the last day before christmas break we always take the kids bowling, and this year was no exception. they always have a great time- weather its bowling, or spending all their money on candy from the vending machines, they all find something to keep them busy.
thursday night i went with a friend to a christmas party downtown chicago. it was at a really nice bar called rizas. it was a pretty fancy place, it even had a piano player in the bar area. they had a room reserved for the party, so we headed back. i didnt really know anyone, so i wasnt exactly sure what to expect.
by the end of the night, party members were belting out mo-town tunes from the karaoke machine! there was even a woman who did a hilarious spot-on impression of tina turner. 
everything really is bigger in texas. last weekend i flew down to houston texas to go to a graduation. i rented a car (a cobalt, which really sucked, but at least it had gps, so that was cool) and headed over to the city of college station. i got there super late, but it seemed that the party had just begun. we ended up heading to bed around 4:00am, which was quite stupid considering we had a 6:30am wake up time. like a zombie i got ready and we headed to the indoor arena on the texas a&m campus. we got seats, then i proceeded to bob in and out of sleep for the next two hours.
of the 800 people who were graduating, the person i came to see was seventh to the last. of course. eventually it was done and we headed over to the graduation open house. it was fun to meet all the family. they were all super nice, especially their uncle john. he had a hilarious sense of humor, which was gloriously enhanced by his strong texas accent!
we stopped at a strange place called 'whataburger' on the way back. they have the weirdest restaurants in texas, i swear... then it was off to the sweat release of much deserved sleep. aaaah...
next weekend i hop on a plane for the first time in quite a while. im heading down to texas, and im not entirely sure what to expect. ive heard it was about 80 degrees this weekend, so at least my feet will thaw out...
last night we headed to chicago to check out the holiday festivities that were happening at the brookfield zoo. it was really cold, but figured it might be worth checking out. it was pretty cool, down all the walkways there were different christmas trees decorated by assorted companies, schools, and kids activity groups. one i thought was pretty funny was a tree decorated by a highway maintenance company- it was covered in 'caution' yellow tape and orange ribbons! 
one of the coolest things there for the holiday event was a guy who made ice sculptures. when we first walked by he was starting to make a butterfly out of a three foot tall block of ice. the ones he had already made, a deer and a dragon, were amazing! 
this thanksgiving i headed home to be with the family, and had a great time. the night before thanksgiving i met up with jeffry lee, aaron and bethany, aarons bro, sis, step-sis, and all their respective other halfs. jeffry lee and i werent really up for going out too much, but we went anyway and headed to gardellas. the place was so packed we had to wait outside for about 15 minutes before they let us in. we ended up having a good enough time (well, when kevin wasnt forcing the juke box to play annoying death metal).
we bumped our thanksgiving dinner to friday this year, so on friday evening we all gathered in our basement (which was a strange change of scenery, but very accommodating considering the large number of people who would have had to fit around the dining room table). that night we met up with the guys and went to go see 'hitman' and hang out at fridays together. 
a couple weeks ago i happened to find myself in springfield, illinois. now, this was not entirely an accident. i had been wanting to go to springfield for many many years. it is, after all, the birthplace of one of my favorite people in history: abraham lincoln!
after rooting around town for a bit, we happened upon the house that lincoln had owned and lived in. we took the tour of the home and got to see the home in its restored state. the thing that surprised me the most, i think, was just how ugly it was! the wall paper and carpets were very bright and colorful. i hadnt really expected that. the walls were a white and red paisley pattern, and then the carpet was a strangely designed flower pattern with bars of green, blue and red running through it. by todays standards it was very tacky and totally clashed. the tour guide though, told us that that was the style of the day, 'harmony through variety' is what he called it. i just called it ugly and moved on.
when we went down to st. louis we drove past a town called Normal, illinois. this is of special interest to me. one of my favorite bands of all time is a small group called 'the normals'. they got their name from this town- which is where they grew up! i had always thought it would be kind of fun (in that really strange obsessed way) to check out the town of normal.
this past weekend i went with a friend to st. louis. i had never been there before (well, except for a layover flight, but that totally doesnt count) so i was up for the adventure.
we got there on friday night and went out for dinner with a couple other friends. on saturday we headed out to the zoo. it was an amazingly unseasonable day- i think it got up to 60 degrees, and this was in the middle of november! we spent a lazy afternoon wandering around checking out everything from penguins, to zebras, to monkeys, to sea lions! later that night we went out to a very nice italian place and ended up at the union station, which is a converted old railroad station. now its a shopping area. it was amazing to see. there was a lounge on the second floor that opened up to a ceiling that was probably 100 foot tall. quite amazing!
a few weeks ago i went with a friend to a rather strange event. it was a fundraiser for the chicago city squash youth league. i guess its a league that is offered free to children in the inner city of chicago. they can come on in and play squash.
as the night progressed we were treated to some amazing salad and roast. as far as entertainment goes, they just so happened to have flown in the 1st and 8th ranked best squash players in the world. from egypt and from australia. you know, just to swat the ball around for our amusement. 
i had to go to the dentist to get a new crown put in. about a month ago i broke a tooth while at school (darn you tortilla chips!!!). i went in the next day to the dentist and he told me i should get a crown for the tooth. i figured he just wanted to buy a new tv at home with what it was going to cost me, but i went through with it anyway.
i know this is completely random, but last time i was home i stopped by jeffry lees place, and he had this totally rad chair. i loved it because i recognized it as an old steelcase chair!
the reason that i could recognize the maker of the chair is because thats where my dad works. i thought it was so awesome that i took a look at the label underneath the chair and saw that it was actually made in 1974! which means, near as i can remember, this was the type of chair that the company was making around the time my dad first started working there.
last saturday the family went out to eat for my moms birthday. we went to a really cool resturant called boatwerks in holland michigan. it is right on the water of lake macatawa and had an amazing view! after getting ourselves lost on the way over, we found the place and sat down. there was a bit of seat shuffling, but then we were all set to enjoy the time together. and we did exactly that. we tried some crazy weird appitizers, and i even had to admit that maybe ive been wrong about how gross mushrooms are. after appitizers we thought it would be cool to step out on their patio and take some pictures by the lake.
last weekend i went back up to grand rapids. i went for a couple reasons, my brother was in town (which only happens about twice a year) and because it was my moms birthday! it was a really fun time.
the cutest thing is that whenever there is a break in the game all the kids race back to their moms and take a drink from their water bottles- im guessing they always see the pros drinking from their water bottles, so they figure it must be part of the game...
tonight was wierd. i guess im really old now, because we just had our ten year high school reunion tonight.
my phone died on me earlier this week. i just got a replacement phone in the mail yesterday, but i seemed to have a bit of a problem: none of my phone numbers transfered over from the sim card. argh. and, of course, i didnt think ahead and write down any numbers i had on my phone (and i certainly dont know any of them by heart...).
i dont normally do this, but this post is for one person in particular. so, if you are not my brother, then dont read this.
about a month ago i had some problems with my new phone. i went to check the time, opened it up, and was met with a screen of crazy color static (kind of like the black and white snow fuzz, but with colors). i was a bit confused, but let the phone battery die and then plugged it back in for a recharge. soon after it returned to its normal self. only a scare. well, last night it did it again! i tried the same technique, but this time to no avail. its truly dead. God rest its soul. i went to the phone place today to look into a replacement (its still under warranty), and called for a new one. it doesnt come until friday, so i guess im phoneless until then. i hate to admit it, but thats going to be tough on me!
wow, its been quite a busy couple of weeks! ive been too busy doing stuff to actually slow down and write about stuff! this is a bit of a new thing for me, but i dont think ill mind getting used to it...
yesterday i went to the hospital. not because i was hurt, rather, to visit a friend. last weekend she got bit by a spider or something on her let. didnt think anything of it, but by wednesday it had gotten pretty swollen. so, she went to a doctor and had it looked at. he cleaned it out and dressed it. friday she went back in to get it redressed, but instead was told that she needed to stay in the hospital because they thought it looked infected. yikes! she had to stay saturday night too, but its looking a lot better, so she hopes to be out today.