Finals are over and it's gettin cold!

I know it has been awhile since I have done an update but there has been a lot going on. Phil just finished his finals the week before last and had the last week off of school. We spent the entire week hanging out. Finals and the weeks leading up to them were stressful and emotionally draining for the both of us and a week of relaxation was much needed! Luckily all of Phil's hard work paid off and did very well on all of his finals! I think now that he knows he is capable of doing well and can enter next quarter much more relaxed and much more confident.

As a reward for a hard quarter Phil and I went on a little getaway up to Wisconsin. We stayed at a cute little inn near Lake Geneva and just took it easy and spent time together for a couple of days. The weather was terrible! 32 degrees and freezing rain, so we decided to shut ourselves in and order food, sit by the fireplace, watch movies and not do a thing. It was wonderful! The place was so relaxing and they gave us wine every night. There was really no reason to leave anyways.

On Thursday night we planned on going downtown for dinner and a show to celebrate my birthday, but unfortunately we both woke up sick that morning and spent the whole day in bed and on the couch. I honestly think that our bodies were just rejecting all of the crap that we ate on our trip. Phil made it up to me the next day by making me a salmon dinner.

Instead of going to the city and walking around in the freezing cold we decided to try something different and went to the circus. We had so much fun! It was such a good show and we were happy we made the decision to do it. Not only were we in awe of the circus acts but also of the overpriced crap they were selling there. $10 for a bad snow cone in a plastic clown cup and the fact that they were selling beer at the circus was also kind of funny!

About a month ago I quit my job at the bar in order to spend more time working as an assistant to my neighbor Shauntel who is a financial advisor. We are building her business up after taking a few years off and I help her with she may need. We spend a lot of time networking and going to functions with business owners around the area. We are hosting a wine tasting and discussion in order to meet potential clients. You know people are going to show up if food and alcohol are involved:) Shauntel is also introducing me the variety of committees and clubs she is a part of. On Monday she took me to her Junior League meeting, which is a philanthropic group of women who raise money for a number of good causes from helping the homeless to creating scholarships.

I am also working in a wine shop, which is owned by Julie's best friend Kayla. It is called Cellar Gate and I am going to have to get some pictures of it because it is a truly unique and beautiful place. It has been popular from the start. Besides the owners and the chef, me and a girl named Megan are the only employees and we usually work in the evenings on the weekends or when they have a party or event during the week. It's not really like work when I am there. I absolutely love Megan and the chef, Vee and we have a great time together pouring wine and eating food in the kitchen.

The night that the wine shop opened I was pouring a wine tasting and I met some very nice people. One couple is a doctor and his wife who is a physical therapist. I got talking to them about Phil and why we moved to the area and to the other lady that was with them about finding friends in the area that were my age without kids. We all exchanged numbers and I called and had a great conversation with Jodi, who has kind of become my mentor due to the fact that she knows exactly what we are going through and are planning to get our husbands together to chat. Elisabeth, the friends of theirs wanted to introduce me to her niece who moved to the area recently and is also a physical therapist. On Tuesday night Elisabeth had Becky and I over for dinner so we could meet and the three of us had a great time hanging out!

I will be forever in debt to Julie for all she has done for us. So I have decided to help her get into shape as payment. We sat down a couple of weeks ago and set some goals for and and we have been walking almost every morning. It is nice to have someone to get out there and walk with everyday, and I know Meggie is appreciative. It is our time to catch up on gossip. She has become my best friend here and I don't know what I would do without her. I call her my Midwest mom. I will get a picture of her eventually. I don't think she would appreciate me posting one of her at 8 in the morning before our walk after she has just rolled out of bed!

It's starting to get cold. Lots of random snow flurries. Winter is going to be interesting:)