Family Guy

Monica and I are going to see Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane tonight. He's going to do stand-up and will show never-before-seen clips from the show. He also does the voices for Stewie, Brian, Peter and Stan Smith. I laugh a lot at the show so I'm sure I'll laugh a lot tonight.

Update: Seth was great and I'm glad I got to see him and hear more about the show. He even showed us Sunday's show before it premiered which is cool. The worst part is that I've come down with some sort of illness. Sneezing, sore throat, runny nose, etc. Ironically enough, my boss also has the same thing. I guess that's what happens when you spend too much time with someone.

Work

My life in a nutshell. Way too many 10-12 hour days working lately and although the end is in sight, I'm still waiting for it to stop. Today we were filming on location and, at one point, I thought I was an extra in Deliverance. If you haven't already guessed, getting back to nature isn't quite my thing. But the best part of my job is always seeing the fruits of my labor - I can't wait!

Baby update

Cathy went to the doctor today and is already dilated 2 centimeters!

Two and a half weeks

My mom, sister and I at Cathy's church shower.
Cathy opening the pink baby sweater I bought for her.

Cathy only has two and a half weeks left until her due date. Her church family threw her a shower today after services and I was glad I could be a part of it. I've seen all the cute stuff. Now I just can't wait to see my cute baby niece.

Wilco

I saw Wilco last night. I think that makes it my third show and I was not disappointed. The thing that never ceases to amaze me is the band's energy and never have I seen them play just one encore; last night there were two and I've even seen three. Jeff said we were the most energetic crowd on this tour so far and that even included his hometown crowd. Read more about the show here.

Breanne and I before the show.

Cheese

I recently received two different cards from two different people with one similar theme. Sad or funny? I guess my friends know me very well.

My index card

On my bulletin board, above my desk, is an index card with Matthew 11:28-30 written on it. It's a good reminder for when life is a little too stressful. Not to sound alarming, but the card has gotten a lot of use lately and I'm glad it's there.

Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my load is light.

Lazy Day

Today was a lazy day. It didn't even occur to me until late in the day that I was still wearing my pajamas. I guess I hadn't had a reason to leave the house. After a day of cleaning, laundry, napping and telephone talking, I finally took a bath and changed out of my pajamas at 7:30 p.m. I can't remember the last time I spent the whole day in pjs.

Jonesing for a come back?

About a week or so ago, Monica professed her love for the fanny pack to me. She said she had a purple one growing up and wishes it would come back in style. Of course, over the weekend, she pointed out every fanny pack in sight. You know all the phases and styles we went through while growing up (tight rolled jeans, acid wash, parachute pants, high bangs, etc); is there anything you'd like to see come back in style?

Flirty Thirty

Without a doubt, I have had the trip of a lifetime and the best birthday ever. I had such an amazing time with my girlfriends and it was so great for everyone to get to know each other, too. Plus, Carrie and I realized it had been five years since we've seen each other - crazy!

First things first. Monica and I arrive around 9:30 am on Sunday and met Kate at the aiport. Carrie soon met us for lunch at the Paris, where we stayed. We decided to walk the strip before heading to The Palms where the 2007 Video Music Awards were being held. We had the place staked out for the red carpet but were quickly disappointed to find out that the red carpet festivities were being held inside for media-only and that the only view we'd get were celebrities being dropped off at the front door in limos with the hotel being blocked off from view on the inside. Out of all my years of red carpet-watching, I found this to be very disappointing. Most award shows have red carpets outside and bleachers for the general public. Boo MTV. Boo. And what happened to regular festivities from past MTV awards shows such as bands playing live outside? We did catch a few celebrities who were kind enough to roll down their windows and wave. Most stayed inside their vehicles and away from fans - boo again. We saw Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, Paris Hilton, Rosario Dawson and a couple others that I really had no clue about...this is where it's obvious that I'm 30 now and not 15.

Sunday night we had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio at The Venetian. We spent the rest of the evening walking the strip, touring the hotels and then saw the water show at the Bellagio - so amazing - before retiring to our casino for nickel slots. I am proud to say that I walked away from my trip only $15 poorer due to gambling.

Monday (my birthday!) we went to the Stratosphere Tower for sightseeing and then had lunch at the Hilton's Star Trek Experience restaurant, Quarks Bar & Grill. Yeah, we pretended to be trekkies. It was so much fun and who wouldn't want to share a ginormous green drink containing dry ice? We toured more hotels on the strip and finally made our way to dinner reservations at Daniel Boulud Brassiere at The Wynn overlooking the Lake of Dreams. This was the best dinner of my life. Really, really cool light and music show during our dinner and awesome food - thank you, Carrie! Our last outing for the night was to the Mirage where we saw The Beatles (Cirque du Soleil) Love Show. Fantastic!! I now want to go see every Cirque du Soleil show possible and have been singing Beatles tunes since Monday night.

Monday, Kate left early to catch a flight home and Monica, Carrie and I had brunch at our hotel before leaving for the airport ourselves. After staying up until 2-2:30 a.m., 4-4:30 a.m. central time, two nights in a row, I was ready to get into my own bed at a decent hour last night but so loved this trip! Thank you Carrie, Kate and Monica for making it so fabulous and special.

Kate, me and Monica at the fountain outside our hotel.

The Eiffel Tower replica at our hotel.

We patiently waited for celebrities to arrive to the MTV VMAs but were quickly disappointed at our obstructed view.

Rosario Dawson was one of the few stars to arrive and acknowledge all the fans waiting outside. She even stopped and took pictures of everyone. And say what you like about Paris Hilton but she was one of the few to wave and acknowledge the crowd. (When I saw Paris my face lit up like a child on Christmas morning, her appearance made my day.)For kicks we had lunch at the Star Trek Experience restuarant, Quarks which is located at The Las Vegas Hilton, home to the official Star Trek convention! Kate liked this green dude so much she kissed him. You think you're tough? This guy has nothing on me...hey, wait, doesn't he kind of look like a mean Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? (Sorry, if there are any Star Trek fans reading this...don't hate on me. I really am just clueless.)
Me posing with the blue dude. I hear he's from season one.
Monica and the green guy.
Our drink. Also our reason for coming to the restaurant. It's not your birthday unless your drinking a green concoction with dry ice.

Lake of Dreams at The Wynn...seriously the COOLEST thing ever. This was our view for dinner and when the sun set there was a light and music show projected over the waterfall.
Monica and I at the Venetian.
Kate, me and Carrie at the Venetian.
Carrie, Monica, me and Kate at the Stratosphere.
Kate, Monica, me and Carrie on the observatory deck at the Stratosphere. I like amusement parks and roller coasters but there are CRAZY rides up here. At more than 800 feet, I say "no thank you."

Carrie and I posing at dinner at The Wynn.
Birthday dessert complete with a candle and message!
Monica and Kate at dinner at The Wynn.

Viva Las Vegas

I'm single and turning 30. What's a girl to do? Go to Las Vegas and celebrate with girlfriends, of course! Yup, I'm all set to go to Vegas and I can't wait. Even though I'm not a gambler (maybe I'll play some slot machines here or there), I can't wait to see the sights and enjoy a show or two. On the guest list is: Monica, my sidekick from Columbia; Carrie, my longtime friend from high school whom I haven't seen in years and now lives in Virginia; and Kate, my gal pal from Texas (also a former Columbian)! I can't wait for us to all meet up in the city that doesn't sleep. Did I mention that we'll be there during the MTV Music Video Awards? Tickets are literally going for thousands of dollars so we won't be at the show but I can guarantee we'll have so much fun celebrity watching.

Set your tivo

Set your tivo. America's favorite train wreck is performing at the VMAs. True story, I had a dream the night before last that while in Vegas (more on that later) Britney was trying to hang out with my friends and I. We kept trying to ditch her to no avail. Turns out she ended up performing and opening the show in a denim shirt, nothing else. Now, we'll know in just a matter of days if I'm psychic or not.

Lucky girl

I'm a truly lucky girl. Meagan organized a birthday soiree for me last night with some of my gal pals. We had a really great time at dinner and then chatting over coffee. Thanks again, girls. I'm very blessed and lucky to have you.

Left to right: Meagan, Rachel, Monica, Meggan, Breanne and me.

Not pictured at dinner but present for coffee and dish: Taina.

Monica doing her disaster-date impersonation. It was just too funny not to capture for the entire world to see.

Labor Day recap

I had a very busy weekend in Chicago with Joe; time well spent. We had quite a few activities...started out with a movie, Nanny Diaries. Saturday we took the train to Shedd Aquarium. I've never been before and we stopped first to have a picnic lunch in Grant Park. Not really a picnic but Joe made some sandwiches that we ate on a park bench. Then we went to the aquarium. Super busy...a line just to get in and a line to see everything inside. (Lesson learned to try and do that stuff during the week but I still enjoyed it very much.) The penguins and the sea otters were probably my favorite. Sunday we went to see The King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters. EXCELLENT. Go see this documentary. Then we made it to Table Fifty-Two. This is Oprah's former chef, Art Smith's new place. It's a quaint little boutique restaurant and Joe was just barely able to get reservations for us. It was booked solid for the weekend but as luck would have it, someone cancelled and we got in. Hurray! Mr. Smith came by our table several times to check in on us and everything was awesome. Not that I've been to many Chicago eateries but I think this could easily pass as my favorite; I'm hoping to visit again. We also made time to watch a couple of DVDs. We were on the go quite a bit this weekend but it was a great prelude to my birthday.

P.S. I think my back is back on the mend. I've been virtually pain-free for a couple days now. :-)