New Shows!

I can't wait for Fall TV to start. I love "my shows" and although the Olympics filled the gap of watching for a couple of weeks I am ready for all the new shows to start. It is kind of embarrassing but there are so many shows that I want to watch I don't know how I am going to find the time. Granted I won't watch anything in real time as we TIVO everything and watch it on our own time, but really I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it all in. Here is the list.

1. Gossip Girl (CW), 8 p.m.


2. One Tree Hill (CW), 9 p.m.


3. Prison Break (Fox), 8 p.m.


4. Entourage (HBO), 10 p.m.


5. CSI: Miami (CBS), 10 p.m.


6. How I Met Your Mother (CBS), 8:30 p.m.


7. Law & Order: SVU (NBC), 10 p.m.


8. NCIS (CBS), 8 p.m.


9. Without a Trace (CBS), 10 p.m.


10. Criminal Minds (CBS), 9 p.m.


11. CSI: NY (CBS), 10 p.m.


12. Lipstick Jungle (NBC), 10 p.m.


13. Grey's Anatomy (ABC), 9 p.m.


14. Amazing Race (CBS), 8 p.m.


15. Brothers & Sisters (ABC), 10 p.m.


16. Cold Case (CBS), 9 p.m.


17. The Unit (CBS), 10 p.m.


18. Private Practice (ABC), 9 p.m.


19. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS), 9 p.m.

Yeah - that is a lot of TV. I love it!

So as I eluded to in my previous post there is a list of places I want to visit in my lifetime. So in an effort to put pen to paper I'm going to list the places.

1. Bora Bora/Tahiti
2. Greece
3. Fiji
4. Thailand
5. Bali
6. Finland/Norway/Iceland/Sweden
7. St. Barts
8. Safari in Africa & South Africa
9. Whistler, British Columbia
10. Back to the Amalfi Coast

Vacation 2008

It is official, after a significant amount of research and several location changes we have finally settled on where we are going for vacation this year. We started with Bora Bora, then moved to Greece, then to Thailand, then Bali and finally settled on Hawaii. I know it seems very different than the others listed, but when you consider that we couldn't go until September and we wanted someplace that wasn't on the Euro we were left with a much smaller window of locations.

We will be spending 10 days in Maui at two different resorts in two parts of the island. We will fly into Maui through Dallas Ft. Worth and head to the Westin Maui Resort and Spa, Ka'anapali for six nights and then on to the Four Seasons Wailea for four nights. Although I would have preferred to cross some places off of my list of places to see that were a little farther away and more difficult to get to, I'm really excited for Hawaii. So far I have a couple of ideas on what to do while we are there. A large portion of our trip will just be relaxing at the pool and the beach but in addition to that my list includes surfing lessons, a luau, maybe do the sunrise at the volcano and the bike trip down and then maybe drive the road to Hana. I'm still in the research stage but if anyone has ideas or recommendations please pass them along. I'll be sure to write a review when we get back in case anyone has Hawaii on their list of places to go.

If you want more information on the resorts see the following links http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1028

http://www.fourseasons.com/maui/

Dinner and a movie!

There is nothing I like more when I am home alone for a night than to order in dinner and watch a movie. Ben is in Peoria golfing this weekend and I am holding down the fort with Lucy. After a day of naps and walks with Lucy, I ordered in pizza and salad and watched a movie. I love just laying on the coach and relaxing. Tonight it was Lou Malnati's (a personal favorite) and the movie No Reservations. Not something I normally would have chosen, but it was on HBO and therefore gave it a try. The movie was better than expected and a nice way to spend a Saturday night. It is funny....the older I get the more I prefer just to stay home rather than go out.

To Charlotte and Back

So last week I was in Charlotte for work. I flew in on Sunday and my parents met me at the airport. Since they live relatively close they drove in and we were able to spend Sunday shopping and going to a yummy dinner. We were able to catch up and spend some time together which is nice. With them living so far away and my hectic schedule it is difficult to plan time in advance to get together. Monday we met for breakfast before I headed to work and they headed home.





Although I worked a lot that week here are a couple of observations from Charlotte.

1. The guys there are "very" southern - now this may seem like an obvious statement, but it stretches to more than just the accent...and yes they have one. Aside from accent and the manners, these guys dress better than most in Chicago. There is something very put together and traditional about how southern guys dress.


2. There is an extreme amount of construction going on in the city. Someone told me while I was there that there are some 30+ cranes currently working in the city. It seems like they are building something new on every block.


3. With how much growth the city is experiencing you would think American could pony up a larger plane to commute between Chicago and Charlotte. The only direct flights are on these regional jets that allow for no carry on space. Ugh! I mean this is the same size plane I take to Evansville, IN and that is only a 35 min. flight.


4. The taxi from the hotel to the airport on Friday was a pimped out black Suburban with tinted windows. Honestly, I felt like I should be someone famous having my driver drop me at the airport rather than just me "catching a cab".
   

Overall it was a long week but a good one - next time I'll have to actually get out a little more and see what the city has to offer.