At the beginning of this year, the company Matt and I work for merged with another company. Both companies are about the same size and both have locations in Chicago. We've been hearing rumors for a while about what they were going to do about relocating employees, but it was officially announced a week ago. The group Matt and I work in (Retirement Consulting) is moving to the other company's office building and other groups are moving over to the space we're currently in. And it's happening pretty quickly... Sept 24th! Our new office building is about a block farther of a commute, which isn't bad. We still live about a mile from work, which I love!
Now, the big question is... where will we sit in the new office??? Right now, Matt and I sit about 10 feet apart on opposite sides of a cubicle wall. I think Matt is ready to be a little bit farther away from me. : ) It would be nice to have conversations on the phone about him without him being able to overhear me! jk
We are supposed to find out the new seating arrangements this week.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Weekend in St. Louis
This past weekend, we went down to St. Louis to celebrate Mary and Bryan's wedding. It was a HOT weekend, but the wedding was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun! Matt was happy he got to spend his birthday at the casino - Pai Gow! Actually he spent almost as much time at the casino as he did in the hotel room!
Here are a few pics that I took...
Here are a few pics that I took...
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| Bagpipes and bubbles! |
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| We clean up nice! : ) |
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| It's still strange to see me as a "Mrs."! |
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| The happy couple! |
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| A sleepy Samantha - so cute! |
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| Happy Wedding - from Clint (he gave Bryan and Mary all singles!) |
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| Andy sang The Humpty Dance! |
Monday, August 16, 2010
Bootcamp = dunzo
This morning was the last day of the summer bootcamp Erin and I signed up for at our gym. I SOOOOOO wanted to bail and just stay in bed. I'm still recovering from our weekend in St. Louis for Mary & Bryan's wedding. (I took a few pics and will post those tonight once I download them from the camera.) But, I dragged my butt over there. Luckily, the weather was really nice and the class was bearable. I surely won't miss getting up so dang early on Mondays and Thursdays!
Oh, when I got up this morning there were a bunch of firetrucks over on Randolph. When I was coming back from the gym, it looked like the place that was on fire was Izumi, which is where Matt and I like to go for sushi. The fire must have been contained pretty quickly because the inside looked ok from what I could see. They had all the doors open and police tape around the sidewalk area and the police were inside walking around. I hope it's ok! Matt and I were just talking last night about how we hadn't been there in a while!
Oh, when I got up this morning there were a bunch of firetrucks over on Randolph. When I was coming back from the gym, it looked like the place that was on fire was Izumi, which is where Matt and I like to go for sushi. The fire must have been contained pretty quickly because the inside looked ok from what I could see. They had all the doors open and police tape around the sidewalk area and the police were inside walking around. I hope it's ok! Matt and I were just talking last night about how we hadn't been there in a while!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Happy Birthday!
Friday was Matt's birthday... yep, Friday the 13th! He was actually born on a Friday the 13th, too.
By the way, this picture was taken at Halloween and I can't help but chuckle when I see it! He was dressed up as a go-go dancer! The cowboy hat was part of Hany's costume, but I think it works with the outfit, right??? : )
Happy Birthday Matt!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
One more thing...
If you want to see all of the pictures we took in Greece (or about 300 of them, at least), check out our shutterfly site. The password is "mattstacia". You don't need an account to see the pictures, just the password. There's also a link at the right. Enjoy!
Greece - Part 4 - Athens
Our last stop of the trip was back in Athens. We flew there from Santorini on Friday morning on Aegean Airlines. The flight was maybe 25 minutes air time, pretty quick. The plane was a regular size plane and was pretty full.
We took the metro from the airport to our hotel, The Royal Olympic. This place was super easy to find, right across the street from the Temple of Zeus. Great location!
The hotel was 5-star, but they had this section of "executive rooms" that were cheaper and probably more like 3-star. That's what I booked. But, when we got there, we got upgraded to a panorama room... which was awesome! The room was huge with a king bed (which was actually two twin beds pushed together), big bathroom, just really nice. And we had a huge window facing out to the Temple of Zeus (hence the "panorama" room).
We walked around Athens a little, grabbed some lunch and then headed back to the hotel to hang out at the pool. We lucked out at the pool because two people were leaving as we got there, so we snagged their lounge chairs. Those things are not easy to get! And they were in the sun! (Half of of the pool gets shaded as the day goes on because the hotel blocks the sun.)
That night, we wandered around Athens before dinner. We came across this hill that had an amazing view of the city.
We had a couple of drinks at a bar in the Plaka and did a lot of people watching. Some little girl tried to "sell" us free roses and we couldn't figure out what the catch was. She was adament that they were free, but we didn't take them. Still wonder what that was all about.
Matt thought this would be a good time to do a shot of ouzo... our first and only shot of the trip! Afterwards the waiter brought us a shot of metaxa on the house. It was very sweet. That was our only shot of that stuff, too!
We finished the night off at the rooftop bar at our hotel. It faced the Acropolis and Temple of Zeus, which are lit up nice at night. Very pretty view!
Saturday was our last full day of the trip. We spent the morning sightseeing. First stop - The Acropolis and The Parthenon. We wanted to get up there before it got too hot and too crowded. But, of course, that would have been maybe 8am, so we were already behind!
There was marble on the ground in places, so when we were walking around it was slippery. Can't imagine what it would be like if it was raining. After that, we went to the new Acropolis Museum (ahhh... a/c again!). This place was built over the ruins of the ancient city, which they have excavated underneath. They have clear plastic floors in places so you can see the ancient city. Pretty neat!
The top floor of the museum is the Parthenon to scale and it describes all the statues and carvings that went around the top of the Parthenon. There was also a video describing the history and the changes in the Parthenon over the years. Very good museum!
Next stop of our sightseeing was to stroll through Monstiraki, which is a big flea market in Athens. There is everything and anything you could possibly want for sale there. I took a bunch of pictures, which annoyed Matt thoroughly, of course! : )
Kind of reminded me of Camden Market in London. After walking through all that, we headed back to the Plaka and had a few beers, grabbed a snack and cooled off!
Last major stop of our sightseeing was the Temple of Zeus. It might have been because of the beers, but Matt decided to take over the good camera and we ended up with TONS of pictures of the Temple. We have two cameras - one nice Canon Rebel (the "good" camera) and one crappy small one (that's the one we hand to strangers to take pictures of us usually). I can really tell the difference looking at the pictures we took between the two cameras! Love that Canon!
It was SO hot outside, so we finished the day off at the pool. That night, we met up with a coworker friend (Georgia) of ours that had been in Greece for the past few weeks visiting her family. They have a house in Athens and then another on an island. She comes every summer for a visit. She and her cousin picked us up and we met up with her family for dinner. It was a nice night and a perfect way to end our trip!
Sunday morning we had to get up super early to catch our flight to LHR. I was texting with my Dad and it was still Saturday night around 9pm for him. So strange! We had almost a 6 hour layover in LHR. We shopped, slept some, grabbed lunch, and made our final duty-free purchase (more Baileys!). Matt read an entire book during the layover.
Our flights went really well, we had an exit row again (score!). The plane had the personal tv touch screens so you can watch movies and pause them, rewind, etc. We made it home around 8pm, ordered pizza and crashed!
We had an amazing time on our trip! Beautiful weather, excellent food, lots of relaxing on the beaches... I'm ready to go back! : )
THE END
We took the metro from the airport to our hotel, The Royal Olympic. This place was super easy to find, right across the street from the Temple of Zeus. Great location!
The hotel was 5-star, but they had this section of "executive rooms" that were cheaper and probably more like 3-star. That's what I booked. But, when we got there, we got upgraded to a panorama room... which was awesome! The room was huge with a king bed (which was actually two twin beds pushed together), big bathroom, just really nice. And we had a huge window facing out to the Temple of Zeus (hence the "panorama" room).
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| Our room at the Royal Olympic |
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| Huge bath tub! Yep, I made him do that! |
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| Buttons on the nightstands that controlled everything in the room, even the curtains! |
We walked around Athens a little, grabbed some lunch and then headed back to the hotel to hang out at the pool. We lucked out at the pool because two people were leaving as we got there, so we snagged their lounge chairs. Those things are not easy to get! And they were in the sun! (Half of of the pool gets shaded as the day goes on because the hotel blocks the sun.)
That night, we wandered around Athens before dinner. We came across this hill that had an amazing view of the city.
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| With Athens in the background |
We had a couple of drinks at a bar in the Plaka and did a lot of people watching. Some little girl tried to "sell" us free roses and we couldn't figure out what the catch was. She was adament that they were free, but we didn't take them. Still wonder what that was all about.
Matt thought this would be a good time to do a shot of ouzo... our first and only shot of the trip! Afterwards the waiter brought us a shot of metaxa on the house. It was very sweet. That was our only shot of that stuff, too!
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| Danger! |
We finished the night off at the rooftop bar at our hotel. It faced the Acropolis and Temple of Zeus, which are lit up nice at night. Very pretty view!
Saturday was our last full day of the trip. We spent the morning sightseeing. First stop - The Acropolis and The Parthenon. We wanted to get up there before it got too hot and too crowded. But, of course, that would have been maybe 8am, so we were already behind!
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| The Parthenon was amazing! |
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| Matt and me |
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| Did someone dump a bucket of water on Matt??? Nope, he's just a little bit sweaty! |
There was marble on the ground in places, so when we were walking around it was slippery. Can't imagine what it would be like if it was raining. After that, we went to the new Acropolis Museum (ahhh... a/c again!). This place was built over the ruins of the ancient city, which they have excavated underneath. They have clear plastic floors in places so you can see the ancient city. Pretty neat!
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| Hard to see, but there is a cat down there in the "ancient city"... Matt says to me "must be Zeus' cat"! : ) |
The top floor of the museum is the Parthenon to scale and it describes all the statues and carvings that went around the top of the Parthenon. There was also a video describing the history and the changes in the Parthenon over the years. Very good museum!
Next stop of our sightseeing was to stroll through Monstiraki, which is a big flea market in Athens. There is everything and anything you could possibly want for sale there. I took a bunch of pictures, which annoyed Matt thoroughly, of course! : )
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| There were people with stands selling a bunch of crapola |
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| And shops lined the streets with souvenirs and random things |
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| Jewelry overload! |
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| War gear, anyone??? |
Kind of reminded me of Camden Market in London. After walking through all that, we headed back to the Plaka and had a few beers, grabbed a snack and cooled off!
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| "Enough with the pictures, man!" |
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| Can of Mythos beer + gyro = a happy husband |
Last major stop of our sightseeing was the Temple of Zeus. It might have been because of the beers, but Matt decided to take over the good camera and we ended up with TONS of pictures of the Temple. We have two cameras - one nice Canon Rebel (the "good" camera) and one crappy small one (that's the one we hand to strangers to take pictures of us usually). I can really tell the difference looking at the pictures we took between the two cameras! Love that Canon!
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| Temple of Zeus with the Acropolis in the background |
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| Me in front of the Temple of Zeus |
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| Mr. Photographer! |
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| Yep, we are dorks! |
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| I turned around and Matt was gone! Can you see where he is? Back in the shade taking pics! |
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| Matt and me in front of the Temple of Zeus with the Acropolis in the background |
It was SO hot outside, so we finished the day off at the pool. That night, we met up with a coworker friend (Georgia) of ours that had been in Greece for the past few weeks visiting her family. They have a house in Athens and then another on an island. She comes every summer for a visit. She and her cousin picked us up and we met up with her family for dinner. It was a nice night and a perfect way to end our trip!
Sunday morning we had to get up super early to catch our flight to LHR. I was texting with my Dad and it was still Saturday night around 9pm for him. So strange! We had almost a 6 hour layover in LHR. We shopped, slept some, grabbed lunch, and made our final duty-free purchase (more Baileys!). Matt read an entire book during the layover.
Our flights went really well, we had an exit row again (score!). The plane had the personal tv touch screens so you can watch movies and pause them, rewind, etc. We made it home around 8pm, ordered pizza and crashed!
We had an amazing time on our trip! Beautiful weather, excellent food, lots of relaxing on the beaches... I'm ready to go back! : )
THE END
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Greece - Part 3 - Santorini
On Thursday morning, we took another ferry from Paros to Santorini. This time the ferry was smaller and faster. It was called the Flying Cat 3. No cars or trucks, just people... and a lot of luggage!
The ferry stopped at Ios first, which is a total party island. Like Spring Break craziness all the time. On Mykonos, the party started at 1am. On Ios, the party starts at 1pm and goes all through the night. A lot of the young folks got off the ferry at this stop.
The hotel we stayed at on Santorini was near Oia (pronounced "e-ah") and called the Anoemessa Villa. The owner was named Irini and she was a total sweetheart. She made the place 100 times better! She arranged for someone to pick us up from the port and bring us to the hotel.
The cities here are built up high on the cliffs and the roads circle around them, literally right next to the edge of the cliff. I had to close my eyes a few times going around the corners on our ride to the hotel. I thought for sure we'd drop right off.
Our first day there, we just strolled around Oia, grabbed lunch at a place called Mezzo, and then veg'd out by the pool for a few hours. Oia was like a postcard.... the pictures don't do it justice!
One of the big things to do in Oia is walk to the end of the island and watch the sunset. We did this the first night, along with the hoards of other people. It was crazy packed! The sunset was beautiful, but it was pretty hazy.
We went to dinner at Neptune that night. Very good food and an excellent view!
Our hotel included breakfast. They have a menu you order from and they bring it to your balcony every morning at whatever time you want. The food was really good! They had the best Greek yogurt that you mix with honey and fresh fruit. I loved it!
Our room was really cute - it was called a "maisonette" and it had a little kitchen area on the first floor and a lofted bed. Of course, the ceiling up there was low. I may have bonked my head a couple of times. And those ladder stairs take some getting used to.
On Wednesday, we took the bus to Kamari Beach, the black sand beach. The sand was super hot!
After spending the day at the beach, we cleaned up at the hotel and walked into Oia for dinner. We saw this dog just snoozing away on top of a building. So cute!
We didn't brave the crowds to watch the sunset, so we went straight to Feredini Restaurant for dinner. The food was amazing, the setting was beautiful, the waiter was super friendly... it was one of our favorite dinners we had on our trip!
Thursday was our last full day on Santorini. We started off the day by going to the Boutari Winery. Not exactly what I expected, but it was a nice stop off. We saw a video presentation that we thought would be how they make wine, but it was an artsy type film with all sorts of pictures.
Since we were the only ones there at the time, the guy showed us around the experimental vineyard and the wine cellar. Then we got to taste a few wines.
After the winery, we caught the bus to Red Beach. We waited for the bus a while and then it took a while to get near the beach. We weren't quite sure how to get to the beach from where the bus dropped us off. But we saw a bunch of people jumping in a water taxi so we did that.
About a half hour later, we actually ended up at the Red Beach. The water taxi was chaos. People jumping in and out of the boat, and it didn't stop at the Red Beach on the way out, so we had to ride the route to get to the beach. By the time we got there, we were so ready to be off that boat! We found the way to get back to the bus stop without taking the taxi.
We spent our last night on Santorini walking around Oia, stopping for a few drinks at Mezzo, and grabbing a bite to eat.
Santorini was gorgeous... just like a postcard! We loved it!
TO BE CONTINUED...
The ferry stopped at Ios first, which is a total party island. Like Spring Break craziness all the time. On Mykonos, the party started at 1am. On Ios, the party starts at 1pm and goes all through the night. A lot of the young folks got off the ferry at this stop.
The hotel we stayed at on Santorini was near Oia (pronounced "e-ah") and called the Anoemessa Villa. The owner was named Irini and she was a total sweetheart. She made the place 100 times better! She arranged for someone to pick us up from the port and bring us to the hotel.
The cities here are built up high on the cliffs and the roads circle around them, literally right next to the edge of the cliff. I had to close my eyes a few times going around the corners on our ride to the hotel. I thought for sure we'd drop right off.
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| Oia |
Our first day there, we just strolled around Oia, grabbed lunch at a place called Mezzo, and then veg'd out by the pool for a few hours. Oia was like a postcard.... the pictures don't do it justice!
One of the big things to do in Oia is walk to the end of the island and watch the sunset. We did this the first night, along with the hoards of other people. It was crazy packed! The sunset was beautiful, but it was pretty hazy.
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| Another sunset |
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| Matt and me after the sunset |
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| Getting back afterwards was a challenge! |
We went to dinner at Neptune that night. Very good food and an excellent view!
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| At Neptune Restaurant in Oia |
Our hotel included breakfast. They have a menu you order from and they bring it to your balcony every morning at whatever time you want. The food was really good! They had the best Greek yogurt that you mix with honey and fresh fruit. I loved it!
Our room was really cute - it was called a "maisonette" and it had a little kitchen area on the first floor and a lofted bed. Of course, the ceiling up there was low. I may have bonked my head a couple of times. And those ladder stairs take some getting used to.
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| Our "maisonette" |
On Wednesday, we took the bus to Kamari Beach, the black sand beach. The sand was super hot!
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| Kamari Beach |
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| Matt enjoying a Mythos on the beach |
After spending the day at the beach, we cleaned up at the hotel and walked into Oia for dinner. We saw this dog just snoozing away on top of a building. So cute!
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| Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
We didn't brave the crowds to watch the sunset, so we went straight to Feredini Restaurant for dinner. The food was amazing, the setting was beautiful, the waiter was super friendly... it was one of our favorite dinners we had on our trip!
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| Feredini Restaurant in Oia |
Thursday was our last full day on Santorini. We started off the day by going to the Boutari Winery. Not exactly what I expected, but it was a nice stop off. We saw a video presentation that we thought would be how they make wine, but it was an artsy type film with all sorts of pictures.
Since we were the only ones there at the time, the guy showed us around the experimental vineyard and the wine cellar. Then we got to taste a few wines.
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| The wine was pretty good! |
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| This donkey stared us down and watched us walk by the entire time... creepy! |
After the winery, we caught the bus to Red Beach. We waited for the bus a while and then it took a while to get near the beach. We weren't quite sure how to get to the beach from where the bus dropped us off. But we saw a bunch of people jumping in a water taxi so we did that.
About a half hour later, we actually ended up at the Red Beach. The water taxi was chaos. People jumping in and out of the boat, and it didn't stop at the Red Beach on the way out, so we had to ride the route to get to the beach. By the time we got there, we were so ready to be off that boat! We found the way to get back to the bus stop without taking the taxi.
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| Red Beach |
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| View of Red Beach |
We spent our last night on Santorini walking around Oia, stopping for a few drinks at Mezzo, and grabbing a bite to eat.
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| Hi Matt! |
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| Oia at night |
Santorini was gorgeous... just like a postcard! We loved it!
TO BE CONTINUED...
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