My Kind of Town

It was college graduation this weekend, I skipped it! I think in my 19 years of working for the college this is only the 2nd commencement that I have missed. I'm okay with that though. Instead of sitting through another commencement ceremony I was road tripping west to Chicago. I was hoping to be a part of one of Oprah's final episodes, but instead I settled for shopping trips to Crate and Barrel and IKEA neither which are located in my little city.

The real reason for the trip was to spend a few days with my brother, his girlfriend and my parents. I'm blogging about this now so that in a year I have a written reminder to never, ever take a 9 hour road trip with my parents again, EVER! They invited me along saying how much Matt and Kim wanted to see me and how we could all share driving responsibilities. Share driving responsibilities? Apparently sharing driving responsibilities to my parents means on a 9 hour trip my mom will drive 3 hours, my dad will drive for 27 minutes and I will drive the rest. So yes, I guess technically we shared driving responsibilities.

Other things that Chicago has that my city doesn't? Well these two.

My brother and his girlfriend, who I keep reminded him needs to be his wife. I'm pretty certain that it is going to happen, I just like to pressure him to make it happen soon. She does not seem to be too worried about though. They are in fact planning a future together. Our time at IKEA proved that, they are talking about what their next kitchen is going to look like.

Other things Chicago has? Well yes I have already mentioned Crate and Barrel and IKEA but also Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco and oh yeah a sweet little diner called the Honey Jam that has of all things on the menu white chocolate, raspberry waffles and pancakes and did I mention deep dish pizza? Yes, we shopped a lot and we ate a lot and we laughed a lot. And the weather there? It's a lot like the weather here but it seemed like the spring flowers there were a few days ahead of ours. I think I've mentioned before maybe once or twice how much I love spring. Look at these beauties.


And these. I think pink trees prove that God loves beauty and that he also has a sense of humor. I don't think I would have ever thought to create a pink tree. Both these trees are located on the grounds of the country club where my brother is a golf professional. He was extra excited this week because the day before we arrive he spent the day golfing with two players from the Chicago Blackhawks. They both sent him text messages afterwords saying what a great time they had with him. For a hockey fanatic this was huge, he referred to his new bff's several times while were there, and every time it made us all smile. Kind of the way pink trees make me smile.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I once read that Kirstie Alley spent as much on flowers as she had previously spent on her expensive drug habit. I don't have an expensive drug habit, well I don't have a drug habit but I have decided that having a few flowers throughout the house makes me a much happier person. And because spring has arrived I have been able to take advantage of picking a few blooms from my own garden. My hyacinths smell amazing, it's the little things that make me happy.

Oh and for me right now it is the most wonderful time of the year! Spring has arrived and so have the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hockey every night from now until June! It's hard not to be giddy with excitement. Of course I'm cheering for the home team, the Sabres and it would make me oh so happy if they could actually make it out of the first round. I like their chances this year, new owner with lots of enthusiasm. Let's Go Buffalo!

Spring!

I love spring, it is by far my favorite time of the year. Why? Well for one it means that winter is along way off. I live in NY state, in a part of NY state that sees a lot of snow, a LOT of snow, although this year folks have remarked on what an unremarkable winter it has been, that we actually only had 7 weeks of snow and that people are moving back to NY state because of our wonderful weather. I enjoy living in a part of the country where we do actually experience 4 distinct seasons, and I have to say that this spring for some reason has been especially beautiful. I love taking pictures, I have a camera with me at all times, and many times I stop to try to capture the beauty of the seasons, but I've realized lately that it is difficult to capture the true beauty of spring, and that sometimes it is better to just stop and enjoy it.

Those pink trees are my favorite and I find myself giggling as I look at them and stand in amazement at their beauty. Scripture does tell us though that beauty is fleeting, and before we know it those crazy colors have turned to green and we barely give those trees a second look. Slow down, stop and look at the trees.