Archive for the ‘Friends’ Category
Why is it so Hard for Me to Remember to Count My Blessings?
For those that are around me a lot or talk to me frequently, it is no secret that I have had a lot going on with work the last few months and have been in high stress mode. If it isn’t work related, chances are, I’m not doing it. And, it is also no secret that my stress management and coping skills leave a little something to be desired. Hopefully I will start to balance out this summer.
This weekend I took a break from some of the work related demands and had the chance to spend some time with some of the most important people in my life.
Friday night, I hurried home from work at 5:00 so that I could get changed and ready to go to the wedding Mass of a long-time family friend. This friend works for the Church in young adult ministry and, although he is in his fifties, he just has an exceptional way of dealing with and relating to teenagers and young adults. There were so many great things about Friday night. First of all, I got to see two of my cousins and their families that I don’t see often because they live two hours away. One of my cousins has the sweetest three girls, one in college, one in high school, and one in elementary school and it is so fun to catch up with them and what they have going on in their lives. Their mom, although my dad’s first cousin, is like a big sister to me and has been there for me during many tough times during my life. I just love them all so much and it was great to sit with them during the wedding and then hang out at the reception.
I also got to see the groom’s daughter who is my age – we lived in the same dorm freshman year at K-State. It was fun seeing her as I maybe bump into her once ever other year or so when we are both back in her hometown where my family lives.
The wedding was very nice. The Mass was beautiful, I loved the music, and with both the bride and groom being youth leaders, they incorporated several young people into various parts of the Mass. It was very simple, with no frills, which I think allowed the couple’s love for each other and faith in God to really shine through and take center stage. It was so refreshing because I don’t know if I have ever attended a wedding quite like it. The best part was that in all the years that I have known the groom, I have NEVER seen him so happy, he was beaming with joy and it was such a great sight.
I don’t know if I will ever get married, but if I do, I have another good example of how to do it right.
I drove home at the end of the evening with warm and fuzzies after having had such a great time celebrating with family and friends.
The next morning I headed to one of my favorite local hotels for a gathering of Potawtomis in the region. I’ve blogged several times about our family’s Native American roots :http://wp.me/sSE1o-26 , https://amyguerich.com/2010/08/23/cleveland/ ,https://amyguerich.com/2010/08/23/nashok-maket/. Every year, the tribal leaders – chairman, vice chairman, and the legislators host informational meetings around the country to teach the tribal history, given an update on the current political and economic landscape of the tribe, and to get folks geared up for the annual festival that takes place on the reservation in Shawnee, Oklahoma during the last weekend of June every year. I met up with some of Grandma’s siblings – Aunt Maureen and Sister Ginger had ridden to town with Uncle Jerry and Aunt Hildegard and cousin Pat who lives here in town too, also joined us. We sat together and had a nice time visiting over a nice lunch of baked chicken and BBQ brisket. I always enjoy anytime spent with Grandma and her siblings, so this was a real treat. I am so fortunate that there is such longevity in the family. Grandma is the oldest at age 90, and the youngest, Uncle Jerry, just celebrated his 81st birthday last week. The only downside to the wonderful morning and nice lunch was that I had to eat and run.
My KC best girl friend and I were headed of to Manhattan to celebrate commencement with the class of 2013. One of my very best KC friends, fellow KSU financial planning grad, and industry buddy was giving the commencement address to the KSU College of Human Ecology graduates, which is where we had both received our financial planning degrees some years before. We had planned to attend the commencement ceremony and then planned a dinner get together with a group of friends afterward. Graduation was running about an hour behind schedule, which made me feel kind of bad because I could have spent more time with the family in KC, but oh well, how was I to know?
Graduation was awesome! It brought back so many memories to 7 years ago when I was walking across that same stage at Bramledge Coliseum. My friend’s speech was fantastic! I was totally blown away! He did a great job relating to the students and was so well spoken! I have heard him speak several times in various capacities and will say that in my opinion, this was his best delivery yet! It was so great sitting next to his mom and dad as they beamed with pride and mom even teared up a bit!
After the ceremony, my KC best friend and I paid a visit to her mother-in-law who lives in Manhattan and was busy helping set up for her friend’s daughter’s graduation party. I got to see some parts of campus that have changed quite a bit since I left Manhattan. After our visit, we headed to the restaurant where I had made dinner reservations for 8 of us. It was so much fun!! Some of my very favorite people – including my best friend from college – and the only one that I really still keep in touch with from school, and her husband joined us and we had a great time catching up. We also had the pleasure of the presence of our former department head who lead the our department when we were going through the financial planning program.
I got to cap off my weekend by lecturing at the adult confirmation Mass led by the Archbishop hosted at our Parish. It was great to be a part of such an important day for all of those being confirmed. And my reading happened to be one of my favorites!
I really really appreciated this weekend as my social time and family time have been very limited over the last several weeks. I was so grateful to spend time with so many people that I love and care about. It was a pleasure and hopefully some fuel to get me through some more stressful times to come. When I think things are tough, I need to remember that I really am very blessed and I should make it more of a point to consider that more often. I love and appreciate my extended family and true close friends.
Jazzed Up
I really love the Kansas City arts and cultural scene from live music, theatre, art galleries, etc, including the Jazz scene. One of my very favorite local jazz pianists has a resident gig at a local Jazz club in Kansas City. I often watch he and his band mates jam on Sunday nights.
I decided to get a group together to continue the birthday month festivities for dinner and drinks at the club. It worked out great as we ended up having a girls night out. A few girlfriends and one of my cousins joined me and tolerated my jazz obsession.
We sat front and center in the first row and enjoyed our wine and the piano. The piano player gave me a birthday shout out, which made me feel important. We moved a bit away from the stage for dinner and dessert where we indulged in delicious food, gossip, and general typical girl talk. I just can’t describe the vibe that exists between girlfriends that aren’t catty or judgemental and are truly down to earth and friendly. What was really neat is that the only thing that the girls had in common was me.
We had a fantastic time, the food was delicious and the wine was smooth. What was even better is that the cute bartender made my favorite drink. It is a refreshing summer cocktail including cucumbers.
What is a Piropo?
And the birthday month continues….
I hopped on a plane at Chicago Midway and headed for home. I went straight to my car at the airport where I had a change of clothes. It was 7:20, and my next birthday dinner was in forty minutes. I threw on a dress and a bit of make up, and headed for this amazing Argentinean restaurant, Piropos, to meet some friends. www.piroposkc.com
Piropos was convenient as it is on my way home from the airport nestled in an area of Briarcliff Village www.briarcliffvillagekc.com They are known for their unique and authentic menu as well as the view of downtown Kansas City.
We started the evening off with a bread basket and specialty housemade sangrias. I wish that I could remember some of the concoctions that made up the sangrias that evening. I tried three of six or seven, and they were all incredibly unique, refreshing, and fitting for the meal. They were a part of a special summer menu.
We moved onto the main course which consisted of two entrees, as my friend and I each ordered an entrée and split them. We ordered the pork chops served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed apples, walnuts, raisins, and mushrooms and the pan seared halibut with lobster risotto and juilenne vegetables in a roasted red pepper sauce. The pork chops are not something that I would normally order, but I thought that I would branch out and try them.
I will admit that I was already full from bread and sangria by the time that the entrees came, but I ate anyway. I devoured the halibut and lobster risotto. They were to die for!! I was too full for the pork chop and mashed potatoes, so I decided to ask for them to be boxed up and taken home. I did try a bite of the mashed potatoes and was disappointed when they tasted like instant. I ended up eating half of the left over pork chop for dinner the next night and it tasted great with the apples.
Although I was beyond satisfied, we went for dessert! We had the Copa Piropos on the house for my birthday and the Churros de Caramelo. The Copa Piropos was fresh berries with creme anglase and vanilla bean ice cream drizzled with imported argentine dulce de leche. The Churos were stuffed with ccaramel and served with vanilla bean ice ream and drizzled with Dulce de leche and hot chocolate ganache.
No, this isn’t a food blog, but this meal was so delicious that I couldn’t leave it un mentioned.
The service was great and my friends and I enjoyed our time together. Needless to say we left the restaurant stuffed! Next stop was home to sleep off the food coma and get prepared for the next day’s birthday month festivities.
Independence Day
I awoke from my food coma and decided that in honor of my birthday month, I would treat myself to Saturday brunch at my favorite hotel. I went alone with my lap top in tow so that I could catch up on some work stuff that I had missed while in Chicago.
After brunch, I headed out to Independence for a day of fun and games at a family fun center with mini golf, arcade games, and go carts. I had looked the place up online and thought that this was the best option that was the closest to my house.
I love ski ball, arcade basketball, mini golf, and go carts. However, when we got there, the realization that we were in Independence hit hard. Most of the games were broken, including basketball….which I discovered after I bought $25 worth of tokens. The mini golf course was in complete disrepair. The go carts weren’t bad, though.
After a having a mild amount of fun at the “family fun center”, we decided to make a break for it and head to get margaritas at a local mexican establishment. I had a blast catching up with friends that I don’t get to spend a lot of time with.
Potbelly: Never Ending Birthday Month
We spent the last day in Chicago as tourists. We did the usual Chicago “stuff”. Walked down Michigan Avenue, went to Millenium Park, Soldier Field, the Field Museum. I figured that I walked about 20 miles a day while in Chicago. I love the thought of living in a place where exercise is built in to your daily activities and commute. Every time I travel somewhere, I imagine myself living in that city. I fantasize about how in shape I would be logging all of those miles…and then I snap back to my suburban reality where we take the car everywhere.
Of course, I also did what I ALWAYS do when I go to Chicago….we ate lunch at Potbelly.
Potbelly is a sandwich shop, but it is more than just a deli, just another Subway, Goodcents, etc. Potbelly is a safe haven. Everyone is welcome without judgement to enjoy comfort food. They serve toasted subs, homemade soups, cookies, and brownies. They have funky decor and indie live music at lunch time.
I discovered Potbelly on a trip to Chi in 2004 and have been hooked ever since. I can’t go to Chicago and not eat at Potbelly at least once. I order the same thing every time I go….a roast beef sandwich with swiss, lettuce, and tomato on wheat bread. This time I got a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and chips. Its my birthday, I can splurge!
We sat and ate a leisurely lunch and listened to the live music while watching the hustle and bustle of the busy lunch hour. My flight was taking off in 6 hours and I didn’t want to go home! But, I knew that I needed to say good bye for now to Chi-Town, Chris Martin, Bill Rancic, and Potbelly.
Until next time!
Chicago Stalker
When making our arrangements for our Chicago trip, I told my friend that there were only two things that I wanted to do during my stay in the windy city. One, meet up with my British boyfriend, Chris Martin, of the band Coldplay, and two, scout out for my other boyfriend, Chicago native, Bill Rancic.
I don’t watch any TV now, but in college, I had cable for the first time and my own TV for the first time, and became a TV junkie! I discovered Bill Rancic when I watched the very first episode of the Apprentice with Donald Trump. I LOVED him! He was so smart, ambitious, hard working, and of course, good looking! Anyway, he became famous by marrying an E News anchor and having a reality show with her. I’ve never seen the reality show, but found out through the Twitter grapevine that Bill and his wife had opened up an authentic Italian restaurant in Chicago.
When I told my friend about the restaurant, she was super excited, as she is a fan of the reality show. We made reservations and the place is so popular that we couldn’t get in until 10:30.
That just meant that I had plenty of time to do other things. I spent the morning in the hotel lobby drinking mimosas and catching up on some stuff on the computer. Then I decided to venture out for a shopping trip. Normally, I don’t shop anywhere that I can get at home, but I had a DSW birthday coupon that was set to expire before I was going to get back home. So, I found a DSW on State that didn’t have the boots I wanted, so I walked a mile and a half to the next one, sight seeing along the way. I found my boots, and lucky for me, the shoe store was in the same mall as a Whole Foods where I found, yes, you guessed it, Crispin!!
After my afternoon excursion, I headed back to the hotel where we had happy hour and then headed out to a FANTASTIC wine bar, Bin 36. Bin 36 was not only a wine bar, but it also had a wine and cheese shop, and dining area. We sat at the bar and enjoyed wine flights, and hand crafted cocktails with some of the most talented bartenders in the city. I even left with a recipe to take home…Lychee Cucumber Cooler was a refreshing summer cocktail served over ice with lychee liqueur (very hard to find in Kansas City), house infused cucumber vodka, and freshly made lemonade)
We headed out to our dinner reservation with hopes that there would be a Bill Rancic sighting, although, I had been Twitter stocking all day and didn’t get any indication that Bill was in Chicago. In fact, according to Twitter, he was spotted in Corpus Christi at a speaking engagement. Anyway, although it was 10:30 at night, it was CRAZY busy. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house. We started with one round of drinks, then a second round of drinks, and then the waitress took our appetizer order. At first, I appreciated the way that she gave us time to enjoy a leisurely dinner, but then I realized, she was just too busy to be too attentive to us. appetizers consisted of bruschetta and truffle garlic bread!!! Truffle anything??? YES PLEASE! It was to die for! Then came the Brussel sprout chopped salad. For the main course, I ordered the lobster ravioli. I will say that there is a lot of hype surrounding this restaurant, but everything that we had was amazing.
The highlight was the gelato flight that they brought on the house to celebrate our birthdays. Three hours later, we waddled home, full and satisfied, but without any Rancic sightings.
Chicago Bound!
I’m usually very busy leading up to time away from work trying to get everything done and making sure that things are in order during my absence. Getting ready for Chicago was no exception. I had a late day attending an event in Manhattan and got home at 11:00 and still hadn’t packed. My flight was leaving at 6:20 the next morning.
Long story short, I didn’t give myself enough time to get to the airport, and I missed my flight. Lucky for me, there are about 10 flights a day between KC and Chicago, and I was able to get on the very next flight and was only about 20 minutes late.
Needless to say, I was a bit rattled. So, what did I do as soon as I landed? Went to the nearest airport bar and had a bloody mary! The great thing about this trip was that I didn’t have a whole lot planned. The idea was to have a relaxing few days scouting for my boyfriends, Chris Martin and Bill Rancic. More on that later.
I tool the train and eventually made it to our hotel in downtown Chicago. I took a quick nap and then made it out for the first thing on the agenda….a run on Lake Shore Drive. The hotel had a pocket map of a four mile run and a seven mile run. However, I didn’t realize that the distance from the hotel to the lake counted as a part of the run, so I had intended on doing the four mile run and ended up doing about 8 miles. It is amazing what the water does for my endurance. I never checked the clock and ran further and faster than usual.
I walked back to the hotel and stopped in a corner drugstore for a post run cold drink, and what did I find, Crispin!!! Crispin is distributed by Miller Coors, based in Chicago, so, Crispin is readily available in drug stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, bars, and restaurants all over the city.
After my run and cold drink, I showered, threw my wet hair up, and headed out to the blow dry bar. This is a concept that is pretty foreign to my area, but popular on the coasts and in other major cities. I have thick, curly hair, and it takes me forever to blow dry and flat iron my hair, so I thought it would be cool and save some time to make an appointment at a blow dry bar. There happened to be one about four blocks from our hotel. The girl that did my blow out was so cool. She was my age and we spent the 45 minutes talking about our cities and all of the fun things to do.
As soon as I stepped outside of the salon, the rain started pouring. Just my luck! But, the receptionist was so nice, she chased me down with a shower cap! Yes, I walked the four blocks back to the hotel in a shower cap! Who cares, I’d never see any of these people again, right?
My friends and I met for dinner and drinks at a local burger and beer joint on Michigan Avenue. After dinner, I was headed to the United Center!
I hailed a cab that dropped me off a few blocks from the UC where I was able to buy a floor seat at face value! And I didn’t have to sell a kidney to afford it!
Let me just say that Chris Martin and the boys put on a PHENOMENAL show! It was hands down one of the two best live shows that I have ever seen. The crowd was AMAZING! It was one of the most alive and engaging crowd that I have ever seen at a live show. One of the coolest things about the show was the wrist bands that they handed out at the door. They lit up in sync with the music, so it was awesome to see the dark stadium light up in multicolored hues to the music. They played for at least two solid hours. I was in awe of how Chris Martin just gets into the music. He is such a talented piano player…I could feel his heart and soul in the music.
I am so glad that I got to go to the concert. It was a great experience and such a fantastic way to continue the birthday month celebration.
Reflections: Friends, Family, Coworkers
http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?BR=f21&Category=whatsnew_app_sweaters&ProductID=2086807112&VariantID=I had a jammed packed weekend, my first weekend of back to back engagements in quite some time since most of my time over the last year has been devoted to studying and learning my new position at work.
My weekend started early on Thursday with a social outing that took me to two places that I wouldn’t normally visit – Applebee’s, and a motorcycle gear shop (I do not ride and I know nothing about riding), followed by dinner at one of my favorite local spots, NoRTH. http://www.foxrc.com/north.html I washed down scallops that melted in my mouth with Punto Final Malbec from Bodega Renacer winery http://www.bodegarenacer.com.ar/eng/index.html . It was a fun and relaxing evening, even though I stayed out a bit later than usual. ,
Friday started bright and early with a 7:00 a coffee meeting. After I finished working for the day and a quick salon appointment with Tasha at En Vogue, http://tashancain.com/, I decided to brave the crazed streets and head to the mall. My company Christmas party was Saturday, and I still had nothing to wear. I had started my own tradition of wearing red to the event every year and was in search of a red dress. After two hours and trips to five stores, I found an outfit! http://www.express.com/strapless-rouched-tube-dress-41190-849/control/page/6/show/3/index.pro
To decompress from the traumatizing shopping experience, I met a friend at Mestizo www.mestizoleawood.com
for authentic Mexican food and refreshing margaritas.
It was another short night, as I had to meet a few people for a ride to Union Station for a tribute to a well known Kansas City meterologist. http://files.fox4kc.com/don/
After the service, we headed to breakfast at Room 39 http://rm39.com/ . It was a very busy place and the quiche was out of this world! After breakfast I ran errands and then had to rush to my nephew’s fifth birthday party at Zonkers. www.zonkers.com
I probably had more fun than the children playing basketball and ski ball. After a quick wardrobe change into my new red party dress, I headed for the Plaza for our company Christmas party.We had a blast with great food, drinks, company, and entertainment from KC Improv. http://www.improvkc.com/ The night just flew by! It was great to connect witht the the people that I work with in a stress free, relaxed environment. The quality time was especially needed now given the stresses that I have recently had due to my position.
I had yet another short night, as I got home late from the party and got a pot of chili to start. My alarm went off at 5:30 am and it was time to get up and pack for our trip to tailgate and watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Green Bay Packers. www.nfl.com I try to get to as many games as I can each year, but my schedule didn’t allow for any football games until today. I have a group of friends that I typically tailgate with and we have a blast!!! But, it is a long day.
Playing Dress Up
Friday, March 2nd, was a day that I had been looking forward to for weeks. My good friend and I were headed to a gala. Black tie, cocktails, dinner, and dancing, all to raise scholarships for Kansas City area high school students that are attending K-State. This event combined three of my favorite things, dressing up, all things K-State, and good friends.
About three weeks before the event, I found the PERFECT dress at a local mom and pop dress shop, Natalie M. on Metcalf in Overland Park. http://www.nataliem.com/ I was a little worried because the dress had three layers and one of the layers was a bit snug, but I knew that by the time the event rolled around it would be ok.
The next couple of weeks just flew by. I started the week of the event off by getting a purple gel manicure with Ana at Nail Avante in Town Center Plaza in Leawood. http://www.towncenterplaza.com/store/nail-avante/2137036261/2138806610 I was so excited that I hardly slept a wink in the days leading up to the event.
Wednesday, I had a bit of a scare when I realized that my recent hair cut left my hair shorter than I had planned and so I wasn’t sure that I could do my hair on my own. So, I sent an SOS text to my hair stylist, Amy Wise, who saved the day. I was able to get an appointment with her for Friday afternoon, the day of the event, and she would put my hair up as she had lots of experience doing updos for those with short hair. www.facebook.com/wisestylist
Tasha at EnVogue did my eyebrows www.tashancain.com and Shrya at the MAC cosmetics counter in the Macy’s at Town Center Plaza applied my makeup to compliment my perfect dress.
Because my dress had a corset top and needed to be tied, I got dressed at the dress shop and let the attendants help me into the dress. The dress fit like a glove!
My friend picked me up and we headed to the event. I was so excited that I was talking a mile a minute. We both looked great and I was excited about all of the people that we would see, friends, acquaintances, and new friends.
The event was a BLAST. 600 people attended and raised $404,000 in scholarships for Kansas CIty area kids.
I reconnected with a classmate that I hadn’t seen since college. Hopefully I see her and her husband again.
I had so much fun and I loved my dress so much that I didn’t want to take it off at the end of the night. The only bad thing about the night was how fast it went!
It is amazing how a little hair, make-up, and formal gown can make you forget about the 10 extra pounds, what I had for dinner the night before, and whether or not I’d logged enough miles on my runs last week. I felt good, and I was proud to connect with fellow K-Staters to come together for such a great cause.
Reflections: Friends, Family, Coworkers
I had a jammed packed weekend, my first weekend of back to back engagements in quite some time since most of my time over the last year has been devoted to studying and learning my new position at work.
My weekend started early on Thursday with a social outing that took me to two places that I wouldn’t normally visit – Applebee’s, and a motorcycle gear shop (I do not ride and I know nothing about riding), followed by dinner at one of my favorite local spots, NoRTH. http://www.foxrc.com/north.html I washed down scallops that melted in my mouth with Punto Final Malbec from Bodega Renacer winery. http://www.bodegarenacer.com.ar/eng/index.html It was a fun and relaxing evening, even though I stayed out a bit later than usual.
Friday started bright and early with a 7:00 am coffee meeting. After I finished working for the day and a quick salon appointment with Tasha at En Vogue, http://tashancain.com/, I decided to brave the crazed streets and head to the mall. My company Christmas party was Saturday, and I still had nothing to wear. I had started my own tradition of wearing red to the event every year and was in search of a red dress. After two hours and trips to five stores, I found an outfit! http://www.express.com/strapless-rouched-tube-dress-41190-849/control/page/6/show/3/index.pro
To decompress from the traumatizing shopping experience, I met a friend at Mestizo www.mestizoleawood.com
for authentic Mexican food and refreshing margaritas.
It was another short night, as I had to meet a few people for a ride to Union Station for a tribute to a well-known Kansas City meteorologist. http://files.fox4kc.com/don/
After the service, we headed to breakfast at Room 39 http://rm39.com/ . It was a very busy place and the Quiche was out of this world! After breakfast I ran errands and then had to rush to my nephew’s fifth birthday party at Zonkers. www.zonkers.com
I probably had more fun than the children playing basketball and ski ball. After a quick wardrobe change into my new red party dress, I headed for the Plaza for our company Christmas party. We had a blast with great food, drinks, company, and entertainment from KC Improv. http://www.improvkc.com/ The night just flew by! It was great to connect with the people who I work with in a stress free, relaxed environment. The quality time was especially needed now given the stresses that I have recently had due to my position.
I had yet another short night, as I got home late from the party and got a pot of chili to start. My alarm went off at 5:30 am and it was time to get up and pack for our trip to tailgate and watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Green Bay Packers. www.nfl.com I try to get to as many games as I can each year, but my schedule didn’t allow for any football games until today. I have a group of friends that I typically tailgate with and we have a blast!!! But, it is a long day, beginning with pre-tailgating with coffee and Baileys while waiting for the stadium gates to open, then grilling, socializing, eating, drinking, and going to the game. This game was especially fun, as it was a great football game to watch! http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-10709525
As is I reflect on this weekend’s events filled with time with family, friends, and my work family, I’m reminding myself to be thankful for the little things. Thankful for the life that I have and the experiences that I am able to enjoy.
Amy's Blog 