hunter says i need to learn how to listen

Inappropriate? Sorry for partying... Actually I hurt my hand in a desperate attempt to keep myself awake Friday night. After an exhausting week, Hunter and I got in bet at 10 p.m. on Friday and I was so sad I was too tired to do anything that I put a movie on my phone and tried to watch it. In the meantime I put my hand under my head to keep it up and fell asleep like that, for HOURS. When I woke up, I literally thought my hand was broken. It definitely posed a challenge for the productive weekend I wanted! But I still got most stuff done, minus parallel parking on the left side of the street... Wahh wahh. 

freaky friday!

Each Friday I'm going to share three self-admitted weird things about myself. Here we go!


1. I have a huge paranoia of running into my boss in the bathroom. I avoid it at all costs.


2. I wear my underwear inside out (on accident!) at least twice a week.


3. When I was little I would only check out library books that had glossy pages and that had that specific "library book" smell. Yes, I sniffed them. I can only imagine how many rough-paged, plain-smelling stories I missed out on. 

memorial day weekend

What a weekend! The Hosty/Ryan/Sweeney clan all made it up to Michigan for the long weekend and it was unanimously a top 5 all-time favorite Michigan weekend. And the best part about it was that we didn't do anything special, no huge plans, we just all kicked back and enjoyed spending time together. My stomach still hurts from laughing. I think we've all grown to realize how lucky we are to have each other and we all really appreciate the relationships we have with each other. 

I'm really mad I didn't take any pictures of one of my favorite parts of the weekend: Playing with our family friend's two kids. Erin has a 2-year old boy Michael and a 4-year-old girl Natalie. I can't even put into words how precious they are. I'm so excited to reconnect with Erin and her husband and cannot wait to see them more this summer.

Some of my other favorite weekend highlights include:

This awesome campaign photo of my dad. Just chilling on the mantle.

Crazy bird's nest outside the Little House

Batting cages! 

Safety first

Late-night eats thanks to Cath. 

Lucy Sweeney



What a great way to kick off the summer!

a spring in my step

Spring weather is finally here and boy do I feel chipper! I try to get out and walk around the neighborhood every few days, exploring a new street each time. The weather is sunny and perfect for walks after work. I love seeing people out and about and being a little further away from hipsterville has totally calmed me down when walking about. In our old neighborhood, I had to watch every which way to make sure a snotty little biker wasn't going to run me over. And yes, that has come close multiple times. Last year I did a good job memorizing the City of Chicago bike laws and I would recite the law to each biker I saw acting like an arrogant ass. Literally I did. You can ask the guy who called me a c*nt. :)

Any-ho, my new neighborhood is full of happy, wholesome people who bike ride for fun! They even smile at me. 

This weekend I did a lot of walking around, shopping, running errands and just enjoying the nice sunny days. One of my highlights was Sunday morning. Hunter and I woke up bright and early, very refreshed and ready to make the most out of our day. Which really meant we were ready to drink freshly brewed coffee and eat freshly baked donuts! While Hunter put his face on, I went out and got us donuts from my favorite donut shop around: Glazed and Infused! Notice Hunter's classy coffee mug on the right. We have a dozen if anyone wants one... 

The donut on the top right is called "bar mix" and it's freaking amazing. It's a chocolate donut with carmel glaze and topped with M&Ms, pretzels and potato chips. Hunter did a double take when he saw it and stared at me when I took a bite. I'm not sure if he was intrigued or disgusted, probably both. 

book cheat?

Can you read multiple books at once? I wish I could because there are so many books I want to read, but I just can't break the idea that the book I'm reading will suddenly start to become terrible if I start reading two books at once! 

Also, if I'm reading a horrible book, I won't stop. I'll finish it so I can OWN that sucky book!

Both ideas are a total waste of time, but I really don't think I'll ever change. 

On that note, I'm trying to get through my current book so I can start reading this AWESOME book a coworker told me about: Building Stories. 

I want this book so so so bad! It's even more than a book, it's multiple books, newspapers, flipbooks. And the cool this is that you can read any of the books in any oder. It took 10 years to make and takes place in Chicago and Oak Park. If you go to Barnes & Noble, you'll probably see it in the window. Thanks in advance for buying it for me - I hope it's not too heavy when you're wrapping it!

in a rut

Have you ever found yourself in a rut? Nothing's particularly wrong, but you just can't find your happy? I think the combination of the never-ending crap weather and taking on new clients at work has me down in the dumps. And I really don't embrace change very well. It takes me a while to feel settled again. I've had zero energy during the week and no desire to find some. My only happy pastime is eating mini chocolate-chip morsels and toying around on Pinterest. I need a swift kick in the ass. And some sunshine. In all honesty, I think I just need to be around natural light again. We don't really get any in our current apartment. Here's hoping I get my happy back on moving day: April 26! 

In the meantime, I'm going to TRY to boost my endorphins at the gym. TRY.

Or... maybe I just need one of these nights!

Well it finally happened! We found an apartment! After many restless days and nights on Craigslist, seven awkward showings and a few hours of pouting, we found a place that's right for us! 

This is exactly how I felt after we signed the lease:

a serious case of the mondays

Exactly how I feel when I'm running on 5 hours of sleep and it's Monday and I hear the sound of someone's laugh at work... 

hunter broke my nano yesterday

This pretty much sums up my reaction... 

it's official!

According to my cube, anyway! 

Like a boss!

i meant split ends!

I had a nice 25-minute wait outside this morning waiting for my train. The wind was constant, the snow slapped my face and I literally cannot feel my toes. So, when I got to work I was in a frenzy to get hot coffee and blast my space heater. While rushing to the coffee pot, my coworker stopped me and complimented my hair cut. I said, "Thanks! I didn't mean for it to be so short, but I told her to trim off all my sideburns," and made a hand gesture to above my ears. I MEANT TO SAY SPLIT ENDS!!! And to sarcastically gesture to how long my split ends were! Three other people had joined the covo by that point. 

Epic fail...

sober sally weekend!

Six days into lent, which means six days sans drinking and I feel fantastic! The only night I almost broke was Valentine's Day when Hunter was waving around his wonderful looking and smelling glass of red, red wine (it makes me feel so fine, keeps me rockin' all of the time:). And I'll admit, I decided I'd have just one glass since it was a special occasion. It was a weak moment! However, I'm thankful we had the world's worst waiter, because during the 15 minutes it took for him to come take our drink order, I talked myself out of caving. Phew. Thanks a ton to my "super supportive" husband for encouraging me to fail! :)

This weekend was so fulfilling. I just feel so confident and refreshed. And I feel like maybe I am making leeway in breaking a habit of drinking every weekend. Saturday I got my hair cut, tried out a new restaurant with my mom for lunch and did some serious rewarding of myself at Target. Hunter went out that night and I cleaned, ground some fresh coffee beans and drank warm coffee, ate ice cream and watched Dateline and SNL. Something I've been trying to do for years! It was fabulous. 

Sunday I woke up ready to hit the ground running. I decided the apartment needed a serious purge of excess "things," so I started with our room - pitching 1/2-full perfume bottles that I've had for years, ugly jewelry and duplicate makeup. My dresser looks phenomenal and I feel so organized!  I'm hoping this this turns into feeling more on top of things and ready to get my ass to the gym. Stay tuned!

Sunday night I even had time to make a craft I bought in September 2011 - a wooden "S" that I covered in different fabric patterns:

I had the day off today (YAY!!) so I started the day by heading over to my friend Mary Kate's to meet her ADORABLE God Daughter, Audrey. She was just waking up from a nap and was so precious in little strawberry PJs. Mary Kate is a complete natural and it was so much fun watching them play together. It made me really excited for all my friends to start having babies - needless to say that kept me skipping around the rest of the day!

After that I met my dad for lunch at the Onion Roll, ran errands and spent the afternoon watching court shows (my dirty secret). I love watching trashy daytime court shows. Mostly because I like to watch judges yell at ignorant people. 

My first weekend of lent was a massive success and I'm excited to see how next weekend goes!

valentine's day!

I absolutely love Valentine's Day. Not just the romantic part, but taking a few extra moments to send a card or a text to friends and family who are extra special. My plan of hand-making cards for everyone didn't quite make it off my pinterest board, but next year's the year! :)

Thursday was a great day, work flew by and I came home to a happy-go-lucky Hunter greeting me at the door. When I went to get ready for our dinner date, I found this waiting for me!

Two of my favorite things: gossip mags and chocolate! Oh yeah, and a sweet card:) 

I gave Hunter some candy and a back facial. Yeah I know, it's super weird, but he likes it when people rub and scratch his back so I thought he'd love this! We'll see! 

40 days and 40 nights?

Well almost! For lent this year, I - along with a few of my girl friends - have decided to give up boozing for lent. The past few years I've opted not to give up anything in protest of how selfish a lot of people's choices are. It's not about "lent," it's about a diet. I, too, am being a bit selfish in hopes that my body changes for the better - but I'm more focused on how much extra time I have to do good things for myself and those around me. I'm hoping I'll have more time to spend with family, friends and to redevelop the hobbies I once had. And I'm not going to lie, this is going to be some of the hardest 39 days (duh, can't skip St. Patrick's Day!) I've even lived, but also (I'm hoping) some of the most fulfilling. Hopefully this will make me a stronger person.

To say the least, I'm a little nervous...


I will be reporting weekly - if not daily - in hopes of keeping myself in check!

But for now, I'm drinking a Stella and eating dark chocolate and watching 30 Rock on Netflix. Don't judge. Wish me luck!

please watch this, a lot

Looking for something as sweet as can be? Check out the Panda Cam at the San Diego Zoo. You won't regret it!


www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/

so this happened at work this morning...

really... lady with the big, ugly hat?

You're going to cut in front of me every single morning to get onto the train first? 

c'mon friday!!

You're so close I can taste you...

hunter, look what someone did to your car this morning!

wipe that smile off your face

While walking down from the train platform today, some man was whistling. Yes, WHISTLING. Someone needs to tell him it's 7:45 a.m. on a Thursday, not 5 p.m. Friday. And even then, I'm not sure if the whistling is appropriate. 

the lincoln lawyer

Remember that summer where Matthew McCounaughey, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lance Armstrong all decided to ride bikes together with their shirts off? Well, that's the summer I decided I would stop watching Matthew McCounaughey movies. I'm all up for some sweet eye candy, but I think he's far too pompous and tries too hard to rock the bohemian California attitude...Dude. Besides, his nephew's name is Miller Lyte and I'm obvi a Bud Light girl.

I've been boycotting this worm for over six years. BUT, Monday night  I ended my streak. 

Hunter had the violent flu Sunday and Monday. I've never seen someone get completely served by the flu like this before! So, Monday night when he was finally able to sit upright, Hunter wanted to watch a movie. I said I'd watch anything and he picked the Lincoln Lawyer. I was about to refuse, but had flashbacks of how much pain he'd been in for the last 24 hours and put my bossiness aside. It was tough.  :)

This movie was great, granted I had zero expectations. But I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I never looked at the clock, time went by so fast! I'm always trying to predict what's going to happen next and how it ends, so I really enjoy a movie that throws me for a loop and this did just that. Also, McShirtless was only shirtless once, which I didn't mind. :)

I give the Lincoln Lawyer a Dean's List B+. WGN news in the morning? Anyone? Bueller? Ok, no. 

throwback photo

I have this obsession with organizing my dresser lately. Mostly because it's somehow always a complete disaster - it's the only space that's 'my own' in the entire apartment. While cleaning out a few drawers tonight, I came across some old photos from really random times in my life. After laughing my a$$ off, I decided to put a few aside to post every now and then. Here's the first! 

I believe this is sophomore year in Marycrest???

cabin fever roll

I had a serious case of cabin fever last night so Hunter and I decided to go out to dinner and try a new sushi place his coworkers recommended. We went to Mirai Sushi on Division and Damen and it was delicious! I was a little nervous when we walked in (at 5:45 p.m.) and all but three tables were reserved. But they sat us in a wonderful location where we could see the open kitchen with the sushi chefs making our sushi.

We started with tempura peppers - they we're really good and the peppers tested so nice and fresh. I also appreciate anything I can smother in soy sauce:) We then had a veggie sushi roll for Hunter and I tried a tuna-salmon roll and a spicy octopus roll. The sever was elated that I ordered the octopus roll and I quickly found out why: It was probably one of the best rolls I've ever had. From the fish to the rice to the delicate unagi sauce - it was perfect. The tuna-salmon roll had a wonderful creamy wasabi sauce that I'm going to attempt to make this weekend! 

All-in-all, it was a great cure for cabin fever! 

awkward

When a coworker sits next to me on the train in the morning...

vegan/veggie week 2

I want this. So.so.so badly. Weirdly, red meat is the only meat I'm craving. I could do without turkey, chicken and pork. But I want a juicy, rare steak. With a ton of salt on it. Right this minute. I've also been craving chocolate in the afternoons, but haven't caved! 

Week one I had very little energy. The afternoons were painful to get through and coming home, it was nearly impossible not to go to sleep at 7 p.m. But yesterday I was on fire! Hunter had to cover my mouth and close my eyes for me because I wouldn't stop chatting when we were going to sleep. Hopefully this energy continues! 

veganuary

Well, I've officially been a vegetarian for one full week! Not that hard to pass up meat, you say? I agree. But being a healthy vegetarian isn't exactly easy. In theory I could be eating an all-cheese and veggie Domino's pizza every night, but that's not the point of this month-long exercise.

why vegetarian?

Hunter and I love watching documentaries. Someone at work told him about an interesting one on the vegan lifestyle so we gave it a try and it really hit home and made us think about our our everyday habits. This was a few weeks before Christmas so we thought it would be a fun challenge to spend all of January meat free. Hunter is completely meat and dairy free (vegan). I'm spending 90% of my day vegan, but every now and then I'll have cottage cheese or shrimp. We spent all day New Year's Day watching even more vegan documentaries to gear us up! I even burned my bra! Jk...

This challenge also goes along with my preparation for turning 30 fit and healthy!

trials and tribulations

There haven't been many! I've actually found this past week to be incredibly fulfilling and easy for the most part. The only challenge is prep. You have to make lunch the night before and fully plan out a week's worth of meals. This is totally new to Hunter and I, however I'm pretty sure most people already do this!

The one thing I have had a hard time with is beans. I like green beans, but I really don't enjoy black beans and all the others and they are in almost every recipe we cook. But, that's the whole point of this challenge: Trying something new. So I'm eating them occasionally and they do fill you up! 

what I've loved
My body feels so healthy. If you know me, I always have a stomach ache after eating. Always. After eating basically anything. But this past week has been flawless. Yay! 

what I ate today

Breakfast: plain oatmeal with raisins and a packet of Truvia

Lunch: Sandwich: Ezekiel bread with dairy-free cream cheese, baby spinach and sliced grape tomatoes

Snack: Carrots and hummus

Dinner: Seared Portabella mushrooms in a garlic bbq glaze

Dessert: Granola

my goal

I know this won't be a lifelong change. I will go back to eating meat and dairy, but I would like to develop some of these changes into lifelong habits. Eating fresh, unprocessed foods - I hope - will be a major priority for us moving forward. 

We'll see if I'm in the same spirit next week!

moroccan oil

Have you tried this yet? My mother-in-law gave me Moroccan oil shampoo, conditioner and oil for Christmas and I am hooked! I've been using it since Christmas Day and can definitely see and feel a difference. I highly recommend spending the extra bucks for this. 

counting UP to 30

Three-hundred and nine. That's how many days left until my 30th birthday. I spent the backend of my 20s fearing this birthday. You can act like an ass in your 20s and get away with it, but once you're 30 it's game over. And I think most of my friends agree, I act like an idiot... kind of a lot:) 

But I've decided to change my approach. I'm no longer fearing 30, I'm spending the next 309 days preparing for 30 so when it gets here, I can enjoy and embrace it. I went to Oak Brook on Saturday and spent some serious cash on age prevention products, I'm (re)joining my gym and I'm in the process of changing my eating and drinking habits. I'm determined to spend my 30th birthday in a cute dress and feeling good about my self - I'm really to roll! 

square one my slate is clear

I feel like more and more often, I find myself waking up and saying I need to do more to make myself happy and achieve the goals I have. I say that "Starting Monday" I'm going to make changes and keep up with my goals. Well, I think I've said that every week for five years. A short while ago I realized there's no need to wait for Monday, or your birthday or New Years. Any day is a good day to take more control of your life.

Square One comes from one of my favorite Tom Petty songs. The past five years have been filled with sadness, happiness, chaos, fear and laughter. Anytime I felt overwhelmed I would listen to this song and dream of just starting at Square One. Well, I feel like I've finally reached my Square One and I've never been happier.

welcome to my very first blog

Why blog? Life goes by so fast. I have so many blessings. But when I look back over the months and years, it's so hard to stroll down memory lane when I can't remember anything that happened! I'm hoping this will help. 

Also, when I was little, I watched every single Doogie Howser, M.D., episode ever aired and dreamed of keeping a journal on a sweet Mac. Well, I don't have a Mac, I have a Gateway from 2006. Is Gateway even around anymore? And I'm not a doctor, but I'm practically a doctor since I'm a publishing editor for the health care industry. Clearly I can perform brain surgery, duh, I read about it.