Doin what I do best...

Relaxin!  I didn't go anywhere fancy for my break, just enjoyed the time off with no school responsibilities but there were a few things I needed to take care of before I could enjoy.  First I had to do a Q and A session for the incoming nursing students since I am the membership coordinator for the Student Nursing Association.  Some students were freaking them out with how demanding the program was, I simply stated "B is the new A" which must have been memorable because two and a half weeks later multiple students in cohort 9 have since come up and been like weren't you the one at orientation who said B is the new A.  Then I had to attend a organization recruiting event another day.  What the heck, wasn't I suppose to be on break?!

The first thing I did after tying off all the loose ends, was meet all four of my grandparents for lunch.  I love when we all get together and am so grateful that they are all still in my life.  Grandma made a point to tell our server we were not part of the rush hour lunch and clearly didn't have work to get back to but rather bring things out slowly (I lover her assertiveness, I think it's where I get it from).  We were able to share a nice long lunch together to enjoy eachother's company.

I stayed at my mom's for a few days before going to the cottage.  Went to watch Chelsey and Trevor play Wiffle Ball at Hawthorne's with my dad.  During the game a woman got banged into a pole in the middle of the field and didn't get up.  I thought she was being dramatic, the ambulance came and took her away and  I think they canceled the rest of the games.  Turns out she broke 3 or 4 ribs.  I may have been the worst nurse ever that night.


The cottage was a blast per usual.  The weather wasn't the most cooperative, but rain is much appreciated there.  In all of my years living I've never seen the lake so low.  We literally took the golf cart and drove on a sandy beach were the lake use to be.  Aunt Neici and I did a 500 and 1000 piece puzzle that we got at the garage sale a few doors down.  Best 25 cents they ever spent, it gave me hours and hours of delight.  One night we went bat hunting which is literally what it sounds like.  Uncle Al had a bat issue at the pole barn and had a vendetta against them.  We sat in chairs as dusk approached and waited with the riffle to see if something flew out into the sky.  Nothing.  But it was fun to try for a night.  The 5 days went by fast yet I really don't know what else we did.

When I got back to Chicago I decided to have some me time.  I literally laid in bed all day and read my kindle.  It was probably my favorite day of break.  Then Anne texted me that they were out at a bar down the street from my house for happy hour.  I didn't get ready as fast as she wanted so she sent me this text, "look what's waiting for you" with a picture of a beer on the bar.  The bartender was kind enough to put the beer in the backbar ice bucket to keep it cool until I got there.  After a few drinks I got a text from Nadine that she had an extra Bruce Springsteen ticket.  I was in!  This is what I love about living in Chicago.  You can have a friend text you about an event and you can be there in 30 minutes or less.  The streets were crazy crowded but she was able to smoothly hand off the ticket from behind the gate and I was on the field in no time.  They had really great seats on the field and Bruce put on one of the greatest shows, or so I was told by Brady since I really have nothing to compare it too.  I did really enjoy how Bruce interacted with the crowd and I loved watching the special comradery that existed between the fans in the diverse crowd that could have spanned at least 4 generations.

I was out till 2 but still managed to be up and ready by 8:30 the next day for a day trip to Michigan.  Long story short, I saw someone order a piece of blueberry pie at a burger bar towards the end of the quarter and it made me want to go to Michigan.  Since I do what I want, I was able to recruit some troops and it made for a fabulous day trip.  Molly's new car is super green and we were getting 480 miles on the gallon at one point in the trip.  Go Subaru!  First we went to New Buffalo and visited the shops, walked to the lake and got some delicious ice cream and pop corn.  Then we headed to Lemon Creek Winery for their 40th anniversary celebration.  Unlike the impromptu trip a few years back, I looked up some potential attractions and stumbled upon this event.  The ladies were a bit skeptical when they had to park on the lawn, but I don't know why that seemed so obscure to them.  For 10 buck we got a souvenir wine glass, tastings, a hayride through the vineyard and there was a live band playing fun music.  How could we not want to go to that!  By the end of the day they were patting me on the back for the great find.