The Real World Beckons

Us at the spectacular Grand Canyon

Well, we're back from a great vacation, and slowly but surely we're getting back into the groove of regular life again. Ho hum.

I have plenty of photos, etc. to post this week. But, right now I'm just playing some catch-up with work stuff and Jody is tackling his overflowing inbox.

While it was awesome to be away for so long, it's always nice to come back home, eat in, sleep in our own bed and, of course, hang with Charlie.

We're Outta Here

Today we're headed off for our long-awaited vacation to Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Sedona. We haven't been on a week-long vacay since last summer's Maine trip, so we're pretty excited. We've never been to the Grand Canyon or Sedona, so we're psyched to see those places...and Vegas is always a good time.

With Nevada being a major player in the election this year, I'll be sure to talk up Obama to any locals I happen upon. Although the dems typically have Vegas in the bag, perhaps we'll come across some impressionable locals in our drive to the Grand Canyon.

Have a great week all!

Rob & the Sideboob

This past week, we got a chance to catch up with Rob who was in town from L.A. It was great to see him, and California seems to be treating him well. With his new job at the toy company, I'm pretty sure the future Baby Schwartz will enjoy hanging out with fun Uncle Rob. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Rob's never moving back, although he didn't seem to mind the three-day monsoon that hit Chicago this weekend.

As usual, Rob had plenty of good stories and things to share. But, one of the our favorite things to learn was Rob's latest invention/signature drink: the Sideboob. So, I'm taking to the blog to help him publicize his drink and perhaps get it to sweep the nation. You'll have to ask him about the drink's namesake, but here's the recipe:

Rob's Sideboob

Effen Black Cherry vodka

Sprite

Splash of sour

Although Rob said it was okay for a pregnant lady to have just one drink or at least a sip, I declined the Sideboob. But, Jody seemed to like it.

(Courtney and Jeremy: I'm sorry the Sideboob doesn't use Finlandia. But, I'm sure Effen Black Cherry can be substituted for Finlandia Wild Berry or something.)

Splat

I hate pigeons. They're disgusting rats with wings, and they are not scared of me. My pigeon hatred stems from when I worked downtown and they always ran me out of the Hancock courtyard when I tried eating lunch there in my 45-minute timed lunches. The final straw came when I was chased out of the courtyard only to find a pigeon-free table nearby. Just then a nasty pigeon plopped down on my table and hopped over to my sandwich. I screamed, jumped up and abandoned my sandwich. Since then I've had a bad relationship with pigeons. Luckily, I don't work downtown anymore and they're terrified of Charlie, so I have very few pigeon encounters anymore.

But I don't hate all birds, and today I'm feeling especially bad for non-pigeon birds. That's because today I was sitting at my desk looking out the window when I saw a cute little yellow bird flying around...well, flying right toward the window, actually. And, yup, you guessed it, he slammed right into my office window and SPLAT, that was the end of the poor little yellow bird. Why is it that cute birds are the ones that slam into windows? Why not pigeons?

What I'm really wondering is if it is bad luck if you witness a bird flying to his/her death in a window you're looking out of? For some reason, I feel like that's a bad sign.

Pin Cushion

My headaches have just not let up. I'm getting little relief with Tylenol and nothing else seems to work. My doctor actually recommended having some caffeine when I feel headaches starting, even though I've been off caffeine for a few years now. So, I gave coffee a shot and it didn't do anything but make me jittery (and much more productive!). Oh, how I miss Advil! So, I've decided to try something new: acupuncture.

I am not a huge fan of needles, but I am pretty open to alternative medicine (minus the herbs). My appointment today went okay. Before the treatment, I talked to the acupuncturist Kim about the process, and she was pretty cool and made me feel really comfortable.

The treatment room was set up just like a spa massage room--dim lights, comfy table, yummy smells, relaxing music and all that good stuff. She put the needles in my head, neck, arms, legs and feet...and let me tell you, it was not totally painless. Jody always says I have a low pain tolerance, but still. Each needle felt like a little prick, but once they were in they just felt kind of tingly. But I could really feel the needles in my feet.

After I was full of needles, Kim left me there to just soak it in. Honestly, it was kind of hard to relax with all those needles sticking me. I was afraid to move around and I felt kind of tense just laying so still. Eventually I chilled out, though. Kim came in halfway through and twirled a couple of the needles (which she explained "stimulated" them). The whole twirling deal kind of hurt, especially in my feet. The second half of the treatment I was more antsy and I kept looking up to check out the needles. Then I just kept having visions of that pin face guy from Hellraiser. So yeah, the second half was not quite as relaxing.

I was happy when Kim came back in and took the needles out of my feet. She explained that the points my feet were the main areas that affected migraines, so it made sense that they would hurt most. She then put these teeny needles attached to adhesive into the four points on my feet and told me to keep them in for four days unless they really started bothering me. I had no idea I'd go home with needles still in me, but if they work, I'm game.

Afterward I felt relaxed...but, unfortunately, I still had a headache. Kim said I might not feel anything after the first treatment, and honestly I really didn't. But we'll see. I'll keep an open mind and keep my fingers crossed.

Anyone else ever have acupuncture with needles to-go like the ones in my feet right now?

Girls Lunch

Today I met Jessica and Scott's latest addition, 4-week-old Kate. She is totally cute, and such a good little baby. Jessica, Lill, Kate and I all went to lunch, and Kate just chilled in her stroller the whole time while Lill was her usual easy and adorable self.

It was crazy to see Jessica with two little ones already! But she seems to really have it under control. Jessica is a great person to talk to about becoming a mom because she makes it all seem not quite so intimidating. I feel totally lucky to have a friend like her who will be such a great and positive resource when Baby Schwartz makes his/her debut.

Roadtrip

Another fun weekend. On Friday after work we headed down to Louisville for Courtney and Jeremy's engagement party.

It was a great weekend! On Saturday Courtney and I went wedding dress shopping for her, and she ended up getting a totally gorgeous dress. No doubt she's going to be a beautiful bride. Jody spent the day with Jeremy and Jeremy's brother Adam watching college football on Adam's three, yes three, plasmas. It was quite the setup and Jody really enjoyed it. He was disappointed that we had to head home early today before he got a chance to experience Sunday football on three huge TVs all mounted on one wall. Luckily, he's managed just fine watching one game at a time, on our one measley big screen TV.

The engagement party on Saturday was really fun. Courtney and Jeremy's work friends went all out for them. Those liquor company people know how to party. Jody played bags for a good part of the night and I caught up with a bunch of Courtney's Louisville friends, Amy and Ken who came in from Indy and Melanie. It was fun to meet Melanie's newborn, 7-week old Hayley. She was a cutie and slept through the party, giving Melanie a chance to enjoy herself a bit.

Anyway, you know it's a successful evening when you end up with a White Castle Crave Case and chicken rings...although I was the only one in my right mind enough not to indulge in 1 am sliders. A definite pregnancy perk!

Thanks Court and Jeremy for a great weekend. I wish we lived closer to each other!

Say hi to Dayna...Courtney and Jeremy's boxer who has quite the personality.