Pooh.

Today I am not going to stress.

Today I am not going to worry.

Today I am just going to be.

I just opened up a book recommended by a friend a long time ago called The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.  The whole idea is using the story of Winnie the Pooh to help understand the ideas of Taoism and also using Taoism to understand the story of Pooh.  To sum up the book in very few words... the back cover reads:

     While Eeyore frets...

      ...and Piglet hesitates

      ...and Rabbit calculates

      ...and Owl pontificates

      ...Pooh just is.

I sometimes... well... okay okay... lots of times... many a times... quite often... stress out about things that are out of my control.  And for what? If I cannot control something, what is the point in stressing out?  Exactly, Rachelle.  I need to dig deep and find the Pooh inside me... and not the kind found at the end of my digestive tract. (Dah Ha! A little nurse humor for you there. Love it.) 

I have not read past page 8, so I cannot officially recommend the book, but we will see how it turns out!  I have heard good things and talked to people who have also heard good things... so let the good things come my way.

Serenity.

Happiness.

Winnie the Pooh.

more fun birthday events

Since I last wrote I have just been on the go go go go go! I think this is how my life is just going to have to be from now on. I can sleep when I'm dead... right?  Jay will yell at me if he reads this post, he thinks I need to cut some fun out of my life (aka facebook, blogging, and doing unnecessary things like crafting and writing an obscene amount of cards to people I love).  He is probably right. I do work full time. I am also a full time student. I need my sleep... but I really enjoy all the extra things I do with my time. I would rather have less sleep and more fun.  

Anyway... after my trip up to Sturgeon Bay with the girls, I worked Friday night, then napped for a couple hours and then it was go go go.  My annual family picnic was this weekend.  We play tug-o-war, have sack races, balloon tosses, eat lots of food, dance, play basketball, sand volleyball and take pictures... all wearing primary colors.  My dad is one of 14 children... we all wear green.  Then other big groups of extended families wear blue, red, yellow, and white.  It is fun. We play games as family teams. I think this year my extended green family won most of the games.

 green vs. yellow

green totes won.

 

 my cousin maricel (the big kid)

with my cousin's girls Madison (left) and Mia (right) and their friend Maggie (2nd from right)

Straight from the family picnic, Jay and I headed to our friend Madeline's house for a birthday party.  Madeline and I have the same birthday, so it makes celebrating double the fun!  We played beer pong, cranium, hung out on the porch, and ate lots of yummy foods.

a back seat view of some of my pals playing cranium

whoa close up! of madeline and me:)

We stayed the night at Madeline's house, then woke up Sunday morning to head downtown.  Part of Jay's birthday present to me was to take me on the Spirit of Chicago, a boat that sails along the Chicago coast. The other part of my gift was a vintage leather camera strap for my canon rebel xs!  We boarded the vessel and had a table for two, decorated with a blue balloon for my birthday.  We ate delicious food and then spent most of our time outside on deck enjoying the sunshine, the beautiful skyline scenery, and each others company.  We don't get to spend a lot of alone time in the summer, because every minute we are together is on the weekends and every weekend is booked full of parties and picnics, concerts and events where we are usually with my family, his friends, my friends, or his family.  So, we cherished the couple hours we were alone.  We can't wait until we live in the same town again.  He is at school at the University of Illinois getting his PhD (finishing this fall or next spring, yay!)

Overall I got no sleep this weekend, but it was totally worth it.  What a great way to be brought into the 25th year of my life.  

******************************************************************************

My Spring & Summer Fun To Do's

• DONE Go to the beach
• DONE Go to a museum
• DONE Seek out photo ops 
• DONE Go to Ireland (June 2-7)
• DONE Kentucky Derby party @ Mike and Shley's (May 1)
•  DONE Visit the Sears Tower (not Willis darnit!) Skydeck
• DONE Have a bonfire
• DONE Paint pottery
• DONE Lake Geneva trip with my favorite ladies (June 17-19)
• DONE Pride parade (June 27) 
• DONE Summerfest for the 4th of July in Milwaukee, WI
• DONE Go to a concert
• DONE Go to my cabin  (July 10/11 and Aug 7/8!!)
• DONE Play tennis
• DONE Go camping
• DONE Sturgeon Bay, WI for my birthday with a few of my best ladies (July 21-23) 
• Go for a long (for me) bike ride
• Ride a roller coaster
• Hot air balloon ride
• Have a picnic
• Go to the zoo
• Volunteer
• Play bocce ball
• Gamble at a casino
• See a movie in grant park
• Go to a cubs game
• Pitchfork music fest (July 16-18)
• Chicago Jazz Fest (Sept 3-5)
  
• Paint with acrylics
• Oktoberfest Chicago (Sept 24-26)
  
• Family Picnic (July 24)
• Possible South Carolina Trip (mid September)

Sturgeon Bay Birthday

Just got back from my mini trip with 5 of my favorite ladies to Sturgeon Bay, WI for my birthday.  While I should probably be sleeping (I have to work tonight) or doing homework (lots of stuff due), I am choosing this instead.  I want to remember all the details of our trip and this weekend is going to be busy busy busy, so I want to get it all out before I forget it all.

We left Wednesday morning and arrived in Sturgeon Bay Wednesday afternoon.  First stop? The beach.  We set up camp and enjoyed the sun.  It was so nice to finally relax and not think about work or school.

 Franke, Me, Maricel, Lisa and Lauren at Sunset Beach (Manda took the picture)

Lauren enjoying the water

Me and Franke... tummy time!

After getting our fill of sunshine and relaxation, we went on our way.  Our bellies were growling at us to feed them... so we decided on something quick and easy so we could go home, get our dancing shoes on and go out on the town.  We saw Hardee's and voted a YES, because we always see the thickburger commercials and quite the many of us have never eaten a thickburger, since we don't have them near us.  Turns out no one ordered a thickburger and we ate chicken tenders instead... thickburgers have an entire day's worth of calories in one sandwich... grooosss. 

After filling our bellies with greasy goodness, we went to our hotel and dolled ourselves up.  We had some cocktails and danced around to some fabulous tunes.  (We found out the next day that people complained of our noise... oops!) 

I love birthdays not only because they are a time of celebration and fun fun fun... but because my friends get me awesome presents!!  I opened up my presents this year and nothing has changed... I received wonderful things!  

From Lisa I got a ruffled gray jersey dress and fancy necklace. Which I ended up putting on and wearing all night.

From Lauren I got a pretty salmon colored linen top with brass details and a canvas belt to match.

From Franke I got a Casino-themed gift, complete with: Champagne, lottery tickets, dice game, chocolate gold coins, 21 the movie, a hand-held poker game, and a promise to take me to the casino this summer.

From Maricel I got a gallon of wine and a peacock ring holder. 

From Amanda I got a canvas bag, a canvas for painting, new brushes, and 3 rubber stamps to add to my ever growing collection.

I was so happy to have received such wonderful things! 
Thanks friends, you rock my world.

After we opened presents we hit the town. Turns out Sturgeon Bay has one street, three blocks long, with about 5 pubs.  We hit 4 of them.

In the hotel being goofy.

The drinks were so cheap compared to Chicago prices that we may or may not have went a little crazy.  We danced, we sang, we ate pizza, we took shots, I got a shirt at the last bar that everyone in the bar signed.  

posing with one of Sturgeon Bay's many statues of a sturgeon fish

my Van's Pub shirt

i love these ladies

 can u tell we had a fabulous time?

Butt loads of fun!

The next morning we woke up and went out to lunch at a place called Family Thyme restaurant. It was adorable and family owned.  

Lisa and the cute menu.  

 

After lunch we stopped at a cute little candy shop and bought delicious desserts. 

We drove north and went to Westwood Shores Resort to visit Jay's aunt.  She works here and lives in Sturgeon Bay.  The place is gorgeous and next time I am up in Door County I will definitely be staying here.  The suites are huge and they have two pools and a spot on the lake with paddle boats to rent for free.  Each suite comes with two bedrooms, a family room, a kitchen, a bathroom with a jacuzzi, and a balcony with a table and chairs that looks out toward the lake. A beautiful place.

Looking out at the lake.

 the girls in front of the resort.

We went to Door Peninsula Winery and went on a winery tour and tasted a bunch of delicious wines made from fruit grown in Wisconsin.

 happily tasting wine.

 I think I was tasting a wine called sunset splash. Yum. Summer day in a bottle.

 One of the many wine racks.

We went to Egg Harbor, a town north of Sturgeon Bay, and walked around.  We shopped around at a bunch of the cute shops in Egg Harbor.  We are major dorks and bought matching sweatshirts. 

When we got home, we took a little nap after our exhausting day, then went to Chef Andy's Nautical Inn for a very nice dinner.  I ordered Pan-crusted Halibut.  So. Unbelievably. Delicious. I recommend this restaurant 100%.

We went swimming when we got home and then it was 11:30pm before we knew it and off to bed we went.   We woke up this morning, left straight away and here I am!  I have to work tonight and then tomorrow more family and birthday festivities!  

Annual family picnic tomorrow, then straight to Madeline's house. Madeline and I share the same birthday, so she is throwing a birthday party in honor of our awesomeness!  

Time to nap before my 12hr shift at work!

**************************************************************************

My Spring & Summer Fun To Do's

• DONE Go to the beach
• DONE Go to a museum
• DONE Seek out photo ops 
• DONE Go to Ireland (June 2-7)
• DONE Kentucky Derby party @ Mike and Shley's (May 1)
•  DONE Visit the Sears Tower (not Willis darnit!) Skydeck
• DONE Have a bonfire
• DONE Paint pottery
• DONE Lake Geneva trip with my favorite ladies (June 17-19)
• DONE Pride parade (June 27) 
• DONE Summerfest for the 4th of July in Milwaukee, WI
• DONE Go to a concert
• DONE Go to my cabin  (July 10/11 and Aug 7/8!!)
• DONE Play tennis
• DONE Go camping
• Go for a long (for me) bike ride
• Ride a roller coaster
• Hot air balloon ride
• Have a picnic
• Go to the zoo
• Volunteer
• Play bocce ball
• Gamble at a casino
• See a movie in grant park
• Go to a cubs game
• Pitchfork music fest (July 16-18)
• Chicago Jazz Fest (Sept 3-5)
  
• Paint with acrylics
• Oktoberfest Chicago (Sept 24-26)
  
• Sturgeon Bay, WI for my birthday with a few of my best ladies (July 21-23)
• Family Picnic (July 24)
• Possible South Carolina Trip (mid September)

My Toys' Story

I saw a "double feature" with Ashley M last Friday.  We were angered, appalled, confused, annoyed and downright flustered with the pricing of movies these days, especially when you intend on seeing a 3D movie... like TOY STORY 3 in 3D!

So, we decided after seeing Toy Story 3, we would sneak into Despicable Me and get our moneys worth...darn it! 

 After laughing and crying through Toy Story 3, we should have definitely seen Despicable Me prior to Toy Story 3, because Despicable Me was not that great in comparison.  Toy Story 3 was amazing and everyone should see it.

Anyway, I started to think about my toys from my childhood...

My favorites?

Legos

... I used to always build houses, that was it, always houses.

Teddy Ruxpin

... i loved reading with him. Now when I look at him though, SO creepy! Right?

Polly Pocket

I think this is almost the same as the one I used to own.

Barbies

What little girl didn't like Barbies at one point?

Ninja Turtles

My mom used to bribe me with Ninja Turtles haha. I was a really good dancer as a kid, in jazz, tap, gymnastics classes galore. I would never want to perform at family events, so my mom would bribe me. haha. I ended up with a lot of Ninja Turtle accessories.

Life the board game

Pillow Bear

... which I still have... in my room... in my closet.  :)  My Pillow Bear is like my "Woody".  I would take him everywhere.  We used to take a lot of roadtrips when I was a kid, because my parents didn't have money for cruises and European trips back then, so we traveled all over the U.S.  Along with me came my pillow bear.  I wish I could remember what name I used to call him.  He is so cute.  His nose is crooked because it fell off and my mom had to sew it back on, his flannel shirt has holes in it, his feet have stains all over them from me dragging him around. I love him.

I wonder what toys my mother has kept for me stored in her basement...

Live Mighty

Jason Mraz opening for Dave Matthews Band?! Yes, please!!

Since I was in seventh grade I have had a strong love for Dave Matthews Band. I had older cousins who were into them and influenced me into loving their music.  

My love grew in high school, especially when I went to more concerts, with the favorites being the ones attended at Alpine Valley.  

Then... in college I learned about this artist, Jason Mraz. A geeky, fun-loving, hippie, surfer from California.  He was a skinny, awkward dude in his early twenties. 

I saw one of his shows... 

 ...and from then on it has been love.

 

Jason Mraz has since grown into quite the attractive man... no longer awkward or geeky. Just pure sexy.

yum.

Whenever Jay wears this hat, people tell me he looks like Jason Mraz.  

I couldn't be happier to hear this.  

heck yes!

Jay and I also have this agreement, if I ever get invited back stage and Jason Mraz falls in love with me and wants to whisk me away to Bora Bora... Jay is not allowed to argue... it just has to be!

ANYWAY... September 18th... I am proud owner of 4 tickets to see Jason Mraz opening for Dave Matthews Band at Wrigley Field (Home of the Chicago Cubs).

Excitement is SEEPING out of my pores. I cannot concentrate. I cannot even fathom how much fun this day will be. There will be drinking and eating in Wrigleyville. There will be dancing in the streets. There will be dancing in the stands. There will be screaming when I hear both Jason and Dave's sexy voices. There will be lots of singing to all the songs I know the lyrics too... and there are plenty of them.  

Watch out neighbors in seats 8 and 13!

Sidenote: concert tickets are SO expensive these days!  Granted this is Jason AND Dave... and also the concert IS at Wrigley Field in Chicago... but... still... the cheapest tickets were $66 after all the fees and taxes!  (Most expensive were $100ish) Although I do have to say... I did see Jason Mraz for $10 two years ago, because he is awesome and knows students are poor. I am sure the venue makes the prices skyrocket.  

Either way I am game. I am there. I am pumped. I am amped. I am ecstatic. Can you tell?

and to end with the words of Jason Mraz...

Live High

Live Mighty

Live Righteously

kick in the butt.

I had a little freak out last week when I realized getting a Masters Degree is NOT easy. Well, duh, Rachelle.  I cried a little, stomped my feet a lot, and had a small temper tantrum.  I planned this ENTIRE summer before I even knew I got into school (I literally had every weekend day that I am not working booked from June through September).  So, now on top of working full time at the hospital and having every weekend booked with trips, parties, picnics, cabin trips, concerts, festivals, and shows to go to... I have to squeeze in getting my Masters Degree.  I might as well don a spandex suit and shiny patent leather boots and make everyone call me Wonder Woman, because I am going to need super powers to make it through this summer.  

Last week, my whole freak out moment started when I received a 30/50 grade on a quiz.  I think I really needed this to kick me in the butt and get me into shape. Well, get my brain into shape, that is.

I took this kick in the butt seriously and worked hard this past week (I even took "cabin" time to study at the library)... and I got a 50/50 on my last quiz! Go me! It made me realize that it IS possible to succeed, you just need to eliminate shopping days, city visits, and lazy days with friends in exchange for study time and quiet days at the library.  I think I'll be ok. It also helped to have motivational words from Jay and some of my friends... especially Shley.

Next week is my trip with the girls to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for my birthday.  The big quarter life birthday... 25 years old. Yikes!  I feel so old, but I know I am still so young. I won't reflect on my life in this post, but I feel I have to reflect on my life every year around my birthday.  Isn't that what birthdays are kind of for? To look back on the past and smile at the memories, assess where I am in the present, then make plans for the future? Well, birthdays are also for celebrating and just getting silly tipsy on wine with friends and family... which I plan to do in Sturgeon Bay. I'll do the serious reflecting next time.

Until my trip to Sturgeon Bay... my life will be... Study Study Work and Study.  
Off I go to... guess what? Study.

Cabin Fever

Every summer I bring a bunch of friends up to my cabin for a weekend. We eat too much, drink too much, but never have too much fun.  It is fantastic. 

• We ride around on our golf cart and laugh at silly things.
• We visit the "boat graveyard"... a place where residents store their boats (at night time it is pitch black and we drive through and try to scare each other)
• We swim at the pool and play "keep up" with the beach ball to see how long we can keep it up. 
• We eat too many burgers, hot dogs, and bags of chips.
• We drink too much beer.
• We inhale too much campfire smoke.
• We do not shower enough.
• We wear flip flops all weekend long.
• We do not check our cell phones as often as we do at home.
• We have no access to the internet.
• We watch no TV (sometimes we watch movies)

 ... its just a break from reality.

This cabin has been in my family for a very long time. When I was little it belonged to my parents' friends, eventually they sold the property to my parents and in the last couple years we got rid of the old cabin and a new one has replaced it.  There are 3 bedrooms, a loft, a kitchen, family room, and one bathroom. We have a big deck attached to it, a fire pit, a shed to house our golf cart. It is a very simple place, but we have lots of fun.

To help you understand the memories we form up there... pictures galore!

We ate Chicago Style hot dogs... topped with pickle, relish, onion, tomatoes, celery salt, pepper, mustard, NO ketchup! (missing a sesame seed bun). Delicious.

Jay very excited to eat his dogs.

We ate a lot of burgers as well.

Jay and me soaking up the sun.

  Some of my ladies that came up with me.

 Salsa made by Shley... needless to say we devoured this in 2.5 seconds.

We rode our golfcart around at 15mph... that's about how fast it can possibly go... pedal to the metal!

The girls enjoying our golf cart ride

e

Me and my love at the playground.

We met these random dudes... who were engraving rocks. They put my friends to work and told us they would give us a free engraved rock. We lost interest after awhile and were kind of creeped out (they were hilariously tipsy on Old Style)... so we ditched out before they gave us a free rock.

Love this place. It's on the Rock River and is always a great time. Had lunch here.

Enjoying our delicious lunch.

I purchased this ducky... At the end of the summer Fins sends all the duckies down the river and if your ducky makes it to the finish line first, you win something. It's for a good cause that helps fund a program that trains dogs for the blind.

The rain came to bother us just for a little while, but as you can see it did not bring down our cabin spirits!

We played a lot of games...

-Ladder ball (pictured on left)

-Bags (pictured on right)

-Whiffle ball

-Frisbee

-Soft ball

-Tennis

Softball @ the park

Tennis! We quit after 5 games, Jay was "winning" 3-2. 

Don't tell him I let him win. He gets so mad when he loses.

Jay enjoying ice cream...

We get very excited to go to the ice cream social... happens every Saturday of the summer. 

Some of the cute old ladies of the neighborhood serve ice cream (6 flavors only) 

35 cents a scoop or 3 for $1!

@ the tiny general store

We played with fire. I just love this picture. Harry was holding a stick with a beer box on the end of it, set it on fire and voila! This picture was created.

We set lots of cardboard on fire.

Having fun with Shley.

 

We take shots out of only these teacups from the 1970s.  

Whenever I actually have my own house and kitchen I plan on including these into my dinnerware.

 

All my friends insist on wearing head lamps.

Lauren and I won ladderball. We were extremely excited! 

Mostly because we aren't competitive at all and our opponents were moreso, so it was funny when we won.

Overall.... the cabin trip was great fun. We had lots of laughs, lots of fun, and ate and drank too much. I need a couple weeks to detox my body to makeup for all the ickiness I put into it.  So worth it though. I am happy with all the fun memories we made.

... and I got to cross a couple things off my To Do List! :)

My Spring & Summer Fun To Do's

• DONE Go to the beach
• DONE Go to a museum
• DONE Seek out photo ops 
• DONE Go to Ireland (June 2-7)
• DONE Kentucky Derby party @ Mike and Shley's (May 1)
•  DONE Visit the Sears Tower (not Willis darnit!) Skydeck
• DONE Have a bonfire
• DONE Paint pottery
• DONE Lake Geneva trip with my favorite ladies (June 17-19)
• DONE Pride parade (June 27) 
• DONE Summerfest for the 4th of July in Milwaukee, WI
• DONE Go to a concert
• Go for a long (for me) bike ride
• Go to my cabin  (July 10/11 and Aug 7/8!!)
• Ride a roller coaster
• Hot air balloon ride
• Have a picnic
• Go to the zoo
• Volunteer
• Play bocce ball
• Gamble at a casino
• See a movie in grant park
• Go to a cubs game
• Pitchfork music fest (July 16-18)
• Play tennis
• Go camping
• Chicago Jazz Fest (Sept 3-5)
  
• Paint with acrylics
• Oktoberfest Chicago (Sept 24-26)
  
• Sturgeon Bay, WI for my birthday with a few of my best ladies (July 21-23)
• Family Picnic (July 24)
• Possible South Carolina Trip (mid September)