i love the 80s......

Terri throws the best parties...we all know this, but this one i think by far takes the cake. There is a running joke with Terri's friends that i don't live in Chicago, because every time she throws a party, i fly 800 miles to be there....they think that in fact, i probably live at Terri's house. When she told me that her and Adam were throwing an Ultimate 80's Prom Party i knew i had to be there... big hair and sequence?? I'M IN!!

So then comes the biggest question... what to wear? I had been searching online for a few weeks, and lost a couple of bids on E-bay. This was very frustrating for me, because i decided very early on that i HAD to have the best costume, so that i could be voted Prom Queen. This was my one shot! The week of the party, i found this atrocious dress, and knew i had to have it.

Terri went all out as usual.... there were balloons EVERYWHERE, beer pong and darts in the garage, lots of yummy 80s snack food, and an awesome playlist of music. To top it all off, there was a prom picture setup where everyone got their picture taken. The pictures were then printed and posted on a wall so that everyone could vote for Prom Queen and King. Can you guess who won Prom Queen??
The Prom King (Sean) and i both had our high school dream answered...about 10 years too late. Next year we will have to hand off our crown to someone else, but we will be sure to enjoy our reign until then! Here was some of the competition:

My Jamaican Vacation....

My sweet friend Shari got engaged last year, and had always known she would have a destination wedding. After the excitement of it all, she decided on the Riu Montego Bay, a brand new resort in Jamaica. I wasn't completely sure if my recession budget was going to be able to be able to handle the extra expense (I am working on my 6-8 months salary savings...Suze Orman called me and told me to tighten up) but my husband the workaholoic, insisted that he needed a vacation. Who am i to argue with that?

So I did all my beach shopping, and was completely excited about leaving Chicago's -20 degree weather and wind chill to relax on the beach with a mai-tai in my hand and a stack of books to read. I was jilted from this dream on Tuesday when my hubby came home from work early because he was sick. After running a fever of 103+ for 3 days, we decided that unfortunately, instead of heading to the airport, we were heading to the hospital.

He had the flu, and spent 7 days sick and shut in. I know you wives and girlfriends out there know what its like when you have to take care of your guy when he is sick. Men become the most pitiful, helpless human beings on the face of the earth. It gave me a real reality check on how life would be if i were a single mother. He woke me up in the middle of the night sick, i was waiting on him hand and foot, and cleaning up vomit. But all in all, after the first couple of days it wasn't so bad. Don't get me wrong....i certainly wanted to choke him half the time. I think it just provided an opportunity for both of us to reflect and be thankful for each other. After cleaning the house from top to bottom, doing all the laundry, taking out trash, walking the dog (in the snow!), grocery shopping, cooking 3 meals a day, and several Walgreens runs, i realized even more just how much he helps me out, and how much i appreciate it. I impressed him with my caretaker, and suzy homemaker skills, so i think i might have made a good enough impression that he might agree to giving me my dream job one day....... HOUSEWIFE!

GOTCHA!!!....

I am waiting for Callie to send me the pictures from our trip to Vegas, but here is a little teaser. I found this picture in my camera and busted up laughing. It took me thirty minutes to take this picture of a man asleep at the slot machine. Every time i got my camera up and in focus, he would wake himself up....as if he knew i was trying to get a picture of him... it took about 10 tries, but i finally got it. He seriously would wake up and look dead at me while i quickly tried to hide my camera and pretend like i was doing something else..... in his defense it was about 5am, but still, why are you falling asleep in the casino at the Palm?? I love Vegas.....

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

I can dig art....i wouldn't say i know much about it, but i enjoyed Art History in high school! On the first Friday of every month, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago has a "First Friday" happy hour event. My friend and co-worker Gina invited me to go with her, and since MCA was on my list of "things to do before i leave chicago" list, i thought i should definitely go. Additionally, who can really say no to food, drinks and a live DJ in a cool museum??

Here are a few of my favorites from the night....

The sculpture on the right is a seal balancing balls.

This was a display of a miniature city. I thought the layout and the lighting was super cool.

These next few pictures were just a section of an entire room filled with silhouettes. They were drawn by a southern woman, who wanted to convey images of african-american people during the time of the civil war.

I wish i had more pictures to show you, but as i was very forcefully informed, picture taking is avidly prohibited in the Museum of Contemporary Art. However, pictures are allowed in McFadden's....which is where we topped off our very sophisticated evening....

I'm Alive....

Last week i had surgery and had to take off a week at work. I think it is so sad that it takes drastic medical procedures and large amounts of anesthesia to make me take a break, stay home and not think about work for more than 2 days. My sweet mother came to take care of me, and i literally cried when Ken took her to the airport. Nobody takes care of you when you are sick like your mother. The last time i had surgery, my mother left, and Ken had to take care of me the rest of the time. The moment she was gone, he came down with a cold, and flopped down on my sofa while i made HIM tea and soup. This was before we got married so after about 6 hours of that, i politely kicked him out and made him return to his own home....

Thankfully, this time the surgery was much more minimal, so i was feeling better by Sunday. It happened to be Super Bowl Sunday, and the last thing i wanted to do was stay home and watch any more TV. Since neither one of us were too interested in the game, Ken appeased me by going to see Revolutionary Road and a trip to Trader Joe's.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I heard back from the doctor today, and everything checked out fine. I am so glad to be, for the most part, back to normal.

On a lighter note, when i returned to work today, i learned about a new movie starring my GIRL....BEYONCE! Check out the trailer below....its like Fatal Attraction but a more modern version...the soundtrack is probably going to be AMAZING!

MLK Day....

It took every ounce of energy to drag myself out of bed this morning. Monday's are always tough for me, because i never go to bed anywhere near my normal time on weekends, so i always wake up feeling sleep deprived. While i was in the shower, i realized that it was MLK day. I decided that i shouldn't complain about going to work today.... i would be humbled and thankful....

This holiday has another special meaning for me. Five years ago, Ken and i went on our first date on MLK day. We went to Houston's in Nashville, TN. The day before, Ken asked me to lunch the next day since we didn't have class. I of course spent hours getting ready; the perfect pair of jeans, my new sweater, stiletto boots and my new leather jacket.....only to meet up with him and find him in stained jeans, a green t-shirt and a black fleece. Seriously? I later learned that he had gotten dressed up, but then changed because he didn't want to seem like he was "trying so hard." It was completely transparent, because what struggling college student would take a girl out to Houston's if they weren't trying to impress her? The car ride to the restaurant was pretty quiet, and i remember thinking to myself.. this is going to be the LONGEST date EVER....

We were in the restaurant, waiting to be seated, and there were kids running around everywhere. Now, i love children, but i get so annoyed when people can't contain their children in public. I looked over at Kenneth and said, "Do you think these bad a$$ kids even know why they are out of school today?" We both fell out laughing. It turned out to be the best first date ever. We talked, laughed, fed each other food, held hands and even the waitress thought we were completely cute, and that we had been together for years. Hmmm....maybe we were completely annoying and she was just being nice?

This morning i got a call from Kenneth, inviting me to lunch. This is the first time since i moved to Chicago, that both of our schedules have allowed us time to have lunch together. While we ate and talked,we both looked at each other in awe. Who knew that lunch 5 years ago would lead to this one?

I am always very reflective on this day every year and the same thing runs through my mind......Dr. King's dream is not the only dream come true i think of on this day.

New Year...New Haircut...New Attitude

I have always had this thing about thinking that the longer my hair is the skinnier i look. Naturally, I wasn't very happy seeing locks of my hair fall to the floor in the salon, but i decided to view the cut as a bit of a shed for 2009. I am already shedding pounds so why not shed some some hair as well?

I spent NYE with Callie in Raleigh, and we had a great time. I was a bit overwhelmed when i first got there....i was still working on finishing up some projects for work....i was literally in the Super Target in Raleigh on a conference call with my client. Thankfully i got everything wrapped up, and ended the year on a very high note. Callie and I did some major shopping, had a lot of laughs, watched lots of movies, and had a fabulous NYE Dinner at Sullivan's equipped with sparkling wine, and...well there was supposed to be live jazz, but instead there was an Elvis impersonator.....good times either way!

It really got me to thinking about what i wanted to focus on for next year. I can honestly say that i spent 2008 in fastforward.....it was such a blur of events. It was my first year of marriage, we bought our first home and moved, i took a promotion at work, my basement flooded 3 times, and i had my first (and hopefully my last) visit to the ER via an ambulance just to name a few.

For 2009, i truly want to focus on making time for the things that are emotionally, physically and spiritually fulfilling to me. (Making the Time in 2009?? cheesy...but it works). I want to make time to work out, read books, finish projects that i never have time to start, long walks with my dog, more quality time with my husband, and strengthening my relationship with Christ.

Now i am sure you are wondering how i am going to make time for all of this. I was too at first and i figured out exactly how i am going to do it. I am going to ELIMINATE the time i spend doing things that do not fulfill me, make me better, or positively effect my life. I cringe when i think about all the time and energy i spend on doing things for people who would not do the same for me, and how i consider the feelings of everyone else before i do or say anything to hurt them, and yet so often the same amount of care is not granted to me. These things deplete me. I also realized that the whole "whoa is me" thing is completely overrated....I complain and whine to my friends, and talk about all the reasons why i felt like i was being mistreated and of course they agree with me, because they love me, support me and don't want to hurt me.... but that is just the bandage....it doesn't heal the wound....I love that they are my shoulder to cry on, but it is very easy to get confirmation from people who tend to always agree with you...it is so much harder to look at your own actions, and what you did to cause your own circumstances. This is particularly hard for me, because if you know me....you know there is ALWAYS something happening to me!

Here is what i know for sure. I am not perfect and i will always be a work in progress. I do however, have the power to influence my environment, and as long as i spend time entertaining things that don't make me feel best about myself, i will never be as fulfilled as i can be. I cannot always control what happens to me, but i can control my words, thoughts, choices and reactions. Not only can i control these things, it is my responsibility to make sure that those things are used to enhance my life, and the lives of those around me. I am committed to making the time to working on myself, and doing things that complete me, so that in turn i am a better wife, believer, steward, daughter, sister, and friend.

I can already feel it....it's going to be another great year.