Bonjour! I'm back.

I'm back.  With lots of stories and LOTS of pictures.

Unfortunately, I have three busy days to get things done work-wise before I go out of town.  I will try to post on Friday while I'm "working", but realistically, you won't get an update until next week.

Sorry!

Happy birthday Brody Lawrence Hales!

*I'm writing this in advance because I don't trust internet access while on vacation.  I'm not back - sorry!

Rounding out the youngest of the family, is Brody.... well, at least until early 2014. :)

Brody, with the giant dimples and the perma-grin.  The crawling all over everything, giggling, little guy who puts up with his crazy big sister.

Happy birthday to you little man!  Lots of kisses on those cheeks when I return.

#33 - Go to a concert

While technically, I did attend the Barenaked Ladies concert in July, I am going to write about the Michael Buble concert.  Why?  Because it is a PERFORMANCE.  I loved the Barenaked Ladies and Ben Folds Five because it was relaxed (outside) and fun (to sing along to), but Michael Buble....  MB is a spectacle!  His staging and lighting are incredible (okay, that was the nerdy work-related side of me) and he does not disappoint in the presentation and fun of his concert.

Melissa and I saw him in DC a few years ago and his show became my all-time favorite.  So, I was stalking his website and getting email updates on when he would be on tour again.

Well, FINALLY, it is the night.  Melissa, Lauren and I heading out to the concert tonight (Saturday) and I couldn't be more excited.

I sent them a screen shot earlier of where our seats are:  (sorry for bad photo quality)

I'll have to post pictures when I get back from vacation.

Packing for the big trip

Okay.   I'm not going to lie.  Packing was stressful.  I spent all of last night trying on outfits and then an hour this morning actually putting things into my suitcase.

So here is what I am bringing.

5 pairs of pants:

2 Skirts, 1 Dress:

Shirts:

7 Blouses:

4 Sweaters:

3 Jackets:

2 shorts, 1 bathing suit, 5 scarves:

Not Pictured: 5 Pairs of shoes - two tennis shoes, one black flats, silver pumps and tan booties (the booties I am wearing to travel)

So there it is... minus toiletries.

Here is what it looked like in my first layer of packing (shoes included):

And then with everything in it.

The only things NOT in there are the blue jacket (because I'm carrying it on) and my tan booties that I will be wearing.

With my toiletries, I should still have space should I buy anything.  I also am bringing a small duffle bag as my carry on so I can not wrestle with a bunch of things during my flight.

So..... I am 98% ready to go.  After getting ready tomorrow morning, I should be all set. :)

TWO Days!

I don't even have the attention span to write a legit post.  Seriously.  I go to the Michael Buble concert in two days and then head to vacation the next morning....

Obviously my mind is not focused on anything else - including work. :)

Tomorrow, we have a staff event at work so I will really only be "working" for a few hours in the morning.  So today is technically my last day of work until September 23rd - excited much???

I probably won't post in the morning tomorrow since I will be working on packing that evening and I promised posts about packing.

Two days people, TWO DAYS!!!

Hump Day!

I got really crappy sleep last night.  I went to bed at a reasonable hour, but then was wide awake and restless at 2:45am.  It didn't help that while lying there I could hear my upstairs neighbor moving around.  Why was he up at 3am????  Also, I have seen him and he is smaller than I am, yet manages to sound like an 800 lb man.  Plus, every morning his alarm/phone goes off shortly after mine does and I can hear it vibrating so loud that I think it's my phone.

Needless to say, I eventually fell back asleep and then my alarm went off at what felt like 15 minutes later.  I'm going to need a lot of coffee today.  And I have a committee meeting downtown, so I needed to look a little more put together than I have recently (Admittedly, I've been really lazy getting ready for work).

Not sure why this photo has some weird "glow" to it.  Weird lighting in my bedroom this morning.

*Dress - JCrew (old), sweater - Jcrew (also old), shoes - Target

The most epic month of 2013

I'm not kidding when I say that I have been actively looking forward to September since.... May... April even?!

As I am sure you have gleamed from this blog over time, I LOVE Michael Buble!  After seeing him in concert with Melissa in 2010, I have been actively stalking his website (and getting email notifications) for when he would be returning to the US on tour.

Like any great internet stalker, I was able to find out in late April that his US tour dates would be announced soon.  PLUS, as a Citibank card holder, I could get early access to purchase tickets.  Lucky for me, Chicago was his FIRST stop on his new tour!!!!!

As soon as I heard the dates announced, I sent a group text message to my mom and sisters telling them the day he was coming and asking them to commit ASAP if they wanted to go.  I was planning on buying the tickets as soon as they became available so I needed everyone's response and commitment.  Unfortunately, at the time, my mom had planned to already be in Barcelona with my dad.  So it was just going to be Melissa, Lauren and I.  (Of course, now plans have changed and she will be in town.)

So, I set a calendar reminder for the time and day that tickets would be on sale and waited patiently.  Just like my tickets to Brian Regan, I was able to score some pretty great seats for a reasonable price.  In fact, all three tickets were cheaper than the two tickets in DC three years ago.  And I think these seats might technically be a bit better.

Anyways, after months of random texts and facebook posts, that concert is finally THIS Saturday.  I'm super excited because Melissa and I had a great time last time.  He put on an amazing show and I know this time won't disappoint.  I'm also excited to spend the night with both of my sisters since I missed the Maroon 5 concert earlier this year.  Plus, last time Melissa was pregnant with Kayla and now Lauren is pregnant with baby #2.  Hopefully, this baby will become an early Buble fan like Kayla. :)

In preparation for the concert, I will be spending Friday night and all morning Saturday doing laundry and packing for the MOST EPIC VACATION EVER!!!

I know I've mentioned it a few times but that next morning, I will be heading out for my 11 day vacation to Barcelona and Paris!!!!!!!!  I can't even clearly convey how excited I am about the next two weeks of activities, so we'll just leave it at that....  lots and lots of exclamation points!

And then when I get back, we celebrate Brody's birthday.  Before I can blink it's going to be October, so I want to enjoy every second that September has to offer.

I know Leslie keeps bugging me and I am working on a packing post for my trip.  It probably won't be until Friday or Saturday though because I am only in the beginning - list making - point of packing.  :)