I'm Still Here

Hi, everyone! I wanted to pop in because I haven't written a post here in... a really long time.  I'm still alive, everything's great. Between my normal life, wedding planning, and marathon training, I just can't get a word in edgewise around here!  I also think this site o' mine is due for a major overhaul.  I've been percolating on a new format - it won't be showing up anytime soon, but I have PLANS. Plans, people!

I do have a small bit of exciting news.  I recently purchased a new camera setup that involves this:

A 5D Mkii. The title scares even me!  I've been thinking about upgrading to a full frame for a solid year. It was really scary, but I took my time to think it through, saved up my dollars, and did it. There may or may not have been barfing, but I did it.  Photography is a hobby for me. A really fun hobby that challenges me, and a way for me to remember all of my favorite memories. I love it.

The 5D is really too much camera for me right now; I have no idea where anything is on it... starting by reading the manual!  I'll grow into it though... verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slowly! I considered waiting for the Mkiii, but since this is just a hobby for me, I decided that the Mkii sounded amazing to me.

That right there is one of my top reasons for learning how to shoot - to remember my favorite people over the course of my lifetime. Also, it's really good rationalization. :)

So now you all know I'm alive and kickin'. I've been reading and enjoying all of your blog posts - I will be back with a few of my own soon!

Attack of the Helmet Nachos

Recently, my mom and one of my sisters flew up for a big Chicago weekend!  We spent a lot of time hanging out, and the big event of the weekend was to take them to their very first Cubs game.  Wrigley is one of the USA's most historic and famous ballparks, and any baseball fan wants to make that visit, regardless of the Cubs, who are really, really - really - good at biffing a win.

I must admit, it's completely obvious that we're related...

Ok, so Wrigley introduced a brand new concession item a couple years ago... Helmet Nachos.  Yes, you read that right.  It's $15 and is exactly what it sounds like:

Need a closer look? Ooooooooooook...

Don't be scurred, Billie Sue!

I am pretty certain that there's an entire bag of chips in that helmet.  One time, I was a part of a 12(ish)-person group at Wrigley.  We ordered ONE of these heart attack inducing numbers, and we couldn't even finish it - so our tiny group taking this on was a quite a feat, especially when my mom had to be all heart-conscious and refuse to help us eat it!  By the time you get to the bottom, the chips are all soggy, but you eat them anyway.  Hey, we're already gross by eating a freaking helmet full of fake cheese - might as well seal the deal! 

Here's Billie Sue's review of said Helmet Nachos.  Kindly ignore my highly annoying voice.

Now, I want to know... what's the grossest guilty pleasure at your hometown ballpark?

Injured

Hi, everyone :)

The last few weeks have been "interesting" (note the quotation marks).  My body's been letting me down in some ways - or maybe I've let my body down, not sure which.  

• I sustained my first running injury (strained Achilles), and I've been on a strict no-running diet for the past week and a half.  Trust me, it feels like a diet.  I love me some running endorphins.  My right foot is just now getting to where I feel like it's safe to start running again.  It's frustrating because I was doing everything right.  I don't overtrain, and I subscribe to slow increases in mileage each week.  Somehow, I hurt myself anyway.
• I also wrenched my neck pretty badly, in another mysterious and unknown incident.  Seriously, I woke up one morning and couldn't turn my head.  Five days later, I'm only halfway recovered and about to sign up for le doctor.
• Today, my body got all excited to get super nauseous and feverish.  

 With all of the above,  my frustration is pretty high, to say the least.

As the cherry on top, I've been dealing with a few people in my life who are... mean.  Everyone has those people that act in immature ways, and there's nothing we can do to change others' inappropriate and harmful behavior.  Dealing with them has been an opportunity for me to practice my kindness and supportive boundary superpowers, to say the least.

My body's injured.  My heart's injured.  In spite of all this I'm thankful.  Life's good, even when it's not.

Definitive Proof

Winter coats negatively affects a lady's cute factor.  Witness:

The Long Winter

The center of the huge blizzard storming its way across the nation just blew through Chicago.  We had 50mph winds, which was actually a good thing because it kept the snow from piling up on top of our cars!  We got a good 20".  The end result wasn't too horrible because Chicago spends a ton of money on snow removal (salt trucks!)  The city DID essentially shut down on Wednesday though, so most of us worked from home, drank hot cocoa, and enjoyed the thundersnow.  I daydreamed about what life as Laura Ingalls might have been like!  

We did have one really scary thing that happened... there were several car wrecks on Lake Shore Drive, blocking traffic and stranding hundreds of cars in the midst of the blizzard... right by the lake.  Cars ran out of gas, people had to abandon their vehicles, 14 hour commutes.  THAT was no bueno.  Although why those people chose to drive right by the lake in the first place... I will never know.  Did they all just move here from Florida?

OK that was mean, but... seeing the crazy wind and snow - you couldn't have paid me to drive on the ice slick known as Lake Shore Drive.  See what I mean?

As for me, I worked from home, ate a lot of Clementines, drank a little mint hot cocoa, and baked Snow Day bread.  My car's still blocked in by snow drifts... I should probably shovel that out, huh?  :)

My friend Jenna lives in a high-rise, so she took a crazy video of the storm with her fantastic view.  Go check it out!