change.

That's right...I have not posted in over two weeks! So sorry! But on a good note, I did get to see most of my family who reads my blog recently so I feel that most people are fairly caught up on my life.  The week after St. Paddy's weekend I got to go home for a bit and spend some much needed time with family and friends.

We had a blast downtown for St. Paddy's--millions of people everywhere and everyone dressed in GREEN! It was very warm out that day and we got to enjoy every moment of it outside in downtown Chicago.

Then, like I said, I went home to Michigan for a week  :)   and left Ryan behind to work :(  I got to see my sister on her 18th birthday and my best friend while she was home for only a short bit.  I got to catch up with a few other friends along the way and visited with some family. It was really nice because it was a change from my usual routine AND I know that we will be moving further away from our family in the very near future.

When I returned, Ryan had left for a week-long work trip to Arkansas (of which he surprisingly enjoyed the views and sightseeing).  While he was gone, I got some great remarks on my thesis from my advising professor and also spent the whole time working!  I am working a lot more now so time management is very important.  I also deactivated my facebook this past week so I can focus more on doing my thesis.  It needs to be finished this month!

Ryan got back from his trip on Saturday...he surprised me with roses and my favorite Easter candy waiting for me in the car at work AND dinner reservations at a fancy Italian restaurant we have been wanting to try.  It was a perfect way to spend time together after not having seen each other (except on Skype) for two weeks! He really does know how to make me happy :)

Now, we are back to normal life for awhile and will find out (hopefully) this month where we are moving at the end of June!  So many changes about to happen...but I think it is a good thing.

I found this quote by Mark Twain earlier today and I had to share because I love it!
"20 years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the one’s you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

goals.

St. Paddy's Day!!! YAY! A day to wear GREEN the one and only best color in the world! We are heading downtown Chicago tomorrow to watch the river being dyed green, watch the parade, and attend a party...I am obviously excited!

On another note...I got my final grade yesterday for my last Masters class--and I passed! WOOHOO! So, I only have my thesis left to finish and I will be all done!  I hope to finish my thesis by the end of April, but it is work-at-your-own-pace style so we will see how diligently I work.

I also made a list this week of 25 Things I Want To Do Before 25!  I am going to share the list with you for a few reasons...1. so I do not lose the paper it is written on :) 2. so anyone can feel free to think of me when they hear some of these things being offered and LET me KNOW!  and 3. you give you all a little inspiration to set some goals yourself.  I think that making a list of things you want to do motivates you to do more than you would without a list and I am hoping this will be the case for these things...

1. Run a half marathon (currently training for one in May) (May 20, 2012)
2. Travel outside the country with Ryan  (October 2012-England, Finland, Estonia)
3. Finish Masters (May 2012!!!!)
4. Get a "career" (Starting at Tyges International as an Exec Recruiter November 2012!)
5. Go to 3 more "famous" restaurants (Ryan and I love eating at places we have seen on TV) (Glenn's Diner, Primanti Bros, and Blue Moon Cafe)
6. Learn to make fancy cakes (Cake decorating class Sept 2012)
7. Go on a random road trip
8. Attend a music festival
9. Learn to make my own pasta I made sausage and cheese ravioli (with my own pasta dough)!
10.  Plant a small garden (harvested 2 squash, 5 peppers, and an eggplant)
11.  Go to VEGAS!
12. Learn more Spanish
13. Hot air balloon ride October 1, 2013
14.  Own stock in 2 companies  Yelp and Insmed (which we already sold, haha)
15.  Test drive a fancy car
16.  Get a puppy
17. Read 5 Classic books (Deenie, Forever, Of Mice and Men)
18. Take an art class
19. Attend a few more professional sports events (Cubs vs Tigers) (Tigers  vs Orioles)
20.  Kiss under a waterfall (Ryan, obviously)
21.  Spend an entire week without any media
22.  Volunteer regularly again (Volunteer at UW in Williamsburg!)
23.  Do another triathlon
24. Pay off student loans (or at least most of them)
25.  Have a baby! (Makena June--6/15/13)

Thanks for reading!

busy. busy.

Wow, sorry for the delay in posts! Man, I did not realize how busy we have been--until I could not fall asleep last night because I had a million things running through my head.  It is weird how fast it all catches up to you.

Last weekend (March 2-4) I went to Dallas for the husband's birthday.  We went to a Mav's game, tried some yummy bbq, visited the JFK assassination memorial, and hung out with some amazing people from his company. It was a lot of fun and a much needed break from our sometimes monotonous life.

Then, this past week I had more visitors! Two friends from college came to visit while on Spring Break.  I had to work everyday they were here and that really sucked, but we had a lot of fun when I actually got to hang out with them.  It is so refreshing to have familiar faces around--especially when it feels like we never left college and pick right back up where we left off.

This weekend, we are going to the St. Patrick's celebration downtown Chicago.  I have a 5k race in our town Saturday morning (my first race since the fall!) and then we are going downtown.  I will write more--and possibly post some pics of that?!?!--next week.

blogging world.

As you may notice, if you regularly check in, I have changed the layout and color scheme or my page.  Do not know if I like it yet, but I am becoming much better at working this website.  It is incredibly easy! Also, I have been inspired by about a billion more blogs I have been reading.  I find myself getting lost in them all over the internet.  I usually like to look at craft, fitness, and food blogs, so you might find more of that on here now too.  I also would like to post more pictures, but we never take pictures of anything anymore.  That is on the top of my list for things to start doing better!

Other than that, the husband is home on a little vacation from traveling and has his FIRST engineering exam today for work.  This is a big deal--because if he fails, he gets fired. I mean, I guess that might not be a big deal to some people, but we find it to be quite an issue!  Tomorrow (Wednesday) he leaves for Dallas, but I am not sad because I will join him on Friday for his birthday and a weekend vacation  to Texas!

Hopefully, I will fix my photo taking problems by this weekend!

lonely. sorta.

So, here I am...alone in Naperville for the longest time yet!  Ryan is in Louisiana all week for work and will be in Dallas all next week too! I thought I was going to freak out and be super upset, but I am not.  I wish he were here because we are so out of practice keeping each other updated via telephone, but other than that, I have kept pretty busy.  I am working about 25 hours a week and getting a lot of compliments at work so it makes it a little easier to have my own life in conjunction with his.

In case you are interested, you can check out my job at this website--http://lechocolatdubouchard.com/--OR you could come visit me! I like being a server again and it is already evident that certain skills never go away!

Other than working, I am just TRYING to get a grip on my thesis--if you have advice for motivation/anti-procrastination, PLEASE let me know!

love.

Hope everyone had a HAPPPPPPPY Valentine's Day! I know some people do not "celebrate" this day, but I think that it is worth celebrating love any day and one day set aside to do cutesy things to show someone you love them is not terrible!  My mom has always gotten us cute gifts for Valentine's Day, so I have never viewed it as just a day for Ryan and me (this year she sent me a new door mat that has our names written in sand on it...SO adorable!)

Yesterday, we both had to work opposit shifts so we celebrated our love early. On Sunday, we went to downtown Chicago (took us only a half hour to drive into the city!) and attended the Chicago Auto Show--the biggest in North America.  It was fun to see brand new models of cars that we can dream about owning someday...haha.  Then, we went a few blocks down to Chinatown.  We ate some yummy food and explored the unsanitary conditions of the food markets there.  Then we went to The Bean sculpture for a light show! It was a great time and so nice to spend quality time with each other.

On Monday, I woke up feeling bad for not getting anything for Ryan for Vday, so I rushed around all morning before work to get together a delicious meal for him.  I made pulled pork sandwiches and key lime pie for the first time because they are two of his fave meals.  He was so appreciative and excited that it made my hectic day worth it.  He bought me some new knives as I have almost cut my fingers off on multiple occasions with the ones I was using.  Both things we did for eachother were thoughtful and really showed our appreciation for everything we do for one another.

This was our 10th Vday together and I think my husband is getting more and more romantic every year because he listens to what I need/want from him and makes it happen to the best of his ability.

So, although I never think a holiday is an excuse to be extra nice and I think that we need to show our love and appreciation everyday, we sometimes get caught up in our crazy lives and need February 14th to roll around.  I am thankful for the time that we spent together--regardless of the date--because over the next three weeks, I am only going to see Ryan on the weekends!  This holiday could not have came at a better time this year!

random.

This post is RANDOM for a few reasons...everything I post in it is going to be a hodge podge of things I have not gotten to blog about that happened in the last week AND my life is getting pretty random.

I started work last week and tonight will be my third night working.  I am working at a little chocolate shop called Le Chocolat.  We serve gourmet hot chocolates, yummy desserts, and little candies to go.  It seems like it will be a good distraction from my thesis writing/homework time and waiting for Ryan  to come home...which is basically all I do all day.  I am kinda in a dazed stupor on a regular basis--I do random things like just get in my truck to go get gas. It seems so pathetic now that I am writing it and everyone can read that I really have no real life here, but the truth is--the only other thing I could really be doing is spending a ton of money on stuff we don't need.  When Ryan is off work and we have nothing to do, we usually go "shopping" which means we actually walk around one of the hundreds of shopping centers in the area and look at all the crap we do not need whatsoever.  If I were doing that all day by myself too, I would go insane.  So, I sit at home a lot, work some on homework, clean, and have just started training to run a half marathon this Spring.

My life never seems too pathetic--until Ryan leaves...he has his second business trip overnight tomorrow (just three hours south of us) and I do not have to work or have anything else to do.  That is where it starts to get a little too real that I need a hobby or local friends.

And, even though it seems like I am complaining, I am actually quite content with a pathetic life.  I try to do one meaningful thing a day and that usually gets me by.  At the very least, it gives me something to tell Ryan I did all day! Even though I do not do much during the day, I have never looked forward to seeing my husband on a daily basis this much.  We both get so excited to come home to each other and FOR THAT I am extremely fortunate.

Lastly, I thought I would advertise on here as well that we are taking reservations for visitors! Ryan will be gone for an entire week starting Feb 20 :( I am going to go insane! Come see me!