On a Sunday Afternoon...

After thinking that all week I would not be going to Chicago, I ended up there. I took the bus into the city (as usual). I met up Mr. Scottie B. and friends and we went to the White Sox game (vs. Dodgers). The Dodgers lost and I've officially decided that I am bad luck. The game was great. The weather was pretty nice and got a few free beers.

After the game we stopped at Starbucks to enjoy a coffee. We stop at Starbucks pretty often. Mr. Scottie B. and I really enjoy coffee and Starbucks normally has quality coffee.

We headed back downtown after the game and met up with Brooke (a lovely Navy Lady friend of Mr. SB's). We ate sushi (best idea ever) and Brooke climbed into a basket. It was fun. The boys then headed to Hubbard State Cigar and us girls went shopping. I decided to stay the night (which was not part of my original plan) and go to church in the morning with Mr. Scottie B. But I did not have anything to wear, so I had to buy a dress ;)

After trying on a million dresses I found one. We all met back up at the Navy Pier. The boys had cigars and wine. We sat by the lake and then walked the pier. We wandered through downtown and took the late train back to the base. I stayed at the Gateway Inn which is inexpensive and the rooms are always nice.

Here are a TON of photos from Saturday.





















Sunday morning I got up and went to church on base. Mr. Scottie B. is part of the Navy Choir and had a solo during the service. He's quite talented and it was terrific. After, we took the train to Lake Forest. I've decided that it's the cutest little town ever. We ate brunch at South Gate Cafe. The food and mimosa's were delicious. We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and then sat in the grass in the town courtyard. It was sunny and perfect out then suddenly there was a downpour. The rain drops were huge and we stood in the rain till I made us take cover to protect my camera and belongings. And as quickly as the rain started, it stopped. So we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through Lake Forest waiting for the train.

Mr. Scottie B. walked me to the blue line and then I headed home. It stormed on the bus ride home and I do not like storms.

Photos from Sunday











It was a wonderful weekend in Chicago. I had so much fun.

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I'm posting from my phone for the first time, so hopefully this works out!

I've still been feeling pretty sick. I haven't been to the gym in days but it feels like weeks. All week at work the following has been at my desk at all times:




I've been drinking tons of tea and my poor nose is all red.

Yesterday I made my way to my eye doc... again. He approved my contacts and now I won't be back for a year (yay)! I also went to savers and wandered around but didn't find anything.



And as usual I made a Target run and scored the most comfy sweater for only five bucks. I spent the rest of my night relaxing in my new sweater watching Hello Dolly, The Office, and Parks&Rec.

It's a Tuesday Night

It has been a long day. I'm not feeling well, so it's always kind of rough to be at work when I'm not feeling 100%. When I got off work I did still go to the gym and had a short work out. I just couldn't muster the energy to push myself hard.

I did get my replacement phone (finally filed a claim with insurance)! So I put tons of music on it and I'm so glad to have a properly functioning phone, yay!

I also wanted to say another quick congratulations to Miss Adriana for being a college graduate! We all knew you'd make it there!




I spent part of last night making treats for Mr. Scottie B. and putting together a little goodie package. Mom sent it for me today since I work during USPS hours.





Mom and I are watching The Biggest Loser currently and I think I'm going to try to catch up on sleep. Hopefully that will help me feel better. What remedies do you use to help cure the start of a cold?

weekend update.

This last weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday in Chicago, again. I took the early bus down to O'Hare airport and got checked in at my hotel. I met up with Mr. Scottie B. to explore the city. I think a great way to learn the city is to take Chicago Transit (and I think Mr. SB agrees), so we do our best to figure out a train or bus to where ever we are going.
On Saturday we went to a little Cafe (I can't remember what it was called!) and met with some of Scottie's friends for a coffee and food. I had a pretty great veggie sandwich. From there we went to The Vintage Bazaar and it was incredible. I had planned to take photos but once I was inside I completely forgot. I scored two skirts, a new overnight bag, a dress, some jewelry, a toy for Ethan, and a few little gifts from SB. Mr. Scottie B. bought this amazing Navy blanket (I didn't get a photo but I will). I'm so glad we made it the bazaar!

A little back story, the original reason I came into town this particular weekend was to see Four Year Strong, Bad Religion, and Rise Against. But silly me I waited too long to purchase tickets and it was too expensive by the time I looked at buying. But Mr. SB decided to change into his uniform (typed 'outfit' first then changed it ;) and see if we could score some tickets. So we left the The Vintage Bazaar and he changed (which was an adventure in the rain in itself, but I won't get into that now). When we got to Aragon Ballroom they informed us the show was sold out and there was nothing they could do. A gentleman overheard our dilemma and offered us two free tickets. We walked in with him and ended up with VIP tickets. How great, right? And after a generous stranger got us into the show, a lovely lady kept our bags for us behind the counter (benefits of Mr. SB being in his uniform I assume).

It was a pretty late night and I had planned to get up early to get back to Madison, but that didn't work out. So it ended up being early afternoon when I got back into town. I was in time to go to Lola's first birthday party and Ethan's soccer game. I got to hang out with Ethan for the afternoon and evening. He's such a smart kid, I'm so very proud to be his Aunt.

Here are photos from the weekend!


waiting for a train


a photo from the train platform,
Mr. Scottie B. looking like quite a hipsterboy
me (don't mind my red eyes. it was windy), and
our many bags we carried around all day


Mr. Scottie B. in his uniform


Showing off my anchor earrings that Mr. SB got for me


Happy Birthday Lola!

In past updates I forgot to mention a few other awesome nights I've had here in Madison! I'm doing my best to embrace Madison as "my" city...but I never quite feel that way (yet). Boise will forever feel like my home and as many people know, I believe that I planted my roots in Boise. But for the time being I'm going to remember to be happy where I am, so here are a few Madison adventures.


The first is Mifflin Block Party. It was held on April 30th and was pretty crazy. Adriana and I started drinking pretty early and had so much fun. I ended the night dancing my heart out and being so glad I had gone out.










Still being pretty new to Madison, there are a few places I'm still discovering. Most recently I've 'discovered' High Noon Saloon. The venue itself is great. It's set-up is two bars facing each other with plenty of open space for standing during shows.
The photos below are from a show for Daniel and the Lion's release of their new album 'Sweet Teeth' (which I must say is so awesome). I also heard John Paul Roney and my heart melted. His voice is incredible and his love for music shines throughout his entire set. The opening band was Husband and Wife, who I chatted with (cool dudes) and they hooked me up with a CD!

I don't have any photos from a second show I attended, but I saw Ryan Flannery & the Night Owls. Their music is pretty 70s inspired and I really enjoyed it! I met with the band and their friends, which resulted in us hanging out with them after the show! They were all very nice guys and I enjoyed the night.

I do my best to be open to new music and respect all genres of music. Music is such an incredible and brave expression of ones self. It's sometimes hard for me to branch out of my normal music comfort zone (which is mostly pop-punk and hardcore), but I really think I'm doing better.







I did have another weekend in Chicago with Mr. Scottie B. and it was so awesome. I'll post photos and details tomorrow (since I'm running on about four hours of sleep and I'm quite tired).

My Weekend

This weekend has been quite amazing. I started Saturday morning early taking the Van Galder Bus into Chicago and then heading into downtown via CTA (which I have decided is easier than driving). I did a little shopping and got a bubble tea from Argo Tea. Mr. Scottie B. met me there and we went to the The Art Institute of Chicago (which was amazing), grabbed some lunch, and then some coffee. We sat out of the rain for a while and met a few interesting homeless men. Then headed to Sushi Wabi for sushi. It was delicious and I tried sake for the first time. We explored a different area of Chicago and ended up at a bar listening to some poppunk/hardcore bands :) I headed home at 11pm and almost missed my bus, whoops.








And following a lovely day in Chicago it was mothers day. For those of you who don't know, my mom is my best friend. So it was nice to have a day to celebrate her. Momma, you are the glue that holds us all together. I would not be the person I am today without you and your guidance.
Mom's gifts included a new ipod, paint your own gnome, restaurant gift card, and a few heartfelt cards.
The family spent the day as we usually do: keeping track of Ethan, passing Jaxson around, making lots of jokes, spelling words we can't say out l-o-u-d, drinking beer, and taking photos!

Another update apologizing for falling behind!

So once again I've fallen behind with posting more often (even though I promised to update more). Now that I've deactivated my Facebook I would really like a place to post photos and keep anyone who cares up to date with my life!

Here are tons of photos from the last month or so.



This was a day in Chicago spent with Scottie B. exploring Chicago. We walked in the park, ate at Miller's Pub, went to House of Blues, and climbed to the top of a building somewhere downtown!




Spent the day at Wrigley Field watching the Dodgers unfortunately lose to the Cubs.




Easter was a beautiful day in Madison. The weather was perfect, my nephews looked adorable (and matched), and we celebrated with tons of family time.



A week ago my parents and I took Ethan to Henry Vilas Zoo here in Madison. It's a great little zoo and it's free, which is great! Then we celebrated our weekly tradition of FDF (family dinner Friday).



The past two months have been so positive. I've made so many trips to Chicago and explored the city that I'm hoping to move to someday (...soon) and spent a lot of time with my family and friends.