"I just flew in from the windy city..."

For Christmas Jason's sister Ginger gave us plane tickets to fly anywhere Southwest goes and so for Spring Break we decided to visit Chicago. We were there for five days and we had a really great time! We got to stay at the Palmer House, the oldest hotel in America now owned by Hilton, which is a gorgeous hotel (especially the lobby). We were only looking to find a cheap hotel to stay at but we got an amazing deal which we couldn't pass up. The first couple of days we walked around a lot just looking at the city which was cool but it was raining most of the time. The bottom half of our pants were soaked and we were freezing! The rest of the time we went to some museums, to the top of the Sears Tower, the free Lincoln Park Zoo, Wrigley Field, paid homage to some Ferris Bueller sites, and we ate at a bunch of delicious sandwich places and a lot of great deep dish pizza! One of our favorite things to do was getting on buses or the 'L' and getting off at random places and seeing what was around.

Some things that are distinctly Chicago:

- Public places do not have 'Restroom' signs, they simply say 'Toilets.' Jason thought that was funny.

- You cannot find Dr. Pepper anywhere!

- Every pizza place is deep dish

- A lot of the homeless beggers were very agressive and they would yell at us if we didn't give them anything!

(There are a lot of pictures to follow!)

This is the fancy lobby of our hotel

This is a sculpture called Cloud Gate by famous artist Anish Kapoor, which resembles a giant reflective bean, at Millenium Park near our hotel. It was weird but fun!

It wasn't really that cold until the last day when it was in the 20's and very windy!!

Me over the Chicago River on Michigan Ave.

Our favorite sandwich place- Potbelly! We went to three different restaurants and they all had a great atmosphere! Our favorite was our first one we went to where the background music was a guy singing with his guitar. He was really good and both of us didn't even realize it wasn't the radio at first.

Jason and I by lake Michigan. The lake was frozen!

We took the subway mostly everywhere. What was great was we bought a card at the beginning that can be used unlimited for the subway, the 'El' and bus for the whole week!

The city at night! There wasn't a whole lot to do there at night like New York so we usually ate dinner and then just walked around!

We went to the Field museum of natural history and they had a Pirate exhibition which was really interesting. Supposedly this is the only real pirate treasure to have ever been found.

This is me trying my best to copy the Ferris Bueller scene with the Georges Seurat painting 'Sunday Afternoon on La Gran Jatte.'
At the science/industry museum there was an actual WWII German submarine that we were able to go inside! We weren't able take pictures inside but it was amazing to see!

This was at my favorite pizza restaurant we ate at called "Gino's East of Chicago". The walls were all covered with graffitti (purposefully) and it had low lighting and was very hip. They had signed pictures of celebrities that ate there and what they ordered. The pizza was delicious too!

There were squirrels in all the parks and the last day I fed one a cookie! He was a little pig and kept wanting more!

When we were walking down the street one evening by Wrigley field we came across a bunch of people and media standing around. We asked someone what was going on and they said U2 is playing there and everyone is waiting around for them. We decided to hang out there just in case we could catch a glimpse of them. Well after we were there about 15 minutes a car pulled up and everyone got very excited and was like- its Adam! We only know the Edge and Bono so we just got pictures of him but we weren't crazy like everyone else. Then about 5 minutes later Bono shows up and he comes out and signs autographs and takes pictures with a lot of people in the crowd! We weren't that far back and I probably could've pushed my way up and got a picture or autograph and I wish I had! (The girl right in front of me got her picture with Bono!) It was still very exciting being that close and I got a bunch of pictures of him. We were probably the least crazy in the group though and there were some people who waited for hours for them and drove around looking for the place (it was a private concert.) We just happened to be in the right place at the right time!

You can see the bottom of my head in this picture!

We had our 2 year wedding anniversary when we were there on March 10. Crazy its already been 2 years!!

Free sandwiches for Life

If you were to ask Jason and I what our favorite meal is (or what we eat most often) it would be sandwiches. They are quick, easy, cheap and delicious. When we go out to eat we tend to go to sandwich places but the one that we go to more than any other is Firehouse Subs. I think they have to be the most delicious sandwiches I have ever put in my mouth! Their secret is that they steam the sandwiches and it makes them incredibly juicy! We go there at least every other week. It is conveniently very close to our house. We were there a few months ago and they were having a big celebration (when they made their first dollar after paying off the building I think) and the chamber of commerce was there and reps from a bunch of different companies. We were eating outside because it was way too packed inside. Well they suddenly all came out and lined up for a picture and Jason decided to stand in the back on his tiptoes (which makes him probably 7 feet tall) and I was a little embarrased so I just stood normal trying to be inconspicuous. We kept joking afterwards that it would be funny if they actually put that picture up with us in it. Well when we were there last weekend we saw that picture on the wall with Jason and I in it! We thought it was SO funny!! Jason told one of the workers about it and they were like "you got in it?? I'm not even in that picture!" I think we deserve free sandwiches for life or something. We're such great customers that we actually have our picture on the wall!

You can see Jason pretty easily but you can only catch the side of my face. (I am the square)

my life

Here are some random pictures of my life for the past couple months. Nothing too exciting just work and school- and some new pets on the side! :) We took a weekend trip up to a cabin in pinetop last weekend with Jason's family. It was a nice little getaway and I got to see some snow before it's too late. The cabin actually belongs to the Wright family (who owns the reception place the Wright house) and since Loretta is good friends with their son they were way generous and let us use it. It was huge and there was plenty of room for Jason's family.

My rabbit I keep at my mom's house had babies! We didn't find them til they were this size because they were hiding in the hole they dug in their cage.

I took Jason to his first Suns game. It was way fun even though they lost.

And heres Putters our gorgeous new cat! The pictures do not do justice to his beautiful coloring! He is polydactyl meaning he has more than the usual amount of toes. (he's already stolen Gigi's bed!) You can see his crazy feet in the next pic...

We are going to Chicago this saturday for spring break and I cannot wait!! I could really use a weeks vacation from work and school. And I am way excited to see Chicago!

Top Ten 2008

So here are some lists of my top ten favorites of 2008.

BANDS:

These aren’t necessarily my top favorite bands of all time but ones that I discovered this year and LOVE! I have probably listened to these bands more than any other this year. (Despite Death Cab who has been my favorite for a few years. Also the Shins, Stills, and Stokes.) I could add a ton more to this list. I have found more great unknown bands on my own this year than I ever have. I have gotten tired of all the same old unoriginal popular music and have learned that there is a ton of great music out there that not a lot of people know about. It has sort of become a hobby of mine in finding new music.

1. Band of Horses
2. Rogue Wave
3. Death Cab for Cutie
4. The Stills
5. The Shins
6. Matt Costa
7. Fleet Foxes
8. Built to Spill
9. The Strokes
10. Regina Spektor

SONGS:

1. “Noones Gonna Love You” Band of Horses
2. “First Day of My Life” Bright Eyes
3. “Chicago x 12” Rogue Wave
4. “White Winter Hymnal” Fleet Foxes
5. “Gone for Good” The Shins
6. “Free bird” Lynryd Skynyrd
7. “A Movie Script Ending” Death Cab for Cutie (or pretty much anything by them)
8. “The End Has No End” The Strokes
9. “Else” Built to Spill
10. “Shiver” Coldplay

BOOKS:
I have grown to love reading more than ever.

1. The Age of Innocence
2. Wuthering Heights
3. Jane Eyre
4. The House of Mirth
5. The Fountainhead (I’m not nearly finished but so far its amazing!)
6. The Catcher in the Rye
7. The Thirteenth Tale
8. Twilight Series (I don’t necessarily think they are the best written books but I enjoyed reading them.)
9. Angels & Demons
10. Marley and Me

MOVIES:

This one was actually hard for me to find 10 of. There have been some amazing movies out this year but not as many as I thought. I still haven't seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which would probably make the list.

1. Ironman
2. Definitely, Maybe
3. The Dark Knight
4. The Incredible Hulk
5. Cloverfield
6. 27 Dresses
7. Quantum of Solace
8. 21
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
10. Valkryie
11. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

TV SHOWS:

1. The Office
2. Heroes
3. Chuck
4. Pushing Daisies
5. That 70's Show
6. Privileged
7. Bones
8. Seinfeld (always a favorite)
9. Scrubs

HAPPY 2009!

So this is Christmas...

So I haven't updated this whole month and it has become overwhelming because so much has happened! December is usually a busy month for everyone with holiday shopping and parties but this month was especially crazy for us. My sister Ashley was in the hospital because of complications with her pregnancy and she ended up delivering via C-section 2 months early on Christmas Eve. His name is Grant Mitchell Carlon and he is a tiny 2 1/2 pounds but growing! He will have to stay at the hospital for a couple months but should be a healthy baby boy soon. On top of that Jason's mom was in a car accident which totaled her van (not her fault) on Dec 23 which caused a mild heart attack. It may have been a good thing because they found some blocked coronary arteries and she had a triple bypass surgery on Christmas Eve as well. (Yes, this is the same van that I sandwiched Jason into and dented the door. Now we don't have to fix it.) It was strange because she had her surgery not only the same day as Ashley's C-section but they were both at 12:00! It would have been great if they were at the same hospital to make visiting easier but Jason's mom was in Phoenix and Ash in Mesa. They are both doing great and are at their homes now. Even though things were a little stressful we were still able to have a great Christmas! We are very grateful that Ashley and Jason's mom are both healthy again.

Jason and I Christmas tree shopping
She couldn't wait to get a drink at home

We got our gorgeous tree for only $32 at a lot! It was supposed to be $60 but the guy was very nice and helped us out.

Gingerbread decorating with the family

My family's new baby goat Coco!!

My parents got Jason and I a gorgeous bed frame for Christmas! Jason and I at the hospital

It is crazy that another Christmas has already come and gone. This whole year has sped by for me faster than any other. Christmas time is always a great way to end the year because you get to spend a lot of time doing fun things with the family. Even though this Christmas was different because Ashley was in the hospital it made me remember what is most important. I'm so grateful to have such an amazing family!