So, we went up north for New Years...

This update will likely be short, but sweet. Hopefully.

So, on Friday evening after Jen was finished with work, we picked her up, filled up on gas (we luckily* were borrowing Matt's parents car) and headed out to a clear I-90. It stayed clear for about 12 minutes.** Once we were in Wisconsin, the roads were getting slick and snow was falling on a somewhat regular basis. Needless to say, it was a bit nerve-wracking. Once we were fairly close, and on a 2 lane highway, I was happy - after a little over 5 hours, we were almost there. And then we see brake lights ahead of us. A whole long line of them. Did I mention we were on a 2-lane highway? We saw no one coming from the other direction. We probably sat stationary for 15-20 minutes. Doesn't really seem like a lot, but it sure does when you're sitting on a road, waiting to move. I guess there was at least a 2-car crash, as we saw the tow truck towing 2 wrecked cars in front of us. Anyway, eventually we made it - Matt's parents waited up (of course) and even had some sort of chili cheese dip warmed and waiting for us. (Keep in mind this was sometime after 1AM, if I recall correctly).

The next morning, Matt's parents made us breakfast & after Jen and I learned to snowmobile. I'm pretty conservative with it, as I was afraid I'd fall off if I went too fast. *** As Jen and I were "learning" we decided to take them into town and have a beer. Beers were $1.75. Awesome. Anyway, it was an odd experience just pulling up into a parking lot and parking a snowmobile. **** Inside the bar, we found many others dressed in the same snow pants, huge winter coat as us. There was even temporary shelving set up for helmets. We had a beer & then headed back.

Most of our time was spent either in the cabin hanging out (90210-watching), out on snowmobiles, or somewhere in one of the towns at a bar. I had my first Wisconsin cheese curds (both the deep-fried and non-breaded varieties), we went antique shopping (I'm sure Matt loved that), and we watched Illinois lose in both basketball (Tennessee St at home) and football (USC in the Rose Bowl).

Back up - did I mention we brought Steve up with us? It was an interesting experiment, to say the least. After some confirmation from Dr. Bob (Matt's Dad) as well as other family members that have taken cats up there, we decided to pack him up and take him. He doesn't like being in his crate very much, so for the first 5 minutes or so, he was whining pretty bad. :( Once up there, we kept him in the bedroom we were sleeping in, as there were 2 dogs up there. We knew he'd likely stay in there anyway, under the bed, but we didn't want to take chances that they wouldn't get along. After 2 days, the dogs were gone & Steve started to show his face. He'd do his own exploring, making sure to walk into every room - for what, I don't know. As silly as it seems, I was pretty happy seeing him out and walking around. Even at home, he usually stays secluded when we have people over, so it was nice to see him out with Jen being there. By the last day, he came out quite a bit. Yay for Steve!

Ok, so back to the rest of the trip... New Years Eve, we went to the local butcher and bought steaks for grilling. Matt's parents had leftover lobster, so Jen and Matt had that in addition to steak (too weird texture-y for me). Matt grilled up the steaks & spargus - it ended up being really great (despite a grill covered in snow). We finished eating, cleaned up & had a few drinks before heading out to the Shamrock Bar for NYE festivities. Once at the bar, we quickly snagged a couple of seats right at the bar and drank cheap drinks most of the night. I think we collectively spent no more than $50 or $60. Awesome.

It was a really fun time spent up north & I hope to plan a trip with our friends this summer. It's a 6-hour drive & summer weekends are usually pretty busy for most, so it might be tough. Would definitely be fun, though.

*I say "luckily" but the car didn't handle very well in the snow. It did a great job at ensuring we make it up there, but once there, it was tough to get around.

**It was probably more than 12 minutes.

***I did fall off one night. I wasn't driving, Matt was. I was on the back, he took a turn pretty quickly, I was catapulted from the vehicle. I didn't get hurt.

**** Even more odd, being first -time riders, Jen and I didn't know snowmobiles do not go in reverse. So, when we first saw the lot, we drove right up to the pile of snow that had been removed from the lot. Everyone else was nicely lined up in the lot. I didn't want to drive in there, out of fear of doing something wrong or crashing into something. Whoops.

Oh, and just kidding about this update being short.

Here are some pictures from the time up there:

*ninja smoke*

More to come...

... and we're now in 2008

So, let's see if I can give an update on what's been going on the past few weeks.

The weekend of the 22nd-ish I spent the night in St Louis, for our annual trip to the Braggin' Right's game. Illinois won yet again, 8 years in a row. The hilarious thing about this year's game - we're awful. Even in a year when our team is awful, we still end up beating Mizzou.

Christmas and the days around it were a whirlwind yet again. Christmas Eve Eve was spent in the western burbs, once we were actually able to find it. There's just something about the western burbs - I always end up getting lost on my way. It doesn't matter if I've been to the specific location before, I get lost. It sucks. Well, the western burbs do. Anyway, that was Matt's dad's side of the family. It was a small gathering, but good to see that side of the family. Matt's grandma even commented to him, "I like your lady-friend" :D

Christmas Eve was spent at Matt's mom's side of the family in Oak Park. The main attraction to this gathering is the music played and songs sung after all of the hullabaloo that comes with Christmas is finished. That side of the family is pretty musically gifted, everyone usually sits around in the main room while Matt's uncles & aunts play instruments and sing. I'll be honest, last year, I was a bit taken back by the entire thing, I thought it was a little bit weird. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Should I sing? If I don't, will everyone think I'm the weird one? In any case, my finding it weird was mostly because I've never been a part of a family that does much more than sit around and watch television or play cards during the holidays. This year, it was probably the part of the holidays that I was most looking forward to.

Christmas Day was spent in the Rock with my dad's family for most of the day. After that, we headed to my mom's to see her, my brothers and my nieces and nephews. And finally, after that, Matt's immediate family (mom and dad) wanted to have our own Christmas celebration, so we headed to Kenosha from Rockford. We had a nice dinner and opened gifts. Among sweaters & a picture frame collage, they gave us a huge Illinois metal bucket, filled with a ton of Illinois stuff - really cool gift that I look forward to putting to use.

A few days after Christmas, Matt, Jen and I headed up to northern Wisconsin to spend a few days at Matt's family "cabin." Cabin is in quotes because it's pretty much a house. There are 3 BRs, 2 bathrooms, a fully functioning kitchen with every appliance imaginable, a laundry room, etc. I'll hold off on posting the recap from the cabin though. I'm hoping to have pictures soon, once I have those, I will post that in a different post.

Finally, today is my first day back at work since 11 AM on Christmas Eve. Wow, it sucks. Not quite as busy as I was anticipating, so I guess that's good (I mean, I even have time for this big ol' update)... but, I really enjoyed my time off.

My new hat!

I purchased a new hat this winter. This inspired me to find pictures of me in different hats. I should wear hats more often.

Here are some pictures!

Technically, this isn't a hat, but whatever:

Also, not a hat:

Christmas decorations!

We finally picked up a tree on Saturday. Here are a couple of pictures of decorations at Westview. (We actually made the basket & wreaths ourselves! Hooray us!)

Yes, Steve has a stocking. Let's not forget, I'm a creepy cat lady.

and finally, our tree:

ROSE BOWL!!!!

So, it was announced yesterday that Illinois will be facing USC in the Rose Bowl on January 1st. What awesome news for a program that was so dismally bad just two years ago. While I don't expect to come out of Pasadena with a win, I certainly hope Illinois is able to be competitive and keep it close.

Sadly, because of the high costs of flights ($500+), I will not be making the trip out west for the game. It's just not something I'm able to rationalize as worthy of such a large amount of money, for one game. Besides, I also have 2 trips in March to plan for - My 30th birthday in Vegas (March 19th - 23rd, mark your calendars now!) as well as the annual trip to the Final Four (this year in San Antonio). Why this can't be the year the Final Four is in Detroit is a bit frustrating. I'd easily skip that trip to take this one out west.

Anyway, that's the update for now... currently planning our trip to St Louis for the Braggin' Rights game on the 22nd!

holler.

I am a creepy cat lady

I really like this picture

Biggest Loser Challenge - Halfway point...

So, it's the halfway point of the diet I posted about at the end of September- the diet where 7 of us all tossed in $50 to see who could lose the highest percentage of body weight by the end of the year.

Well - my progress so far - I've lost 11.5 pounds! It's been tough, and I probably could be down more than that if I were more dedicated to the working out portion of the plan. I've generally kept on track with my new diet, only having a couple of bad days over the course of the past 7 weeks.

Anyway, my goal is to lose 20 by the end of the year, and the ultimate goal is 30 by 30 (30 lbs by my 30th birthday - which is 3.27). I know I'll hit a plateau at about the 18-20lb mark (I always do)... so it could be tough. If I can keep up with losing 1.5 - 2lbs/week, I'll be in great shape.

Thanks to all who have encouraged me, even if it was a simple, "you look like you've lost weight" (and for the record, it's ALWAYS good to hear that, and not something anyone should feel bad saying).

Oh, Illinois beat #1 Ohio State on Saturday 28-21, in case anyone missed it!

Nylons

I wore nylons to work for the first time this fall season yesterday.

There are pros & cons to nylons.

Pro: Keeps your legs a little bit warmer than going without
Con: Putting them on can be dangerous for the stability challenged

Pro: You don't necessarily have to shave that day
Con: The squat and yank maneuver necessary in order to pull them back up after using the facility can also be dangerous for those of us who stumble a lot.

I'm still not sure where I fall when it comes to wearing dresses/skirts in the winter. I'm going to need to invest in some boots if I plan on wearing dresses or skirts.

Random entry.

Catching up...

So, what's been going on in my life recently?

Not a whole lot really, but I figured I'd update my blog.

Illinois football made itself bowl eligible with its win over Ball State last weekend, during Homecoming weekend. I stayed in Chicago for the weekend, as I hosted Teri's bachelorette party.

Speaking of, after the date was already picked, we realized that it would be Halloween weekend in Chicago, so the girls attending were asked to wear an old bridesmaid dress, while Teri wore something that resembled a wedding dress. We went on a barcrawl down Southport and then over to Sheffield, where we ended up singing kareoke at Trader Todd's. (Correction: Teri and her mom ended up singing kareoke). Trader Todd's was the site of Teri and Kieffer's first date, so we figured it'd be a fun way to end the evening. At one of the bars, employees of the bar took our picture & plan on uploading it to their website. Awesome. As soon as it becomes available, I won't let anyone know. :)

Back to Illinois football - so, we're bowl eligible - and the following bowls are where we might end up:

• Champs Sports Bowl - Orlando - 12/28/07 - Big Ten #4/5
• Alamo Bowl - San Antonio - 12/31/07 - Big Ten #4/5
• Insight Bowl - Tempe - 12/31/07 - Big Ten #6
• Outback Bowl - Tampa - 1/1/08 - Big Ten #3
• Capitol One Bowl - Orlando - 1/1/08 - Big Ten #2

Right now, it's looking as if we'll be somewhere in Florida or in San Antonio. Not that I wish the Illini to finish 6th in the Big Ten, but I certainly wouldnt complain if we ended up in Tempe. We'd have a free place to stay in Sean's place, plus it's doubtful that I'd go to San Antonio, should we end up there (which I think is most likely) - I'll be in San Antonio for the Final Four in April 08, there's no reason to go to Texas twice within a 6-month span if I can help it.

So, that's Illini football.

Illini basketball kicks off it's season with an exhibition game against Quincy this Wednesday in Champaign. It'd be awesome if we'd be able to see it on TV without having to leave our house - Thanks Big Ten Network & Comcast. Effers. We're having our IBDA draft at Teri's & Kieffer's wedding...

This weekend is Teri & Kieffer's wedding. I'm pretty excited for it. Hopefully I'll have my dress sooner rather than later. I know it'll end up looking great, I'm just a wee bit anxious to get it, to make sure it fits, looks good with my shoes, etc.

That's all for now.

Yesterday was Steve's 3rd birthday

His birthday is the day we brought him home. We decided he turned 3 yesterday too. Here's a picture of his celebration:

The marathon was brutal

So, yesterday was the 30th running of the Chicago Marathon.

The weather was absolutely brutal. So much so, that the city decided to cancel the marathon 3.5 hours into it, mainly due to the ill-preparedness of the marathon organizers (they ran out of water & Gatorade). Of the approximately 36,000 people who started the race, approximately 25,000 of those runners completed the race. Those that were running at a slower pace were instructed to walk & also forced to board a bus to make their way to the finish line.

My friend Jen and I were out cheering our friends on, around the 8-mile marker. I had a huge Cookie Monster balloon, to make it easier for the runners to spot us, at a very crowded part of the race. All of our friends running were able to locate us, with the last being Teri & Tyler. It was Teri's first marathon (a mere 2 years after proclaiming, "you have to be clinically insane to think running 26.2 miles would be enjoyable) - they stopped at our location, Teri needed to the phone to contact her mom to alert her to the fact that they were about 30 minutes behind her scheduled pace. Luckily, Jen brought bottled water & we were able to give each one of them a bottle (as the last water/aid station was nearly out of water, they weren't sure what to expect going forward). Teri and Tyler weren't allowed to finish, so I feel awful for Teri - she'll never have a "first marathon experience" again, and this was a crappy way for her to start.

Another friend of mine was interviewed by CBS 2 in Chicago - the video is in the link provided. Don't feel bad laughing that they interviewed him as he was laying on the ground, as he's ok now. At the time, notsomuch. He's one of the first interviews - http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=36205@wbbm.dayport.com

Hooray for football season!

And kudos to my teams beating up on the state of Wisconsin this weekend!

Hey Chicago, whaddya say?

Playoffs start tonight.

Giddy up.

I went to McDonalds and didn't order fries!

So, as I've started paying close attention to what I'm consuming this week, and while searching for alternatives in the area around my office, I decided to check McDonalds, just to see how bad their salads are for you. I was pleasantly surprised at the choices and the nutritional value of them.

So, I ordered a Bacon Ranch Salad with Grilled Chicken. I opted against the ranch dressing, instead, I ordered the low-fat Italian dressing. I pay and patiently wait to the side for my salad, thinking this could be great or it could be a disaster. As I'm handed my salad, I notice it's in a different bag than the normal red & white bag the regular, bad-for-you McDonald's food is served in. I take this as a sign that I should show it off as I'm making my way outside to find a seat. Sort like, "Hey guys, I did go to McDonalds, but look! I bought a salad!"

As I'm toting my salad bag around, I find my seat at a table outside. I look around to make sure everyone knows that while I did get McDonald's, I ordered a salad (I probably should have made a sign). I opened it up, it didnt look half bad. I drizzled a bit of my dressing on the salad and had my first bite of the chicken. "Ooh, it's warm!" I surprisingly thought to myself. I fiddle my way through the contents of the salad to notice that there are bacon bits AND cheese included. "This is the best not-bad-for you salad I've ever had!" I almost exclaimed out loud (which would also help to alert those around me that I ordered a salad from McDonald's. I really don't know what it is, or why I feel the need to make sure others know what I'm eating. I think it's probably partially due to trying everything to hold myself accountable. As if strangers seeing what I eat will help, but whatever).

I finish up my salad, chug down the rest of my water & get up to take a walk. I figure I should get walks in at lunch while the weather still permits. I don't plan out my walks prior to lunch, I just head a direction & walk. I eventually reach a point to turn around or start heading back to the office. This week, I've ended up taking 1.2 and 1.3 mile walks. Pretty cool.

Anyway, the moral of the story, err, of this post: McDonald's offers other items that aren't so bad for you! Give them a try someday, you might be surprised.

Ok, so I guess the diet starts today?

So, Teri's boyfriend Kieffer started an online Illini Biggest Loser competition Located here - a bunch of my interets friends and I are competing to win $350 by losing the highest percentage of body weight. The end date for the contest will be December 31st, 2007 - making it especially challenging at the end (being that it's during the holidays and all).

In any case, we're all taking pictures & weighing ourselves today & sending them to one non-participant who has been picked to be the judge (Thanks, Philo!). He'll track our progress on a weekly basis & keep the website udated in terms of who's ahead etc.

Kieffer has already done a great job at providing infomation for contestants as well. Others have provided websites to track your weightloss, to monitor what you eat, etc.

Last time I did the whole weight loss thing, I ended up losing 22 pounds in 4 months. I'm hoping to lose 20 pounds by the end of the year, but will continue to try and lose 30 by my 30th birthday (March 27th).

Wish me luck, because I've never been very good at sticking to a weight loss program. I'll stick to it for 3-6 months and as soon as I plateau, I usually give up. Hopefully this won't happen again.

Look at meez!

Poor Steve looks like a statue.

They also didnt have any options with "burb hair" so I settled for an older hairstyle. :)

Tailgating in the Paign

So, this past weekend was the first home game in Champaign. The weather could have been better (it rained the majority of the prime tailgating hours) - but overall, it was a fun day & always great to get back down to Champaign.

Thanks to our friend Ryan, we were able to park for free in the Ass Hall lot & we all got into the game free. (Hope it was ok to sell those extra 10 tickets you gave us!) :D

After the game, Brad's girlfriend ousted me as the last person to join the mug club at the Illini Inn. I can't believe I never joined in college. Chugging beer just isn't my thing. After about an hour being in the smoke-filled bar, I'd had enough, so I Freedom Cabbed it back to the hotel, while the others headed to Legends/Murphys. Kind of stinks, since I love those two bars (particularly Murphys) - but I was ready to wind down for the evening.

Made it all the way back to the hotel for $8 (although I think I gave him a 50% tip since he was originally from Chicago & somehow that meant he deserved more...). As soon as I got back, I found the phone book & ordered Pokey. I have no idea why I looked up their number, it's pretty obvious I knew the number was still 355-FAST. I enjoyed about 5 of the stix & then passed out for the evening.

Here are some pictures from the weekend (Illinois won 21-0, by the way. Defense looked great, the offense, notsomuch)--

The new North End Zone - all of the students, along with the band, now sit here. Looked pretty cool, in my opinion

Carly powns all the boys in flag football

I liked this video. The girl is probably 30 now. I dont know what that has to do with anything.