Hey gals, I feel bad that I haven't posted here in SOOOOO long, it's crazy & I miss the chats/gushing. :( Now that I look at the date, I see that I haven't actually posted in *OVER* 24 months (2 whole years!!!). That's insane! I've checked in once in a while and read updates, so I don't know why I never posted since then. Anyway, I guess a bit has happened...

Just about a week after Hurricane Katrina hit in '05 my best friend and I went out on 2 month trip around Europe and I had a blast. Since then I've basically been working constantly to try and save up to do some more long-term traveling.

This past summer one of my brother's best friends (someone we've both known since elementary school) was killed and I guess you could say it was a bit of a wake up call for me to realize that I can't live my life trying to make everyone else proud of me and that I've got to do what makes me happy since we only have this one life to live. (as cliche as that sounds)

To make a long story short, I just moved to Chicago this past November on a whim (got a job offer while I was here on vacation in October!) and it's been a little scary, exciting & confusing all at once, but it's helped me become more independent. I'm still saving to travel and hope to get out on the road by the end of this year to see Central & South America, and then maybe work my way to Asia and/or Africa.

No major relationships to speak of though, figures. ha!

How'd your cruise go Natalie? Well I hope!! Well I hope you guys are having a great start to the new year! If you want to keep in touch, my e-mail is wand3rlust@gmail.com or you can always check in at my blog: Wand3rlust.com

Hey gals! I'm feeling ever so guilty about not posting in forever! I don't know that I've even posted this year....so sad considering I was posting something on a near daily basis for awhile! Hope you all are doing great and anticipating the holidays. I know I am - even if we aren't doing much of a gift exchange, that's not what it's all about anyway. I am going to try to make it to the 10:00 Mass like I did last year - I was so affected by it that I'm considering converting (my husband was raised Catholic). I would just need to do the adult classes for confirmation and such (I forget the formal name for it offhand - it's on the tip of my tongue....). So what else is new....STILL waiting for someone to buy the boat; it's been for sale for the last year & a half. We're now living in the City (San Francisco), so I have my closets, real bathroom (complete with tub!), real kitchen, etc. back. I do miss the water occasionally. I still watch for Rick's reports - and check his blog on Fox News. I haven't watched Fox as much as I used to. Usually Fox Report and then a little bit of Weekend Live on Sat & Sun. I guess it usually depends on what's going on.

Jan- glad you had fun on the cruise! My dad & stepmom want to take my sister, her boyfriend, my grandma, Kevin, & I on a cruise down to Mexico around March. While I've never had a problem on our boat with the rocking (even in 50+ mph winds!), I'm a bit wary on going out into the ocean. I think I'm a true land lubber at heart and I know I'm a definite control freak, so there you go. I'll bring the Bonine in case, but I think it's more my nerves that I have to watch - not so much the motion. All in all, I think it would be a great/fun trip. I'm getting prepared by starting to get my Hep A/B vaccinations; I just got the first one last week. Boy did that one hurt!

Well, I gotta go for now, but I will try to check in more often. Even though I haven't posted in some time, I've missed you all!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!! =)

Nathalie (Natalie)

Hey Girls!
It's been a looooong time since I've posted - I see that Sherry, Jan, & Melissa have checked in, but I'm not sure who else is still...... Hope everyone is doing great & is well! Things are still chaotic at work and I'm still struggling to drop those last 15 lbs. Speaking of weight loss, WAY TO GO SHERRY!!! =)) Hope you're still on your way! I'm not sure if you're in HI now, but I hope you have/having/had a great time! A co-worker of mine is just getting back after being there 2 1/2 weeks for her wedding/honeymoon. I just love it that Fox has the Rick's Rambles - it's such a great way to in a way, I guess, vicariously 'see' his reports. The video on there helps a lot too - the only time I'm really watching is when Weekend Live is on, Fox Report (when I get home in time), and then O'Reilly and Hannity & Colmes. I know I could always Tivo Fox Report, but I don't seem to have enough time to watch it when I do record it. Jan - I hope you go to FL before (or at least not during) any hurricanes hit. I do have some semi-big news - we're selling the boat. We can save $$ by moving to San Francisco (like an $80/mo. bridge toll and $35/week in gas). Also, it'd just be one last thing to worry about and we can move to TX anytime after that w/o having to worry about the boat. No buyers yet, but we've had some interest. If you want to check it out, you can go to www.masonyachts.com and then "Pre-owned yachts for sale"; then "sail" for type of boat. Then look for 54' Ta Chiao CT 54, year 1980. They don't have any pictures up yet, but they should soon. The other broker we're using (www.norpacyachts.com) has photos. Go to the site, then "yachts for sale" and 54' Ta Chiao CT 54 (year 1980). Once you're in the listing, there are a bunch of photos that you can click on. It's been listed since the 3rd week of April; I hope it doesn't take too long (I really just want to rip the bandaid off and be done with it). It was much harder to take that step than I thought it was going to be.....

Anyway, hope you all are doing great & are enjoying summer!! =)
Take care (and I'll try not to take so long to write next time!!)
Nathalie

Hey guys I might be playing around with the blog for the next few days, so don't freak out if you come here and things either look jumbled or just weird. :)

Hey guys nice to see you! I hope you all had a happy and safe New Years! I was "designated driver" lol!

I saw Rick a couple times, but unfortunately missed him on O'Rielly. :( I would've loved to have seen that.

I'm actually working on re-designing Rick-Leventhal.com so if you guys have any pics that you might have stored on your comp, I'd love ya for the donations. My old comp had most my old Rick pics, and that computer died about a year ago.

Well I gotta head to work, but I'll see ya around laters. :)

Hey gals!
I've not posted in....well, FOREVER. I hope ya'll are doing great and had a great & safe Christmas & New Year! Happy New Year! It's so sad about what happened in Thailand and the other affected areas. It's just really hard to imagine that. Poor Adam (Sherry - I think of you whenever he's on!) - he's just got to be so tired (emotionally & physically), as well as Jennifer Griffin. Those two have really put themselves out there to get the stories to us all.

On a lighter note, I *did* get to see Rick and OMG - what a surprise to see Rick hosting the O'Reilly Factor - I just couldn't *believe* it! =) I recorded it later....lol! I actually got a DVD recorder for my birthday and can now put all my videos onto DVD which is quite nice. I got all my exercise videos on DVD now, so I have *no* excuse to not exercise. I'm 15 lbs over my wt. goal right now- of course one of my New Year's resolutions is to lose that 15 lbs (along with saving-really saving- my money). Anyway, let's hope we see Rick in this capacity more in the future!

Hope all are well!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! =)