Ugh

So, I went to Macy's today at lunchtime to check out the gifts for that "stock the bar" shower Matt and I are going to on Thursday night... the only thing left on the registry besides the regular plates, silverware, etc. and the $80 crystal glasses that could qualify as "barware" were these 4 Christmas glasses.

I thought, awesome... this is perfect. Turns out these glasses were locked away in the seasonal stockroom which no one but security can get into. I was starting to worry that I'd have to buy just one of those crystal glasses and look silly. One saleslady said they couldn't sell them off season, but then another saleslady said that since there was a price listed on the registry, that they could be sold even though they were out of season. Then this poor guy Dave got the misfortune of having to call security to open the door and then search through the stockroom for these 4 glasses. Long story short... 45 minutes later, Dave finally found the glasses and wrapped them up for me.

After all that, Dave did give me free gift-wrapping, so I was happy about that. Of course, I had to wait for that, too. Which brings me to a question... are you supposed to tip the gift-wrap lady? I never have before, but everyone in line in front of me was (three separate people). I thought that was weird, but maybe I'm just behind the times or something. I didn't tip her and I sensed she was not happy about it. Hmmmm...

So, to top off the whole stupid glasses ordeal, I just looked online to compare to the price I paid in the store and the glasses are on sale $20 cheaper online (I paid $50 and they are $30 online... big difference)! Ugh! I'm almost tempted to take them back... but I'd probably feel bad if Dave was there and saw me returning them.

Competitive much???

Have I mentioned before that Matt & I might be a little competitive when it comes to the Wii??? {This happened a few weeks back and I meant to post it then, but better late than never.}

By some miracle, I actually beat Matt at bowling in Wii (like 3 games in a row). Granted, he was playing with the Anti-Jabba (his left-handed alter ego), but even with that Mii, he usually creams me. Anyway, being that I am camera happy, I went to take a pic of the debacle of a game he had and this is what happened... yep, that's him first trying to block the camera and then racing to the machine to turn it off before I could snap another pic. Nice. : )


Since that day, I don't believe that I have beat him at another game of bowling. I did beat him at running in the Wii Olympics, but that was probably because he hadn't yet figured out how to use the Wii-mote. : (

Not much going on this week so far...

After that nice walk outside on Sunday, we came back to Matt's place and relaxed on the couch. He had to meet up with the interns for another "welcome" dinner since the remaining interns now moved into the apartments. Within the few hours that he was gone, my sunburn totally appeared and it was awful. I thought I was being all smart and moving my purse strap from side to side while we were walking, but when it's in the same place each time you move it back and forth, it doesn't really work. So, I have a big white X on me plus the lines from the straps from my shirt. And it hurts still today. Nice!

Monday night, I decided to cook and it went less than stellar. I made my version of chicken parm, but I may have added a little too much garlic. Well, at least, the chicken that Matt had was a little garlic-y. That, in combination with the garlic in the pasta sauce was over the top. I think Matt was burping garlic until the next morning. Strangely, I was ok, though. Sorry, man.

We watched The Bachelorette on Monday night. I'm glad DeAnna sent those two guys home... one was too young and the other was a weirdo. What was with that guy Ron - "a case of the DeAnna's"?!? Who says that? He gave me the creeps. Something about Jeremy gives me the creeps, too, but I can't quite figure it out yet. I like Jason because he seems like a nice guy and the whole thing with the kid and the star was really sweet. I hate getting hooked on these stupid shows... now I'm going to have to keep watching it!

Matt and I are going to a couples shower on Thursday night for some friends we work with that are getting married. The theme is "stock the bar", but not with alcohol. Basically, everyone brings some sort of bar glasses from the registry. I actually think this is a pretty cool idea. I looked and the selection is getting low already! I saw that they have these Waterford crystal glasses for $80 a glass. How weird is it to show up with just one glass? I don't know, but if that's all that's left, I may be doing it. I'm heading to Macy's today to check it out.

Ok, that's all I got for now... just rambling on about nothing much. Happy Hump Day!

Beautiful Day

Matt and I started the day off at Flat Top Grill with their breakfast brunch. Way too much food, but super delish! Since it was so nice outside, we hopped the bus over to Grant Park. The weather was a little chilly in the shade, but perfect in the sun. We walked down to Shedd Aquarium and back up through Grant Park. There were quite a lot of people out... the Avon Walk was also finishing up, so there were lots of walkers passing by.

Brats & Beer

We went to the Lincoln Square Mayfest on Saturday. It's a big German festival with lots of beer, brats and German music. There's a big beer tent set up with a band and everyone was dancing and singing along to German songs... it was crazy packed and so much fun!



Everyone gets a plastic beer stein to drink from. Matt & I grabbed some beers and some brats and waited for Erin, Brett, Hany & Grant to show up.



I can't imagine how many brats these guys grilled up!



The band played some fun songs (they even played the Chicken Dance) and we drank a few beers... here are some pics:







After the Mayfest, we headed to Ricochet's to celebrate Mary's birthday. The place was packed! Here's Bryan, Matt and Mary doing a birthday shot of SOCO. Happy Birthday Mary!

Somebody in this picture has a crack problem...

... and it isn't Erin!

The Reagle Beagle and Blue Frog

Sounds like the title of a kids book...

After work on Friday night, I met up with Erin and Hany at the Reagle Beagle for a few drinks. The place is lounge-y and they play old 70's and 80's music and tv theme songs. Any place with a pic of the Golden Girls on the wall is ok in my book. Erin was always super terrified of the Incredible Hulk as a child. Hany and I drank about a bottle of wine each... the Mike Ditka Pinot Grigio. (On a sidenote: I was cursing Mike Ditka's name on Saturday morning because of the major hangover that wine gave me!)


Hany & I met up with Matt, the Reuters, C Funk and some PWCers who were out for Squire's last day at PWC... they were all singing karaoke at Blue Frog. The place was packed but we were able to sing a few songs. I was already feeling great from the wine, so I probably sounded just like a rockstar. ; )

Matt and Andy sang 'Amarillo by Morning' and we gave Barry a call... they did an awesome job! Andy and I sang 'Ice Ice Baby', but I swear the karaoke girl had the speed turned up on the song because that was the fastest I'd ever heard it. Maybe she was trying to get people through faster... or maybe I was just drunk... who knows. C Funk sang one of his signature songs 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley.