I love the holidays!

I had an awesome time over the holidays visiting with the family! Santa was good to everyone! : )

Matt and I drove down to Rochester, IL on Christmas Eve day. We spent Christmas Eve at my parents' friends house for dinner and then we all went to 10pm mass. I could barely stay awake at church after the big dinner and a few glasses of wine.

On Christmas, we all opened lots of gifts.

My parents' tree


I think my Dad's best gift was this first aid kit! Anyone who knows my Dad knows that this is the perfect thing for him as he spends quite a lot of time in the ER... to say he is "accident prone" is an understatement!



We all drove to Quincy, IL to hang out with my mom's family for a few days. We always have a ton of fun there.

My mom and I enjoying some wine (big surprise)


We do a gift exchange. I got the Twilight series of books and some really pretty jewelry from my aunt. Matt got a shirt and the History of Farting book from another aunt of mine. : )



Every year, the chocolate fish is traded back and forth between my dad and my uncle Rudy. I'm not even sure how this started, but they always get each other something fish related.



Another favorite gift of my Dad's... a remote control UFO


He's still trying to figure it out... there's no way to really steer the thing


Me and Matt


My cousins Kelly and Kelsey


Uncle Chuck (the real thing) and aunt June


My dad with another of his favorite xmas presents


Gramma (wearing dad's new "glasses") and Grampa


Gramma and Grampa and the grandkids... no one is looking at the camera!


My mom's brothers and sisters... again, not really paying attention to me.


The "in-laws" with Gramma and Grampa


We played lots of LRC (Left-Right-Center), a dice game. I was having lots of luck and won quite a bit of money! We also had the annual ladies lunch the day after xmas.

The ladies lunch at Tiramisu


Then we all went gambling at the boat in Missouri. I don't usually gamble much, but I sat down at a slot machine and started winning. After all was said and done, I came out of the casino $15 up. Definitely a win for me! Matt played some blackjack, but I don't think he came out quite as well. My gramma and mom did really well playing the Wizard of Oz slot machine... that thing couldn't lose!

That night, we went out for mexican food (and HUGE margaritas!) and went bowling afterwards. We were so full, it was hard to bowl. Matt and I ran into a guy that works at TP in Chicago. We don't really work with him, but recognized him. Such a small world.

Jean, Mom and me with our big margaritas!


Kelly and me at the bowling alley


Pat and Dan at the bowling alley


We drove back to Rochester on Saturday and watched the worst movie (Stepbrothers) while eating one of my favorite pizzas (Godfather's). My mom and I crashed early, but the rest of the fam and Matt went to go see the new Brad Pitt movie... Curious Case of Benjamin Button or something like that.

Then, it was back to reality and Chicago. Boo.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Bear down!

Matt and I watched the Bears v. Packers game last night from the comfort of the couch. I couldn't imagine being out there in the cold for that long. They kept showing these dudes who had no shirts on... OMG! They had to be drunk!

We were a little worried towards the end, but the Bears pulled through. I think it may have had something to do with the rally that was going on at Matt's house... we even got "Chuck" (a lifelong PACKERS fan!) to cheer on the Bears. That must have been what turned the tides for them! : )

i.am.bored

Today, my entire group at work is out of the office except for me. I am sitting in a six-pack of cubicles by myself. It's quiet. It's boring. I've finished all of the work I could scrounge up and I have nothing else to do right now, so I am just killing time until I can leave. UGH!

Domestic

Today was a lazy Sunday... and it was AWESOME! The only place I went today was the grocery store and the 3 minutes it took to walk there from Matt's place was enough outdoor time for me! Brrr... I can't believe how cold it was out there! It was so windy today the elevators stopped working at Matt's building (just in time for us when we got back from the store, of course.) That set off the fire alarms and the fire trucks stopped by.

For some reason today, I was feeling domestic and wanted to do some cooking and baking.

I made peanut butter cookies with Reese's peanut butter cups in the middle. I love those things! The goal now is to NOT eat all of them before I take them home for xmas.



I also decided to make one of my favorite comfort food meals... pot roast and mashed potatoes. This is my first attempt at pot roast and it turned out great! Not that it is hard. : ) I made garlic red mashed potatoes... those turned out good as well. Not as garlicky as I thought they would be, but that's probably a good thing.



Now, Matt and I are in food comas and catching up on some shows we have DVR'd.

Bulls win = we win!

Last night, Matt and I braved the cold and went to the Bulls game. Luckily, it's just a short bus ride away from his place. It was a good game... very close until the end.

Good news is that the Bulls scored over 100 points AND won the game, so everyone gets a free Big Mac. I'm not sure Matt and I are actually going to cash in on our "winnings" today considering it's cold and we'd have to leave the comfort of the couch. : )



And more good news... Matt "caught" another shirt. If anyone remembers, he also ended up with a t-shirt when we were in Utah at his brother-in-law's HS football game. That time, it just kind of hit him in the face. This time, the t-shirt bounced off some other people and landed in his hands. He has the best luck!

Here he is re-enacting the scene : )


The Bulls have added a new form of entertainment since the last time I went to a game (which was probably a very long time ago)... the Matadors. They are these overweight men that dance at halftime with the Luvabulls. They took their shirts off and they had M-E-R-R-Y-X-M-A-S written on their stomachs.


Happy Holidays from the United Center

DUN!

I have finished my Christmas shopping with a few days to spare... yay! And I got them all wrapped this afternoon, too. There is still one present on it's way, but it should be here by Tuesday.

I can't wait to go home for the holidays and visit with my family... it seems like forever since I've seen everyone! I'm already looking forward to all of the goodies my mom baked... I may gain 10 pounds before the New Year!

Dinner with the girls

Friday night, me, Hany, Erin, Shannon and Theresa grabbed dinner at Jack's on Southport. It's always fun to catch up with them! : )

Shannon... say cheese!


Sisters... take two! Erin had some crazy eyes in the first one! : )


Hany's not a fan of the papparazzi


Group pic

We found dresses!

Last night, Hany, Jane, Erin and I went to House of Brides to look for bridesmaids dresses for Hany's wedding. Jane and I must have tried on at least 20 dresses each... all different styles, lengths and colors. Erin was running late and missed out on all that fun. ; )

It was a challenge to find a dress that would look good on all three of us... well, mostly me, because I can't wear anything that has a "natural waist" because my natural waist is much lower than everyone else's. Good thing for empire waist dresses!

Here is the dress we picked... the color is called Tealness. It's very pretty!

After dress shopping, we went to Wildfire for dinner... love that place!

What a mess!

This morning (after waiting for the bus forever and then not even being able to get on the bus because it was so packed), I decided to walk to work. After about two blocks, I realized that was not the best decision I've ever made. The roads were pretty clear, but the sidewalks were a mess. If you didn't have boots on, you were in trouble. And the snow was pelting me in the face the whole way. After awhile, that's almost like the Chinese water torture. By the time I got to the office, I was soaked. Awesome.

This would have been a perfect day to just work from home, but the boss is in town and taking my team out for our holiday lunch... so, alas, I am at work. : )

Randomness

* I discovered a new pet peeve today while out shopping at Macy's. I hate it when people get to the end of an escalator and just stand there, looking around trying to figure out which direction to go. Hello... move! It's not like stairs people... the people behind you are coming up at you and can't stop and you are IN THE WAY!

* I am almost done with my xmas shopping. Yay! I did a lot of it online this year, so I could avoid the crowds.

* On my walk back from shopping today at lunch, I passed the coffee shop in my building and they were showing A Christmas Story. It was at the part where the Dad gets that new lamp that looks like a woman's leg with a stocking on it... I smiled. I can't believe I haven't watched that yet this year.


* Tonight, I am going bridesmaid dress shopping with Hany, Erin and Jane. I found out that there are certain dresses I can order with extra length added to them, so my dress will not look like a mini-skirt compared to Erin and Jane's. : )

* We are supposed to have our bowling party tonight at Diversey where we get our payouts from the league. I'm thinking that if the big storm hits like it's supposed to, I may opt to skip the party. I don't want any part of being on the roads if it gets messy. Not after what it was like on Tuesday.

* One week 'til Christmas!!! I'm looking forward to going home and visiting with the fam! : )

So glad I wore the winter boots today!

Geesh... what a messy walk home!



I'd hate to be driving tonight! Erin was stuck in traffic and went 6 miles in 1 hour! UGH!!!



Tonight, Matt and I opted to stay in and I tried out a new chili recipe. I must say, it was super tasty! Matt did his usual... peanut butter sandwich (no jelly) dipped in the chili. I decided red wine goes really well with chili!

Happy Holidays from the Purple Otter

On Sunday night, the Purple Otter had a Christmas party and a bunch of us went to check it out.

A new shot was invented... the "poop shot". Drop a shot of Malort into a half pint of PBR and drink it. Yep, it probably tasted worse than poop. I stayed away from that disaster!


Me and Erin... I'm not sure why the flash wasn't working.


Paula and me


Erin and Ross... nice, Clint!


Bah Humbug x2!

Costa Rica... lots of pictures

Click HERE to see all the pics from our trip! Enjoy! : )

Costa Rica Part 3 - Tamarindo Beach

On Wednesday morning, we headed out of the rain and to the beach (vamos a la playa!) Our driver was so nice and kept stopping to show us monkeys and rare birds along the way. We were like... just get us there, man! It was a long trip through some not so great roads again. I had taken my Dramamine, so I was good to go. : )

This was one of our stops... Arenal Lake:


Have no fear... there are plenty of fast food restaurants in Costa Rica! They even have a Taco Bell!


Matt is not amused!


We got to ride on the Pan-America highway for this trip, which is the major "highway" that runs through Costa Rica and connects Panama with Nicaragua. By highway, I mean that this road was more traveled. Not necessarily that much better. It was two lanes and most of the way there was no line in the middle. Once we got closer to the beach, the road straightened out and we actually could pick up speed a little more. I was glad to see that because it seemed to take forever driving those curvy roads, slowing down at each turn to make sure no one else is coming in the opposite direction.

We made it to the beach!


We were so excited to feel the warm sun and see the ocean after the past few days of nothing but rain and clouds. We checked into our hotel, the Tamarindo Diria. We took a walk on the beach and Matt searched for sea creatures. We found a lot of hermit crabs walking about. We saw snails and these slug like things that make crazy lines burrowing through the sand. Every time the waves would come in they would get washed up to the top and then burrow back down again. It was really strange. I kind of wish I had taken a video of it now.

Reindeer in the hotel lobby


Beautiful sunset

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant which was on the beach. Matt got grilled lobster that was HUGE! I had grilled mahi mahi. They cooked it outside in a huge open grill. I must admit that I was getting a little mahi-mahi'd out by the end of the trip. I had ordered beef once and it was awful, so I stuck to seafood for the rest of the trip.





On Thursday, we had the breakfast buffet at the hotel, which was surprisingly good. Lots of hot options (rice and beans, of course) and an omelet bar. Tons of tropical fruits and juices. We spent the day first lounging by the ocean reading our books and enjoying a tropical drink. In the afternoon, we walked over to the larger hotel pool that had a swim up bar and relaxed there for a while. I think we went through a whole thing of sunscreen that day making sure we didn't get burnt.

This iguana was sunbathing with us : )


Yum... fruity drinks!


We walked along the beach and watched the sunset... absolutely gorgeous! I think I may have taken 100 pictures alone of sunsets while we were there. : )

Thursday night, we went to dinner at El Coconut (recommended by the guide book and the hotel bartender). The specialty there is mahi-mahi and you could get it prepared a number of ways. Matt's dish had a sort of curry taste to it with shrimp and calamari on top... it was excellent. I decided to go basica and got mahi-mahi with a garlic butter sauce. Turns out it was more a garlic butter sauce with a little mahi-mahi thrown in. I was not as thrilled with my entree as with Matt's, but the dessert was really good... banana flambe'... delicious.



Oh yeah, this is also the night I face planted into a bush on the side of the road. And yes, I was sober. In my defense, it was really dark... not a lot of street lights in Tamarindo. A sidewalk started (a rarity), so we decided to stop walking on the dirt road and get up on the sidewalk which was on the other side of a muddy ditch. I was wearing a skirt and tried to jump the ditch, but it didn't happen and I went barrelling into the bush on the opposite side of the sidewalk... face first. Matt just stood there in awe at me and my clumsiness. I'm sure he was trying not to crack up. I was mad that he didn't try to catch me! Ugh.

Did I mention there are also Pizza Huts in Costa Rica??? We didn't try it, so I don't know how it compares to the US.


After dinner, we went back to the hotel bar for a few drinks and saw the biggest toad I've ever seen in person in my life! I don't know why I didn't get a picture of it. It was jumping towards us and Matt scared it away and it jumped right behind the bar under the cooler. I'm sure someone got a surprise back there later!

On Friday morning, I did a little souvenir shopping and then met Matt back at the hotel to lounge around by the ocean again. We spent a little time there and about an hour at the pool with the swim up bar again. We had to be in the lobby around 1:30 for our pickup for the sunset sailing cruise (otherwise known as the booze cruise).

The sailing cruise was another of our favorites of the trip. We were picked up by Cady, who is actually from Florida but her parents moved to Costa Rica when she was 9. She didn't even know Spanish when she moved there.

We took a small boat out to the catamaran.



Luckily for us, there were only about 10 people on the tour so we had the run of the boat. It was stocked with alcohol and they made fresh guacomole, which was amazing. We cruised for about an hour to a private beach where people went snorkeling.



Matt and I didn't get the memo about wearing a swimsuit, so we were a little unprepared for the snorkeling part. He went snorkeling in his shorts and I watched on board the boat with this Asian girl that didn't want to get in the water. This poor girl actually ended up getting SO seasick, she was vomiting the last hour + of the trip and we dropped her off before the sunset part of the cruise even started. Poor girl. : (



We had so much fun on the cruise... the crew was super nice and kept offering to bring us drinks and get us drunk. We obliged, of course. Matt may have obliged more than me. : ) The weather was perfect and the sunset was beautiful... we didn't want to get off the boat. It was an awesome way to spend our last night in Costa Rica!



After the cruise, we went to dinner at a restaurant Cady had suggested to us (she was actually going there that night as well). It was called Seasons and was part of the Hotel Iris Arco. This was the most crowded restaurant we had been at the whole trip... and with good reason. The food was good and the service was very friendly.

Matt may have been feeling the drinks from the cruise at this point! : )


Saturday morning, we packed up and Matt had his last helping of rice and beans for breakfast.


We took a few last glances at the ocean and were picked up for our trip to the airport.


Oh, we totally missed the duty-free store until we were boarding at the gate. Bummer!

We flew back through Miami, but barely had much of a layover. We grabbed some pizza (I had been craving some since Matt vetoed the Costa Rica Pizza Hut!) and boarded for our flight back to Chicago.