These last two weeks have been hectic. So instead of slowing down like normal people, we decided to take on a new endeavor. To back track slightly, our car recently went in for a routine oil change, that took roughly 2.5 hours, which I have gracefully moved past. But was informed that the car needed approximately $2,500 in repairs. To which we promptly blue booked, to find that the value of our car was only $1,700 (which likely did not include this costly repair).
It was then decided that a car purchase was in our near future. Field research was done, which mostly consisted of B sending me random links of a variety of cars from the greater Cook County area. We then democratically narrowed it down to either a CR-V or a Forester, due to nice size that we could take trips with and the capacity to load B's drum kit.
To make this long story short. After reading that these two particular cars got the highest marks by Consumer Reports and other various car raters, we set a budget and two days later found ourselves at the Subaru dealership, where 24 short hours later, we bought a brand spanking new Forester. This was not exactly the plan, but their used selection was all of one, and after some negotiating and a surprisingly high trade in offer, we were lured in by the sunroof and lower lumbar support. And as B's friend pointed out, B likes to buy things that are "shiny and awesome." And it really is just that.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
good shows
The other week, me and my favorite menfolk went on over to see Fanfarlo at Lincoln Hall. I think it is safe to say that everyone was looking forward to it, their new album had been on heavy rotation, and none of us had seen a show yet at LH. The room was pretty sweet, good sound and was that perfectly intimate size. The show itself was a-mazing. There have been few times that I have ever gone to a show and been this unexpectedly wowed, the combined talent and overall sound of this group was incredible. I'd say that it was a mash-up of Clap your Hands, Arcade Fire with The Talking Heads. It was a super night and me really likey this new venue, the good people of Schuba's are really onto something.
Recently, I marked my one year anniversary at Blue Daring with my boss treating us to a Cubs game. It was a ridiculously gorgeous day out and there was unlimited drink and grilled meat, what more could you ask for. And as luck would have it, the Cubs made a comeback in the eighth inning and ended up winning, so perhaps I need to go to more games. Thanks to the boss lady for a fun afternoon and escape from the office.
Later on that same day, B played his first show since last fall. They played a rockin' good show at at the Beat Kitchen. I think we are all thankful that they have finally found a great bassist and can start playing more shows again.
And if that wasn't enough for one week, we also had a wedding up in Lake Geneva. The ceremony was one of the best ones that I have been to, it was short, had great humor and it made me cry. The bride looked gorgeous and the groom seemed elated, as it should be. The reception was fun and the band was so good, it made me reconsider what we were going to do for ours.
So April is off to a busy start and there seems to be no end in sight.
Recently, I marked my one year anniversary at Blue Daring with my boss treating us to a Cubs game. It was a ridiculously gorgeous day out and there was unlimited drink and grilled meat, what more could you ask for. And as luck would have it, the Cubs made a comeback in the eighth inning and ended up winning, so perhaps I need to go to more games. Thanks to the boss lady for a fun afternoon and escape from the office.
Later on that same day, B played his first show since last fall. They played a rockin' good show at at the Beat Kitchen. I think we are all thankful that they have finally found a great bassist and can start playing more shows again.
And if that wasn't enough for one week, we also had a wedding up in Lake Geneva. The ceremony was one of the best ones that I have been to, it was short, had great humor and it made me cry. The bride looked gorgeous and the groom seemed elated, as it should be. The reception was fun and the band was so good, it made me reconsider what we were going to do for ours.
So April is off to a busy start and there seems to be no end in sight.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
spring has sprung
I have had a lot of material for this here blog but no time to actually type it all out. So this is going to be a whole lot of fragmentation and probably some incomplete thoughts, but what else is new.
First up, Easter with the B's family. We arrived Saturday afternoon in time to dye some eggs, run around the yard and eat some dinner. Later on that evening, we had some drinks and played the now infamous Table Topics. The last time we played this was Christmas, everyone cried, someone puked and B and I got into a drunken rumble of sorts. But this time we were drama free. Good job us! The next morning, Ethan went on an Easter egg hunt, followed by a big family brunch, where Ethan happily got to hang out with the girl. Another memorable holiday spent with my soon to be family, I count my lucky stars that B's family has been so welcoming and as my mother pointed out, has taken to Ethan and I.
Last week, I took B to go see Spoon at the Aragon for his birfday. It's been so long since we have been to a show, I had forgotten how loud they were. We ended up in the upper balcony, where all the old timers go to have ample standing room and comment on how the sound is better up there. Spoon was great, they seemed to get off to a rocky start but they played a pretty near perfect set list and after many futile attempts to see them before, I was pretty thrilled to finally see them live.
In other news, my dad is now officially retired. On April Fool's Day, his employer of 38 years threw him the fanciest pizza party that I have seen. There was an overwhelming feeling that the people there truly enjoyed working with my dad and that he will be truly missed. He delivered an engaging and witty speech and I am glad we were able to attend. I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around the whole concept of not having to go to work anymore, seems pretty awesome and I hope my dad is enjoying it.
The other weekend, my mom came to town and we did a little wedding dress shopping. Within two days, I tried on about 25 dresses and can report that I loved one and liked about a half dozen other ones. The principle of you pay for what you get was pretty obvious, the quality of dress was fairly proportional to the price. Though there are ALOT of very expensive ugly dresses out there. I find myself torn between the two schools of thoughts on wedding dresses: 1. It's a colossal waste of money, I am only going to wear the dress once, for a few hours. I should get something basic and accessorize the hell out of it. Because no matter what I wear, I am pretty sure B will still marry me. 2. Get the dress you can't live without (this is supported by both moms), it's a special day and you want jaws to drop when you walk down the aisle. It's quite the conundrum, but luckily I have plenty of time to keep searching.
On a closing note, we are going to see Fanfarlo this evening and I can't wait. And next Wednesday B's band, The VanGogh's are playing the Beat Kitchen, so if you can make it, it should be a good show.
First up, Easter with the B's family. We arrived Saturday afternoon in time to dye some eggs, run around the yard and eat some dinner. Later on that evening, we had some drinks and played the now infamous Table Topics. The last time we played this was Christmas, everyone cried, someone puked and B and I got into a drunken rumble of sorts. But this time we were drama free. Good job us! The next morning, Ethan went on an Easter egg hunt, followed by a big family brunch, where Ethan happily got to hang out with the girl. Another memorable holiday spent with my soon to be family, I count my lucky stars that B's family has been so welcoming and as my mother pointed out, has taken to Ethan and I.
Last week, I took B to go see Spoon at the Aragon for his birfday. It's been so long since we have been to a show, I had forgotten how loud they were. We ended up in the upper balcony, where all the old timers go to have ample standing room and comment on how the sound is better up there. Spoon was great, they seemed to get off to a rocky start but they played a pretty near perfect set list and after many futile attempts to see them before, I was pretty thrilled to finally see them live.
In other news, my dad is now officially retired. On April Fool's Day, his employer of 38 years threw him the fanciest pizza party that I have seen. There was an overwhelming feeling that the people there truly enjoyed working with my dad and that he will be truly missed. He delivered an engaging and witty speech and I am glad we were able to attend. I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around the whole concept of not having to go to work anymore, seems pretty awesome and I hope my dad is enjoying it.
The other weekend, my mom came to town and we did a little wedding dress shopping. Within two days, I tried on about 25 dresses and can report that I loved one and liked about a half dozen other ones. The principle of you pay for what you get was pretty obvious, the quality of dress was fairly proportional to the price. Though there are ALOT of very expensive ugly dresses out there. I find myself torn between the two schools of thoughts on wedding dresses: 1. It's a colossal waste of money, I am only going to wear the dress once, for a few hours. I should get something basic and accessorize the hell out of it. Because no matter what I wear, I am pretty sure B will still marry me. 2. Get the dress you can't live without (this is supported by both moms), it's a special day and you want jaws to drop when you walk down the aisle. It's quite the conundrum, but luckily I have plenty of time to keep searching.
On a closing note, we are going to see Fanfarlo this evening and I can't wait. And next Wednesday B's band, The VanGogh's are playing the Beat Kitchen, so if you can make it, it should be a good show.
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