Weekend Fun

We have had such a full weekend and yet so productive. The highlights for me are varied but all wonderful. My least favorite part had to be Saturday morning because both of us were working. My job has been crazy lately which is good for the company and I suppose it’s nice to get a little overtime too. But the fun started after work. 

We had some errands to run which doesn’t sound too exciting but they were fun errands. First stop Staples to get some ink and paper. I didn’t even know the paper had a rebate offer with it so after we get the rebate (which you could submit online) then the ream will have been 50 cents, which is really cheap. Yay. When they say easy rebate, they really mean it. I am now a Staples fan.

Second stop was one of our now favorite burger places Five Guys. I was privileged to have frequented there on the east coast during my Camfel days. That was the only place they were located at the time and I was sad to leave them behind. But apparently they understood what a good thing they had going and have started opening them all over the country. There are 2 within 20 minutes of our house now. It’s a beautiful thing. They have really good burgers and fries. Needless to say, we always love it when we can splurge a little and have lunch there. 

Third stop was Sports Authority. We had a $10 gift card and had decided a few weeks ago that we were going to invest in a couple tennis rackets. So we did. Then later we went out and played tennis again. John and I are pretty even which is good because we really push each other and bring out the best, and sad to say, worst in each other. But isn’t that what a good marriage is all about? Helping you fine tune the best and bringing the worst to light so you can work on that too? All that to say, it was not my best performance tonight but I hung in there and did win one set.

This evening flipping through the channels looking for something to relax and watch we stumbled across WttW and the Rock Symphony with David Garrett. At first I just wanted to check it out but then I found myself intrigued. It was really good and I feel like such a nerd for saying that but so be it. I am a nerd. I think that the symphony / rock mix is a really complex and beautiful sound. He played a wide variety as well. I enjoyed it as background music as I sat here writing. 

The only other thing I did tonight was write my review of Jurassic Park, the book. You should check it out. 

Second Birthday Celebration

     This weekend marked the second celebration of John's birthday. He received some cool gifts which he wants to show off. So I'll let him and the pictures speak for themselves.

Even though our first choice of restaurant happened to be closed we went to Plan B and it worked out great. Headed to Sports Bar named the Anthem Grill. Here John was able to watch most of the Braves game and we all enjoyed good food.

Last night we had a lovely evening eating outside at Olive Garden. I love eating outside in the summer on a night when it is not too buggy. The main reason is due to the fact that I am not cold and don't need to bring a jacket. I am so thankful for air conditioning, but boy do they keep places cold!

This afternoon we also got new phones from Verizon and it's definitely an upgrade from what we had before so that is exciting too. However, now I have to learn a new phone

Julie & Julia

     John is working late tonight which has actually been a blessing. We could definitely use the hours but it is not often I have some girl time. Plus, I am actually get caught up on blogging which is great since I want to make the launch official already.

     I think that the movie I indulged in tonight probably gave me the extra boost I needed as well.

Julie & Julia was such a good chick flick. I know it wouldn't have been John's first choice but it was the perfect movie for me tonight. It definitely inspired me to venture out with my cooking a little more and try some things I am intimidated by. We'll see how that goes. I will keep you posted if I try anything very daring. As it was I was scarfing down grilled cheese, chips and ice cream. Not exactly french gourmet but it sure was tasty.
     I do miss my husband though and am happy that he has a job where working nights or being away from home over night is not a part of the regular routine. I know many couples have to work through that and it's do-able, but not ideal.

Celebrating John's Birthday

     John turned 29 yesterday and it's hard to believe that we are both pushing 30 now. I feel sometimes that life is just getting started. We celebrated all weekend and will continue to celebrate this coming weekend. We headed downtown to Navy Pier. We had planned this in advance and then were pleasantly surprised when the City of Chicago decided to give us the added bonus of the Air & Water Show. Happy Birthday indeed!
     So we took the train down there and were blessed with the perfect day. Seriously, there was not a cloud in the sky! There was a nice breeze and it was not a scorcher though it was plenty hot enough. We were even given free Red Bull upon arrival. We also obtained a free "lunch" of pita chips and hummus samples while we joined the crowds camped out to watch the show from the pier.

    
     Watching planes fly is not really one of my top fascinations in life but I did enjoy it and I know John loved it. Mostly I just thought about the fact that if I was in that plane flying my free lunch would have been worthless because I would not have had time to digest it before it would have been out of my system once again. Lovely thoughts. We agreed they must have stomachs of steel.
     We had fun walking around, enjoying the beautiful weather, riding the ferris wheel and playing in the sprinkler. It was a picture perfect day. Thank you Lord for the gift you gave us today.
     Monday night we went out to eat to celebrate John's actual birthday. Gotta love Red Robin coupons. They have the best burgers. I always have the hardest time deciding what to order because everything is so good and there are so many choices. I settled on a fried chicken burger and John got the regular Robin burger. Both were really good. I was worried that our waiter was not going to bring John's birthday sundae but at the last possible moment he brought it. Sigh of relief. Last year they didn't give John a sundae but this year everything is alright.

Welcome!

     John and I would like to welcome you to our blog! Since we have not been doing a great job keeping up with newsletters we thought this might be a good way to keep you all updated more regularly. Also, since I'm trying to keep up with the book review blog it seemed like a good addition. So you can keep up with both if you want to. I really am going to try my hardest to keep up with both of them. We love you all and hope to keep up with all of you as well. 

     We definitely want to share with you all of our crazy adventures and the many things God is doing in our lives. Can't wait to fill you in on all of them. Let the adventures continue...

John & Becky