vote me for worst blogger of the year!

it's been a while.

i'm sorry. i didn't intend for this to happen. so much for that new years resolution!

here's what you missed.

1. i bought a house.
2. i bought a house.
3. i bought a house.
4. i went to visit columbia.
5. i bought a house.
6. i bought a house.
7. i booked plane tickets to visit brother & sister-in-love in NYC. and go to the new york stationery show.
8. i bought a house.
9. i bought a house.
10. chef decided to go to grad school & got into culinary school.
11. i bought a house.
12. i bought a house.

that is basically what has happened since i last told you about life. pretty dull, huh?

let's talk about the house first - it isn't really a house. it's a cozy little two bedroom, two bathroom apartment about 15 minutes away from work & my mom's house. the kitchen is green, the master bedroom is purple and there is a brand new water heater. i move in a month. yikes! i am so excited, nervous, nauseous and overwhelmed when i think about it. but mostly, excited. little sister will live with me this summer (that should be an experience, both good and bad) and then i need a roommate in the fall.

now, let's talk about....NYC! i am so excited to go and visit brother & sister-in-love. i can't wait to see their apartment in brooklyn, the today show, eat at a french fry place that i've heard so much about! i think i am most excited that it will just be me, brother and little sister for the first time! such a good bonding experience.

while i am there i will go to the NYSS. i can't wait. i can't wait to breathe in the paper, look at the new designs, talk with industry professionals and network, network, network!

last weekend i went and visited the great columbia, missouri for chef's birthday and to see friends i haven't seen since i moved home in october(!). it was a fun, exhausting and not relaxing weekend. while i was there, chef and i ate at one of our favorite sushi restaurants, sake, and talked about how much our lives have changed since i left columbia. and i talked him into going to grad school.

as long as he gets his ducks in a row, he will start in the fall and be a TA for one of the cooking classes that mizzou offers. he is pretty excited! (i know what you are thinking & yes, he is still going to culinary school...eventually.) his mentor, teacher and friend chef jett asked that he stay in columbia to assist him, offered to pay j&w to hold chef's spot for two years and pay for his first semester of school if the university wouldn't. and chef will be making $$ for this too. all in all, it's a great opportunity that he couldn't pass up.

so - three more years of long distance, if that's the way the coin flips. we haven't talked about it yet (mostly because that is a heavy subject) but i know that we will have to. this change of plans is going to drastically change our relationship (and no, i don't know what that means yet - except that for three years i'll be a spinster in iowa city!).

other than that - work is good. the weather is turning beautiful (finally). my best friend is getting married in three weeks. i'm currently babysitting two adorable babies and realizing i have not yet acquired the kind of patience it takes to be a full-time mommy.

i hope that i can get back on track with this blog. i miss writing a lot some days. pictures soon of the new pad!