A winter storm and a sun dress

I enjoyed a wonderful shower last weekend. Although it was snowing and crazy freezing outside, we were all in island mode inside. Dresses, decorations, food and all.

It's unfortunate that 4 cars got caught in the snow. Good thing the boys were next door. Here are some highlights -

Opening some gifts with my baby - don't think we won't be wearing our awesome new hats when I meet him at the airport......

Ahhh, yes. Dress the Bride. My mom was, for sure, the most inventive. Tissues in the bra to boosts those boobs. Thanks, mom. :-)

Fun time.....

There was lots of talking and getting to know new friends and family members.

But, most importantly, I was wearing the beautiful jewelry that my nephew, Tyler, made for me to wear at the shower. Thank you Ty. The bracelet and ring were a perfect match for my outfit. Well done!

OK, I lied.

I am starting to get stressed out.

My Bad.

Yeah, sorry about that. Been awhile. I suppose 1) i heart facebook 2) i never know quite what to say on here 3) i like reading about other people rather than me

Nonetheless, here are things I have been doing lately -

snuggling with my baby, like, all the time
choosing what dresses to wear to my wedding showers
listening to the Amelie soundtrack
having nightmares about hurricanes in Cayman....whoops, came true last week
ecstatically watching Bama kick ass in football.....
ecstatically watching certain family members drink a lot while watching Bama kick ass in football
going for the world record of how many times a person can watch each Family Guy episode
ignoring all those things that should make me stressed out right now (survival is key)

I am truly excited about the wedding and so grateful that God has blessed me with the opportunity and challenge which is marriage. Tomorrow will be 50 days until the big day and next Monday is Scott and I's one year anniversary for when we met in person. If you didn't know, we met on-line. I knew I was going to marry him before we met. He said one thing to me on the phone - "I almost pooped my pants." Yup, that did it. How to win Christina 101. We are both very into celebrating anniversaries. We have lots of them. We have one year of meeting, one year of meeting on-line, one year of all of our first 10 dates.....and on and on. We have a lot to celebrate. We met in a way we never expected. God made it happen for sure.

I gotta go - I am surfing facebook, listening to the Amelie soundtrack and watching a muted Family Guy on tv.

I said YES!

Since my baby is so great at blogging (way better than me!) - go to his blog to hear the whole story -

tieftoener.blogspot.com

Love you all!
Christina

Tyler and his first Hole In One!

Congrats Ty!

Gustav's gift

A very sad excuse for a beach (see the ladder we climb down to dive?)


One poor, dead Palm Tree.

Scuba diving pool furniture

The lovely family front door and house, undamaged.

Thank you Jesus.

Back Streets Back....alright!

Yes, I finally once again ran free in my child love of boy bands, screams from mere glances of them and the ecstasy of watching finely choreographed dancing on stage. My memories of NKOTB concerts with my sister and stretching out my arm to get one touch of Jordan's hand come racing to my mind.

But this time, it included alcohol.

Did you know that screaming girls (and I mean, SCREAMING girls) come in at 108 decibels? Ravinia is only allowed to play up to 98 but in order for the sold out (23,000) crowd to actually hear the heavenly voices of this boy band, we had to break the rules. This night consisted of two types of people - 1. those girls who made t-shirts so that they could walk around the park together and collectively show their undying love for BSB and 2. those who laughed at them.

I was in #2 at the beginning and then I slowly but surely moved to the #1 group. In the course of the evening, I kept drinking (duh) and then I headed into the pavilion to actually watch the show from the best box in the house. (I would tell you how I got them but then I would have to kill you.) Along with some friends, we stood there in the box, surrounded by screaming teenagers from the North Shore, and were mesmerized. I told Scott I would be back out to the lawn right away and that time came when the show ended. Yes, I know.....how does this happen to a classically trained musician?

Answer: Alcohol and the desire to lose 10% of my hearing. (the latter was caused by the former).

Disclaimer: No personal injury was caused during this evening. Christina had full composure of herself. She was just excited, while writing this blog, to have alcohol at a boy band concert and laugh at people who didn't.

5 weeks ago.....

....was my last blog. How sad is that? This summer has been full of work and some stresses......but I am making it through! Only three weeks to go until my major events for this season are over!



Miles (my sister's son) had to have his kidney removed almost 11 days ago. The surgery went well but the little man's body was a bit unhappy for awhile and we had some very emotional days there. Thank the Lord, he is back home and back to his normal happy self. We were all so happy to see his smile again. It had been too long!

Additionally, my brother in law (Mike) has decided to join the Chicago Children's Memorial marathon team, in thanks for all they did for Miles. He was planning and training to run it already, but now it is for a great cause as well - see what he wrote below and any suuport is greatly appreciated!



So I signed up over the weekend to run for CMH and have pledged to raise at least $600. If you are interested, the easiest way to make a donation (tax-deductible and 100% will go to CMH) is through my page at their website:

http://www.childrensmemorial.org/marathon/sponsors/
runnerDiary.asp?runnerID=1466

Otherwise there is a printable form at the site for mailing checks.



Otherwise, just trying to sell my condo - anyone want a condo in Palatine?? - and looking at houses! All a bit crazy!

In the mood for a laugh? Anyone?

When at home....

......find fun things to do.

I can scroll through Music Choice (lots and lots of music videos from Comcast) for hours
I can try to choose a wine to drink (tonight was a Samford Pinot Noir)
I can clean way too much
Read BBC Music mag and learn all the new things that Oprah loves
Sleeping (happens to be a fav of mine)

I think my neighbors across the way are afraid of me. I used to sit in my kitchen (lights on, no blinds) and talk on the phone at night. I used to be able to see through their kitchen too. Not so much anymore. They covered up. I must be scary. Atleast I can walk around in my shirt and undies and not have to worry about it anymore. :-0

By the way, I was woken up this morning by a loud Sears truck cleaning my neighbors carpets. OK, so who cleans carpets at 7 am? and did I try to block the noise making machine by driving over the chord and sitting the car on it. Yes, yes I did.

My Summer Home

My baby is so great to come and see me at work. I mean, this time of year, it is where I live.

Miles the farm singer

For your own good and for your enjoyment, please visit my bro-in-law's website to see some serious musical skillzzzz from the nephew.......

The June 11 blog -
http://mikeandandi.blogspot.com/

And for you Quick family members out there, Scott gets a good beating from the child at the end. Stay tuned.

No, I didn't just do that

Oh, but I did. I was awake....all night last night.

It was my bedroom fan's fault. It was the first time I turned it on for a whole night and I was nervous that some electrical fuse was going to spark a fire in my attic. Not only would that harm me but it would also harm the poor little creature living up there that I hear scamper around each morning. Poor thing.

Yes, those are the things I lie awake and watch a fan go around and around for.

Don't they have pills to help that? :-)

Cayman Hooray!

This is my favorite picture from the trip. The end.

I am on hiatus....

Hello friends and loved ones. I am on a week-long hiatus in Grand Cayman.

Three things to know about Cayman -
Time on a computer takes time away from beer and the beach
Any physical effort whatsoever (including typing) is too much for me this week
It's time to focus on important things....like my tan, sleeping and my tan

This is also the first trip for the boyfriend. I shall enjoy indoctrinating him into the Cayman way.

Have a great week y'all!

This week.......shall end, I say.

So, yeah......I am going to Cayman on Sunday. Not much else I am thinking about this week. I am pretty void of anything other than getting lots of things done at work and drooling over this picture.

Mom - please don't read this post.

For the rest of you that are still with me....



I lost my motorcycle virginity today. It was great. Yes, mother (I knew you would keep reading), we went really fast on the ole' hills of Wisconsin.


I'm working on my biker chic look. I'm a biker chic girlfriend. It's great.


In an effort to expand our musical lives, we also made it a classical music weekend with the Berlioz Requiem on Friday in Wheaton at Edman Chapel.....


(we lovingly call it the Blue Box.....great piece!)

....followed by Holst's "The Planets" on Saturday night by the Milwaukee Symphony. I was really struck by this composition and just really liked it. It is one of Scott's top pieces.

So, to summarize, we drove on a hot motorcycle in hick WI, listened to world-class music compositions and got in a lot of trouble with my mom. (that will come later).

This is what happens at work when it is your birthday.

Trying to get some work done is a bit difficult.



Plus, I got yummy food. And it was chocolate yummy food. MMMMM.

My Birthday Surprise....and what not

Another wonderful weekend has ensued. My amazing love got us tickets to see Sara Groves on Saturday night in Wisconsin. It was a surprise...atleast it was supposed to be. I "accidentally" figured it out. Between being told to keep that time open for a birthday surprise and being on her email list which includes concert dates that I always check....yeah, it was just waiting to be found out. But, I told Scott that I was able to be excited for even more time because I knew! The concert was incredible, as always. God always blesses me with her music and her stories. I feel like each of her CD releases speak to me at that point that I am at in life. Plus, enjoying it with Scott just made it even better.......

Another amazing point of the weekend was spending some time with Scott's sis and her ministry partner. I picked them up at O'Hare on Friday night. They arrived back home from their three-month tour of Africa. They have some amazing stories and work that God is doing on that continent!

Proof that it is spring in Chicago - people are outside - including my adorable niece and nephew, Ty and Tori.


I had so much fun teaching him how to drive this car on Christmas morning in 2006.....gosh, was it that long ago? He is a pro already! Now, he can teach Tori to drive before she even walks.....

Happy Birthday Momma! I love you!

Nana celebrated her birthday with An and Miles at the Ritz in Cayman.


Must be nice.

Oh, for joy.

I start tanning today for Cayman.
I think it might actually be spring.
I am going out for lunch today for the first time in weeks.
I discovered Propel vitamin enhancer for my water. yummy and good for me.
I am going to Cayman in one month. (did I mention that already?)
I love my boyfriend.
I turn 26 in about two weeks. I am actually OK with that. Ask me again in 4 years.
I will be eating a Dairy Queen cake in two weeks (hint hint). chocolate.
mmmmmm.

The Couch That Wouldn't Go Away

So, I used to babysit for this amazing family during college. They gave me this great couch to call my own during my junior year. Tara and Adam Bams and my poor dad slaved to get that thing in and out of what I can only call the stairway of Hell in our dorm to our third floor room. Once there, it saw many happy times and then moved along to our lovely house for our senior year.

Sadly, the couch lived in my parent's garage while I was enjoying sunny Florida but it happily greeted me on its way back to Chicagoland. The poor thing endured cuts and rips and eventually had to be covered with a lovely couch wrap (see picture) but you can still see the lovely flowers popping out at the bottom. So, last summer, I bought a new love seat and couch and retired the lovely old one. It stayed in my garage until I realized...hey, its snowing and I want my garage back. I called Salvation Army to take it and an old table of mine. After setting them out to be picked up, I came home to see a lone couch still sitting in my driveway with a note that said "couch is not in good condition." So, funny person that I am, it took me until 2 weeks ago to put it out for the garbage man. I felt bad for the garbage man and didn't want him to have to deal with a large couch but it was my only choice and I needed my garage back. I was sick of scrapping snow off of the car.

Thank you garbage man for taking my couch. May it rest in peace.

Happy Birthday Chunk O' Love!

Just some cute pics.....and a winter weather advisory

Me and my man dancing at a co-workers wedding.
Scott apparently does not think he is a good dancer but I would like to argue that point.


This is our table at the wedding. It was a really beautiful reception!

In other news, today is the first day of spring. When I saw that on my calendar today, I laughed. Chicago is in for 4-6 inches of snow tonight. Granted, at this moment, the sun is out and the weather is beautiful....I even have an afternoon walk planned with my friend from work. Don't get too excited about spring people....remember what I said about the Center for Climate Control people?.....I suppose they were right. Bummer.

Happy Easter friends. May the death and resurrection of our Lord reside in your hearts not only this weekend but always.

I heart Sushi.....and my Boyfriend

So, to celebrate our anniversary, Scott called and was randomly like....there's this sushi place. Let's go. My sister/bro-in-law and myself had already subjected the poor thing to Pho
(by the way, that pic is really gross and does not depict what I eat). He has gotten me hooked on brats (yum! He cooks them in beer.......wow, so good).

Anyhow, now he wanted me to subject him to another odd type of eating. I admit - the first time I ate it, I was forced b/c it was all we were being offered at a free meal in So Cal. Now, I can't get enough of it. I felt very inept at trying to explain to Scott the in's and out's of sushi but he seemed to like it. He wanted us to be able to enjoy it together......sooooo wonderful he is.

I think the funniest thing was him watching me use my chop sticks. I could see his engineer-brain turning. Here you go baby!
(even though I don't really do it right....hey, works for me)

He also brought me some beautiful flowers along with skittles!!!! I did not forget to bring them to work with me today......:-) so I can eat them......probably all of them.......

Yummy.

Farts.....

I was privelaged to spend an evening with just me and the sis and baby Miles. While the momma went to enhance her skin for Cayman, I gave Miles his bath and got the cute thing ready for bed.

So, he is crawling all over the baby bathtub having a great time, when he gets on all fours, looks down at the water and farts. Without skipping a beat, Miles busted out laughing this huge belly laugh that shook his entire body. That moment would have won AFV in a second.

Not even out of infant stage, this baby boy is already laughing at farts. While An and I were falling asleep, I mentioned this to her....apparently, about a week ago, the little man started laughing every time he farts....and even when someone else farts (Andrea tested that theory.......). As An said, like father, like son. Congratulations Mike....its a son.

Who farted?

We made it!....well, almost.

I believe I heard joyous cries throughout Chicago yesterday when we all woke up to March. That does not mean we are without snow. It just means dreary February is behind us and the light is within view....especially with the spring forward next weekend. The Department of Climate Contol (not sure what they think they have control over??).....said that we should expect another big snow storm in March and, as is every spring, we will get snow in April. It's inevitable.


Cue my happy Florida life thoughts. They tend to come out this time of year. Running in my local park in February and rarely needing a coat. Oh, my. Even Tallahassee looks like paradise this time of year.

See? Case in Point. Sleeveless at Christmas. (and a tan....)

NOW, we move to June in Chicago.....and I need a blanket and sweater.

(no tan)

I make my point.

My how the days fly.....

I am not quite sure how it is already February 22. I suppose when one works two jobs (effectively), is a choir bit*h for two groups and has a great boyfriend who I wanna spend every minute possible with....well, then time can move along.


I needed a light at the end of the "two jobs" tunnel (boss is on maternity leave) so I have scheduled my first spring trip since I have become what many think is an adult...that means one has a full-time job and responsibilities and stuff. I might argue that point. Nonetheless, I am off to Cayman with my parents and Scotty Hotty the first week of May. It is a VERY bright end to the tunnel and I am already gazing forward at it.

I had a really funny dream last night about my pretty calm nephew, Miles. He is a quiet lad who will randomly and quickly burst out into fits of laughter. It is the funniest thing I have seen him do as of late. Well, I dreamed last night that we were all sitting at the table eating and he got up out of his chair (he doesn't even walk yet) and started running around the table, laughing hysterically. He even had this crazy look in his eyes. I called my sister and as Miles pounded on their home piano and laughed, she asked him what he thought. He didn't say much but he did laugh.


I wouldn't do anything like that Aunt Tina.

He's so cute....

Happy Anniversary baby! I love you!

In other news, my sister-in-law was unhappy with my wrong apostrophe usage in the title and I changed it!!! Hope you can rest each time you visit the blog now! :-)

Happy Sunday friends.

You! Call 911! You! Get the AED!

This is me preparing the defibrillator pads to shock the victim. It's all so technical.
This is saving a life in action.

My co-worker thought it would be funny to take pics of my CPR "demonstration" and email them to my staff friends. We were all required to do this....which is great. The rules for CPR have pretty much totally changed since I was last certified....which I believe was in my "Safe Babysitters" course at the hospital when I was 12. I got a bag full of cool stuff and everything. I saw that my sister had one and I wanted one. So, I took the class. I felt so great about myself when I would walk into a house as a babysitter with my Safe Babysitter course bag. They knew I took watching their children seriously.

Tonight, I am going to see my former voice teacher sing. I am very excited. When I heard him sing in the St. Matthew Passion (my sister was in the chorus), I turned to my mom and told her that he was going to be my voice teacher. During my senior year, he told me that he was worried about what he had gotten himself into with me when he drove a group of us to a competition a few hours away and I talked the whole way....at like 6 in the morning. I think I won him over in the end.

Happy Weekend to you all.

He Misses Me!

When we first started dating, I took a trip to Cayman. Scott sent me a wonderful message from his snowy porch while I was in 80 degree weather. Last night, he sent me another one! I miss you so much baby!

Speaking of snowy porches, I stayed home today. Good thing since everyone in Chicago could kind of slide into work today but are all pretty much snowed in. And it's still coming down.

I think Ann (she stayed home too - tried to drive out and kind of slid back) and I might brave the streets for some Cold Stone down the way. We have our priorities right.

***Important Update - Cold Stone is a n0-go. It is closed!!

Narnia anyone?

I feel like I am living in Narnia. The snow won't stop coming and my nose won't stop running.

Yeah, Chicago. Not sure if I am gonna make that meeting in the morning. However, despite my ability to sleep in tomorrow, Mr. "wake up the neighborhood" Plow Man will most certainly arrive around 6 am......

THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST WEDNESDAY.

A STORM SYSTEM ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL LIFT NORTHEAST INTO THE REGION TONIGHT. A MIX OF SLEET AND SNOW WILL CHANGE OVER TO SNOW THIS EVENING...AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES... WITH THE SNOW CONTINUING INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF A FOOT OR MORE ARE POSSIBLE BY EARLY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE GREATER AMOUNTS CLOSER TO THE ILLINOIS WISCONSIN BORDER ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS INCLUDING THE ROCKFORD AREA EXTENDING EAST TO THE NORTHERN SUBURBS OF CHICAGO. THE MORNING COMMUTE WILL BE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS DUE TO THE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW.

The Candidate Calculator

http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

This site is pretty interesting - based on a few core issues, it will tell you which 2008 presidential candidate you match best with.

My Number one was Mike Huckabee with a close second for Barack Obama.

How did that happen?

To be honest, Huckabee does have the best arts-based policies (actually, he has the only arts-based policies) of all the candidates. That makes me happy. Yes, I am biased. No, I have not yet chosen my 2008 candidate. Let's see how the primaries square themselves away.

Although, I do have to admit that rather then watch the Republican debate Wednesday night, I watched "The Cutting Edge."

The Boyfriend and the Best Friend

The boyfriend and best friend have met. I hear things went well.

I was bummed to not be there and to not taste the amazing burger, fries and shake (chocolate, of course) from In N' Out that so often accompany my trips to Phoenix with the Bam's.

So glad you guys met. Thanks for getting together! It means a lot to me!

Looks like Shea was getting pretty upset at the thought of Scott leaving. I know how you feel girl.

My life dream has come true

New Kids on the Block to reunite?

The hugely successful American boy band New Kids on the Block is reportedly preparing to reunite after 14 years.

According to People magazine, the members of the group, who broke up in 1994, are ditching their respective professions to make a comeback in the music industry.

New Kids On The Block sold more than 70 million albums worldwide during their 10 years together from 1984 to 1994, reports the Sun.

The members consisted of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.

The group went on to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in concert revenues.

I still remember what it felt like as a child to touch Donnie's hand after one of the concerts I saw. One Christmas, NKOTB was a theme from Santa - I got a Joey doll, NKOTB puzzle and pajamas. Plus, the whole back side of my closet door was covered in their pictures.

I actually did see Jordan Knight sing a bit at a bar in Tallahassee. I kind of went to actually see if the sign on the street was true. Tallahassee. Crummy bar. No wonder they want to reunite. Seems they have no other jobs to leave.

Go for it NKOTB. Hang n' Tough.

It's because I talk alot.

I got a new phone today and a new phone company. Apparently, I talk and text to people who are not in my network. That's not a good thing.....seeing as I talk alot. As I am sure you all know.

I was determined to find the best phone for me. It had to fit my personality, my needs and my finger tips. Introducing the Pantech Duo. I fell in love with it before I even found out that it slides in TWO directions. At that point, there was no turning back. I was sick of hauling around a big fat Treo. I found my mini-phone. It was love at first touch. It also proudly (and loudly - still learning the volume issues) plays "Melt with You" by Modern English each time one of you wonderful people call me.

I thought the "World Clock" screen would be really cool but all it displayed was three clocks, all of which were labeled New York and were on the same time. I didn't really know how to explain that one.

I am thinking about naming it. We'll see what comes to mind.

Blogging is what happens when you get internet at home.

Bama The Dog. Tori the Hungry.

An explanation of sorts

YASA is a shortened phrase for my boyfriend to use so that he doesn't have to say "You are so adorable" 50 times a day. B/c, well, he thinks I am adorable. hehe.

When he says it, it sometimes makes me think of Yanni. He likes Yanni. A lot. And I think in a sort of evil way, he nicknamed me something that has a liking to Yanni.

So, today I have continued my quest to finish all the Edy and Haagen Daz samples that my rep brought to me this week. I have widdled it down to a drumstick, chocolate popsicle, Butterscotch bar, caramel ice cream (ewww) and Dibs. I stealthily walk back to the kitchen freezer, bend down, grab the plastic bag from the freezer and snatch the fattening product and hastily place it in a hidden location (usually my armpit). Then, Liv and me (my assistant) eat it. If only I had the same determination to finish all the wine my wine sponsor gives to me.

I just received word from Liv that the presence of ice cream in the freezer was discovered and it is officially gone. My thighs thank you.