Nice

My first trip by myself to Indianapolis I get stuck in Colts traffic downtown. Go figure!

And, turns out, the trip to Indy is worse than that dreaded trip to Topeka I used to have to drive all the time. The highway to Indy is four-lane, but 60 mph the entire time and there are a few towns you have to go through and they have a hundred freakin' stoplights. At least in Kansas most of the towns we went through just had one flashing red light. lol. Once in Indy it takes forever to get downtown. AARRGGHHH. Consider yourself lucky Misty. :)

I am in Indy until Wednesday for the annual National Prevention Network conference. The last NPN I went to was in 2005 in New York when I worked with Marla and Misty, *sigh*, those were good times at Greenbush. This conference should be pretty good and it was nice that it worked out to be so close this year.

Anyhow (this blog might be a little random so bear with me), Adam was here this weekend to visit and we had a pretty good time. Crazy, as it always is with Adam, but fun :). Julie joined us most of the weekend and we got some good old fashioned Nintendo playing going on. Hicks scored Paperboy for me from one of his friends back in P-burg. Thanks Hicks!!!! I have been wanting to play that game forever and I still haven't played it, haha. I still have a hard time with our retarded controller, so I refuse to play until I have a good controller that I can actually use :) But don't worry, I plan to totally rock at that game.

It was nice to see Adam and hang out with him. Him and Jared are such great friends and it is so nice that they got to spend some time together.

Once I get home from Indy, its go-time again for the Birks. I am sure, since the boys are home by themselves this week, that the house will need a good cleaning and I will need to get things ready for Marla and Jeremy on Friday night. Oh, busy busy! Then we will head to Chicago on Saturday and Sunday with Marla and Jeremy. We aren't sure if Jared and I are staying both nights or not, but either way we will get to hang out with our friends and have some fun in Chicago.

Well, I guess that's about all for now. Hopefully I will have a more profound post later this week. :)

Band Tag Time

Come on, this is fun. I was tagged and now you are....

Band Tag
The rules of the tag:
1. Choose a singer/band
2. Answer using ONLY titles of songs by THAT singer/band

I'm going to use the the band Rascal Flatts:

1. Are you male or female?
She Goes All the Way

2. Describe yourself…
Fast Cars and Freedom

3. What do people feel when they're around you?
Me and My Gang

4. Where would you want to be right now?
Ellsworth

5. How would you describe your previous relationship?
What Hurts the Most

6. Describe your current relationship?
Bless the Broken Road

7. How do you feel about love?
Long Slow Beautiful Dance

8. What would you ask for if you only had one wish?
My Wish

9. What's your life like?
Still Feels Good

10. Say something wise…
Words I Couldn't Say

Are my eyes deceiving me?

Or did I just see a Sonic being built in Mishawaka

A while back, I wrote a blog about the lack of America's Favorite Drive-Ins in South Bend. Well, one has been opened on the west side of town (way too far away from where we live) and yesterday as I pulled out of Chipotle in Mishawaka I saw it! The silver frames glistened in the sun as the overhead car bays were being erected. Aaaahhhhh, finally I can have my Route 44 Ice Tea with lemon and sweet 'n low and my Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade, YUM YUM!

It's a good day my friends. A good day. :)

The Challenge

What "makes us proud"

A fellow blogger challenged her friends and readers to write about things and people they are proud of. I happily took this challenge and I challenge all my friends and bloggers to do the same. :)

I feel a great sense of pride when I think about my husband. He has faced incredible odds, bad luck and poor choices in his life. He has been through very painful and life-changing surgeries on his leg and his hip that have left him unable to do many of the physical activities that he loves. He has battled alcohol abuse and bravely faced the consequences associated with this abuse.

Even with some of these challenges, and the challenges in our relationship, Jared has grown and blossomed into a wonderful man. I am proud of him for turning his life around and for believing in himself and in us, even when it took every ounce of life he had. I am proud of Jared for completing school and for his willingness to learn new things. I am proud of Jared for being a hard worker and becoming a manager at his job. I am proud of Jared for being brave enough to move his new wife to Indiana and start a new life. And, finally, I proud to be his wife and be with him for the rest of my life.

I am proud of my mom, dad and my sister. I have said it time and time again, but I had the best childhood.

My dad worked hard to provide for his family and he always knew how to have fun with us and make us laugh. I am proud of him for giving me wonderful childhood memories. I am proud of him for working so incredibly hard to become successful and provide for us. I am proud of him for having the courage to move his young family to Kansas and then to move my mom back to Oklahoma a few years ago. I am proud of him because there is no one quite like him and that is just the way I like it.

I am so proud of my mother for fighting her leukemia! When my mom was diagnosed with cancer 2002, it was scariest time for our entire family. The questions, the unknown, the fear was almost too much for all of us. It took every ounce of my body to fight back tears and stand brave for my mom. All my sister and I wanted to do was curl up in a ball, fall asleep and hope when we woke up it would all have been a horrible dream. But, we quickly learned that it takes bravery, love and laughter to get through these hard times. And it has been working so far. Mom has been in a form of remission for over 5 years now. We are elated with the amazing results of her medicine, even though the side effects are an everyday fight for her. Mom, I love you and I am so proud of you for being so brave and for fighting this horrible villain with everything you have. Just remember, when you feel like you are having a bad day and can't fight as hard, just know we are all fighting for you, even if we are far away from you.

I am proud of my sister Alicia. Even though our relationship is not as close as it used to be, I am still proud of her and love her like crazy. I am proud of her for finishing a college degree program that I can only dream about. I am proud of her for being strong and independent through some tough times in her life. I am proud of her ability to make people laugh and her caring attitude and commitment to others.

And, finally, I am proud of my friend Shawna. Her family has faced many challenges in the last few years and Shawna has always stayed strong, kept her wits about her and kept making people smile. She always puts others in front of herself and will do anything and everything to help her family and friends. I am so lucky to have met her during those terrible days at The Morning Sun (we hated that job). We've had a lot of great times together, I miss her like crazy, and I am proud of everything she has accomplished. She has beaten the odds and succeeded in life.


There are so many people I am proud of, so if you weren't listed in this blog I apologize. But please know that I am proud of each and every person in my life for one thing or another.

Whew, we made it one year

our anniversary in Chicago

Jared and I had a great time visiting Chicago this weekend for our anniversary. Our plan was to take the South Shore Train from South Bend to Chicago, but decided at the last minute to drive. Good thing Jared does well in city traffic cause I would have had a complete panic attack. But, overall, the traffic really wasn't bad and it was really easy to get to our hotel. Good job Jared!!!

After we checked into our hotel we decided to walk around a little. Our original plan was to head to the Navy Pier, but we didn't think we had enough time to check it out, eat dinner and get to our comedy show in time. So, we opted to walk around Grant and Millennium Parks, which were very close to our hotel, nestles between Michigan Ave. and Lake Michigan. We could not have asked for a better day, it was beautiful and people were walking around everywhere enjoying the the scenery and the Water and Air show that was going on. It was relaxing to walk through the luscious green park and see the skyline on one side and the bright blue water of Lake Michigan on another side. I love Chicago!

After dinner at the Park Grille in Millennium Park, we headed to our comedy show at the Apollo Theater in the Lincoln Park area of town. Anyone who watches House Hunters as faithfully as I do has probably seen the billions of episodes where young couples are looking for a home in Lincoln Park. Well, I can see why. It was such a quaint and quiet, but also energetic neighborhood. Town homes and condos lined the small streets and couples and families biking and walking throughout the neighborhood. The little shops, pubs, delis and restaurants added to its charm. I was impressed. At the Apollo we watched the Second City Improv All Stars show. The entire show is completely improvised (just think Who's Line is It Anyway?). It was a really good time and I was shocked to learn just how many comedians got their start with Second City like Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Martin Short and Chris Farley. Hopefully we saw some up-in-coming talent. :)

After the show we went to the Howl at the Moon Dueling Piano Bar. Have I mentioned how much I love Piano Bars, cause I do! :)

Well, I can say our first anniversary celebration was a huge success! Can't wait to go visit Chicago again in two weeks with Marla and Jeremy! :)

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it

So, don't have much to say except that I am super excited to spend my first wedding anniversary with my amazingly wonderful hubby in the great city of Chicago!!!! YAY!!! Only 3 more days!!!!