Happy Birthday Chuki Bear!

Chuki is 1 years old today! We've got lots of fun things planned for him and, of course, lots of fun meals! We've already had pancakes and eggs for breakfast and now we're heading to the dog park. His birthday cake is in the oven and we're going to grill out this afternoon, so that he can play in the yard at our apartment building.

MULUB,

Coming home from the breeder!

Curled up on a pillow

Enjoying the parc

Waiting patiently for someone to play with him

Celebrating his first Christmas

Finally home from Sebas's

Chicago, oh how I love you!

I spent 2 full days in Chicago visiting friends and they were amazing! Here's a run down...

Day 1 - 
Dear friend Brad (Good luck on the move Brad!) drove me from Rockford to Elgin, so I could hop the train.
Met Hannah at Union, had coffee in a red cup at Starbucks and did some shopping on State St.
Surpirse visit from Jess at Forever 21 and went back to Hannah and Sarah's new apartment.

Made lunch and spent time watching Top Chef (God, I miss Bravo) and catching up on a years worth of news, drama and love!
Went to Doug's for drinks and a very lovely cheese tray.

Went to Quartino's with some of the most amazing girls women and man I've ever met and am so happy to call my friends.

Spent the evening talking, laughing, drinking wine and eating delicious food!

Day 2 - 
Ryan came into the city and we went back down to State St to do some more shopping.

Went to Lincoln Square for lunch at Garcias (mmm Tecate!).

Walked around Andersonville and popped into all of our/my favorite stores!
Bought Chuki a lot of presents.
Went out to dinner with Brian and Hannah for yummy BYOB Thai at Kitchenette!

Came back to Hannah's apartment and stayed up chatting in Hannah's room until I fell asleep sitting up.

Day 3 -
Friday morning Ryan and I got up early and said good bye to Hannah.

Then we had breakfast at M Henry (no breakfast pudding though, only on the weekends). Drove to Arlington Heights for a quick trip to Trader Joe's, PetSmart and the American Cancer Society office to say hello to my lovelies. Then back to Rockford to leave for Florida.

The best part of Chicago: seeing my amazing fun, caring and incredibly talented and successful friends. Those two days with them really sealed the deal about coming back in May. I can't wait to have more time to actually spend time together, instead of just catching up! Love you all, whether we talk every day, once a week or only when we see each other. Thanks for being fabulous!

MULUB,
Taylor

Cruisero

While home, before Universal and Disney, we went on a cruise. It was amazingly uneventful and very, very relaxing. Which is exactly what we needed after 10 days of pure madness in IL! This is what we did everyday

1. Wake Up
2. Breakfast
3. Lay Out
4. Lunch
5. Lay Out
6. Shower
7. Dinner
8. Sing
9. Bed
10. Repeat

There were two highlights for me...
1. Having Ryan be able to be apart of this very Bogdan Family Tradition. Being on a cruise is what I know for Christmas. We've done it so long that it feels unnatural to be in IL for Christmas. It was great to have Ryan be able to experience that and all of the excitement that my family attaches to it. To put it in perspective of just how big of a deal this family cruise is to my family... we've already booked and started talking about next years!

2. It was really nice to have 5 people on the cruise instead of just 4. That's really for the whole vacation part of the trip, but I especially noticed it on the cruise. When it's just the 4 of us my mom and I spend all of the time together, Elliott spends time with his new friends and Dad spends time relaxing. But when there were 5 of us, sometimes Ryan and I would hang out, sometimes Ryan and Elliott would hang out, sometimes mom and dad would sit together, sometimes mom and I would sit together... there are just a lot more options of mixing things up with 5 than with 4. Plus I really enjoyed seeing Elliott and Ryan get a long so well...

Dad giving Ryan and Elliott a poker tutorial!

The three kids at dinner!

Elliott's serious about his food

Oh the food... look at that lobster!

On our way to the Piano Bar... notice the kit kat pocket square!

Winning our Ship on a Stick in the Piano Bar!

The 5 of us at the beach... notice mom's flamingo stance!

The three men again

Ryan eating 14 oz of beef! Probably more than he's eaten the whole year in Ecuador!

So... that's about it. Not much to report on the cruise front. We don't do excursions, we just find a beach, play in the water, eat deliciously amazingly fresh seafood and drink fruity drinks! Which for me, is the closest thing to heaven as you can get! Can't wait till next year on the Allure of the Seas with so many fun people (my family, Ginny and Paul and the Pianos)... holy cow!

Florida

I'll start backwards when telling everyone about our 3 weeks in los Estados Unidos. First up, our time at Universal and Disney. And because I'm rather lengthy when it comes to blogging, I thought I'd try to give you just the highlights...

Ryan pre-roller coaster

• Ryan is  was afraid of roller coasters. We're talking really, really didn't like them. Something about going fast. This photo is pre our first roller coaster. Elliott and I didn't know what to expect... puke, screams, crying...

Ryan post-roller coaster

• He did great! He even enjoyed them... Definitely a highlight!

   

Enjoying Butter Beer

Look at our new wands!

That's right, the Hogwart Express

• Highlight Number 2 - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We're talking amazing, seriously, amazing. It's a magical place. It really is inspiring and I'm really happy it exists. 

Playing with toys at Pirates of the Caribbean. 

At the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

• Number 3 - Seeing Elliott have so much fun. He was in heaven at Harry Potter. It was really fun for me to see him have so much fun at 16 with things that made him so happy at 5.

•  Exploring the different countries at Epcot is always my favorite. But it was especially funny to see all of the parks with these two jokers. 

• Disney's Electrical Parade. I've seen it so many times, but it never gets old. Ryan would disagree about the music, but I don't care. Special thanks to these too who were D.O.N.E. by the time the parade started. I still believe in Disney. 

Marathon

It's official. I've decided to run a marathon this year. It's a NYR. I'm not sure which marathon because I don't know where I'll be, but I'm thinking fall. Possibly Chicago... Possibly South Korea... Who really knows at this point. So there you have it!

New Year's Resolutions

Ryan and I go back and forth about resolutions. He doesn't like them and I tend to make too many. I'll say something like, "I have a NYR for you Ryan, check your email everyday." And he'll say something like, "Here's one for you: put things away when you get them out." Which are things that we should be doing but don't do.

My question about NYR is are they really healthy? If I start the year with these loft goals and then I don't accomplish them, am I a failure? Does not accomplishing them do more damage than the good intent of trying to reach the goal does good? I really don't know.

What I do know is that every year around this time, I have this undeniable feeling of needing to create a list of goals for what I want to accomplish in the next year. Things that I want to work on in areas of my life, things I want to do, adventures I want to go on, changes I want to make. And I feel anxious until I have them written down and settled upon. Healthy? I don't know, but I just can't help it.

What about you? Do you make resolutions? Would you be embarrassed to tell someone about them because they're too personal or too lofty, or are they obtainable?

Dinners thus far

I'm not sure what the best way to do this, for my own record keeping is. For now, I'll just do it as I can. This is what we've made so far with our groceries...