Happy Valentine's Day!

It's a warm (in the 40's) and melty Valentine's Day here in Chicago. We still have lots of snow on the ground, but at least it's melting! I can see grass in some spots, although it's muddy, it's grass nonetheless. However, we still have several spots with a good foot or two of snow.

Walking the dogs this morning was interesting. We had to traverse several small lakes (ok, some really big puddles) to get our walk in. Louie wades right on through them. Chloe, on the other hand, usually tries to avoid walking in them if possible, but if she has to walk through them, she goes.... really....slooow....I think to avoid splashing water on herself. She's such a girl.

We are staying home for dinner tonight. I am making homemade lasagna, with homemade sauce. Yum! I got a bottle of wine and we should be good to go.

In other, less exciting news...our stupid car is acting up again. We are taking it in today to see what the damage is and I am scared to find out. We have been putting a lot of money (that we don't have) into our car over the past year or so. It has 167,000+ miles on it, so it's had a good run, but I think it's getting to the end of it's life. Even though it's a 2002, it still runs well and had been a good car. It's just the basic maintenance stuff and things going wrong now that are making it a pain because it has so many miles on it. We will see what they say. As much as I'd love a new car, we really want to wait until I get a new job and we get back on our feet before we buy a new one. Cars always have the worst timing. Hmph.

Everyone enjoy your day!

Welcome 2011

Happy New Year!
I'm happy to welcome in 2011 because 2010 wasn't that great of a year for me. I mean, every year has it's good points, but overall, it was not a very memorable year in my life, that's for sure. I'm sure I will look back on it fondly in 20 years, but for now, I'm glad 2010 is OVER. I am just hoping that 2011 brings good things... changes, opportunities, economic growth, jobs, etc. Puh-lease!

Here at our house we had a pretty quiet NYE. I went to a 1-1/2 hour workout class yesterday afternoon (last workout of 2010 -woo!) and then we hung around until later when we went out to a little Italian/pizza place around 8:30 for dinner. We came home, watched Bravo (Andy's New Years Eve Party) and the other boring NYE shows until Midnight. We had some gross $5 champagne that I bought just because and then went to bed. By midnight we were both pretty tired. We've never really partied it up on New Year Eve, but you can tell we are getting old because it gets harder and harder to stay awake each year. Ha ha. Oh well!

Hope everyone has a great 2011!! It just has to be better than 2010, right?

Merry Christmas!



First Photo with New Camera of Cathy's Tree

Wow! I realized it's been a while since I posted. December just flew by...I had a crazy busy month with working at Harrington, tutoring like a mad woman, finishing up teaching the tots art class and Christmas shopping. It was nuts...and now it's almost over! I can't believe Christmas came and went already! This year I just couldn't believe it was Christmas time and now it's done! Geez, time flies!

We just got back from a nice week in Omaha for Christmas. We stayed with my sister at her new house. Her house is really nice! It was also super nice to have a place to stay with our own room and bathroom..oh and a garage spot! We had fun shopping one day and getting our nails done too!

 We spent Christmas Eve with my Mom and Cathy in Omaha, doing our usual routine of eating at Biaggi's and opening gifts at Cathy's. This year we went and saw a movie too, Little Fockers, which wasn't that great, but it was fun anyway.  We spent Christmas Day with Joe's family and extended family in South Dakota. We also had another "Christmas Eve" with Joe's parents the day before Christmas Eve. We went out to Big Fred's for pizza with some friends had lots of fun. It was nice visiting family and friends, but the time always goes so fast. So many people to see and things to do. We did get some time to just hang out and relax, which was nice.

Frosty Morning in Flandreau, SD - 12/26/10

We got some great gifts for Christmas this year! I was super surprised to receive the Cannon DSLR camera that I put on my "wish list" thinking I would never get that in a million years. Joe's parent's always spoil us. I still can't believe I got it. They are WAY too good to us. I have been playing with it ever since I got it and I took lots of pictures in South Dakota. I think I want to take a class or get a book on it so that I can learn all of the fancy tricks to taking good photos. We'll see. I will be sure to post some pictures.

Joe got all of the toys he asked for to go with his new guitar. Now he should have everything he needs! We always get so much nice stuff for Christmas, from all of our family. I feel guilty coming home with a trunk full of new toys, but it sure is fun playing with everything this week!

More soon and more pics, I'm sure!

Here is the slideshow of some of the photos I took. Hover  below and click on the play button to play on this blog.
Or view full size on my picasa page here: http://picasaweb.google.com/116844502255534108940/Christmas2010NewCameraPics?authkey=Gv1sRgCKmwss_TqLuQwAE&feat=directlink

Christmas Compromise?

I dislike how merely mentioning Christmas plans to Joe and our families creates stress. I really love Christmas in Omaha with both sides of our family. I always go into planning our trip with a positive attitude and lots of excitement....until discussion starts.... and then I wish I didn't have to deal with it at all. I know it seems early to plan for Christmas, but Joe had to request time off work today so I have been trying to roughly figure out our trip to Omaha and which important days (Christmas and Christmas Eve) we will spend with each side of the family. 

I wish it was easy to balance it all. I wish it was easy to see everyone equally, but it never works out that way. If we lived in Omaha, it would be much easier, but we don't.

Me and Joe are just in that awkward place (and have been our whole married life) where we don't have kids yet, so we can't justify doing our own thing and we are expected to participate in all of the same traditions both of our families had when we were little kids. At what point do we tell our families that we will just make it to one or the other, not both?

I feel like it's so hard to juggle and I hate asking other people to adjust their holiday schedules and plans for us. It's so hard not to feel bad...and the worst part is, I am always the bad guy. I hate being the bad guy. I think the reason its so hard is because Joe and I are the only ones who are married in both of our immediate families. Maybe once we add more girlfriends/boyfriends/spouses to the mix everyone will have to relax a little bit and they'll realize that it's too hard to do everything the same way it has been done since we were little kids. We all have to give and take a little. I hope things will adapt and change as our family grows and expands.

The hardest part is trying to please everyone without feeling like someone is upset or one side is getting the short end of the stick. Since I have a small family, our family gatherings are simple and may seem less important to Joe and his family because he has a big family and they have large family gatherings. I love his family gatherings a lot, they are so fun and I look forward to them every year.  At the same time, I have to remember to try to give my family some time...and that's hard.  All I want is for the time spent to be equal, or as equal as it can be.

Ultimately, I want both of us, together as a couple, to spend time with each side of our family. I refuse to let us go our separate ways to spend time with "my" family. That is not the answer. As far as I am concerned, both of our families are "my family".  Marriage is about compromise and sometimes that is a tough thing for people to swallow.

Ugh... OK, I'm done. Venting session complete.

Easter 2010

Joe's parents (Dan and Beth) and his brother Andy came to visit us this year for Easter. This year they drove (from Omaha) so they arrived late on Friday night and left on Sunday afternoon. Dan and Beth stayed at the Hyatt Regency downtown on the river and Andy stayed with us. Chloe and Louie had fun with Andy, they always like when he comes to visit.

We had a nice time, despite a semi-rainy day on Saturday. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry on Saturday. We wanted to go see one of the Omni Max movies, but when we got there they were all sold out so we ended up just walking through some of the museum for a few hours. They had some cool exhibits. It was pretty crowded and crazy, but it was still fun. I took some pictures with Beth's camera, so I will post some when I get them from her.

When we came out of the museum it was a nice sunny day outside, when we went in it was overcast, so that was a nice surprise. We went to eat at Chicago Brauhaus, a German restaurant we've wanted to try in Lincoln Square (a neighborhood just near our place). We had our fill of German sausages, sauerkraut, potatoes and beer. Luckily we went for lunch/dinner because we were all full all night from that meal.

On Easter Sunday we went to mass at the church Joe and I go to, St. Vincent de Paul in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Then we went to lunch at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab in the River North Area of Chicago. It’s a really nice place and the food was very good. After that we took them back to the hotel and they took off for home.

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

A very special Happy Valentines Day

to MY Valentine, Joe, I love you!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Can't believe its already 2010!

I just got back to Chicago last night and have a raging severe cold/sinus infection right now....so I after driving all yesterday alone and sick with the dogs (who aren't much entertainment in the car) I wasn't up for much celebration last night on NYE. I fell asleep on the couch and believe I was in bed before the clock struck midnight... oh well.

2010 means one major thing.....I turn THIRTY this year! eeeeek!! Actually, my birthday is in exactly 7 days. I wanted to have a big bash to celebrate this milestone, but I figured it wouldn't work out because everyone is always pooped out from the holidays and I didn't really plan anything yet, so we'll see what happens. It will probably end up being low key, just like every other year. I hate having a birthday right after Christmas, its just SO boring!

I guess it is scary turning 30. In a way I've been thinking about it all year. Looking at where I'm at in my life, what I have accomplished and what I haven't, what I need to start doing and what I need to change. I often think about how fast the first 30 years has gone, but thinking back to when I was 5 or 6 years old seems like an eternity ago. I am looking forward to another 30 (at least)! Who knows what is in the cards for my 30's, 40's and beyond.

All I know now is that 2009 was a tough year for me and for many of us and I am HOPING that 2010 will mean bigger and better things for me and everyone else.

Here's to twenty-ten!
xoxo

Christmas Photos

Here are a few of the photos of Joe and I that we chose from for our Christmas card.
Photography by my friend Sarah Homes-Wigand.

Snowed in on Christmas

So we decided to leave for Omaha a day early to beat the bad weather that was headed for the Midwestern states. We left Tuesday at 2:00pm and arrived at my sisters in Omaha around midnight. We left behind a couple inches of snow in Chicago, drove through some near freezing drizzle in Iowa and Illinois (which wasn't really that bad) and arrived in Omaha to find some rain and then ice the next day and now almost a foot of snow! Our usual Christmas day in Flandreau, South Dakota was cancelled for those of us who were driving from out of state. Our "Zimmer Christmas" is also up in the air for tomorrow due to the weather,... and if it happens will be a very small group of people! What a strange Christmas it is turning out to be!

The "Christmas blizzard of 2009" started here in Omaha on Christmas Eve during the day and is still going strong as I type this. There was only a couple inches of snow on the ground when we headed out on Christmas Eve, but the wind was so strong it was blowing the snow everywhere and pelting us in the face.... no fun...not to mention Omaha already had huge piles of snow on the ground from the last big snow storm they had a couple weeks ago.

So, we managed to get out to church on Christmas Eve with Joe's parents and Andy. Was nice to be back in the church where we were married, even though it was super crowded and standing room only at this mass. I love that church at Christmas and all the time. Its such a nice place to be. Feels like home when I'm there.

After that we went out with my mom and sister for our usual Christmas Eve ritual. We had a nice dinner at Biaggi's and then to my moms and back to Cathy's for presents and treats. It was a nice night and Cathy even managed to get my mom out of her snowy parking lot when she left for the night. There was a lot more snow at that point and my moms car was not made for deep snow at all!!

So we woke up on Christmas day with the hopes of going over to Joe's parents but we were snowed in for sure. There was at least 8-9 inches of snow on the ground and the drifts were super big all around the cars. Boo. So we are stuck at my sisters for today, hoping it will be better tomorrow and we can get out and get over there. But, we tried to make the best of it, Cathy and I played UNO and ate some snacks and a few of the cookies I made. Joe watched basketball and movies. The dogs are getting a little stir crazy because they haven't been on a walk, but they probably wouldn't enjoy a walk in the snow that's taller than them. :-)

Anyway, so this blog is being written to pass some time, as you can tell. We are a little bored, but we are hanging out. Not often we just sit around with our family, even if its just Joe and my sister and our dogs.

So I better get back to doing nothing.... Merry Christmas to all of you and hope wherever you are you aren't having as much "white Christmas" as we are.

My favorite time of year!

I am just entirely too excited for Christmas!!
Maybe I just have way too much time on my hands this year and its getting to me? I just love this time of year!! Like they say, I wish every day could be Christmas...or whatever the saying is....I just love this time of year, love buying gifts for people, shopping, wrapping, planning our visit home, listening to Christmas music, etc. I get WAY too into it!!

Today I was extra super excited because I got our present for my Dad in the mail and it turned out AWESOME! I will be sending it off to him this week and I wish we could be there to see him open it. My sister and I went in on something this year and after lots of hard work we finally got it done! Maybe its not as big of a deal as I am making it out to be, but I think its pretty COOL and I know he will love it! This is pretty good considering he is always hard to buy for! I can't say what it is, but I am super excited to give it to him. :-)

Yesterday we went downtown with my friend Sarah, who has a nice manual/professional camera (which I totally want!) and she took some nice photos of Joe and I at some cool spots in Chicago for our Christmas card. I am really happy with the way they turned out! I will post some of my faves later... but you will all have to wait and see which one we picked for the card. Thanks, Sarah!!

Anyway, off to wrap some gifts now! I'm almost done....almost!

Here is one of my favorite songs...totally reminds me of being a kid at Christmas.... ahhh, memories.... Check it out if you have time.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U7MZkSlsOU

Thanksgiving

My Mom came to visit us in Chicago for Thanksgiving this year. I made a semi-small Thanksgiving for just the three of us. We still got stuffed as usual and still have lots of leftovers!

We went and to see the Christmas Carol movie in 3D, it was pretty cool with the new "Real 3D" that they have. It was a little scary though and I wouldn't recommend it for little kids at all. Amazing what they can do with animation these days, it looked SO real!

We went out to eat one night at Hopleaf for yummy mussels and Belgian beer and another night to Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder for Pizza Pot Pies. Mmmm, so yummy!

(www.hopleaf.com & www.chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com)
Here are some photos from the weekend. We didn't take too many and a lot of them were taken on my cell phone so they aren't that great. Enjoy!

3D Glasses

Our Howl-O-Ween

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Joe and I are not really that into Halloween, or at least I never think I am until a couple days before, then I always wish I had a costume and was going out to do something fun. We have only dressed up once since we've been together! Crazy, I know....I guess I figure that when we have a kids it will be more reason to get into the Halloween spirit.

But we did do something fun this year that didn't involve us dressing up. We took Chloe and Louie to this Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade and Costume Contest over in a little park in a neighborhood a few blocks from ours. We didn't get them costumes, they just sported their Halloween t-shirts instead. It turned out to be pretty fun! We knew Chloe would love it, because she loves people and all other dogs, but we were a little worried about Louie. If any of you have seen him on a walk and how he reacts to other dogs, just picture the Tasmanian Devil (if he barked) on a leash. Yep, its fun. For some reason, probably fear, he barks and then snaps and tries to bite other dogs a lot. He is good sometimes, but most of the time he can't handle it. So I brought some treats in my pocket thinking I could distract him a little bit. It worked,... sort of. We meant to bring his favorite ball, because a ball in the mouth means no biting and almost no barking (trust me, he still attempts to bark with a ball in his mouth...ha ha), but we forgot it when we left. Oops.

Anyway, when we got there I think Louie was so overwhelmed by all the people and dogs (must have known he was out numbered) that he was pretty quiet. He did pretty well until he got comfortable. He only snapped at a couple dogs, so that was pretty good, right?! Joe and I ended up holding him for a lot of the time. Chloe had a blast though. The "parade" part was fun too, we pretty much went up one block and over one block and it was really slow because they were judging at the end, so it was more of a line than a parade, but it was still fun. It was a chilly fall day, but at least we did something! The dogs were pooped and we got some good ideas for costumes for next year! ha-ha.
Some pics are below or you can view the whole album if you click the link below...
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IbtHLNo3ZMnRQ

Louie trying to behave

Me and the dogs Happy Chloe
On the way there...excited! (These are out of order)