2013, you're killin' me!

Every year I hope that things will get a little less busy, that I'll be able to carve out time to do the things that I want to do, and every year it gets a little bit harder! I'm trying to build good habits to help my time be more effective including, but not limited to:

1. Making week-long lunches on Sunday afternoons.
This didn't happen today because I'm ridiculously sick, but the last few weekends I've done a pretty decent job of pulling together small lunches and putting them in tupperwares to take in each day of the week.

2. Keeping a family calendar!
It may seem like two people can't cause that much chaos, but when you realize suddenly that you don't have that thing you thought you had on Thursday, there's suddenly an unplanned day! That means that you're either scraping through the cabinets trying to find a meal or spending money going out to eat.

3. Making time for myself!
Just because Jeremy and I work together doesn't mean we get quality time together; it also doesn't mean that we don't see a little too much of one another sometimes. I need to get back on top of staying in shape and PureBarre classes are a good way to do that. They're right near home and giving myself time out of the house gives Jeremy time he can do whatever he needs/wants to do without feeling like he's ignoring me.

4. Keeping my OWN calendar.
Not just in a "you have chapter meeting tonight" kind of way, either. I put bills down, I put deadlines down, I put reminders down about sending letters and collecting addresses, it's all there and I have no excuses for last minute scrambling. That doesn't mean it won't happen, but it's lessening as I go through it so I'll take it!

I'm not saying those four steps will work for you, but they're working alright for me so far. I'm really bad at keeping things going long term, so at the end of each week I let myself transfer a little money to a slush fund. $5 for working out for an hour, $5 for doing all my lunches for the week, $5 for making a meal plan for the week and sticking to it. It may not seem like much, but eventually I'll be able to buy myself a cruise with my friend Morgan or take a friend with me to my favorite Japanese restaurant or sponsor a LifeLoyal membership for one of my AOII family members at Rhodes. Or, even more long term, I can get my car fixed or transfer that money out for a down payment on a new car! Goodness knows we'll need that one soon enough...

Anyway, I'm going to actually try to get back on to Blogging because I think it gives me a good 15 minutes a few times a week to just sit down and chill out; not going 300 MPH all the time will be good for me!

4th of July!

We decided to head up to Indiana for 4th of July this year. We had plenty of time off from work Jeremy's sister moved our new niece and nephew along with Ana back to the States recently!!

Crazy weather in Chatt, as always -- no wonder it was such a spiritual place for the tribes who lived there! It goes from being gorgeous to this in a heartbeat and you never know what you're going to get!

We played the Worst Case Scenario survival game until Nala decided to make the board her bed. Not so we would pay attention to her, but so we would stop not paying attention to her... We all did surprisingly well, even Sarah's mom (who figured she would die pretty quickly) survived a few spots!

Jan, Mildred and Josh made home made ice cream! 

Jeremy showed China how to put all his sticker in the sticker book Jan got

I helped Mitike with some of her "homework" she was required to do.

And we goofed around with Ana a little bit!

We had a great meal out on the patio-- the weather was perfect!

And of course Earl got along swell with the kids-- I thoroughly enjoyed sitting at the children's table!

We helped China learn how to write everyone's names, then later we found out why he was asking -- he wrote out everyone's names on this little board so he could say he loved us!

It was so wonderful to meet China and Mitike, I really hope we get to spend more time with them soon. They were such sweet kids, and they (along with Ana) were already asking when they could spend more time with us and Josh and Sarah! I get the feeling they're counting down the days, just like we are!

We went to a pretty sweet restaurant called Hu Hot where you pick all the stuff to go in your noodle bowl and then they cook it up for you -- they have loads of different sauces you can mix together to make your own flavor, and a whole bar of veggies and meat to mix in! We'll definitely be back to this one, especially since we don't have them down South!

We went by the winery to see if they had anything new for the spring (we'll stock up in winter) and to look at the flowers-- Oliver is always prime viewing for beautiful flowers and excellent landscaping! I love going by there to look, whether we pick up wine or not!

The morning we left, we went over to Glenda and Earl's for breakfast-- biscuits, eggs, and sausage can't be beat! We went out to see the new animals, and particularly the baby goats. They have a lot in the pictures below and one of the goats still hadn't had hers, then we got a letter back from them a few weeks ago that they'd bought even more! The good news, maybe Earl will finally roast some goat for me next year... 

We love going up to see everyone, especially now that the nieces and nephew are on hand, and can't wait to get back at Thanksgiving! We hope to take them all to see a movie and have a fun day with aunts and uncles, so fingers crossed there are some good movies out!

Conventioning! (Pt. 1)

Two years ago I was lucky enough for Gamma Sigma to sponsor me to AOII's International Convention in Tucson. It was amazing, and I couldn't resist heading back for another go this summer in Chicago! 

I saved up my moneys and split a room with the lovely Monique and made more friends, saw old friends, and fell even more in love with my sisterhood!

Yeah, that's right, the Foundation has edible cupcake toppers. 

Cayla (our Network Specialist in Leadership), Ansley (Collegiate Standards Chair), Monique and I on Red and White day.

Sandy, one of my favorite alumnae

PEG! Peg is a Past International President and has been to more conventions than anyone! She is AMAZING and I love seeing her at Convention!

I went to Pizzeria Uno and had some amaaaaaazing deep dish pizza. YUM! I went back later and got a frozen one that I trucked back to Jeremy who loves their pizza. 

I wish I'd had more time to walk around and take pictures-- the architecture in Chicago was very cool! 

Me and my airport friend Cathy-- she is from NC and I met her at Hartsfield when we were all a little delayed getting in to Chicago. It was a lot of fun running in to AOIIs at the airport and ride sharing and not being alone on travel day!

The Panhellenic Luncheon is always fun -- our speaker this year was Maureen Syring, a Delta Gamma from University of Idaho and she was AMAZING! 

I met up with a group of Kappa Omicron collegiate members - it's so wonderful to go from seeing nobody from my home chapter to running in to FOUR at Convention!

Crystal and I - I aaaalllmost stole her dress!

Ginger Banks, another amazing Past International President

My friend Kim and I-- Kim was my Network Specialist Recruitment and continues to be a wonderful friend and recruitment resource!

View from the platform of the El when Monique and I realized we were not on our way to the Airport... at least the view was nice! 

I have some more pictures on my computer, but I figure I can break it up-- still to come is our first night out at Navy Pier! We had so much fun!

PHEW

What. A long. Summer.

From March until August I worked 60ish hours a week, which was... ridiculous.

But even with all the work I managed to have some fun! It was a really productive summer, all our families enjoyed the activities, and I think I have a better idea of how to plan for next summer when we get to that point.

So, get ready, I'm about to start posting again! At least for a little while...

I lied...

I'm laughing at myself right now-- I apparently thought that the summer would slow down! What a joke!

I am, however, in the last week of Camp and this weekend we get to go to Savannah on a Camp Staff retreat! WOOHOO! Now, to get through the next two days...

Oh, Summer...

Summer is so tricky. You would think that my third summer as director and fourth on staff would have me expecting the amount of work on my plate buuuuuuuut no. I just had to grow the program and change things up! AAARGH! Oh, and the new state requirements... that totally helps! Right? Wrong.

Aaaaanywhoo, we are finally getting to a slower part of summer and I'm hoping to catch up with all the insane things that have happened in the last few months! We're still rockin' and rollin' through life, enjoying our friends and family, and settling in to our wonderful new house!

Stacy Turns 40! And gets engaged!

Stacy had an amazing oyster roast for her 40th birthday party! And then, partway through, Greg proposed! There are a lot of pictures of the dessert table because OHMYGOD these were hands down the most amazing desserts I've ever had. Everyone there had a little bite of everything and nothing was bad! We were also glad to see Della since two days later baby Gideon showed up!

More cuteness!

Since we don't know if/when on that baby thing, we're so happy to have friends with adorable babies! Also, friends who will let us play with their adorable babies! This is Wyatt, John and Paige's baby-- they lived next door to us on E. Lake when both of us were newlyweds and remain one of our closest couple friends to date. Can't wait to play with this little guy some more and watch him grow up!

Bye bye EB's!

On a very sad Saturday in March, I said goodbye to a restaurant I grew up in-- Everybody's Pizza. They shut down the VaHi location a while ago, and we were left with Emory Village. Well, now there's no EB's. I'll miss the delicious pizza, the memories, and the beautiful patio but I'm so grateful we got to spend one last afternoon there!

Me and my Uncle Andy, the owner and operator for over 40 years!

Iconic red cup