Beachin' it

I have a confession to make: I usually hate the beach. There. I said it. I feel better now. I just think the ocean is creepy (sharks! and here in Palm Beach this time of year jellyfish!) and sand just gets everywhere, but today I loved the beach. I am loving life with my new Kindle and was able to just relax while Jackson played in the jellyfish infested water. I finished a whole book on the beach today. It is so nice not to worry about keeping a page, marking my place or getting the right light. I am a Kindle convert. I also love that I am reading library books on my Kindle so they're FREE (I know I pay property taxes that pay for the library, but I like to think I'm being thrifty with my new reading habit). It was a gorgeous sunny 82 degree day and I even remembered to put on sunscreen so I only have minor redness. WOOT! :)
The sky and the water were so blue today. It was just a gorgeous day! We also mapped our walk this morning and did a quick 5k training walk. I'm planning to jalk (jog/walk) the mini-marathon in Indy this year so I have start somewhere...it might as be Palm Beach! ;)

"She rules"

MacKenzie is with her Grammy for Christmas since we're in Florida. Part of our deal with Susie watching MacK is that she sends us photo updates of our little lady. Today we got this photo and the conversation that followed went like this:

Susie: "Lazy afternoon for Grace and MacK. Certainly not the beach!"

Me: "Hahaha! Isn't that a little backwards?" (You know...the kid on the floor....the dog on the couch)

Susie: "Yes, but she rules"

I died. That little dog has her Grammy wrapped around her...uh...paw! :)

Thinking of others

I thought this was a cute photo of a little doggie asking Santa for a home. I was reminded today of how Christmas has gotten so skewed and turned into nothing but gifts for people who do not need anything. There are children that need help both here and in foreign lands, there are pets who needs love and there are people in ours lives that are hurting and need love. I challenge you (and me) to take time out of this busy season (for all of you...I'm "retired" and have done nothing but sit on the beach, take walks and read for a couple of days- HA!) to think of others. Figure out a need and help fill it- that is what Christmas is all about, I think.

WPB

Yesterday morning we got up at 4:00 am to get ready and catch our 6:25 am flight. I thought to myself, "this is going to be a loooooong day." I hate having connecting flights and it really seems like Indianapolis does not have direct flights anywhere anymore. We first flew to Detroit and from there hopped a flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Jackson- ever the salesman- was able to get us seated together on our second flight (we'd been separated for some reason when booking) and we were upgraded to the row behind first class (he's not THAT good- LOL) which meant a lot of extra leg room and a quick exit off the plane. We loved it. We left the airport and headed right to one of our favorite restaurants, Sonny's BBQ, for lunch. YUM! It is just that good. We then headed to Boca Raton to check-in to our hotel. Yeah...it was gross. Our good friends at tripadvisor.com lead us astray. That rarely ever happens. We checked out of that rap-trap and headed for West Palm Beach. We were able to get a room for 4 days for a great deal right downtown WPB which is where we decided we wanted to spend our time. The hotel here is so nice and we are able to walk to City Place (my favorite place ever). I love the walking lifestyle when the weather is so nice. I read a whole book yesterday during our travels which always makes me happy. We had a nice dinner at City Place last night and then went for a long walk along the intercoastal. Ahh...vacation...I love it! :) My long day turned out to be a really good one.

Pacers v Bulls

I was able to get some pre-season tickets for $12.50 to the Pacers vs. Bulls game on Friday night. We had club level seats which was awesome. I wish Michael Jordan still played- that would have made it more enjoyable- but that's OK. HA :)
The NBA is not nearly as exciting as college ball- the fans just are not as into it.
Jackson looking cute at the game. :)
I really enjoyed the antics of Boomer- their mascot.
And my favorite part was the drumline. Seriously awesome. We met up with some of Jackson's friends afterwards for dinner at my favorite Mexican place downtown. It was a lot of fun!

Chicago at Christmas

I'd been missing Christmas in a big city so Jackson and I headed up to Chicago for the weekend. It was a lot of fun. For some reason they have a gigantic Marilyn Monroe statue up that people were standing under to look up her skirt. Hilarious.
We went to a sports bar to catch to IU vs. Kentucky game that the HOOSIERS WON! It was an awesome atmosphere to watch the game in- I think only being in Bloomington could have been better. There were quite a few other IU fans at the bar and one little old lady got a vigorous hug from Jackson after the last second shot won the game. SO funny.

Our room was on the 28th floor and had an incredible view of the city. I loved it.
That is the most wonderful Crate & Barrel on the planet all lit up. We spent some time (but no money- shockingly) shopping its 4 glorious floors.
I was obsessed with the view. It was so fun to be among the masses in a big city again. We watched the game, went to a movie and met up with my roomie from IU, Jenna Hess. She was hilarious, as always, and we really enjoyed our visit with her. We've been really impressed by Chicago the two times we have been there now and intend to make some more visits this summer.

Ball State

After a lot of thought and consideration I decided to resign my position with Deloitte and leave the world of public accounting. I did not think my exit would come so soon, but I found a job that is exactly that I wanted so I had to jump at the opportunity. I will be working less hours (yay!!) and making more money (triple yay!!!), but my commute will be a bit longer. I'm OK with that. I will be the Tax Manager for Ball State University which means I will review and sign off on all tax filings for the school. I'm pretty excited about it.

P.S. Before you ask, I will not abandon my alliance to the Indiana University Hoosiers. :) :)