stay-at-home wife

Ah, to be in a long distance relationship...I almost forgot what it was like! I have to say, I don't know how we did it for so long. Brian just finished his annual month-long pilgrimage in Miami, and I was super ready for him to come home! I tried to really relish a few things in his absence, including getting more sleep, having the car at my disposal (since normally we share), and working as much as I need to (without being tempted to throw in the towel to go hang out with him). As you can see, the list is short and not too distinguished. The truth is, he's a great husband and my life never feels restrained with him in it, so it doesn't really feel "free-er" when he's gone. The good thing is, he had a complete blast in Miami. Audiences loved the show he was a part of and he got to go to the beach, play poker, go fishing, rent a motorcycle and drive down the keys (JEALOUS) and see lots of cool shows/bands/etc. All while getting paid. It's a pretty good gig :)

Despite a few moments when I thought this long-distance thing was not my cup of tea anymore, I've had some really fun things interspersed to keep me distracted! My big excursion was to Austin for Rachel & Justin's wedding...such a sweet event! They wrote their own vows (including vows to his daughter) and I basically cried through the whole ceremony, awesome. Let's also note that Rachel looked amazing as well and they danced all night - very picturesque.

Sadly the weekend was really short, but I got to see everyone who was in town and squeezed in a lot of QT with the girls during the 48 hours I was there. The weather was perfectamundo and made me miss Tejas hard. Every meal I had was outdoors except for the actual wedding dinner (but the apps were outdoors!) which is pretty amazing.

loved enjoying the warm breeze on the porch 

with Megan in my old 'hood (on my old bench!)

Sno Beach with Amy & Matt...So. Delicious.

I have to say, I'm just so torn every time I go back. There's just this feeling I get when I'm there...and I've overanalyzed the crap out of it to no avail...but I think because I grew up there when I was little and now I associate the city strongly with my dad, it just feels so right. Then again, every time I visit it feels tinier. Chicago is SO BIG, and to a fault at times, but there's an incredible energy that comes with that. There are so many cool things that go on, at all times. Plus it's strange to run into people you know. I don't know, I just really like the hustle and bustle and am not sure how it would feel to go back to feeling like you know everyone. The cities are so different and they're impossible to compare! But in a few months we'll re-sign our lease here, so I guess no formal comparison is needed just yet :)

late night with the ladies at Sidebar - hugs!

the joy of skiing 3

Tahoe
For our third skiing trip, we used a timeshare that Brian's parents have—one of those where you have a certain amount of credit and can apply it to any of the places they have. We've never been able to use it so we didn't know what to expect, but it was a fantastic experience! Our place was right next to a lift, it was exactly as advertised (no surprises), and the staff helped us get adjoining rooms so our whole crew could be together. We planned the trip with our friends Jess & Ryan (from our wedding), and then Eric & Chrissy (also from our wedding) decided to squeeze in a spring skiing trip and jumped on our bandwagon too! Again, such a great group. Chrissy is probably the only person I would allow to snuggle in bed with me and Brian and then make me hold hands with her...she's special :) And when I discovered that our 2 bedrooms were divided by an oversized jacuzzi with "doors" as walls...I knew Chrissy would violate me while I was showering...which she did.

the famous jacuzzi (with Jess & Ryan in the background)

lunch in town

 taking a break at Sierra - such intense skiing (for me) there!

We had some crazy skiing there! On our first day at Heavenly, high winds shut down a ton of lifts, so we were stuck with about 5 short runs and a terrain park all day. Which means I learned how to go on baby jumps :) I had SO much fun learning to catch air, although I can't imagine I'd get too crazy doing this in "everyday" skiing. On our second day, we drove to another mountain nearby called Sierra and spent the day there. The blues there were basically blue-blacks, and then I went ahead and accidentally skiied a black (thinking it was a green...ah, faded signs...) so I guess I can check that off the list. Then on our third day, I had my most favorite day of skiing ever! Jess, Chrissy, & I skiied together while the guys went off and did crazy shit. We got a huge storm so the first part of the day was freezing but so snowy! It was like skiing on marshmallows! And there were also a lot of lumps so I did get to practice my new attempts at taking little jumps (such a joke, really). Then in the middle of the day the storm passed and we got blue skies, fresh powder, and quiet long runs. So so beautiful. And then squeezing in some great conversation on the lifts was awesome too. We finished the day back at the terrain park! I think the whole trip really helped me really push myself to improve, and Brian learned that I can improve on my own without his constant encouragement :)

After such a fun season and so much time on the mountain, I'm sad that we have to wait until next season to go back. I love that so many of our good friends are fun to ski with, and I know there are more of you out there! Let's go!

a break from the storm back at Heavenly

an amazing view of Nevada!