Year 3-0!

Happy 30th Birthday, Jules!

We just got off the phone with her as she was finishing her trillionth shot.

As you can see by the photo, Steve's sister was treated with nothing but the upmost respect at work as she entered her 3rd decade. Apparently it was "poop" cake that tasted really good. What-ever, Jules....

The fact that Julie is now 30 means that Steve will be turning 35 very soon which is a little strange (okay, a little more than a little strange).

But we're really excited for Julie. As I told Jules on her voicemail today, there's no question in my mind that her 30's will be great (and overall better than her 20's - I don't think I know anyone in their 30's that would disagree).

Cheers!

Okoboji!

Ahh...Okoboji with the Robinsons (well some of the Robinsons) and my parents was ideal to say the least.

In addition to perfect weather, it was the perfect combination of relaxing in the hammock with my sidekick Jack who spent a vast majority of his time talking about, his friend and my nephew, Nate.

Watching and playing with the happiest baby pretty much ever, Finn.

Taking a lot of self-portraits.

Kayaking.

Boating.

Waverunner"ing" with my dad which consisted of racing and 360's (I can still hardly walk).

Drinking lots o' wine.

And spending time with one of my closest friends, Wendy.

Yep, Another Baby!

Congratulations to our good friends, Matt and Jen (& John) Regas on the birth of their daughter, Alexa, on Sunday!

We always have so much fun with the Regas' and are excited for more fun times that now include Alexa!

White Rock

This afternoon as I pulled into our driveway from an amazing weekend in Okoboji with the Robinsons and my parents, I noticed this large white rock on the corner of our lawn next to our driveway.

I was quite perplexed since I've always heard rumors that a white rock signifies something about the people whose lawn it's in.

Granted I've been away for almost four days and we didn't get to talk much due to Steve being at the end of his cell phone cycle, but I thought Steve would have spoken to me about this before making such a bold (and untrue) statement on our behalf.

I immediately had to leave to get my oil changed, but as I drove down the street, I noticed yet another large white rock in our neighbor's Toby and Leslie's yard. Hmm...

And then as I'm hanging out at the dealership, I get a call from Steve saying he had just received a strange email from our neighbor, Scott, talking about how since some news story came out there's been an epidemic of white rocks and swingers in KC.

I may not have graduated from Harvard, but the lightbulb immediately went on!

It turns out our beloved neighbor, Scott, took the time to find two large smooth rocks, spray painted them white and placed them in our yards.

After we both got home we walked down the street to the local Mexican restaurant and immediately ran into another neighbor whose first comment was, "I noticed you have a white rock in your yard."

Great....

Another Anniversary!

After seven years, I should know better than to assume Steve is going to know and proactively tell me important Seiler family dates.

So here's a belated anniversary call out to Steve's parents (and, luckily, my in-laws), Barb and Jerry, who celebrated their anniversary on Tuesday!

We love you :)

Communication

Tonight Steve and I decided it was time to visit our neighboring 75th Street Brewery for some dinner and a brew (since it's a brewery).

In the car there Steve and I had the following conversation:

Steve: I checked the minutes on my phone, and I only have 64 minutes left until June 22. And I've used some since I checked it.

Me: Friday is June 20. So that means that June 22 is Sunday.

Steve: That's right.

Me: Well that means we won't be able to talk to each other while I'm in Okoboji.

Steve: Yep, that's right.

Finally!

For the love, I'm finally going to see the Sex And The City movie tomorrow night!

For all of the happy hours I've subjected myself to, for all of the breaths I've used talking about this movie, and for all of the people I've hushed so they don't give away the ending, it's quite sad I haven't seen the actual movie.

I feel like someone that talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk.

But tomorrow night my neighbor, Kellie, and I are having an official girls' night on the plaza with drinks before the movie and everything. I cannot wait!

Sun, Fun, Water, Shopping & A Conference

My conference and time in Chicago was fabulous!

Maybe it was because the conference was about customer loyalty (and so everyone was about the "experience"), but I learned tons and met so many cool people.

I arrived in Chicago on Wednesday alone and somehow figured out how to get from my hotel to the conference with no directions which alone made the trip a success. I was also quite proud during that initial walk when a random woman asked me how to get to the shopping on Michigan Avenue, and I was able to tell her.

Right away I met a girl who does what I do except for she works for Stride Rite in Boston. We clicked, and she hung out with all of us all three days which was fun. Each night there was an impressive cocktail hour so I met a lot of people who work for retail brands I throughly enjoy which was a cool experience in itself. And, to top it off, it turned out there were a couple other KC people I knew there.

Thursday night a few of us went on a vendor sponsored booze cruise around the city. We weren't so sure what to expect but it was a beautiful night in Chicago and it was a blast! We enjoyed wine, apps and we met some really fun people.

On Friday I pushed my flight back three times and didn't leave until early evening - gotta love Southwest - so I could spend some necessary time shopping. And H&M did not disappoint. Not counting my black flower hair clip purchase, Steve was impressed with all my finds and even suggested some outfits that could go together (which was relatively easy since all of my purchases were various shades of pink with a little black thrown in for good measure).

It's Father's Day!

I just got off the phone with my dad, and he's having the best Father's Day possible because his grandson was just arriving at their house. And I know Barb and Jerry had at least one of the grandkids recently, so he's taken care of, too!

I just returned from a long bike ride on the Brookside Trolley Trail, and it was full of dads and their bored looking kids riding their bikes together. It was hilarious to watch these 10-year old's faces looking like they were being punished for having to go on a bike ride.

I loved going on bike rides with my dad growing up. And these kids have a lot more choices of routes and scenery (we didn't have a trail; the closest thing one could call a trail was the cornfield we walked through sometimes to get to the swimming pool), so they really don't know how good they've got it. Oh kids these days... (I don't really mean that, unless they are bratty or mean, of course.)

On that note, Happy Father's Day from your never bratty or mean kids!

Chicago!

I'm attempting to fly to Chicago for a marketing conference tomorrow morning. When I last tried to fly to Chicago for a marketing conference in February, it didn't go so well. Ever since that fiasco was over, I think Steve's been more than happy to usher me back off to Chicago (which I don't blame him)!

In case anyone doesn't know this, while Steve loves me a lot, he also loves his alone time a lot.

So while Steve enjoys his down time of not having to take care of me (and me vice versa - right...), I'll be back in Chicago where I can go to my standard restaurant on Rush St. and have my standard pasta and red wine sitting at the bar after, OF COURSE, I finish shopping on Michigan Avenue (H&M is my major stop since we don't have it in KC. I have major expectations of H&M).

I'll be alone until Thursday night when I go on some vendor booze cruise around Chicago with a couple people from my advertising agency. I have a feeling it won't compare to the Cancun booze cruise during spring break where I happened to turn 21, but what does?

Getting back to the core reason of this post...if anyone really wants to drive Steve crazy, just call him a lot over the next few days at night. I'm sure he'll 1) pick up the phone. 2) talk your ear off. Or not.

Final U.S. Hoorah

A week ago Friday was supposed to be the last hoorah for Helena, the UK scholar who has been with my company the past three months. But poor Helena got super sick with the flu and ended up in the emergency room. I seriously cannot imagine how those phone calls home went. I got the feeling her parents were ready to fly over the pond and come get her immediately.

Anyway, her project was marketing related, so for the most part she reported to me. Helena is super smart; in fact smarter than I would have probably wanted to be or could have been 10-years ago. She's also nice and funny to be around.

So I didn't want to miss her rescheduled final hoorah. Due to the last minute nature, the large group became small, but we still had a great time.

After dinner at Brio and drinks at reVerse, Helena wanted to dance. Well, there's not a lot of dance options on our beloved Country Club Plaza so we ended up at Blonde. Oh Blonde. It seems gone are the days of having to be on a VIP list to get admitted and the expensive table service. They were happy to usher us in cover-free. And there were all types of people dancing which was quite entertaining.

Jim(bo), Ashley and me just takin' it all in. And there was a lot to take in.

Helena and Justin doing... I'm not sure (see we had a lot to take in!).

39 Years!

Happy Anniversary to my parents today! Congratulations on 39 years!

I guess it's time to start planning the card anniversary party that will be held in the church basement for the Big 40th...only 365 to make their dream a reality. Kidding (perhaps).

Seriously, it feels like Steve and I have been together forever and it's only been 7-years. I can't imagine what it would be like to know each other your entire lives and have been dating /married for 44ish years. Wow!

Sheryl Crow Concert

Last night Ann and me along with her friends Claire, Kathy and Jennifer went to the Sheryl Crow concert outside at Starlight Theatre. First of all, I decided without a doubt that I'd really like to be Sheryl Crow. She seems so beautiful inside and out (to be frank; her body is to die for and her hair is very flowy).

The concert was absolutely AMAZING, and we had a blast with a comedy of errors in between.

Yesterday was a stormy looking day, and last night was no different. After shuttling cars back to garages due to fears of hail, Ann, Jennifer and I arrived and then had to walk way over to the other side to tailgate with the other girls. During this time, I also realized my wine opener was in my car in my garage which wasn't very handy since Sheryl Crow and wine go together. Thankfully we ran into Angie and Roy who did have a wine opener in their car. I'm not one to ask questions, but I knew there was a reason we were friends...

As we walked into the outside venue, it was getting windy with a few rain drops. But within minutes the weather magically became perfect which was good considering we soon realized that one of our five orchestra seats that we paid a pretty penny for didn't exist. Seat 15 was nowhere to be found.

The seat guy said he wouldn't be able to seat all five of us together, so I called my Starlight contact who luckily is in charge of marketing and sales and within minutes she was taking care of business. Next thing we know our great seats became fantastic as we were sitting in the 10th/11thish row front and center!

During the middle of the concert, my contact tapped me on the shoulder and also provided us with five VIP tickets for after the show, so with texts telling us KCK was having 60-70 mph winds, we were living the good life hanging outside listening and watching Sheryl Crow from close range (and dreaming we were her).

As the concert ended, the winds came up and downpour began. We decided to take advantage of the VIP room. So we had a drink in the VIP lounge, learned all sorts of things about Sheryl Crow (because Kathy and Sheryl's moms were friends), got our photo taken in front of something that could appear on US Weekly and then ran across the theatre in the pouring rain as we were the last guests to leave the theatre. Therefore we were also the last car in the grass so it was a speedy exit. Ann's smart like that.

Friends From A Far

This week my former roomie (and great friend) Lisa, Scott and their kids Ashleigh and Braeden were here from St. Louis.

It's strange to go from living with someone for two-years when you see each other daily, to living 20-minutes away when you see each other monthly, to living hours away when you see each other once a year for a few hours.

But regardless, every time we see each other, it's pretty much like we're still living with each other. I miss having them in KC and missing out on the daily stuff, but it makes nights like this even more special.

We all met up at John and Jolyn's pad. They are seriously the hosts with the most. In addition to caring for Jackie, as we came, someone was looking at their house (it's for sale if anyone is looking for a cute OP duplex), they graciously hosted us, and then as we were leaving, their real estate agent was pulling in to discuss an offer that had just been put on their house. To say they have a few things going on right now is a severe understatement!

We're all growing up (Steve and me included; even though we are extremely close to being the only people on the planet our age without kids), and as Wednesday night showed, life keeps getting better!

A New Hacke!

Congratulations to our friends, Andy and Susan (and twins Will and Paige), on the birth of their son, Calvin Jacob, on Wednesday!

Since the Hacke's now live back in Iowa, it's not likely that Steve will be the first person to give Calvin his first full-size candy bar or pour sugar down his throat (which seemed to be Steve's goal with the twins whenever Andy had them alone).

I don't think Steve grasps all the 'paybacks' we have coming if we have kids. It won't be pretty.

Furniture Finds

Steve and I have become pros at finding a piece of furniture, taking its measurements at the store, coming home and measuring the space to find the furniture is too big, too wide, too tall, too long...

The joys of a smallish, older house.

As frustrating and annoying as it is, the original dark wood paneling, hardwood floors, built-in bookcases, mantle, windows, our neighborhood and awesome neighbors make it worth it to us, without question, at this point in our lives.

But tonight after quite a few recent strike outs, we finally found a piece of furniture that measured correctly when we got home! And it was 80% off (sadly due to a neighborhood store going out of business). But, hey, a good deal is a good deal no matter how it comes about.

So while our bedroom furniture is mine from middle school, and while we have no bathroom storage, at least we proudly now have a place to store at least 20 bottles of wine in our dining room.