Las Vegas Style

New shoes {174/365}, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

Las Vegas Style

Whoo HOO! This pic is a little sexy for even my tastes, but I love how it came out. And really, it very much tipifies what a Vegas Trip should be. Sex, booze, and rock and roll. Oh, and concrete trucks and rocks. Right? no? Oh yeah, just you, Karin.

THis was the first time I was back in Vegas since about five years ago or so, Pat's first visit in about a week (oh yeah, he was just there last week for the start of the NCAA March Madness crazieness), and also our first trip alone without the kids. It was more difficult for me than I imagined - I struggled through the first 36 hours - feeling like I abandoned my children and wondering how I would survive without their hugs and kisses. After I realized the kids were WAY WAY fine without me I was able to settle in and enjoy. By the way, the kiddos had a great time with Mema & Papa (BIG shout out to my parents who came to us for the week - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!).

Even though we were both busy with separte work obligations, it was really great to get away. The show itself was amazing - what felt like miles and miles of big machines and new technology. Not sure if it was miles and miles, but it sure felt like it to my feet. I managed to have supremely comfortable shoes though (thank you DANSKO!), and only got one blister....which was between two toes. Still not sure how that happened. I got lost twice on the first day, but subsequent days were easier to navigate. I had four classes, two of which were very worthwhile, so that was worth my visit alone.

In addition to the daytime learning & exhibits of the ConExpo / Con-Agg show, Pat and I managed to sneak in a show (Las Vegas, the Show - very entertaining), attend a swanky private corporate event at Surrender at Steve Wynn's Encore Hotel, visit the famed Vegas establishment Spearmint Rhino, and ate some delicious meals. Maybe embibed in a little adult beverage consumption. Maybe. We stayed at Paris Las Vegas, and even though the room smelled a little bit strange, the accomodations were very nice.

I lost a little money at the tables and was getting no love from the slot machines. I decided if I was going to blow my money I might as well get a little something in return, so I went shopping the next day instead. Also managed to secure a manicure pedicure too. It was fantastic...but I kept falling asleep :) So relaxing!

It is good to be home, and back into the regular madness of the work week. I feel refreshed and ready to apply my new knowledge to my job....and maybe spark some innovative quality initiatives :) Hooray for Aggregates!

Photos from our Day in the City

Here are a couple of pics from the train ride. Liam was pretty pumped. He loves trains, and he likes to watch people - so it was right up his alley :) We don't actually take the train very often...buses are more convenient.

And then a couple of pics snapped on the boat tour. First, the newest addition to Chicago's Skyline - the Trump Tower.



And, the most famous - The Sears Tower.

We're home!

Ahhhh - back from Tucson and trying to get back into the swing of things! I'm working on uploading / editing the photos from the trip....hopefully I'll be able to post them all soon!!

Until then - Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Seriously folks - note pad time!

I really need to carry around a note pad with me. Or maybe get an iPhone and blog on the go :) I have so many great ideas - so many different feelings and experiences that I want to share throughout the course of any given day....but by time I get a chance to sit and decompress and blog - the moment has passed and exhaustion sets in and then there is nothing to share.

For example.....had a great time in St. Louis! Have some fab photos to share.....but they're not uploaded quite yet so that will have to wait. Monday we spent in Forest Park and at the zoo....yesterday was spent on an Architectural walking tour and at the Arch. Beautiful weather, and a beautiful city!

During the walking tour we also spent some time at the old courthouse, where the Dred Scott Trial was held, and, during Liam's nap time I was able to watch Iron Jawed Angels in its entirety. Between a slave suing for his freedom, a woman's right to vote, and all the election coverage...suffice it to say it was a pretty intense day emotionally for me. I felt so grateful for those people who have fought for my right to cast a vote, and to be able to cast that vote for a Black man....and for that man to be our next leader......

Wow. Was I ever proud. I'm not gonna lie, tears were shed. During the movie....during McCain's concession speech......this morning reading USA Today.......I'm so proud to be an American. God Bless the USA.

Busy busy bee!

I've been very busy since my last post! We took a trip to MI, saw my cousin Dennis tie the knot, and then spent the rest of the weekend having a very nice visit with one of Pat's old college roomates and his family in Plymouth. It was REALLY fun - they have a lil' man a week younger than Liam, so it was really cool to see them play and interact. I'm pretty sure Matt taught Liam how to wave, so we're pretty in debt to them :) It was just a nice weekend - great food, great conversation, and very relaxing! We went to the local park, and to a spray park too!



After visiting Karli at nerd camp, I stayed behind with my family while Pat went on to Clarksville, MO for the week. Our visit was fantastic (which is more than I can say for Pat's business trip....who wants to spend a week in St. Louis? LOL) and I had a great opportunity to practice lots of photography skilz...Karli's Senior Photos and some musical pics of Kyle at a bar. Karli's photos took about 5 hours total to take - about 10 gazillion different locations and four different outfits. I went to a Great Lakes Loons game with Karli and her friends, and reminisced while perusing through old high school uniforms that the school was selling. I did pick up a couple cheerleading uniforms and pom pom outfits to add to my Halloween collection...not like I could actually fit into them, but you never know.

Here are a couple of the photos (with added Textures I was playing around with).




Oh, I also starred in my first cable commercial :) If you live in the greater Saginaw area and see a spot for Hamilton Street Pub, look for me "Cheers"-ing a couple other people in the beginning of the commercial. I was excited to make the final cut :) It was pretty fun to be a part of that.

I also ran with my mom, and on two occasions ran three miles at 11:00 miles, which is like world record pace for me. Pat and I have a race on Sunday for WTTW (the Chicago PBS station) so we'll see how that pace keeps up.

Liam and I took the train home to Chicago last Friday, and he was Mr. Social Butterfly! We must have walked up and down our train car 10 times, and each time he was smiling and waving at everyone....at one point he was called the "Official Button Inspector" because he was check out everyone's recline button as he was passing each seat. He did so well, until he misstepped at the end, bonked his head and bit his lip. Damn teeth. He bled pretty well... I knew he was OK, but nothing makes you feel like a horrible mother when you hear people say "OH my GOD he's bleeeeding". Yes, I know. He's bleeding. Thanks for pointing that out.

Since our return we've been trying to get things in order - we had an Open House on Saturday (one person came) and another Open House today, this time for Brokers.....today went well, Saturday, not so much. But, such is the market, and we'll keep plugging along with guarded hopes. And, Adrian made cookies and that is never a bad thing. Also, open houses and showings give us an excuse to really clean the house well, so even if we don't sell the house at least its clean and shiney and I don't have to feel bad if my kid eats a cheerio off of it.

The rest of the spare time has been spent editing, uploading and playing with photos. Lots and lots of photos. I think after it was all said and done I took over 800 pictures last week, almost all in manual (whoo hooo for me!). I definitely didn't do great, there was still a lot of correction of exposure to be done, but I had to do it to learn.

See the fruits of my labor at my flickr account: Karin's FLICKR

Soooo, that's it. Now, we're dealing with a semi-sick child. He's had a runny nose for about a week or so. Took him to the dock today and no ear infection or anything, so its just a waiting game to see if it will clear up or not. We'll give it another week or so. Keep your fingers crossed!

*whew*

We did make it home safe and sound on Sunday evening - after a slight detour to drop Pat's 1st cousin once removed's girlfriend in Oak Park. Its been difficult to get back to normal.....trying to learn how to be a mom without any help during the day is hard!!! Not to say that Pat doesn't help - he does TREMENDOUSLY, but during business hours I have to pretend he's not around even if he is so he can get work done. That's the tough part.

Its making its way though - and today we actually have a clean house :) That's because we had our 2nd showing this afternoon. It went well, but who knows where it will go. I get so excited over just a showing....and a showing is a long long way from a selling :) know what I mean? I try to not get my hopes up, but its kind of hard not to.

Speaking of hopes being up and then crushed.....I went this morning to take a class at the CHA 2008 Summer show (that is the Craft & Hobby Association - for you non-scrap peeps) and after I drove in rush hour traffic out to Rosemont and parked for $11 I discovered I wasn't even registered for the class. DOH! I was upset for a mili-second, and then I realized I probably should have checked with the big dogs first....and I didn't. So my bad. I did register for the show though, so I won't have to worry about that when I go back on Saturday.

I got a zap of creative goodness though - seeing all the people there with all the scrappy stuff in tow. Made me want to create something and be all creative and stuff! All my real life scrapbook goodness has been in storage for over a year now.....I hope we can sell our place so we can buy a new joint and I can actually have that stuff close by!! I need more creative outlets!!

Oh, summer tip of the day. Put sliced cucumber in a glass pitcher and stick it in your fridge full of water. It makes for a muy refreshing drink....and looks pretty :) Add a twist of lime for extra flavor! (thanks to Kelly for reminding me of that!).

K, off to bed. Molly, her friend, Liam and I are headed to Shedd tomorrow morning! Yippie! One of my favorite places on earth :)

Last Leg

We had a great time at Cedar Point, and we are now chillin' in Cleveland, OH, on the last leg of our whirlwind Tour of the Midwest! The O'Brien Family Reunion is in full force, and we had a great time last night....Liam and I meeting everyone for the first time, and Pat catching up with old family members. It was actually really nice! Not that I expected it to not be, but sometimes meeting extended family members can be a bit overwhelming! I think it helped that I've cyber "met" some of the members online, which makes remembering names a bit easier :)

The facility is really nice - we're at a Crown Plaza. The rooms are very pretty, we got a Stellar deal on room rates, AND the pool is AWESOME! Nice and big, with lots of seating round the stamped concrete surround. When you walk in the pool room, its warm, and the chlorine does not sting your eyeballs, which is always a good sign. Moe did a great job planning and picking the joint, so mucho kudos to her.

I did imbibe a little too much last night on Vodka Tonics.....but I felt pretty good last night (as in NOT drunkasaurus rex) so I didn't think I'd have a headache in the AM, but I did. And I kept on vurping Cheeze Its too because that was the last thing I munched on before crashing. Eww. I don't think I'll be eating those again anytime soon. However, now at 11:00Am, I'm feeling refreshed and good and ready for another day of fun activities. Not quite right now though, because Mr. Liam is sleeping :)

OK, so now whilst Liam is in sleepy land, I'm going to sort through the zillion photos I've taken. Hopefully I'll make some progress.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone had a fantastic Fourth of July! Happy Birthday America :) We had a great time at the Reunion. Liam didn't do too well at first, lots of people, lots of people in his face, and he's not particularly a big fan of that. He did take a nap on me for a while, and then woke up at about 10 PM, just in time for us to go catch the fireworks! We went to Bridge View Park which was near our hotel. Aside from the swarms of Mosquitos, it was a lovely, if not a bit chilly evening. But OH so clear!! We could see the fireworks from St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City AND a little bit even from Cheboygan and Charlevoix (though they were tiny in the distance).

I didn't bring my big beefy tripod, and ended up purchasing a flimsy one from Wal-Mart (which I'm going to take back because it sucks my butt). It did the trick though, and I captured a couple cool shots.




Yesterday was another beautiful day, and slightly warmer. My cousins' wedding was BEAUTIFUL! The ceremony was on a chartered boat (the same ones that take you to Mackinac Island) and took place right under the Mackinac Bridge. Then we just ran about in the Straits for a while - took a quick jaunt by the Island, and even ran circles around a GIANT freighter! Those are some big boats, I tell ya! The reception was great too. Liam and Daddy had a great time dancing. I can't believe that little bean stayed up until 11:00!!! He wasn't too crabby either. It was fun!

I don't have photos from that yet - still sittin' on my camera in the car.

We're hangin' out with the family for the rest of the day after we check out, and then headed to Saginaw for a few more days before hitting Cedar Point on Thursday and the O'Brien Family weekend of Fun! Not sure when I'll be able to jump on again, but rest assured I'll share mucho photos when I do :) Ciao!

We're here!

We made it to St. Ignace! Liam and Pat are wrestling around on the bed next to me laughing....I'm pretty sure Liam is ridiculously happy to be out of the car! It was 6 hours yesterday, and another 3 today. He was a very good traveler though, and I'm thankful for that! I'm trying to be mad at Pat since he's pretty much being a Big Giant Jerkasaurus Rex, but seeing the two of them play together pretty much makes my heart a big pile of goo. I'll try to be hard here for a few minutes longer, but I don't know how long I can hold out.

Today commemorates Liam and Pat's first trip across Big Mac! She's such a beautiful bridge...I can't believe it was Pat's first time across. Who is from Michigan and hasn't been across? Pat O'Brien, apparently.

On the drive up here I remembered how much I love this area. Nothing but trees as far as the eye can see....rolling hills of green against the beautiful blue sky....dotted with smooshy white clouds. Pretty much the essence of peace and beauty for me. For Pat....not so much. To him, it represents....um......nothingness. And hillbillies. And Beef Jerky.

So now we're just waiting for the rest of my family to get here, then we'll head out to the Mayer Family Reunion at my cousin Todd's home. Until later....

Hiatus

You know, I figured with this stay at home Mom stuff I would be blessed with oodles and oodles of time to find the end of the internets and in general play all day.

HAHAHHAHAHAHAA

not so much.

I'm having a great time, truth be told, it just has reduced my computer time quite a bit, and I haven't figured out how to balance it just yet. I'll figure it out eventually, so I don't anticipate another month long absence.

So much has happened! Liam has become a LIGHTENING fast crawler....and yes, he's taken his first steps!!! A week before his 9 month birthday. Sniff. I don't think I was emotionally ready for that LOL. Here's the video proof!



We have his 9 month check up today, so I will post stats after we get home from the doctor.

Liam and I have also been enjoying many mommy meet ups through meetup.com - going to the beach, farmers markets, zoos, playgrounds and peoples houses! Its difficult sometimes, and I get frustrated with having to take the bus everywhere, but for the most part its been pretty fun. Liam is getting less and less shy, and starting to enjoy hanging out with other kiddos. I've also joined a photography meetup; my first meeting with them was at 4:15AM on Saturday to catch the sunrise on the lake. It was pretty amazing!





More photos on flickr at Sunrise Photo Set

Other news - we've put our condo on the market as of today, I think. Everyone cross their fingers and we'll see how she goes!!!!

Funny Pic O' the Day!

I find this photo hilarious. Over half of my photos when I shoot without a flash are like this - and I have a tendancy to delete them, because they're not "good". But I really love this, I think simply because it epitomizes Liam's stage right now. He's doing a lot of climbing and grabbing. AND a lot of falling. This is just my little man fallin' on his butt right as I take the photo....notice he still managed to keep grabbing onto the play thing though.


So I had an impromptu trip to Saginaw, from Monday to Thursday. The rouse was to watch Karli play in her last softball games, but she was all banged up and unable to play. I'm pretty sure she f'd her knee in the A, but I don't think she's had an MRI to confirm/deny these suspicions. It was a great trip anyway. It was nice in general just hangin' out with the fam. Dad, Liam and I even went to the Saginaw Children's Zoo on a cool, Wednesday morning.

Here's Liam checkin' out a moo-cow :)

The cool part was that I finally mustered up the courage to try train travel, and rode the friendly rails with Amtrak. It was cheaper than driving (not by much, cuz I got the expensive tickets, but it can be as cheap as $60 round trip to Flint!!). It was actually a great experience, even though we were quite delayed on the way in, and doubly so on the way back. But Liam was fantastic - very minimal fussing, he mostly was content to either sit on me, the chair, the floor and stand or play. He also liked looking out the windows and banging on them whilst laughing at the trees. Totally cute! Really, it was nice to have 6+ hours to devote to him - no phone, computer, tv....just me and the little man.

He actually made my heart *almost* explode a couple of times, when he would just sit on my lap and play, and then all the sudden just look at me and smile, then snuggle his little head on my chest for a second before returning to play. *sigh* I suppose that's what montherhood is all about, right?

Now I'm home just long enough to unpack, repack and head out to Indiana tomorrow to hang out with Pat's family! Should be fun :) Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!!

It's Official

I am officially car-less. I turned in the vehicle, my keys, my telephone and my computer today. That really made this all seem so, well, final.....even though its been a couple of days since I was let go. I ordered my Chicago City Pass last night, so hopefully I'll get that soon. In the meantime, I'll just be using the disposable cards we have to use public transportation.

Of course, all this really isn't that big of a deal, because Pat still has his vehicle....and the majority of couples in the city have one car (if they have a car at all). Its just kind of a big deal for me since most of the transportation in my life has been by car.....driving......my four wheel office. I actually liked driving hours on end. Now, its time to get used to a new way of living.

I guess I should start by breaking down the transportation system here. There is the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) and they operate the buses and trains (the "EL" - colored lines - red, blue, orange, etc) in the City of Chicago. Then there is PACE (not sure what that stands for) which operates buses in the suburbs, and The Metra, which is the commuter trains from the suburbs as well....there are many different lines that go from Milwaukee to Joliet, and a zillion stops in between.

I started off on this new foot by taking public transportation today from the office. Deerfield, IL is about 20 miles north of where we live. Driving it takes about 30-40 minutes or so door to door (closer to an hour now that the Eden's is all F'd in the A). I took the Metra from Deerfield to Edgebrook, walked a block, then took the 84 Peterson bus all the way home. It was super easy, took only about an hour total, and cost about $5.00 - not too shabby.

The relative ease of it all actually had me thinking that I might come to enjoy this.......but I should probably wait to make that assessment until I travel with a wee little one a time or two. One of the things I really enjoyed was being able to really look at the city. I mean, REALLY look - the style of homes, the streets, the people. It was pretty cool. Especially the people part. I think I heard at least 5 different languages on my way home. I LOVE that about the city. One of the big reasons why I would like to stay here for a while - I think its great to expose Liam to that kind of mix instead of being in a super suburb where its all super white bread (not that there's anything wrong with white bread.....its just so...well, bland). It was especially nice because everyone appeared to be happy and social and in a good mood....it was a beautiful day outside, no doubt that was the reason.

So, I will be reliant on public transportation here for a while anyway. If we were to get another vehicle, it would most likely be only if I went back to work somewhere not accessible by the vast network of buses and trains here, or if we moved out into the 'burbs....and all that is up in the air right now.

And, as a wise friend once said "Sometimes the unknown is much greater than the known". Indeed.

My new favorite picture

DOH! I can't STAND it! Pat and Liam are sooooooooo cute!!! My new favorite picture :)

I've got a lot to catch you all up on - our Holidome weekend was FANTASTIC, and I had a great time in Saginaw for a week......but that means lots of photos to upload and post. And, right now, my little He-Man Liam has a cold :( He's so sniffly and pathetic...but I think its harder on Pat and I than it actually is on him. We'll get through it.

Family Photo :)

It was great visiting the fam last weekend - in addition to the baby shower we also went to go see a movie. Karli, Nikki & Janelle and I went to see Hairspray, while Pat opted to go see The Bourne Ultimatum in the theater across the hall......I was pleasantly surprised about Hairspray - I mean, it was a cheesy musical, but it was well done and entertaining. Other than that we spent our time hanging out and lounging in the pool and just visiting over all.

OH - Pat and I slept on my sister's waterbed. That was fun - NOT! I slept pretty well the second night, but the first night Pat was being rather over exaggerated in his motions and flopping us all over god's green earth. And the bed may have been a tad overfilled for the two of us (compared to one teeny tiny Karli girl!)....so it was kind of like we were sleeping on a hill. But it worked out great for my hips and back - no pain at all!

HOLY COW! Did you know my sister has her permit!?? And turns 16 in about two weeks!? When did that happen!??! I had her drive me to the store this weekend, and it was so strange having her in the seat next to me! She's just growing up so quickly!

Even though everyone wasn't there for all of the time, I was able to wrangle the entire family together for a photo session before we left on Sunday - everyone was less than enthused! Hey - I HAD to try out my new tri-pod! But, they eventually cooperated (even Chino was patient!) and I managed to get a good shot or two (or ten! LOL). Here's my fav......

Here's another one we took the night before, including our cousin's Janelle & Nikki, and excluding Keith.

I really like these shots because they were rather spontaneous - meaning I didn't give anyone any time to primp or prepare.....so its us, just as us. Real. I {heart} my family!

No big plans for this weekend - we've got a few baby classes to attend, but after the crazy travel weekend last weekend I would like to just hang out and do a whole lot of nothing, know what I mean?

Camping Etc.

This weekend Pat O'Brien and I headed out to our first solo camping trip to Illinois Beach State Park. We had fantastic weather, and all in all, I'd say it was a heck of a way to spend a weekend. We mostly just chilled by the campfire or played in the sand (even making a few sandcastles!!!). It was quite a relaxing weekend after a rather hurried, intense work week, and a nice way to enjoy the company of my wonderful husband without the distractions of computers, cell phones and televisions.

Here are a few photos, click on the cluster for a larger view (frames by Nancy Comelab):They came out pretty nice anyway. I'm glad I bought a remote :) I got a few other flower pictures that came out neato burrito, but I'll have to save them for another day. And Holy SCHMOLY man - look at that BELLY! And I still have two months to go!!! Speaking of which - that is mostly why I haven't been religious at posting lately. I'm just so stinkin' tired the last thing I want to do is try to find the least uncomfortable position to sit and type....know what I mean? Actually, during the camping weekend as I was sitting mesmerized by the fire, I wanted to grab my computer and type up a post to capture the contentment and deep thoughts I was having....but that would have required me to get up out of the chair and get my computer in the car, and well, that just wasn't happening!

We did have a couple cool sightings that I didn't capture on "film".....a cute little baby skunk tried to investigate our site, but our flashlight ran it back into the brush. We also saw a momma deer dash across the road, only to be followed by her sweet little spotted fawn. And there were a TON of bats flying around at dusk capturing the plethora of mosquitoes for dinner. A very cool sight....from a distance :) OH - and the STARS! They were just amazing! And, if we looked south we could actually see the light pollution put out by the city of Chicago, even 70 miles north.

Hey, is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to snag a position to golf today with the Dubuque Homebuilders Association. I really wasn’t that heartbroken over the ordeal because already at 8:00AM it was about a billion degrees out, 98% humidity and the sun hadn’t even come out yet. So I was content to plant a kiss on Pat O’Brien at the Tee Box, and make my merry way into the city.

The trip wasn’t a loss though, because I was able to entertain my customer and spend some time with other industry personnel at the great dinner we had last night, and at the local Greyhound Racetrack / Casino into the wee hours of the morning (which, to my pregnant body, is anything after 11:00PM – I made it until about 1:00AM, then I had to call it a night). We also had a dinner this evening after golf, but that is neither here nor there. No big prizes were won – but Pat’s team did win the 1^st place in the 2^nd flight (whatever that means). So we had a $20 shopping spree in the Pro Shop.

Oh, I guess I should clarify. We’re not actually in Dubuque, IA – we are in East Dubuque, IL, right across the river. All the fun stuff (i.e. CASINOS) is in Iowa, though. Pat taught me how to play craps….which we won a nice little chunk of change last night…although I promptly lost it all at the blackjack tables. We went back again after lunch today and came home $100 or so up. Craps is a fun game – super exciting when lots of people are involved. I don’t think I could explain it to you – but I probably could play for a while and not lose my ass doing it.

Anywho – instead of working (like I should have been – but there wasn’t sufficient internet access) I filled my morning with a trip to a place to cross off my life’s To Do list – visit the Field of Dreams movie filming site. I didn’t really have high expectations, since it is just a ball field in the middle of a corn field. But it was a cool place, and I find it impressionable enough to get a souvenir magnet and poster. There were families running the bases, and groups of young men trying to hit a long ball into the corn. Also I noted lots of people taking pictures, the hot humid air hanging around, people browsing the souvenirs and appreciating the beauty of the tranquil surroundings. Oh and corn, lots of corn. The sad thing about the whole visit was that the feud between the two families that own the site kind of overshadowed the magic and sanctity of the game and the movie. You can read more about the Lansing/Ameskamp rift HERE. Sadly, its always all about money.

Despite the overshadow of the feuds, Field of Dreams is still a great movie. Baseball is still a great game. It was a fitting way to spend the morning heading into the All Star break. Go Tigers :)

“This field, this game, is part of our past. It reminds us of all that was once good, and it could be good again. Oh people will come. People will most definitely come”

- From the movie, Field of Dreams.

WOW! What a weekend!

Whew! We had a whirlwind weekend! We had a great time (albiet way too short) with Danica and Brad, even though the Tiger's lost. No runs whatsoever....only like, four hits or something ridiculous like that. What a bummer. I did get some fantastic pictures though - and already made a great LO! (click to enlarge)


I also took a zillion photos of Seamus's T-ball game, and hangin' out on the deck at my parents house (Friends and Family Oh My!) Saturday, but I'll have to post those later. OH wait - I did test my camera out and take some pics of Kyle playing pool basketball.....check out his mad skilz.....and my mad camera action! You can see the droplets of water!!! (click to enlarge)

The pictures are still kinda blue for my taste, but I haven't figured out how to get all that right on my camera - its still running on auto mode. Those pictures were shot with continuous shoot - 3 frames per second. I LOVE that option!

All in all - it was a great weekend, even though it involved a TON of driving! We even went to church - two weeks in a row - WOO HOOO!

Happy Post Memorial Day Weekend :)

YAY! We did get some grilled meat this weekend :)

I was thinking to myself that really, we didn't have any big plans - but now that the weekend is over, I suppose we were rather busy. A quick breakdown for you:

Friday - shopping and Pirates of The Carribean. Pirates was pretty good, although about a half an hour too long. But, still worth the price of our admission and popcorn goodies!

Saturday - crip crappity crap crappy day! All rainy and gloomy :( But, we grabbed our umbrellas and managed to get out for a nice long walk down to our friend's store The Wooden Spoon so I could purchase a muddler. Being that I have been sooooo into virgin Mojitos lately, I figured I really needed one. And, it works famously I tell you! On the way back home we stopped at the Hopleaf bar for a drink, and I tried another new non-alcoholic brew....that I can't think of the name of right now....Claust-something...from Germany. It was pretty good - very hoppy.

The evening brought celebrations for my cousin Will's 29th birthday! We went to dinner with Will, Amber and two other couple friends of their's for a night of Tapas at Cafe Babareeba - it was a great choice! All the food, drink and desserts were so yummy!!! Of course, the company makes the dinner, and that wasn't too shabby either :) To those of you who say dates wrapped up in bacon sounds horrible, you would be terribly terribly mistaken! It was a fantastic flavor explosion - and everyone should try it!!!!

Sunday - after Bike The Drive was finished at 10AM, we headed down Lakeshore drive to visit our favorite O'Brien's for a day. It was crappy when we arrived in Indiana, but it cleared up and actually turned out to be a great day! We played some catch, lounged in Mike's fabulous new hammock, and ate hot dogs and brats on the grill! YUMMY :) Then, we watched both the Tigers and the Piston's lose, and headed to bed.

Monday - after a fabulously prepared pancake and sausage breakfast, we left Mike & Kristen's and headed back home. I had a nice afternoon nap, and then we took advantage of the nice day and went for a walk. I kind of wanted to hit The Chicago Botanic Gardens, but Pat didn't really want to drive anywere, so instead of our normal walk we decided to head to The Rosehill Cemetary. Before you get all wierded out and think we are crazy - They had a Memorial Day parade earlier that morning, and we figured Memorial day is as good a day as any to walk through a cemetary. Folks, this cemetary is HUGE, old and the entrance looks so cool. It was designed by the same dude who did the Water Tower downtown. Its the largest cemetary in Chicago, and turns out, 3rd largest in the world....something like 350 acres. Really, it was quite pretty. They had tons of flags out, and some incredibly ornate monuments. I'm glad we walked through.....and we might just do it again.

That brings us to today....just working from home today, I've got a billion things to catch up on - which I should start right. about. NOW!

Whoa, been a while, eh?

OK - I had no idea it had been that long since I posted!

We spent a few days in San Diego on a honeymoon, then promptly returned to Chicagoland only to turn around and head to Lake Geneva Wisconsin for a work meeting. Ex.haus.ted. Here's a Lay Out I did of it.....if you click on it you can see it much better.



This weekend was a Round The Clock scrap-a-thon - 52 hours straight for National Scrapbook Weekend! It went well, but I'm sooooo tired! Here are two magnets I made for a challenge I lead - the kitties are so precious!




Also got to see my cousin Will & his wifey Amber on Saturday evening - they came over for some dinner, to watch the Pistons kick the Bulls butts & for some Wii action :) It was great seeing them - they are pretty stinkin' fun peeps! And, they bring cheesy poofs with them, which makes them A-OK in my book!

We have a two day work week this week, then on Wednesday we head to Tucson to see Pat's mom graduate. So basically you won't see another post for another week or so. But I promise I'll be back eventually!

Wedding Spectacular on Ice

OK - not on ice...but it sounded like a good title. Well, its official :) I’m Mrs. Karin O’Brien :) and I’m very smiley about it :)

The wedding went very well, and aside from a few check in issues (and one other issue that I’ll discuss later) the weekend went off without a hitch. The weather even decided to cooperate, which was nice…..it was threatening to rain pretty much all day, and was relatively chilly (in the 50’s or so) – but much nicer than the rest of the strong Thunderstorms that traipsed through the area last night.

Basically, here’s a breakdown of how the day went…..since the family was staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, we started there with a Chicago Trolley pick up. From there we headed to the Downey Mansion at Berger Park for the Ceremony in the sun room. After an awesome, short but sweet ceremony given by Seth Fisher, we loaded the trolley up and rode around Chicago, stopping at a couple locations for bathroom breaks and a few photo opportunities. Then, the night ended with a fantastic dinner experience at Fogo de Chao – one of our favorite restaurants in Chicago.

I don’t think I could say enough good things about the professionalism, promptness, quality and just plain awesomeness of all our vendors…..I say vendors – but they were really much more than that! Sharla, the assistant in our office, made our bouquets and boutonnieres because she’s taking a floral design class….they came out exactly how I had it in my head! Seth delivered a fantastic ceremony, and I must say – he’s got such a great presence and voice – it was exactly what we were looking for. Just an all around nice guy! Victoria, our photographer, was just so stinkin’ adorable! Very flexible, friendly and attentive to our strange requests :). I can’t wait to see our photographs! Carla was the girl who came to the hotel to do our hair (me and Karli’s…..that is) – I found her at the last minute (on Wednesday) and she totally was awesome! Our hair rocked :)

Then there was Paul. Now, this guy was GREAT….he was the trolley driver. The kids wanted to sit right at the front of the trolley, right next to the driver and he was just chatting them up like they were old friends. And they were so well behaved up there too. Every request we had, he was just so, I don’t know……..Friendly? Courteous? Accommodating? I guess all those, and more. We even added another $20 to his tip…..we were very happy with his service.

So what are we going to do now? Nothing :) We’re taking a couple of days off of work just to relax…..we may go play some golf tomorrow if its nice, but aside from that we have no plans :)

:::::::::: POOP IN A BOX ::::::::::

So here is the part about the hotel stay that I didn’t go into detail before…..

But before I do that I think you all should watch the clip from when Justin Timberlake hosted SNL last year. Its not X-rated or anything….but if you have issues with the word Dick you probably shouldn’t watch it. I guess you might classify it as raunchy – but its pretty hilarious, and tough to get it out of your head once its stuck in there. Pat frequently gets it in his head…..his favorite part is the, uh, well….”instructions”.

Funny, eh? OK – now just keep that in mind.

One more preface…..I was pretty happy with the service the HGI gave us – it was a fantastic location right in the heart of downtown, and the sales group gave us a great price to boot. They worked with us for the various changes we had, and distributed most of the guest baskets that we made for the rooms (all six of them - LOL). There were some things, like the check in thing, and our suite didn’t have towels right away……but that could have been any hotel at any given time.

Last night, HGI also happened to host a Fraternity Formal for Alpha Tau Omega from Purdue University…..after their festivities some of them headed up to a suite down the hall from us for an after party. Yes, they were a tiny bit loud, but really nothing obnoxious – and we were so exhausted that we didn’t even really notice for long anyway. I was pretty understanding since it hasn’t been that long ago (hasn’t it?) that I was doing the same thing…….I do recall before drifting off to sleep there was some walkie-talkie noise, and then silence…so I’m guessing someone called security and they broke things up.

So we thought nothing of it….

We woke up this morning and were getting ready to take our stuff out to our car. I was standing by the door, my hand on the handle, and I smelled something a bit funny. Kind of like a poopy diaper or something, which I found to be odd. I opened the door – and found a nice log of human shit – in an open box – in front of our door.

Nice. Very nice.

I’m not sure if it was just an April Fool’s Day prank, or because they thought we were the ones who called security, or just because we had a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door….but I guess it doesn’t really matter. There’s not even any way to prove that it was an attendee of the ATO Formal…..I suppose it could have been some other rogue band of teenage to early 20’s boys (although I don’t recall seeing any throughout the weekend). So aside from that, who else would you peg it on? The family with three kids under the age of 10? How about the two couples in their mid 40’s away from the kids and out for a night on the town? Or the group of four women who just returned from a day of shopping their feet (and credit cards) off? My brothers? OK – don’t answer that one….I already asked them just to be sure and they assured me they didn’t.

Or, do you think it was the really drunk fraternity boys, ticked off because the suite party was broken up?

It takes a lot to disgust me (well, not now, since I’m much more sensitive to smells and sights now that I’m pregnant) – and I’m all for pranks now and again……but that was just plain ol’ GROSS. I called the manager and explained our “present” – and he proceeded to apologize profusely and comp all the charges for our stay. I wasn’t mad or angry at the hotel – its not their fault that drunk kids do idiot things now and again……and I wasn’t mad in general – just really grossed out. I was pretty happy they gave us a free room, know what I mean?

Now I think about it and really it’s kind of funny. At least they had the common sense to put it in a box as to not tarnish and stain the carpet, and for ease of cleaning. And, I can thank them for putting “Poop In A Box” in my head all day, sung along to the JT classic posted above….and a free honeymoon suite :)