and we're off!

Good morning and welcome to the BigTime Blogging Challenge! I've received lots of positive feedback so far on the challenge and am excited to have some bloggers - new and experienced - participating with me!

Remember, the only rules of the challenge are to write every day during the month of July! It can be about any topic you'd like - ones that follow the prompts on the calendar or your own ideas! (If you're just hearing about the challenge now, head over to my TpT store to check out the deets!)

Write your blog.

Post your link.

Leave some love for your fellow bloggers!

I know I wrote one post about my trip to Europe and now I am feeling super overwhelmed as I try and think about where to go next with it. And, I just had an awesome weekend celebrating the boyfriend's birthday, so I want to share with you some pics from the charity cruise we attended on Sunday!

A friend of a friend is on the board for the Gift from the Heart Foundation, so they planned this awesome event for us to attend. Tickets included the ride on the Mystic Blue Yacht out of Navy Pier, plus dinner and drinks. We had a beautiful day on the lake, too!

I've lived in Chicago for five years now and the skyline *still* takes my breath away...I look at it and think, "omg. I live here." It's awesome, and so cool to see from the lake!

I went on the cruise with my boyfriend, Hektor. His birthday was the 25th, so we've been celebrating for a few days now, and it was a great way to end the weekend!

 Of course, I wouldn't be on the cruise without a great friend, Anita! We met each other in Phoenix and have been friends for about ten years. She was a teacher and now she's a marriage and family therapist with Relationship Reality 312 - the practice she started all on her own. I've learned so much from her and I'm so proud of all that she's accomplished. (She's an amazing person to talk to about your relationships! She loves working with singles and couples...check out her link!) Anyways, here we are with her sister, Bernadette:

Bernadette, Anita, and I

So yeah, that was Sunday. Sailing on a yacht, soaking up the sun, taking in the beautiful views of our city. And of course, it would not be complete without a selfie:

Hope you all had a fab weekend and your new week is off to a great start!

Now, here's where the fun begins: Link your post with me here at Big Time Literacy. Just click the link below and it's super easy! Then don't forget the rule of three - leave a comment for the two blogs ahead of you and the one after you. You might have to come back later on today or tomorrow, because we all know how much comments mean to us bloggers! Looking forward to reading your posts!

An InLinkz Link-up