "save me". He lied to her and told her he hadn't been up to the school yet to pick me up because he was busy. I thank everyday for my grandfather's little white lie.
The reality of the situation is 29 people lost their lives that day. An F-5 tornado touched down in Jerrell, Texas that same day killing 27 of those people. One of those people died from the Cedar Park F-3 Tornado.
An Albertsons Grocery Store was destroyed that day. The manager of the Albertsons directed all the employees and customers to get inside the freezer located at the center of the store. The entire store was destroyed with the exclusion of the freezer. All the people inside the freezer survived.
Point A on the Map below is where the Albertsons that was destroyed. Several homes near point A were also destroyed in the Buttercup Creek Subdivision. Point B is where we lied in a ditch with our heads covered. The tornadoes path was 9.2 miles in length. We were only three miles away from the Albertsons that was destroyed.
View Larger Map
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? I guess Mother Nature was equipped to deal with the wrath of my mother. :)
We arrived at the park around 10:30 AM and we all exited. The camp counselors gathered us for a game of capture the flag. I didn't really feel like running much since it was sweltering outside, just like any other summer Texas day. I watched the other kids run for the flag and I pretended to try to get the flag, but at the end of the day, I wasn't too interested.
After capture the flag we ate lunch and my camp counselor let us take a canoeing trip. We all put on life jackets and canoed around the three foot deep pond. It was nice to be under the trees and out of the sun and it was even nicer to be close to the water. Every once in a while the paddles would dip into the water splashing some up on me and I was thankful for the murky pond water on my cotton clothes.
We canoed for a bit and then my counselor decided to take us on a hike. Our entire group trudged through the desert-like trails attempting to find shade and complaining when something scratched us or when we got stickers on our socks. As we began to return to the park, Mandy told Kevin she was feeling dizzy. He immediately instructed her to drink water fearing she was suffering from dehydration.
Upon arriving back at the park, he sat her down and made her sip water while seated at a picnic table while the rest of us were instructed to play with each other until the bus arrived.
The bus didn't come. We waited. We waited some more. The sky turned gray and overcast. The air was still. The head camp counselor stood a football field away from us talking frantically on a walkie talkie. We watched her groaning at the stillness of the air. We all begged for water and a cool place to rest out of the heat. Kevin instructed us to stay seated with another camp counselor while he went to speak to the head camp counselor.
Suddenly, the head camp counselor was running toward us. Her face was a bit frantic, but everyone could tell she was attempting to stay calm. She began talking softly and slowly to Kevin and gathered the other counselors to inform them of the situation. At nine years old I could tell everything wasn't okay.
Kevin then said in a loud booming voice, "Everyone, please be quiet. I need you all to listen to me. This is very important. We are going to go down by the trail. Everyone line up and following your camp counselor." Kevin lead us to the where the trail began, a shallow but large ditch lie at the foot of the trail. He instructed everyone to put their knees on the ground, lean over and cover their head with their hands.
Some of the little kids began to complain when instructed to press their knees in the hard black pebbles on the ground. I could tell from Kevin's face and the look on our head camp counselor's face that this was very serious. Kevin then said, "Everyone lie down with your heads on the ground and we're going to sing a song. Gather close to each other."
I lied there. My knees and forehead felt like they were bleeding because I was pressing them so hard into the ground. I just wanted to stay planted there forever. I could hear the little kids crying. Suddenly the sky grew very, very dark. A siren went off. I had never heard this type of siren before but when I heard it, I knew. There was a tornado. We were taking shelter in the shallow ditch from the tornado. I couldn't even think.
My mind went blank. I had never been in a tornado before. I had never lied in a ditch before. I had never heard that sound before. I just did as I was told.
Suddenly the head camp counselor was telling us to stand and quickly run. We all looked up horrified. She was leading us through a fence into a yard. She told us to run quickly into a nearby neighbor's home. Kevin was telling us as we ran, "Hurry guys! This lady is letting us stay inside her home. Don't touch anything or break anything. When you get inside sit on the ground as far away from the windows as possible. Do you understand?"
I started running. A little girl behind me fell down. I grabbed her and picked her up and carried her into the home. She cried in my arms. She was six years old. When I looked down at her again I realized she was wearing glasses and one of her lenses was covered by red sparkle heart stickers. I then realized the reason she had stickers on the lens of her glasses was because she only had one eye.
She cried some more and I comforted her. I asked her what her name was and she told me her name was Stephanie. She sat in my lap and buried her head in my chest. I tried to soothe her.
The woman who owned the home passed out water in paper cups and we shared it. I handed some to Stephanie and then I drank some and passed it on. We sat next to her ping pong table in her game room. I tried to seat us as far away from the window as I could, but by this time there wasn't much room left in the woman's little home. The sky was very dark. I couldn't tell if it was day or night anymore.
We waited in the woman's house for a while. I am not sure how long. I lost track of time. It all felt very surreal. We sang songs to occupy the time, most of them were religious songs - this was the YMCA.
I don't know how long after that the bus arrived at the woman's house. We filed back into the bus and were told we were returning to the school that housed our YMCA program.
When we arrived back at the school my mother wasn't there. Instead my grandfather was waiting for me outside the school. I became overwhelmed with fear. He explained to me that my mom was sent home from work late because of the tornado and he was going to pick me up. He then took me back to his house where my mother arrived later.
My mother later told me that my grandfather had lied to her. She had called him asking him to pick me up from the YMCA since she was detained at work due to the tornado. My grandfather had driven up to the school that hosted my YMCA program and was told that we had taken a field trip to Williamson County Park the same area where an F-3 tornado had just hit. He was told that the YMCA couldn't send a bus to us because no one would send their drivers out into the tornado. He was told to continue checking back to see when we'd arrived.
My grandfather realized the gravity of the situation. He returned home. My mother called asking if he had picked me up from the YMCA. My mother said my grandfather sounded really strange and he said, "Oh, you know, I will. I just haven't gotten over there yet." My mother was perplexed because my grandfather is a hypochondriac when it comes to weather. My mother told him to just go pick me up already. My grandfather told my mom he would when he got a chance. My mom hung up furious but trapped at work.
But my grandfather had information my mother didn't. My grandfather knew if my mom knew I was lying in a ditch in the middle of a F-3 tornado she would have done something stupid, like driven right into the tornado to try to "save me". He lied to her and told her he hadn't been up to the school yet to pick me up because he was busy. I thank everyday for my grandfather's little white lie.
The reality of the situation is 29 people lost their lives that day. An F-5 tornado touched down in Jerrell, Texas that same day killing 27 of those people. One of those people died from the Cedar Park F-3 Tornado.
An Albertsons Grocery Store was destroyed that day. The manager of the Albertsons directed all the employees and customers to get inside the freezer located at the center of the store. The entire store was destroyed with the exclusion of the freezer. All the people inside the freezer survived.
Point A on the Map below is where the Albertsons that was destroyed. Several homes near point A were also destroyed in the Buttercup Creek Subdivision. Point B is where we lied in a ditch with our heads covered. The tornadoes path was 9.2 miles in length. We were only three miles away from the Albertsons that was destroyed.
View Larger Map
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? I guess Mother Nature was equipped to deal with the wrath of my mother. :)
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Events from Last Night
Last night my friends, Laura and Tom, came over and we dined on a leftover Italian feast. We ate, we drank, we laughed, we watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog on Netflix, we discussed life, Texas, growing up together, living in Chicago together, etc. Laura and I went to high school together, college together and have now grown up to live and work in the same city: Chicago. Needless to say, we like to laugh about things that happened to us in high school and we like to reminisce about when we were on the Speech and Debate team together.
After dinner we headed to our friends' house. I met David and Sarah through Laura. Sarah's brother was in town so we all gathered, talked, drank some more and just enjoyed the evening. David gave me a lesson on Scotch. He had several different ones to try and they were all quite strong and delicious, but I inevitably found my favorite was also his favorite, Springbank Single Malt Scotch. I tried his Johnny Walker Blue Label, which was the most expensive of them all, but one of my least favorite. I have come to the conclusion that Scotch is a lot like owning a pair of Jimmy Choo heels. Just because they look good and are expensive, doesn't mean they are comfortable. :)
To conclude, I offer this photo of one of my work outfits from last week. I was going to do a blog post on dressing for work, but I decided that was kind of boring. So here is one of the photos I took from last week. The skirt and tank top were on sale at Target, the belt and black sleeved blouse is from New York and Company.
After dinner we headed to our friends' house. I met David and Sarah through Laura. Sarah's brother was in town so we all gathered, talked, drank some more and just enjoyed the evening. David gave me a lesson on Scotch. He had several different ones to try and they were all quite strong and delicious, but I inevitably found my favorite was also his favorite, Springbank Single Malt Scotch. I tried his Johnny Walker Blue Label, which was the most expensive of them all, but one of my least favorite. I have come to the conclusion that Scotch is a lot like owning a pair of Jimmy Choo heels. Just because they look good and are expensive, doesn't mean they are comfortable. :)
To conclude, I offer this photo of one of my work outfits from last week. I was going to do a blog post on dressing for work, but I decided that was kind of boring. So here is one of the photos I took from last week. The skirt and tank top were on sale at Target, the belt and black sleeved blouse is from New York and Company.
Monday, July 19, 2010
My New Favorite Chef!
I love the Real Housewives of New York City on Bravo. The reason I love it so much is because of one particular housewife who they just gave her own show, Bethenny Getting Married, also on Bravo. Her name is Bethenny Frankel and she's an amazing chef. She's a snarky, sarcastic, loud and brutally honest woman who is all about eating healthy natural food. You may have heard of her famous margaritas...the Skinnygirl margaritas?
Needless to say, I bought her second book The Skinnygirl Dish and I have been making recipe after recipe from it. Thus far, my most favorite dish is the Simms Wasabi Tuna Sliders. I made these while in Texas with the help of my cousin Macey and my mom and they are DELICIOUS! Both Macey and my mom asked for the recipe so I have decided to write out the recipe for you to enjoy since the Skinnygirl herself recommended it and it is quite delicious and nutritious.
Simms Wasabi Tuna Sliders
Serves 10-15 - Use whole wheat slider buns.
Needless to say, I bought her second book The Skinnygirl Dish and I have been making recipe after recipe from it. Thus far, my most favorite dish is the Simms Wasabi Tuna Sliders. I made these while in Texas with the help of my cousin Macey and my mom and they are DELICIOUS! Both Macey and my mom asked for the recipe so I have decided to write out the recipe for you to enjoy since the Skinnygirl herself recommended it and it is quite delicious and nutritious.
Simms Wasabi Tuna Sliders
Serves 10-15 - Use whole wheat slider buns.
- 1.5 cups minced scallions
- 3 teaspons minced garlic
- 2 and 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 pounds tuna steak, cut into chunks (warning, this is a lot of tuna)
- 6 tablespoons wasabi paste
- 3 teaspons grated fresh ginger (I left this off, I hate ginger)
- 6 teaspons Dijon mustard
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 10-15 small buns or rolls - whole wheat
- Combine the scallions, garlic, cilantro, and soy sauce into a bowl and mix until incorporated. Mix in the tuna until combined. Add wasabi paste, ginger, mustard, salt, and pepper. (I put all this stuff in a food processor and it made the whole thing a lot easier - I highly recommend.)
- Using an ice-cream scoop (or your hands), make burgers out of the mixture. Place them on a plate and chill in the refrigerator for 30 mins.
- Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet ove rmedium-high heat. Add the tuna sliders and saute for 5 minutes on each side. Serve on r olls with Pickled Ginger Relish. (I hate pickled ginger, so we didn't add this, instead we garnished with our own toppings).
- 3 cucumbers peeled, cut in half lengthwise and very thinly sliced
- 3 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 6 tablespoons fresh chopped pickled ginger
- 3/4 cup rice vinegar
- Salt and Pepper to test
- In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine all the ingredients.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Two Weeks Until Freedom
My final exam in the class from hell, Professional Responsibility, is next Monday. What that really means is I will no longer have to sit through a class that teaches "ethics" to "liars"...Oops, I meant "lawyers". hahaha.
Here are just a few basic rules that lawyers clearly can't wrap their heads around without the help of an entire three credit course:
- Don't have sex with your clients. Example: Self-Explanatory
- Don't steal your clients' money. Example: Skimming money off the top of your client's trust fund to pay personal expenses = not okay.
- Don't seek out clients at funerals. Example: Grandpa dies, visit grandson to tell him how he is getting screwed out of his inheritance by his mother.
- Don't pressure clients to be your clients. Example: Visiting a woman who was just in a car accident at the hospital in an attempt to earn her business is not okay.
- Don't "borrow" money from your clients' trusts. Example: Taking money from your client's trust and thinking you will pay it back within a few hours, so it's not a big deal...still not okay.
- Don't tell your clients you are going to do something and not do it. Example: "I filed your petition last week" When in reality you don't even remember what you promised your client you'd file...really NOT okay.
- Call your clients back when they call you. Example: Self-Explanatory.
- Don't put your client's money in your bank account until you've earned it. Example: Your client writes you a retainer check for your services and you put it directly in your personal account and buy a new car with it. The ABA isn't going to like that. Nope.
- A lawyer cannot represent two opposing parties in litigation. Example: "Counselor who do you represent?" asks the Judge. "Your honor, I represent Mr. Smith AND Mrs. Smith in this divorce proceeding". Uhhhhh, yeah, really not okay.
And so on...
My teacher explained rather articulately that the reason "Professional Responsibility" exists is because many attorneys when faced with the possibility of losing their bar license for violating one of these common sense rules would claim ignorance.
We all know, ignorance of the law is not an excuse. So just to make it clear to every new lawyer out there that the Bar Association meant business, they enacted the most mindless and ridiculous course ever imagined and they named it "Professional Responsibility".
Now every "forgetful" lawyer can't claim ignorance because he or she sat through this hellish class and learned all the rules.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Netflix Love
So, I know I am late on the ball. But I've just fallen in love with Netflix. I love that I can send submit a DVD to my "queue' and have it the next day. I love that I can stream my favorite TV shows and DVDs to my computer or get this...Wii! Which means I can have my favorite TV shows and DVD on my TV! Yeah, no computer required!
Ok, I know, I know. You've all known this for like what...years!? Well, I'm really late to learn the amazingness of Netflix.
Not only am I the last person on earth to actually use Netflix, I have also just discovered the awesomeness of iChat. Okay, in all fairness to me...I always knew I could chat with my friends, etc. But I just introduced my mom to a webcam and now she and I are talking via the iChat webcam feature thousands of miles away!
Did I mention I love Apple? :)
Ok, I know, I know. You've all known this for like what...years!? Well, I'm really late to learn the amazingness of Netflix.
Not only am I the last person on earth to actually use Netflix, I have also just discovered the awesomeness of iChat. Okay, in all fairness to me...I always knew I could chat with my friends, etc. But I just introduced my mom to a webcam and now she and I are talking via the iChat webcam feature thousands of miles away!
Did I mention I love Apple? :)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
A Birthday Celebration in Texas
To begin, for those of you who don't know...I recently went through a break up. Prior to this break up I had picked out a lovely necklace from Tiffany's I had wanted my then-boyfriend to purchase for me for my birthday. Needless to say, I determined that the best option for this beautiful gift was for me, the hard working law student and law clerk, to put some of that hard earned money to good use on the necklace I wanted. So, I bought the necklace as a birthday present to myself. It's the Eva Peretti Bean necklace which I wanted because it reminds me of "the Bean" in Millennium Park in Chicago.
My family and I gathered for a great time over the Fourth of July weekend which also coincides with my birthday. So, I flew in from Chicago and met up with my family for a "camp out" in New Braunfels, Texas.
We spent the weekend playing foosball, volleyball, the game kind of like horse-shoes that I can't remember the name of right now, swimming, hot tubing, dancing and singing to karaoke, camping in the rain and eating way too much food. My family is big on food. We always over prepare, over-pack and overeat everything in sight. There is a joke in my family that when we gather, all we really do is "eat".
For example, on the Friday when we arrived, my aunt and uncle had already prepared a large brisket that was so tender and juicy it fell off the bone and melted (literally!) in my mouth! The rest of the weekend we pigged out on fajitas, mexican casseroles, hot dogs, fried green tomatoes, fried okra, Blue Bell ice cream and a ton of other calorie intensive but delicious meals.
Fried Green Tomatoes!
After the eventful July 4th weekend, it didn't seem anything could top that for me. Before arriving in Texas, I hadn't been around my whole family in a long time. I saw them last on Memorial Day but only for three days. Before that, I hadn't visited my family since Christmas. So, to spend a week and a half with my entire family was extremely exciting to me.
For my birthday, my mom and I went to my favorite Mexican food restaurant, Cantina Laredo in downtown Austin. We stuffed ourselves with "Top Shelf Guacamole", margaritas, brisket tacos and way too much of their delicious chips and salsa. Then my mom and I bought a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake (Cookies and Cream) which I secretly adore and we celebrated my "birth-day" together. Here is a photo of me with my cake. We didn't have any candles, so my mom improvised with a lit match. :)
After celebrating with my mom, I spent the night with my best friend in the entire world, Jenn. We went to my favorite wine bar in Austin, Corks & Company and ate tons of cheese and drank delicious wine. We also went to the Arab Cowboy, a hookah bar in Austin, where we lounged with friends and laughed the rest of the night away. The first is a photo of my friend, Moe and me. He is American soldier who lived in Iraq for a great deal of his life. The second is a photo of my best friend, Jenn, and me.
On Thursday I went to visit the family I used to babysit for. The mother of the family is also known in the online world as Vetommy. Jennifer, the "Vetmommy", made us a lovely dinner and the kids, Anna (9 year old), Colin (7 years old) and I played all sorts of fun games, like "Doctor" and each of them showed me all their collection of goodies. When I first started watching Anna and Colin, Anna was three years old and Colin was 18 months old! It really makes me feel old when Colin asked before bed if he could read me a book! Jennifer and Anthony (Dad of the family) then stayed up laughing, talking, drinking lots of delicious cabernet sauvignon and eating peach gelato! If you want the recipe, here is a link to Jennifer's post all about her delicious gelato!
On Friday my 21+ cousin, Jenn, and I went to Highball, a great bar that hosts karaoke parties, bowling parties, and includes a restaurant and dance floor. We sang the night away in our own private karaoke room (which was a blast!) and then went to Players, where we played pool. At the end of the night, we all went over to my cousin Darrell's and his wife, Pina's, house. We stayed up late playing Farkle and laughing.
The rest of the weekend my mom and I spent buying her a new big screen TV! My mom is officially "Hooked Up". She bought a brand new 46" LCD Samsung TV and it's so clear and crisp. When I arrived home in Chicago, I took one look at my 36" flatscreen and was bummed! But then again, there's a reason she's the mom and I'm the daughter. :)
My mom and I spent our last few nights stuffing ourselves with Mexican food (which I think my mom is totally sick of now) and watching our favorite movies like The Family Stone, Rambo 4, and some new favorites, like 16 Blocks and A Perfect Getaway. We also searched high and low for the perfect summer sandals and shopped all our favorite discount treasures like T.J. Maxx, Big Lots, Nordstrom Rack, Marshalls, etc.
My mom and I were really excited to see a new movie by Sylvester Stallone is coming out with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. We love action movies and we secretly love Sylvester Stallone, okay, it's not so secret. Here is a trailer for the new movie called "The Expendables"! Doesn't it look awesome!? Not sure why it is going off the page...
Needless to say, returning to my life of school, work and less play was a total bummer. I was so sad to leave Texas and all my family and friends. I wish I could express to you all how much I miss you. It's hard being away, but I know sometimes we have to make sacrifices to follow our dreams. I love Chicago, but I miss Austin. I know one day I'll have the opportunity to move back and I hope whatever decision I make, it will be the best one for me.
A photo of my new neckalce...hard to see.
My mom and me!
My family and I gathered for a great time over the Fourth of July weekend which also coincides with my birthday. So, I flew in from Chicago and met up with my family for a "camp out" in New Braunfels, Texas.
We spent the weekend playing foosball, volleyball, the game kind of like horse-shoes that I can't remember the name of right now, swimming, hot tubing, dancing and singing to karaoke, camping in the rain and eating way too much food. My family is big on food. We always over prepare, over-pack and overeat everything in sight. There is a joke in my family that when we gather, all we really do is "eat".
For example, on the Friday when we arrived, my aunt and uncle had already prepared a large brisket that was so tender and juicy it fell off the bone and melted (literally!) in my mouth! The rest of the weekend we pigged out on fajitas, mexican casseroles, hot dogs, fried green tomatoes, fried okra, Blue Bell ice cream and a ton of other calorie intensive but delicious meals.
Fried Green Tomatoes!
After the eventful July 4th weekend, it didn't seem anything could top that for me. Before arriving in Texas, I hadn't been around my whole family in a long time. I saw them last on Memorial Day but only for three days. Before that, I hadn't visited my family since Christmas. So, to spend a week and a half with my entire family was extremely exciting to me.
On Monday my mom, grandma and I went shopping. My mom totally splurged on me and bought me three beautiful dresses and the cutest top. She's really excited for me that I've been losing weight and she wanted to buy me some new clothes in my new size! By the way, I'm down a dress size which is so exciting!
My new birthday dress I wore to my birthday lunch with my mom!
For my birthday, my mom and I went to my favorite Mexican food restaurant, Cantina Laredo in downtown Austin. We stuffed ourselves with "Top Shelf Guacamole", margaritas, brisket tacos and way too much of their delicious chips and salsa. Then my mom and I bought a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake (Cookies and Cream) which I secretly adore and we celebrated my "birth-day" together. Here is a photo of me with my cake. We didn't have any candles, so my mom improvised with a lit match. :)
Happy 23rd Birthday!
After celebrating with my mom, I spent the night with my best friend in the entire world, Jenn. We went to my favorite wine bar in Austin, Corks & Company and ate tons of cheese and drank delicious wine. We also went to the Arab Cowboy, a hookah bar in Austin, where we lounged with friends and laughed the rest of the night away. The first is a photo of my friend, Moe and me. He is American soldier who lived in Iraq for a great deal of his life. The second is a photo of my best friend, Jenn, and me.
Moe and Me at Arab Cowboy
Me and Jenn at Arab Cowboy
On Friday my 21+ cousin, Jenn, and I went to Highball, a great bar that hosts karaoke parties, bowling parties, and includes a restaurant and dance floor. We sang the night away in our own private karaoke room (which was a blast!) and then went to Players, where we played pool. At the end of the night, we all went over to my cousin Darrell's and his wife, Pina's, house. We stayed up late playing Farkle and laughing.
This is Matt, my cousin, trying to keep up with the rap song he chose to sing! Poor choice Matt!
Jenn takes a bite out of her brownie sundae.
Pina, Darrell's wife, tries to sing along to her country song.
Darrell laughs as he tries to keep up with his song. He said, "Don't they know I can't read!"
Jenn and I sang together a song I didn't even know...of course, I made it work! :)
Darrell and I posed for a photo at Player, Pina demanded he try to keep his eyes open!
Pina gets ready to break!
Jenn and I posed for a photo at Players.
The rest of the weekend my mom and I spent buying her a new big screen TV! My mom is officially "Hooked Up". She bought a brand new 46" LCD Samsung TV and it's so clear and crisp. When I arrived home in Chicago, I took one look at my 36" flatscreen and was bummed! But then again, there's a reason she's the mom and I'm the daughter. :)
My mom and I spent our last few nights stuffing ourselves with Mexican food (which I think my mom is totally sick of now) and watching our favorite movies like The Family Stone, Rambo 4, and some new favorites, like 16 Blocks and A Perfect Getaway. We also searched high and low for the perfect summer sandals and shopped all our favorite discount treasures like T.J. Maxx, Big Lots, Nordstrom Rack, Marshalls, etc.
My mom and I were really excited to see a new movie by Sylvester Stallone is coming out with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. We love action movies and we secretly love Sylvester Stallone, okay, it's not so secret. Here is a trailer for the new movie called "The Expendables"! Doesn't it look awesome!? Not sure why it is going off the page...
Needless to say, returning to my life of school, work and less play was a total bummer. I was so sad to leave Texas and all my family and friends. I wish I could express to you all how much I miss you. It's hard being away, but I know sometimes we have to make sacrifices to follow our dreams. I love Chicago, but I miss Austin. I know one day I'll have the opportunity to move back and I hope whatever decision I make, it will be the best one for me.
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