Step One: Add Gasoline, and Lots of It

Greetings. So I had the fortune (I am not sure if it was good or bad) of hanging out with Brian J this past weekend and it happened to lead to one of the funniest things that I have ever seen.

First, I will start a little history. For those of us who are in the know, Mr. J has had a long standing history of keeping his garage stocked with beverages. This supply was affectionately referred to as The Stash back in our youth and some people consistently tried to persuade Brian to dip into The Stash to quench their thirsts. (By the way, if anyone has a craving for Diet Rite, I'm pretty sure I saw at least twenty twelve packs in their garage this weekend. I know Joel will let you have a can or two if you pay him a visit.) Of course, Brian never obliged any of the requests and alternate methods were used to quench the thirst of the people in question.

Well, this past weekend, Brian was in town to help Mr. J clean out the garage and Mar and I were the lucky beneficiaries of a couple cases of wine. One red, one white and of course, a box of Franzia which I will keep for a special day. During the cleaning out of the garage, there were several treasures that were found, including a priceless hubcap from the Beast. Let me tell you, that thing is heavy as hell. Please keep this part a secret because Mar has yet to see it and I plan on hanging it up somewhere.

Another nugget that was found was the model house that Brian made for an industrial arts class in junior high. I am pretty sure that all of us made these houses and have them somewhere. I actually came across mine not too long ago. After finding it, Brian was getting ready to toss it in the trash heap when Mr. J just looked at him and said, "Wanna burn it?"

Brian's family now has a fire pit, so Brian just shrugged and went along. The three of us headed to the backyard and tossed the house into the fire pit, which is where things get interesting. Mr. J went to the shed and retrieved a gas canister and proceeded to douse the house in gasoline. When I say douse, I mean douse. He was probably pouring gas on this thing for a good ten to fifteen seconds. After making sure the house was bathed in gas, he handed a book of matches to Brian and simply nodded towards the fire pit. Brian, in his infinite wisdom, got as close as he could to the fire and tossed in a match. The image to the right is pretty much what I saw. It was totally hilarious. Brian instantly threw up his arms and jumped back as he attempted to shield himself from the flames. He then looked at us with a look of bewilderment as if he was not expecting that sort of reaction from something that had been drenched in gasoline. After recovering from my fit of laughter I simply asked him why he got so close and his response was mostly gibberish but equated to the fact that he was not expecting the reaction that he got.

It was a truly hilarious moment and I wish that I would have recorded it or possibly recreate it for you sometime in the future. So in short, if you ever need to burn a model house that you built while in junior high school, Step One is to add gasoline, and lots of it.

Will Anyone Volunteer to Oil Down Andrew Before Each Shift?

Hello everyone. I know it has been awhile, but I had a moment of Zen a couple of days ago and that inspired me to write this post. Although I am not sure what made me think of this topic, I am glad that I did because it put a smile on my face.

The title of this post of course eludes to the dream that we all had eleven long years ago of starting our own restaurant and calling it Ivan's Inferno. If you do not recall this idea, here is a brief reminder. Once again, I do not know what started this concept, but for awhile, we talked about it quite a bit. The restaurant is supposed to be placed at the bottom of a ski hill (for some reason I want to say it will be in Colorado) and feature a deck that our patrons can ski up to after a nice day of hitting the slopes. The exact layout of the inside of the restaurant eludes me, but I do know that there was supposed to be a stage and at least two bars set up with tables in between.

Here are the roles of the people who are going to work at the inferno:

Christopher- Manager/Host. Since I have the gift of gab, I am going to circle the facility making sure our guests are entertained and having a good time.

Megan & Laura- Cocktail Servers. Looking back on this makes me feel a little bad since it is so gender biased, but that is what we came up with. However, I know both ladies are more than capable of this role.

Danny- Bartender. This was a given in those days. Let's just hope that in the name of profits, Danny will not pour with such a heavy hand when serving our patrons.

Todd- DJ. Once again, this seems like a natural fit. Just make sure you go easy on playing the Less Than Jake

John. Cook. If memory serves, which could be wrong, John was going to be behind the scenes making our delectable menu.

Brian C. - Bar Fly. Need I say more.

Brian J.- Finances. Who knew this would be such an accurate pick all those years ago.

Andrew- Bouncer. This is where the oiling comes in. The oiling will be a thankless job and not pay much, but someone has to do it.

Tony- N/A. I am not sure that Anthony was involved in this plan, but by the looks of it, we could use a couple of people to serve as our wait staff. Given the nimble hands that you have, you would be perfect for this position.

I know this sounds crazy, but what else would you expect from some bored high school. If nothing else, this was a fun memory from the times when we were care free and allowed to dream up such hair brained ideas. But who knows, The Inferno may come to be after all, only time will tell. Any suggestions about improvements or if anyone would like to join our ragtag team of misfits, please contact me and I will forward you an application.

FIVE DAYS.

It's crazy this whole wedding thing. It's totally brought some of the best and for sure some of the worst out of Chris and myself. I cannot believe that we will be married in FIVE DAYS. It's totally one of those things that you envision not only when your small (and maybe not all of you...but I did), but even back to when we got engaged last May. I feel like it was SO long ago, and we are now only FIVE DAYS away. We're pretty much done. :) Chris has been a lifesaver, I won't lie...I guess I'm pretty lucky! Even though he can drive me up a freakin' wall while he's in the middle of saving my life. :)

FIVE DAYS! Can't wait to see you all!!

Kind of lame post, but I had to blabber about it somewhere other than facebook. :)

Just Wondering....

Why in the heck Chris always gets more comments on his posts that I do. I might start having to take this personally.

26 Days!!!

So, I'm just in the mood to type a bit before I hit the sack. Ramble on and on for a bit.... I guess y'all can enjoy my bit of wedding mumbo-jumbo.

I cannot believe that we are getting married in 26 days. 26 days!!!!!

This whole process has been kinda crazy. I've learned a lot about myself during this process. For example, it turns out I'm not that great of a decision maker when put on the spot, Chris will have plenty of stories to fill you in on -- you probably won't even have to ask! I mean, I can decide on important things, like the cake, there was no problem. :) Have me choose wood for plant stands that my dad is going to make, yeah...not the easiest. Partially because I'm too laid back! I'm like eh, use whatever! Or, eh, do whatever is easiest! Turns out when your planning a wedding people don't really like to have those types of responses. Another fun thing that I do is if a decision has been made I often like to add "a little something extra" on or switch my original thought or...yeah, you get the point. Oh, I've also learned how I really do procrastinate on things, and how my procrastination can totally affect others. I'm sure there are other things that I've learned as well, but those are a few that surfaced to the top of my brain right now. :)

What else...OH, I'm still having some crazy anxiety over changing my last name. Which I NEVER thought I'd have an issue with. When I was younger I was all ready to ditch my last name. But I don't know...now that it'll actually happen, it's just a weird concept for me to grasp and really think that I won't be Ms. B. to the kiddies. Mrs. O? Yeah, doesn't quite have the same ring to it. There won't be any hyphenating...I'll get over it, it's just weird.

Hm....all of the big stuff has been set in stone for awhile now, and now that we're in the final stretch we've got all these crappy little things that we've got to do now. Like pick ceremony music. Sounds like fun!? Eh, it's all right...all of the ceremony music is so cheesy. So not me. So not Chris. SEATING. We'll see how that pans out. I'm thinking that it'll be a big task. Fingers crossed it'll just fall into place?!

Getting response cards is SUPER fun! We're totally digging that! Makes checking the mail way fun.

My last dress fitting was Sunday the fifth. Everything went splendidly. I really love my dress. I'm actually contemplating wearing it all day August 2nd.

As we've been pulling photos together for our slide show it really made me realize a few things:

1) 8 years = a LOT of pictures

2) we've got some GREAT pictures

3) we've all had some truly GREAT times together over the years

4) we both have the best groups of friends ever.

And with number three and four being stated, I cannot wait to get married to the man that I love SO much in front of all of our best friends and our family. We are so, so, so, so lucky. Words can't even describe. I'm so excited! Can't wait to see all of your smiling faces in. . . 26 days!!!

The Day the State of Gary Lost Their King of Pop

I entirely expect to be lambasted for this post, but so be it. My hometown of Gary, Indiana lost perhaps our most popular son today with the passing of Michael Jackson. Now I will not pretend to be Michael's biggest fan, but I do enjoy his music. Even though he has come across hard times these last few years, his impact on music in undeniable. I am sure that some of you might remember my post about the 25th anniversary of the Thriller album last year, so I will not bore you with the details of his success. Brian and I often joked about buying plane tickets to London to catch all of his fifty comeback shows, and I have to admit that part of me is a little sad that I won't ever have the chance to see him in person. Go ahead and heckle me, but I know that all of you are waiting for Anthony to do the Thriller dance in it's entirety at the wedding, so there is a little bit of Michael Jackson fandom in all of us.

Can't Nobody Hold Me Down

I'm back. This message will be short, but stay tuned for a flurry of updates following my absence due to coaching, wedding planning, birthday celebrating and suffering through this miserable Cubs season. Oh yeah, and do not think that I forgot to discuss the Battlestar Galacatica finale, it has several posts coming up. Well, as I said, this will be short so enjoy your day and make sure you check out Wilco's performance on Conan last night. It was awesome.

*sigh*

Just keeping you all posted...I didn't make it on to the second round of interviews out in Oak Park. I had already assumed as much, only because I hadn't heard anything back, however, I got the kind letter in the mail yesterday. I'm super bummed, sad and disappointed. I know that everything happens for a reason...and I know that something is bound to come around. It just sort of really sucks.

*sigh*

Anyway, just keeping you all in the loop.

On The Work Front...

Last night I became aware (due to the incredibly confused looks on Jill and Tony's faces) that I never posted a little tid-bit about me getting a job to finish off the school year.  :)

I got a job to finish off the school year. :)

I started mid-April and I'm working at an elementary school.  I work with six students, five are either first or second graders and one is a fourth grader.  They are all on the autistic spectrum.  Two are non-verbal.  It's been a great challenge for me!

It's pretty out of my comfort zone, because when I went to school I knew that I didn't want to work in the lower elementary grades.  Why you may ask?  "oh, they're so cute..."  blah blah blah.  While that's true, they are freakin' adorable, they also pee, have tons of snot, and cry--for no good reason.  Now, I realize that all students do this, but when they are that young it happens so spontaneously, and you have to stop what you are doing and address those nuances.  I'm not a super big fan of that--well, I'm not a big fan of that going on in the classroom.

:)  Again, it's been great.  I've been really lucky to work with these kids.  They are wonderful. I'll be sad to leave them as well.  It'd be hard for me to do this for a full year though.  It is good for a temporary fix of getting into a district, maybe it'll lead to a teaching job or me working in the middle school.  Never know!

Um...I had an interview out in Addison a few months back.  That didn't pan out (I'm thinking because I'm not bilingual).  I have an interview out in Oak Park on Tuesday, which I'm totally stoked for!  When we went to the ISU job fair, Oak Park was one of the districts that I spoke with and LOVED.  I'm really quite excited for this interview...a) because I got an interview b) because I liked the district and c) I got an interview!! :)  So, we'll see what happens!  

A Dream House

This is pretty random post I know, but a friend showed me, and now I have to share. I love it. Enjoy!

The Last Home Game for the Coaches...

...getting what they deserved!

PS-- Sorry it's not the best quality.  We still haven't found the camera battery charger and my phone takes crappy, tiny, blurry pictures. :)  

Coach Ortiz!

As many of you know the word on the street, Chris has taken on another responsibility at Hinsdale Central this year, coaching.  He the "assistant coach" for girls water polo.  The way that it has worked out is Chris is the "head coach" of the JV team, while the "head coach" is the "head coach" of the varsity team.  While they both interact with each level, ultimately they get their respective "final say" in calling the shots.  I hope that made sense. :/

Chris has done *such* a wonderful job with the girls.  They adore him. :)  I've been to quite a few games this season and they listen with intent when he speaks to them!  You can see the passion on the girls faces for the game and they really look to him for direction.  It's amazing how far they've come this season too!  Just ask Chris how AWESOME his girls looked while playing Lyons Township on Saturday!  Whew!  They rocked it out!  I was proud of them!  

Probably the most important piece of information *in Coach's opinion* he has given the girls has been about BSG.  Yes, you've guess it.  He's even wormed that Battlestar Galactica crap into their fresh and innocent minds. :)  No joke.  But, they love it!  They even decided to get tee-shirts made with BSG nicknames on them.  They call Coach "Admiral" and they give him some salute.  Yeah...maybe the line has been crossed? :) I'll let Coach explain further on this topic. 

I don't want to get too into detail about Coach's season.  I'm sure there will be a very informative blog about it coming up.  Especially because the season is winding down.  However, I'm really proud of Chris.  Really proud.  He's done *such* a wonderful job.  I just hope a job opens for him at Hinsdale because he loves it so very much there.  Coaching only adds to it.  While I haven't been too thrilled about the time coaching has taken up (I mean, I understand...but it sure does monopolize time!), I am absolutely thrilled Chris has gained so much from this experience.  

Needless to say, our camera battery charger has been MIA for months so I have yet to take any pictures!  HOWEVER, Rosa joined us at a tournament at York High School and took some great pictures on her phone!  So,  here you all go, a few pictures of the Coach!  Coach Ortiz!  Live!  In action!

York High School Tournament

York High School Tournament

The ol' stomping grounds: NNHS 

(and quite possibly the worst place to watch a water polo game...)

Just To Make Chris Happy. . .Part II:

I get a call from my manager around 9:00 am.  asking me to go pick up some product from the Naperville Chili's.  My phone was randomly turned off.  I *rarely* turn my phone off at night.  Well, I didn't get the call from my manager until approximately thirty minutes before I had to be at work.  So, I give him a call, he says it's fine if I'm late, because we need the product.  Realistically, I was only going to be about ten or fifteen minutes late.  

I jumped in the car and drove off to the Naperville Chili's.  Got the goods, drove back to the Wheaton store.  Get into work and the place was crazy busy!!  It was a Monday lunch so this was EXTREMELY odd.  I was like, go figure!  I am late and I miss out on all of these tables!!  Even though I missed out on the early round of tables, I still made pretty good money -- especially for it being a Monday lunch.  

I walk out to my car and go to start it.  

Nothing.

Try it again.

Nothing.

I groaned.  Why did I groan?  *sigh*

Now, I knew that I was driving on low gas, but I was pretty sure that I'd be fine.  What I didn't in factor in was driving to Naperville before my shift at work.  

My car did not start because I allowed it to completely run out of gas.    

Yes, Chris came in and saved the day!! On his first day of spring break (which he reminded me repeatedly)!!  

So...here you go my love!  Just to make you happy!! :)

Alrighty... feel free, let the berating begin. :)

Just To Make Chris Happy. . .Part I:

SO, the keys have been found.  Yes.  They were found about a week later and $15 dollars later (after I made three sets of new condo keys).  Where were they found?  I'm sure you're all just DYING to know.

My dad and his wife had a 2nd birthday party for my half brother at this place called Odyssey Fun Zone (or something like that).  For the locals, it's right off of 88 and 59 behind the Carmax.  It's something like a Chuck E. Cheese/Show Biz Pizza/Enchanted Castle but in a larger building, with games and rides that really range from 2 - 14.  The 14 is sort of pushing it, unless they're there for the old out-dated arcade video games,  Laser Tag or Paintball.  Needless to say, Chris and I were walking in and he promptly hands me his keys.  I of course looked at him and said (as I've said numerous times over the years), "Is it so hard to  keep your keys with you . . .  in your pocket?!"  Chris just looked at me with a sheepish grin (as he has done for years) and then proceeded to open my purse and toss his keys in on the top.  

Well, we then ate some greasy pizza, drank some soda and then went on to play some games.  I kicked Christopher's little booty at air hockey.  Woooo woooo!!  

Moving right along.  I then had to go use the little girls room.  Chris waited for me outside the door.  As I exited I decided to plop my purse on a the vacant paintball registration counter to fish out a piece of gum.  AT THAT TIME I MUST HAVE ACCIDENTALLY LEFT CHRISTOPHER'S KEYS (WHICH SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN MY PURSE TO BEGIN WITH) ON THIS VACANT COUNTER.

Apparently this joint is closed Monday - Wednesday to top it all off.  So when I tried to call them to see if they had the keys, I couldn't get through.  Chris finally got through to them and we picked them up about a week after the "incident."

So that's the whole story.  Chris has been all over me to blog about this.  However, I feel that this could be up for some good debate.  Who's fault is it really??  ;)  

So, here ya go Chris!!  :)  Just to make you happy!

New United Nations Member

So, I know that most of you think that I am a little overly obsessed with a little show called Battlestar Galactica, but here is further evidence that I am not as crazy as most of you think. Tonight, the United Nations will be hosting a forum dedicated to the show. This forum will feature Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell (Admr. William Adama and President Laura Roslin, respectively), as they answer questions and analysis of and about the show and its prominent themes about war, torture and human rights. Also featured will be the creators and writers of the seminal show. To top all of this off, super-fan Whopi Goldberg will host. Here is a link to a cool article about the forum.

The Story of Christopher's Life. . .

AH.  This will be brief.  While I love Chris with all of my mind, heart, and soul,  it absolutely drives me up a wall that he loses his keys on a regular basis.  How regular you may ask?  Hm, at least once a week, sometimes twice.  One of the best parts about him losing his keys now. . .he has both sets.  Yup.  So after he published his "33" post, he decided to come to bed and then realized that he didn't know where his keys went.  Needless to say, he's looking all around the condo right now as I type this.  Not to worry folks, I'll let you know when he finds them and where they may have walked off to. :)  AH.  Lost keys.  This is the story of Christopher's life.

PS.  He just a) read this over my shoulder and called me gutless and b) told me that I need to help him search and c) is critiquing my way of my a, b, c listing!!!  Boy, oh boy.  He really jeselnicked this one up.  Sheesh.

33

Hello old friends. I know we have not posted in awhile, so here are 33 thoughts and happenings since our last update. Enjoy.

1. I cannot believe that I was not diligent in updating everyone on the fact that Battlestar Galactica is now back on the air for it's final run of shows. It came back mid-January, and the action has been fast and furious. Even Mar would agree. Stay tuned for my emotional farewell post after the three hour finale airs on March 20th (I know, I could barely contain myself when I found out how long the finale would be too!). 
2. The Grammy's once again failed to recognize last years best album. Of course I am speaking of In Rainbows by Radiohead. I did take some solace in the fact that Radiohead had the best performance with an excellent rendition of "15 Step," that included the USC Marching Band.
3. I have started coaching my water polo team, and totally love it. As of right now, we are 2-1 with four games coming this week. I will keep you updated.
4. We attended an ISU viewing party at Joe's on Weed St. that was held by the Alumni Association. Todd and Mandy joined us and we enjoyed watching them kick the crap out of Drake. It was nice payback after last year's debacle in the MVC Tourney final, which cost us a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
5. A couple of friends came over for the Superbowl. The game was very exciting, and I was a little disappointed to see the Cardinals lose. My favorite commercial was the Career Builder bit that showed the reasons that people will know if they hate their jobs. I loved the scene with the koala. Also, John has some 'splainin to do about how he saw the one second commercial.
6. I chaperoned the Turnabout Dance at work. The exciting part is that there was a current member of Menudo in the house. None of us knew until some sleazy looking people were seen taking photos of the dancing. I was unaware of what was going on and asked what was happening. Someone explained to me that the Menudite wanted to sign cds and perform, hence the photographers. Well, needless to say, they were denied, and left.
7. My mother turned 54. Happy birthday Rosa.
8. Frank got a dog named Harold. He is the combination of a poodle and a Lhasa apso. Frank named him after Harold Baines, his favorite White Sox player of our youth. Welcome to the family Harold.
9. Marilyn got a tutoring gig!! She will be tutoring a young Chinese student on the ins and outs of conversational English.
10. We celebrated a nice Valentine's Day with an enjoyable dinner at Macaroni Grill where we had a fabulous lemon dessert that I still dream of. We topped the night off with a viewing of the classic 90's classic Booty Call. No, this is not a typo. We both forgot how much we loved the misadventures of a man named Bunz. I recommend a viewing if you have never had the opportunity.
11. I suffered the unfortunate loss of my ipod the day before Christmas, which forced me to buy a new one. The new ipod is an itouch, a huge upgrade from my golden oldie that didn't even have a color screen. Even though I hated having to get a new one, the thing is fantastic and I am enjoying the hell out of it.
12. We have finished our registries. If you care to take a look, we are registered at Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
13. Cubs tickets went on sale, and Mar was able to secure a pair for my birthday. As an added bonus, the game is against the Cleavland Indians, which means it will be Kerry Wood's return to Chicago.
14. We had a new President sworn into office. I was lucky enough to watch the Inauguration while at work. It was a great moment, and truly something to see so many inspired people.
15. Speaking of the Obama Inauguration, one of my co-workers was a guest of a local congressman and had a ticket to the big event. While on my way to work, I was listening to NPR and heard a very familiar voice. The story was about a bus that got stranded in Ohio for eleven hours while on it's way to the big event. Even though no names were given, I was sure it was here, and sure enough, when she got back and I told her my story, she let out a huge laugh and retold it for me.
16. Our dear friend Andrew moved back down to St. Louis. Even though the knuckle head drives me crazy, we dearly miss having him around. Good luck buddy.
17. Our DVR crapped out on us, then all hell broke loose. I went and picked up a new box from Comcast and expected everything to be just fine. Well, this was not the case. For some reason the box was programmed for channels in as if it were in Elgin and would not record our programs. This meant NO BATTLESTAR. I repeat NO BATTLESTAR, very traumatizing. After a service call, all was put back to normal, but we went a whole week without DVR service, and if I did not mention NO BATTLESTAR.
18. We got confirmation that our dear friend Lisa will make it to our nuptials all the way form New Zealand. Lis, we are totally stoked that you will be a part of our big day.
19. I was a judge for both the regional and state competitions of the Business Professionals of America competition for the state of Illinois. It was a blast and I hope to do it again.
20. Our man Rod got impeached. It was pretty surreal to watch it go on here in our home state, but as they say, go big or go home. Apparently, Rod is going to the Big House.
21. I have become obessesd with crossword puzzles and you will find them littered around the apartment. Mar probably hates them, but at least it's not crack.
22. Starburst has unleashed their beloved jelly beans on us. Usually this is bad news because I eat so many that I get sick.
23. My bachelor party date is set. It will be on June 13th. Look out America.
24. We also set June 7th as the date of our wedding shower, details to follow.
25. Our friends over at Baseball Prospectus have predicted that my Cubbies will win the N.L. Central for the third straight year. Baseball is right around the corner, so please start you prayer campaign for the Cubs now. It's never too early to start. Oh yeah, they also said that the sox will finish in last place. Not that I noticed.
26. I discovered a great new television show. The discovery came while our channels were all jumbled and I was on the wrong channel. Anyways, the show is called "From G's to Gents," and it airs on MTV. It is about "thugs" who are looking to be reformed. Fascinating television.
27. After much debate, we finally chose our dinnerware. It was a knockdown drag out battle that has ended in a mutual choice that we both really like.
28. Aldi. There is not really much more to say than to check out this discount grocer. We now do a ton of shopping there, and I totally dig it. I highly recommend Clancy's Crunchy Cheese Curls, really tasty.
29. Beef jerky time. If you pay close attention to something that I mentioned earlier, you will know what I am talking about.
30. Team Tanks. We all have come to know and love the game of Tanks (yes, that includes you Jill). Well, back in December, Brian, Tony, Andrew and I developed Team Tanks. This version has one person controlling the direction of the tank, while the other controls the missiles. I know it sounds simple, but it is a wonder to behold.
31. The song "My Iron Lung" by Radiohead was released to Rock Band 2's downloadable soundtrack. Needless to say, I was thrilled and have enjoyed playing it many a time.
32. I have been reminded daily how much I love Marilyn and why I asked her to marry me.
33. And now the final observance/item that has happened since I last posted. The University of Illinois took jeselnicking to a whole new level when they scored a paltry 33 points against Penn State on Feb. 18. That score is for the whole game not just the first half as most would believe.

Well, thanks for hearing me out, and I promise to be more diligent about my posts in the future.

Third Time is a Charm?

So, today we will be venturing down to good ol' Normal, Illinois.  Yup.  We'll be attending the Illinois State 2009 Mid-America Educators' Job Fair.  This is a pretty HUGE job fair.  There are over 150 districts that show for this event.  We've gone the past two years and haven't had much luck (obviously) in the job department.  However, we keep getting smarter and smarter as to how to work the three ballrooms that the districts set up in.  The ever so busy Chris has done some leg work and found out which districts have posted openings for each of us. :)  What a nice guy!  Needless to say, this is a long day of soliciting ourselves.  Wish us some luck (*luck*) and let's just hope (*please-please-please-please*) that the third time is a charm!

Today, We Went Beyond

Oh the wedding. We are about six months out and things are starting to fall into place. Today, we took a step that was supposed to be fun, but ended in two gigantic headaches, but more on that later. The day started innocently enough with a nice breakfast with both of our mothers. After talking shop and getting some things in order, we headed off to Bed, Bath and Beyond to begin the registration process, which is where the fun began.

We  were supposed to start registering last week, but our initial trip turned into more like a discovery session. This discovery session took place at the Naperville BB&B since it is closer to us. While I assumed that was the right place to go, Marilyn said she did not want to go there, favoring the Downers Grove location instead. Since we were in that area already, I won and we stayed in Naperville. After walking the aisles of the Naperville BB&B, we found things that we liked and compared notes to make sure we were on the same page. We both left feeling good about what we found and decided to dive in again the following Sunday.

Well, today was that Sunday and since we went to breakfast in Wheaton, we chose the BB&B in Downers. I will say this once, and one time only: Marilyn was right. The BB&B in Downer's was superior to the Naperville location. Not only did the story have a better layout, but they even have this handy dandy section that is dedicated to wedding registration.  They also had a huge section of fine China. 

Once we got there, we went to the registration area and set everything up, with a woman named Marilyn, who was excited to meet another Marilyn. After getting past the Marilyn excitement, we spent an hour activating our account and learning how to use the little gun scanner. The BB&B Marilyn explained what we should look for and how much to look for, so we were off. Our first stop was the fine China section, which took awhile. We both found stuff that we liked, but kept going back and forth about how whether or not we need fine china. One key factor is the fact that Mar is going to inherit her grandmother's China when the time is right. Any advice would be appreciated. 

After leaving the fine China section, we headed to cookware and started having some fun. We have found plenty of stuff that we like and gave the gun scanner a workout. Well, at this point we had be Beyond for going on three hours and we were both pretty tired, but we decided to hit up one for more section. We headed to the bath section and thought we knew what we were looking for. Unfortunately, the print we really like is being discontinued, so we looked around a little more. Usually this would not be problem, but we were exposed to the worst perfume I have ever smelled, apparently the poor woman that was wearing it has lost her sense of smell. It was so bad, that we both ended up developing the aforementioned headaches. 

At this point, we were done. While we still have a bit more to do, it was a productive. Feel free to take a look if you want to see what we picked. Just go to the Bed, Bath & Beyond website. 

1994: The Year That Rocked

This is coming a little late, but I still wanted to mention it. One thing of the things that I enjoyed most about my winter break was listening to Q101. Those that know me best are aware that I rarely listen to the radio station of my youth. Usually my radio is tuned to either NPR or WXRT. Well, one time of the year that I do listen to Q101 is during the final couple of the weeks of December. For the past few years, Q101 has played the top 101 songs for each year of their existence. After playing all of the years, there is a listener vote that determines the greatest year, which is replayed on New Year's Day. The winning year has been 1994 each time they have held this competition.

It was a total blast hearing the music from that year, my freshman year in high school. It seems like each song is a classic and has influenced today's music, even though modern musicians have yet to equal the creativity and excellence of their predecessors. The list included  such favorites as "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows, "Big Empty" by Stone Temple Pilots, "Stay" by Lisa Loeb, "About A Girl" by Nirvana and "Elderly Woman" by Pearl Jam to name a few. Anyways, here's a link to the list from 1994 if you want to take a trip down memory lane.

Ta Daaaaaaaaah!

My 2006 Ford Fusion!  Yup.  Keeping it in the good ol' US of A!  This is my first Ford purchase...

Clearly this one isn't mine, but it looks just like the one I bought!  Yes, the night of my emotional break down I got a car.  Rather impulse, I know, but I know it's a good quality car, and that's really what I needed.  AND, I used my little check list:

• ü  Two working wipers with blades
  
• ü  All four windows:  on track and usable
  
• ü   All four rims perfectly circular
  
• ü  Working A/C and heat
  

These four items were pretty big on my list in getting a new car. :)  I know they're fairly common on ALL cars... but you never know.  :)

I bought my car from Honda of Lisle and had honest and excellent services from George my salesman and Chris the manager.  George has sold my mom cars for years.  He's one of my uncles good friends and trusts him with his purchases as well as ours.  (In case your a tiny bit confused, my uncle works at the dealership but sells packages and what not, not cars any more).  If ANYBODY needs a car -- new or used, please give Honda of Lisle a gander while shopping.  

Before I made the decision on the Fusion I test drove a few cars:

• '08 Toyota Yaris -- Tons of fun! :)  Tiny two door! :(  Stick! :)  Just too tiny though.... :( 
• '04 Saturn Ion -- Liked this car a lot, but the engine made some crazy hesitation when I accelerated. :(
• '02 Honda Accord -- Liked it!  Totally had the most bells and whistles on it.  BUT, it was the oldest car, the most expensive car, and the people were smokers.  :(
• '08 Chevy Cobalt --  Liked this car too!  It really came down to this car and the Fusion.  The Fusion just drove better and I wound up just liking it a bit more.   :)

Just a little shout out to my lovely fiancee.  I had no desire to even test drive this car.  Don't really have a good reason...well actually my reason maybe was because Chris kept clamoring on and on about how he wanted a Fusion a few years ago.  So, when he started in on it I was like, 'nah....no thanks.'  But then my mom started chiming in with cars she wanted me to test drive, so then I was like, 'FINE!!   I'll try them all!'  Clearly, that was a smart move on my part.

So, that's the journey of my new car.... now all I need is a new job!  So far, 2009 keeps getting brighter and brighter.  Fingers crossed!

My Pontiac Grand Am ~ RIP ~

SO, the time has *finally* come.  I got a new car!!  Yay!  Here is a little synopsis of life with my 2000 Pontiac Grand Am...

*sappy award show music*

I bought my 2000 Pontiac Grand Am in March of 2001.  This was the first "new" car that I had ever really bought AND paid off.  We had a nice life together.  Traveled around the Midwest.  Toted me to plenty of Dave Matthews shows.  Drove up to a few Bears/Vikings games up at the Metrodome.  Took a total random road trip to Columbus, Ohio to the Columbus Crew Stadium to watch the World Cup game at...shoot, 3 am or something crazy like that!  We didn't get a hotel, we slept in the car!  My little Grand Am definitely carted all three of my lovely cats to and from the Vet.  Gracie loved to curl up in the front seat and then stand on her hind legs to look out the window and hiss whenever we were at the end of our journey.  She was *great* cat in the car!  It delivered us safely to Illinois State and home numerous times.  My car brought me to and from my Chili's openings around the Midwest.  OH...and lets not forget the amazing amount of balloons that I could shove into that thing.  Especially for Mindy's 30th birthday...I was impressed!  Overall, there were some GREAT times that my car and I have shared.    

AH, it was a nice little eight year life span with my car!

But then all good things come to an end.  Right?! 

Then while I was at ISU my car began not starting consistently.  There was this security thingy... I had to wait 10 minutes for my engine to reset.  Ugh!  It was annoying.  I remember after one of my doubles at the Bloomington Chili's I had tripped this security thing 3 times.  SO, I had to wait a total of 30 minutes to start my car!!  I got that fixed...thanks to some help from my madre.  Then there was the car not passing emissions because of an O2 censor.  That was a fiasco and a half!  During my student teaching the non-starting of my car continued.  My step-father side-swiped my car while in their driveway as well.  Hm...oh and more recently, last summer my hood decided it was done opening.  Hm, The Great Wiper Incident.  I was driving down Butterfield Road in the beginning of December, used my wipers to clean my windshield, and thought something hit my windshield!  NOPE.  I just had my passenger side wiper FLY off and land somewhere on Butterfield Road.  So, I was down to one wiper.  AH.  Let's not forget there is The Great Window Incident.  I went to the bank to deposit my cash and my window fell off the track.  THANKFULLY the window fell off the track, but it was still in the upright position.  There was about a quarter of an inch opened at the top.  Needless to say, I kept the heat on high, but it was still chilly for my left hand while driving.  This happened shortly thereafter the great wiper incident.  

I'm sure you're all curious to know what WAS the straw that broke the camels back, aren't you? :)

WELL...I was driving yesterday (for those that don't know it was a steady, wet, slippery snow) on West Loop Road in Wheaton.  West Loop connects Naperville Road to Butterfield Road and you bypass the Danada traffic--there are town homes and a church (big surprise) off of this road.  Well, I was on my way from Downtown Wheaton to Naperville to meet up with Chris, Megan and Caitlin for dinner at Carabbas.  So, as I'm driving down this residential street my car slips and I NAILED a curb and my window fell down.  I freaked out, because I really nailed this curb and the window fell down at the same time.  I pretty much immediately burst into tears.  I was done.  Just done with all of it.  I jumped out of the car and looked at my passenger side tire.  It looked awful...you could tell that the rim was bent.  SO, I jumped back in the car, and put some gloves on (...my window was all the way down) called Chris like twelve times, texted him twice and left some voicemails.  I then called my Auntie Jane.  Her husband, my uncle, works for Honda of Lisle.  So, I called her and told her I was on my way to the dealership--I was done with my car, I just wanted to get a new one (I got lucky he works late on Tuesdays).  She called him and filled him in on the emotional basket case that I was, and the state of my car.

Alas, this brings me to the title of this post...

RIP my 2000 black Pontiac Grand Am...you were a great car.  I absolutely loved my time with you!  It's sad to see you go and yet I'm *so* happy to let you go.  Our time has been well spent!

*smooches*

*some lovely closing credit music*