What I'm Doing These Days

Once again, I must apologize for being inconsistent with my blog entries. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I had friends in town last weekend and I am still trying to catch up on sleep and my day-to-day responsibilities. I swear once you graduate from college you automatically get invited to the "just can't handle it club." Despite my many attempts to go, go, go and my desire to embrace the "work hard, play hard" philosophy, my body always slaps me with reality (exhaustion) and reminds me that I am no longer 18... or 21. However, allow me to summarize the past few days for you.

Late nights

It's best to describe last weekend as "late nights and good conversations." I swear I didn't get to bed before 1:00A each night and unfortunately my internal alarm clock still woke me up around 7:30A-8:00 the next morning later that day. I wish I could go back to the good ol' days when I could sleep until 1:00P if my parents didn't force me out of bed around 11:30A-noon. Although these late nights were a bit draining because my preferred bedtime is 8:30P, it was worth catching up with old friends,  going to a BBQ, celebrating many birthdays, and embracing the city like a tourist.

The Cloud Gate aka the Bean- it never gets old!

Outside Lou Malnati, Chicago-style deep dish pizza

View from the John Hancock Observatory women's bathroom

My two visitors/roomies for the weekend, Pete and Donald

Chris and me at Thai Classic restaurant

Happy birthday, Jerem!

The girls celebrating Pete M's bday

Lauren and me at Northalsted Market Days

Book clubs

I dedicated all my free time to read for my work and personal book club. On Monday afternoon I gathered with colleagues for lunch to discuss The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything in Life: A Spirituality for Real Life by James Martin, SJ. and on Wednesday night I gathered with some girlfrans to discuss Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I thoroughly enjoyed both books because it was the perfect combination to promote work-life balance in my life. Also, I believe that every Chicagoan needs to get their hands on Devil in the White City because the non-fiction book is set in our very own city.

Homemade meals

I ended up spending way too much money on meals last week because of my visitors. Although I always enjoy the opportunity to catch up with a friend at a restaurant, I prefer to cook and eat at home. In order to be mindful of my wallet and waistline, I decided that I'd ban dinner dates for the week. I am 4/4 on eating homemade meals. The best part is that my roomies and I even made Pinterest-inspired dishes. I should have taken pictures but of course I remembered that after I took my last bite.

Dreaming

I've been dreaming about the fun yet very relaxing upcoming weekend I want and desperately need since last Sunday. My goal is to sleep at least 8 hours a week, workout, and make it to church. Do you think I will succeed? I guess you'll have to read my blog entries closely to see.