Merry Christmas to all!

Aimee and I had a great Christmas season and are enjoying our time off. I think it's been since our honeymoon that we've had this much time off together. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Lansing. Starting with some last minute shopping and a traditional trip to Roma Bakery, we all gathered for mass at St. Gerard and then spent the rest of the evening at my parent's home.

Speaking of my parent's home -- they are finally moved back into their beautifully remodeled kitchen and living areas. 

click above for pictures!

After Christmas we spent a couple days with Aimee's family in Munster. With virtually no schedule to adhere to, it was truly a relaxing week!

Oh...and the Canon EOS Rebel XSi has officially been ordered! :)

Happy Birthday Kari.

We went home to Lansing this weekend to join the family for my sister Kari's 40th birthday party.  Hosted by Jami and Scott and my parents, it was an amazing party!  Homemade meatballs, dips, Italian sausage wontons (an overwhelming hit by the way), and a dessert spread so amazing it required its own room! We rented a Jeep Commander from Avis

Click the collage to view the album from the party

Deck the Hall.

'Twas a busy weekend...

The annual Deck the Hall concert was this weekend at OSP. Aimee had a solo in Huron Carol and got to sing in Huron (she's got some Native American heritage so somehow that makes sense to me). In the picture below, she is in the bottom left. I only went on Saturday night because a) my friend Jenny was in town and b) tickets were 50 bucks a pop.

Jenny Sullivan is a friend of mine from grade school and high school and now works for Families USA in DC. She was in town to speak at a health care conference, eat Chicago style pizza, and hang out with Aimee and me. It was great to see her!

In all, it was a very cooking-oriented weekend. Below are some pictures of Aimee preparing homemade marinara sauce, lasagna, tiramisu, and our friends from choir Anna and Megan. They came over on Sunday night for some Italian cooking (and Office-watching).

Thankful for...Las Vegas?

We recently took our annual trip to Las Vegas with the Accenture crew from Syracuse.  Aimee and I stayed at the newly-renovated Planet Hollywood which was very nice.  They gave us an upgrade room with a view (see left.  seriously, that was our view).  I'll post some more pictures soon once I get them.  As usual, we gambled into the night and lost our fair share of funds on the tables.  Aimee has developed a new love of blackjack however.  I see a trip to the Horseshoe in our future (likely with Mark B)....

Thanksgiving this year started with a beautiful mass at Old St. Pat's.  Aimee was asked to sing "Thankful" (a Josh Groban tune) after communion.  I accompanied her along with string trio -- it was amazing!  We truly have much to be thankful for.   After mass we headed back to Munster for Thanksgiving dinner.  We had a nice day catching up with family and of course relaxing while watching Christmas Vacation.  "You really think it matters Eddie?"

On Saturday the 29th, we went to my sister-in-law's Sing-a-long Messiah concert at the Rialto Theatre in Joliet, IL.   Never been to Joliet before.  It was an interesting experience.  Aimee was in her element though because, while singing full voice along with the choir and symphony is not typical etiquette, the sing-a-long forum  was perfect!

Pictured somewhere in the above picture, Katelyn Szewka

Weekend Update

On Saturday night we took part in a surprise 30th birthday party for Aimee's friend from Rush, Laura.  Her husband, Paul, did a great job planning for the event, including inviting several out of town family and friends.  We are gathered at India House for a phenomenal meal!  Laura's entrance is pictured to the left.

On Friday we had a nice dinner with our newly-engaged friends Sara and Adam at Franconello's near UIC.  We were honored to be asked to be part of their wedding day.  Aimee and I will provide music for the ceremony and Aimee will be a bridesmaid for Sara.  That'll be October 3rd, 2009.  I hear that's a good weekend to get married...

Time for some plugs...

• Rick's Appliance Service - this is the business that Aimee's dad owns.  He's nearly cornered the market on trustworthy, loyal appliance repair in the Northwest Indiana area.
• Embracing Parenthood - this is a business conceived and run by one of our friends from Old St. Pat's offering a unique approach to pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting preparation for the busy expectant parent.  Oh, let's clear one thing up:  Aimee and I, while "busy", are not "expectant".  Nice job on this Barbara!
  

Aimee's Birthday Brunch

Happy 28th Birthday to Aimee!!  Aimee wanted to have a brunch with friends & family to celebrate her birthday.  I scoured the city for brunch places that were unique and also accepted reservations for a large group.  Turns out, that's not a simple task.  We ended up going to a place called Cafe 28 in the Irving Park area.  Their brunch menu was amazing and they did a pretty good job of handling a group of 20.  My first experience with evite was quite a success:  nearly everyone was able to attend.  Aimee's school friends, work friends, church friends, and family all gathered for a nice celebration.

Here are some pictures...

Fall Trip to Michigan

Well, Aimee and I made a trip to Michigan recently.  This time we were celebrating my Dad's 60th birthday and doing music for an outdoor wedding ceremony for Lisa Johnson.  Or I think it's Graziano now.  The wedding was nice but definitely outside our normal comfort zone (namely indoors.  And at Old St. Pat's in Chicago).  However, this brings our wedding total to 12 this year with merely 3 more to go!

Jami and Scott are in town for a wedding this weekend for one of Jami's friends from Marquette. They are staying at the Hotel Scozzafave -- looking forward to it!

One Year Later...

It's hard to believe, but the one year anniversary has arrived.  It's been an amazing year and we are looking forward to another!  

We celebrated first with a trip to Notre Dame (back to the scene of the crime!) for the ND v Purdue game, a trip to Wicked, and a brunch cruise out on Lake Michigan.  

On Friday, September 26th, Aimee and I were lucky enough to attend the Emerald Ball: a black tie evening of dinner and dancing for Old St. Pat's. This is a picture of us with our friends from the event.

Fishing Trip in Michigan

This weekend my dad and I took a trip to Manistee, MI for a day of guided fishing on the Pere Marquette river. We started the weekend off right playing nine holes at Centennial Acres in Sunfield. We had a beautiful day and the course to ourselves! Once farther up into Manistee we toured the area, found a nice place for dinner, and then proceeded to dominate the craps table at the Little River Casino. It's no exaggeration to say that I rolled for a straight 30 minutes and made a lot of people a lot of money. I, however, was too focused on rolling to bet properly. Or at all in some cases.

Sunday morning at 5am began the fishing excursion. The fishing guide was a new experience for me -- as was fishing in the dark of night, but evidently, not uncommon. We had a beautiful day and a great lunch on the shore prepared by Dennis, our guide. I highly recommend Bett's Fishing Guide Service by the way. They offer expertise, good conversation, and of course their boat, tackle, lures, etc. Due to the colder-than-typical weather, the salmon were sparse but we managed to catch a good one toward the end of the day. Great trip!

My dad and I on the boat taking a break. As you can see, the water level was higher than normal due to the recent rains.

This is my dad with THE fish. It took a good 10 minutes to tire him out [the fish] and get him into the boat.

Another thing I learned: hooking the fish is hardly the most important or most difficult part!