All work and little play makes Raine a traveling girl!

I love fall!! Don't get me wrong, I am a hot weather girl.. I love to bake in the sun and I don't mind a little sweat and if the sun if shinning I can even get over a small pit-stain.... OK, now I sound weird, but I'm just saying there is a lot I would put up with for a beautiful 80 degree day. But fall is really my favorite season, for a few reasons. One, Chicago is the greatest city in the fall. It's like all the people know that we are mere days away from freezing our butts off so everyone is super active and there are races, parties, events, etc. to get in the last few weeks of nice weather. Two, and maybe most importantly, I was born in fall. KIDDING! (but not really)

Anyway, fall started off very eventful. For one, September saw me in 10 different cities and 8 different states. It was one of the busiest months that I've had since I became a full time "shoe gal" and while fun, I didn't know whether to call my condo home or a storage unit by the end of the month.

Despite all the craziness, I did get in a few visits to some of my favorite people. First, I spent a few days doing training in St. Louis which meant that I got to see a few of my favorite guys from back in the day. Joe from Drake days and Cole from early Chicago days. Both live in STL now and it's one of my favorite places to travel because I know that I won't have to eat dinner alone while I'm in town. Normally I also get the pleasure of a home cooked meal by Joe's parents, but they apparently did not get the memo that I was in town and scheduled a vacation (I'll forgive them just this once). And with Joe's wife recently becoming a flight attendant, I was stuck with just one date for dinner.. (hopefully Joe knows I'm kidding or I WILL be eating alone next time I'm in town). Despite all of these set backs AND the fact that my luggage had been lost (see picture below for what the airline gave me to "see me through"), Joe-shmoe and I had a great time and as usual I left with stomach pains from laughing and eating too much.




The next night I met up with Cole- or Coleman Franklin as the ladies know him. ;)He was one of my first non-Drake friends when I moved to Chicago and partially responsible for anything irresponsible I got myself into between the ages 23 and 24. We got a chance to gab and gossip and it was one of the few times that Cole has not tried to drag me out drinking! How grown up we are getting, Cole! (In the second picture, I had been teasing Cole about wearing tapered pants that were tight with cowboy boots so we took a picture to show him that I was right... wasn't I?)



My next trip sent me to Minneapolis for Macy's seminars and I never mind going there because I get to spend time my Tessala (or Two Ton Tessy for the rest of you)!

This trip was extra fun because we also got in a dinner with Ann that started with a little drama. Tess walked into a sign..... Yes, you read it right. She walked into a sign. I saw it happen and it was one of the those things where you think "she can't possibly miss that large object in front of her-Oh! She did!". And even though I was wetting my pants from laughing, regrettably Tess was actually hurt and ended up with a rather vicious cut from said sign.

And even though wounded, she still managed to show me a good time with Jake and company at a baseball game the following evening.

There was a scary moment at the game where the kid next me almost suffocated himself with cotton candy. I think it started off as an attempt to eat it, but soon the cotton candy was doing the devouring and the aftermath left the little boy with the bluest nose and mouth and I have ever seen!

Then an even scarier moment where Tess and I saw the largest fanny pack EVER worn in public. The picture is blurry but it's hard to miss the large black mass on the front of the woman in pink behind Tess. Where are the fashion police when you need them?!


The only non work trip for the month took me to Norfolk, VA where I got to see my best friend from high school, Kida, get married.

I flew in a few days before the wedding to attend the bachlorette party with a bunch of her friends I had never met, but quickly because my bosom buddies (I have been trying to find a good place to use that phrase for the past year). Kida always jokes that she doesn't hang out with unattractive girls and I normally I say "thank you".. haha.. but the night of the bachlorette party, I knew she wasn't kidding! We all dressed in "devilish" attire i.e. short back dress or tight black pants and devile horns (or a tail in Kida's sister's case). Kida, on the other hand, got a halo and was told to dress in white. I have to say, this was the BEST bachlorette party I've ever been to and thankfully there was no penis paraphernalia or boring card games to play..... just hot girls, skimpy dresses, great food, lots of drinks and a booty bouncing good time. Oh, and one moment where we encountered a shirtless guy in the elevator. LOL!





At the wedding, Kida was a gorgeous bride and her husband was so doting- I definitely cried (Oh, and I caught the bouquet!).




So that was September minus me boring you to tears with work details. Here is a picture of a wall in New Mexico, one of my first stops of the month. I just love all of the Indian and Mexican culture there- so beautiful...

These shoes were made for walking

As a "real shoe gal" I realized that I have not done the obvious and talked about SHOES! So to make up for that, here is a quick photo montage of a day in the life: Raine in Sofft.

Don’t cry for me, Argentina

Summer is officially over and I seriously feel like I did nothing cool. I mean, I hung out with friends, made it to the beach a few times, went to a few BBQs, had a few dance parties… ok maybe I did do a few things. And I did manage to take a few trips: Rischard and I went to both NYC and DC this summer. I like to think that the two trips are polar opposites on each other.

For NYC, it was Rischard’s birthday trip so we went all out; staying at the Waldorf Astoria, going on ‘til 4am both nights, strolling around town, seeing old friends… it was a blast. We even made a trek across the Brooklyn Bridge with Juanita and her adorable daughter, Ana.








The DC trip was not about the night life. We stayed with my Grandma (the bestest) and hung out with her, my cousin Sam and Grandma’s new roommate/ boarder, Leah (a friend of Sam’s from college). It was great to hang with grandma- you know that no one makes you feel at home like your grandmother does. Rischard and I did get a little sightseeing in- I took him to the house I grew up in and out to my uncle’s grave in the country. Then we did Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, which I haven’t been to since elementary school. We also got in a few museums and a night out for drinks with Sam and a stop at the Fairy Godmother, an ice cream shop that has a line out the door most days (Obama has his own special seat there). (Please note the most amazing flavor, Salty Carmel. I'm telling you, it's heaven- you HAVE to try it!)





The main reason for the trip home was because Sam just a few weeks ago packed up and moved to Buenos Aires for the next year. I’m so glad I got to get a few days with him before he left and I can’t wait to visit him next spring!!!

Just when you thought I was gone for good.....

I know that my blog has been out of commission for several months, but I am getting back into the swing of living, loving and having fun. That includes training for the Men’s Health Urbanathalon in October, reinstating my healthy eating/weight loss goals, and keeping up with my blogging starting today. So I apologize for leaving all two of you (haha) for so many months with nothing engaging and exciting to read…. I know it must have been miserable. ;)- But I’m back in black, to quote ACDC… or back in half black if we are being technical.

So when we last talked, I had just come back from Costa Rica… at least I left you on a high note. Since then I have been to the following places: Memphis, Wichita, Orlando, San Antonio, New Jersey, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Detroit, Northern Wisconsin, Omaha, middle of nowhere Illinois, Louisville, Des Moines, Children of the Corn Iowa, Columbus, Boston, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Nashville, and roll up the windows because these farm towns smell like butt Indiana. (You’re probably glad I left you at Costa Rica, huh?)

In all of these travels I have mostly been working, but I did complete my first half marathon in Oshkosh, WI with my good friend Katie!


It went really well and I felt great after- in fact so great, that I’m wondering if I couldn’t have run it a little faster .I finished in just over 2 hours, which was my goal. That same weekend, I became the proud god mother of my best friend Amanda’s daughter Allie.


But alas, when life is going great, sometimes it suddenly isn’t. Our close group of girlfriends very unexpectedly lost a member this summer. We lost Erika the same weekend we were joyously celebrating Ann’s wedding, which seems wrong and yet right at the same time, because it is an event that Erika was supposed to be at, but couldn’t because of financial reasons. Instead she took a private plane with three others to view Glacier National Park and didn’t return.


I have only lost three others of real importance to me in my life: my uncle Steve, my grandfather, and my dog Ali. I know it might seem wrong to add a dog to that list, but she ranked and still ranks above many humans in my life and I still miss her five years later. My uncle and grandfather were also very unexpected and shocking, but Erika’s death hit me very differently. Maybe it’s because she was my age (only a week older) and a peer/friend's death really puts your own life into perspective… and puts more of a value on it. To me her death said “It could happen to you” and I’ve been having a hard time dealing with that. But to end on a happier note, the loss of her has made me realize how unique of a group of friends I have and how much of a little family we are. Girls can be very catty and fake- I am so lucky to have a group of girlfriends that I’ve known for almost a decade (and a few others for half that) that is drama-free, supportive and fun-loving. So this note is dedicated to them. You know who you are. …… and if you don’t just ask yourself “Has Raine flashed me in the past year?” If the answer is yes… LOL.

Que rica es Costa Rica!

I've been back to the real world for three full days now and I have one thing to say: This sucks! Five days in sunny, steamy Costa Rica last week was amazing, but leaving left much to be desired: first and foremost, warm weather. Rischard and I came back to snow and rain after Chicago had enjoyed temperatures up to 70 while we were gone. No trouble finding the irony there, but as many of my fellow northerners would say "that's Chicago for you". But enough complaining, let's talk about our wonderful trip.


So we landed on Tuesday morning after leaving Chicago at 5am, connecting in Atlanta, and forgetting to grab food for the plane; thus we landed hungry and tired. However, the heat wave once we got off the plane was like a smack in the face- a good one. Our cab driver Mario and his wife picked us up and I began to take advantage of my first time in a spanish speaking country since I lived in Spain. Rischard was left to wait every few mintes to hear a breif translation of what we were talking about. With in the first 30 mintues of out hour and a half drive I had successfully made my first joke in Spanish- I was feeling good. (Mario and I are in the picture below)



We arrived at the our hotel just outside of Jaco. Set on a hill, there were great views, sunshine and breezes. We spent the rest of the day getting food and lounging by the pool.


The next day was our first adventure: ziplining!! Something I've always wanted to do and I had sold Rischard on the idea as soon as I found out we were going to Costa Rica. Little did he know, we would be several hundred feet in the air, hooked in only by a tight fitting harness and we zipped through trees and in between wide open mountain valleys. Heaven for me, a non stop stomach clentcher for Rischard. He was a great sport though, and after the first couple, he was pretty fearless.


The next day we went ATVing- on the top of Rischard's list for our trip. Another adventure, both of us were not quite prepared for. The roads were very steep and there was sometimes oncoming traffic, which was a little scary when it would be a big truck. Rischard got spooked by some on coming traffic and ended up in a ditch with the bike on top of him! The guide and I had a few gut wrenching moments were we didn't know if he was ok (we couldn't even see him because the ditch was so deep). Luckily, the ditch was deep and skinny so the bike couldn't fall completely on him. He pulled himself out with on a small wound and a few bruises (mostly to the ego). After the guide established that first Rischard was ok and second, the bike was ok, he informed us that any damage would be paid for by us. LOL! Now you tell us!! We finished the two hour ride which was fun and we saw beautiful scenery and some parrots- but Rischard never fully mentally recovered from the scare and was very cautious for the rest of the ride. Still, we had fun and it was a great story.

The view from the top of mountain on the ATV tour.


That night we cleaned up (they are not kidding when they tell you you'll get dirty) and headed to watch the sunset at Villa Calletas in their amplitheater with a gorgeous view of the ocean. Some friends had gotten married there last year and I could see why when we arrived. We had a very romantic dinner on the patio and I had lobster- it was orgasms for the taste buds! YUM!




Our last full day was spent doing a day trip to Manuel Antonio National Park. The rain forest goes right up to some of the most gorgeous beaches that you will ever see. We stopped at a fruit stand on the way and I had maybe the best mango of my life. I will really miss the fruit in this country. We saw two different kinds of monkeys, frogs, parrots, a stick bird, iguanas and a crazy spider that almost made me pass out (it was maybe the ONLY thing I DIDN'T take a picture of).







When Saturday we were both sad to go. We made friends with the family of Canadians staying at our hotel (and the owners), a group of Florida law students, and any person that let me speak Spanish for more that two minutes to them. All in all, a success.

Costa Rica, you were wonderful. No puedo esperar volver a visitarte. Ya hecho de menos a tus playas y sol y gente moja. Thanks for the memories!