Lovely Weekend

Lets bring everyone up to current time. In my last post I was about to go on a trip with Lisa. Well, we did and we had a very lovely time. As a result of the trip we decided to give dating a try. Well, it has been a month and it is going well. I got some money back from my taxes and I decided to show Lisa a good time in the City Saturday night. I got us a room at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. I made dinner reservations at Bin 36. Dinner was wonderful. The food was great and the wine flights were pretty good too. It seemed to be the perfect restaurant for Lisa and I. We then went and saw "Rubbed" the musical. It was pretty funny. After stopping at starbucks for some coffee we headed back to our room on the 33rd floor of the Hyatt. The room was very lovely. When we got back to our room I gave Lisa a card and gift. I bought her a pink saphire and diamond ring. She loves rings and it seemed like the perfect gift. After sleeping in today we went for brunch at Bar louie and now we are back at her place. It was so nice to get away......even if it was for just 24hours.

Trip

I just realized i haven't blogged since the beginning of the month. wow, time flies and boy has a lot been going on in my life. Don't have time to talk about all of it so i will hit the highlights. It has been a busy month with my birthday and then jr's birthday. My family came into town a few weekends ago and i had a good time with my sisters. Last weekend I just stayed in. I spent practically all weekend at Lisa's which is always a fun and relaxing time. And now this weekend i am getting out of Chicago. Lisa and I have planned a trip to Lake Geneva and then to Milwaukee. I am really looking forward to spending a long weekend away. The last time I took a trip was last July. I would say I am due. I will try to blog when i get back.

weekend in iowa

Just got back from Iowa. I went home this weekend to see my dad. Not sure if I mentioned it or not but he has been in the hospital. His kidney's finally failed and he had to start dialysis. I am very happy that there is a such thing as dialysis. I spent the weekend just relaxing at my parents. My dad is feeling a little better and at least he has his color back but he is still very weak. I spent time talking to my parents about a transplant. My parents have filled out all the paperwork for a transplant so now it becomes a waiting game. My dad will not get better without a kidney transplant, although he can survive for awhile on dialysis. My mom is also going to check into how family members can get tested. One of my sisters and I already said we would give our kidney but my mom doesn't want that. I understand her reasoning but there is no harm in knowing if we would be a match, just in case. So, needless to say the weekend was a bit intense. I am glad to be back home but not ready for work tomorrow.

President Obama!

Sure, life is busy. Have a review at work, dad is in the hospital, trying to build a relationship, hanging out with friends, ex is moving back from Texas. All this and more is going on in my life but those will be in later blogs. Today I want to talk about what everyone else is talking about and that is President Obama. I worked like most Americans today so I was not able to watch it on TV but I did listen to most of it on the radio. I really like Obama and today was a very historic moment. Now, lets turn to the task he has at hand. The economy is in the dumps and everyone is looking to him to bring it out. Can he do it? I believe he can but it is going to take time. I think some think Obama is going to perform miracles and fast. Don't count on it. Yes, I believe he will bring about change in this country but give him some time. All, good things take time to come together and be successful. What do you think?

Happy New Year!

I am so happy it is 2009. Overall 2008 was a tough year and I am glad to have it behind me. I have hope for a good 2009. I should get you all caught up on the holidays and life's events lately. As you know I went home for Christmas this year. It was a rough Christmas for many reasons. I couldn't help but reminisce about the previous couple of Christmas's i spent with Caitlin which of course made me sad. Also, this was the first Christmas I spend at home since my grandparents passed away. This was also very sad and hard on me. I was determined to have a good Christmas which almost got shattered when my mom had to rush my dad to the hospital Christmas morning. My dad's health has been deteriorating over the last few years and we have been concerned. We weren't sure what was wrong when mom took him to the hospital other than he was having sharp pains in his stomach. After lots of tests mom called a few hours later and gave us good news. It was a kidney stone. Although it was very large and would probably have to be surgically removed it was not life threatening. By the time they got back from the hospital mid afternoon I had Christmas dinner all ready. We ate and then opened gifts. I spent the next few days relaxing, playing games with my sisters, knitting and thinking about my life. I guess I had reached such a sad point a Christmas that I knew I needed to do something about my life. I did lots of soul searching and healing. I was determined to bring in this new year with a different attitude and outlook on my life.

I arrived back to Chicago on the 28th without jr. He wanted to stay at Grandma and Grandpas for the rest of his vacation. I had to go back to work on Monday. I had a very busy week at work. I had lots of end of the year paperwork I had to do. I have heard other administrators complain about the amounts of paperwork they have to do but i don't mind. I actually like the paperwork. For New Years Eve I stayed home. I was going to go bowling with friends but waited to long to buy the tickets. I don't think I have ever spent New Years Eve by myself before. Although I wished I could have had someone to kiss I was happy spending sometime by myself. Me time is something I look forward to, since I don't get a lot of it. New Years day I went out to dinner with Lisa and other friends. It was nice. We went to the Icosium Kafe and I brought my champagne I didn't drink from the night before and we also had wine. I love those savory crepes. They are so good! I had a crepe filled with mixed greens, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, sun dried tomato tapenade, grilled chicken, pistachios, fresh basil and grape oil and balsamic vinegar. Yummy!

Today I went to pick Jr. up and my friend Kat tagged along. It was nice to spend time with her and she loves the Indigo girls so we listened and sang along to them. Jr. is back home now and having lots of fun in the tub at the moment. I need to end this and get him out so I can go get in the tub myself. I nice relaxing bath is just what I need!