thought it was friday.

[playing with the settings on my camera...]

i think i'm officially worn out for the week.

going back to work has been interesting.

iiii LIKE it!:)

i'm usually an early bird anyways, but it's fun to have an actual reason to get up in the morning.

and going to school and getting all the hugs from the kids is such a good reminder that i love my job.

The kindergarten class that i'm in, well, whoo! you have to be extremely caffinated to keep up with the lil rugrats-extra cup of coffee?

yes, please!

i don't know, but coming home after work, sitting down for a minute with the intention of resting, and realizing you've fallen asleep and it's midnight has to tell you how i'm adjusting to the pace of working life again:).

(but i have to say, i was kinda disappointed to wake up and find out my friday evening was shot cuz i fell asleep. i was looking forward to it.)

anyways, it was supposed to be friday when i posted this, but, technically it's not.

(it's 1:00 am)

i'm just so wide awake, now that i've napped a whole night's worth of sleep.

but thats ok.

fridays are jeans day at school.

it's an extra fun reason that i love fridays.

it's just nice after a week of work clothes (which i like too!), to decide friday morning, what to wear and think, "oh, hey! BABY, JEANS DAY!" (yeah, yeah, that really goes through my head.)

it's the little things that perk up the day:).

i'm already seeing how busy life is going to be this next year.

already, my afternoons have consisted of after school work, and my evenings have been booked solid with meetings.

i welcome it.

i like being busy.

happy friday evening for me, and saturday morning to you!:)

waiting waiting

here's the one lil bit of seating in our living room:)

(besides the dining room chairs)

it's ryan's desk chair.

however, his desk drowned in the flood, so, right now the lil guy is just hanging out in the living room.

right now we're doing alot of indian style sitting on the floor or just standing up.

it's cool though,

we're just waiting on our couch.

we've got bits and pieces up in our place.

it's coming together and i'm so excited about it!

mood store

i'm just in the mood to go to Urban Outfitters.

it's my all time favorite store.

I've been browsing their web page non stop this afternoon.

wishlist this.

wishlist that.

i love everything i see there.

and to be honest, i've got to be in a certain mood to go shopping.

(when i was a young'un, my mom and sister would bribe me with food to go shopping)

but i can go to an Urban any time of any day.

it's probably a good thing we don't have one within hours and hours away from here. (at least, that i'm aware of.)

otherwise, i'd be shopping with a capital SHOP.

Urban Outfitters,

your colorful colors are just so beautiful.

i want to see you! in person!

[lol. oh, well. until the next time i set foot in urban outfitters. happy middle of the week!]

they make me happy

here are some pics that just make me so happy when i look at them:

1)my ryan and i in chicago

2) yummy food that is photogenic as well as amazingly tasty

3) hancock building jamba juice runs with old friends

4) funny man pretending to be homeless

( naw, just kidding, i actually do know him.)

5) city pictures

6) making teddy bears

7) ryan and two of his best buddies...plus the first baby of the group!

8) loling with my seester

[photo taken by muchlove illy]

9) Toms united

10) desserts that i actually like!

last hoorah before school starts

and the school year starts....

now!

goodbye summer break.

you have been absolutely swell.

i sat down to study

...at this very spot.

and i looked over and that boy was there.

that senior boy.

the one that i'd started to notice.

but didn't want to acknowledge the crush that was starting to form.

i was at starbucks to study for my quiz.

so i looked back down at my book, and tried to

ignore the fact he was there.

but then i looked up,

and he was sitting in the seat across from me.

at my table.

"hey, what are you reading?"

that did it.

five hours later, i was still on the same page.

we'd talked the entire time.

i decided i liked him.

it was late and dark out,

so he walked me back to campus.

and i was on cloud nine.

so i decided to marry him.

3 1/2 years later. :)

that was 4 1/2 years ago.

i got to visit the table.

i sat down,

smiled,

and imagined that cute senior coming over to freshman me.

hello, fruits and vegetables

I have been MIA for two reasons:

1) we went to visit chicago last week! yay! such fun.

and

2) we just moved BACK into our apartment, and did not have the internet hooked up til now.

so now, after a week, i'm back, and i have alot to say!:)

i've shared my years in chicago with a certain person.

this girl, my big seester.

but she's moving out of Chicago.

sadness.

i don't know if visiting that sweet city will ever be the same without her there.

it was nice to do some of the things we used to do together, one more time before she leaves.

Saturday morning, we got our men and us together to check out one of the best saturday places:

the farmers market.

i love coming to the market. it's one of the biggest and best i've ever been to.

ilene and i were roommates last year, and would often wake up on a saturday morning and enjoy free samples, pretty flowers, and the flood of people searching for those perfect fruits and vegetables.

and after looking at food, we went to the Original Pancake House to eat some food.

mmmm.....

it was really as delicious as it looks.

what a perfect saturday morning.

one of my faves...

one of my most favorite parts of going back to Chicago,

to the city that ryan and i met in,

dated in,

and got engaged in,

(not to mention go through college and grad school),

is when we're driving into the city,

and we start seeing things like this:

and then my lil heart starts getting excited.

and we drive some more,

and we see the very first part of the Chicago skyline...

beautiful.

and by this point i'm squealing with happiness...

and we get closer until we're right smack down town in all it's beauty and glory!

I'm back in chi-town!

you might have to drag me away to leave this wonderfulness behind.

officiate it!

[peek at his notes!]

my pastor, aka husband, conducted his first wedding today.

he OFFICIATED IT.

it's kinda neat:)

it was just last year that we were married.

and now my man is going and marrying people:)

i thought he did an excellent job.

and i thought he looked so handsome up there.

[made my heart beat faster. i was looking at him the whole time!]

i'm proud of him:).

congrats to toshia and kyle! we're so excited for ya'll!

i'm a sucker...

...for color.

we purchased this to add to our lil place.

[via pier 1]

we are going to use it as a coffee table in our living room.

i kinda already love it.

and it was on sale.

love it even more.

i bought some pretty purple coasters:

[via pier1]
so that nothing will scratch the trunk.

our next investment will be an entertainment center.

i got my eye on this:

[via pier 1]

not sure yet, but i like the red.

i just like to dream as i piece our place together.

colorful dreams.

oh, and here's our new lil lantern.

imagine it with a big red block candle and a couple of white ones.

(if you can't tell, i'm itching to go back to our own home!!! can't be too much longer.)

i peeked

our cozy lil basement apartment is no more.

read about our recent flooding incident here

i went down there to see the progress of our lil place.

it's not stinky anymore!

and there's a brand new deep brown carpet. (i promise, it comes brown, it's not just left over from the incident;))

and no more carpeting in the bedrooms.

and our mattress is currently in the kitchen, taken apart, and leaning against the wall.

but soon, we'll be back!

starting back from scratch, but at least we'll be in our own lil place again!

i'm excited to start piecing our place back together.

p.s. we bought a new couch which i'm extra excited about!

i can't wait to start adding decor once again!

heatwave

10 things to do during a heatwave:

1. find some lil friends that don't like the heat...

...that way you aren't alone on this very hot and sticky day.

[check]

2. dig for little {fake} wiggly friends

...and show it to the lady with the camera.

[check]

3. have an ice cold summer treat...

...on a day like today, you can't get much better than juicy popsicles!!

{on a stick, the best kind because after you eat them, you get a funny joke!}

p.s. actually, watermelon is a yummy summer treat as well, but today we're talking popsicles.

[check]

4. take off your shoes and put on some cute little sandals

or run around barefoot.

...it's hot, for heaven's sakes! there's no use in socks and shoes!

[check]

5. get out that sidewalk chalk...

and cover up all the empty boring cement spaces in the neighborhood with bright and colorful pictures...

[by lil miss pasha]

[by lil miss gracie d.]

(hire some little artists in the neighborhood.)

[check...more like, ten check marks. this was a tireless activities-endless fun.]

6. start a collection of colorful silly bands

[check]

7. find that one family in the neighborhood

that is ultra cool with letting their water bill sky rocket...

[check]

and then you're able to add so much more to the list

8. play water games

[check]

9. play with a hose

and fill up lots of pitchers and cups

10. find the nearest person and drench them with cold water!

[check, check, check!!]

this list is guaranteed to bring you an afternoon of fun in the sun!

it definitely did for us!

what do you do on a really hot day?

any other hot day activities to add to the list?