BUSY September Weekend for Cogski

This past weekend was jam packed! (I know this is a Chris&Jenna blog but this post is a tad Jenna-focused just a forewarning)

Friday evening Chris and I went over to Ann's place she made Nadia's infamous chicken pockets. They were delish! Ian and Nadia were both in town so it was nice visiting and then those three were on their way to the bars. Chris and I were on our way in comfy clothes to Berry Chill and then home. An evening I much prefer over going out and getting blasted in uncomfortable shoes. But before we made our way to River North for dinner when I got home from being in Wheaton Chris had these flowers waiting for me "just because" - how sweet!!

Saturday I was on my way to Grayslake for Natalie's bridal shower. Natalie is a former "Damen Girl," I lived with her at the Sig Kap house and for about a year and a half in Chicago. She is getting married in November! We had a great time at her MOH's parents home.

Here's the soon-to-be Mrs. Billings opening her gifts, QUITE entertaining to watch Nat open gifts.

Here's a lil throwback to ol' Damen Girl days....Nina, myself, Nat (the bride) & Ann. Oh, the good ol' days.

Here are the four SIU/Sig Kap girls who were at the shower. Aimee, Me, Nat the B2B & Tamie.

Babies, Babies!! Aimee's baby, Mia she was a guest at the shower.

Here is a pic of Chris with Nico's baby, Nico Jr! Isn't he cute? It was almost bedtime when I took this pic. AND this is the only pic from the BBQ, sorry I know you are all devastated.

Chris and his friends along with their wives and children got together Saturday afternoon to hang out, eat and drink. I got there a lil late or else we'd have more pics. The BBQ was hosted at Nico and Courtney's home in Oswego. There were a few lil ones running around and it was nice to have a meet and greet with the men and their friends kids. Next up will be when Chuck and Liz pop their two additions Coming Soon! Thanks Nico & Courtney for having us over!

And Sunday was finally here! Chris and I were up at DBG (David Barton Gym) in the morning and he was on his way to tailgate and attend the Bears game.

Sam, Monkey, Chris & Todd @ the game!

Tailgating for this group is very high class. I have only been to one tailgate with them but it's like a living room without a roof. Comfy seats, grilling, and of course a flat screen tv.

Haap Happy!

My best friend, Ann well her boyfriend, Ian co-founded a company called

Yes, it has a bad word in it, but it is bad ass and stands for:

"Holler At A Player When You See Him In The Streets"

Here is a pic of Ann and the entrepreneur himself. Aren't they a cute couple?

I am a HUGE fan of Ian's as I don't think I have liked any guy Ann has dated (I feel like her mother), but Ian is #1 and I pray the last one :-)

Here's a great quote from the Haap site:

"As an entity, Haapwyshits is not a company, but a lifestyle concept. We are more than a brand. We are more than a magazine. We aim to raise your standard of urban-influenced living. We strive to bring the streets to the people . . . and we mean your streets."

Ya hooked yet? Well to hear more and learn what they're all about go to http://www.haapwyshits.com/ or the link is always posted to the left under "our fav's."

Chris and I have our very own Haap shirts, every time I have worn mine it's always a conversation piece. You have to order yours TODAY! http://www.shophaap.com/

"Like a mug"

Jam Packed Trip to California!

Well Chris and I made another trip for 2008. This time with who seem to be our main travel buddies "Team Slena." JUST KIDDING, I would hate for Sam to endure any ridicule like Chris has :-) This was Chris and my third trip with the duo of Sam and Lena! We have been to Cabo, Lake Charlevoix and now California with these two. But they're always a good time!

We went to many places in California for a looong weekend in September from Wed-Mon. We made quite a few stops during those 6 days! So here we go with the re-cap, fyi it's somewhat long.

We landed in CA on Wednesday, Sam's mom picked us up from the airport and we headed to the parents house in Fullerton to drop off our bags. Chris and I were immediately on the road headed to Grandma's house in Escondido about an hour drive away. Chris had never met Grandma Joe or Aunt Diane. We visited with them for a few hours, had LOTS of laughs hearing the latest adventures of Gma and Aunt Diane (they're always up to something), had some delicious shrimp cocktail, spaghetti and carrot cake. It was very nice to visit since I had not seen either of them in about a year!

The next day Chris, Sam, Lena and I dropped Mrs. Glomp off at Sam's parents boat and we were on our way to LA! After Lena and I bopped in and out of a few stores, we felt "crunched" since the guys were in tow and wanted no part in shop hopping so we were off to get a bite to eat. There were a few "pappi's" out waiting to catch a glimpse of a celeb but unfortunately no sightings for us :-( We had a great lunch at Urth Cafe and then relaxed at the hotel.

For dinner we were off to Koi where my cousins, JP and Jimmy met us out and then to the bar!

The next day we were up and off to get some Hollywood tourist pics and on our way back to the boat in Marina del Ray!

I'm glad I was able to visit LA since I had never been but must say it made me really appreciate and miss CHICAGO!!

Thursday and Friday we spent some time at Venice Beach so Sam and Chris could play a lil basketball and on to Sam's parents boat. They have a gorgeous sailboat that we actually slept on Friday night. I had never slept on a boat! Saturday during the day we hung out on the boat and sailed on the ocean for a few hours, very relaxing....

Thanks again Mr. & Mrs. Glomp for taking us out!

Sunday, the boys were off to watch the Bears game and golf at the course Sam's parents live on. The girls were off to the spa for massages and lunch. Sam's mom took Lena and I to quite literally the nicest spa I have ever been to. Thanks Mrs. Glomp!!!

Our last night in California......



Monday it was back to Chicago. All in all another GREAT trip!

Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Glomp for the sailing, hospitality and delicious meals

(especially the crepes!)

Sam Turns 31 Years Young

Chris and I were busy celebrating birthdays last week. On top of my Dad's 60th we rewound about 30 years from that milestone to celebrate Sam's Birthday, Chris' best friend and roommate of 11 years (whoa that's a long time)

Sam was celebrating 31 years of life and his girlfriend, Lena organized a birthday dinner at Terragusto Cafe in Roscoe Village in Chicago with a few friends....OK more like 16 friends :-)

Chris and I had never been to this restaurant but being a former Roscoe Village resident myself I was excited to check it out and it was BYOB which is always a +! This restaurant has a set menu in place each night that involves various dishes. I seriously think we had eight different entrees passed at our table. On top of a set menu, it's also a different menu every night! What a great concept and the food is excellent, very gourmet and very reasonable. A wise choice for large group celebrating as it is small yet quaint and there's no problems when the bill comes because you can just split it evenly since you all ate the same thing, another +!

side note: Nina you have to check out this restaurant, it's right up your alley.

Helping Sam celebrate were a few of Lena's friends and her siblings. Along with Rooster, soon-to-be Mrs. Rooster, Todd, Bob and Monkey. Yes the same Monkey who likes to take his shirt off at weddings in the post below. This night he managed to keep his clothes on.

After we ate and drank a few we were on our way to Riverview, yet another ol' hangout of mine back in my Roscoe days. Riverview was actually my old neighbor, the damen girls did carryout salads and cheese fries one too many times from this fine establishment.

Chris and I with Lena in tow left the bar around 1.30am because well Chris had a few too many and Lena had to work at 8am. But Sam, Bob and Todd took on the rest of the early morning hours like champs and stayed out till bout 3am. But hey, that's what birthdays are for!

Happy Birthday Sam!

We're glad we were able to celebrate with you

"Another shot? Why not..."

Dad Welcomes 60 With Open Arms!

Well September 2008 finally came and my Dad (aka Skip, I call him by his first name A LOT lately not sure why) turned the BIG 6-0 on Thursday, September 4th. We have been having this countdown to 60 for a few years now. 5 years til 60, 3 years til 60, 1 year til 60, 1 month til 60 all the way down til the day before making the announcement amongst ourselves. After all 60 is a big one, no offense but does sound a bit older than 59. When I think of 60 I think about retirement and grandchildren - neither of which are on the horizon for Skip anytime in the near future. But I told him not to worry as I'll feel the same way come April when I'll kiss the 20's good-bye and welcome the big 3-0. And a week after me, my mom will take the plunge to welcome 60! She probably wants to kill me for just broadcasting that on the internet.

The biggest question is

"what to do to commemorate 60 years on earth?"

No parties for Skipper and as most know his #1 love that we sometimes question may come before his own family is tech-y, gadget-y, latest and greatest computer, video games, websites - anything to do with TECH. Oh and how could I almost forget his favorite accessory is his iPhone. His heros are Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. That's what he likes and interests him the most. And I don't blame him on the party part, same ol, same ol.....

So we decided to have a quiet and calm night at that new theater by O'Hare called Muvico. That night was like the tsunami so indoors was the place to be. And right up Skip's alley as a high-tech and fancy theater. This place has a full out restaurant inside that you can eat your meal while watching your flick if you choose to do so. Even has VIP seating that includes valet, free popcorn and "balcony" seating. I highly suggest your next movie date you see it at this theater, you won't be going to AMC or Kerasotes ever again.

Attending the quaint birthday celebration was my parents, Joey & Jen and Chris. Chris is slowly but surely breaking through the barriers into the Coghill circle of trust, baby steps. Justin wasn't able to attend since he's busy working in Vail, CO (we question the working part as it looks more like extreme sports fun to me). We ate dinner (thanks for dinner Aunt Diane!), opened gifts and took our cake and coffee into the movie to see "Traitor."

We thought the movie was gonna be so-so but it was a great movie and reiterates your hatred towards terrorists and those whacks over in those "other countries." Vote for McCain! Oops, maybe just went too politically and opinionated for the blog post :-)

But all in all was a good birthday celebration and I think my dad has accepted 60. Had a big hangup on the number as he still thinks he is the guy in the pic below :-)

I must ask who agrees that this picture above in a weird freakish way looks exactly like Joey (my brother)??? Scary....

Happy Birthday Dad!

WTH (what the hell) Competition!

My Dad fwd'd me this discovery. ANOTHER Chris and Jenna blog!?
I looked at their blog for about 2.5 seconds but mine is def better! Just thought was ironic that there's another Chris and Jenna out there AND that they have a blog together?
http://www.chrisandjenna.com/

Chris' First Carbondale Trip!

I went to SIU and per the post below became friends with Nina. Luckily she is a Carbondale native, therefore, I have been fortunate enough to have gone back to Carbondale many, many times since graduating from the town near and dear to my heart.

But this past Labor Day weekend was Chris' first Carbondale trip! He was not as excited as I was to visit my almamater, although a stroll thru Saluki territory was not the highlight of my trip to good ol' C-dale either. But to stay at "Seven Gables," Nina's parents house is the true vaca-like experience I wanted him to have. They call their compound Seven Gables b/c there are seven peaks on top of the house and their home is really where they spend all their time and the way they live there NObody would ever want to leave! The service and friendly staff (Nina's parents LOL) at Seven Gables is second to none and I LOVE visiting there.

We came in late Friday, got in around 9.30-ish and Ian came in shortly there after. This weekend was Ian, Ann's boyfriends' first trip to C-Dale as well. We had a few beers from the tapper in the basement and talked til about 1am discussing everything under the sun and reminiscing on old stories. I have to live thru Chris and his friends reminiscing all their stories so this weekend was payback.

The next day was jam-packed so had to get in the pool quickly to get that out of the way. We hung out by the pool for awhile and were graced by the presence of Mandy and her 1yr old, Parker.

Then on to "where it all began..." with a trip to the Sig Kap house. But the worst thing that could ever happen - nobody was home! All the girls had apparently left campus b/c of the holiday weekend. None the less we hung out on the front porch for a bit and had a photo shoot with the front sign and the old swing. Many cigs were smoked and gossip shared on that swing back in the day after one of Patty the cook's gourmet meals. That house was my roof for three years during my college days, it's really a shame we couldn't get in, oh well next trip!

Next stop after touring around the campus and sorority house was Quatro's Pizza. Our FAV pizza joint and a must visit on all C-Dale trips. I really wanted Chris to DIE over this pizza the way I do but he simply said that there's a pizza place similar at ISU...that's so annoying.

Next stop after our stroll down memory lane in Carbondale was Bluesky Winery! What a GREAT place and exciting preview for Chris and my trip to Napa in April.

We had a few pitchers of Sangria and back to the homefront to get ready for the baseball game. Can you believe it's still Saturday?? We were busy!

We left the winery and played our new favorite car game on the 15 min drive home, "Categories." Who knew Nina and I could really hold our own in the gansta rapper category?

Nina had some extra "TIMIKE" (Tim and Mike in one word, get it?) shirts for Ann and I to wear. Tim is the baseball player that their family is hosting at their home right now and Mike, another player on the team and his family are very close to Nina and her parents. They were buzzing in and out of the house just as much as we were! Grand Central Station!

Mandy, Ann, Nina and Myself @ the Game!

Ann and Ian being newlyweds!

Below is a pic of the group at the game!

After the game we headed home for some food (of course, since we hadn't eaten in over an hour we were due) and off to our old stomping grounds with a first pit stop at Gatsby's. How we used to just DIE over this bar like it was the greatest time ever I don't know? And I think Chris was dumbfounded and confused how on earth we thought this bar was ever fun? But it def was, when it's filled with everybody who knows your name like on Cheers it's a good time - trust me. But we're old now so not so fun anymore...

one tequila, two tequila, three tequila - FLOOR! J/K, they only had one round of tequila. After a few laps around Gatsby's we were off to Pinch Penny Pub, aka: Pinch or P3. This place was a bit more happening (mind you it was a holiday weekend) but the scene wasn't much better. Although Chris, Ann and Ian managed to down a C-Dale fav and P3 original, a Green Dragon. Not sure what the recipe is for this concoction but its other name is "completely blasted in a plastic cup." Needless to say all three of them were bit by the dragon come the next morning.

These three look normal but they still have half their green dragons left, trust me it got ghetto fab in the car.

DJ Saltwater and Ann were rapping on the way home and DJ Smalls was in the front seat breakin' it down. Nina and I were dead sober, not good to be around 3 people who think they are Ghet-To rappers drugged by the dragon.

DJ Smalls workin' it in the front seat.

Sunday eventually came, we had a short morning dip in the pool. Followed by a wonderful brunch by yours truly the dyanmic cooking duo, G&V (Nina's parents). They always make specially for me my signature dill eggs :-)

We weren't ready to hit the road just yet, we decided to relax with a flick in the movie theater room before our departure.

Below is our final photo shoot in the gazebo out back before the five hour trek back to Chicago.

You may view all the C-Dale wkend pics on Nina's blog.

Thanks again to Nina and G&V for another wonderful trip to Carbondale!

Can't wait to see you again soon!