Somewhere in Pittsburgh my mom is shedding a tear.

I guess at some point I failed to miss the life lessons she taught me about cleaning. Or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. That’s beside the point.

The point is, I’m trying to clean my apartment because my Gap party is next week and I don’t want my friends to think I live like a slob (unless they already know this, then I don’t really care). So I get this brilliant idea to hire a maid service. (I used to have one, and it was awesome. I would go to bed one night and the house would be dirty, the maid would come while I was sleeping, and I’d wake up to a clean house. It was a very magical thing.)

Well, Chris shut that idea down. Something about strangers being in our condo blah, blah, etc. I’m pretty sure the maids wouldn’t want to steal his massive lego collection or anything. Anyway, I made an agreement with Chris that if he could clean our apartment as well as a maid service I would buy him a new Xbox 360 game.

BET ON.

So he starts cleaning, and giving me a guilt trip because I’m not participating. Whatever, I’m paying him right? I wouldn’t expect my maid to whine at me as I sit on the couch and eat my popcorn that I’m not helping her vacuum. At some point mid guilt trip, I decide to clean the stove because I have far superior cleaning skills to Chris and wouldn’t be satisfied with his work. I think I’m getting off easy because I have a self cleaning oven and start cleaning the stove top. AND it starts SMOKING. And no matter how hard I try (which probably isn’t THAT hard), I can’t get that disgusting CRUD off my stove.

It’s right about now my eyes start to BURN. BADLY.

I’m basically yelling at Chris to open the door to the balcony to get some air circulating, but he calmly informs me that he will not be opening the door because there is a squadron of spiders gathered on our balcony and he’s pretty sure they’re rallying for an invasion.

Did I mention I’m horrified of spiders?

So now we’re sitting in our apartment, eyes burning and probably slowly dying from inhaling toxic fumes. I’m pretty sure the oven and spiders had this planned out all along too. Evil bastards.

Once the oven and stovetop are clean I am NEVER using those bastards again so I never have to go through the cleaning process again.

If I don’t die from the toxic fumes overnight, I will most definitely be hiring a cleaning service. Any good reco’s in the Chicago area?

*And chris probably isn’t going to get his game now.

Holy crap.

This weekend was the most amazing, overwhelming whirlwind of a weekend I’ve had in a long time (if ever). It was my first time attending BlogHer and I had no idea what to expect. I was definitely overwhelmed and a little bit nervous. But that all disappeared pretty quickly.

I freaked out slightly on Thursday night because I couldn’t get in touch with anyone, only to find out the lack of reception people were experiencing. After finally meeting up with my friends, we got our badges and headed off to dinner. It was a great way to meet some of the other girls I didn’t know yet, and make connections with prior to the actual start of the conference.

I only ended up attending a few sessions, but from the general consensus I wasn’t missing much. I pretty much stuck with the Geek Lab sessions and 1) it was sooo hard to hear ANYTHING and 2) the sessions were either ones I had no knowledge of or way too basic. I’m a total nerd and into HTML, CSS and all that crap. But really, I would expect someone at a blogging conference to at least have a little experience with these things so I felt like my time was totally wasted on being taught how to bold or change font etc. Saturday I skipped all the sessions for two very good reasons: Paula Deen & Tim Gunn.

Allie, Jamie & I meeting Tim Gunn!!

Not gonna lie, I am not a fan of Project Runway but Allie and Jamie are. Tim Gunn was genuinely nice, although I had no real expectations since I’ve never seen him on TV. Paula Deen was absolutetly HILARIOUS. If I had a southern grandma, I’d want her to be Paula. Or if Paula happens to be looking for an adoptive granddaughter, I’m there!

The expo hall was pretty cool. There were a lot of really great booths, but I’m not sure I even stopped at every one. The lunches were surprisingly delicious. Ragu provided lunch on Friday, and it was a Mexican themed lunch Saturday. However, the lack of water was HORRIBLE. I heard it was because BlogHer was trying to go green, hence the absence of bottled water. Well, it pissed me off. I love Pepsi and all, but I am no longer a soda drinker. And I think the going green stuff is a lame excuse since they were providing bottled SODA. WHAT IS THE GODDAMN DIFFERENCE? (Clearly, a dehydrated Maggie= cranky Maggie)

The two main highlights of the weekend for me were the Nintendo Enthusiast dinner and BowlHer.  From getting all decked out, to being picked up in horse drawn carriages to dinner in the Signature Room of the Hancock building, the Nintendo dinner was fabulous from start to finish. Even the rain couldn’t ruin it. And I’m pretty sure everyone in the room was jealous at the awesomeness of our table. BowlHer was just silly and a hell of a lot of fun. We were provided with hot pink boas and got to walk the red carpet.

Photo by @rbucich

The real reason I went to BlogHer was not the parties or swag. It was about making connections. It was about building relationships with these amazing women who share their lives with me every day through their blogs

• Jamie, you are the best date ever. EVER.
• Jess, you are fucking hilarious and I love you.
• My other Chicago girls: Allie, Blagica, Suz and Angie, you’re all wonderful.
• New friends: Heidi, Beth, and Katelin, I had a blast getting to know you and I can’t wait to see you guys again.
• Jenn I wish I had seen more of you, and one of these days we better have an awesome hangout.
• My Nintendo table: Doni, you are cute as ever & need to spend more time in Chicago. Jenn, you are probably my soulmate or sister in another life. We must bake cupcakes together. And last but not least, Brandon you are a true gentleman, a good sport, and totally fun to be around.

Photo via @rbucich

Jenn, Jess and I

You wonderful people are the reason I blog. Would I do it again? Totally. I’m already looking forward to BlogHer10. Thank you all for everything.

*I didn’t take many pictures this weekend, so I’m waiting to steal some friends’ photos. Also check out @rbucich’s flickr set to see some amazing shots throughout the weekend..

I’m at my first BlogHer conference right now, so if you’re here too I hope we bump into each other.

I’ve been attending the Geek Lab sessions so far and lunch provided by Ragu was yummy. I’m about to start Geek Lab Session 2 with Heidi to learn some HTML and CSS.

Today has been kind of crazy and a little bit overwhelming but I’m looking forward to all the fun this evening.

Thanks to Kyla for inspiring me to participate in this meme.

I always…

• Talk to my mom once a day (at least). And tell her I love her.
• Check my email first thing in the morning.
• Over sleep (usually at least 5-20 mins)
• find myself making up silly words for things
• tell myself that “this week will be the week I change my habits”, and then it never happens
• cry anytime I see an ASPCA commercial on tv

I sometimes…

• have the same dream over and over
• Feel like an outsider.
• Wonder what it would be like to be a mom, even though I am still pretty sure I don’t really want kids.
• Can’t believe I’ll be getting married in a little over a year.

I never…

• Thought I’d be living in Chicago. It was never on my list.
• Eat shellfish or anything that contains nuts.
• should have stopped taking violin lessons.
• like to admit for a brief period of my life I was totally addicted to Everquest.
• Should have written off so many of the people I knew in high school, although getting to know them as adults is much more rewarding and surprising.
• like to use the word “never”. it usually comes back to haunt me.

I came across this lovely because Guy Kawasaki posted this link to 15 idiotic tattoos and I’m a sucker for laughing at bad tattoos:

While I totally give this girl creativity points, this tattoo totally creeps me out. Mainly because her foot creeps me out. Ew.


Oh well…at least she has a sense of humor, right?

Case in point:

I was just minding my own business, searching for a plain ol’ sugar bowlwhen I came across this lovely and I had to have it.

Because really, who doesn’t need a matching creamer and gravy boat**??

I’m glad you all see my reasoning here.

** I don’t even like gravy. No really, it’s sick. What exactly is it supposed to be?

A few weeks back I posted about some questions on my mind. I feel like I have had some of those questions answered, and now I’m wondering about entirely new things.

Why are there so many pregnant ladies all of the sudden? Today I counted 11 within a block radius of Panera. -2 possible explanations: Obama babies. Or there’s nothing else better to do when its -17 outside.

When is Chicago weather going to find a happy medium? -As long as I can still wear a light cardigan, who cares.

Why do I lack complete motivation for working out when I know I need to? (gotta drop those Lbs before the wedding) -my trainer can be as lazy as me. And clearly I enjoy wasting money.

Why is it so hard to write a damn bio? It’s not like I’m being asked to write a bio on a complete stranger. -Jury’s still out on this one…

How can I kick my addiction to starbucks?-discovering I had spent $55 in 8 days was a wake-up call. I need rehab or something.

Does my (future) mother in law know about my blog? Is it okay to write about her?-the general consensus is don’t do it.

Why am I too chicken to ask my friend to be my bridesmaid?-I toughened up and asked and she accepted!

What should I bring to Allie’s book club/BBQ tomorrow?-I brought hotdogs and cheese curls. perfect BBQ combo

Is it wrong to want to give my cat a lion haircut? (She sheds A LOT)-Allie and I will be doing this sooner or later.

Am I turning into a bridezilla?-probably not. At least not bad enough to smash a cake or make my future mother in law clean my dress with her own toothbrush.

Am I choosing the right thing by wanting to move home? -I still don’t know, but as Akirah says “home is where the heart is”.

And my whole new list of questions I’m asking myself:

How am I gonna cram about 15 girls in here for my Gap Born to Fit party?

How come I didn’t end up with someone who was a neat freak?

What am I going to wear to BlogHer?!

Why am I addicted to shows about pregnancy, such as 16 and Pregnant, and I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant? (especially when I don’t even really like babies?)

How many times is too many to see the Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince?

Why does this keyboard want to add an extra “.” every time I use it?

How can I convince Chris to get me a new couch, like ASAP?

Why is laundry a neverending chore? Perhaps those nudists are on to something…

Why is it pretty much impossible to cook for only 2 people?

What should I put on a mix CD for my Gap party?

How excited am I for my trip home in a little over a month? (I can answer that right now: VERY EXCITED)

Sorry bloggies for my absence this past week. I was feeling under the weather and having writer’s block-what a winning combo. Despite spending the first half of the week alternating work and sleep, I still managed to get out and do some fun stuff in the latter half of the week.

• I got to go see Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince on Thursday. In OMNIMAX. It was pretty intense. I’ve been to shows in OMNIMAX before, but never a movie like that. As far as the movie vs the book goes, I felt like some parts of the story were rushed (like the major stuff) and there was too much focus on their relationships. But I enjoyed it. And yes, I cried at the end. I’m pretty sure I perfected the art of the silent sob too.
• Friday Brittainy and I went to see (500) Days of Summer. The story line was pretty predictable, but I liked the way it jumped around and mixed the story up. It was a really good movie to go see with your girl friends though.
• Yesterday I spent some time with an old high school friend who was in town for the weekend. I took her and her cousin to brunch at Yolk, and then did the touristy stuff at Millennium Park. Then we headed a bit north and went to Lill Studio and made some custom purses.

This upcoming week should be fun since BlogHer will finally be here! The blog cards I ordered are so adorable, I absolutely love them. I’m also super excited for the monthly book club meeting tomorrow.

So what have I missed this past week?