Eric and I seem to always have issues when we try to do things for Valentine's Day. If we stay in, we're usually okay. But if we try to do anything outside of out house, we seem to fail. Well, in the practical sense, anyway. This year was no different. Our plan this year was to go too our favorite place in Chicago, Eataly, for a nice dinner they were doing, and try to have a relatively easy weekend up there. We should've just went back to bed, instead.
It started out with us getting on the road late Saturday morning because Eric had a hiccup to take care of at the office 'quickly' in the morning. Well, wasn't so quick. We got no the road, with time to spare to make our dinner reservation, at least, and the hits just kept on coming. In the literal sense. It was really windy, and as I was driving (the rental car) up I-65, I was passing a semi when a piece of hard plastic debris shot out (from the wind) from under the truck. I had no where to go, it hit at a weird angle, but I kept driving. Didn't feel like a tire was damaged, or anything much, for that matter, and we were getting off in a couple of exists to grab a drink, anyway, so I drove another 20 miles or so. We get into the parking lot, and check to see if there was damage... there was. 
Shattered lower grill (damn plastic cards!) and punctures radiator. Awesome. With it being a Saturday afternoon, all the Hertz Local Editions were closed, so Hertz had to get us towed all the way back to Indy to the airport (almost a hour away) to exchange the car. Plus, the wait time for the tow truck to even get to us. There went us making our dinner reservation.
But we pushed on, anyway, figuring we'd make the best of it. We'd do a later dinner somewhere and still have a chill evening at the hotel, since we had that all set up. So we get there, and while we didn't get the special dinner we made reservations for, we still had a good dinner at Eataly. We were finally calming down a bit... well, Eric was calming down. I was over the mishap before we were even half-way to Chicago. Meh. Life happens, right? Our hotel was right around the corner, so we went to check-in. They couldn't find our reservation. And to top it off, Eric couldn't find a confirmation email. So now we're in Chicago as, like 10pm, with no hotel. Awesome. This just sets Eric off again, and he's ready to drive home. But he saw the thought of that upset me, so we jumped on the Hilton Honors site to see what we could find. As you can imagine, there wasn't much. But there was the Waldorf Astoria... and we could get in with points Eric had. So, with few choices, we went with it.
Well, turned out to be the best thing we could've done. Because it's located off the main drags through Chicago, it was quite peaceful. And if you can believe it, Eric was actually able to calm down and relax, and we both got a great night's sleep! We woke up the next morning completely refreshed, and over the tragedy that was Saturday. And even though some nasty, snowy weather was on the way, we were ready for it. But first, the other reason to be in Chicago this weekend... the Chicago Auto Show.
Eric has talked about the Chicago Auto Show quite a few time. He'd go with his dad when they lived in Laporte, and it was always just a memorable day for him. So I was looking for ward to it. And it was quite cool, actually! 
There were concept cars, next year's new model cars, test tracks inside, test drive outside... I can see how you could spend an entire day here... but we were only there for a few house. We did do one of the test tracks, and I gotta say, even if I couldn't be the one to drive, it was still really cool! I would've loved to stay longer, honestly - I feel like we only got to see about 1/3 of what was there to be seen. I'd love to go back up there next year maybe... hopefully not on Valentine's Day.
So as we headed out, the snow really started to come down for our drive home. Thankfully, there were no more fubars for the weekend, and we got home safely. Even with time to return the car on-time. So we salvaged the weekend, I guess. But just nothing planned went well. Maybe that's the trick... don't plan. Or maybe just stick to what we know works, which is don't leave the house for Valentine's!
I wasn't sure how to title this blog, or even how to really start it. My blogs are typically upbeat and about happy adventures and such. But this one... not as much, though there are good parts. So I guess I'll just start.
Just before Christmas, Eric and I found out a good friend and mentor we used to work with down in Naples, FL passed away. He had been battling cancer for about two years. His name was Reed Jarvi and, in my opinion, he was an amazing man. My own experience from the time meeting him was always looked upon fondly - I always looked forward to that after work happy hour, or dinner with he and his wife, Darlene. He was just one of those guys that always had a great outlook on life, and always had a story to tell. Which from his robust life, was not surprising. He was a Navy Academy alumni, a civil engineer, and a rugby enthusiast, so his circles of friends reached far and wide.
This was very apparent when we attended his Celebration of Life 'party' this past weekend. It was standing room only, until the staff and the club opened a partition wall to completely fill an adjoining room. It was amazing to see, yet not so surprising that he impacted this many people. They expect about 150 people or so, and it was easily double that. We learned that Reed was planning to do this celebration as a sort of roast of himself before he died, giving him a chance to say goodbye to everyone in person. Unfortunately, he fell just short of being able to attend his own party. I'm thankful Darlene continued with the plan, though, and allowed everyone to gather to celebrate him for the man he was. Even his oncology doctor was there to speak - he made an impact on his own doctor enough for his to attend this event. Have you ever seen a doctor speak a eulogy, so to speak, on one of his own patients? I haven't.
Both Eric and I walked away with thoughts of our own lives - where we've been and what we can still do. You can't help but wonder if you'd have a turn out even close to that if you passed. I think it just made both of us want to do more with our love, both in making an impact on others, and just living the moment you have now to the fullest extent.
After the luncheon (I really can't call it a 'service' because is was so not that), Eric and I drove across Alligator Alley, back to our hotel. 
That night, we decided to get out and enjoy life. Reed would've wanted that - don't sulk, live. We found the Winwood Walls in Miami, which we've heard about. Eric knew more about it than I do, and I'll admit, it was pretty cool. If you're down there, find them and go. Even after sunset, the amount of people exploring the area was amazing. From there, we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Miami Beach, SushiSAMBA. We enjoys a great dinner and reflected on things we learned from Reed.
Reed will be greatly missed. I feel honored that I was able to know him, even if is was just a blip compared to his Navy buddies. I can only hope to make an impact like that.
RIP Reed.
So Eric and I did a little something different this year for New Year's Eve... Eric wanted to get out of town, and he received and email from Eataly in Chicago (yes, that Italian market/grocery store we discovers) and they were doing a 4-course dinner and champagne toast celebration. It seemed a little odd to me, at first, but the price was right and we figure 'why not?' and gave it a try.
We drove up kind of late yesterday afternoon, and got to the hotel with about an hour or so to relax and freshen-up for the big night. The dinner didn't start until after 9pm (after the store closed, basically). It was just a block from our hotel, so despite the frigid temps, it was an easy walk, even all dressed up. We weren't quite sure what to expect, and I'm thinkng this was the first year they did this. Not to say it wasn't organized... but you could tell they were still trying to figure some things out.
The dinner was absolutely awesome! We enjoys every bite we could, and they timed things great so that everyone wrapped up dinner around 11:30pm or so. Which gave people enough time to shuffle over to where the champagne and desserts were set up for the big countdown. They even had horns and hats for everyone to don, if desired. The only thing missing... the actual countdown! about 5 minutes before, they announced to make sure to have your champagne if you wanted it, but then there was no actual countdown. On of the guests was watching their phone and counted down the last 5 seconds or so, and that was it! It was kind of funny, but also disappointing. Like I said, I think they were still figuring things out, a bit.
But here we are in the new year. 2016, already! Here's hoping for a great year ahead!
Wow!! Where did 2015 go... seriously?! I cannot believe we're already here, post-Christmas. I feel like this year has been a blur. Anyone feel that?
Eric and I did the drive to FL for Christmas again this year. We've take to enjoy that drive time, making it all part of the journey to enjoy. Mostly. We drove straight through to Jacksonville on Christmas Eve, and woke up to head to my parents on Christmas morning. 
My sister and her family couldn't make it up that way until that evening, so it worked out fine. Having the youngest in the family being teenagers, the 'magic' of Christmas morning isn't as much of a necessity. It happens, I suppose. But that gave some time with just Eric and I to spend with my parents. Nan was not able to make it down this year and spent Christmas with some extended family in PA. We missed her a lot, and hope we can get her back to FL for future Christmases. We'll see.
Christmas, itself, was pretty standard for a Cwalina Christmas. 
Lots of gifts with the nine of us there, and some fun surprises that no one expected. Still extremely enjoyable, for me at least. I love how our family does Christmas. I wouldn't say we have formal traditions, but there are still traditions. Like where we sit, for example. Don't ask me why, but if anyone tries to sit someplace new, there's confusion everywhere! It's kind of amusing. Regardless, I love watching reactions to the gifts - no mater how old we get, we all seem to enjoy it.
The day after Christmas, to avoid the draw of the TV and being lazy, we went to the zoo. 
This was my mom's idea, because she wanted to see the new tigers. Which I definitely liked the idea of, too! Here's the crazy thing, though... it was in the 80's and almost too warm to walk around the zoo! A lot of the animals were even seeking shade to keep cool! Even the tigers! We still had a good time feeding the Lorikeets and walking around, though. And I learned that Eric is afraid of (or 'doesn't like' them, in his words) birds, reptiles, and amphibians... he wouldn't go into any of those exhibits. It was kind of funny. But we managed to walk through and see what we wanted before they closed, and headed home.
After breakfast, Eric and I left the next day. We only went as far as Savannah, and enjoyed the afternoon and some dinner there. 
Wasn't a major event, or anything... just meant to be some down time to ourselves before getting back to the real world after the holidays. It was kind of nice, actually, and thought maybe we should get back to making the trip down a two-day trip, as well, just to keep our sanity in check. I guess we'll see next year.
Finally, we left bright and early the next morning. Only had a band of rain to drive through, though it was some heavy rain. But it was still relatively warm until we gut way up into Kentucky. And at that point, we were done with stops and just needed to get home. So all in all, it was a good trip. And a good Christmas.
Sometimes the years goes by faster than I'd like. This has been one of those years. But with a fast year comes a quick departure for my annual girls cruise! And I cannot complain about that!
This year we switched things up a bit, as we added a fourth to our crew (Sabrina), which led us to book a suite on the ship (Brilliance of the Seas) so we could all still do the fun rituals of getting ready together and such. We were able to get a good deal on the suite, too, as we didn't book until 6 weeks out! Not recommended for those who like to plan way ahead, or those who get nervous about 'the back-up plan' if Plan A doesn't pan out... but it worked quite well this year.
Our itinerary included just two ports, with two days at sea. Kind of the best of both worlds (in theory) to give everyone a little of what they wanted. We left of December 14th out of Tampa, with the first full day (the 15th) being at sea. We made the most of what turned out to be about an absolutely perfect day at sea, and were at the pool side nearly the entire day! Surprisingly, we all did a good job with sunscreen on this first day, and no one go too much sun. Usually, at least one of us missed a spot or two, or just went to long between applications. That made it good for the rest of the cruise.
Our first port was back in the Grand Cayman Islands! Last year we missed out on our swim with the stingrays and were very bummed about it. We were determined to make up for it, and getting back to the islands was one of the reason we chose this itinerary. 
We found a local tour company that took us out to Stingray City on a catamaran, which on its own was cool, since it kept the number of people on the tour to a minimum. The water was still a little rougher than I think any of us would've liked, but it was still workable to get in there with the stingrays. And it was amazing! They were everywhere!! I almost got knocked down a few time by them trying to swim between my legs. Well, that and the waves pulling me off the ground and me, overcomplicating things, by trying not to come back down on top of one! We were able to feed them, too, and I had one gnaw on my knuckle when he took the fish from me. Didn't hurt - just felt weird! It was a really cool experience, and I'd love to do it again, if the water was a little calmer so we could maybe enjoy the rays a little more without the added complication of the waves. But at least we got to do it once!
After the stingray swim, we got to snorkel over some reefs for a little bit. Again, because of the slightly rougher waters, we couldn't go to the major reef area, but since our tour guides were local, they were still able to get us to a good area where no one else really was. it wasn't as exciting as the stingrays, but of course, we weren't feeding the fish, either. Still some pretty cool snorkel views.
Our second port was Cozumel, which has become a regular stop. Of our five years of doing this girls cruise, we've stopped at Cozumel three of hose years! Of course, we don't do much at this port, either. Literally. We go to a private beach club that's all inclusive, lay on the beach all day, have a good locally prepared lunch, and just completely relax. Which is probably why we keep going back - it's a day of guaranteed relaxation. Not that the entire cruise isn't relaxing, but it's just nice to have some semi-private time to relax.
Finally, on to our last day cruising at sea. It sucked. First time since our first cruise that we had a non-sunny day that the captain couldn't find us some sun. 
We did, however, get to go tour the bridge of the ship, which was really pretty cool. But beyond that, as the day progressed, the seas got rougher and rougher, as we heading directly into a weather front. By dinner, only about half the passengers actually made it to dinner, and ginger ale was being served as if it was water. It was like that well into the night, and likely until we got back into Tampa Bay, which was in the early hours of the morning. But we had three solid days of vacation fun, so really no complaints.
It's hard to believe we've been doing this for five years. Not sure if we'll keep it at four or if that was a one time celebration for Sabrina, but I think Karla, Jen, and I are content to keep this going as long as we can handle cruising.
Thanksgiving. For the past few years, it's been a bit of a struggle. With Eric's sister out of the state and, essentially, a fight for their attendance between our side and Kimber's mom led to us conceiting Thanksgiving Day to them in order to have a random weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas for our celebration of both holidays. 
It didn't upset us so much as frustrate us, because we could see the frustration it caused Kelly and Kimber with the scheduling of the kids (since Kelly's two boys need time with their respective fathers, as well). And their location in KY just made it that much harder.
Well, they're back in Indiana now, and essentially have to drive by our house to get to Kimber's family in OH, now, so at least now we know we can schedule either an early or late dinner and get to spend some time with them. Gives them a break in their drive and two solid meals for the day - nothing wrong with that option. So, "YAY!" We got to spend Thanksgiving evening with them! Which means we actually got to cook a turkey with all the fixin's and actually feel like the long weekend off work had a purpose. And with it being an actual dinner (at dinner time), we didn't have to get up super early to start things. So it worked out nicely as a pretty laid back day that ended with a nice dinner and family time.
And it makes it really that much nicer with the kids getting as old as they are. There's really not much longer before they start being reluctant to want to do family stuff - next year we have Paige turning 13, AJ turning 12, Payton turning 10, and Nolan turning 8. They're not so little anymore! It makes me think about my side of the family with Darian and Kris both in High School!
*sigh*
Time just flies by so fast - enjoy time when you have it - am I right??
So Thanksgiving just felt 'normal' for once this year. It's nice tohave some regularity in this crazy world sometimes. If nothing else, it lets you slow down and just enjoy life.
So around this time last year, I decided I wanted to take my niece to her first concert. She was almost 14, and I was around this age for my first concert,, so I knew it would be something she'd love and remember. But the question was, what concert?
I hinted around to see what she was into (or still into from when I last talked music with her). In her typical teenager way, though, she didn't give me a lot to go on... 'she just liked music.' Which I got - I'm that way. So I started seeing what acts were touring, and what would really be worthwhile. I narrowed it down to a few, but the dates weren't panning out with either my ability to get down to FL (which made more sense to take her to one there), or the timing of ticket sales didn't happen in time for Christmas. So I ended up punting the idea for a Christmas gift, but the idea never left my mind.
Fast forward to this summer. I have a few concerts of my own to go to, and in particular, had awesome seats for Dave Matthews on my Birthday. I became inspired again. So I started searching again and talking to people. It didn't take long to narrow it down... Taylor Swift in Tampa. It was, of course, sold out... well, as far as seats together, it was. So I knew I'd have to go to a broker site. And there's SO many of those now... quite frankly, it's kind of scary. So I started watching a few of the site and checking on occasion. Finally, a couple of months into my watching, I see some seats I like, and first check with my sister if she'd be okay with me 'kidnapping my niece' for the weekend. I wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn't want Darian to know details... but my sister had to tell her I was coming to take her somewhere, just so she wouldn't make plans - it was on Halloween, after all! So I got the tickets, and the surprise was on... as an early birthday gift for her.
Fast forward, again, to Friday - I fly into Jacksonville because I did NOT want to risk flight cancellations or delays. Plus, it was a good chance to spend some time with my parents - it's been since last Christmas! Saturday morning, I drove down to Palm Bay to pick up my niece and let her in on the surprise. Her reaction... priceless! It was the full jaw dropping, near tears, excited as all could be reaction! I couldn't of imagined a more perfect reaction to witness.
The plan was to drive over to Tampa for the concert, and to make life easier, stay overnight there and come back Sunday. Now that she knew what to pack for, she could finally pack appropriately - she had been hesitant to pack before because her mind was running wild with what the surprise might be. She was thinking Halloween part of some sort, maybe a soccer game... the Taylor Swift concert wasn't even on her radar from the sounds of it.
We got to Tampa with plenty of time. We checked into the hotel, freshened up, and headed out. It was at Raymond James Stadium, and it was sold out (55k fans). So, as you can imagine, traffic was a little heavy. But it was not issue, in my mind, and we got inside the stadium with time to ohh and ahh from our seats. I splurged - I got field seats. I figured if I'm going to do it, I was going to do it right. Besides, I think I was just as excited to see Taylor Swift as Darian was. So I wanted good seats for me, too!
There were actually two opening acts for her. The first was Shawn Mendes. I think Darian was almost as excited to see him as she was to see Taylor! He's one of the new cuties on the scene... all the girls were screaming. Then there was Vance Joy. He didn't get as much screaming, but he was good, too. And he had a fun Australian accent to listen to between songs. But finally... it was time.
Taylor took the stage and opened with Welcome to New York. This is a song I've recently started to really like on my song list when I fly - which is often. I was actually surprised that I was able to sing along with just about all the songs - guess I'm a bigger fan that I realized! And Taylor Swift puts on a good show... it may be more show (scripted) than some concerts I got to, but it didn't make it any less of a good show. I think I came away from this thinking that you can't sell out a football stadium unless you put on a good show. I've only been to two stadium shows - U2 and Taylor Swift, but those two shows have been phenomenal! Granted, not in the same category... but there are a lot of acts out there that can't, and will likely never sell out a crowd that large!
The show continued, as she hit just about all her songs from her 1989 album. Of course, she had a few of her other big hits in there, like Love Story, which was the song that Darian first like of Taylor's. She did a more hard rock version of We are Never Getting Back Together that was interesting - she even played an electric guitar for that one. 
And she had this really cool 'catwalk stage' down the center of the audience that actually lifted up and could spin (slowly) like a helicopter blade. It was actually pretty cool!
She had a couple of special guests for this show (her last for the U.S. leg of the 1989 World Tour). The first was Alessia Cara, which I didn't recognize until they started singing her song, Here. Then later she came out dressed like Olaf from Frozen, and all her dancers were dressed like reindeer. Yes, it was Halloween, but I called it... Idina Menzel then came on stage and they sung Let It Go and it was A-MAZ-ING!!
The entire show was spectacular, as she capped it off with Shake It Off as her encore. She and all her dancers were on the spinning stage for that. Perfect ending to the show.
Anyway... I think the best part was actually just watching Darian. She had this look of pure joy on her face the entire night. That look you have when you experience something for the first time that is seemingly pure magic. Nothing will beat the memories made from this little road trip to a concert, my niece's first concert.
So this was unexpected... a third Cubs game! And Eric DIDN'T have to go to this one... this was actually a one-off work event. What's that, you ask? It's what happens when you have awesome consultants based out of Chicago!
So we received a very unexpected invite for our department to join them (our awesome consultant) for a Cubs game verses the Cardinals. And with the Cubs still doing so awesome, and the Cards being on top of our division, it was sure to be a good game (and probably a hard ticket to come by!). So after some going back and forth, and after realizing that we couldn't all go (so our side of the office wouldn't be left empty), we got the okay to go, with only about 6 of us being able to commit. 
Was supposed to be more, but two backed out at the last minute (boo!), but we still had a bunch from our consultant's side to fill out the group for an afternoon of fun!
We started at Murphy's Bleachers for some pre-game festivities. After some drinks and a bunch of tater tots (they tasted really good, for some reason), we headed into the game. We were in the stands out by left field - an area I've never sat before, so it was a completely different experience for me! It's a weird combo of die-hard season ticket holder (like really old guys that you can tell have had tickets for ever) and groups that wanted to be in the bleacher (young people drinking a lot). 
We fell somewhere comfortably in the middle. And the Cubs beat the Cardinals! Pretty good, too, 8-3!!
The whole trip was fun for those of us that drove up. A lot of bonding. Which was cool, because it was across teams and even had a new person for us all to get to know. We got home late, though... midnight, for me, by the time I dropped both the people and the car off (I had the easy access to a rental since I flew back to the airport the night before). I really work with some cool people, bit in my company and as consultants. I really love my job!
Shattered lower grill (damn plastic cards!) and punctures radiator. Awesome. With it being a Saturday afternoon, all the Hertz Local Editions were closed, so Hertz had to get us towed all the way back to Indy to the airport (almost a hour away) to exchange the car. Plus, the wait time for the tow truck to even get to us. There went us making our dinner reservation.
There were concept cars, next year's new model cars, test tracks inside, test drive outside... I can see how you could spend an entire day here... but we were only there for a few house. We did do one of the test tracks, and I gotta say, even if I couldn't be the one to drive, it was still really cool! I would've loved to stay longer, honestly - I feel like we only got to see about 1/3 of what was there to be seen. I'd love to go back up there next year maybe... hopefully not on Valentine's Day.
