365 Challenge - Week 11

March 13 - Sunday was a nice "sleep in" day before we headed to Chicago. It wasn't until later that we realized that we hadn't really slept until 10, but that we'd lost an hour and it was technically still 9 a.m. This day really was a great example of how great a friend Katie is. She knew I'd want to see Sears Tower and the Bean while I was in town and we trekked around in the cold and wet for about two hours to see both. The weather was crazy cloudy/foggy and the view from the 103 floor of Sears Tower (really Willis Tower these days), was minimal, or "zero visibility" as the employees continued to tell us to dissuade us from going. I definitely would not have had the guts to stand on the overhang if I'd been able to see farther than three feet below my feet. The clouds/fog definitely saved me in that regard. Afterwards, we walked from the Sears Tower to the Bean and grabbed some more pics. Thank you again, Katie, for humoring my first visit to Chicago and wanting to see all of the typical tourist sites.

Standing on the skydeck overhang on the 103rd floor of Sears Tower.

At the "bean" in Chicago. Even in the terrible weather, it was so shiny! You can see how cloudy/foggy it is in the reflection.

March 14 -  Monday was rough! Not only was it the first day back to work after a long, wonderful weekend, it was also the first work day after the time change. While I love daylight savings time (who could complain about more daylight hours after they get off of work?), the transition every spring is difficult. Thankfully, with students gone it was a quiet day at work. I had no meetings (yay!) and

March 15 - On Tuesday, Kellie managed to snag us tickets to the biggest Aggie baseball game of the year (so far!). The Ags played t.u. at home and it was going to be a good one- we could all feel it! Kellie and I had general admission tickets, so we were in the grass, but they were about the best seats we could have gotten! We were right next to the fence, which also meant that we were protected from foul balls - thank god! The Aggies lead the whole game. They were up 4-0 in the top of the 9th, when the t-sips scored four to tie it up. It was a little nerve racking to say the least! Thankfully, in the bottom of the 9th, the Aggies knocked a walk-off homerun over the left field wall to tie up the win. It was a great game and we had a blast! :) Here are a bunch of videos that Good Bull Hunting compiled of the walk-off homerun.

Kellie and I in the grass off of the third-base line.

BTHO tu!

March 16 - My mom picked me up from the airport on Sunday when I returned from Chicago. On the drive home, she mentioned to me that we needed to start planning our summer vacation if we wanted to go on one this year. So, on Wednesday I broke out the two guidebooks that I'd purchased on Hawaii and Oahu and started to do some research. While I was looking into Hawaii originally, I wasn't sure if there was enough to keep us busy for a week without spending just a ton of time at the beach. After reading these books though, I know that we'll have our whole week planned out with fun things to do if that's where we end up going.

My two newest additions to my travel guidebooks.
I have a whole shelf dedicated to them now. 

March 17 - One of the great things about working at a university is the holidays that go along with it. This was spring break at Texas A&M. While we didn't get the whole week off, we did get Thursday and Friday! On Thursday, Kellie and I met up at Tiffany Dog Park with our pups to get some sun and wear them out! Tucker and Laney both love socializing with other pups and people at the dog park and we love that when they get home it is always puppy nap time! Laney, Kellie's silver lab, is just over 9 months old and Tucker, my little rescue dog, is almost five years old! When did that happen?! The little guy that snuck into the photo's name was Bruce. He was adorable and so happy to be playing with other puppy friends!

Tucker, Laney, Bruce and I hanging out at the dog park.
Kellie always manages to snag the best photos of me, hah! 

Tucker dog and Laney lab at the end of play time. They were exhausted.
Also, don't let perspective confuse you, Tucker is definitely the smaller one of the bunch. 

March 18 - Friday was a nice relaxing day off of work. It was also the Aggie men's basketball team's first game in the NCAA tournament! Tucker cheered the Aggies on to victory as they handily defeated Green Bay 92-65!

Tucker geared out for the Aggie game.

March 19 - On Saturday, I attended the service for Rusty Thompson, Texas A&M's Director of Student Activities. I can't say it better than it's already been said by dozens of others, but the world definitely lost an amazing man this March. Campus isn't the same without him there.
The Battalion's article "Reflections of Rusty."