Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

10 DAYS UNTIL THE WEDDING!! 14 DAYS UNTIL MEXICO!!

So today I had a very busy and somewhat stressful morning, so I decided to get my spirits up again by going out for a yummy sushi lunch... mmmmm.  If I do end up moving back to Iowa shortly after the wedding, this may be the last time that I get to enjoy my favorite Chicago sushi place...

Outside of the restaurant.  It might not look like much, but it's the best for all-you-can-eat sushi!!

Round 1: 3 eel, 3 salmon, 1 mountain roll (avacado & cucumber inside, tuna on top with chef's spicy sauce), and an American dream roll (shrimp tempura, tobiko, cucumber, eel, avacado).

Another view of my first plate.  The mountain roll was amazing.

Second plate: Crunch roll, 2 tuna, 2 salmon, 2 eel, and 2 massago.

I'm not sure exactly why, but it is so fun to look at pictures of sushi later :)  This way when I move back to Iowa, I can remember this yummy place. 

Sunday, June 26, 2011

13 DAYS UNTIL THE WEDDING!!

So a lot has gone on since my last post... I probably should mention that I went to Las Vegas last weekend!!  I met up with Christian and the Seago brothers (Jon, Matthew, & Jeremy).  For the most part we went around together as one bachelor party, but I also knew 2 other bachelors out there (Foster & Willie).  They went around with Marschman, Jake, and Foster's brother Torrie and their dad.  That makes 11 of us all together!  We all stayed at the Imperial Palace.  Here are just a few of many pictures:

Christian met me at the airport for our first beer of the trip!

Matthew at the slot machines in O'Sheas casino.

Elizabeth is such a wonderful fiance... she had a bottle of Patron delivered to out hotel room!  BEST FIANCE EVER!!

Christian & Matthew playing video poker at O'Sheas.

Christian having an artist draw his caricature at the top of the Stratosphere.

Looking out over the city...

View from the Stratosphere.

Myself, Matthew, Christian, Jeremy, & Jon on top of Vegas!

...yet another view from the Stratosphere.

Jon having his picture drawn.

Jeremy & his caricature.

There was a snake-handler on out on the strip that let us take a few pics with his boa.

Jeremy with the boa.

Walking along the strip at night.

Foster's brother Torrie teaching me how to play craps.

The craps table.

Needless to say, I didn't exactly win big... but it was a great time for sure!  This weekend I worked on Saturday, and Elizabeth drove back to IA for her cousin's wedding.  Lots of wedding!!  Really I didn't do much other than work this weekend and catch up on a few things around the apartment... laundry, etc.  After I had the kitchen all cleaned, for some reason I decided to cook a huge meal and make a mess again.  I found a recipe online for Eggplant Parmesan, and mine turned out just like it was supposed to. YUM!! I didn't take any pictures of my work, but you can just follow the hyperlink to get an idea. 

I'm looking forward to seeing all of my family & friends for the big day!!  It's so close!

Friday, June 10th, 2011

Let's see, what did I do today... I dropped Elizabeth off at the train stop like usual and went to work.  Since it is Friday I only had to work until 2:00 or so which was nice.  I actually got to come home, relax, and do absolutely nothing for a couple hours.  It was everything that I thought it could be :)  After I picked Elizabeth back up from the gym, we went out to Portillo's for a very traditional Chicago supper.  Portillo's will definitely be on of the area restaurants that I will miss when we move back to IA.  I had a Big Italian Beef sandwich with sweet peppers, and she ordered a cheeseburger with french fries (no onions naturally).  Then we both ordered a chocolate cake shake because they are absolutely delicious. 

I'm looking forward to Las Vegas very much... Seago sent me a text message today admitting that he is a little scared to go, which I think is hilarious.  He is so unsure of what he's getting into that he is honestly scared.  I love it. 

I'm also rather enjoying the series between the Mavericks & Heat at the moment because there is a good chance Dallas will pull it out.  I can't stand Lebron James.  If you ask his for change for a dollar, you will only get 75 cents.  He never gives you the fourth quarter.  Haha.  So yeah, hopefully Dallas can win either game 6 or game 7 in Miami and close this thing out. 

Time for bed.

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

It's one month exactly until the WEDDING!!!

I've been fitted for my tux, the RSVPs are coming in pretty well, and it's starting to finally come together :)  We still have a few loose ends to tighten up, but in all I think that we are pretty ready for everything.  Also, I've got one more week until VEGAS!!

It gets even better because CANCUN is also getting close!  We found out last night that we will have free tickets to watch Shakira.  She is having a concert right at the resort we are staying at.  More exciting for Elizabeth than myself, but it's still cool that we will be able to go for free.  Plus getting to see the Mayan ruins, having all the good food & alcohol we want all week, and enjoying the pool/spa/relaxation will be awesome!
Check out my honeymoon resort here.

I can't wait for everything!!  In a side note about my previous post, the Cubs managed to lose the next 8 games in a row after we watched them.  Glad that we picked the right one to see!

Monday, May 30th, 2011

Yesterday we had a great time enjoying downtown Chicago even though the weather started out pretty crummy.  Elizabeth and I took the train downtown along with Mike & Sara.  We had breakfast at Clarke's diner on Belmont (and a couple drinks).  About the time we sat down it started to pour outside along with lightning & thunder.  We were worried that they may cancel the baseball game, but luckily for us it was only delayed a couple hours.  In the meantime we decided to stay at the bar at Clarke's which turned out to have some cheap drink specials ($2 bud light or coors light draws), and the bartender was telling lots of funny stories about crazy people he had met in the bar.

Rain delay at Wrigley (2 hours, 34 minutes).

Sara, Mike, & myself waiting out the storm at Clarke's.

Outside at Wrigley.

 

At the ballgame!

The view from our seats...

The game itself was fun because it was a close ballgame all the way until the final out, and because the Cubs beat the Pirates 3-2!  We didn't get to our seats until the bottom of the second inning, and at that point the Cubs were already trailing 2-0.  Then soon after we sat down we were able to see Aramis Ramirez hit a solo home run to left field which got the crowd excited.  The other Cubs runs came from a pair of sacrifice flys from Koyie Hill and Starlin Castro. 

Of course we had to sample some of the treats at Wrigley field including hot dogs, nachos, pretzels with cheese sauce, and cotton candy.  We enjoyed singing "take me out to the ballgame" during the seventh-inning-stretch, and the "Go Cubs, go" song at the end of the game after the win.  That was the first time I've seen the Cubs win a game in Wrigley (I've only been to one other game).  In all it was a very fun day downtown.

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

First off, I'm very proud of Elizabeth today for running a 10 mile race!  She ran along with Sara Bauman in the "Fleet Foot Sports Soldier Field 10 mile" race.  We spent last night in downtown Chicago so that we could get up bright & early for the big event.  I was able to sit in the stands at Soldier Field and watch them both cross the finish line.  Elizabeth did very well, finishing with a time of 1:41:16. Unfortunately the rest of the day she has been walking around like a grandma!  Poor Elizabeth!


Tomorrow will be a very fun day downtown as well.  We have tickets to watch the Chicago Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Ryan Dempster (3-4) is scheduled to start for the Cubs against Jeff Karstens (3-3) for the Pirates.  It should be a good game, and I'm really hoping to see my first Cub's win in Wrigley field.  However, the Cubs have not been doing very well against the Pirates recently, having lost 4 of 5 games against them thus far in 2011 including a 10-0 loss today (the Cubs managed only 3 hits).  The last time I was in Wrigley, the Cubs lost 14-3 to the Reds and gave up an amazing SEVEN home runs to them.  So a good showing by the Cubs is anything but guaranteed.  I'm not sure what to make of Ryan Dempster, who has an ERA of over 6, but has pitched well during his last 2 home starts against the Giants and Mets (winning both games).  So, being the eternal optimist that I am, I will predict a 6-3 Cubs victory over the Pirates tomorrow.  Even if this is not the case, I really hope to see at least one Cubs home run.  I mean, they have to respond somehow tomorrow after an embarrassing 10-run shutout loss, right?  GO CUBS, GO!

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

Weekends go by too quickly... especially when you have to work on Saturday.  At least we had an enjoyable Sunday to make the most of the shortened weekend.  Here's a look at what we did today:

Elizabeth & I started our day off by going out to breakfast at Billy's Pancake House here in Palatine.  She ordered some chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries & chocolate chips on top, while I enjoyed a corned beef hash skillet (corned beef hash, 2 poached eggs, cheese, grilled veggies, hash browns) which also came with buttermilk pancakes.

After breakfast we met up with Timmy & Alana and spent the afternoon watching Bridesmaids and browsing through Ikea.  Wow I realize how girly that sounds as I type it.  Actually the movie was pretty funny, and I would say it is safe for guys to see.  Nothing you have to run out and see right away, but it had many laugh-out-loud moments.  Then shopping all afternoon in Ikea wasn't my favorite, but I was able to put up with it and managed to have some tasty Swedish meatballs while I was there.  Plus it was good to see Timmy & Alana, so it wasn't that bad.

Sadly, I'm just watching my Chicago Bulls lose to the Heat and go down 2 games to 1.  Come on Bulls!!  Get it together!!