Last Saturday, Mary and I spent some long overdue time doing things around the house.  Everything from cleaning to laundry to paying bills.  At night, we went out to the burbs to visit our friends, Kristen and Jay.

They recently got married and went on their honeymoon in Maui.  They stayed right next to where we stayed in Ka'anapali.  Their trip was booked before ours, so I guess we copied them, but c'mon, it's Maui!

For dinner, Jay was going to grill, so we expected burgers or something else simple.  That would have been good enough for us.  So to say we were surprised when he grilled steak and lobster tail is an understatement!  They also made guacamole, pasta salad and grilled some pineapple.  All of it was delicious.  Jay even had some LaBatt Blue for me, which took me back to my college days.

Aside from getting to catch up with them and enjoy a nice relaxing evening with friends, I also got to meet their puppy, Kozmo.  He's an eight month old Shih Tzu with short hair and is adorable.  Yes, I'm not afraid to lose man points and call this dog adorable; he's just that cute.

I normally try to have a more descriptive title of my blogs based on the topic, but there's just been too much going on lately to narrow it down.  Since my last post about New York City (I still haven't completed my expense report), I've been averaging four meetings a day at work, waiting for a new neice or nephew to be born, spending time on a boat, celebrating Father's Day, and avoiding folding laundry.

That's the short of it.  Work has been crazy lately, as if it wasn't already.  Some of our IT team from Los Angeles came out for some meetings.  While the time was productive and beneficial, it was also stressful and caused me to lose time on some projects.  I feel like I'm always juggling at least 3-4 tasks at any given time.  I still love my job, and I'm certainly thankful that I have a job, but I could do with a little less stress.

On the family front, my sister is ready to have her baby any day now!  We actually thought it was going to be last weekend, which was a big factor in us not going on the annual camping trip with our friends.  As of right now, she's still just hanging around her house, waiting for the baby to be ready!

Saturday, I got the opportunity to decompress a bit with the guys out on the Chain O' Lakes.  We went tubing, had a few beers, and just relaxed.  Bob was definitely the tubing champion, even when he sent the tube flying!

Yesterday, we went to my sister's house to celebrate Father's Day.  Unfortunately, my dad wasn't feeling so hot, having been fighting off a cold for a few days.  My grandpa was also in town.  Although one of my sisters wasn't there with her family, it was nice to get to see everyone else and hang out with my neice, Annalee.  Which reminds me, her dad, my brother-in-law, has been competing in sumo competitions lately.  Both Annalee and Rhys have taken to it a bit as well!

As for laundry?  Well, no one actually LIKES folding laundry!

Earlier this week I was in New York City for work.  My boss and I attended a digital asset management conference at the Hilton.  The conference itself was ok.  I did learn a few new things and met some people that worked for companies like Nickelodeon, Harley-Davidson, and Universal Studios.  We had dinner at a restaurant called Blue Fin near the W Hotel in Times Square.  I even tried some sushi.

I've been to NYC a few times, but being in Times Square always amazes me.  Even if you don't like people watching, you find yourself standing there, just looking and watching.  It also amazed me that they had blocked off a portion of Times Square from traffic to allow people to congregate.  A very cool idea in my opinion.  On my walk back to the hotel, as I walked past the M&Ms World store, I felt compelled to stop in and buy some goodies for my nieces and nephews!  I'm hoping one day Mary will be able to travel with me!

It's been a quick week since we've been back from Florida.  And although I am relieved that it is Friday, I head out first thing tomorrow morning to New Orleans to work with my dad for most of the week.  I am glad that we'll be together as I love working with him, but having just gotten home from Jen & Ken's wedding in Florida, I don't feel quite ready to be away again.  And once I come home, it's non-stop still as the night I fly home is the rehearsal dinner for Kristen and Jay before their wedding, then back to work on Friday and mani/pedis with the ladies on Friday for the wedding and then the big celebration of their wedding on Saturday!  It's going to be a fun couple of days, but I am also looking forward to next Sunday when I'll get to be with Jack again after all the non-stop action of the coming week.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Last week, I was in Los Angeles for work Sunday through Wednesday.  The trip was very productive, although, my work trips always seem to generate more work.  I flew home Wednesday afternoon from LA.  Coming back always seems to take longer because of the two hours lost in changing time zones.  My flight left at 9:30am, but when I landed in Chicago it was 3:30pm.  By the time I got my bag and took a cab home, it was already 5:00pm.  Blah.

Anyway, the next day, I went into the office as I had some meetings first thing in the morning, then I left around 12:30pm to go home, finish packing, and drop off Bentley at the Kennel before heading back to the airport to fly to Florida.  Mary and I made it there with plenty of time to spare.  Steve and Kati, made it just in time!  Kati had been in New York for work at the same time I was in Los Angeles.  Her flight was canceled, delayed, and canceled some more.  Fortunately, they made it.

The trip to Florida was for Jen and Ken's wedding.  The whole weekend was great!  All the events and accomodations were at a resort near Panama City called Carillon Beach, which is on the Gulf of Mexico side.  Friday we spent most of the day on the beach.  This was a great way to relax, until that night when the sunburn kicked in.  One day I'll learn.

The ceremony was on the beach the next day.  Although it was VERY hot and VERY humid, it was a great ceremony.  Afterwards, we went right to the reception for cocktail hour.  Everything went off without a hitch, and everyone seemed to have a great time.  I'm just glad Mary and I are both home again (for now at least)!  Pictures to follow...