Looking Forward

I made a pact with myself that I was going to be more positive in 2009... and while I think I've done well in some areas, there is always room for improvement. Bev and I talk a lot about trying to stay positive and part of her take on it is evidenced in her blog where she keeps tabs on her blessings, listing out the things and people in her life she is thankful for. For me, looking forward to things always makes it easier to stay positive, not to mention helps make this awful dreaded Chicago winter a teeny bit more bearable.

One thing that always makes everything more bearable... Dan. Check out the adorable heart shaped pancakes he surprised me with for Valentine's Day breakfast!


And here's us in our kitchen (I love love love my kitchen) later that night after a day out downtown. Crystal jokingly captioned this "romantic". :)


Here's some fun I am happily looking forward to in the coming weeks -

Valentine's Day has come and gone... which means that Forest Park St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner! In fact, it's just 2 short weeks away, and I am (obviously) very excited about it. We're hosting breakfast at the house with a little pre-gaming before the parade, and we found out a couple weeks ago that Dan's brother and sister in law will be in town with BABY MICHAEL!!! I can't wait to meet him. Seriously, look how adorable he is -


Hopefully he will like the house more than little Aiden, who usually screams for the first 15 minutes he's there, and then gazes around happily for the rest of his visit.

And speaking of babies, we're babysitting for Kadence on Saturday, another excitement to look forward to! Also this weekend is my friend Mike's wedding. He was a close friend at Triton and thankfully we've kept in touch. His wedding is on Friday, which was a good excuse for a day off of work, although I'm fairly busy this week so Thursday is bound to be a bit crazy before my long weekend.

I'm going to dinner with Bev tomorrow night, who I don't see nearly enough lately! I'm hoping that once it gets a little warmer out I can finally motivate myself to learn a lesson from her and start exercising.

One "lesson" I have learned lately is that I miss having some sort of creative outlet and am so content and happy when I take the time to sit down and create. I've always been more of a designer than an artist - I'd rather a computer than a pencil and sketch pad any day, but thanks to a great Christmas gift from Dan and a little splurging on a gift card at the Paper Source, I've started up a new little hobby that I'm really enjoying! Dan got me a heat embosser for Christmas, which is used with rubber stamps, high-pigment ink pads, and embossing powder to create a neat raised final effect. I made a couple of cards over the weekend and am hoping to get better at things like sending thank you notes now that I can personalize them!

Two of these Color Box color wheels are the latest addition to my hobby materials. Considering one ink pad costs around $6 and these come with 8 colors each for around $15, I definitely think this is the better bet. Also, thanks to the individual petals sliding out with a nifty little grip on the bottom, two-toned and multi-colored stamping is a cinch.



One last excitement from the weekend is our new toaster oven from my gramma. I have decided that I am officially domestic if I am this thrilled about a small kitchen appliance. Either that or I am just craving a PB&J straight out of the toaster oven, an amazing take on the simple sandwich that a friend at my old job got me hooked on. I raised my eyebrows at her the first few times I saw her stick her open sandwich in the toaster, until one day she came to work with an extra sandwich which she demanded was for me. I was hooked! :)