The Saskatchewan Screamer is gonna get ya!

Sounds like the teaser to a cheesy horror movie, doesn't it?

Yeah, I wish.

That Saskatchewan Screamer is a low pressure system that dips in from Canada  and is currently sitting pretty in the Midwest, blasting Chicago with little snowflakes, big snowflakes, crazy wind and a some cute little subzero temps thrown in for fun. 

It's a nasty, ugly, freezing weather monster that is wrecking havoc here. The high for tomorrow? 

-2

Wind chill? 

-30

It's flippin' freezing.

Thank God it has a catchy name, right? Almost makes it sound fun. Or not.

65 days. 65 days. 65 days. 

Repeating that helps me get through this frigid, face-numbing, frost-bite-inducing, stinging, biting cold. Because in 65 days, I'm going to Aruba. One sun-filled, fun-filled, pina colada-filled week of tropical bliss in the Caribbean. I can't even wait. 

But for now, I'll just bury myself under 75 layers and brave the Saskatchewan Screamer. Bring it on!

When you're feeling down...

Watch these videos. 

These are by far my favorite happy YouTube videos. When I'm being a grump or annoyed with work, I just put one of these guys on and I feel better in no time.

Where the Hell is Matt? 

I just recently discovered this and I'm obsessed.  It's a lot better in HD, so if you have sec, mosey on over to YouTube and click on the little "watch in HD" button on the bottom right. Whether this is real or it's a hoax (which I don't think it is), this is definitely one of the greatest videos ever.

Schnappi Das Kleine Krokodil

As I post this video, I know everyone will finally realize how much of an odd duck I am. But this song/cartoon is just so cute. My brother showed this to me one day and I couldn't get the song out of my head for days, but I didn't mind. It's about a cute baby croc, what's not to love?

Look on the bright side

Yep, you're in the right place. 

Do you like the new look? I was a little sick of the green and brown. I needed something a bit brighter. A bit more fun. A bit more me. I had quite a difficult time choosing between shamrocks, palm trees, ice cream, etc. But the yellow flower stood out to me, so I went with it. 

I appreciated everyone who offered to help me with a redesign—thank you. And I still definitely might be up for it. I have no clue how to change the layout or make it 3-column or any of that jazz.  But since I'm in advertising and have studied design before, I was itching to try to design (AKA play around on InDesign) a little something myself. It's super basic, but I like it.

I'm sure over the next couple of days I'll be switching colors, etc. So stay tuned. 

In the mean time, I'm going to finish whipping up my second crock pot meal (mandarin orange chicken) and head to bed a bit early. We're getting a blizzard tomorrow morning, just in time for the morning commute, so that means I have to leave super early to get to work on time. Oh how I love Chicago winters. 

Weekend recap, Amish people, Golden Globes...oh my!

This girl is tired. Very, very tired. After getting about 7 hours of sleep the whole weekend, I'm definitely ready to go to bed.

Friday night was the big (little) Galway reunion. I had a blast. We braved the cold, wet snow and trudged out on our Irish pub crawl. After a few pints of Smithwick's and Stella, some bottles of Magner's and a handful of Baby G's and Car Bombs, we were loudly and excitedly (mostly on my part) reminiscing about our favorites times abroad. Throw in a few awkward moments (like an almost-fight between strange men) and a heart-to-heart at the Rock n' Roll McDonald's at 3am and you've got one hell of a night. 

The next day I had to brave the snow again (I am SO sick of winter) and made the trek to the train station. Thank God for my sweet black peace sign rain boots, which kept my feet nice and dry and relatively toasty. Let me just say that sitting on the floor of a super crowded train station with a hangover is not fun. What was fun though was when this really loud woman struck up a conversation with this sweet little Amish girl standing next to her. And please note this was right after the loud woman got pissed at someone in line and called her a snotty bitch. I believe the convo went something like this:

Loud Woman: Hey, wow, great cap! Are you like Amish?

Amish Girl: Yes, yes I am.

LW: Wow! That's so cool. I think all you Amish people are great, you know being away from society and stuff. That's awesome. 

Amish Girl smiles and nods a bit.

LW: Is this your first time in the big city? Are you totally blown away?

Amish Girl: Yes, I am on my way to visit my boyfriend.

LW: You guys can date? No way! How is that possible?

Amish Girl: Yes, he is from Kentucky.

LW: Wow, really? Can you guys really do that? Go out and meet other people like that? 

Amish Girl: Yes, yes. 

LW: How did you meet? I just admire you all much. Amish people fascinate me.

And that's when I couldn't hold my laughter anymore and I had to walk away. That poor girl. It made me shudder a bit to think how naive and obnoxious that woman was. Yikes.

The rest of the weekend was great. I finally got on the train and went to Milwaukee to hang out with my boyfriend. We went to his teacher holiday party out in the middle of Wisconsin somewhere. Have I mentioned before that he is a teacher? So anyway, that was a blast. He works with some really fun people, so he's lucky. 

Then today I came back to the 'burbs and hit up the mall with my sister. We ended up seeing Bride Wars. It was good...but not that good. I was a tad disappointed. 

So now I'm sitting here watching the Golden Globes. Was anyone else a little sad when Heath Ledger won? He definitely deserved it, but it's so tragic... Ok and seriously, it has always REALLY annoyed me when people win awards and then aren't even there to accept it. All the other nominees could come out and wave their little hands and smile, but the dope that won couldn't even show up? Hey, I understand if there was a family emergency or something, but still. If I was one of those people that didn't win, I'd be a bit upset. But then again, if I was one of those people, I'd probably be freaking out because I was in the same room with all my favorite celebs. 

I love how all those actors and actresses are so "hip" together. They all mingle and do the cheek-kisses and all that jazz. How chic. And fake. Do you ever wonder how things really are between all the celebrities? Like who really hates each other? Who is secretly in love with someone else? Who slept together in the past and tries to forget it? I do. I mean look at Angelina tonight, she looked pissed. And Steve Carrell always looks really sad at award shows. I wonder what it's all about. I bet it's crazy drama sometimes. But that might just be me.

What's the craic?

When I say I love Ireland, it's a bit of an understatement. 

I'm kind of obsessed with it. Irish accents, Irish people, Irish music, Irish holidays (or just one), Irish pubs, Irish beer, Irish shots (Baby Guiness!), even Irish food (ok not all of it). I hear someone mention it and my ears perk up. When I pass by the travel section in a book store, I have to browse through the Ireland books. If I'm bored at work sometimes, I look at pictures of Ireland. It's a bit sick, really.

My infatuation with the glorious Emerald Isle started back in Fall of 2005, when I studied abroad in Galway. When we first got there, I'll admit I wasn't too crazy about it. Perhaps it was after the disastrous first night in which we got ridiculously drunk on Red Bull vodkas with a handful of boys from Liverpool...right. Can't tell that story. I'd probably be shot. 

But as the slight culture shock wore off, I fell in love with it. Classes didn't matter much there. My 3 "flatmates" (my high school friend A, a girl from my college I hadn't known previously, and a girl from NY) and I had a rule: If it was raining, we didn't have to go to class. And it rained a lot. We went out almost every night, met the cutest (and not so cute) Irish boys and traveled all over Europe on the weekends. And when I ended up dating a very cute Irish guy for a couple of months, it was the icing on the cake. 

Though sometimes I grew tired of the constant rain, I loved every moment. When we had to leave and I had to say goodbye to everyone, especially my Irish guy, I was heartbroken. I literally cried the whole night before I left, the whole bus ride to the airport, the whole time at the airport and then the whole 7 hour flight back. I was a hot mess. No not even hot...I was a cold, tired, ugly, sniffly, snotty mess. Sick. The poor woman sitting next to me must have thought I was crazy.

I had the time of my life in Ireland. I could literally talk about it for hours on end. And every day, I wish I could go back. One day I do want to go back there...actually I want to go back now. But I know it won't be the same. 

So luckily, I get the next best thing. Tomorrow night we're having a mini Galway reunion. Technially it's only me, A and our other roommate from the Niland House (where we lived over there), but it's the first time we've all been out together since we left Galway 3 years ago. I can't even wait. We're going on a little Irish pub crawl around Chicago. It should be a lot of fun. And hopefully it will be like having a tiny little piece of Ireland back again.

Sidenote: "Craic" is a Gaelic word for fun, good time, etc. They say it all the time over there. 

At least I got a free poncho

Weird stuff happens to me.

Today I took a little stroll over to the cafeteria in the building across the street to get some lunch. I was cutting through the nice little plaza next to the Tribune Tower, enjoying the "warmth" of the 30 degree day, when I saw this guy and girl calling for my attention. The girl was waving a camera, so I asked her if she wanted me to take a picture of them.

Nope. She wanted a picture of ME. I was really confused for a second and then she shoved a black bag in my hand (the freebie drawstring backpack kind) and mumbled something that sounded like "from espnradio.com" and told me to smile. When I still looked really confused, the guy told me it was just a nice picture in front of the Wrigley Building (which was across the street behind me). 

Before I could protest, the girl snapped the picture and then sent me on my way. I tried to give the bag back, but they told me that it was my free gift for taking the picture. So I thanked them and continued to the cafeteria clutching my little black bag.

I swung that bag all through the cafeteria, all down Michigan Avenue back to work, all through the crowded lobbies and sidewalks, all the while wondering what fun little freebies and prizes were inside. If it was from ESPN, I was thinking I'd get a cool T-shirt, great coupons, and maybe even some free granola bars.

And then I got into the elevator to go to my office. And I finally took a look at the writing on the outside of the bag.

And there—in HUGE white letters—it practically screamed:

Maalox. For Advanced Relief.

For a split second, I was absolutely horrified. And then I burst out laughing. The other woman in the elevator thought I was nuts, but I just couldn't stop. 

I can't believe I didn't look at the bag they made me pose with. Where the hell is that picture going to turn up? I can only imagine—me smiling, proudly showing off the huge Maalox logo. I'm sure the caption will read something like, "Chicago girls love fast relief" or "Maalox makes you smile" or "Chicago was a gas" or something like that.

How embarrassing...and funny. I wonder if it was for some kind of radio website gag or something because it seemed so random. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

The best part is what was inside the bag. There was one really sexy XXXL shirt that had the Maalox logo on it not once, but TWICE. So no matter which way you go, everyone will know you love Maalox. Plus, there was a fantastic black poncho with the logo plastered across the chest. The thing is so big you could probably fit 5 of me in the there. And thank God they included a handful of Maalox coupons. Who doesn't love those?

Now I'm sure Maalox is a wonderful product and as someone who has frequent stomach troubles, I can't be too harsh. But the situation is just too funny. And honestly, if it really is for Maalox, which I'm assuming it is considering the T-shirt and such, what kind of lame marketing ploy is that? Taking pictures with a Maalox bag? Bizarre.

I guess I can just be glad it wasn't Gas-X, right? 

The best intentions...or something like that

So as I kick off 2009, I've decided to make a few resolutions:

1. Drink more water. I'm TERRIBLE about drinking water. It's not that I drink a lot of soda or sugary drinks or anything, I just don't drink a lot of anything in general. Kind of weird.

2. Get on a regular Pilates/work out schedule ASAP so I can be fit and toned by March when I jet off to Aruba with my Mom and sister. (I'm already counting the days...)

3. After Santa left me with brand new cooking utensils, two cook books and a crock pot, I promised myself I'd cook more (I think he was hinting pretty strongly at that, too). So I'm going to try to cook myself dinner at least once a week, which is a big step for me.

4. Try to get to bed at a decent hour...or at least a bit earlier than I usually do.

5. Redesign my blog a bit. Not sure where to start on that, does anyone have any suggestions/ideas/tips? I'd really appreciate them!

So I started off today with the best intentions. I woke up, got ready and went to Pilates with my friend. I was really good about going over the summer, but when I moved and it started to get colder, I stopped going. So this morning was a bit rough. But I know it will only get better. 

After Pilates, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up the last couple ingredients for my first ever crock pot meal. I was feeling very productive and very excited about "cooking". I decided to make a chicken and vegetable dish in which I could just throw everything into the pot all at once. Basically, it was just canned potatoes, canned water chestnuts, frozen green beans, garlic, pepper, a bottle of Italian dressing and 8 large chicken breast halves.

Yes, 8.

For some reason, I forgot that I was only "trying out" a recipe and therefore only I was going to be eating it. So I went and got my little chicken breasts and even though it was $15 ($15 for chicken?!), I decided it was a good investment because it would provide me meals for the next couple of days. Is chicken normally that much? Yikes. I have a lot of learning to do.

So I hurried home, threw it all together in the crock pot and set the timer. It smelled so good all day and I couldn't wait to eat it. When my little timer went off, I leapt off my couch and immediately went to try it out. It smelled good, it looked good...

It just didn't taste good. 

I don't know if it was the canned potatoes (gross) or the canned water chestnuts (double gross), but I could barely eat it. The chicken was good, but the rest? Not so much. And now the smell is making me sick.  And now I'm stuck with 7 more chicken breasts that I really don't want to eat. 7?! What was I thinking? Note to self: Check the serving size next time you make something. Sigh. I'm hoping it might taste better when it's cold...hmm.

I'm going to try not to let this discourage me from cooking more often. I'm just thinking it was a bad recipe...

And I had the best intentions to clean my apartment today and reorganize things. But then I started watching the ABC Family marathon of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and I'm hooked. I can't stop watching. These kids are so ridiculously trashy! When I was 15, I was obsessed with *NSYNC and trying to get through Biology labs, not thinking about when and how I could have sex. I meant really, the entire show is based on sex. I'm surprised ABC Family even airs it. But it's pretty good...and I can't stop watching. It's a very strange mix of characters. You've got the really slutty smart girl, the shy pregnant French horn player and the super super Christian girl. Kind of bizarre, but interesting nonetheless. 

So if I want to keep watching and keep my resolution to go to bed earlier, I guess I'll just straighten up tomorrow. Happy New Year everyone!