Melting Snow and Sugary Goodness

Here's a little update about the fun I've experienced in Chicago so far:

1) Shopping for a wedding dress is by far the most stressful and insane experience I've ever had. I've never been more concerned about money in my entire life. It's crazy what people will spend on dresses. I've also never felt more vain in my life. But, after trying on all the white silk/taffeta/lace in the world, I think I've found my dress!!! Tres exciting.

2) Only in Chicago can it be -2 degrees one week and 60 degrees the next. The beautiful white blankets of snow have melted and turned into massive puddles and ice. Which brings me to #3

3) Whenever I drive in the rain in San Francisco, I'm always irritated that people freak out and completely forget how to drive because of the change in weather and I wish I was driving in Chicago where people know what they're doing. But driving down the Kennedy in the rain made me rethink this. If there is ice, please do not cut in front of me going 80 mph or drive 1 centimeter behind me. Ice = skidding and if you hit my car, we're going to have some problems (aka me pulling out my inner Hillary Swank a la "Next Karate Kid"/"Million Dollar Baby" and kicking your ass)

4) Chicago hot dogs make me really happy and are even better in the company of Tiffany and her fabulous roomie.

5) As much as I love being back home, it's even better when I get to share it with the boy.

6) Ann Sather's cinnamon rolls are the cure for any sadness. They will also make me ridiculously giggly all day.

I'm having a fabulous time at home and I'm super stoked that I still have 10 or so days here. Now that the boy's around I plan on doing some touristy stuff and taking cheesy photos while stuffing my face with the best food Chicago has to offer. Love it.

Santa Baby

Merry Christmas Bloggy Friends!!! I'm currently sitting in front of the balcony window of my mom's condo looking outside at the clear sky and snow glistening in the sun. It's a wonderful, cozy feeling and since I don't actually have to go outside today, I'm thrilled that it's a white Christmas.

I'm excited to spend the day stuffing my face with yummy food while hanging out with family and watching the "House" marathon on USA.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and that Santa was good to you!!!

Soo Nice to Be Home

I've been home for a few days now and it's soo nice to be back in Chicago. I almost forget how much I love this city.

I should start with my adventurous trip home. Plane tickets are ridiculously expensive and the "best" flight I could get was a 5:55 a.m. flight out of SF that had to stop in Denver for an hour then off to Chicago. Normally I don't really mind the super early flight because I can usually sleep. Unfortunately, my sleep schedule during finals was totally messed up - I was waking up around noon and going to sleep around 5 a.m. So I only managed to get an hour of sleep before I had to wake up and go to the airport. The lack of sleep and my fear of flying made me feel totally sick and I was convinced that I would be in for a pretty bad trip home. On the first flight from SF to Denver I was supposed to have a middle seat. Boo. But it turns out that the aisle and window seat were taken by this couple that were hoping that no one would book the middle seat, so they asked if I would take the aisle. Um, absolutely. Yay! I couldn't sleep, but was thrilled that they were showing episodes of the Office which is a quality way to spend a flight. We took off a little late but I had 70 minutes to make my 2nd flight so I wasn't too worried. So we take off, watch the Office, land and I have 45 minutes to spare...and then the door wouldn't open. Yes, the plane door was stuck. I was on a plane full of people freaking out because everyone had to make connecting flights. People screaming at friends on their cell phones, people screaming at the flight attendants, people screaming at eachother...bad news. They finally got the door open and I had 2 minutes to run to the gate. I don't run. It was a pleasant reminder that I really need to get my butt to the gym.

So I get on flight #2 and see that we're supposed to watch Ugly Betty and How I Met Your Mother. Fabulous! We get an announcement that the tvs in 1st class weren't working. No biggie, I'm a poor gal and I'm sure I'll never have the privilege to fly 1st class. But wait...the screens won't work for them, so they're not going to show anything. Um...no. No, no, no. I always understood when teachers said that I shouldn't give a piece of candy to some students if I didn't have enough for everyone, but I swear this is different. I fell asleep for the last 30 minutes of the flight and woke up when we landed and was freaked out because I wasn't expecting it.

Fortunately I didn't have to deal with another broken door and I was off the plane. I hate using the bathrooms on the plane (turbulance + small space = scary times. I don't even know how people manage to join the mile high club) so I ran to pee before I grabbed my bags. So I get in the stall and realize that the woman in the stall next to me was on her cell phone. Hm...alright? It was really awkward how she carried on about her day with her friend while chilling in the bathroom stall. The call really couldn't be that important. I secretly found myself wishing that she would drop the phone in the toilet. Mean, maybe, but she made those 3 minutes of my day uncomfortable, so I think it's ok. I ran out of the bathroom, grab my bags, and ran outside to RIDICULOUSLY cold weather and met the Bestie who was soo sweet to come pick me up even though she would have to rush to work. I heart her.

So far my time home has been relaxing. It's cold and snowy, but being lazy on the couch watching bad tv is soo great. And last night I got the meet the Bestie's roomie whom I absolutely adore. We all ate too many wild wings and Tiffany managed to get me to a Target in Boo-Foo with literally 10 seconds to spare so I could pick up my bros Christmas gift. Good times.

I will try to be a good little blogger while I'm vacation with no excuses since I have absolutely no homework to do for the next 20 or so days. It's going to be heavenly!

P.S. For the girlie girls: I recently became a Sephora Beauty Insider and they gave me a $15 gift card to be used on a purchase of $35 or more. While freaking out during finals I decided to treat myself. I bought this and it's amazing!

greeting cards

Am I the only one that has trouble buying greeting cards?

Sometimes I love buying cards. It's always great when you pick up a funny card that totally reminds you of a friend and you can't wait to send it to them. Or you see a "My Little Pony" birthday card that reminds you of one you received on your 5th birthday.

But the thing I hate about greeting cards is that a lot of times I buy/send them because I have to, not because I want to. Greeting card politics to keep people from hating me. Example: my dad whom I no longer talk to. If I don't send a card, I get hate emails/phone calls about being an ungrateful child and how dare I not send a card because he sent one. So to keep him quiet, I send a card. And finding one is the worst. All the cards for parents say "Merry Christmas...I love you!" Well, that's not the message I want to send. And it's not like I can cross that part out. So I have to spend 30 minutes finding the card that's as neutral as possible. Sigh.

I should start a greeting card company that sells cards like "Merry Christmas...hope you're looking forward to my impersonal card next year." I wonder if those would sell...

Am I the only one that has this problem???

Also...packing my bags. Chicago, here I come!!!

Checklist

Ethics Paper - Check

Wills & Trusts Exam - Check

Thesis - Check

Coporations Exam - Check

Chicago - 3 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited???

Who wants to celebrate?!

I'll Make This a True Daily Double

Does anyone else feel brilliant when they get the answer to "Final Jeopardy" correct?

Jeopardy was really big in my house. My dad often worked from his home office and he would always take a break at 3:30 when Jeopardy came on so we could watch it together. We were hardcore about it. We each had a calculator in hand to add or subtract money when we answered questions and carefully determined our wagers for final jeopardy. And nothing was better than the "teen tournament". It was the one time I could depend on seriously out scoring my dad. I loved it. Plus I heart Alex Trebek.

From time to time I still watch Jeopardy and play along and get really excited when, like today, I get final Jeopardy correct.

Answer: It's the only state capital whose city limits lie on an international border.
Question: What is _____________?

You Know You're Losing Your Mind When...

For the past week I've been attempting to write papers/outline/study. It's awful and I think I've reached my breaking point. How? Today:

1) I've been breaking out into giggle fits. For no reason. I looked down at my book and started laughing because it's funny how little I know. Is my lack of understanding funny? Not at all. But my mind, which I suppose is separate from the rest of my body, thinks it is.

2) I have a Heidi Montag song ("Overdosing") stuck in my head...yes, that Heidi from "The Hills". Why? No idea. It's not like I own the song or have heard it more that 3 times in my life. I don't know the words, but I know the tune. And it's stuck.

3) I found a pirate hat in my house (from the day I got engaged which is a long story that I will share if anyone is interested). I put it on my head as a joke...and I've been wearing it for the past 5 or so hours. And I have no desire to take it off. Thank goodness I'm not in public.

4) I started dancing in my chair. It's like I'm coming up with choreographed routines without thinking about it. Anthing to keep my hands distracted from typing.

So here I am: a 25 year old girl breaking out into fits of laughter while doing choreographed dance routines in my chair to Heidi Montag songs while wearing a pirate hat. I'm officially losing it.

Think my corporations teacher will take that as an excuse to let me out of the exam? Yea, I don't think so either.

How do you know when you're going nutty???

going home for the holidays

I finally bought my plane ticket home to Chicago for the holidays.

20 days of hanging out with the bestie, snow (hopefully), shopping, Christmas, New Years, and no homework. It's going to be heavenly. And the boy's coming out for part of the trip too which is fabulous.

So my Chicago Blogger friends, what fun stuff is going down in Chicago that I should check out???