I have pretty funny video of every part of the weekend but I am too lazy to post it, so just use your imagination and the provided pictures!
I went on a business trip to Chicago this past week. It was fun, stressful and boring all at the same time. I flew in on Thursday and stayed at the Intercontinental right on Magnificent Mile (where all the high end shopping is). It was a great room and I had it all to myself! We had a cocktail party that night where I met Lauren from Rochester, NY. She just turned 21 and it was her first time at a business meeting too. After an excellent dinner we walked around the city and saw the John Hancock Building, other buildings, a really cool church, and the crazy nightlife. (too bad I didn't have my camera) I got up the next morning and had a great breakfast, meetings, lunch, meetings, snack, meetings. The room where we had the meetings was FREEZING!! Everybody was complaining about how cold it was. I think they were just trying to get us to stay awake. Lauren and I walked around a little more before a car came and took me to the airport. I was originally leaving at 6:15pm and arriving around 10. Not so bad I thought until we (Sharon the dietitian from the U, who also gave a presentation at the PKUDOS meeting and I) got to the airport and found out or flight was delayed. Sitting and waiting followed as well as more delays. Finally after we got on the STUFFY plane and pulled away from the gate (around 8:45pm) we were informed that we would have to pull back into the gate so maintenance could look at the cooling system. Finally we were in the air with a bunch of high schoolers who would not stop arguing. They were in a debate about Marching band being a sport....please tell me I was never like that in High School. No sleep for me so I worked on my talk for Father's Day. We finally landed and had to wait because there was construction and the plane in front of us had to be towed to the gate...... What a long day. As much as I love to travel, doing it for work isn't the way I really want to do it. Oh well it was a great adventure where I met a lot of people and learned a few things!
After my little spring cleaning escapade, I decided to take my mom and aunt Sara on a trip down memory lane. It was so much fun, I thought you would enjoy it too. Warning: Lots of reading,but well worth it if you ask me.
These are my mini Pound Puppies. I LOVED these things. I would take them to school and put them in my desk and play with them all day long. As you can see I have quite the collection, there are actually a few missing from this. Sorry little puppies it does not mean I don't love you. The ones to the right are the "wanna be" mini pound puppies, they just couldn't quite make the grade.
#1 The troll: Justin gave this to me for Christmas one year. We were at Jobbers Odd Lot (back in the good old days before 7-11 took over the corner) buying each others gifts. I guess I was into trolls back then (don't ask, I only acquired two so I made it out of that time period better off then a lot of others) so being the sweet, thoughtful brother he is, Justin decided to get this for me. Well I walked around the corner and saw him picking it out and didn't want to ruin the surprise so I ran and he didn't see me. I was so excited for my troll and on Christmas morning I acted really surprised. Don't ever tell him, I wouldn't want to break his little heart.
#2 Kitchen Accessories: HELLO only the best toy ever made! I love my kitchen, I had everything to go with it too, the blender, bowls, measuring cups, frosting, and my all time favorite the syrup (it disappeared when you poured it) Too bad my mom gave it away to my little cousins WITHOUT my permission. She kept a few things as you can see (the mixing stand,but where is the mixer I ask?) and my heart broke when she said she had given away my syrup pour thingy. The kitchens these days are more high tech, but not as fun. The have all the sounds, and stuff so you don't have to use your imagination or make the sound yourself (one of the best parts)
#3 Cow and dog: These 2 little joys are the two stuffed animals that both Josh and I have and we would play with them together, I miss those bonding days!
#4 My glow in the dark bunny: The little pink bunny was awesome! You leave it in the light all day and at night the stars on it would glow and keep you feeling safe (if your were afraid of the dark, which to tell you the truth I don't think I was)
#1 My Cabbage Patch Baby: The only Cabbage Patch I ever owned was this sweet little baby, The bib held the bottle and it had one of those outfits where you cinch the kids legs up in it. It also had a little tuft of brown hair that I always covered up with the bonnet because I thought it looked ugly. Oh he memories.
#2 LIZARDS: I don't like creepy crawlers in real life but these things were filled with sand and they were so much fun to play with. Remember when your mom would drop you off at the mall and you would collect call your friends mom to come and pick you up when you were done. Well I bought these during one of those outings. The big lizard was the biggest purchase I made when I was little. It was like $45 or something like that (I really don't know where I got my money from or why I thought it was ok to spend that much on something this dumb, I don't think I would spend that much now, lesson learned) I bought it at Natural Wonders....The coolest store in the mall. I would always spend a huge chunk of my time playing around in Natural Wonders...what ever happened to that store?
#3 Bean Bag frog: Brittany had 3 or 4 of these and I was a little jealous, I finally got one and we played with them for hour. Brittany made clothes for hers, I let mine run wild and free.
#4: Bongo: Sara said this was Grandma Frogley's and she must have given it too me, either way it does thumbs up and you stick the thumb in its mouth.
Well that was part one, stay tuned it gets a lot better. I love days like this when you just laugh and think of how fun life was a few short years ago. My question to you is where did all the good toys go? and the good cartoons on Saturday morning? What has life come to these days, my poor kids will have high tech toys and learning cartoons. We all turned out okay, give me back simplicity, imagination, and creativity. Part 2 will come later, be sure to scroll down and check out the other posts, there have been a few good ones this week, don't ask me where I found the time.
May 8, 2008 9:29 a.m. EST
The 29-year-old actress - who has found success in romantic comedies 'Knocked Up' and '27 Dresses' - is said to be keen to end her contract with the medical drama to focus entirely on movies.
A source close to the actress said: "She's working really long hours and is ready to move on. She's a smart one. "
"She saw what can happen with someone like Jennifer Aniston, who was crazy successful on TV, but can't seem to carry a film, and she tested the waters early."
However, Katherine - who made headlines when negotiations for her contract renewal on the show were made public 15 months ago - may be locked into her contract and will have to continue starring as Dr. Isobel Stevens.
The source added to Us Weekly magazine: "I don't think she'll be able to get out of it."
Katherine can next be seen in romantic comedy 'The Ugly Truth' with Gerard Butler. Since starring as Rachel Green in 'Friends', Jennifer has appeared in a host of films, including 'The Break-Up' and 'Bruce Almighty', but has failed to shake off her TV character.
It is hard to believe 5 years ago I was getting ready to graduate from Murray High, have a fantastic summer, and move away for my first year of college. I could never have imagined where I would be, what things I have done, and how my life changed five years later. I don't think I thought I would be in the position I'm in, or ever thought I could travel the world all alone. The last five years were a roller coaster ride filled with incredible highs, depressing lows, and some times where I was just coasting. It is weird to think what the last five years has brought me... 
However like always, I'm wishing I was exploring the many wonders this world has to offer, and not being forced to grow up.
I DON'T WANNA GROW UP CAUSE IF I DID I WOULDN'T BE A TOYS R US KID!!
