ChiCAHgo & Sunburns

What's good, blogland? First of all, if you aren't watching The Hills retromarathon on MTV because you're at work right now, I feel for ya. I really do. This show just gets better and better every time I watch it. LC is my stupid face making soulmate! And who doesn't have a Jen Bunney or Heidi in their life? In 40 years, we will call this "classic" TV that will forever be in syndication of Lifetime.

This weekend wrap up contains my last "hoorah" before the panicky feeling of moving and uprooting my life begins starts NOW. Two weeks from yesterday, I will throw all my junk in several vehicles and become a resident of Indiana for the next 4-8 years. This isn't like college where I know I'll be coming home on weekends and breaks. This could be permanent.   But I'll save all that anxiety for another post. This is supposed to be fun!

After running some errands on Friday, I started my 4.5 hours drive up to "The Region" or the part of Indiana that claims to be Chicago, much to the chagrin of anyone that is truly a resident of the city. The drive was pretty enjoyable. I went to the library and borrowed several "Now" CD's - Now 9 is pure perfection, by the way. I also got a couple books on CD - Pandemonium & Requiem by Lauren Oliver. I read the first book - Delirium - a few years ago and LOVED it so I'm finishing the series. I'm a huge fan of dystopias and the writing is beautiful. Definitely a must-read for all you fans of The Hunger Games and similar books! Yes, I still read Young Adult fiction. 

A little background - every summer (at least the last 4 years) my close group of friends gets together in someones home town for a fun weekend, usually in the middle of the summer. Now that we've joined the adult world, things are VERY complicated. Work schedules, school schedules, weddings, prior obligations - it's hard to plan anything we can all be at (three of the eight people couldn't make it!). I'm sure it only gets harder from here. 

Our first Girl's Weekend in Cincinnati!

Friday was a relaxing day. We all got acclimated and went to Mexican for margarita's and yummy food. I gave in and had a few margs -  I couldn't resist after that long drive! I also had a few chicken fajita's - yum yum! 

Saturday we packed up the cooler and headed to the Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan for a relaxing day at the beach! The weather was perfect - low 80's, breezy, and low humidity. The water was beautiful and just the right temp! Unfortunately, I didn't do too well with the sunscreen so now my back is an angry red color. My first (and last) sunburn of the summer. Boo, hiss.

After the lake, we all got showered and dressed for dinner! We went to a cute little pizza place in her town which was perfect since we didn't eat much for lunch - just some snacks we packed for the beach.  

After dinner, we wanted to check out a brewery in our host's town. This is when things went "downhill" in a good way. First of all, the beer was good! We all ordered different things and just shared and took sips of each other's beer. I guess once you're out of college, you start to appreciate more than just Miller Lite. The best part was all the girl talk! It doesn't happen very often where we are all in one place and able to chat for as long as we want - no obligations or places to go. I will miss this like crazy in the coming months...

Sunday morning meant it was time for everyone to go home - all in different directions. The next time we'll all be together will probably be Homecoming in October, if we can even make it! Getting old sucks. Oh - and our friend's mom made us the BEST protein pancakes for breakfast made with cottage cheese and a few other ingredients. I'm totally going to find a similar recipe and try it out at home! 

Now it's time to recover and get to work! I have a long to-do list of things I've been neglecting until now. The biggest issue is purging all the crap from my room - I need to get rid of clothes I don't wear anymore, papers, books, etc. - basically anything that is going to make moving difficult. I want to start school refreshed and renewed! No clutter. Am I the only one who saves old tests and notes thinking I'll go back and use them one day? Probably. 

Have a great week, everyone! And don't forget to enter the Sony Cybershot Camera GIVEAWAY here!