Posted by: illinigirl | April 19, 2012

Dear Europe

I love you. I really do. . . But there are some things I miss when I visit you:

1. Showers that are completely enclosed and do not splash water everywhere. Showers are not enjoyable when you are hosing down the entire bathroom.

2. People who do not cut in line. Rude and oblivious people everywhere. Oh, you must think I am standing in the entry of the bathroom because I am enjoying the smells and the ambiance? No, I am waiting in line for a toilet! Get behind me.

3. Crispy bacon. I don’t think it exists anywhere here.

4. Eating at any time of day. I do not enjoy many of the countries’ eating schedules. Restaurants that serve real food close from 11:00 to 1:30 p.m. In Spain and close again from 5:00ish to 8:30 p.m. I enjoy eating in these timeframes. Spain has been the worst in this regard.

5. Flat sheets. These are key. A down comforter means you are sweating throughout the night. Sometimes you just need a light cover!

That is about all my ranting for now. It’s been a great trip! Highlights were:

-Anne Frank’s house
-Tulip fields
-Barcelona tour
-Meeting up with a fun colleague, who works in Amsterdam

It’s been great, but It was not as easy of a trip, losing my grandpa at the start and missing my family, having the top of my foot burned badly and trying to walk (ouch and yuck). . . And missing the love of my life! Ready to go home!

Posted by: illinigirl | March 12, 2012

It’s about time I blog about CHRISTMAS

Yes, of course a video of our family LRC high stakes game is required. . . question though.  Why is it that every time I grab my camera in the heat of the moment. . . I record the video. . . THE WRONG WAY?!?!  Sorry about the stupidity of this small-framed video!

Ready to play!

The Powers corner. . .

Grandpa having fun. :)

High stakes, baby.

Tracy and I flaunting our money. . .

Parental threat

Shannon wins! She dethrones the Powers duo!!! (Aunt Pat shares the agony of defeat!) ;)

And on Mom’s side of the family. . .

The little peanuts gather to play at the twins' new table. :)

:)

Posted by: illinigirl | March 11, 2012

Luke Bryan and Jason Aldeen

Yes, way overdue. . . but it’s time to post about this concert.

I like both singers a lot.  I was initially drawn more by Jason Aldeen. . . but am now an even bigger fan of Luke Bryan.  For the record, Luke Bryan is also gorgeous.  ;)

We sat towards the back of the venue. . . but the cool thing is that both artists played together for a while in the back. . . here are some pictures I got. . .

Here's how far away we were. . . no zoom.

My crew :)

Posted by: illinigirl | February 27, 2012

Interview with myself–It’s about DANG time edition

Seriously.  Is this the worst you’ve ever been at blogging?

Yep.

Is there a reason for this?

Yes.

And. . . ?

None of yo business.

Wow.  This is making for an interesting read. . . :\  What’s new?

I discovered that my allergies are year round this year.  Yep, even when the snow falls, I’m sneezing.  This awesome new adventure started last March. . . and has never stopped.  It looks like I’ll be on Flonase and Claritin for the rest of my life!

Any other earth-shattering changes?  

I’ve started taking Citrical petites. . . and I have curtains above my kitchen sink.

Really. . . these are your big news items?  No wonder you haven’t been blogging.  How are you doing on your resolutions?

1.  Working out. . . has taken a downward spiral.  I was good for. . . ~five weeks?

2.  Cutting back on bacon. . . good.  I probably only have it once a week now.

3.  No pop. . . which really wasn’t even much of a resolution. . . VERY GOOD!  I have only cheated twice since January 4th.  That’s fairly huge.  I have started my day with a quick pop a few days at work the past few weeks. . . because some mornings, my stomach cannot handle mochas.  I’m doing a great job on that one though.

4.  Every other item is fairly sucky because they are suffering due to success in another area.  Hey, something’s gotta give, right?

Do you have your next trip planned???

Actually. . . My BFF and I are in the midst of planning our next adventure. . . it is. . . *drumroll*. . . SPAIN AND AMSTERDAM!  :)  We have our flights but are working out the other details.  It’s been slightly disastrous from a flight standpoint so let’s hope everything else goes smoothly.

Is your passport and stuff going to be okay?

Well, funny you should ask.  I think it will. . . but there are a lot more regulations around this stuff than I thought.  You may think, hey my passport doesn’t expire until three months from now!. . . but for some countries, that’s not enough time.  Some countries also require you to have a free page on your visa section.  One of my friend’s co-workers sent her this site to check requirements. . . Very helpful.  We learned our lesson.  Hard.  :\  www.cibt.com

Have you done your taxes yet?

YES. . . and for the first time. . . I did them myself!  You may think that’s stupid. . . but I’ve moved around and bought and sold houses like it’s nobody’s business.  I never wanted to deal with this crap.  Seeing as I’ve lived in the same state for all of 2011, I thought that this would be the year to start doing this myself.  I also might add that the guy who did my taxes in NH and for three years in TX was way cheap. . . cheaper than Turbo Tax.  The guy who did my taxes here last year was more than double that.  I am excited to not have to go to an appointment and be able to do this on my couch while watching TV.

What are you doing with your refund?

Um. . . it will mostly go towards my trip. . . but I did do a teeny bit of online shopping after I filed.

Where?

My favorite store (other than The Limited). . . BODEN.  I seriously love Boden.  Don’t everyone shop there though.  I would like to remain original.  Thank you.  ;)

What is your most exciting Lenten activity?

One of my cool friends started a fish fry group that goes to a different fish fry every Friday.  This is a HUGE thing in my state.  HUGE.  She emails the group where we are going each week.  She chooses a combination of bars, supper clubs, churches, etc.  I went last Friday and had a great time meeting new people and sampling delicious fish!

What’s your favorite fish fry fish?

Duh. . . perch!

Have a good week!

Posted by: illinigirl | February 13, 2012

Be mine :)

Posted by: illinigirl | February 12, 2012

Update on TV Watching Poll

So on Friday, one of my friends told me I was strange because I said that I slept with the TV on all night every night.

I think much of this is because. . . I tend to get creeped out at night with no noise.  I think the only time it keeps me awake is if I happen to hear something creepy on the news in the wee small hours of the morning. . . like a story about someone abusing kids or a house burning down with people in it.  Otherwise, I can generally go back to sleep even if I wake up and hear something on TV.  That being said, I keep my volume very low.

My friend had a follow-up comment. . . and I’m curious about this, too. . . but I don’t know if all the people in this column will vote again.  I had five votes for option C (keeping the TV on all night). . . and one of those votes was mine.  For those of you who voted that way, do you live alone?  If you voted for another option, do not vote in this poll!

Regardless, with four other people voting in my category, I think it’s safe to say I’m not entirely weird. . . (in *this* respect, at least).

Posted by: illinigirl | February 12, 2012

Memories of the pink jambox. . .

Yes, my sis and I LOVED Whitney as a kid.  LOVED.  Her cassette tapes were probably the most frequently played on my pink and Sarah’s purple little tape players.

The time that she was really getting popular. . . happened to be the time my sis and I were OBSESSED with MTV and VH1 and literally watched it all summer long (pretty much all day). . . and yes, this was the time when these shows played nothing but videos.

I was completely hooked with “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. . . They were such fun videos to watch as kids (lots of dramatics and costume changes), her voice was amazing, and she was so beautiful.

I loved so many of her songs. . . and have forgotten about so many of them until I heard them on TV and the radio today.  You could often hear me belting her tunes from the shower in the 80′s and 90′s.  (I will admit that her voice was slightly better than mine though.)  ;)

I think I need to download some of her old stuff so I can sing along with her on my trip back to Illinois next weekend. . . RIP to one of my 80′s favorites.  Hearing her stuff takes me back to being a kid on the swingset with my pink jambox.  :)

Posted by: illinigirl | February 11, 2012

Late Night TV Viewing–Please Vote!

I was told last night that I am weird. . . I am trying to prove that I am not (yes, I know. . . probably a lost cause).  I will tell you what I do later as to not skew the results.  :)

Posted by: illinigirl | January 30, 2012

Nice parking, a-hole

This is how I parked this morning.  I guess my coffee had not yet taken effect. . . :\

 

Posted by: illinigirl | January 29, 2012

Things I’m loving right now. . .

I got a call from the lady at the Lancome counter to tell me about a huge free gift that’s coming.  I wanted to take advantage of that. . . plus, I needed a few things at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. . . and these things inspired a shopping trip that was way longer than intended.

Um, it’s cold here. . . and I don’t like the way fleece feels.  Thank you, Patagonia!  I own four of these in different colors. . . They are expensive, but I got these on sale at an outlet store.

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-womens-better-sweater-jacket?p=25541-0-349

Sweatery with a fleece lining

I am ALWAYS loving Fossil. . . but let me share my wish list with you, my friends. . .

I bought this today:

I already have this in gold and bright jewel tones. . . but I am loving the black, too.

My wish list:

http://www.fossil.com/en_US/shop/women/jewelry/necklaces/blue_beaded_necklace-ja5360p.html?parent_category_rn=30006&departmentCategoryId=30000&N=0&Ns=p_wsc7%7C0%7C%7Cp_weight%7C0&pn=c&cm_vc=211511&rec=7&imagePath=JA5360797

http://www.fossil.com/en_US/shop/women/jewelry/necklaces/baby_boyfriend_necklace-ja3676p.html?parent_category_rn=30006&departmentCategoryId=30000&N=0&Ns=p_wsc7%7C0%7C%7Cp_weight%7C0&pn=c&cm_vc=211511&rec=27&imagePath=JA3676040

I was trying to decide what shirts I could wear this with. . . but I couldn’t decide what I had that would look good with this. . .

http://www.fossil.com/en_US/shop/women/jewelry/necklaces/heritage_double_pendant-ja5188p.html?parent_category_rn=30006&departmentCategoryId=30000&N=0&Ns=p_wsc7%7C0%7C%7Cp_weight%7C0&pn=c&cm_vc=211511&rec=42&imagePath=JA5188797

I love crossbodies. . . I’m not in love with as many this year, but I’m digging this one. . .

http://www.fossil.com/en_US/shop/women/handbag_silhouettes/crossbody/vintage_re_issue_flap-zb5187p.html?parent_category_rn=30005&departmentCategoryId=30000&N=0&Ns=p_wsc4%7C0%7C%7Cp_weight%7C0&pn=c&cm_vc=211505&rec=1&imagePath=ZB5187073

Ca-UTE!

http://www.fossil.com/en_US/shop/women/wallets/multifunction_wallets/emory_multifunction-sl3158p.html?parent_category_rn=249509&departmentCategoryId=30000&N=0&Ns=p_wsc5%7C0%7C%7Cp_weight%7C0&pn=c&cm_vc=249514&rec=9&imagePath=SL3158895

Ok.  Bottom line, I love Fossil.  :)

I had a great weekend. . . I hope you did, too!

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