Delinquent Blogger

Wow, I knew it had been a while since my last post. I didn't think it had been almost a year! For those of you who still check to see if I'm keeping up - I'm sorry to disappoint you! I promise to do better in the coming year!

Some exciting news to report - We're Moving, Again! (But this time it's permanent)

Dan & I bought a house and we're on track to close at the end of April!! We're hoping by the end of May we'll be able to have a cookout and invite everyone over.

I'll get around to posting pictures soon.

6 years in the making

What a great day!

For the past few months Dan has been devoting every spare minute he has to restoring his uncle's 1974 BMW, which he began in 2004. Around 10 o'clock this evening Dan backed the 2002tii down the driveway, where his Aunt Theresa climbed in for the first ride.

It was an emotion ride for both of them. Dan was supposed to be restoring the car with his Uncle Rudy, who 10 years ago suffered from several brain aneurysms. Uncle Rudy has been able to watch the progress from his wheel chair over the last 6 years and I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see his old car back on the road.

I was able to enjoy the next ride, which we took to bring the car to my in-laws. Dan is going to take the BMW to work with him tomorrow to give it a good looking-over on the hoist and to make sure it's capable of being driven for a longer period of time. Tomorrow evening he plans on driving the car to a family friend's party in Lake in the Hills and then Sunday we'll take the car to the Gears & Ears Carshow in Yorkville, IL. Dan has been working so hard to get the BMW ready for this car show...I know he's relieved and excited to have made it.

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. It seems like every time I sit down to type something, I get distracted & forget what I was going to say.

Over the last two months we've managed to finish the patio & get the gazebo up. Yesterday Dan & his brother, Mark, finished the last of the planter boxes. Now we just need to get them filled with dirt & plant some more veggies...or flowers, not sure which yet. We're using the dirt from digging out for the patio extension to fill the planter boxes. Slowly,

but surely the mounds of dirt are disappearing.

In the middle of our patio project we experienced some plumbing issues, which required a trench to be dug around the side of the house & a huge 10+ foot hole dug out of the front yard. All of the old clay pipe was replaced and the issue has been resolved. We're just waiting for the dirt/gravel to settle out front so the sidewalk sections can be concreted.

Dan has been working on the BMW quite a bit & is on track to have it ready for Gears & Ears (a car show) at the end of June. He was able to start it the other day & now has mostly interior items to put back in, but it has to be wet-sanded first.

We celebrated my in-law's 30th Anniversary at Chama Gaucha, a Brazilian Steakhouse in Downer's Grove. It was a very cool experience. Men walk around with large swords of meat and you have a card w/ a green side and a red side. Green means more meat, red means stop the meat.

I've decided to take another stab at the weight loss goal. I started Nutrisystem a little over two weeks ago. So far its going great! I weighed myself this morning & have lost about 14 pounds so far. In addition to changing my eating habits I've also been exercising like crazy...on my bicycle. Because I just don't like going to the gym, I'm using the bike as my main source of working out. I usually ride to work 3-4 days a week and on my days off I go out for a couple of hours for a ride, averaging between 15-25 miles a ride.

Yesterday we decided a pool would be a good idea for the summer. So we took a trip to Menards and found a 15 foot by 42 inch pool. It was a cinch to set up, only took about 30 minutes. My mother-in-law isn't at all pleased, but Dan explained we'd be taking it with us when we get a house, so she only has to put up with it for the summer. We thought about going to Noah's Ark this summer, but we saved money by getting the pool & foregoing that trip. I'm really looking forward to getting to use it!

My brother, Scott, and his fiance Amber are coming up this summer with my nephew for a week. Dan & I were able to get those days off so we can spend time with them. We're also having a BBQ for them. Hopefully there will be enough room for everyone, since it sounds like theres going to be a lot of people here. We're really looking forward to their visit!!

So that's what has been happening over the last two months. The summer is just starting & it's going to be a GREAT one!

I'm really looking forward to another day off. It seems like every time I have one there's just so much to do that I don't get a chance to really relax & enjoy it. That's exactly what happened last Tuesday and tomorrow's forecast doesn't look much better. We're still having some issues with Reilly, which means I have to drop her off at the vet around 8am. Then there's my appt with my podiatrist to see how my left heel is shaping up & hopefully the good news that I can kick the boot to the curb. To round out the day of running around is another appt. at 3. Somehow, in between my appts, Dan has to make it over to Auntie's to hook up a new faucet in her new sink and work on building the planter boxes that we're going to use for our veggies & flowers. The patio renovation has been temporarily put on hold while the plumbing is fixed...so I'm sure next Tuesday we'll tackle that job.

One great thing about the warmer weather is the opportunity for bike riding. I've been enjoying biking to and from work for the last couple weeks. Unfortunately, Dan & I haven't had a chance to ride together because of everything else going on....hmmm, maybe tomorrow we can squeeze a ride in before dinner.

Dan put in his notice at the Morton Grove Menards. He was only working every other Sunday, and it just wasn't worth the drive time & extra aggravation for the one day. He's hoping to have more time to work on the BMW and then he's also helping out a family friend at their bike shop a couple nights a week.

We're really looking forward to the summer and hopefully we'll have the patio finished so we can invite everyone over for a bbq.

So that's what is new in our neck of the woods. Maybe my next post will have more exciting goings-on (highly doubtful though) :)

Hello Spring!

Hallelujah!

Longer days, sunshine & warmer weather are just around the corner. Today has been absolutely the most beautiful day to be outside since....well it seems like forever, but I know it was just a few months ago. I really didn't appreciate how the weather affects me until winter set in & there were 5 adults stuck in a very small house with very limited space. I'm pretty sure I had the winter "blues" this year and have been hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel. To my amazement, it came today - on our day off!

We took advantage of the amazing weather today and went on a bike ride, actually our first together (that I can remember). It was an hour of peace & calm & soaking up the warm, glowing sun. I pray for many more days like this one!!

Happy Spring everyone! I'm sure ya'll are just as excited about this time of year as I am!

You did WHAT?

That was the blog title I envisioned last night when I was planning my day today. I told myself that after dropping Reilly off at the vet & going to the podiatrist that I was going to take a jog around the neighborhood...yes, I said JOG. I've walked from Rusty Dr to the Walgreens on the corner of Golf & Arlington Heights Rd, about a 3 mile round trip; and I've ridden my bike up to the bike path and did 3 laps, which probably equaled a mile. I've never gone for a jog, though. And even though I am definitely not in the best shape of my life I knew it was something I'd be able to do, even if it was just to the next block & back it was something I HAD to do.

I was thinking about why I haven't gone to the gym since my initial visit back in October. As I'm writing this I'm also explaining to Dan:

*I don't like working out alone - even if we're not having a conversation and we're both listening to our own music, just knowing that someone else is there with me makes me feel better.

*I don't like working out around strangers - I know, everyone at the gym is striving for the same goal, but that doesn't make me comfortable enough to work out next to them! My gym is very confined and the machines are squished in together and the one time I was there I thought I was going to have a panic attack (not to mention, the stupid locker ate my quarter and I didn't have another one on me so I could put my purse somewhere).

*I would rather be outside - I really wish we would have used the rooftop machines at Princeton Club before we left...too late now! I'm really looking forward to spring and taking my bike out...and even though I said that last year, this year has way more possibilities for that to happen since we're not in an apartment or in a bad neighborhood.

So getting back to the main subject of this post....I really wanted to go jogging this morning, however the stars did not align in my favor. I rolled out of bed around 8:30 to see a fresh blanket of snow on the ground and the village-hired tree trimmers cutting tree branches up & down the street. Now, according to the weather last night there was a chance of snow but nothing accumulating. Bummed does not begin to describe the way I felt. I'm a clumsy person, so even walking in the snow I see as dangerous. The only consolation I got today was when I went to the library & had to walk forever to figure out how to get from the parking garage to the library entrance - at least I got some exercise :) I even attempted to ride the stationary bike tonight, but alas! the seat on it is funky and I'm pretty sure my butt bone will never be the same!

It is times like this that I was I was in Texas, where the weather is practically perfect for what I wanted to do and I'd be able to jog along side Mom while she's on her bike taking one of her miles long rides.

I really would have loved for this post to have said - I went for a jog this morning and it felt great!

However, all I get to post today is the "I wanted to, but didn't". I'm getting tired of my intentions turning out this way.

A New Year

Hello all! Where has this month gone?? I can't believe its January 22nd already! It feels like just yesterday I was going to bed early because I had to be at work at 7am on New Year's Day. There hasn't been a lot of change since 2010 began. The biggest news would be that Dan left his position at the Orland Park Infiniti and just finished up his first week of employment at Lexus of Highland Park. We are keeping our fingers crossed that things work out there so we can start a house hunt at the end of the year. I've been officially made a head cashier again, which means more of a set schedule. I'll be working mostly 9-5's during the week and closing on my weekend to work. We've also managed to coordinate our schedule; Dan & I have Tuesdays off together now.

I didn't make any resolutions this year...that way if I couldn't meet my expectations I wouldn't be a failure, lol.

That's all for now. Hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start!