To everything there is a season...

Although the reason that I was home in St. Louis this weekend was a somber one, I was uplifted by a few things such as reminiscing with family, sorting through old photos and by the most beautiful trees that were in full bloom there.

Particularly gorgeous were the Flowering Dogwood (the Missouri state tree), and also the Bradford Pear trees. These photos were taken from my phone through the car window, but I still think they are just gorgeous.

Being that we had snow flurries in Chicago today, I'm really longing for those spring blooms, the sunshine and the warm spring breeze, but I know it will come soon.

To everything there is a season,

a time for every purpose under the sun.

A time to be born and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to reap;

a time to kill and a time to heal ...

a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance ...

Snow. Sunday Brunch. Screwed Tire. Screen-printing.

What a Sunday! To start out, we woke up to a snow storm this morning and then hubby surprised me by saying we had reservations for Sunday Brunch at The Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock center downtown! This is a big surprise because 1) Dave never plans things and 2) He hates going to brunch. So this was a very special, and greatly appreciated gesture. 

The weather made the visibility sparse, but we still had a lovely view, scrumptious mimosas and I ate more snow crab claws than one should ever eat in one sitting.

Next, we headed into the overpriced parking garage to find our tire on our car was completely flat :-( We got out and found a large screw protruding out of the tire.

 

Great. Luckily, our Volvo came with free roadside assistance, so we dialed the number and found out it was a THREE HOUR wait due to the snow warning in Chicago. Boo. So we decided that I would take a cab home and Dave would work from his office downtown until they called to say they were on the way to fix it.

I feel so bad that the weather and the flat tire put a damper in Dave's whole little morning date he planned for us, but I still had a great time. And while I wait for him to get home with the car, I am now mentally preparing for my first screen-printing class tonight at the Lill Street Art Center, that I first mentioned here. It says to "dress for mess" but I'm still not sure how messy I want to show up on the first day. I think jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt will suffice.

I'll let you all know how it goes!

Let's Beat These Blizzard Blues!

When I moved to Chicago, by choice, I promised to never complain about the weather because I knew what I was getting into. It's windy, duh. It's cold, duh. These are things I knew. They are the reason I buy nice snow boots and nice down jackets. And they are the reason that half the time I don't apply my mascara until I get to work because I know my eyes will water so badly on the way to the train that I'd look like a clown with runny black eyes if I did. So I suck it up.

I suck it up every week, except for this week. BLIZZARD WARNINGS? Really? Highs in the single digits this week with wind chills in the negative teens? Really? On my birthday week (yes, i get a week ;-) )? Really? 

OK, not that I had any big outdoor plans, or really expect mother nature to give me special treatment just because I'm creeping another year closer to my thirties, but a little warm-up would be nice. How about 30 degrees, maybe? Just for me Mother Nature? I guess we'll see!